#a superficial type and is pretty easy going

[tariah23]

Been thinking about oc’s today

[alchemistc]

Based on this post by @beefcakekinard because I couldn't flesh it out enough in the tags

read on ao3

could be with you

"Didn't you have a date on Saturday?"

Tommy's eyes dart up. Galway is staring at him, hand on hip, brow raised, and Tommy sighs. "Never said it was a date."

"Yeah, but you had a moony look in your eye. Been a while since I've seen it, but I know your date face."

Tommy does his best to keep things neutral on his face. Clearly that doesn't work, because Galway's expression goes sympathetic immediately.

"Oh, bad date. Damn, Kinard, tough luck."

Tommy's had to get used to the fact that everyone at Harbor always wants in each other's business. It's pretty superficial shit, most of the time, but they always want to know the scoop, anyway.

He feels the flash of disappointment, followed immediately by a lick of defensiveness. Damnit. "Wasn't even a bad date, right up until the end."

Galway looks intrigued, but Tommy's not quite ready to entertain it. He's still stewing, a bit. Annoyed with himself for the way he'd reacted in the moment -- a beat too far because he'd given Evan an easy out and he'd grabbed it and flung it in the opposite direction.

Right, Evan?

God. What a dick thing to say. He'd -- panicked, a little. They both had, in their own ways.

If he'd known, going into it, exactly how new this was to him, maybe he'd have --

Lowered his expectations.

"Wrong place, wrong time," Tommy says, to get Galway off his back about it, and rolls his arms back to tug his flight suit the rest of the way up. And that's the crux of it, really. Tommy's spent too much of his life hiding away, and Evan hadn't even known he had something to hide until -- until what, the moment he realized other people could see them? He hadn't panicked in the moment -- that first moment, Tommy guessed, now that he knew a little more -- when their lips had met. Hadn't panicked in the days between, when the flirting had bordered on ridiculous in their texts back and forth. Hadn't panicked when Tommy picked him up, hand settling at the small of his back to guide him to the passenger side of his truck, or when Tommy complimented his shirt, or on the drive to the restaurant, Tommy nervously tapping out a rhythm on the steering wheel while Evan rattled on about beekeeping. They'd both been nervous.

Nerves, he understood. Nerves had settled under his skin the moment he closed the door to Evan's apartment, nerves like he hadn't felt in a good long while because he couldn't remember being so immediately charmed by someone in... a while.

Even through most of the date he'd been able to chalk it up to maybe being in a more public setting than he'd realized. They were both in a field that didn't immediately feel inclusive. Both big, manly looking men, and maybe Evan just hadn't done a lot of that before. Maybe Tommy wasn't his usual type. (Hindsight, as they say.)

He could have rolled with the first date with a dude thing -- awkward as it was, surprising as it was, considering the first time a man had come on to Tommy he'd nearly punched him about it. He'd had to reset some expectations, reevaluate some of his preconceived notions on the fly. That wasn't exactly a deal breaker. He liked Evan. Likes him still, in the light of day with a little time to dig into why exactly it had hurt so much to be sidelined in front of a mutual friend.

And he's still a little embarrassed he'd let it get to him enough to make a snide comment that could have outed him when he was clearly not ready to be out.

But it was one date. A good first date, even, until they'd been a bit blindsided by Eddie Diaz.

Which -- he'd walked himself in circles in his own mind about the Eddie Diaz of it all, anyway, half convinced he was slamming headfirst into the middle of some weird co-parents with benefits scenario. The fishing he'd had to do to even attempt to figure out that situation. He's fairly convinced, at this point, that neither one of them has any hidden latent romantic notions, about the other, but that hadn't really helped the situation, either.

"So no second date in the cards, huh?"

Tommy blinks. Swallows. "Nah," he says, but --

But maybe. If the timing was right.

Christ, Tommy, it was one disappointing date with an admittedly sweet, and kind, and fucking gorgeous guy. A guy with a devastating smile and a wide breadth of useless facts and a great ass and enough heart to fill the Greater Los Angeles area.

The text, later that evening, should surprise him more than it does.

Evan 9:34 PM: Hey, could I give you a call later, if you're not on shift?

Tommy stares at it for ten whole minutes, tucked behind a shelf laden with cleaning supplies while the rest of the crew is huddled around a Kings game in the downtime between calls.

I'm on until 8AM, he shoots back, and then stares at it until he gets a read receipt. Up above Evan's latest text there's a full thread he hadn't had the heart to delete, quite yet, and he can still see the image of the chicken Evan had taken his not great hand at drawing blades on the talons of. Call around half past?

It's a bad idea. He's had worse ones, but.

He gets another read receipt before he can flip away from the conversation, and three little dots that appear and disappear four times before another message pops through.

Evan 9:47 PM: Talk to you in the morning!

And then.

Evan 9:47 PM: Have a good shift. Be safe!

Shit.

--------

He's played out the phone call all the way through about twelve times in his head. Evan's a good guy. Sweet, kind, a little sassy but never mean. He's expecting a thank you, maybe an apology, although he doesn't need it.

He pulls the truck into the closest parking lot when Evan's name flashes across the screen.

"Hey," he says, once he's parked and prepared for the softest let down he's had in years.

"Uh - hey, hi. Hi, Tommy."

Evan Buckley says his name like a benediction. He's never really noticed the way it sounds, until Evan Buckley started saying it. God, this one might sting.

"Hi," he says. They drift into silence.

"Hi. Sorry. Hey. I called you. So. I should. I should say what I wanted to say."

"I'm all ears," Tommy tells him, charmed despite himself, wishing he could see his face.

"I --." The pause is...long. Awkward. Tommy wonders if he's running over a script on his head. "Actually, could we -- do you have any time this morning? Could we talk in person? If -- I mean obviously if you have plans, or, hell, you just got a shift, I'm sure you're tired, we don't have to --."

"I'm about thirty minutes out from home. Let me take a shower, run a few errands. We could meet around noon?" Bad idea. Still. But there's a small, tiny piece of him that thinks Evan might work through his shit at a much quicker speed than Tommy could ever manage. At the very least, he owes it to a younger, angrier Tommy to play this out.

"That -- yeah, that'd be..." He pauses. "You're sure?"

"I'll send you a pin. There's a coffee shop near where I'll be."

"Okay. Okay yeah. I -- just let me know if you're running late, or anything. I'll. I'll be there."

"I'll see you in a few hours, Evan."

"Okay. Yeah. See you in a bit."

Neither one of them hangs up.

Evan's nervous laugh fills the cab, and Tommy presses his head back until he can feel the headrest pressing into his skull. "Bye, Tommy. See you soon."

----

He'd slept where he could, the night before, actually feels pretty well rested, for working an overnight, for spending every free moment wondering what the hell Evan wanted to call him about, for trying real damn hard to temper his fucking expectations. His two wolves are disappointed expectations and romantic notions, constantly warring with each other.

Evan shoots him a text as he's leaving the barber two doors down.

Evan 11:49 AM: Headed out to the patio, see you in a few

Tommy is absolutely not drawing conclusions about him showing up early. None.

He shoves his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt and ducks into the walkway that leads to the courtyard around back.

He'd chosen this place for a few specific reasons -- proximity to his haircut appointment, proximity to Evan's apartment, his knowledge of the lobby of the coffee shop and all it's private little nooks tucked away in corners. Something to ease Evan's mind, a little.

Yet when Tommy finally spots him, he's in the middle of a crowded courtyard, already seated, wearing a light, airy looking polo that stretches tight across his shoulders, and his smile when he spots Tommy burns brighter than the sun on Tommy's newly-shorn scalp.

Tempered expectations.

He doesn't sit, right away. Maybe this had just been an easier way to find each other in the midday crowds. Maybe this conversation won't be long enough to merit sitting.

Evan gestures at the coffee he'd apparently gambled on, and Tommy finds himself sitting before he can talk himself out of it. His posture is a mess, he knows it, but he can't quite help curling in on himself, feeling small as Evan studies him, as the white noise of the people all around them fills his ears. The coffee is terrible. The company is dangerously enchanting.

Evan Buckley goes from zero to sixty in under a second.

-----

Tommy is good at keeping a lid on the part of himself that longs to be romanced, to do some romancing of his own. He's had enough flops to be hyper aware that the reality of dating never follows a soppy script.

Evan says I think that something could be with you and reality takes a rain check, for a minute. Tommy shifts. Tommy flounders. Tommy had prepared for an easy let down, a promise to stay friends and a few awkward encounters in the Diaz living room. Tommy fights the smile, takes a deep breath, admits what he's been trying to deny since he cut things short.

"You already know that I'm interested." It's an easy out -- he's good at catching the ball and tossing it back immediately. It's a risk, but he thinks he and Evan are on the same page about what Tommy's willing to sacrifice, and what he isn't. Evan had made it a point to be out here in the open for this conversation, after all.

Evan takes the shot from half-court.

It catches the rim. Wobbles. Spins.

"Evan," he says, and he means it to sound stern, a hint of incredulity. He's not entirely sure it hits the mark.

And then he's doing that thing he does -- bright-eyed optimism, body language open, a smile curling at his mouth, pressing, pushing, digging into the rocky crevices of Tommy's skepticism and wiping them smooth. It's an insane idea. He's been to...two, three weddings with a date of his own? All long term relationships, because there's something about witnessing eternal vows next to someone that means something to you, something that makes it all a little more real.

But Evan is persistent. And dropping very loaded clues, hinting that he's talked to his sister about him -- them. Tommy doesn't know much, but his relationship with his sister had come up in conversation, he knows they're close. Hinting that he's well aware an invite means he's pulling the lid off 'picking up hot chicks' secrecy.

He doesn't even get all the way through "Are you absolutely sure about this?" before Evan is grinning, leaning in to meet Tommy's gaze, an emphatic confirmation escaping him, and suddenly it's intimate.

Tommy can't think of a reason to say no.

[ddollfface]

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡

𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗦𝗶𝗰𝗸!𝗔𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘅 𝗳𝗲𝗺!𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿

"Your clothes would look nice on my bedroom floor."

Trigger Warnings; not proofread, pretty sure reader is described as 'girlfriend' or 'girl' somewhere, yandere behavior, extremely toxic behavior, manipulation, rip if you know someone like this irl, abuse of systems, abuse of pretty privilege (can't relate lol), and, as usual, bad writing. If I missed anything, then please let me know ♡ Here 'ya go 💗!Nonny, the second part of your request!! I hope it's to your standards... I'm not proofreading anything I'm putting out rn. I'm way too tired. I hope everyone had a good President's weekend))

Our boy is literally the definition of pretty privilege. He's got everything a girl would ever want, and he's the envy of all the guys on campus. He's sculpted like a Greek god, thanks to his Persian genetics and daily visits to the gym.

Everyone and anyone will listen to what LoveSick!Athlete's gotta say, and they'll do whatever he's asked, if he's saying it in a certain tone with a certain face. This is his manipulative personality coming into play. He understands that people will listen to him, for whatever reason, and he uses it to his advantage, scaring away any guys you may or may not find attractive.

Usually, it's pretty easy to do as they're just one of your classmates that you just find handsome, but you've never thought of talking to them, much less pursuing them. You're introverted personality (in this type of darling) makes it easy for him to keep you all to himself.

The two of you have been together for years, ever since you were little kids, and you trust everything he says, but not for superficial reasons like everyone else. You see him for who he is. You understand that he'd never do anything to hurt you; I'm just looking out for you, yeah? Just take my word for it, he's not worth your time.

In this case, with this darling, the two of you aren't dating, in your eyes at least. And LoveSick!Athlete has been pursuing you for quite some time, but he's patient. The two of you are practically attached at the hip, and that alone scares off any of your suitors, so even if you find someone (guy or chick) attractive, then they're gone before you can even say 'hello'.

Now, I've gone over how LoveSick!Athlete deals with his 'competitors', though he doesn't see them as this, in this post. This post is more geared toward how he deals with jealousy, but I drabble on the idea of putting down other men and making you see them in a bad light.

LoveSick!Athlete don't see these men, no matter how you see them, as a threat to your relationship, nor his ego. The two of you are far too out of reach for them to touch; they can't get to you, but it's different when it's his teammate. Especially since he never shuts up about them, so they know that he's pursuing you or you're in a relationship (depending on the time).

Overall, I think LoveSick!Athlete would treat the situation similarly with his teammate as he would with some random guy, but he'll have a bitter taste in his mouth whenever he sees said teammate now. It's possible that he'll be rougher with them on the ice, pushing them harder, elbowing them, and tripping them. Of course, no one will notice. After all, he's their star player, he'd never do anything to hurt his teammates, never.

He'll bad mouth them, behind their back of course, to his other teammates and you, can't forget about you. He'll go on and on about all the things they've done over the summer while school was out. How they're so aggressive toward girls, especially the ones that say 'no' to him. You wouldn't believe what Sonia told me, sweets. She said...

Once you get him talking, he won't stop. LoveSick!Athlete would never, ever, miss the opportunity to trash on of his rivals. If the guy seems persistent and tries to talk to you, god, let alone he touches you, he'll rain hellfire on the campus. He'll get some college girls to go report him to the campus office, saying that they were assaulted by him. LoveSick!Athlete might even plant some drugs into the guy's bag, causing him to lose his athletic scholarship.

And if the guy tries to tell on him, like a rat, then he'll just be brushed off as "desperate" and "attention-seeking." That he's trying to push the blame on someone else, 'cause there's no way LoveSick!Athlete would ever do something like that.

He's the team's sweetheart, after all.

[crumplstiltskin]

i love ur aus! your interpretations of the relationship dynamics in new ways that still feels true to the characters is really cool- take supernatural crazy stuff and making it fit in a more normal dynamic can't be easy.

do you have any opinions on how sukuna or choso get along with wasuke? (and do sukuna + choso both privately think of themselves as The Oldest Brother, or is one of them a middle brother?)

hey!!! thank you for sending this. i take it as a really big compliment ! i get very particular about that kind of thing so i'm glad it reads the way i want it to.

i'll answer this in the context of my aus. depending on the au there are minor differences though! and i hope you don't mind if i yap a little bit under the cut!

the most important part of this question is how wasuke's personality would mesh with them respectively so it's important to first consider what type of person wasuke is and how he would engage each of them. besides his appearances in the manga/anime we can deduce some of his personality through yuuji (how he was raised, his conduct, etc).

wasuke seems to be very even-tempered, family-focused so i think choso would get along the most with wasuke. choso is very gentle at heart and also family-oriented himself so wasuke would think highly of choso who is very outrightly passionate about it. wasuke himself doesn't seem to be overly affectionate physically or verbally but we know that he cared deeply for yuuji. choso being sort of the opposite way complements him well, at least in the context of caring for yuuji and i see him appreciating choso for making up for perhaps what he would consider his own limitations. wasuke would probably find it embarrassing but as a grandfather who loves his family he would be grateful for having choso in their lives.

sukuna and wasuke would clash more but not to the point where there is any real tension. i think they would bicker a lot, but only because they both seem like the stubborn type....probably share other personality traits too...idk..i feel it in my bones (and tbh in normal peoples au sukuna had a weird edgy phase where wasuke found him cringe af and he never let sukuna live it down 😭). in unckuna au and 12 years au they would both be very involved in rearing yuuji so they'd have long discussions about things after yuuji went to bed or something so this gives them a purpose to get along. not saying that sukuna wouldn't get along with him but to be completely honest sukuna is not the type of character to really care about much beyond himself. so they're like coworkers........but the work is yuuji. sukuna would respect wasuke out of principle (principle being he is an elder, he is his father/grandfather) and wasuke expects that from him, the end.

but knowing people like wasuke, neither of them are getting praise from him no matter how well they do or how much they impress him lol. he will tell them off immediately if they do anything wrong, and is not the type to say pretty words. if he wants to be nice to them he'll probably show it through action though; he'll go out of his way to buy their favourite fruit ("i got x today at the market, peel/cut them up for us"), drink tea and have snacks in the same room instead of sitting on the porch alone, things like that.

about the birth order...i think that's complicated. in normal peoples au i usually consider choso the oldest by a couple years (kaori's child from a past marriage or an ex). if it's the cousin choso au (where kenjaku is kaori's brother) he's around the same age as sukuna give or take. in sorceror au where he is a death painting choso is the oldest by far but sukuna won't acknowledge him as family for reasons (usually infantile and superficial) 😭😭😭.

in most aus sukuna kind of looks down on him for not looking like them and/or for not being human, and in most aus choso is not interested in sukuna beyond asking him to stop being mean to yuuji. almost writing off sukuna as yuuji's brother at all. almost... if it's any uncle au it's harder for him to ignore that i think...choso respects his elders...unfortunately...(he secretly thinks ill of sukuna in his head).

[callmerainman]

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 | 𝐊𝐧𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

fandom. Hunter X Hunter

pairing. Knuckle Bine x hunter!fem!Reader

spoilers!. huge Chimera Ant Arc spoilers

plot. the night before the final fight against King Meruem in the palace of East Gorteau, you decide it’s time to confess your love to none other than your friend and Hunter companion, the oblivious Knuckle Bine. Because you can’t sleep, and cause maybe you’ll never have another chance to tell him. But instead, Knuckle makes you promise something: to put the World before him tomorrow. Will you respect his wishes?

word count. 3,6k

prompts. Chimera Ant Arc, aftermath of the Chimera Ant Arc final battle, Reader is also a Hunter and Morel apprentice, secretly in love, love confessions, awkward romance, Knuckle is dense, kissing, making out, getting together.

You like many things about Knuckle.

In the beginning he didn't give you a good impression. You both got close to each other after you got taken under the protective wing of Morel, who instructed you along with Shoot. Shoot is a quieter type, really silent, but getting along with him was smooth and easy. With Knuckle it was a whole other story. During your first missions together he always raised doubts about the tactics you proposed, on the other hand you did the same with him. If you said A, he would say B. If he wanted to go right, you wanted to go left. And this would always end up in yelling, staring contests and headbutting. You understood some things about Knuckle: he was hot-headed, impulsive, loud and a braggart. But he was also kind. No matter how many times he shouted against you, he never did it for personal hatred. It was for genuine interest in helping people in need, and to make sure that the mission was successful. He never insulted you with more than a superficial "idiot", and from his eyes you always understood that he didn't really mean it and that he didn't want to offend your intelligence. Even Knuckle soon realized how kind you were, and how much you took care of things and people you cared about. He respected it. You two learned how to trust one another and make a better team, much to Shoot's and Morel's relief, who honestly couldn't take it anymore. Your fights decreased, replaced by an unconditional affection and a unbreakable loyalty. And from your part, even love. People would often ask if you and Knuckle were a couple. And every time both you and him would answer with a ferocious "OF COURSE NOT!". Knuckle's cheeks and ears would get hot, and you would feel your stomach erupt in warmth from embarrassment. You couldn't look at each other in the face.

His hair, first of all. They were his trademark. Always styled in a pompadour, they were really popular between high school thugs. Knuckle told you that he even formed a gang when he was a student, and that it was the most feared inside the school. To be honest, you were really sure that it was just a very normal group of friends who loved to slack off, and that he told you that just to sound tough. You like the stress lines under his eyes, which give him a serious look just how he wanted it. And you appreciate his ears, which become red and hot when he loses his shit or when he's embarrassed, two moods he constantly swings between.He has a pretty body, toned and muscular thanks to his intensive workouts and his inclination towards the art and use of Nen.And you like that he takes care of stray dogs, and the way he cries so easily out of sympathy and emotion. He's a sweet guy who gets moved to tears so often even though he hides it behind a tough-guy armor. You like more things about him than you can count.

One time, while patrolling alone with Morel and Shoot during a mission, you dared to question them about all of this.

"I wonder why people always ask me and Knuckle if we're a couple. For example, why not me and you, Shoot?"

If only Shoot had eyebrows, he would have raised them all the way up his hairline. So his hooded eyes were just comically wide. Morel, on the other hand, erupted in a loud, gigantic laugh that made you jump in surprise. A laugh so hard that he had to hold onto his pipe. You stopped, putting your hands on your hips.

"C'mon, what are you laughing at!" you pouted.

"Are you really asking why people think that you and that idiot are couple?!" Morel choked between laughter "you with the shiny eyes every time you stare at him? Who drools when he takes off his jacket during combat? Who plays with her hair like schoolgirl when we get out for drinks and he offers you a beer? You gotta be kidding me!"

And he proceeded to keep laughing again. Meanwhile, your face caught on fire. You smacked both hands on your mouth, shaking your head vigorously.

"I never stared at him!" you tried to object.

"If I may intrude" Shoot intervened, shyly "you stare at him a lot"

"That's not possible..." you whispered.

You wanted to threaten your own mentor to stop laughing, because what Morel said wasn't true at all. You didn't like Knuckle that way. But you just couldn't protest. Morel was right. You did really like Knuckle that way!

"Fuck, I like Knuckle! How could it be...and most importantly, what do I do!" you exclaimed, fisting your hair in your hands out of panic.

Morel sighed, puffing some smoke in the process. Then, he showed off one of the big grins of his.

"Boys are complicated, dearie, so I suggest we all get drunk tonight"

"Sounds like a great idea" you replied.

The step from liking to loving was really short. It was so easy to fall in love with Knuckle once you understood that you had feelings for him. Even though you kept fighting now and then, and you still called each other idiots. He cared about immensly, and you cared about him. Everything culminated one night after you promised to protect each other with your own lives. Morel took you out to drink as usual, and maybe you and him were a bit drunk.

"If the situation ever requires it, I'll give up my life for you, (Y/N)" Knuckle said.

Yeah, you did drink, and you were waiting for a taxi outside the bar you usually spent your free time in. But the way his eyes looked into you as he said that was so damn serious. And you, to such a determined and kind gaze, could answer with a stare just as serious.

"And I'll do the same for you, Knuckle"

Night before the selection

It's a quiet night. Clear, silent. You and your teammates would appreciate it more if only there wasn't this uneasiness in the air. Tomorrow the King of Chimera Ants, Meruem, will begin the selection, which will kill millions of people in no time. You, Knuckle, Morel and Shoot were selected to go to the NGL region to get rid of the menace. It's, without the shadow of a doubt, the most dangerous mission you've ever dealt with, you understood it during your fights against the Ants. And facing the Royal Guards will be way worse. Both you and Knuckle risked a lot, and if you ever had to die one day, you feel like it would be tomorrow. And you still didn't tell Knuckle that you love him. What if this is the last good moment to tell him? Tomorrow you won't have time for sure, and maybe not even after, because you're not sure that there'll be an after tomorrow. The thought creeps you out and prevents you from sleeping and gathering energies. You tried to sleep on the floor of the small abandoned chalet where you and and your squad are resting. But the fact that Gon and Killua keep doing push-ups doesn't really help. With a nervous sigh, you get up. You exit the chalet, taking a big breath of fresh air. You were feeling like suffocating before. The air is cold just right. And stars are really beautiful in NGL, without any artificial light the night sky is a whole other story. This could be your last chance to see so many pretty stars, because you're pretty sure that tomorrow you won't have any time to raise your nose up. An imperceptible sound of chattering makes his way towards your ears. You turn around to see if you have company, but there's no one. A small leaf lands on your nose, and you look upwards. Shoot and Knuckle are discussing something on top of a tall tree, you can't hear what they're saying but the concern in their voices is evident. Knowing that you aren't the only one uncomfortable relieves you, so you decide to climb up the tree and reach them.

"Trouble sleeping?"

As soon as Knuckle sees you, he jumps. And Shoot flushes red in a matter of seconds, sweating profusely. You raise a curious brow.

"What's going on? Did I interrupt something?" you ask, concerned.

Even Knuckle's cheeks become a blushing mess, his lips pressed tightly against each other and his muscular body stiff under his white jacket.

"No it's just..." Knuckle says, almost stuttering "y-you...YOU HAVE SOME NASTY EYEBAGS!"

Knuckle points a finger right to your face, and Shoot covers his face with his hand.

You're absolutely not convincing...he thinks.

But Knuckle still manages to make you mad as fuck, and you grit your teeth.

"That ain't true! It's just that I can't sleep tonight!" you protest, raising two fists in front of the Beast Hunter.

"I think I'll leave you two alone" Shoot whispers, and with only a jump he gets down the tall tree.

"Shoot, wait!" you exclaim.

Having his company would have reassured you, since he was just as anxious as you. You're always surrounded by impulsive Hunters without any sense of danger, who understands you better than him?

"But for real, are you okay?"

It was Knuckle who talked, who's voice got softer. He's looking at you with apprehension, the stress lines under his eyes frowning. You relax your gaze too as you meet his eyes.

"Not really" you sigh, and you sit right next to him on the tree branch, your feet swinging in the darkness beneath it.

"Nervous for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we went on so many missions before this one without loosing once. But we aren't invincible, and this is a really big menace. I'm worried that we might not make it"

You were so scared of never getting to tell him that you love him. Maybe you should do it now. Knuckle doesn't say anything. It's true, by this hour tomorrow he could have already lost you. The thought terrifies him. He had already faced 5000 battles without losing one, but nothing can guarantee him that you'll be with him after tomorrow. He presses his lips together and looks down. You can't stand his eyes either.

"You're right, this time we can't be so certain" he murmures "I'm sorry, (Y/N), I can't make you feel better"

You have to tell him now.

"Knuckle, there's something I have to sa-"

"Wait, (Y/N), I have to tell you something too" Knuckle interrupts you. He has never done this, he always respected your words, even when he didn't agree.

You hold your breath, gripping your clothes between your fingers.

"What?" you ask with half a voice.

Knuckle finally looks at you, serious. He reaches for you with his hand and softly grazes your face so that you can look at him. You hope he doesn't feel it getting warmer under his touch, because you feel that way in response of his unexpected gesture. You just know that your pupils are dilated now. You're drowning in his eyes, always so furious yet kind. After making sure that you're looking in his eyes, he lets his hand fall from your face slowly.

"I..." Knuckle opens his mouth, but it seems like words are stuck in his throat. He never had trouble talking, why now?

For a moment it seems like Knuckle's stumbling on his own words.

"I..." ha takes a deep breath, before shaking his head "made you a promise, one night in front of our bar"

You look at him intently.

"And I know that I was very drunk, but I always took it seriously. And I know you did the same"

You didn't expect him to talk about your promise. Instinctively, you scoot closer to him making your body scratch against the bark of the branch.

"Of course I took it seriously" you say.

"But I gotta ask you to break it”

You spread your eyes open. Knuckle gets close to you too and lays his hand on your shoulder. A shiver goes down your spine.

"Knuckle I can't"

"But you have to, because this isn't just a mission, you just said it yourself. This is about saving the world, and promises can't count anymore. Except for this one"

"Which one?"

Slowly your hand trailed up your own shoulder to touch Knuckle's, caressing his fingers. Usually the embarrassment would be too much to handle. Your physical touch was always playful or angry, never intimate. But you don't have time to be embarrassed.

"Tomorrow you have to prioritize the mission, not me. Even if I'll be on the verge of death, you have to put our duty first, not me. I know that this goes against what we always said to each other, but please respect it. If the situation ever requires it, put the world before me"

Your fingers tighten around his hand harder. You feel yourself tearing up but you repress them. You grit your teeth and tremble. You start to really fear how you'll feel tomorrow if this is your reaction at just the idea of losing Knuckle. Would you ever take it?

"Alright, I'll do it"

Knuckle is surprised, but pleasantly. He really didn't want to fight with you tonight.

"But only if you'll do the same with me. If the situation requires it, choose the world and not me"

Knuckle holds your hand on your shoulders. He frowns. He always does it when he's conflicted. Then, he nods with determination in front of your eyes.

"Alright, I promise"

"Then I promise too"

Too focused on holding your hands, none of you noticed the free ones crossing their fingers behind your backs.

Dawn after the fight of East Gorteau

You broke your promise with Knuckle and Knuckle did the same for you. You woke up next to Ikalgo in a warehouse under East Gorteau's palace, where Meruem lived. The octopus explained to you that it was over, that the King was poisoned and was spending his last moments with Komugi, the girl you had in custody hours ago. You won. You're covered in wounds, but still able to stand up. You ended up like this while fighting against Youpi, throwing yourself in defense of Knuckle who fell in his trap. Your weapons were reduced to dust by the Royal Guard, but you were able to blind some of his eyes. However, the fight made both you and your Nen unable to fight. Your Nen was proven really effective against Royal Guards, so giving it up was a loss for your team and for the chances of saving humanity. You broke your promise. Knuckle did the same for you when Youpi threatened not only to kill Morel, but also yourself if he didn't deactivate Potclean. And so Knuckle did. You both broke the promise that you never intended to keep. After the fight you collapsed from tiredness and loss of blood. You had a brief and confused memory of Knuckle taking you in his arms before laying you down in a safe place. When you woke up, Ikalgo was next to you and told you the news.

"Where's Knuckle? Is he okay?!" you blurt out.

Ikalgo nods "The King knocked him out along with Meleoron, but he's fine. He should still be at one of the palaces towers"

Using your last energies, you stand up. Ikalgo cured all your wounds but scratches and cuts are still visible. Some scars will never go away.

"(Y/N)! Are you sure?" Ikalgo asks, concerned.

"Yeah, I'll go get him. Can you take me to him? There are some things that still haven't said to him and I thought I would never be able to"

Ikalgo, seeing your sincere and tired smile, nods. He takes you under one of his tentacles, supporting your body until you arrive in front of the room where Knuckle was laying down unconscious. You stand in the room. Sunlight beams through the window and delicately touch his sculpted body, his face still frowned in determination despite his loss of senses. You smile again, calm, before looking at Ikalgo. You exchange looks of understanding, then he trots towards Meleoron and takes away his sleeping but unscathed body.

It's just you and Knuckle now.

You get close to his body slowly, ruins crankling under your feet. You crouch down in front of him, sitting on your legs. You reach for his hair and start caressing them slowly. You almost don't want to wake him up, even though it's a tormented sleep caused by violence.

"Knuckle, it's me, (Y/N)"

His back rises as if he had been underwater for so long. He groans deeply before using all his energy to roll on his back. Now he's facing upwards, his gaze looking up at your calm and sweet smile. Knuckle squeezes and opens his eyes slowly, welcomed by your face. A small smile extends on his own face in response.

"(Y/N)..." he slurs, his voice raspy "you're alive...did we win?"

Carefully, you take Knuckle's head between your hands and slowly place it on your lap. He lets you do so without daring to protest.

"Yeah, we won. The King was poisoned and is spending his last hours in peace. It's over" you answer.

You gently start to caress his pompadour, now messy. Your delicate strokes go in tandem with your tired breaths.

"Great, but...I broke the promise" Knuckle goes on, a bit mortified.

"I did it too, it doesn't matter, I would do it again" you reply as you keep touching him.

You never had such an intimate moment, such a gentle touch under sun rays. You've never been so happy to see the sun rising.

"Knuckle, there's something I have to tell yo-"

"I'm in love with you"

You jump in surprise and spread your eyes open. For a moment you believe that he's just being delirious because of tiredness. But then you get lost in his gaze. Knuckle's face, always so angry and tough, completely melted in a tender and meek smile, kissed by the sun, pacified. You stop stroking his hair for a sec.

"What?"

"I'm in love with you, I really mean it. Tonight I realized how precarious the world is and that I couldn't afford to just not tell you" Knuckle says, in a whisper.

Your eyebrows arch upwards and a moved smile sprawls across your wounded face.

"I love you too, Knuckle"

Knuckle's reaction is similar to yours. Mouth slightly parted, a small inhale of surprise. It's really sweet. He didn't expect you to reciprocate, he didn't expect nothing from you in fact.

"(Y/N)..."

"I love you even though I always fight with you, even if you're hot-headed, stubborn, a braggart and with a weird haircut. But I love the way you care about others even when you deny it, and the way you cry for them. I love your haircut too, by the way. I just want to give you back the kindness you give to me and other people"

Your hands touches him again, this time caressing his cheek. Knuckle doesn't know what to say, words dying in his throat. You get lost in his eyes once again, then you snap out of it and your cheeks get hot.

"Ah-ehm, sorry...um...I wanted to say these things last night on the tree but I chickened out " you stutter awkwardly.

Knuckle breaks the silence with a laugh that echoes through the chamber.

"Hey, what are you laughing at?" you ask, scowling.

"It's funny, I wanted to confess too last night. Me and Shoot were talking about that, and that's why you scared us when you appeared out of nowhere. Ah, I don't even know why I told him!"

You chuckle "Maybe because you care about him a lot"

"That's not true, take that back!" Knuckle shouts, pointing a finger in your face.

Knuckle's face becomes a blushing mess, and you let yourself go in a laugh because Knuckle is always the same. Incapable of hiding his kindness and his affection towards other people. The finger aiming at your face touches your cheek, then under the eye, next thing you know his entire hand is encapsulating your cheek.

"Come over here..."

Without even realising it, you bend over Knuckle and you kiss. You often asked youself how kissing Knuckle would feel like, and this exactly corresponds to the idea. So delicate, but passionate. Knuckle's lips move on yours and you reciprocate immediately, closing your eyes. You press your mouth against his, it's warm like a hug of someone coming back from war. Warm like someone who couldn't wait anymore to say I love you. When you rise up you press your lips together, trying to suppress a smile, but unsuccessfully. You're sure that your face is a mess, just like Knuckle's which is really hot red.

"Wow..." you whisper.

"Yeah, wow..." Knuckle murmurs, dumbfounded.

You look down at him again "What do you say if we wait for Morel and Shoot to get better, then we all go out to get drunk to celebrate, then we go make love in my apartment?"

"Hell yeah"

Knuckle gathers some energies to hoist himself on his elbows and sit up. You help him stand up, but you have to support each other under your arms because both of you are too tired. You start to walk out the room.

"And after that you'll be my girlfriend?" Knuckle asks.

"I'm pretty sure that I already am"

Suddenly, you hear some sniffling echoing through the empty palace alley. You turn around.

"Are you seriously crying right now? For real?" you ask, startled.

"Shut up! I'm not!'

"Yeah you are, idiot!"

"Don't you dare tell this to anyone, or..."

"Or?"

"I don't know, I can't do anything to you you're my girlfriend now!"

[elekinetic]

mike,

hey asshole. maybe that's a shitty way to start a letter, sorry. i'm pretty on edge. obviously. getting stalked by a psycho maniac with powers will do that to you.

this is weird. i don't really know what to say. not exactly a letter i thought i'd ever be writing, but—despite it all—we're friends, so you deserve closure.

i don't think you and i ever really clicked. not the way i thought we might've when we met. and i get it, between will and el and everything that was happening with the mindflayer, i get why you didn't want some random girl coming in and messing everything up. i think we're the same in that way, with change. i don't like it. i can tell you don't either.

i don't know how to say this without sounding pathetic, but. hey. if you're reading this, i'm dead, so you if you think i'm lame then you're a total shithead.

i wanted you to like me. and that's so stupid because like, you're you. c'mon. but i wanted to be a part of what you had. i think it was because i was jealous of you. you had this like, perfect family with a perfect older sister and perfect friends and not in that like, superficial-high-school-way, like, actual, real friends who care about each other. and you just walked around like you didn't know how lucky you were. like, i know why now, i do. i get it. it was just so hard to watch you get everything i wanted and not even think twice about it, and then slam the door in my face every chance you got.

and calling me annoying was kind of a bitch move.

whatever.

i know this year has sucked for you too. i don't know everything about your relationship with el, and you and will are a web of shit i don't even want to try to untangle... but i know it's been hard. i'm not exactly in a position to be giving life advice (ha), but again. i'm dying, probably, so. listen up wheeler.

you have to talk to her. and shut up, i know what you're thinking. it's different. or maybe it's not, but it doesn't matter. i don't have time to fix my shit. you do, so you better fucking do it.

i know you love el. and i know i don't talk to her as much as i should, and she knows i'm sorry. (for what it's worth, i'm not gonna stop being sorry) but she deserves better than whatever bullshit is going on between the two of you right now. and you'll get through it, because you'll finally talk to her and actually say what you're thinking instead of assuming you already know how she'll react, because you don't. but someday you guys are gonna have another argument, and you're gonna fix it before it gets out of hand, do you hear me? she deserves honesty.

you have to trust her. you have to trust her. you think you're protecting her, and sometimes it works, but it's not fair. she's not someone who needs protecting or hiding or teaching. and listen to me, its not because she can do shit with her mind, okay? it's because she's her own person who is smart and capable and strong in like, a human way. you have to know that, you have to understand that.

just... understand that.

i haven't done the best job of showing it, but i do care about you. you're my friend, and i hope... i hope you're able to find happiness. like, real, lasting, forever-type shit. you deserve it. seriously.

okay. i'm running out of space and i still have like, seven letters to write. i don't know why i thought it would be a good idea to do separate notes for everyone. I should've just done one page that said "see you later, assholes." that would've been smarter. quick, sweet, to the point. i mean, i was never the writer of the group. maybe if i'd done that, you guys would just know what i needed to say. four easy words. maybe you guys would understand the shit that i can't write down.

anyway.

see you later, asshole.

— max

p.s. watch out for lucas. please.

[somanyratsinthewalls]

Burning Hearts Part 8

Pairing: Law x Straw Hat Zoan Type (named) OC 

Summary: *SLOWWWW BURRRRN* You were teleported across the globe in an instant, away from your crew. Your body was badly broken and beaten, thrust into the harsh landscape of a Northern island. You are discovered by the Heart Pirates and brought back to health. Startled upon waking up in a foreign place with an unfamiliar crew, you are shocked with the news that you’ll be spending two years there. Trafalgar Law, the captain of the Heart Pirates has made a promise to train you, but will it become something more than a mentor relationship?

WC: 2300

Taglist: @cottoncandyloverrrr

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7

Burning Hearts Chapter 8: Doctor’s Visit

— — 

“Damn girl… you look like shit. Your ankle is mad swollen.” Ikkaku’s eyes rake over your body, covered in superficial lacerations and multicolor bruises in varying levels of healing. 

“Gee, thanks for reminding me.” You roll your eyes and step into the steaming hot bath. “It’s not like I have this shooting pain all over my body to remind me that I look like hot garbage.” You carefully lower yourself into the water. Every single muscle in your body cried out in agony. “Ow, ow, ow, ow…” You finally settle into the tub and sigh. 

Ikkaku continues panting her toenails a bright shade of coral from her perch on the bathroom counter. 

“I just got my period, too. I feel like I got hit by a fucking train.” You close your eyes and slide deeper under the hot, soapy water. “Can you grab some tampons out of that drawer? I want to bring some back to my room.” 

Ikkaku sighs in sympathy. She opens up the top drawer and pulls out a box. 

“You’re bleeding AND you’re beat up like that? You better stay in tomorrow and rest.” Ikkaku says. 

“HAH! Yeah right. And who is gonna tell your psycho captain that I’m taking the day off? Because I’m certainly not doing it. He’d probably cut my arms off and put them on backwards or something.” 

“Come on, like he’d harm a hair on your head.” Ikkaku responds and chuckles. 

“Umm??? Who do you think kicked my ass this bad??? He doesn’t exactly go easy on me.” You turn your head to face Ikkaku. 

She scoffs. 

“That honestly shocks me, he’s so different with you.” Ikkaku blows on her wet nails.

“What do you mean?” You inquire. 

“I can’t really explain it… he’s just been like… weird since you got here. I mean, he’s always been weird… but with you he’s extra weird.”

“What are you implying?” You raise an eyebrow. 

“Nothing!” Ikkaku throws her hands up. "All I’m saying is that there’s been some sort of shift in the guy since you came into the picture. I’m not complaining, it’s been pretty nice having someone to ‘girl talk' with, you know?” 

“Mhmm…” You knew she was hiding something, but you were too tired to pry further. “I hope you get to meet my friends some day, I think you’d like them.” 

Ikkaku smiles. 

“I’m sure I would. Now get your ass out of that tub and tell Law you aren’t training tomorrow before you fall asleep and drown in there.” 

“I think I’d rather drown.” You joke as you sink down further into the tub. 

“Come on, I’ll help you up.”

Ikkaku comes over to the side one the tub and you sit up to allow her to help you up. “Ah!” Your ankle nearly gives out as you try to step out of the tub. 

“Yeah, as much as you don’t want to believe it, I think a doctor has got to look at that…” 

— — 

*knock knock* 

Law looks at the clock. 

11:45 PM

Who was coming to his office this late in the evening?

“Yes? Come in…”

A tired looking, wet-haired Daisy shuffles into his office. Was she limping?

“Hi…” 

“Hi back… what’s wrong with your leg? You’re favoring your right. You weren’t doing that at training today.” He couldn’t help but ask… he was a doctor after all. 

“I think I twisted it… didn’t hurt until I got back. Ikkaku made me come and have you look at it. It’s probably nothing. Since I’m here, I have some cuts that might need stitches, so you should probably- woah-“ 

Daisy stumbled, her gaze losing focus. She puts her arms out in front of her. 

“I think I might-“ Her eyes rolled back. 

“Room!” 

With a quick ‘Shambles’, Law swapped Daisy out with a sock that had been discarded on his bed in the adjoining room. He had caught her right before she hit the ground. Law rushes through the archway to assess Daisy’s situation. She was laying on his bed, barely conscious. 

“Hey… Wake up, you’re okay, you just passed out.” Law sits at her side on the bed. 

“I-I did?”

“Yes. Have you been feeling dizzy lately? Light-headed?”

“Not really. I was in a super hot bath because-“ she stops, hesitant to tell him something. “Well, because I needed a bath.”  

“Have you been drinking enough water?” 

Daisy rubs her eyes. 

“I don’t know? I thought so.” 

“Any headaches? Body aches? Fever?” Law continues his laundry list of medical questions. 

“You threw me into a tree like, six times this morning, my whole body always aches.” 

Law furrows his brow with concern. Had he pushed her too far today? She never said anything about it… A pang of guilt reverberated through his chest. 

“That would’t explain the passing out on its own… are you menstruating?” Law asks. 

“Ew, Law! That’s personal!” Daisy’s cheeks turn pink. 

“I’m a doctor, it’s a fair question to ask after a fainting spell.”

“Okay well my primary care physician is a reindeer, so I don’t need you prying into my cycle.” Daisy snaps at him. 

“So that’s a yes to the previous question…” Law catches Daisy rolling her eyes. “I’ll give you some iron pills and an anti-inflammatory. That should help. Now let me see your ankle.” 

Law rises from the bed and moves to the foot of the bed so he was standing at her feet. He pulls up her sweatpants to her left knee. The ankle was swollen with a large purple bruise. 

“Gods, when did this happen?” Law sighs as he accesses the damage. He gently picks up her foot and she winces. Daisy must have noticed the guilty, pensive look in his eyes. 

“Hey, I don’t think you did it… I probably tripped over a root or my own feet or something in the garden, you know how I am.” Daisy gave him a weak smile. Her smile did little to alleviate him of his feeling of repentance. As clumsy as you were, it probably was him that caused the injury. 

“Right.” Law finishes examining her ankle and gingerly sets it back down on the bed. “I’ll go get you that medication and some ice for this. I don’t think it’s sprained, just badly twisted. You are going to need to rest for a few days until you can train properly again.”

“I-I’m sorry…” Daisy hangs her head. 

“Why?” Law asks stoically. 

“Because I won’t be able to train for a bit… we’re wasting time… aren’t you mad?”

“Pushing you past your limits now won’t help in the long run. It won’t be more than a few days, I’m sure of it. I see the cut you were talking about, I’m going to stitch it up. I’ll be right back.” 

Law heads back into his office and collects some supplies from his cabinets and drawers, places it all on a metal surgical tray and returns to the foot of his bed. He picks up the large ice pack and the medical tape from the tray and begins fastening the cold pack to the swollen ankle. After carefully tending to her foot, Law places an extra pillow underneath the injury to elevate it. 

“I’m going to have to get closer to do the stitches, can you move your other leg?” Law points at Daisy’s right knee and she pulls it in towards her body, leaving him room to sit on the bed and work. 

“I’m going to slightly numb the area and begin. You okay?” Law checks in with a glance to her face as he readies the needle and thread. 

Daisy nods. 

“I, uh, I would look away if you’re still feeling faint.” Law says as he notices her eyes on the wound he was about to begin sewing together. 

“It’s kind of hard not to look… can you distract me or something?” 

Law’s breath catches in his throat. 

“What?”

“I don’t know! Talk to me or something, so I can take my mind off it?”

“I mean, I’ll be kind of busy. But you can talk if you’d like…” 

There was a short pause. 

“So. What’s your favorite color?” Daisy asks. 

“Wha- huh?” Law cocks his head and meets her eyes. “My favorite color?” 

What the hell was she talking about? He hasn’t been asked this question since he was young and his baby sister would make him macaroni art… No, wait, Cora asked him once… he wanted to know what color sprinkles to put on his 14th birthday cake… 

“Yeah, mine’s yellow. What’s yours?” Daisy interrupts his wandering train of thought.

Law returns his gaze to the task at hand and begins stitching the wound at its corner. 

“Um. I don’t have one.” 

“Oh come on. No one’s that buttoned up.” Daisy rolls her eyes. “You’re that committed to the dark and mysterious bit that you won’t even tell me your favorite color?” 

There was a pregnant pause.

“I don’t talk about myself because it would only cause people to be sympathetic towards me, and that’s the last thing I want. Everything before I founded the Heart Pirates is nothing short of tragic, and it’s a past I’m still trying to avenge… and, blue, I guess…” Law is grateful he has to focus on stitching the wound, there’s no way he’d be able to make eye contact with her now anyway. He sees her smile softly out of the corner of his right eye. 

“Blue is nice.”

Daisy hisses as Law pierces the skin with his needle in a particularly thick spot, the numbing medication only doing so much. 

“SO,” She winces as she tries to distract herself. “You were really touchy about the record player… Who did you say it belonged to again?” 

Law stops. Silence falls again. 

“An old mentor of mine.” Law continues working. Daisy looks at him expectantly, clearly waiting for him to elaborate… but her expression was soft, not wanting to rush him. 

“Corazon… he saved my life… It’s a long story. I was very ill as a child. I’m from Flevance-“ 

“How? Everyone from Flevance died from Amber Lead Disease? I heard about it when I was real young… my dad used to tell me about it so we wouldn’t go play in the mines.” Daisy interrupts him. 

“That’s why it’s a long story… I thought you wanted me to talk to you?” Law can’t help but smirk a bit. 

“Right, sorry, go on.” Daisy giggles a bit. *How cute.* No… not cute.

“Anyway…” Law continues sewing up the gash on Daisy’s leg.  “You know who Donquixote Doflamingo is, right, yes?”

Daisy nods. 

“So when I was 13…” 

Law spends the entirety of 30 minutes explaining his tragic childhood while carefully patching up Daisy’s open cuts. 

“Gods, Law… And I thought my life sucked… I’m sorry that happened to you, I really am.” Daisy reaches down and touches Law’s clothed bicep. Law flinches. 

“Sorry…” Daisy says after feeling him recoil from her touch. 

“No.. it’s ok. I just… don’t tell a lot of people that.”

“My family was killed too. I can’t say I relate to all of the other shit, but we have at least one horrific ordeal in common. That’s how I ended up with Grey Jaw…” 

“You don’t have to tell me about it. I know that it’s-“

“It’s fine. You asked awhile ago and I didn’t answer. I guess I wasn’t ready…” Daisy sighs. “He burnt my island to the ground, taking me and the other young girls to ‘work’ for him after we watched him murder our families. I was 16. I was there for 4 years… it was all a blur really… tried to force it out of my head…” Daisy sniffles. 

Law pretends not to notice and continues his work. Daisy swallows hard.

“When I was 20, we were freed by the Marines who launched a surprise raid on the ship. I ended up on some dinky little island and bartended for another 4 years before Luffy showed up and asked me to join his crew. Aaaand now I’m here in this mess…” Another sigh left her lips. 

“But you hate the Marines now?” Law asks. 

“There are good marines. Just like there are good pirates.” Daisy looks up at Law to meet his eyes. “You can understand that, right?”

He nods, knowing all too well. 

“All done.” 

“Thanks, doc. Can you ‘shambles’ me back to my room or something? I’ve already overstayed my welcome, I think.” 

“Just sleep here. I was going to finish research and crash on the couch anyway.” Law rises from the bed. 

“You’re sure?” She asks. 

“Yeah, and here’s a hot water bottle… for the, you know…” Law hands her the heating pad. She shyly smiles as she grabs it from his hands. “Get some rest. Yell if you need something, I’ll just be next door.”

Law is halfway through the archway when he hears her. 

“Law?”

“Yes?”

“Goodnight.” She smiles warmly at him. 

Law feels something tingly and foreign shoot through his veins. Looking at her, he couldn’t help but smile back. Genuinely. 

“Goodnight Daisy.” 

xx 

**Authors Note** PART 9 WILL BE UP TOMORROW FOR VALENTINE'S HEHEHE IF THAT GIVES YOU A HINT! Also PLEASE comment and let me know if you want to be in the taglist for this series! Sorry for the slowest burn on the planet, I simply am being so self indulgent...

[erinelliotc]

Some people (including myself) are Eddy apologists for this exact reason too- they can understand why he acts as he acts, where do come from his anger and insatisfaction with his life, and how he often gets a pretty unfair treatmente in some episodes (To Sir with Ed, Sorry Wrong Ed, X Marks the Ed, Who let The Ed In, The Good, The Bad and The Ed). On other side other characters (the kids) act just as bad as him and (almost) always come go unpunished. There several years ago Eddy got lots of hate, he was demonished and treated like a real monster and a sociopath by the fandom, devoid of any redeeming qualities. People who feel sympathy for him for his background and some of these episodes began to come to his defende and shows how he is a great character with a lot of good moments and a heart deep down.

Edd, on other side, always had the ''elite treament'', he was a angel, a perfect princess, who can do anything wrong in certain fans's eyes. Not to mention he pretty much overshadowed every other character on fanfics and fan arts, was everything about him. Another fans (usually Eddy fans) naturally got sick of this and started to push his flaws, the moments were he acted like a jerk, and how he's not above anyone on the show. And how not all his actions are (indeed) justifyable. Summing up, people were just sick of seeing Eddy being treated like a psychotic monster and Edd as the Jesus Christ figure.

Politely, just clarifying this to you. Good afternoon.

First of all, thanks for politely telling me all this! I wasn't really aware of all this because I only joined the fandom 5 months ago. And I totally get this, that's why I made the post. I saw some posts of people talking about those people who think Double D is an innocent little angel and I started to wonder if people think that about me, if I ever sounded like that, and I started to worry that someday I would sound like that in one of my future texts and videos talking about him. I hadn't thought about it when I made the post, but I hope it didn't come off as rude or an "attack" (???), I was just afraid that people would mistake me for one of those annoying people and just wanted to clarify that I'm not, because I really like this fandom and I don't want people to think that I'm annoying or that I make superficial analyses of the characters (because I personally think that oversimplifying Double D as good and Eddy as bad is something people do when they watch the show very superficially). I tend to be that type of person who feels the need to always clarify and justify myself for fear of others hating me, and also, I'm a little traumatized by Twitter where people tend to be very aggressive and mean to you for everything and assume things about you and not explain things to you etc etc... so I was a little anxious after making my post, afraid something like this might happen, but from everything I'm seeing, people on Tumblr seem so nice and kind in general. So I want to thank you again for being so kind and actually explaining the whole thing to me :)

Eddy is a character who's very easy to be wronged and misunderstood because he has great depth, several layers, insecurities and traumas that he covers with his false confidence and "jerky" attitude that he tries to copy from his brother. Obviously not justifying people treating him like a monster, just explaining that unfortunately we live in a world full of superficial people who aren't concerned with paying attention to details and stopping to really interpret and analyze things carefully and attentively, and understand that people are complex, characters are complex, and Eddy is a highly complex character. To these people, it ends up being more comfortable and convenient to just be content and cling to the character who, if seen superficially, is the "perfect little angel" who "suffers at the hands" of the "evil Eddy". I love analyzing and reflecting on things deeply, and it really irritates and frustrates me that people don't make the effort to do the same, and that happens in real life too. People quickly judge and have difficulty understanding that people are not simple and have different reasons for acting the way they do. I know it's hard to deal with people who act like jerks, I have a hard time myself, but I just wish there was a little more empathy in the world. That's one of the things Big Picture Show teaches us, right? Don't judge people because sometimes the jerk person is actually a very broken, insecure and frustrated person who just wants and needs to feel loved and accepted and doesn't really understand that. I think it's so important to learn this because it's true, sometimes people act mean not because they're actually mean, but because of so many other reasons that they themselves don't comprehend or don't want to show, and the "mean" disguise is just the way they found to defend themselves and survive.

I think (at least I hope?) it's noticeable in some of my posts that I also love Eddy (as a Double D kinnie I think it makes sense to be in love with him xD just an EddEddy joke to lighten up, but honestly I think people like Eddy are my type), I love analyzing and reading other people's analyses of his character and story, but my sympathy for him just grew in the last 5 months in fact, when I became hyperfixated on EEnE much more intensely than before and finally started to get to know about the whole story and characters. I even made a post once talking about thinking that he was my least favorite Ed, because before he actually was, but after rewatching the entire show now as an adult (the last time I watched I was a kid who didn't even understand a lot of the things that happened) and starting to analyze and read about it, now I'm very obsessed with him, I think his character is so interesting and deep, that he has the most interesting backstory and the best character development, and I even make more edits with him than with Double D (I think I tend to be obsessed with controversial and complex characters who are full of content to analyze from a psychological point of view like Eddy. A good example is Jinx from Arcane, I just love her character so much). I also recently realized that he's a lot like my brother, no wonder our mother often misunderstands him. But I get it, they (Eddy and my brother) are just people who are very hard to deal with because they carry several issues that you need to have good maturity and emotional structure to deal with, but it's so good when you can get to know a little more about them and help them get through these things when they open up and allow themselves to be discovered and helped.

Today I came across a post (which was honestly the trigger that made me make my post) from @eddfumo saying that they think Double D wants to be like Eddy in some way, and you know what? This is so true! I'll use my own experience to relate to him and explain him again, but anyway, I'm so envious of people/characters like Eddy. Even though they tend to irritate me and I even disapprove of many of their actions and decisions, they also have this determination, confidence (even if it's false, they're still able to act like confident people), attitude, audacity, strong personality, rebelliousness, extroversion and "not giving a shit" energy that I so wish I had too. I really admire these traits and I think Double D deep down does too (I like to headcanon him doing the same as I do and secretly fantasizing imaginary and hypothetical situations and discussions in which he acts more like Eddy, and he feels so good about himself afterwards, but feels frustrated that he doesn't have the nerve to do this outside of his imagination in real-life situations). Even though they have questionable morals, this type of person is so inspiring and you can still learn so much from them. It's no wonder Double D grows so much and becomes a more confident and less people-pleasing person because of Eddy's influence.

So yeah, it sucks when people simplify characters and see them as black and white, good and bad. The EEnE fandom is unfortunately not very big, but luckily here on Tumblr, at least currently, it's full of people who do in-depth analyses and that makes me very happy!

EDIT (I'm editing to add one more thing because I forgot to mention another topic that complements what you said about the other kids acting badly too and not receiving any punishment): One of the many things I plan to do after rewatching the show a few more times to properly absorb everything (I need to rewatch things at least twice to really take it all. Plus, I rewatched it the first time with the Brazilian dub because nostalgia and now I want to rewatch it with the original lines) is count how many times the Eds do real scams. Because honestly, there are a lot of episodes where we can't really call what they're doing "scams" because they're not actually scamming anyone, they're just selling something honestly and without harming anyone, but things always go wrong even when they're not doing anything wrong (often because of the Kankers, for example) and this is frustrating as hell to Eddy.

Since I haven't rewatched everything twice yet (because I'm still in the process of subtitling the entire remastered version of the show to rewatch it properly because English isn't my first language), I don't remember all the episodes accurately and clearly. But the last one I subtitled was "In Like Ed" (season 2, episode 9), so it's the example I have freshest in mind, even if it's not the best one. I know, the Eds were inconvenient in this episode crashing Jimmy's party (even though I think it's so lame that they rarely get invited to anything because the kids exclude them), opening his presents and everything, but one thing that stuck in my mind was the fact that when Eddy opened the present in front of them and revealed the sewing machine, Jimmy just said: "I'm so misunderstood. I wanted a pony!". He didn't say anything about them ruining the surprise or anything, he just started crying and ran away because he didn't get a goddamn pony. He just complained about someone's present, despised the present right in front of the person, and all Kevin said was "There goes the birthday boy. You dorks wrecked another party!". Like?? Jimmy cried because he didn't get the present he wanted, and not because of the Eds. I could even consider the possibility of them giving him "preferential treatment" and ignoring him because he's younger, but there are times when Kevin doesn't give a shit about Jimmy being younger, like in "Know it All Ed" (season 2, episode 1) when he uses the squirt gun on him, mock him and call him "twerp". Anyway, regardless of being younger, he was so rude and no one gave a shit, and not only that but they even acted as if it was the Eds' fault that Jimmy cried and ran away.

So yeah! The kids (especially Kevin) always blame the Eds (especially Eddy) for everything that goes wrong, even when it's not really their fault. And as you said, they also act badly, but nothing happens to them.

[pskmonika]

Second male lead hcs ₊˚⊹♡ (part 1)

Who's gonna be the second male lead in your love story? (One piece/fem reader/light nsfw)

Sanji:

ೃ⁀➷ Vinsmoke Niji (the asshole type)

You were a well known pirate, so niji heard about you before, but he never cared, you were just another name in hundreds

But then when they started to gather information about sanji, they found out that you were in fact not just another crew member, but his partner

And niji found it interesting 'that loser got a girl?' It made him giggle as he thought about it 'she must be some slut he gave money to so she can suck his dick and call him a bf'

And well, they found that information quite helpful, cause u know what's better than a threat? Two threats

So they kidnapped you and told him unless he marry pudding they will kill you, and with that they controlled sanji however they wanted, just the idea of smt happening to you because of him is smt he can't handle

And, for curiosity niji decided to go see you in the dirty little room they kept you in, he wanted to see what kind of a woman sanji could get

You were tied up, with messy hair and clothes

You were all pretty and vulnerable, if it wasn't for his father he may have just used you to relive whatever dirty thoughts ran through his mind at the moment

So he just messed with you, scared you, teased you, it was fun to him

Then after some time, he got you to stay with him, ofc after telling you that if you don't obey whatever he told you to he would just go and rape you in front of sanji and you know he would do it

And as time went by, even with your cold treatment, he started to quite become fond of you, and because he can't feel any real love that emotion turned to obsession

He even planned to make you his good little wife who he's gonna fill every night and who's gonna give him as many children as he want

But ofc as the straw hats came to rescue you all his plans failed

Zoro:

ೃ⁀➷ vinsmoke sanji (you know that perfect second male lead? Yeah.)

First, if you happen to make zoro develop feelings for you, you must have quite an amazing personality, cause zoro is simply not attracted to looks whatsoever, you must be easy going and fun to talk with, and at the same time someone who he's able to have a long night talk with, someone who's kind like luffy and brave and strong like himself

And with a girl like that on the boat won't it be easy for a certain cook to also be interested?

Especially knowing that you and zoro will take a long long long long time to get together, cause he really need to be close enough with someone in order to develop feelings

So, it all started with you helping him sometimes with dishes

Then with you helping him with dinner

You were mostly bored and honestly it was fun being with him

At first he treated you just like he treated all women, then that changed, he probably got used to you, you thought, and it made you happy

And it was true he did, but what you didn't know is that the superficial liking that he once had for you started to change, started to become real.

You were different, in his eyes, you treated him well, made the best stupid jokes with him, comforted him

You were always playful with him, you made him happy, more happy then he has ever been

And zoro did catch the different treatment of the dirty cook towards you, and the way he looked at you secretly all the time, and it made him so so so angry

He was never a fan of you spending time with sanji, but this made him both mad and afraid, which made him eventually confess

You both agreed to keep it a secret at first tho, to get less headache from the crew

And zoro told you he hated how much time you spend with sanji, so you agreed to spend more time with him now, and less time with the cook out of respect for your now partner,' wouldn't I also hate it if zoro spent a lot of time with a girl?' You thought

And just like that, sanji noticed smt was diff, the way you would bring up zoro more often in your conversations, and the big smile it drew on your lips

And he also noticed that, you are not there as often, did he made you angry with him or smt? That's all he could think of

But one day it was all clear, the day you both were late for lunch so he went to look for you after they told him that you both were in the training room

And before calling both of your names he saw it,

Zoro pinning you to a wall kissing you

And you was kissing him back

And that broke him, it took him a long time to fully except it, and a lot of tears

Yet he never confessed, he wanted to at least keep your friendship, keep his closest friend

So he even gave a bitter smile the day you told him about it, and acted like he was happy for you

He decided to never leave you, and to always love you, even when you didn't love him back, and even if it kills him inside everyday

[neiptune]

a casual arrangement

(eren x female reader)

warnings: nsfw, heavily suggestive, explicit language

a/n: on my eren shit again please look away

Your friend with benefits happens to be over as the very last person you'd want him to meet materializes at your house as well

You didn't plan any of this.

The actual plan was to spend the afternoon chilling in your room, maybe indulge in a face mask and a netflix show. It's your day off and your roommate is visiting her family so you really just wanted some peace and quiet. What you got instead, was a text from Eren Yeager asking for permission to come over.

You two have a friendship superficial enough to allow the casual and comfortable arrangement of being friends with benefits.

Rules of said casual arrangement: you're not exclusive, PDA should be kept at minimum, absolutely no feelings involved. It's just a nice, convenient indulgence. It's just uncomplicated sex.

You're pretty much in the same social circle so it's not like you only spend time together while he's inside you. Most of your friends know by now anyway so you go out to eat together or watch a movie at his from time to time: he's never been the shy type and you're well past your initial awkwardness.

Still, the plan for today definitely didn't involve ending up sitting on your own desk with legs dangling over the edge, Eren standing between them with his hands resting on your parted thighs, what started as an innocent, lazy make out session growing steamier by the minute.

When a whimper eases from your throat as he skillfully nips and sucks at the skin of your neck, Eren can't help but rut his hips against you, making you feel the hardness straining at his jeans.

Inevitably, you giggle because of how easy it is to get him worked up each time. You've barely done anything, not even touched him properly yet and there's already a tent in his pants.

He parts from your skin, laboured exhales ghosting over what's soon to become a bruise.

“Shut up” he grumbles and your hands travel from his belt loops to his cheeks, to guide his face closer to yours.

“You're cute” still smiling, you kiss him but Eren isn't having any of your teasing today. His warning comes in the form of a not so gentle nip to your bottom lip and his hands are quick to slide behind your thighs to scoop you up in one swift movement, like you weigh nothing.

“You think you're so smart, hm?” as your legs automatically wrap around his waist he walks backwards until he's sitting on your bed, scooting back until he's comfortable against your pillows as he draws a surprised gasp out of you when slick lips find their way to your neck again, only to bite down right where your racing pulse resides. You protest with a whine and he smirks.

“So immune” he's quick to soothe the stinging pain of the spot he's bitten with his tongue before pressing an unexpectedly sweet kiss to the bruising skin.

“Don't get cocky” you barely manage to breathe the words out, interrupted almost right away by his tongue sliding past your parted lips, tip agonizingly slow as it teases your palate. God, he's good.

“Cocky?” Eren chuckles to himself as he pulls back to catch his breath, grip on your ass so strong you're almost certain he's gonna leave bruises there as well “didn't you get off just by riding my thigh last week?”

Fuck— the mere thought of how the rough texture of his jeans felt while you dragged your hips against his muscular thigh, bare and needy and desperate, is enough to get you drenched once again. Core tightening, you can't help but grind against his erection, drawing out a groan from him at last.

“You're so annoying” you lightly tug at the hair at the nape of his neck and he huffs out a laugh, the only thing on his absolutely otherwise blank mind the agony of not being inside you yet.

Aren't you as impatient as him, he wonders? Dripping on his lap, cunt most probably clenching around nothing by now?

Hands squeeze your ass and push you towards his chest, urging you to rock your hips once more. Eren almost, almost lets his raw desperation spill out. He wants to ask if you need him just as much as he needs you, wants to hear you squirm some more and beg him to bury himself in your walls as deep as he can go, all the way to the fucking hilt.

But you never do, so he doesn't, choosing to resort to a more familiar snark instead.

“You gonna do something 'bout it before you leave a stain on my pants, again?”

“Baby?”

You both freeze at the sound of the high pitched voice suddenly piercing through the quiet of your apartment. Questioning eyes dart to yours but, as realization dawns on you, you quickly and very much clumsily get up from his lap.

“You have to go!” grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, you urge Eren to get up and frantically motion towards the window.

“Excuse me?” even if you're pushing, he isn't moving, and the last, fragile wire holding your mental sanity together is about to snap as you try to push harder. The man's made of concrete apparently, your efforts are absolutely useless.

“I'll explain, just go!”

“Through the fucking window?”

“Ohmygod fine, just stay in my room and wait until we're out, then leave”

Eren doesn't remember a time when he's been left as blue balled as he is right now but the panic in your eyes makes it evident that there's a matter certainly more urgent than the cock still painfully throbbing in his pants.

“I'm sorry” it's kinda cute, the apologetic gaze you direct at him before you rush out of the room, not even giving him the time to fix your hair a little.

As you close the door behind you, the woman whose presence shouldn't come as a surprise because you've made plans with her a week prior, stands right before you with furrowed brows as she inspects your winkled clothes and smudged lipstick.

“Is it a bad time? I thought we were supposed to grab lunch!”

“No! It's a perfect time, actually! I'm so sorry, mom, I totally forgot. I was— uh, taking a nap” you smile nervously, voice coming out hoarse despite your attempt at sounding normal.

She hums, eyes darting to a few suspicious purple spots scattered on your throat and neck.

“Let's get going!” you chirp a little too excitedly, grabbing her arm to guide her to the front door and as far away as possible from your bedroom.

“Don't you want to... freshen up first?” she's now blatantly staring, which makes you think something's wrong with your face, which causes you to panic.

“Sure, why don't you wait right here? Be right back!” you smile, quick to turn around and race to the bathroom at the end of the hallway, eyes instantly widening in horror at your reflection in the mirror.

“Christ” you mutter under your breath as you reach over to grab some micellar water and a cotton pad to scrub your lips clean of the mess that was once your carefully applied lipstick. You wash your face next, not even attempting to put any other make up on, and try your very best to give your hair a more tamed appearence. There's nothing to do about the marks Eren has left literally everywhere, a sour reminder of the sexual frustration you're going to be left with for the rest of the day. Damn it.

As you carefully pat your face dry with a towel, you freeze once more. You can hear voices through the door and the terrifying thought of your mom barging in your bedroom is enough to make you throw the towel in the sink and quite literally bolt all the way to the living room, breath heavy and composure long forgotten.

Well, it's pretty fucking worse than your mom barging in your bedroom. She's sitting on the second hand green sofa your roommate had insisted on getting from a thrift store and, right next to her, is sitting the man who was supposed to stay in your room and pretend he didn't breathe or exist until you and your mom took off.

They're having a conversation about god knows what: ever the charmer, you can tell he's put up that charistmatic facade of his and of course it's working. She's all smiles and sparkling eyes and honeyed voice. It's basically your nightmare incarnated.

“Ah, baby, ready to go? Eren was so kind to come introduce himself, why didn't you tell me your boyfriend was here?” your mom's smile is blinding as you carefully make your way into the room, terrified eyes darting to his pants. Nothing. Jesus, did he finish himself off in your room in record speed?

“He's not... we're not—” you have no idea how to make this right, because you'd rather die than admit to your sweet, supportive, open minded but still a little conservative parent that you've been having casual, mind blowing sex with one of your friends for the past two months and that such an arrangement doesn't nor will ever lead to being in a relationship. She'd be disappointed. Not because of the friends with benefits thing per se, but because she always tells you how much she wants you to have a stable presence in your life, to find someone special, a partner you could finally be emotionally vulnerable with. Yeah, that ain't happening anytime soon.

“We're kinda new. She's still shy about it” Eren grins and you purse your lips, feeling a weird, definitely unwelcome warmth creeping up from the nape of your neck.

“It's not a relationship” words come out between gritted teeth and your mom furrows her brows in confusion. Nonchalantly, he grazes her arm to direct her attention to himself once again.

“Ah, yes, she calls it dating. Between you and me, I think she has a hard time processing her feelings”

Oh my god.

“I know exactly what you mean” your mom lowers her voice as well, as if the two are sharing a secret you're not supposed to hear.

“Mom, we should get going” you interrupt the all too familiar exchange unfortunately taking place right in front of your eyes, relief washing over you as they both finally get up from the goddamn couch.

“Eren, you should totally join us for lunch!”

Inevitably, your swallowing muscles stop functioning and you choke on your own spit, a series of sudden coughs you barely manage to contain with your elbow and that leaves you not so graciously gasping for air at the end.

Finally, he has the decency to look embarrassed, like his innocent entertainment has been taken too far. You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.

“Ah, thank you but I don't want to impose. I'll just go home and—”

Your mom casually links her arm to his, dangerous fondness glistening in her gaze and softened features. “I insist. Can't remember the last time she's introduced me to someone, you can't refuse”

Eren directs an apologetic gaze at you at last and you narrow your eyes at him because it's obviously too late and now you have to go through with his stupid little game, even though peril is written all over the whole goddamn thing in neon letters. And although you're an adult and you get to decide how to live your life, you kinda want your mom to have this moment. To give her something to be happy about and that'll make her less concerned about her hasn't-been-in-a-proper-relationship-in-years daughter. You want her to think, no, to know you're doing alright.

Somehow, it's a relief to be able to have Eren by your side in the process. He's worked his magic on her just like he does with everyone else and, honestly, better him that some random asshole you're not sure you'll want to hang out with ever again. Who knows, maybe once this whole friends with benefits arrangement comes to an end, you'll still be able to be just friends.

“Let's go, then. We're gonna be late” you surrender, slightly flinching when Eren takes your hand to slip his fingers in between yours like he's done a million other times, squeezing once as if to apologize. Confused by the unsettling reason why it feels kinda different this time, you squeeze back.

“How mad are you?” he asks as he shuts the front door behind him and turns the light on.

You take off your shoes, not bothering to reply and choosing to make your way to the bathroom instead, to wash your hands. Eren's footsteps trail behind yours and you meet his concerned gaze in the mirror as he stands behind you, patient enough to wait to be acknowledged. Him choosing the sheepish, apologetic route certainly makes it harder for you to be actually mad but he doesn't need to know that yet.

So, again, you shoot him a glare and avoid replying, out of the bathroom and into the kitchen you go in the blink of an eye, Eren following you again like a stray cat that's been fed too many times to leave.

“Not the silent treatment” he groans as you gingerly pour yourself a glass of water “talk to me, please”

“Why're you here? I'm not in the mood anymore” you grumble the lie from behind the glass, hoping he won't read into your features well enough to understand how overwhelmingly not mad you actually are.

He doesn't.

The lunch has been a delight, honestly. You've never witnessed your mom like one of your friends as much, let alone a boyfriend. She's asked him endless questions and he seemed so genuinely happy to indulge her curiosity, all smiles and witty jokes, playful teasing directed your way from time to time and one or two stolen kisses for good measure, to make it look like you're actually happy and dating.

Truth is, Eren has depicted you as someone you really are not. He's said an endless amount of wonderful things that are not true and it's honestly so annoying how you wish they actually were: not for him specifically, just for someone.

“Yeah, we met at a party, then ended up finding out we're friends with pretty much the same people and it's just been so easy from there, you know?” he smiled with a little shrug.

Well, one true thing, at least.

Your mom hummed softly to herself, mindlessly cutting up her steak.

“What was your first impression? She tends to come off a little strong”

“Mom!” you whined and she laughed.

“Ah, yes. But I also thought she was so smart, a little intimidating even. It's honestly a miracle she's settled for me” Eren was all focused on his parmesan chicken as he spoke but the words were just so unexpected you found yourself searching for his gaze. You couldn't, for the life of you, figure out how on earth he could be such a perfect liar.

“She's a charmer” your mom smiled fondly as she reached over the table to shortly graze your cheeck “what about you, sweetie? Did you know he was the one right away?”

“Mom, we're just dating, you're making it sound as if we're about to get married” you grumbled, cheeks growing hot by the literal second as Eren's knee playfully nudged yours underneath the table.

“I'm just askin', you never know” she winked and you rolled your eyes with a groan, exasperated.

“Baby, answer the question” he casually demanded, jade eyes focused on you and brows raised expectantly. Christ.

“I thought he was way too outgoing” you picked at your pad thai, words leaving your lips reluctantly “and I didn't believe someone with such a strong magnetic field, capable of attracting so many people, could be genuine. But he's just the most authentic, honest person you'll meet. Funny too, every once in a blue moon”

“And cute, right?” Eren masterfully deflected and lightened the overall mood, his reply swallowing your mom's honeyed aww. He couldn't help the heat rising to his cheeks at your compliments: fake or not they sure sounded sincere.

You gave him an unimpressed look as you brought the glass of iced tea to your lips.

“Well, you didn't say you thought I was cute, did you?”

“Clearly, would've been way too simplistic. I thought you were stunning”

“Gosh” your mom's voice covered the sound of you almost choking on your drink “you sure you're not thinking of marrying him?”

His face contorts in an outraged expression. “Hey, you make it sound like I only hang out with you to fuck!”

“When was the last time we did something other than that?” brows raised skeptically, you walk past him and plop down on the couch, fingers gently raising to your temples to hopefully massage a surging headache away. He hums, pensive, as he sits right next to you, way closer than one would need to.

“Fine, you have a point. But I'm honestly just here to apologize”

“Oh, give me a break” you scoff.

“I mean it! I took the joke too far and m'sorry if you felt uncomfortable”

You peer at him at last and there's really nothing but sincere regret in his annoyingly big eyes.

“It's fine. I'm not mad” you concede and he perks up right away. God, he's a literal child.

“You're not?”

“No”

“Cause if you are, I could eat you out to make amends”

You huff out a laugh mirrored right away by his smile, choosing to ignore how your thighs clenched at his words. It's like your body is on autopilot whenever he opens his mouth, reacting by muscle memory at everything he says. An effect he really shouldn't be aware of having.

“But you'd love that so it's not like it'd be an actual punishment” you arch a brow and Eren grins a boyish grin, shrugging. Something inside you flutters and it's not just because you're turned on.

“My mom really likes you. God help me when I'll have to tell her we broke up” you sigh, scooting back until your spine meets the armrest. He picks your legs up and places them on his lap.

“Why?” he asks absentmindedly, inching across the coffee table to grab the remote control and turn the tv on, leaning comfortably against the backrest of your couch right after.

“Why?” you parrot “d'you want her to believe we're happily dating while we're actually seeing and fucking other people?”

Eren doesn't cast his eyes away from the screen as he stays silent, seemingly meditative. His hand is massaging one of your ankles and you can't suppress a yawn as you turn your head to look at what's being aired as well. There's nothing in the fridge so you'll probably have to order pizza for dinner, unless you steal your roommate's infamous potato salad. The thought is tempting but she'd have your head for it.

“Wanna stay over tonight?” you mindlessly ask, eyes fixed on the host of what looks like a fairly popular talk show.

“Hm? Thought you weren't in the mood anymore” mischief laced into his smirk, he lightly pinches your calf and you faintly kick his hand away.

Ah, right, you mostly spend time together to have sex. It'd be too weird to suggest staying over to just... what? Share dinner, watch a show and go to sleep? Like a damn (gagging) couple?

Idiot. Divert.

“Well, you do have amends to make” you clear your throat as he goes back to rubbing your ankle, the motion so soothing you consider shutting your eyes and relax into his touch, letting it lull you into a nap.

Eren chuckles quietly to himself.

“Fine” he says and your heart squeezes a little, an undesirable feeling you can't seem to shake off in what will go down as one of the weirdest days you've ever lived “make sure your mom knows I'm also the best fuck you've ever had”

You laugh heartily at that, sock-clad foot rising up to his face to jokingly poke his cheek. He slaps it away with an exaggerated grimace.

“Best fuck and performer. She'll ask me to bring you over for christmas”

“I'm amazing with family dinners. You'd have to give me an oscar by the end of the night” with a devious up-to-no-good smirk, he crawls on top of you and you playfully push his face away as one of his knees finds its way between your slightly parted legs, hands resting on either side of your head.

“Get off!” you giggle as his face presses against your hand harder and harder until you have to retract it and his forehead lightly collides with yours.

“Did I tell you” he smiles at your frown, lips brushing against your forehead before they start to trace your jaw with soft, chaste kisses.

“How hot”

kiss

“You are”

kiss

“When you're”

kiss

“Embarrassed?”

And then his lips are on yours, soft and gentle and slow for a change, your hands rising up to cup his face and bring it impossibly closer with a desire you've been dying to give in to for the entire day.

He pulls back ever so slightly, a gesture out of the ordinary as you're pretty sure he's never once interrupted a make out session to look at you like that. All serious, like he's on the verge of breaking the fragile branch you feel like you're standing on.

“What? Hard already?” you whisper, heart racing so badly you pray he won't lower his head to kiss your neck again because your pulse at the moment is frankly embarrassing.

And sure enough a tiny, airy laugh crawls out of his throat as one of his hands slips under your shirt, thumb casually tracing the under curve of your breast sending an instant shiver down your spine.

“Way to ruin the mood”

What mood?

He carefully lifts himself up and takes a second to drink the sight of you all flustered and confused right in before he extends a hand to help you up as well.

“Bed?”

You fake a groan as you accept his offer and are up to your feet in a second, remote control in hand to turn the tv off tossed on the couch once again. As you precede him to your room, he suddenly calls you by your name and you turn around to find him leaning against the door frame of your living room, arms crossed.

“Who else are you seein'?” the question is almost sheepish, embarrassment embedded in his unusually tense features. You tilt your head.

“No one” your reply is equally hesitant but way more confused.

He hums to himself, as if to confirm a thought known to him only.

“Me neither”

[swallowerofdharma]

Stat rosa luna pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus

Fuck me I wanted to analyze “the symbolism of the moon” in Berserk… because it was an image so often associated with Griffith but also Guts. How naive of me to think that it would be a simple matter of looking into it a bit.

I was wrong because the whole topic of “the symbolism of the moon” turned out to be pretty much huge and a big part of the whole world building, or the cosmogony behind it, obviously. It is far for superficial, far from be only a lyrical motif or one half of the key elements of the eclipse.

While I am still researching the subject and organizing my thoughts - I wanted to share something minor that has been on my mind for a long time now.

A while ago I asked a friend who knows a little Japanese if they thought that Guts name would make them think of the moon. Because I had this image saved, from the end of one of my favorite chapters, chapter 250, that made me think of it. I think it was a beautiful representation of Griffith’s isolation - isolation or alienation is a theme in the chapter itself explored through the characters of Sonia and Irvine. And I also thought that it was a reminder of the calling of Moonlight Boy: the approaching of the full moon* when Griffith would indulge his inner child and reunite with Casca and Guts. (*In the panel the phase represented is a waxing gibbous moon, between a half moon and a full moon).

The reason I asked is because I was thinking of the kanji there in the page, overlaid with it, because it was a very easy association to do, with thinking about the representation of the passing of the time through the lunar calendar:

“Please note that the original Japanese calendar, like some others in Asia, was the lunar calendar, based on the moon’s movement, so the moon’s kanji 月 also means month. The pronunciation of the kanji 月 is “tsuki” (つき) in its kun’yomi (Japanese reading) and “gatsu” (ガツ) or “getsu” (ゲツ) in its on’yomi (Chinese reading). The shape of this kanji is rather simple, and its shape has a clear origin”. (source)

This is what I was seeing basically 👆

And I thought it is easy enough if you have studied the kanji to see it in the moon that Miura depicted above Griffith. And it is also maybe not so strange to wonder what’s on his mind at the end of that chapter. There are no words or sound effects in that page, it’s like a full page illustration. My mind kind of conjured the words and at the same time the fact that Griffith here might as well be thinking about Guts/the time passing=gatsu until he would go see him.

I know that Miura writes Guts’s name in katakana ガッツ gattsu, as if it’s supposed to sound and be read as a foreign name, but I believe it is also used as a term borrowed from English and used for example in the expression ガッツポーズ (gattsupōzu) meaning “triumphant pose assumed by an athlete”. The English word has several different implications or figurative meanings (and Japanese thinking is very often spontaneously figurative because of the writing system). It means bowels first, but it also refers to inner workings that happen in our entrails, internal organs and the figurative meaning of courage, nerve, determination also is commonly associated with the expression having the guts (=possessing the inner workings in order to do something hard successfully). But it also indicates something or someone reactive or reacting without thinking: guts instincts. And all this makes sense to the type of character Guts is: his physicality, his stance, his personality. I’ll also add it here how it could also be a name for someone who doesn’t use his head much, but this isn’t intended as an insult, but as an anticipation of another part of the analysis about “the symbolism of the moon” that will follow.

Of course my friend answered negatively, they didn’t think it was common to associate the image of the moon with the sound gatsu. And I also thought that maybe I was simply misguided because for a long time I had the Italian version of Berserk where the name was transliterated “faithfully” as Gatsu instead of Guts (the friend I asked is an American). But then again, the names of the months in contemporary Japanese are formed by numbers (1 through 12) + gatsu=month=one moon circle approximately and the kanji used is still 月. For example 一月 ichigatsu is the first month January, 二月 nigatsu is February.

So 月 is also commonly written or read gatsu as a very common occurrence, for example when you write down dates. It is probably a stretch, but let me know what you think!

In conclusion, you see now where I was going with this lol?

Count this image as Griffith/Guts too! (You thought this was very serious, didn’t you?). Griffith is looking forward for the full moon to go see Guts in particular, while the Moonlight Boy is the part that is tied to Casca. And chapter 250 is just exceptionally good. Maybe this will inspire someone to revisit it.

[beanghostprincess]

Hello. I hope you’re doing well ❤️ I had a few questions (and if you’ve already answered any of them then I’ll just continue scrolling down your blog, as I’ve been doing).

Here ya go!

1. What do you think people mainly get wrong about Usopp? Like, what is a common misconception.

2. How would you describe Usopp’s relationship with each of his crewmates, in so few words (if possible)? I feel like people forget that the Strawhats are friends too.

Just wanted to hear your take.

Kind regards,

Anon.

You sound so polite, I love it 😭💖 Sending you kisses and hugs for being so sweet 🥰 (Sorry I didn't reply sooner! Busy life)

1 - I feel like the most common one I've seen around general audience/most shonen lovers (I like shonen too, but you know what I mean. You know what type of people I'm referring to) is that they take Usopp's character pretty superficially and instead of reading between the lines (very huge, separated, obvious and easy to read lines, though) they just accept what is verbally said... "He's a coward" / "He can't fight" / "He's selfish" / "He's just funny".

Most people have this misconseption about Usopp's fighting style because they assume that, because it is a long range fighting style, he isn't as powerful as others. When it is not true, by the way. They also deem Usopp to be a coward when, actually? He is just an average person? Like I KNOW the whole point is that he works on his "cowardice" but they just took an average boy with no prior experience of fighting and being a pirate to directly... Fight and being a pirate. Everybody would react like that. "He's not strong and he is a coward" first of all, wrong, second of all, you would be like that too.

And saying he is selfish? Or that he doesn't care about the crew or the people around him? I genuinely do not understand how some people can read him that way... Do you all not know how to... Analyse basic characters now? Another thing people get wrong is thinking Usopp isn't hot/wouldn't pull any girls as if he wasn't the only one with a canon girlfriend waiting for him, but alright.

2 - This is such a good question, actually 😭 I love you for this, anon. My favorite thing ever is talking about Usopp,,, I appreciate this.

Luffy: I love his dynamic with Luffy because despite being his captain, it is obvious that they are best friends. They have the same young/playful mindset and it doesn't feel, like... A job at all? Don't get me wrong, they're all a family, but their dynamic feels way more teen-like? More silly? They're stupid together. Usopp being the voice of the reason vs Luffy being extremely chaotic is my favorite thing. They feel very organic. And then there's this layer of jealousy from Usopp's side and the fact that I think Luffy will never be able to fully understand Usopp's insecurities, but somehow they will always find understanding and support on each other. Usopp is loyal to his captain and all but it feels more of a "I follow him because I consciously trust in him" than a "blind devotion" type of thing. And I adore that. Also, Luffy saw potential on Usopp from the very beginning and it melts my heart. Plus! They're both beetle/bugs lovers! The sillies <33

Zoro: They're one of the most hilarious duos because you would expect Zoro to absolutely hate being around somebody like Usopp, and yet he lets the guy do whatever he wants with him?? Zoro might be Luffy's enabler first and foremost but we forget he is even more permissive with Usopp sometimes and it is the funniest thing. I love it when they have tiny little soft scenes together because Zoro genuinely enjoys Usopp's company and I believe Usopp thinks Zoro's cool despite always being done with him being so dramatic and impulsive when fighting. I feel like Usopp feels safe around him but not only physically. I think he knows Zoro can read him like a book and after what happened in Water 7? I believe now even more than they're closer. Sometimes opening up to your captain is hard so maybe the first mate whom you have an intimate but odd relationship works even better.

Nami: My absolute beloveds. They're both on the same page when it comes to being "cowards" because their fighting styles are different from the rest and they're not built different like most of the crew. They feel so organic and genuine too! They just get each other. They're mischivious little shits together. And when they are not on the same page, it's so funny how comfortable they are around each other to just yell at the other. I think Nami gets Usopp when it comes to feeling weak and out of place but not quite, because she is always trying to make a path for herself instead of being afraid to do so? She's used to fighting on her own and standing up for herself even if it's scary but Usopp isn't, and I think she gets it but Usopp doesn't think she does because she is extremely valuable to the crew, obviously, and Usopp doesn't feel like he is. It's a dynamic with constant support and understanding and so so much fun together because they're most of the time on the same page. That's why they work so well!! They're not normal at all but the whole "we're the only normal people here" dynamic is incredible.

Sanji: If I start talking about them I think I will never finish. I think I've left pretty clear that my favorite thing about their dynamic is that, despite arguing all the time because their personalities are very different (something people often forget like. They argue A LOT. And it's SO funny. They're both the softest and the most annoying thing to each other--) they're always there for each other. Their dynamic is easy to summarize in "they joined basically at the same time, right after the romance trio" / "they do what the other can't do". They both have different types of self-hatred and insecurities that bring Sanji to understand Usopp on a deep level that I don't think others are able to share. It is obvious that Sanji has a clear preference for Usopp when it comes to the guys of the crew and he does treat him differently, not because he sees him as weak but because he sees himself in him. Their relationship is something so personal because I truly believe they're the ones that understand each other the most. I am SO angry they barely have scenes together now,,, Or that Usopp wasn't in WCI,,, Waiting for Elbaf to parallel Water 7 so fucking bad. I have more things to say about them but-- My whole blog is literally about that.

Vivi (very necessary to include her): People don't talk at all about their dynamic and it is so offensive to me because they're so funny??? Vivi's little quirk about forgetting to mention dangerous stuff and Usopp being oh so done with her is the funniest thing. Drum island was certainly incredible for these two. I truly wanted to see more of them,,, I think that if Vivi had stayed with them, she would've understood Usopp pretty well. Screaming for help when nobody can hear you? Feeling oh so weak in comparison to the world around you? She would've been on Sanji's team kicking Luffy and trying hard to keep them from saying any stupid things. More of Usopp and Vivi,,, More of Usopp and Vivi,,, I miss them :( They were so cute :(

Chopper: They're so cute and silly together,, But not only that! They support each other so so much!!! Maybe it's because they're both from the "coward trio" but I just adore how they're pretty much always together. Chopper has this whole thing at first about feeling like a monster, but Usopp finds his abilities so awesome and,, It melts my heart whenever we see them interacting. They're not only hilarious and support each other but they're always finding reassurance on the other and I love it. Not to mention the whole Sogeking thing, too! And Chopper believing Usopp's lies! They feel sooo much like brothers, imo, it's adorable. Chopper might be one of Sogeking's biggest fans but Usopp is certainly Chopper's number 1 fan too.

Robin: I think if I start talking about them I might end up crying, thanks. But. But. But I adore them. They leave the crew pretty much at the same time and yet Usopp does everything to help them save her and bring her back. I think Robin reads him pretty well and can see so much bravery in him that Usopp can't see... While Usopp, despite being a bit weirded out at first by her, sees how gentle and caring and lovely Robin is. And how cool she is, too! Also, they're both big nerds, and I love that. The fact that he did everything he could for her in Enies Lobby despite having left the crew must've meant the world for her. And it's also the whole thing about her wanting to give up on life? I think Usopp, even if it's not on the same level, can kind of relate to that? It is not Sanji/Robin type of bond (which I fucking adore, by the way) but it is pretty personal. Also, hilarious dynamic because Robin is always telling dark jokes and Usopp gets scared easily and I just adore it.

Franky: They mean so much to me. My beloveds. We don't talk enough about Franky regretting having hurt Usopp when they first met and the guilt still haunting him. We don't talk about it enough. We should. Franky was there for Usopp on his most vulnerable moment and I think Franky's personality and masculinity mixed with his pretty emotional side is SO good for Usopp. Because it teaches him to be braver and stronger and himself, and it lets himself feel freely. They have so many things in common and I am from the "Franky father figure" team because their bond looks so,,, So much like that. Usopp getting excited for every little thing Franky makes and Franky quite obviously showing off because he knows he likes it. I think Franky is the one Usopp goes to when there's any problem in his life and,,, It is just so sweet that they always trust each other SO much. It is not only admiration but a deep, close bond. Still not over Franky wanting to overcompensate for what he did to Usopp, though, but- But they're okay now, I swear.

Brook: The sillies!!!!!!! We don't have THAT much of them in comparison to the other characters but every time they interact it is always so funny. Idk how I would describe their dynamic other than it is hilarious,, But I also think we deserve more scenes of them interacting seriously. Brook spent 50 years on his own and Usopp's fear in Water 7/Enies Lobby of being left alone too is so,,, I think Usopp would want to hear more of Brook and make him feel at home because if just the thought of being alone scares him so much, he can't even imagine what it was like for Brook. Usopp is somebody who seems to want to glue the crew together as much as possible and mostly uses fun/positivity (even if fake) to do so, and Brook does the same with music. Like- The fear of being alone. Idkk. Going insane now, actually.

Jinbe: I feel like everybody's relationship with Jinbe is very gentle and silly because he is adapting to the crew's dynamic and getting used to their shenanigans. So no matter what, it is hilarious and sweet. I actually,,, Want to see Jinbe's reaction to Sogeking,,, A lot,,, It'd be SO funny. Anyway- They haven't had much of a break to be together (please please let them be silly post-egghead) (honestly I'd kill for a silly filler arc, ngl...) but Jinbe is extremely understanding and mature and imo he sees a lot of potential and bravery in Usopp. And I'd say Usopp finds comfort on Jinbe but who wouldn't? I think it'd be funny to see a bit more of teasing/playful interactions with them because I love Usopp being stupid and Jinbe being all confused at first but having fun.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Isn't the "Meghan is such a foodie" thing from her Cory days? I remember reading (in Revenge by TBower) that it really annoyed Cory when she started doing that. People who knew her said she took all the talking points from his personality as a professional, avant garde celeb chef and made it her own. Even his signature recipes.

Then back in her Trever days, she went in and on about the craft of movie making and being an insider. Allegedly Trever is a really out going personality, loves to network and is quite slick/glib. People have also said he is super confident, laid back, know-it-all type who is good at his work. So she took that from his personality, learnt the ropes of networking and enterpreneurship from him and launch Tig.

From Jessica, she learnt the ropes of high-end, trust fund baby lifestyle. Used all get contacts and social accumen of knowing the right people, getting in the right circles and curating an 'instagram aspirational' lifestyle (at least superficially) and became a wannabe lifestyle guru.

I won't say she somehow glommed onto Catherine and took pieces of her personality to make her own. I think all of her past cosplays and successful grifting made her believe that she was a better copy of the people she was copying. She measured her success by the print and media coverage she got and from what she made people believe she was. So, she thought being a better Catherine than Catherine herself was easy. And she got mad when she couldn't hack it.

And she couldn't have it because she couldn't control the media coverage. Her PR was limited in face of how much people saw her live, in action at various events. Especially the events she didn't think we're important.

Behind closed doors she could convince Harry that she was a better royal than born royals because he is just dumb that way. If you criticised the people he doesn't like he will love you and that's what she did. But also, the biggest factor in her failure is garty himself.

Had he not been the way he is - with his own issues and grievances and entitlement and resentments and nasty reptilian nature- then she would have successfully become the best royal to ever royal. She would have stayed in the BRF, did her Hollywood thing, been half in/out, made money merching and the brf would have just covered it up for her.

I do think she hadn't counted on Harry having his own 'Hollywood Harry' dreams.

I don't think Harry had Hollywood dreams. His dream appears to have been "British aristo in the US," where literally everything he had in the UK, he had in the US. He had no interest in Hollywood other than using them as replacements for the British aristo circuit he left behind in London. And if you look at everything he's done here in the US, that's pretty much what he's done. Minus the military uniform, Diana-like worship, and Cambridge-like popularity.

Whereas Meghan's dream was legitimately the Hollywood dream - writing, producing, acting like George Clooney or influencing like Gwyneth Paltrow or grifting like the Kardashians. She didn't want the life she had in the UK back here in the US. She wanted the life she had in Canada but with UK finances and here in the US.

And neither was willing to budge on what they wanted. That's the core root (or rot, I suppose) of why they're always failing. There's no compromise about what they want or what they're going to do.

(Contrast that with William and Kate, who have a shared plan built on compromise.)

[howtofightwrite]

You're an experienced bodyguard. You have a VIP. You're pinned down in the top floor of a hotel. You have access to any given type of firearm you might need--pistol, shotgun, SMG, assault rifle--and your VIP knows how to load, handle and fire one, but has never been in a real combat situation. What do you give her in the dire event that she has to defend herself?

That's easy, you don't; for a multitude of reasons.

First, it puts the protectee in danger. Even on the superficial scenario of having a bodyguard and a protectee in a firefight, the bodyguard is going to be focus of incoming fire. They're the ones shooting at the attackers, meaning the attackers are going to be more concerned with dropping the bodyguard first, and then mopping up. If you arm the protectee and they start shooting people, then the attackers are going to have to pick between shooting at the two people firing on them, and of course, if they kill the protectee, that defeats the entire exercise.

Second, that lack of combat experience is actually a big deal. You cannotpredict how someone will react to live combat. Granted, in the specific context of being the omnipotent author of your world, youknow, but the characters in it should not. Arming an inexperienced protectee can result in some verydangerous situations. You do not want to hand someone a gun who, in a moment of panic, reasons that since you're the one shooting at the attackers, maybe if they kill you it will save their life, completely missing the part where the attackers are there to harm them. You do not want to hand someone a gun, only to have them start firing on the friendly extraction team when it arrives, in a moment of panic. Both of these are potential scenarios that can be completely avoided by simply not arming them.

If you're a bodyguard for a VIP, the only time you want your protectee armed is if she's pulling your pistol off your corpse. Okay, that is a little hyperbolic, there are some other scenarios where the protectee might arm themselves, but most of those are going to be cases where their entire security entourage is already dead.

As for what the bodyguards were using originally, that's going to depend pretty heavily on who they were, and who they were protecting. In most cases, they're specifically going to carry weapons they can hide under a suit coat, which already excludes a lot of assault rifles and shotguns. Ironically, this also runs against my biases. If you're talking about room to room fighting, my preference would be a Benelli M4, but that will not fit under a sport coat. Just because your character has access to a wide range of military hardware doesn't mean they can carry all of that with them, and people in polite society tend to get a bit nervous when a security detail rolls in carrying tactical shotguns.

This leads to another issue. For the moment, let's assume your character is carrying around a Kel-Tec KSG. This is a fairly compact shotgun, and something they might be able to carry concealed (though, that's a little debatable, because it is still pretty chunky), and they get pinned down on the top floor. That shotgun is going to be farmore effective in their hands than the protectee's. If anything goes wrong with it (or they use all fourteen shells), then they can fall back on their sidearm. If they hand their sidearm over to the protectee, and the KSG has an issue, they're are now unarmed, and need to negotiate back their own gun from the protectee, while they're getting shot at. This is a bad situation on so many levels.

Generally speaking, you're not going to carry extra guns that you don't foresee a potential need for. This means, it's likely even if your security team's armory is filled with high end military hardware, they're not likely to carry a lot of that unless they're expecting problems. If this was supposed to be a reasonably secure hotel, with its own security staff, your bodyguard is probably going to be carrying a handgun, with possibly a backup pistol in case the main one suffers a mechanical failure. This is, ironically, one of the nice things with Glocks. A compact or subcompact Glock will take the magazines from the larger variants in that same caliber. So, for example, if your character carries a Glock 17 and Glock 26, if their 17 is disabled or lost, they can still load their remaining Glock 17 mags into their 26 without issue. (Note: this is not true of the other9mm subcompact, the Glock 43, which is significantly slimmer, and uses a non-compatible magazine.) Even in a situation like this, your character would have the backup in case they needed it, not to randomly hand it out.

So, the short version remains, no competent bodyguard would arm their protectee in a situation like this. It would actively put their protectee in greater danger.

-Starke

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[decafdino]

Wip wednesday

nobody tagged me, I just wanted to participate lol. I'm actually getting excited about this supernatural au (even though it is rapidly getting out of hand)

They do eventually make it to the farmer's market. It's late enough in the day that it's mostly empty, which also means the pickings are slim. TK doesn't seem to mind, though, bouncing around the meager rows of pumpkins and thoroughly examining each one.

"Baby." Carlos crosses his arms. "It's been almost an hour. What you want to carve can't possibly be that big, can it?"

TK sighs exasperatedly. "It's not about the size, Carlos. It's all in the shape of the pumpkin."

"They're literally all the same shape: round."

"First of all, pretty sure round isn't a shape, babe." He picks up a pumpkin. "Second, they're not all round; this one's all lumpy on one side."

"So don't carve on that side. Problem solved."

TK sets the pumpkin down and swaggers over. "You know, if I didn't know any better," he says, "I'd think this whole excursion was just a way to get in my pants."

Carlos cocks an eyebrow. "Like we didn't just do that right before we came."

TK snorts. "I'm not that easy, Reyes."

"Playing hard to get?" he gasps in mock surprise. "That's supposed to be my line, Strand."

"Really? You don't remember our first night together?"

"Yes, but I also remember the first time we met." Carlos squeezes his ass. "I wasn't about to let a wolf string me along."

"So I guess you could say we were both a little skittish," TK compromises.

He's about to lean in for another kiss when movement catches in the corner of his eye. He turns, and immediately drops his hands from TK's face, blushing. "Uh—"

"Talia," TK beats him to it. Unlike Carlos, he seems actually happy to see her. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Hi, y'all," she says, almost bashful, like she didn't mean to interrupt them.

Or she didn't mean to get caught staring, Carlos' brain unhelpfully supplies. "You shop here?"

She shrugs casually. The black tank top she's wearing to combat the Texas sun shows off her bare shoulder, littered with even more scars. She shifts when she notices Carlos looking. "I go here sometimes, yeah. Mostly just for supplies."

"Supplies?" Carlos questions.

"Ingredients." She shows him one of the bags, full of herbs Carlos recognizes immediately. They're mostly used in the hunter community to ward off and weaken certain types of supernatural. He doesn't know if wolf's bane is in there, but if she came a little closer he knows TK would be able to tell.

"I'm pagan," she explains. "There's supposed to be an eclipse coming up, so I'm going to try to take advantage of it."

TK nods, though Carlos can tell he's fighting the urge to wrinkle his nose by the way he keeps sniffing. "Yeah, I heard about that," TK says. "They're saying there's supposed to be nearly full coverage?"

"We'll see," she says. "And you two are…?"

"Pumpkin shopping." Carlos hopes his smile doesn't look too forced. There's just something off about Talia, something he doesn't trust. Maybe he's being a little superficial, but an average hunter wouldn't get those scars unless they had a habit of becoming needlessly violent with their kills. "And you know what, I think we've just found the perfect one." He picks up the pumpkin TK had dropped at their feet, the one with the lumpy sides, and tugs TK over to the woman at the register.

TK doesn't stays silent, though Carlos can tell he wants to ask. As he's getting handed back his change, Talia calls out, "Enrique says hi, by the way."

Carlos stiffens, then forces himself to turn and wave. "Tell him we say hi back."

"See you around, Talia," TK says with a wave. Once she's turned away, Carlos hurries him back to the car.

"You don't think—"

"I don't know," Carlos answers honestly. "But I'm not willing to risk it."

"You don't trust her?" TK asks.

"I don't trust a lot of people." He sighs when TK gives him a look. "Enrique is traditional, and Talia is his—whatever she is to him. If they're on our trail—"

"Baby, if anyone's on our trail we would know by now. Especially you," he says, cupping Carlos' cheek, "my paranoid control freak. Nothing slips past you."

"I'm choosing to take that as a compliment."

"That's good, because it is one." He kisses Carlos' cheek. "I promise to stay safe, if that will make you feel better."

Their foreheads press together. Carlos takes a moment to breathe in TK's air, to cherish the closeness they have. He never wants to lose this. He can't even imagine what he would do without TK, even though the lives they lead are dangerous. "You can't promise me that."

"I can do my best, and you'll do yours. Right?"

"Yeah," he says, resolve hardening. "Let's go home and relax. How does that sound?"

TK smiles. "It sounds like someone wants to help me carve this pumpkin."

[secret-diary-of-an-fa]

Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road Review- A Nice Big Plate of WTF?

So… I have… questions? Many of them aren’t even things I can express in words- they’re just helpless looks of confusion happening in my head and a general, non-specific yearning for answers. I’m not saying I disliked The Church on Ruby Road. I’m not saying I liked it, either. I’m saying that it’s so bafflingly other that I’m not 100% sure how to process my feelings about it. Consequently, this is going to be quite a short review. I mean, when Wild Blue Yonder and The Giggle blew me away, I knew exactly what it was I was enjoying and why. When The Star Beast disappointed, I knew exactly why it disappointed me (it felt like a first draft). I don’t even know what emotions I experienced while watching The Church on Ruby Road or if those emotions even have names, so it’s kind of difficult to talk about.

Okay, let’s start with something easy. I like Ncuti Gatwa’s take on the Doctor. That’s something I’m certain about. He’s breezy and bright and- occasionally- a tiny bit bitchy. I think he’s going to be an interesting addition to the line-up. Also, I think it’s really cool and progressive that he’s the first Doctor… WITH A MOUSTACHE! So yeah, he’s a perfectly fine actor for the role. I could have done with a slightly stronger, more sure-footed introduction- something like Ecclestone’s “Run!” or David Tenant just straight up grabbing a Sycorax energy-whip by the business end and yanking it away… but I get that he’s meant to be the fun, easy-going Doctor and I accept that his intro has to suit the character, which means a gradual, laid-back sort of interweaving. So yes: nice work on establishing Fifteen, Ruby Road.

But then there’s the goblins in flying wooden boats. Doctor Who had goblins now, and that’s fine… but they’re never really explained. We’re told they can surf the waves of time, but we’re never told where they came from. Are they just on Earth all the time? Have they always been here? Are they from space? Another dimension? We’re just kind of asked to accept them and the fact that they regularly abduct and eat babies (yet this has somehow never come up before). I mean, I’m okay with goblins, but I’m not sure how I feel about inadequately-explained goblins in a sci-fi show. Doctor Who has every right to be extremely silly- it’s practically in the charter- but there’s a razor-thin line between ‘silly’ and ‘stupid’ and I’m not sure which side of the divide big-eyed mischievous goblins in flying boats fall on. Especially when they start singing.

Ah, yes. Maybe I should have led with that. The goblins sing. And I don’t mean unearthly, alien singing of the kind befitting their essentially inhuman nature, nor even the type of shanties that would match their outfits and flying, old-fashioned sailing ship. No, no. They sing a full-on, carefully-orchestrated and choreographed, extremely catchy pop song… about eating babies. It’s fucking mental. I mean, it’s obviously meant to be funny and it made me laugh… but I’m not sure I was laughing at the intended joke or if I was just having a breakdown in response to seeing something so fucking inexplicable. I mean, when the Celestial Toymaker interrupted The Giggle for a musical number, it made sense. The Toymaker was characterised in such a way that murdering people to music perfectly fitted his character- he’s bloody psychotic. But with the goblins it just comes completely out of left-field.

I thought the overarching themes of family being about more than blood and people forming intricate webs of connection that depend more on love than superficial genetic ties were pretty solid and universal. On the other hand, making new companion Ruby Sunday such an enmeshed part of an adopted family meant her personality didn’t get much chance to come through properly, despite her more-than-ample screen-time. She always felt like a part of something larger- particularly with the fairly extravagant and entertaining personalities of her other family members (one in particular).

I think what’s weird about this episode is that it’s meant to be the start of a soft-reboot with the potential to draw in new fans, yet if you’re not familiar with Doctor Who already, it presents a bit of misleading picture of what the show is. It centres mythic and magical creatures over the show’s more standard cosmic and alien fare or scientific-disaster-style stories, while previous events are referenced with little or no context. As a long-time Who fan (who even forced myself to watch the execrable Chibnall/Whitaker episodes necessary for an appreciation of the plot), I understood what was being alluded to and also knew to make allowances for this being a daft, knock-about Christmas episode that won’t be typical of the season to come. But new fans? They’re likely to be completely bloody lost.

All things considered, I quite liked The Church on Ruby Road- it’s a bit of fun and it’s a reasonably good palette cleanser after the heavier themes of the previous two specials. Plus, it’s just nice to see a new Doctor in action and know he’s going to be good in the role. Does it set out to do what it was meant to do, though (i.e. set out the stall for new Whovians and provide a real flavour of the show? Erm. No. And, however enjoyable it might be overall, its more confusing elements do make me worry about showrunner Russel T. Davies’ mental state. At least we only have to wait until spring to find out just how mad he’s gone.