#also to show that things weren't black or white for him he did bad things but he didn’t have much of a choice

[psychicbluebirdmiracle]

Not me psycho analyzing all of the characters colors in lockwood and co again

[lovrre]

Agreement prt1

Art Donaldson x Fem black reader

Warnings: cursing, infidelity(kinda), slight smut (fingering) sub ish Art. Slight he loves her more trope, needy Art and probably some other stuff

Word count: 2k

Summary: Despite being engaged to one of the top and richest tennis players in the US, you feel unfulfilled. But everything changes when you transfer schools and meet Art Donaldson, who just can’t quit you.

Author note: GUYS GUYS, PLEASE DON’T KILL ME. MY WRITERS BLOCK HAS BEEN SO BAD YOU DONT UNDERSTANDDD, But I’m finishing all my requests and unfinished fics soon so stay tuned. 😚

Sitting on the bed in your brand new silk pajamas, you found yourself distracted, just like you had been the day before and the day before that. You played with The edge of the book you were attempting to read,mindlessly repeated the last sentence over and over in your head trying to retain anything. The loud television and the whirring of the ceiling fan only added to the chaos. Plus the freezing cold air conditioning of the hotel room made it impossible to concentrate.

In a desperate attempt to regain some semblance of focus, you clumsily reached for the remote, hoping to silence at least one of the distractions. your eyes falling on your fiancé who was sleeping peacefully, his dark hair all messy, in his crisp white t-shirt that matched perfectly to the expensive hotel sheets, he looked so sweet,so innocent. You thought if he slept more, maybe everything could work out

Mike slept while snuggled into your side. Like he often did when you two shared a bed, You had attempted to remove him several times but every time he ended right back at your side so you gave up, In any other scenario his action would seem romantic but they only made you feel worse than you were already feeling. In an effort to relieve some guilt you liked to reminded yourself your engagement was never out of love but business. But then again the line did blur in the beginning of your relationship. Before you left for Stanford, you and Mike got caught up in the act of pretending be in love.

After that you could never really tell real from fake with him, he didn’t like you talking to other men. He’d shower you with really expensives grift but then leave town and not answer your calls or text for days. But when no one was watching he’d try to hug and kiss you. The whole thing was confusing, You had known idea how he persived your relationship but you knew You Felt guilty, without all the technicallys, you knew that you still lied,

The people ate up the role you and Mike played. occasionally you’d have to leave campus and go out in public holding hands or sharing kisses in the rain. But it was all for show, at least on your end. Your Dad made sure to reminded you That, it was the love sick tennis player in love with his coaches daughter that sold tickets. kept the stands full of women hoping to catch the world win romances in action. Also Brought in a large number of his clientele. He promised It wouldn’t be forever unless you wanted to be. And Really how could you complain? 20 years old engaged to One of the wealthiest and most talented tennis players in the world and he wasn't bad looking either. Before all this, you weren't too keen on love anyway, so what were you really missing out on?

~~~

Ten months before

Patrick serves but Art's attention is elsewhere. The ball zooms past Art for the second time, prompting Patrick to turn around and finally see who's behind him. His gaze lands on you, playing tennis alone on a smaller court. The sun shining off your smooth, glistening skin, and your pink tennis dress gracefully flowing with each jump and run.

"Oh, I get it," Patrick chuckles, glancing back at Art. "She's hot. You should talk to her, maybe offer her a lesson. She could use it," Patrick suggests, looking back at you as you let another tennis ball from the machine fly past you . "I think I've seen her somewhere before," Patrick mutters, tapping his racket against his leg.

Still in a daze, Art jogged over to your court. "Oh, you're serious," Patrick murmured watching as he went over to you following closely behind him. "Hi," Art greets, slightly out of breath walking up to the net. "Hi?" you respond, slightly confused, giving him a small wave.

"Are you new here?"

"To the school or the court?" You ask

"Both."

"I'm new to both” you say a little breathless wiping sweat from your forehead.

“I just transferred," you explain.

"Where did you go before?"

"A small community college in Virginia."

"What about tennis?"

"You have a lot of questions," you laugh, tapping your tennis racket against your leg.

"Im just curious “Art jokes.

"I'm just doing this because my fiancé is a tennis player. I thought I'd try to learn," you reveal.

“Finance?” Art questions.

“Yep”

“ how old are you like 20?”

“ actually 19, I turn twenty in a couple months”

“And you're getting married?” Art asked clearly dumbfounded

“Yes” you laugh at his forwardness

", is he a pro or college?", Art asked, assuming the answer would be college.

“Pro," you replied, letting your curls fall freely from your hair tie. Art couldn't help but admire how beautiful you were,too young to be tied down

"Anyone we would know?" Art asks following you as you walk over to the bench with your tennis bag. "Hmm, maybe," you hum, sitting down to tie your shoe. "Mike Fitts."

"Your fiancé is Mike Fitts!" Patrick exclaims a little too loudly. "Mhmm," you confirm, starting to tie your other shoe. "If Mike Fitts is your fiancé, why are you here?"

"Are you referring to the court or the school?" you ask, looking up at both Art and Patrick.

"Both," Art and Patrick respond in unison.

You chuckled as you stuffed your tennis racket into your bag. "Well, whether I'm engaged or not, I always planned to graduate college. And Mike is too busy right now to teach me, so I'm trying to teach myself."

The two of them nod in understanding as you stand up. "It was really nice meeting both of you, but I have class," you announce, throwing your tennis bag over your shoulder. "By the way, it would be great if you guys could keep the whole fiancé thing on the down low. I'm trying to keep it as quiet as possible for now."

"Yeah, no problem," one of them replies.

"Of course," the other adds.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it," you say giving them a small smile before turning around to leave the court.

just as you're about to walk away, Art calls out after you, "Wait! You said you're trying to learn, right? we could coach you if you want” Patrick gives him a look and Art ignores it waiting for your response.

You pause, considering the offer.

”the both of you?” you asked gesturing between them. Art gives you a nod. at that moment The risk didn't seem too big so you said

. "Sure," with small shrug

"How about tomorrow at 12:30?" you suggest, checking the pink Bvlgari watch Mike got you.

"Perfect," Art responds with a shit eating smile

“Ok see you guys ” you laugh walking out the court

~~~~~~

“Yeah see” Patrick says reading a newspaper. “Olympic coach, Dylan yLn, Daughter engaged to Olympics gold medalist Mike fitts” Patrick reads next to a photo of you and Mike smiling as you showed off your huge

engagement ring. “She wasn’t bull shitting”

“Let me see” Art says grabbing the newspaper. “She didn't have on her engagement ring when we saw her...” Art trails off

“You can't be serious” Patrick laughs

“What?”

“She’s engaged Art, not to anyone either,” Patrick leaned in on the table so only he could hear. “she’s engaged Mike Fitts!”

“I didn't say anything,” Art defends

“ you don't have to” Patrick says stealing a fry off Arts plate plopping it in him mouth.

”I know you,”

~~~~~

After that day, everything seemed to blend together. Art and Patrick dedicated themselves to training you throughout the weekdays for three entire months until you got tired of it and decided on once a week. You told Mike you found a coach but never told him who. Since they were kinda the only people you knew in the entire school, the three of you grew close fast. You started going out to bars and parties together. you had your most memorable college moments with the two of them. And then, your birthday arrived. Patrick had left for some torment and it was just you and Art.

You two were just having so much fun that night. On thing led to another And before you realized it, the two of you were constantly having “fun together”. It didn't matter where - in the dorm, in the shower, or even on the floor. It was bad, but you two couldn't stop

Trying to clear your mind you Let out a sigh. you carefully remove Mike from your side sitting up to taking a sip of you're water on the nightstand. Trying to ignore the ache of your core. This is how you spent every night away from him, needy, uncomfortable. You heard a knock at the door which almost caused you to spill water on yourself. You Quickly put your drink down and run to answer it before the person could knock again careful to be quiet not to wake up Mike.

You swung the door open to find Art standing there, hair slightly damp, with huge smile on his face. "Are you out of your mind?" you whisper, stepping out of the room and shutting the door quietly behind you. You can't help but notice his thin athletic hoodie and gym shorts. Slightly wet clinging to his skin as if he just stepped out of the shower.

"It's past one ,"Art huffed out , his voice filled with urgency and desire as he leaned in for a kiss. his hand gently cradling the side of your face in the process.

When the realization of what was happening washed over you, you pulled away, but still stayed close enough to feel his breath against your skin. "Art," you breathed out, eyes darting down the hall to check if anyone saw. Your hand instinctively found its place on his strong chest, you savored the feeling and the look of your manicured nails there, not knowing when you be able to do it again.

"I like these," Art hummed, playing with the hem of your pajama shorts. He rolled the fabric between his fingers, his big hand gracing you thighs in the process. The little touch sent shivers down your spine. You somehow composed yourself pushing him away gently with your index finger, creating some distance between you two.

He looked at you with sad eyes like a rejected puppy. "Mike’s sleeping inside," you whisper, worried someone could hear. "What does that mean?"

There was a long pause as you carefully choose your next words. Art stared at you intently, trying to decipher your expression. "You slept with him?” Art asks, as if he already knew the answer.

"No, I didn't sleep with him!” You whisper yelled, “He just showered and fell asleep," you explained,

"What's bothering you then?"

"I feel guilty."

"You didn't feel guilty at Stanford."

"Mike wasn't at Stanford."

“You care about Mike's feelings now ?" Art's asks furrows his brow, his voice filled with a mix of confusion and hurt.

" I don’t know… he’s been nicer lately and were supposed to be married in three days”

“You’re actually thinking about going through with it?” Art asked the hurt now evident in his voice.

“There’s nothing I can do now, I signed contracts, this isn’t just about us anymore I’ve told you this”

“What about the private investors?”

"That's just a 'what if,' a perfect 'what if,' but we don't even know if he's seeing someone."

“ If I win tomorrow?”

“Art If you win are lose tomorrow it doesn’t change anything, my Dad expects me at the alter on Sunday regardless, nothings gonna change that”

“But you don’t love him ”

“ I could” your words come out more a question, maybe a hope. “I loved you?”

“You love me” Art corrects

"There's too much at stake now, Art. This is my father's career. We don't come from money, this is all he has."

“You honestly believe this will ruin his career?”

“It could” you reply with a small shrug your voice cracking slightly.

“It won’t” Art response

“You don’t know that”

“ Don’t do this ” Art whispered closing the small space between you. He sounded so tortured, like he was pleading with you.

you hadn't realize it but tears welled in your eyes Threatening to spill any moment. When You blinked an a tear fell down your cheek. Art tenderly brushed it away with his thumb. The stress of the last two weeks had finally caught up to you. “it wasn’t supposed to be this hard” you murmured, your voice barely audible, tears streaming down your face as Art wiped them away.

“Do you love me?” his questions sounded genuine but you knew, he already knew the answer. ”more than i’d like to” you joke, using the back of your hand to dry your eyes.

“Then let me make you feel better,” Art whispered leaning down so he was directly above your ear.

“You’re right about what you said earlier, Mike wasn’t there at Stanford”. He paused for a second moving a piece of your hair out the way, “I was,” he hummed brushing his face against yours “just me and you” he whispered leaving a trail of kisses on the outside of your earlobe down your neck. Causing Your breath catch in your throat .“We had fun right?” Art question, his voice deep and breathy causing you to instinctively press your legs together as you leaned back against the door. “Art” you mumble trying to shake the sexual haze that was swirling inside you.

“I missed you” he whispered his free hand slinking up the side of you short griping your thigh, hiking your leg up slightly. “So bad…All day”

“we can't” you manage to breathe out unconvisingly.

“I’ll beg,”

“Art” you warned

“I’ll do anything baby” he mumbles leaving slowly kisses on your neck. “Anything you want me to” he says kissing under your chin. “ I need you” he hums kissing down your neck, ”don’t you need me?” Art asked kissing below your ear. You don't respond giving small nodd biting the inside of your lip. “Can I hear it?” Art asked, the way his voice sounded so desperate, Damn near whiney had you looking for friction. ”I need you so fucking bad” you basically moan pushing your body against his.

“I love you so much you don't understand” Art said smiling against you cheek. sliding his free hand down the front of your shorts. He rubs his fingers through your folds collecting your wetness on his fingers. You throw your head back with a quiet moan, quickly biting your lip to silence yourself. “Fuck your so wet” Art groans before pulling his hand from your shorts, sucking his fingers clean like it was second nature. You clenched around nothing at the sight.

“I missed that taste” he groans returning his hand to your heat. “Can I make you cum right here” Art huffed out peeping down the hall.

"Yea,” you breathed out, nodding your head feverishly. He could have asked you to drive to the moon in that moment, and you would have said yes. Art slowly pushed two fingers inside of you creating a medium pace before bringing his thumb to rub your clit, you moan lifting your hips to meet his fingers. “Fuck I could eat you out right here” Art groaned watching you Practically fuck yourself on his fingers. “Promise me you won't ever let him see you like this” Art goans leaving kisses on your collar done. “this is mine”

”You can bearly hear a word he's saying the feeling of his thumb on your clit and finger damn near touching you cervix was too much to bear. “I’m gonna cum” you moaned out grabbing Arts shoulder hard in an effort to ground yourself. “I can feel it,” Art breathed pressing his forehead against yours. He presses down harder on your clit causing you to buck into his fingers, letting out a loud moan You cum. his movement don't falter, he continues to pump them in and out while still rubbing your clit until he feels like you've finally had enough.

he removes his fingers from your pussy returning them to his mouth. “I’ll never get tired of that” Art laughs leaning in for a kiss, you return it, taste yourself on his lips. He gently places you leg back on the floor and you stumbled slightly grading his shoulder for balance. He instantly goes to your waist holding you steady. “You ok?” Art ask slight consern on his face. You don't respond afraid of what your voice would sound like after an orgasm like that.

You nod with a smile and Art led you to the hotel room directly next to yours, pulling out a key card from his pocket with a grin.

“You didn't,” you exclaimed as he opened the door.

“I did,” he replied, motioning for you to enter.

“How did you even know our room number?” you ask, stepping inside.

“I have my ways,” he answered, closing the door behind you.

“How did you afford this?” you asked, looking around.

“Are you going to keep ask questioning or are you going to take of your clothes” Art laughs , watching as you sit on the bed.

“You first,” you countered, settling back .

“Yes ma’am,” Art chuckled, starting to undress.

~~~~

Morning arrives and you found yourself back in your original room. Mike was in the bathroom getting ready while you fix your dress in the mirror of the bedroom. As you adjust the straps, you notice a hickey you hadn't seen before, one you forgot to cover up after coming back last night. You laid your hair over it and walk towards the bathroom to retrieve your makeup bag, slightly tripping as your sore legs gave out on you. "You good?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, I think I'm just sore from tennis practice," you say, reaching past him to get your makeup bag.

"You know no one expects you to play," Mike laughs while drying his hair with a towel. "I'm not doing it for anyone, I want to learn," your words come out more offended than you intended. "I just mean you could spend your time doing something else."

"Like what?" You respond plainly, walking out of the bathroom back to the mirror. "Like calling your dad and asking him what time he'll be here," Mike says from the now open bathroom. "Is your phone not working?" You asked rhetorically, pulling out your concealer . "I don't want to fight today, okay," Mike Replies sternly, looking at you through the reflection of the mirror. "This is a big match," he mumbles while running his toothbrush under the water.

"I thought you said it was going to be 'nothing,'" you chuckle dryly, applying the concealer as his face was turned. "It is, but from what your Dad's been saying, he's been getting good. So I'd like to be on my A-game and not have you trying to start shit."

"Whatever you want honey" you respond, quietly laughing in disbelief. He had resorted right back to his old ways,How could you ever agree to marry someone like him, someone so vastly different from the man you spent the night with.

~~~~

soon as you and Mike were finished getting ready, your father called you to come downstairs to join him for breakfast. You and Mike both stood in line, slightly overdressed, picking out your favorite breakfast items. Mike only getting French toast, disregarding his strict diet. Suddenly, you heard a familiar laughter and turned around to see Art chatting with your father near the entrance. Your heart sank as your father motioned for you both to come over. After dropping off your plates, you and Mike walked towards them, feeling Mike's hand slip around your waist.

"I'd like you to meet someone," your father announced with a smile, putting his arm around Art's shoulder. "This is Art Donaldson," he introduced, "the man I'm competing against today." Mike stated extending his hand for a handshake, and Art reciprocated. Your stomach churned at the sight. "This is Mike, you know him, he's also my daughter's fiancé." Your father says with a smile.

"Stressful, huh?" Art jokes. "Oh, you have no idea," your Dad replies, laughing. "You're both at the same college, right? Stanford?" your Dad asked, nodding towards you. “maybe you could try your luck at training her because I just can't get through," your dad jokes. Art's eyes rake over you, as if looking at you for the first time. "It be my pleasure" Art smiles, looking directly at you. You to discreetly warn him with your eyes but You notice Mike's grip on your waist tighten, clearly not pleased. "Actually, I've been training y/n already, she's improving every day," Mike says, planting a quick kiss on your head.

"Really?" Art inquires, trying to keep up the act to the best of his abilities. "Monday through Friday," Mike replies with a smug grin. “How do you manage with your Busy schedule?” Art asks tilting his head to the side slightly in the process.

“You find time for the people you love,” Mike says with a fake smile. You had to physically hold back your laugh. But you played it off as wiping your face. He had taken a line straight from media training. Silence filled the air as the two have a silent conversation with their eyes.

“Well I wanted to introduce all of you, as I will officially be coaching Art starting next fall,"

Your Dad says in an attempt to break the tension. But it only makes it worse, Somehow Mike's grip on you tightened even more, now you were concerned he’d leave a bruise . "When did you make this decision?" Mike asked, his face showing no emotion but you could tell he was angry. "two weeks ago, and I've been waiting for the right moment to properly introduce you two. I know the timing is awkward with the match, but it's better to do it now than later."

Mike doesn’t say anything giving an expressionless nod. There was another awkward pause before you decided to speak up. "It was nice meeting you…Art?" you trail off , purposely sounding unsure. He nodded with a knowing smile. "But our food is getting cold," you joked, trying to escape the suffocating tension. "I wouldn't want to keep the couple from their food," Art said, while a smiling again only looking directly at you. You wanted to scream, he was being so obvious and the way Mike was already acting, you knew you wouldn’t hear the end of it. "You two eat, I have to go handle some things, I won’t be long" your father said, gesturing for you and Mike to sit at the table before walking off with Art.

Once the two of you sit back at the table you feel caught. "I don't want you near that guy," Mike says, taking a sip of his coffee. You roll your eyes and stab at your scrambled eggs. “He was basically eye fucking you the whole time, and it doesn’t help that your dress is so tight”

“I think you forget sometimes this isn’t real,” you reply, taking a bite.

"Lower your voice," Mike warns, glancing around to see if anyone heard.

"You didn't care about it being real when you accepted the gifts," he scoffs, "or in Virginia."

"It was once, Mike. And every day, you make me regret it."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. You don't get to control me just because you buy me shit. Anyone can buy me shit."

“I told you i’m not doing this with you today” Mike laughs dryly standing up from the table. "I'll see you later, okay babe?" he says a bit louder, forcing a fake smile as he plants a kiss on your head before walking away. You try your best not to flinch when he touches you. Once he's gone, your phone buzzes, and you glance down to see an unsaved number. It's a text from Art.

“meet me at the restaurant next door in 20, alone.”

Author note : GUYS FEEL FREE TO COMMENT I LOVE READING COMMENTS

[anathemaspeaks]

come and get your love

character(s): gojo satoru synopsis: the one in which your best friend needs only one thing - you. or; the three times he's wanted you, and the one time he got you. word count: 4k warning(s): smut a/n: ALL DAY ALL NIGHT NO LUBE NO PROTECTION PLEASE requests are open <3 likes, reblogs, and follows are appreciated!

you and gojo satoru were neighbors.

that was how you met in the first place - you were walking home from college, your new dior perfume (which cost a kidney and a half) in one hand, and dinner in the other. you were walking across the corridor-

crash!

a 6"3 blur of white just ran past you, bumping into you and yelling a "sorry!" and muttering something about cursing someone. perfume bottle now in pieces and on the floor, you were pissed, but he was long gone. asshole.

that was the blur you came to know as satoru. while you were eating dinner, satoru had showed up at your door with a bottle of the exact same perfume - not smushed this time. well, maybe he wasn't so bad.

you invited in the handsome stranger to thank him, and asked if he wanted to eat anything. he was about to refuse, until he saw the untouched chocolate cake lying in your kitchen. who could say no to that?

and that was the beginning of your friendship.

that was the first and last time he wasn't a constant pain in your ass. now, he was your self-declared best friend and it's been almost a year since you both first met, and you enjoyed his company a lot more than you'd ever admit.

in more ways than one, too.

the first time:

in this year you'd also discovered something. well, watched it unfold, really. some smartass (read: geto) decided to give satoru an ipad for his birthday.

safe to say, he was addicted to it within a day.

he became an actual ipad kid. everytime he came over he'd have his ipad out, playing games or watching something. why he couldn't just use a normal phone or laptop like a normal person was beyond you. and he never went anywhere without it. he even took it to college.

well, he did just get an ipad, so you could sort of understand it. but still. weirdo.

you both were both going out to a club tonight with all of your friends. you'd finished doing your hair, and you were almost done with your makeup. you still had to wear your dress. you'd decided to go with a sleeveless blue corset dress that reached mid-thigh.

you were done pre-gaming, if you drank anymore, you weren't going to get through the night. you were applying your lip liner, when you heard a knock on the door. knowing exactly who it was, you went to open it.

the second you opened the door, you slammed it shut. he looked good - he was wearing a white shirt rolled up to his forearms, with the top two buttons undone, and black pants. but that wasn't the problem.

he was wearing a bright blue backpack. a fucking backpack. and you knew exactly what was in it. you had to mentally prepare yourself before you talked him out of it.

"satoru, either you leave the bag or you're not coming."

"but-"

"no, you can't carry an ipad with you to a club."

"okay okay, i'll..." he paused, his eyes moving lower, followed by silence.

"well?" you asked, breaking the pause.

"...that dress looks really good on you" he said, voice a bit breathier than normal.

"what?" you asked, cheeks now dusted pink.

suddenly, he moved closer and leaned down right next to your ear, voice just above a murmur. "i said, that dress looks incredible on you," he glanced down again, raking his eyes over your form, eyes lingering a beat too long on your curves.

"though, i think it would look even better on my bedroom floor"

your visibly choked. was he finally making a bolder move on you, one that isn't a really cheesy pick-up line, or a failed attempt at flirting? fuck.

"i think you've pre-gamed a little too hard, satoru," you whispered, the heat in your cheeks betraying you, a warmth slowly spreading through your body just by looking at him. he was gorgeous.

he pouted at that, and you almost gave in. his pretty blue eyes wide with hope, and his pouty lips practically begging you to kiss the frown away.

and you don't know whether you were drunk on the alcohol or on your proximity to the god of a man in front of you, but you found yourself thinking about what it would feel like to really kiss his plump lips.

"i'm not drunk!" he protested.

"i know, 'toru, but we've gotta go, come on." it was probably just him being delirious, but you couldn't help the butterflies in your stomach.

but then, at the club, he didn't leave your side on the dance floor even once. he was so close you could feel his body heat, eyes locked in a silent conversation. it sent a delicious shiver down your spine.

as he dropped you off, with his voice an octave deeper, he said, "you should wear blue more often."

then, he straightened up and went into his house like it was nothing, a stupid smirk on his face.

collapsing onto the couch, you buried your face in a pillow, the scent of his cologne still lingering on your dress, infiltrating your senses. sleep wouldn't come. all you could see were his stormy blue eyes, filled with unspoken desire - one you tried denying you felt for him too, until today.

why was he so irresistible?

a muted scream found its way out of your mouth, muffled by the pillow, a delicious mix of frustration and something far more needy. damn him and those strong shoulders that seemed to stretch on forever beneath his thin white shirt, the poor fabric straining against his biceps with every movement.

and his face? his lips, so full and slightly parted, an invitation for you to kiss them, the moonlight casting a sinful glow on the way his jaw clenched with unspoken desire all night long. you swore he was a walking sculpture come to life, every line and angle sculpted by the gods themselves.

now, satoru knew he wanted you since the day he met you. your angry pout, yet somehow kind eyes had him falling hook, line and sinker. but this was different. he had never felt a longing this deep, and only you brought out that side of him.

it drove him insane.

his hands on your waist all night, lips only a few inches away from each other, that fucking dress that took his breath away - it felt so intoxicating.

things were going to change between the both of you for the better, he hoped.

the second time:

it had been a week since that night, and now you both were attending suguru's 21st birthday party. you were all going to stay at an expensive hotel in las vegas for the whole weekend.

god, you loved being friends with rich people.

it was three people per room, and you were all to be assigned your rooms by the birthday boy himself. you read the text he sent. you were paired up with shoko... and satoru.

you could already tell this was going to be a long weekend.

the roar of the plane engines on the way there served as a backdrop for the girls' chatter - you included. every few seconds your gaze would flicker to him, seemingly engrossed in his ipad. but his scorching glances that lingered a beat too long told you it was a blatant lie.

he was watching you. watching with an intensity that almost made you fold in half, and made you feel your heartbeat in your throat. every laugh, every word you said, you knew he was looking. at you.

when the plane finally touched down in vegas, the desert heat slapped you in the face.

a wave of relief washed over you when you finally reached the hotel lobby. this place was huge. as you finished unpacking and settling into the room, shoko decided she wanted to leave and explore the hotel.

"you coming?" she asked both of you.

"be right there!" you replied. you still needed to fix up your outfit and makeup. now the only ones in the room were you and satoru, who claimed he had to freshen up.

as you applied your mascara, you felt his warm hand right above the waistband of your jeans, fingers barely brushing past your hips, the touch alone sending a heat through you.

but then he straightened up, the moment ending too soon for you liking. fucking tease.

"sorry!" he said, batting his long eyelashes at you and acting oh-so-innocent. he didn't know what he just started.

the rest of the afternoon was a blur. you all unpacked, shared stories and spent the entire day lounging around. as the sun set, you went to change your clothes into something more fitting for the casino.

you picked a short, black dress this time, neckline dipping just a little bit too low, knowing he'd be looking at you. the dress clung to you like a second skin. you were a sight to see in that outfit - maybe it was even better than your last one.

you ended up at the bar, the air thick with the mingled scent of expensive liquor and something far more exhilarating. just then, a rather handsome man approached you, his voice smooth and deep. he asked you if you would like a drink.

you decided to have a little fun and play along, enjoying the blatant display of interest - but you were very aware of satoru's gaze burning into you. his jaw was clenched tight, eyes narrowed a fraction. his stare was so intense it sent chills down your spine.

you took a sip of your drink, eyes meeting satoru's across the room. a slow smile spread across your lips, he definitely wouldn't back down now. not when you looked that divine. not when you had that scum talking to you - an absolute goddess.

you continued sipping your drink and listening to the man's attempt at smooth talking you. you decided you'd had enough for now, so you excused myself and headed towards the ground floor balcony. you didn't have to look back to know satoru was following you.

the cool desert air on the balcony offered a welcome respite. the real thrill came in the form of satoru, appearing beside you. he looked amazing, navy blue suit doing nothing to hide his body. you were positive he wasn't real.

"need some fresh air?" he asked, clearly trying to act nonchalant.

"oh, something like that" you replied, a playful smile dancing on your lips. "maybe i just needed a moment to appreciate the view... besides the one inside, you know."

he grinned a bit mockingly, tilting his head and leaning down so that he could look directly into your eyes from above his sunglasses, "don't think i haven't noticed what you're up to" he said, voice husky.

a warmth flared through you, and a barely concealed smile of triumph found its way onto your face. mission accomplished.

"god, that dress is making it impossible to breathe, impossible to think of anything else but you. makes me wanna forget this whole damn night and just..." he trails off, gaze flickering to your lips, then back to your eyes.

fuck it, he won.

you leaned in closer, the distance between your lips shrinking with every passing second. this was it. you were so close, your lips inches away from-

"there you two are. everyone's looking for you, let's go dance."

your softly sighed in frustration. satoru straightened up, a flicker of disappointment crossing his features before they returned to his normal overly happy ones.

"didn't know you were looking for us! let's go," he replied.

you grabbed shoko's arm and went to the dance floor, thoughts of satoru and how he was so close to you, how he almost had his lips on yours on your mind as you tried to dance the night away.

the rest of the weekend unfolded in a blur of flashing lights and pounding music. you were in a group, inseparable yet frustratingly apart. every stolen touch, every lingering look, felt like a secret whispered in a crowded room.

but in the end, the chance for a private conversation never came again. this had to be some cruel joke.

the third time:

two weeks after the party, you all met up at shoko's house. you left to go upstairs and find the bathroom. when you came back down, everyone had started a water fight in the backyard.

you left them alone for two minutes.

you walked out, only to get drenched from head to toe almost instantly. you were going to kill suguru for soaking your new gray shirt, which was now see through.

you spotted satoru amidst everyone, his stare locked onto your chest. you were wearing sky blue lingerie. it was a blatant stare - raw, and hungry. it gave you goosebumps. it wasn't planned, but god, you were glad it happened.

you set a mental reminder to thank geto.

before you could do anything, his eyes shifted back up, meeting yours. a flicker of apology danced in his gaze, quickly overshadowed by something much deeper.

suddenly remembering where you are, you sneakily grabbed the nearest water balloon, a mischievous glint in your eyes. you aimed square at his torso. the balloon hit satoru's chest with a loud slap!

if your shirt was soaked, it was only fair that his was too, right? now he was completely wet. bull's eye.

he sputtered, the shock quickly giving way to a wide, mischievous grin. water dripped down his face, tracing a path along the sharp line of his jaw and disappearing down his neck to his abs.

oh. his abs. the sight alone drenched you in a place where the water balloon didn't. he shook himself off with a laugh, raising his hands in surrender and unintentionally flexing his biceps. oh wow.

was he trying to kill you?

this time, though, his eyes remained fixed on yours with a look that almost had you fighting for air. you both continued to drown each other, competing to see who caused the most damage, taking any chance to get closer.

as the sun started to set, you all started leaving. you and satoru said your goodbyes to shoko and started walking towards the car, talking about how fun the day was.

you stole a glance at satoru. fuck.

his drenched t-shirt clung to his broad frame, outlining the way his muscles flexed with every step. your cheeks burned at the memory of his stare, the way his gaze had lingered on your tits, making your face heat up.

"think you'll survive the drive home like that, princess? i did do some damage, you know," he teasingly asked, amusement evident in his voice.

"oh i will, don't you worry princess," you replied. "just more proof that i completely demolished your snow white ass." he laughed at that, smile making him glow even more in the golden hour lighting.

you both continued bantering until you reached the basement and he parked the car.

you were walking towards your apartment. you tilted your head up, a shine in your eyes. "so," you started, "what do you say we call a truce until next time? and then winner takes it all."

a slow smile spread across his face.

"truce it is" he conceded, "but winner gets any prize of their choice," he said with a slight smirk.

he leaned in ever so slightly, his lips hovering a tantalizing distance from yours. the scent of his cologne, somehow still present, invaded your senses completely.

"oh? and how do you propose we decide this prize?" you asked, indulging him.

he chuckled, the pretty sound ringing in your ears. "let's just say," he leaned in again, close enough for you to feel the warmth of his breath on your cheek again, "i have a few ideas in mind."

you slowly tilted your head upwards and batted your eyelashes, leaning into him before saying "mm, goodnight, 'toru." you let your gaze shift to his full lips before meeting his eyes.

but you pulled away before he could make a move. you relished in the look on his face - like a man starved, eyes filled with a desperate need. for you.

you played off your own need for him with a teasing, innocent smile as you entered your apartment. you needed him. fast.

the fourth time:

satoru was a mess. the usual carefree, playful glint in his eyes was replaced by sadness, his usual smile replaced by a deep pout. he was draped in a giant, fuzzy blanket, clutching a tub of ice cream like a lifeline.

the culprit? a broken ipad.

how he managed to break it beyond repair was quite impressive, actually.

'good riddance,' you thought, thinking about his avid screen addiction.

but the sight of him trudging around your apartment like a kicked puppy, a half-eaten tub of ice cream clutched in one hand and a giant blanket draped over his broad shoulders - you almost felt bad.

you turned on the tv, hoping to distract him, but the suggestion was met with a watery glare and a choked sob. "it's not the same," he moaned, his voice thick with despair, "nothing can make me forget about my broken heart," he sighed.

what a drama queen.

you stifled a smile, the jab dying on your tongue. this wasn't like satoru. this was a whole new level of gloominess. it was kind of adorable, actually. he slumped onto the couch, sitting next to you, the oversized blanket engulfing him like a cocoon of misery.

hesitantly, you reached out, brushing a stray strand of hair from his forehead. his skin was warm beneath your touch, and his eyes, usually sparkling with mischief, were clouded with a vulnerability you would never guess was caused by an ipad of all things.

"maybe you need a different kind of distraction," you murmured, voice barely above a whisper. you felt bold.

he turned towards you, gaze locking onto yours. you swore you saw a hint of something other than vulnerability - something that made the butterflies in your stomach flutter. the air hung heavy with the weight of what you said.

neither of you moved, still maintaining eye contact.

"you sure about what you're asking for?" he asked softly, already leaning in towards you.

your gaze flickered from his perfect lips, full and inviting, to the hint of stubble darkening his jawline. every fiber of your being yearned to bridge the gap, to kiss him like you needed to.

"positive," you breathed, neediness evident in your tone.

the space between you vanished in a blink. he leaned in, breath warm against your lips as he filled up the space between you. one hand cupped your cheek, touch surprisingly gentle in contrast to the primal need in his eyes.

his lips met yours with a hunger that stole your breath away, the taste of him a delicious combination of cookie dough from the ice cream, and something else, something so... satoru.

his hand on your face deepened its hold, his thumb tracing a path down your jawline in a slow, deliberate caress. you mirrored the movement, fingers tangling themselves in the soft fabric of his t-shirt, desperate to feel the solid warmth of his body against yours.

the kiss deepened, a tangle of limbs and breathless gasps. his hand moved lower, the thin fabric of your shirt allowing you to feel the searing heat of his palm on your back, his lips moving perfectly against yours

your breath hitched as his hand went under your shirt to grip your waist, pulling you impossibly closer.

as much as you wanted to continue, the heat pooling in your lower stomach became harder and harder to ignore with every passing second.

you broke apart from the kiss reluctantly, a string of saliva connecting you both.

"bedroom" you demanded, not wanting to spend another second without his lips on yours. you closed the gap between you both, desperate to taste him again. you felt his arm hook under your thighs as he lifted you up, never once breaking the kiss, the other hand remaining on your jaw, picking you up like it was nothing.

he pressed you up against every wall on the way to the room, lips practically devouring you. your nails dug into the muscles of his back from under his shirt, urging him closer, closer. you were definitely going to leave marks, ones that he would wear proudly.

he chuckled in pride at the thought of that, a low rumble against your lips that made your skin tingle, before pulling back just enough to trail a searing kiss down your jawline. he nipped at your neck before biting it. hard. he continued until he was positive you would see them for the rest of the week.

you felt his cock growing under you. your breath hitched in excitement as his lips dipped lower, sending shivers dancing across the exposed skin of your shoulders. and finally, you reached your room.

you were a trembling mess, body aching in anticipation and need for him, panties so soaked you were sure he could feel it.

in the dim light of the moon filtering through the window, he looked like an angel - chest heaving, lips swollen from all the kissing, eyes almost black with desire - all for you.

he placed you onto the bed, getting up to take off his shirt. you let your eyes wander, drinking in the sight of him. he was heavenly. toned muscles glistening with a light sheen of sweat from the heat, hair disheveled from you running your hands through it and tugging at it.

you sat up to take your shirt off as well, but he interjected. "let me," he whispered, "been waiting for this for so long, fuck."

he stared at you, now fully naked underneath him. hair spread out on your pillow, lips still wet from his hungry kisses, eyes focused only on him. he was convinced this moment wasn't real.

he took off his shorts and boxers, and-

oh fuck. he was huge, and just as pretty as the rest of him. veins ran up and down the length of his throbbing cock, tip flushed pink - almost red, and leaking pre-cum.

"you did that to me, babygirl" he said, noticing your gaze.

you had to taste him. as you reached out, he stopped you. "i'd love that, but not today," he choked out, voice deep and filled with desperation.

"if i'm not inside you within the next minute, i might actually lose my mind," he groaned, large, calloused hands spreading your thighs apart.

the last of your resolve crumbling, "then fuck me, 'toru, please, need you s'bad" you whined, pulling him down into a searing kiss.

he lined up with your entrance, pushing in just the tip. you felt stretched out already. "'s too big" you cried out. "aw, you can take it pretty girl," he cooed. he was barely inside but it just felt so good. you needed more, more satoru.

you bucked your hips up a little pleading for more. taking the message, he bottomed out in a single thrust, causing you to moan his name. "shit baby. keep saying my name like that and i'm not gonna last long" he grunted, pulling almost fully out of you.

your mind was consumed with only him. satoru, satoru, satoru - fuck, you couldn't get enough. he was practically splitting you in half with his cock, but you took it like a good girl. his good girl.

"fuck, you're takin' me so well. god, look at you, such a good girl f'me, my perfect girl" you reveled in the praise, mind almost numb from how well he was fucking you, cock drilling into your dripping cunt like a man deprived.

"y'know how long i've waited for this? to have you all spread out f'me? oh, you're such a damn tease, doll. you knew exactly what you were doing, huh? wearin' that damn blue dress, and blue lingerie f'me too? what a slut."

his words sent a heat flooding through you - warm, plush walls clamping down on him, moans and whines ripping from your throat, so cock drunk all you could say was his name like a prayer, over and over again.

"mm, y-you weren't so innocent either, y'know" you bit back, whines escaping your throat. god, he loved that mouth of yours.

"shit, wanted you since i first met you, baby. you drive me fuckin' insane" he choked out, voice getting raspier. he was a vision. muscles flexing so deliciously with every thrust of his hips, teeth biting on his lip as he moaned out your name, eyes looking only at you.

fuck, he really was perfect. he leaned down to kiss you again, a large hand finding its way to your tits. he caressed it, playing with your nipple while fucking you.

you were so painfully close.

his balls slapped against your ass, cock pushing into you with a force only he could possess. you loved the feeling of how right he felt inside you, the squelching sound of your pussy fluttering around him as he relentlessly thrust into you driving you both to the edge.

"s'toru i'm- 'm gonna- hngh" you clenched down on him impossibly tighter as you came. he came after a few more thrusts, release mixing with yours and seeping down onto your now very stained sheets.

he collapsed down next to you, an arm around your waist, pulling you to face him.

it was such a stark contrast - two minutes ago he was fucking you like there was no tomorrow, and now here he was, looking at you with a dopey smile on his face and a shine in his bright blue irises.

you couldn't help but grin back. you stayed like that until you caught your breaths, heartbeats slowly returning back to normal.

"so, since the day you first met me, huh?" you asked, a playful smile finding its way onto your face. you were met with a blush of embarrassment spreading across his cheeks. only satoru could go from the epitome of a sex god to a flustered mess within two minutes.

"been obsessed with you since i first saw that look on your face when i broke your expensive perfume. that was hot. but then, i got to know you better, and you were so sweet and funny and so goddamn pretty and i- i just couldn't help but... you know." he admitted, eyes averting from yours.

he said it with the demeanor of a man who wasn't fucking your brains out a minute ago.

you gripped his jaw, making him look at you again. and then you kissed him - a soft, tender one, pouring in all of your emotions. you wanted him to know you reciprocated his emotions.

"good, because i felt the same way 'toru" you smiled against his lips.

"well what took you so long then?"

"what took me so long? what about you?"

"you're the one who liked me," he replied, as if it was oh-so-obvious.

"well you liked me first satoru!" you sassed, trying to turn away from him.

he pulled you back, arms wrapping around your middle and made you face him again, grip on your waist never faltering.

"so, round two?"

bonus points if you can guess where the title's from

the ipad kid part is kinda random but i totally think he'd be one so 😭

[lipringlrh]

race for your heart | mv1

summary: you’re not meant to be there, but you can’t stay away, especially not from the racer who can’t stop winning.

pairing: illegal street racer!max x fem!reader

an: might be my fave thing i’ve ever written. thinking of making this a mini series, thoughts? i’m also not an illegal street racer and have never seen one so might not be accurate x

word count: 3.7k

warnings: illegal, police chase, speeding, mentions of drugs and dodgy men

feedback appreciated and requests open!!

…

You'd been here a few times before, not regularly, never more than twice a month, but enough times to know how everything goes. You weren't meant to be here the first time, you found it by a complete accident but you were grateful now. It filled you with both excitement and dread to be here. It was illegal and wrong, nevermind the fact someone could die.

The place was crawling with creeps and criminals everywhere, one wrong move or one wrong sentence could get you on the wrong side of some dangerous people, but you lived for the thrill. The danger of the drive, and watching the drivers do it. In brand new sports cars you could only dream of affording. You didn't really know much about the drivers, except one.

Max.

He caught your eye instantly when you'd first shown. He was stood there, head to toe in black, his arm placed carefully on his car, showing off all the right bits. He was the reason you kept coming back. He was fast, quicker than all the other drivers, and everyone knew it. He was the one people wanted to challenge, to beat, but they never seemed to.

You'd seen the bets. The money people were giving to the winner after every race. More money than you knew what to do with. You craved it, the luxury and the lifestyle, but it seemed impossible. You weren't a fast driver, and you weren't a criminal by any means yet you still found yourself drawn here every time. And drawn to the driver everyone deemed untouchable.

He was the same today: a winner. You never expected any different, no one did. All the prizes were handed to him on a gold platter. Crowds cheered for him, men patting him on the back as he got out of his car to grab a beer. He met your eye again as he sat at the bar. He was left alone now, the crowds already moving on to the next big thing to talk about. He didn't look away, and for the second time, he found himself walking over to you.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing here alone, again?" He grumbled, taking a sip of his beer. He changed his clothes after the race, now dressed in a white button-down and jeans.

He was weary of you the first time you met. You looked lost, you were, and you were not the kind of person to be here. You looked too pure and good to be surrounded by lousy criminals with more money than they knew what to do with. He wondered if you were with the police, trying to scope out the area and shut it down, but he learned quickly he was wrong.

You explained you were lost and he blindly believed you. He was worried once you figured out what you were doing that you would go to the police but he made you promise you wouldn't, and after he watched how your knees went weak after he called you a "good girl," he knew you wouldn't.

He saw you the next few times you went, looking less and less lost every time, but he never caught your eye long enough to feel confident in walking over. "Can you imagine that?" He thought to himself, "I'm treated as though I'm a fucking god around here and I still can't talk to a girl." He beat himself down over it, watching you interact with people he never wanted you to talk to, in fear they'd ruin the pure image he'd created of you in his head. So he watched from afar, giving creeps the eye long enough to scare them off. Of course, you didn't know it was him sending these men away, but sometimes you were grateful and other times you weren't. He felt bad for a moment before not caring again. "It's to keep her safe," he promised to himself every time.

You didn't reply to him immediately, instead drinking in his appearance: the way his face looked under the moonlight, the way his jaw locked when you didn't reply, and the way his shirt stretched over his muscles perfectly, letting you see everything.

"So?" he replied, smirking, watching you look him up and down more times than he could count, "are you going to answer me?"

You're eyes flew to his face again, watching as he became more confident the longer he saw you looking.

"What did you ask?" you mumbled, holding eye contact.

"I said: "What's a pretty girl like you doing here alone, again?" Think you can answer that?" he challenged, taking a step closer. He saw what he did to other girls, how he made them crumble, but nothing compared to you, and how he loved watching his effect on you.

"I- well, I just came for a beer?" you answered, sounding more unconfident the more you went on. You knew why you were here: because you liked it, but you didn't want to. It was criminal yet here you were, enjoying the thrill and the danger. And watching Max, racing or not.

"And the last time? And the time before that? You don't seem like the type of girl to go out drinking alone, especially to the type of place so dirty and illegal." He asked, teasing, stepping closer once again. His voice was growing louder even as he got closer until he was touching you and leaning down to whisper in your ear, "I think you like it, don't you?"

Your body shuddered at the closeness, your hand flying straight to his arm to keep balance. Instead, you made it worse for yourself, grabbing straight onto his muscles, and turning your face the slightest shade of red. You hoped Max wouldn't be able to see - you were too close and there wasn't much light, but you were very wrong. Crowds moved everywhere around you, but all of Max's focus was on you. It was impossible for him not to notice, he was trying to pick up on every detail that he could about you.

His head lifted back up so you could see him fully like he could see you. Your faces were barely apart, a few centimetres at best, but it still messed with your head, a million thoughts flying everywhere at once until there were none. None other than Max and what his lips would feel like pressed against yours.

You let out the slightest nod as a response to his question. You didn't want to admit you liked it but with Max so close to you it was the only reaction you could even fathom of giving. He was messing with your head and he hasn't even done anything yet.

"Are you going to answer me like a good girl or just stand there?" he says, with the cockiest attitude you'd ever seen. He knew what he did to you, and what else those two little words would do, and he loved it.

Before you got the chance to reply, you felt pressure on your back and you were pushed into Max. He grabbed you and kept you upright, but he couldn't miss the sudden uproar of the crowd and the fact they were all running in the same direction.

He gave you a once over to make sure you were alright before looking forward to try to see what was happening. People were screaming and running and he couldn't tell why. His arms wrapped around you in a protective manner, pulling you closer in an attempt to keep you safe.

So many people were shouting at him and he couldn't make out what anyone was saying. He was trying to figure it out but it seemed impossible. You were almost pushed again but the person managed to stop themselves. Max didn't care, he was almost starting to shout at them for their recklessness until he finally found out what was happening.

"Police! Run!" the man screamed at him before carrying on running himself. It was like his fight or flight mode kicked in and he wasn't going to get caught.

"My car," he said as he realised an escape plane, telling you at the same time. He found your hand and took off running, dragging you with him. He led you both to the side of the crowd so that you wouldn't get lost and led you quickly to his car.

Police were everywhere, especially near the cars. They were parked on the road but out of the way of the runners. Many of them were unregistered or stolen, and others held bags upon bags of drugs. Police were stood by his car, trying to look inside the windows for anything immediately suspicious. They were covering the drivers side and he knew he would have to be fast.

"When I jump across to the drivers side, get into the passenger seat and shut the door," he called back to you. You processed the information, barely, and nodded, but Max was already focused on using his free hand to find his keys.

He got them, twisting them around, and unlocking the car just as he was about to reach it. The police were looking in the backseat, but were too slow to process the flashing orange lights and the doors at the opposite side opening.

Max leaped in and switched sides like a machine, doing it with so much ease it seemed impossible. He grabbed the driver's side door, holding it close as officers tried to open it.

"Get in," he screamed, watching as you paused for a moment. You made eye contact with an officer whilst quickly overthinking your whole life up until this moment. How did this happen?

You couldn't think much longer and you got inside, shutting the door shut with a slam. You let out a sigh of relief much too quickly as your breath hitched with the speed the car had just started.

Max locked the doors and took off in a flash. The car sped up in an instant, going to speeds you never dreamed of. Max was absorbed into the roads, dodging people and officers as he tried to escape.

Your hand gripped the seats until your knuckles were white; this was not a situation you ever wanted to be in. Max noticed, taking his eyes off of the road every few seconds to double-check you were okay.

"I do this every day and I've never got hurt," his eyes flicked back to your face after trying to reassure you, which was obviously failing.

"You won't get into trouble with the police either." he tried again. After looking at you again, he realised how badly he was failing. He didn't know what to do. He was fine in situations like these and had never had to comfort anyone. Every solution was running through his mind, not only to get out of here safe and alive but to make sure you knew that.

"Hold my hand," he ordered softly, holding out his hand for you to grab.

"Don't you need to focus on driving?" you questioned, worried. He laughed and lifted his other hand off of the wheel too. When he saw your face he immediately put it back on but kept the other outstretched for you to grab.

You looked at it for a second before grabbing it, interlacing your fingers together, and bringing your hands to rest on top of your thighs. His thumb immediately started traveling back and forth along the back of your hand as you decided to focus on that rather than the road in front of you.

"I promise you I will keep you safe. Nothing bad will happen," he spoke gently. He smiled at you, not that you were looking, but he thought that it might lift the mood anyway. "Trust me," he added, in the softest tone he thought he'd ever spoken with. He shook his head - he was going soft for a girl he's only ever spoken to twice.

You nodded gently, genuinely trusting him for a moment. That all faded when you started hearing sirens in the distance, getting closer and closer.

Max looked through the wing mirrors before speeding up the car even more. You subconsciously squeezed his hand more, gripping it like a vice.

"Okay, pretty girl, I'm going to need my hand back but it's only to keep you safe. I promise I'm going to keep you safe." You didn't believe him but you tried anyway.

You let go of his hand reluctantly, going back to squeezing the seats. You let out a shaky breath and tried to see what was going on behind you. You were on a motorway, going much higher than the speed limit. You could see three police cars in your view, all trying to catch you up.

Max hit the pedal again, speeding up impossibly faster. His eyes were on the road, occasionally on the police behind him and occasionally on you. If he had it his way, they'd be always on you, but he promised to keep you safe and was doing his damn best to keep it.

"We're going faster than their cars can physically go. We'll lose them in no time." He did another once over of you, taking in how petrified you looked once again. "Sitting so tense is going to make you more tense. I don't want you to worry yourself sick."

"Sorry," you mumbled, taking a quick look in the mirrors to see the police much further in the distance than you thought they would be.

"Don't apologise, pretty girl." he spoke, moving the car to the first lane.

He went round a sharp turn, almost heading onto a junction exit but only just missing it. He sped up again, heading around the next corner with flying speed.

"The police will think we just turned off, we'll turn off at the next one." You just nodded, going along with everything. You barely knew the man yet you were on a literal police chase with him.

He slowed the car down to a normal speed, placing his hand back into yours, "see, we're okay."

"We're okay," you repeated, trying to reassure yourself. His thumb was back to tracing lines on the back of your hand and it was helping you more than you'd like to admit.

It wasn't long until you turned off, traveling at a normal speed down some city suburb roads. You headed into an area you'd never seen, full of some of the biggest houses you imagined the city had to offer. You didn't even know where you were going yet you trusted Max blindly.

He parked in front of a huge residence, with all sorts of fancy cars parked in front. You imagined multiple massive families could live there with tonnes of spare space due to the sheer size of the front alone. It was truly extraordinanry.

"Where are we?" You questioned. Max had turned off the car and leaned back in his seat. His hand never left yours, and his thumb never stopped brushing back and forth.

"My home," he spoke, watching your face convey more emotions than he thought was possible. Your mind was racing a mile a minute: what did he want from you? was he kidnapping you? did he want something in return for saving you? You didn't like the thought of what was happening at all but Max read you easily.

"I can drive you back home if you'd prefer. Or take you somewhere, get you a hotel, anything," he spoke sincerely. He fully believed anything you'd want him to do, he would do for you, and he would go to the ends of the world to do it.

"I don't think I can be alone right now." You said, training your eyes onto yours and Max's hand.

"I can take you to a friend's? I can stay with you? I can take you somewhere crowded? Whatever you want me to do, I will do." He said, promising himself he would do whatever you wanted.

It was stupid - so stupid - the way Max had made you feel safe and the fact you wanted to stay by him. Not one thing led to the conclusion that he was a good man yet you still wanted to stay.

"My house is probably over an hour away." You knew Max could drive fast, you knew he could get you there much quicker but you didn't want to leave him. You looked out the window, at his house.

Max saw the way you looked at it, longingly yet worriedly. He didn't want to push you to make a decision, he wanted you to say it himself. He gave you hand a few reassuring squeezes, urging you to say what you felt.

"I want to stay with you," you whispered. You still stared at his house in horror and amusement. Max could see you in the reflection and could feel the worry radiating off you - he wanted nothing more than to make you feel safe.

"Let's go to a hotel." he said, your head immediately flicking back to look at his, "We can get different rooms if you'd like, but if you'd feel more comfortable there, we can go. It's no problem at all."

"Yes please," you nodded, grateful for Max's thinking. The more he was talking, the more comfortable and safe you felt around him. Past you would probably be calling yourself stupid in every way you knew how, but you felt like it'd be okay this time.

He drove off carefully, sticking to all the speed limits, something he rarely did when he was alone. He took you to a nearby hotel, only a ten-minute drive away. It was a lovely-looking hotel, something you'd never check yourself into though when you could just get the classic cheap ones that always worked fine.

"You okay?" Max asked carefully as you peered outside.

"This looks expensive, Max."

God, he loved when you said his name. You hadn't said it a lot but he felt like he could get addicted every time.

He chuckled in amusement, "I've got more money than I could use if I tried, it's on me."

You nodded and opened the car door, unfortunately dropping Max's hand in the process. Not for long though, as Max whipped around the side of the car to grab it again after muttering a small, "let me open it for you next time," to you.

He ordered two separate rooms but made sure they were next to each other and handed you both keys to your room and the spare keys to his, making you promise to let yourself in of you needed anything.

You felt yourself drawn to him, becoming disappointed as he left you to your own room, longing for more. You led in bed, in the same clothes you'd been wearing all day, wanting nothing more than to just be with him again.

You also couldn't stop thinking about the night that passed and how it could've ended much differently. You were reckless and a complete disaster of a person but you didn't think you would change it if you could.

So you left. You got all your belongings and you knocked on Max's room. He opened the door rather quickly, with a sudden look of confusion on his face when he realised it was you.

His hair was messy and stuck up in every direction but he still looked flawless. He had no shirt or pants on, just boxers, and you couldn't help but admire his whole body.

"Are you okay? Just let yourself in next time. What happened?" he asked frantically, worry laced all over his voice.

"Can I stay with you?" You asked nervously, refusing to look at his face.

"Of course, pretty girl," he replied with no hesitation, he would do anything to have you nearby. He stepped aside and welcomed you in, taking everything out of your hands and placing it on a table.

"You take the bed. I can either join you, take the sofa out here or take the chair in the bed room. And here," he said, picking up the shirt he'd changed into after racing, "take this, you can't be comfortable sleeping in that."

You took the shirt with a "thank you," and got changed in the bedroom. The shirt was long enough that you couldn't see anything if you tried, and it was incredibly comfy.

You poked your head out of the bedroom to see Max half asleep with his head in his hands. You gently called his name, his head jolting suddenly towards you.

"Will you stay with me?" you asked, a lot more confidently than before, but still a little shaky.

Max got up with a nod and headed inside the bedroom. He watched you get comfortable in bed and snuggled into the side you hadn't chosen.

You immediately moved towards him, throwing a leg over his, and your head on top of his chest. His arms moved instinctively around you, pulling you impossibly closer. He was so tired but wasn't going to waste an opportunity of staring at you a little longer.

"Sorry the night didn't turn out how you planned," he mumbled, wanting so badly to kiss your forehead but didn't want to overstep boundaries, "and sorry for scaring you."

"It's okay Max," you whispered, turning your head to kiss his chest ever so delicately. He decided to kiss your head in retaliation, smiling all the way through it.

"Tell me if you want to go again and I'll be there," he chuckled against your head, "goodnight, pretty girl."

"Goodnight, Max."

…

this might be my favourite thing i’ve ever written so reblogs and feedback would be really appreciated !! :) also thinking of making this a mini series, thoughts?

[motherrpearl]

the possibilities of a new beginning

pairing; five hagreeves x fem!reader (replacing dolores btw sorry)

summary; that was a shitshow of a final season. im going to fix that and you're coming with me! many references to earlier seasons!

the feeling of boiling skin overlapping his own was haunting, making his brain toss and turn like a sleepless man.

‘it's to save the world’ the thought kept repeating in his mind, ‘we must cease to exist’. closing his eyes, five was ready to embrace death, to fix the world that had been doomed to fail the moment the marigold entered their mother's wombs.

‘this isn't fair.’

beep beep beep beep. went the digital alarm clock, screaming at the sleeping man to arise for the morning. five jolted up. frantically looking around in hopes of finding his siblings.

instead, walls of creamy white, a brown dresser, comfy bed, carpeted floors — an average bedroom... where was he...?

he stared off into space for a moment, recollecting his thoughts, before he heard the whir of an electric toothbrush. “who's there?”

“ah! sleepin' beauty woke up!” a voice called back, like an echo. a familiar yet, also unfamiliar voice coming from the other room. “you've slept in, we're going to be late if you don't start moving.”

five furrowed his brows, before he looked down at his hands. they weren't scarred like they used to be, they were... oddly normal. and his umbrella tattoo — wait, what umbrella tattoo?

footsteps approached the bedroom, a woman with a white towel wrapped around her body, and another wrapping her hair up to dry. “you okay there, five?”

the electric toothbrush whirred, a bit of toothpaste stuck to the side of the lady's mouth, as she gripped the towel to keep it from falling.

five snapped out of it once the whir glitched for a second then continued. “what day is it?”

“8th of August, 2024.” she replied, knitting her brows together in concern. “did you have a bad dream?”

a dream? was it a dream? was it reality? did we fix it? is this heaven? a domestic life with the woman, who strangely looked like a mannequin he swore he saw in a shop once?

“five?” the lady snapped her finger's, attempting to get his attention. five whipped his head up to look at the woman.

“[___]?” he said, saying her name, but almost questioning. like he forgot who she was. she laughed.

“yes, [___] hargreeves, your lawfully wedded wife and love of your life.” she teased back, smiling at five when she moved over to the dresser, pulling out clothes.

their wedding... as if memories of a whole life were coming back to him, he remembers. their wedding day, how beautiful she looked in her dress.

he remembers luther and his wife, sloane, there as well.

raymond almost spilling his wine on allison's dress, which made her laugh.

klaus and his lover, dave, keeping claire and the other kids occupied while diego and lila mingled off somewhere else — just to get a breather away from the kids.

five also remembers ben, showing off his new partner, jennifer, at the wedding like she was the greatest thing in the world. while jennifer just laughed and smiled sweetly.

“how... long have we been married now?” he asks.

“2 years.” [___] says, humming herself a time as she picked out a shirt to go with her jeans. “which jeans, black or blue... oh! speakin' of jeans. the neighbours dropped off your mail this morning, mailman got mixed up.”

jeans? neighbours? — “who?”

“the neighbours? jeanette and gene? jean and gene?” [___] said back, trying to jog his memory. “your memory isn't the best today, love.”

ah! his neighbours, of course. “tell them i said thank you.” five replied, shifting hsi legs and attempting to get out of bed.

once his bare heels hit the carpet, memories came racing back to him.

raymond and allison's wedding, claire's first birthday, luther and sloane getting together, lila and diego announcing their pregnancy, opening up a diner, where ben met jennifer — meeting [___]... in the department store, setting up the mannequins in their dresses...

what was he thinking about earlier? umbrella? did he need a new one? huh? what was he thinking again?

it was like his mind was erased in just a millisecond. a lively spark in his eyes appeared. “what are we doing today?”

“grace's birthday. remember?”

grace, grace, grace. diego and lila's little girl. it was her birthday, yeah. five nodded, “yes, i do.”

“i got that coffee you like yesterday. it's on the counter, near the spice rack, also — can you make sure to grab gracie's present from the cupboard??” [___] asked before five could leave the room.

he looked over at his wife, realising this was his life. he had a good life. a life many versions of himself many people would kill to have. a domestic, and family oriented lifestyle.

the sides of five's mouth twitched up in a smile. ”of course.” he answered her, before he put on a pair of navy blue slippers and walked down the hall, checking out the decor.

cabinets and glass doors cupboards filled with souvenirs and memories. paintings and family pictures on the walls. a retro styled house phone painted in a sunset for the aesthetics.

something crunched under his feet as he walked along. looking down, he lifted up his foot. a domino mask. a fake one, it had the dc robin logo on the back, probably from on of his nieces or nephew's, they probably left it here by accident.

something about the mask made him pause. dragging his finger across the black edgings, and white eye covers. “hm...” he mused, before placing it on a shelf in hesitation and slight dazed confusion.

that mask reminded him of something he felt wasn't even real. but the thing is, he couldn't remember? maybe an alternate version of himself knew what this was about.

he smiled at the mask, and scoffed at the idea. multiple timelines? how silly.

On the twelfth hour of the eighth day of August 2024, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary occurred. You might say, it was just a normal day.

[neechees]

How is the cult from Midsommer white supremacist? Because they are swedish and borrow from paganism? The nazis appropriated Norse culture, they even misused different runes and symbols, and Scandinavia is one of the most tolerant regions in Europe.

There's Nazi imagery throughout the film, & the fact that all the poc die first is no mistake. Ari Aster himself has said that the Harga are White Supremacists:

Defying an outdated horror trope, Aster does not kill off Josh (William Jackson Harper) — the only black character for miles — first. As Aster points out, though, the Hårga are racist, a callback to “a part of Swedish history and European history,” and all of the “outsiders” or “new blood” recruited for mating are purposely white.

“He’s thrown away in a way that the other members of the main cast are not," Aster notes. “And that is because these people have no further use for him.”

The Harga, when not inbreeding with each other, go out and groom new members to either 1. Be sacrified or 2. Introduce new genes by manipulating people into the cult or drugging & raping them (what they did to Dani & Christian), & they ONLY pick white people for this. There are no nonwhite Harga & that's not an accident.

The script also makes it crystal clear that the nonwhite couple were specifically chosen (bc they are not white) & brought there to be sacrificed & were never going to live. The member that brought the nonwhite couple displays hatred & malice towards them when they're not looking, but doesn't do this with the other white outsiders

(Ingemar is the Harga that brought Connie & Simon, the nonwhite couple). Connie & Simon didn't do anything wrong, they didn't do anything outright to insult the Harga. The only thing they did was be shocked about seeing the ritual suicide & express desire to leave (and they weren't the only ones who did this, Dani also did). And yet they were some of the first to die.

Even the visuals-- the Harga wear all White, it's always in blinding daylight. Whiteness is a GLARING theme. There's also foreshadowing early on in the film, where a book titled "The secret Nazi language of the Uthark" featured in Christian's room just before they go to Sweden.

There's also other Nazi ideology present within the Harga, such as the strict gender roles (the women all wear dresses & cook & clean & care for the children together but the men butcher the bear together), eugenics & ableism (the elderly are killed off at a certain age because they see disability & needing to be cared for as an elder "shameful", which is what one Harga states at the ritual suicide scene, & of course killing off the nonwhite characters), the "return to tradition" ideology (there are NO modern technology in the community, & it's in the countryside).

You see a cult full of ONLY White people, using Norse paganism (something VERY popular with Nazis) in an isolated area, who routinely murder poc, don't intermix with poc, kill off their elderly, Dani (the blonde, light eyed white girl) is praised for her beauty & made their May queen by the Harga, with strict gender roles, & this film was made by a JEWISH MAN to show the Harga as the bad guys, & you don't have a hunch that the Harga are maybe supposed to be white supremacists/nazis? That doesn't raise any red flags for you?

& let's not forget how Scandanavia committed genocide against the Saami, the Indigenous population who were there for hundreds of years before anyone else. That's a little off topic, but as a First Nations Canadian I aint gunna let that just go unacknowledged. Scandanavia has a white supremacy problem too, & Ari Aster is right for pointing it out

[nemesyaaa]

half return. momma's boy!pope x maneater!reader.

warnings : slight smut so minors DNI.

you were a maneater, and your favorite type was momma's boy. in particular, the pogues because they were different.

you were the kind of woman everyone saw from miles away but also knew so well. you had a bad reputation. people talked a lot behind your back to say bad things but you didn't have time, either to listen, care or to respond.

oh no, you were way above these people. the attention you were looking for was not from them, but from the other side, from those who were not really rich, who were struggling to live and who lived without worrying about the consequences.

you were a maneater, so obviously there was a hungry beast in your heart and today, like every other day, the beast was hungry. the monster wanted to eat some man.

you weren't really a momma's girl, and you were hated by your boyfriends' mothers..you weren't good enough for their son. you were too mean, too vulgar, too honest. you were nothing like a daughter-in-law and yet, men dreamed of marrying you.

it wasn't a question of dream bodies, you had marks on your body, a little belly, peculiarities but you knew how to hide your insecurities. you had the attitude and the reputation.

you were like a jaguar, magnificent, confident and glorious.

today, you had a crush on a guy. pope heyward according to one of your friends. he was part of a group of pogues who were pretty well known for being troublemakers.

but him. this man, you knew he never did anything wrong. you knew he was a good boy who wanted to please his mother, and who easily fell in love with girls stronger than him.

you knew in advance that pope heyward was too nice. and that you were going to eat him so easily.

the heat was so hot. you wore a white top that barely hid the bottom of your tits, but showed off your belly piercing quite well. the sun made your precious toy sparkle. you had jewelry everywhere, strass on your teeth, dozens of rings on your fingers, more than five necklaces around your neck, and twenty bracelets around your arms. you had the money for, well, your daddy's money.

your jeans came down to your hips, exposing your black thong. physically, you couldn't be pope heyward’s type. everyone would have bet on it.

when he looked up, you met his gaze. you could sense that he was shyer than his blond friend next to him. because he, well his friend had smiled directly at you.

you had kindly ignored him because he wasn’t the one you wanted. no, you wanted the shy guy, the one who would never assume what you would make him feel.

“ hi pope ! “ you smiled.

"so rude of you to ignore me but so kook of you." said jj.

“ start by not making trouble with my friends the kooks.”

“ okay, so you'll stop sleeping with all my pogue friends.”

“ is it jealousy, jj? did you want your blow job too or you just a crybaby that much?”

the tension had started to rise and pope had cleared his throat.

" can i help you ? " he talked with a friendly voice.

"i don't know what to choose for an ice cream flavor.”

“ i can make you a personal cream if you want.”

“i don’t understand why you hate me so much jj but okay, i will just ignore you. ”

“i’'m going to smoke, pope. be careful with her.” he had placed a hand on his friend's shoulder before disappearing as if to warn him.

“don't pay attention to him. he's not mean, just a little too protective.”

“you look like you've been broken many times.”

"not really. girls don't really hang out with me.”

“they’re missing something.”

you looked at each other through the mirror window for a moment, not knowing what to say.

“are you flirting with me?”

“yes, pope heyward. i'm flirting with you.”

“ you don’t know me. "

“that’s why i want to know you. i know, i'm not your type. ”

“i don’t mean to be rude but you have a reputation as a maneater.”

“don't be a sheep who follows others people, pope. especially when you are different from the others. you are a smart person.”

“what flavors of ice cream do you want?”

“i want your favorite.”

you smiled. when you handed him the money to get your ice cream back, he politely refused.

“it’s on the house.”

“ i really want to pay. i’m a customer like any other.”

“if you want to pay so much, you can pay differently.”

" how ?"

" you can ask me out on a date? it will give you the opportunity to get to know me better."

“so smart of my boy. oh and don't tell jj about that. “

“ i don't want to lie to him. “

“ just don't tell him, pope. it's about us, only, okay ? “

“ okay. you're too pretty, i can't resist. “

“ you're the only pretty thing here. “

and that was how you started dating pope heyward.

you were a maneater so obviously pope had fallen really hard in love.

you were so different from all the girls he knew. when he was with you, he had this vital need to make you happy, to buy for you, to cut checks, to possess you, to be your only boy.

you had a strong energy, the kind that made you feel like you had it all and had it all under control. you were convincing and confident. you hated losing control. and perhaps that was the reason for your attraction to soft and naive boys.

pope's mother didn't like you. she hated when you went to their house, when you kissed her son, when you slept with him. she hated the idea of you two being together.

sometimes pope felt bad about it. he didn't want to disappoint anyone. but he couldn't be both your boy and his mother's boy.

once on a summer evening, you invited him to your place so that it was just the two of you. you showed him your room, your favorite things, your jewelry, your family photos, everything that mattered to you. then you put on some music.

he was lying there in the bed, shirtless with only his pants on, a cigarette in his lips, his eyes hanging on your moving body. he only looked at you, you were the only thing that existed.

you were beautiful. the frightening and majestic beauty of the jaguar. you moved so elegantly. you were in control of your body, you knew how to make it beautiful, how to make it so attractive.

jazz was coming out of the record player. you were in your underwear, enjoying the air coming in through the open window. you spun and spun as if the world had stopped.

you almost fell, but pope caught you in his arms.

"perfect. let's dance together, all night, momma's boy."

“don’t call me that.”

“isn’t that what you are?”

you laughed and he captured your laugh with his lips, kissing your mouth gently.

“i want to stay here forever.”

" where ? "

"in your arms. here. in my room. i just want you, pope. ”

you had started kissing every part of his face, placing wet kisses on his soft skin.

“i want you. and you want me too.”

“you know, we will have to take responsibility for our relationship.”

"i know, i know but not now. it's fun being a secret isn't it?”

you started to bite him gently, and he started to flee your small bites. this little thing had turned into a playful fight.

he had the advantage because he was on top of you, him catching every one of your thrusts. you managed to get out of his grip and rolled onto your side before getting on the bed.

he followed you, and you threw the first punch. right in the chest. he had subdued you quickly, still gently, his face right above yours.

“ where is the maneater who always wins, where is the maneater who destroys men? because i am beatin her ass right now.”

“ no, you're not. “

“ what?” you flipped him over with a smile, placing yourself on top of him.

“ you enjoy the game a little too much, pope. i'm fucking sitting on your boner and if you make a move pope heyward I'll destroy you. “

“ real queens do not destroy the throne they sit on. and if you want some child princess, take care of it. “

you had started to move slowly, gently rubbing your pussy over his bulge. you moved efficiently, enough to feel your boyfriend’s cock getting even harder against you.

you could tell he was big by the way you silently rose as his dick awoke.

this room, this sensuality, this warmth, was nothing without the music of marvin gaye.

a wet spot had appeared on his pants, and you used it to rub faster, to press your pussy harder against his erection. the sound of his grunts in sync with your moans.

he held your hands, and kissed them at the same time. he could cum now if you asked him. because you had a way of moving that made him so weak.

“ boys can't play and win. “

“ i think you're late my girl, i win since ive got a girl like you. “

his hands grabbed your thighs while you slipped harder.

“ ‘not going to cum now" he said before taking his length out of his boxers.

he rubbed the tip against your dripping pussy, you were so wet it almost dropped between your lips. he had spit in his hand, and started moving up and down on his cock, jerking off quickly

" what are you doing ? "

“you’re going to ride me, but with my cock deep inside you this time, girl.”

he had smacked your ass, letting it bounce against his palm before you pushed his cock into your pussy. hands on his abs, you began to move, riding him. the problem with this position is that you quickly started to get tired. all the power you had relegated to pope now. he understood the signal, doing the job for you with a smirk. he yanked his dick deeper into your walls, letting you feel every inch of his size. he loved your moans every time his hips hit yours.

the sound of your two bodies slapping together in the atmosphere like the noise of your golden belly chain against your skin. his movements were hard, tearing loud cries from you. you had tears in your eyes, whimpers of pleasure. he took you so well. he was a good boy who knew how to make you cry.

he was taller than you. the size kink was easily noticeable even more when his cock widened your tight hole. and also, when he started touching you, his hand covering your clit.

he had pinched it gently, teasing the little piece with his fingers. he had fun with it, tugging on it while thrusting wilder inside your body, your legs shaking on the mattress.

your hole was squeezing him and he loved how tight it was. he squeezed your clit as he sped up his movements.

"not a maneater anymore ?" he said with a smile "just a girl who wanted to be eaten by her man.”

“ oh shut up, pope heyward. “

“you're the only one making noise here baby.”

you kissed him to shut his mouth. he was right and you knew it. you knew pope loved your strass on your teeths. at first he found it weird and thought you were giving yourself a style but now he was crazy about it.

you were still a maneater but you had a boyfriend so it was different. and then, you were in love. you had learned what it was like to have a man who truly wanted you and loved you.

you were supposed to run away but you didn't want to leave him behind. the problem with nice guys was that they weren't bad. they never held a grudge against anyone, and did not get angry. pope panicked more than he got angry, for example.

when he released his cum deep inside you, you came with him. you looked at him. there was more sweat on his body. he was breathing faster.

you could tell he was proud. and he could be.

you loved every single moment with pope. he was a good boyfriend. he was intelligent, studious, kind and friendly. he worked at school, after classes.

so what you loved was when he broke the rules for you. you used to go and throw stones at his window in the evening to get him to go out. you went surfing in the dark night, bathing in the midnight moon, in calm, cold water, or you went rollerblading at a club because it was fun and the perfect place for couples.

you also spent time in bookstores. it wasn’t your thing but you loved the moment when he told you about the book he was choosing. he would start talking for hours, navigating between the shelves. you followed him and listened to him.

"sometimes, i really feel dumb. " you said.

" you don't understand anything, right ? "

" yes. i'm sorry. but i like it actually. you're pope, the smart boy, the nerdy guy, the master brain and i just love being your girlfriend but it's so new to me. i can't fully understand."

" you're not bored ? "

" never. i can't be bored when my boyfriend is so intelligent. never. what was the book already ?"

" see ? you don't want to listen to that. "

"it's just new to me. be patient and you will be the only one to get bored. "

" deal ? "

" deal. "

and you also confessed your relationship to the pogues. jj pretended to be surprised but was nice to you.

"don't break his heart, okay? he forgive everything, but not me. "

" don’t worry, i will not hurt your boyfriend. "

he turned to Pope, ignoring your bullshit words.

“you know man, i always wondered what the strass felt like while she sucks your cock.”

" JJ. "

"What? I was just asking!”

the end bc i really want to kick my ass. this is not that good. at least, i tried something 💀💀 i will work harder. i just tag @rafecameroninterlude et @oceandriveab . i'm sorry for the expectations 🫠

[punkeropercyjackson]

Hobie Brown being black headcanons by an afrosolarpunk because white punks be overstepping with him

He's jamaican-ugandan and Earth 139 Camden Town raised,based on his wicks,patois usage,love of the sea(lives on a boat),darker/stronger features,surname and Daniel Kaluuya

His wicks used to be dreads

His rbf comes from being audhd with no masking game because growing up black means he never learned how to mask

He also grew up getting bullied at school and a bully beater,even for kids who were mean to him,and was kicked out of multiple ones due to refusing to stop standing up for himself and other little guys

Before the Spiderbands(comics + movie)came along,he didn't have real friends and it took him a while to realize it,caused by the normalization for nonblacks to use and treat their black friends as lesser than them.It broke his heart when it hit him but thanks to having real friends,he's slowly healing and learning self-love and how much he's worth

He was treated so badly over his looks he literally developed ptsd and wouldn't have had it that young if it weren't for all the insults and backhanded compliments he got.He knows he's cool.Does he know he's handsome,pretty,cute and every other non-sexual word for attractive?Nah and it takes him a long time to believe it

He's the biggest mama's boy ever and hates his dad for being a deadbeat(the latter is canon to the comics per his og Prowler incarnation).He also feels bad about having a deadbeat dad for 'being a stereotype' and it pisses him off because TIGER is the one playing into the stereotype by BEING a deadbeat.His mama's name is Tani'yah(created by @teenpunkblack)and he calls her Mama specifically and she calls him 'My Sea Star' and he started having wicks to model himself after her and she couldn't always protect him for reasons beyond her control and feels like she failed him but he never,EVER resents her and is grateful for all she did to raise him,which is everything she could and constantly thrived for more.She was also the only positive adult figure he had until he met Jessica,with grown ahh people like his teachers straight picking on him when they got the chance.That helped his anti-authority mindset big time

He's transmasc unlabeled i.e nonbinary and boygirl.He diy'd his own testosterone and has anchor top surgery scars and Tani'yah named him,his egg cracking at age seven and he came out to her before he did anyone else and a bit later asked her to name him,doing the 🥺 face and she assigned Hobart.He has the gender trauma that comes with being black but the black trans swag too and he's femme(canon)and uses both male and female terms and being called 'Peter Pan','Babyboy' and 'Angel' gives him gender euphoria

He has a strong aversion to blondeness and blue eyes because of the aformentioned ptsd origin and his one rule in punk body modification is he'll never bleach his hair(yes,this is an Arms Race look diss.Apologize to Gwen for the comparisons RN,Hobie was literally whitewashed)

Other than punk rock,his favorite music genres are calypso,rap,black death metal and lo-fi hip hop.He's into pop/pop punk too but literally only listens to black pop artists and is a Meet Me @ The Altar stan('Kool','Switchblade' and 'TMI' are totally a Hobie vibe.'I'm normally like this' by Alt Black Era is too)

His special interests are the sea,punk culture,dogs,indie media and kidcore.He's a surfer,he makes sea material based things,his favorite season is summer,his favorite jamaican/ugandan cuisines are their sea foods,he has countless marine facts memorized,his type is mermaid-y black women,he always wanted a pet dog as a kid and even acted like one sometimes like having a barking vocal stim and it turns out not only did his dream come true in Spidermutt but he's also actually dogkin(great dane),he pursues indie games and obscure shows/movies/podcasts/etc in favor of popular media to support small creators for anti-capitalism and kidcore is the perfect coping mechanism for all the adultification trauma he got and allowing himself to be openly soft and have fun and be cared for without loosing his punkness

Jessica is the one who found him,completely by accident,and brought him to Spider Society,completely on purpose.She saw a spark in him and slowly took him as a son figure at the same time Hobie slowly started viewing Jessica as his second mother.They're literally the cooler Miles and Peter B relathionship wise and Jessica stands up for Hobie against adults while Hobie jumps people for being rude to Jessica and they take care of eachother's hair,go out for street food trucks food together,share a bed sometimes and parallell play whenever they can and Jessica calls Hobie her Baby and Hobie diy's gifts for his Spidermama.They're also afropunk/black earthy solidarity and Hobie turned Jessica into an afrosolarpunk specifically

He says 'nigga' fairly often and uses bonnets but not durags and said bonnets are mostly hand-me-downs and he has them little flags on sticks of the jamaican,british and ugandan flags

He has a complex skincare routine and an even more complex haircare routine.He smells super good 24/7 as a result

He actually loves incense because it reminds him of Tani'yah so he uses it around his house boat and his room has not a door but a beads curtain in his colors(blue,red,pink and white)

He loves african chai so bad and not a black thing but he also loves cotton candy boba so bad(fr i learned how to make it at home and i unlocked a new chemical in my head,Hobs deserves to drink it too)

Hobie is not a feminist.Hobie is a womanist and also black4black

Him and Margo are tight.It started when he went up to her to ask her for help on learning how to use technology and they went on a cyberadventure across the Spidernet interesting enough to fill a half hour short and didn't sleep the whole night and Margo faceplanted into her loaded nachos while Hobie squeezed his soda can so hard it spurted onto the ceiling when Lyla told them good morning.Margo is haitian-american so there's a lot of cultural exchange going on and she's into pink y2k black girl aesthetics and the lifestyle so Hobie joins in with her when asked and they're very openly affectionate to the point they could be mistaken for a couple but also is it really mistake?They're not so sure themselves and they're totally okay with that.All that matters is they love eachother and that they're Hobie and Margo,not just Hobie and just Margo.They go out for voodoo donuts in their respective dimensions as a duo every saturday <3

Afrolatina Gwen 'cause it fits and fixes.She's a lightskin biracial afro-dominicana with black hair and brown eyes,one of the mermaid-y black women Hobie's type is and had straight hair in Itsv but locs in Atsv as an implied hair journey.They met at one of his concert's where she thought he was super hot and made an absolute fool of herself but his autistic ass found that super hot so he brought her up on stage to sing as a ref to that one concept art and they reunited the next day at Spider Society when she recognized him as that one kid Jessica also mentors and ran up to him to reintroduce herself,him being stunned at her being Ghostspider.She reached out to unmask him so he smirked and did the same,saying 'Eager to see your pretty face again too,Gwendita' and they linked arms as they walked together and yapped about tons of things,becoming best friends from that day on.Hobie gets Gwen into the political sides of punk she wasn't allowed to touch before and takes her with him to protests,riots and charities and Gwen gets Hobie to remember he's allowed to participate in the fun parts of punk by dragging him to steal food from marts with her,teaching him to skateboard and introducing him to pastel punk and she's also the reason for his kidcore spinterest as she introduced him to that too to help him heal his inner child as she does herself

Gwen kicks George's ass instead of being gaslight by him into thinking he always loved her for the copganda narrative since he only wants half of who she is(triple meaning).Hobie suggested Gwen's locs but Jessica did them for her and Hobie convinced Gwen to dye her hair pink and did to that job for her and that was how they got together,him leaning over her as his hands were covered in pink hair dye and earlier in the day he mentioned he'd never been kissed on the lips as he gave her a good morning cheek kiss so she took the chance on impulse and kissed him fullon then hid her face in her hair in embarrasment and whispered an apology at his shocked state only for him to tell her to do it again so she did and they nonsexually made out,him taking the lead this time.She calls him 'Hubbie' because she already considers him her husband and he calls her 'Babydoll' in addition to Gwendita because 1.black nickname and 2.Gwen's kidcore special interest includes a heavy love for dolls like Polly Pocket,Monster High,Shopkins,etc

He's a big fan of Amanda The Adventurer,Abbott Elementary and Craig Of The Creek.Margo,Jessica and Gwen are responsible for them in order

He adresses them,Tani'yah and Miles as 'my fave gyals' and 'the angels of my life'

He has a fat ass crush on Miles and him,Gwen and Margo are the Spidey Core Four because Hobie and Margo went looking for Gwen in worry when they saw she sneaked off without telling them so they ended up being a part of the Gwen and Miles dynamics as a best friends quartet,starting mid-swinging across New York scene.He calls Miles 'Tinkerbell' and his first words to him when he caught him just as he was about to fall as Margo did the sane for Gwen were 'Ay,Tinkerbell,you out of pixie dust?Need a lil faith and trust?',the cat charm on his Watch concept art was a gift from Miles to him and Jefferson and Rio approve of them so hard because they're a black4black couple and Hobie is afropunk personified.Punkflower is punk4punk canonically since Miles' symbol was based on the anarchy symbol and they do graffiti and bake sunflower themed baked goods as solo dates

'Solo dates' because the Spidey Core Four are a polycule.They're all aroacespec so they're relathionship anarchy and t4t4t4t4t and the group date activities they do are petty crime sprees,meme challenges to post on Margo's and Miles' tiktok,beach days in matching diy'd spidersuit themed swimsuits that blend in through superhero logic,arcade trips and a cat cafe on Earth 22191 that includes Aibo cats(interdimentional differences are freaky,right?)

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

om gosh just- alister getting into some trouble with some mean people but then, out of no where- a odd looking & powerful Zoroark (Hisuian) comes out to protect them! and they're badass! they got one eye damaged, their body is littered in scars and maybe a arm is missing? they been through some tough stuff but they see Allister as one of their children. and surely, allister has them on their team now? also, what would the other gym leaders think of his new pal?

"How does a kid like him get a gym leader position?"

"It should've been me, I have way better ghost types!"

"And he's always wearing that creepy mask. What's he hiding from us?"

Allister could feel his heart hammering in his chest every minute he was out in public. All he wanted to do was take a quiet walk through the Slumbering Weald and not draw too much attention to himself.

He really didn't want to be seen by anyone right now.

It's already been a bad enough day for him; the last thing he needed were cameras and phones being shoved into his face--he's gotten enough of that during today's interview.

He was asked how he felt about Victor/Gloria defeating him in the championship tournament, and he didn't have a solid answer. He only found himself getting upset over the whole thing again.

Even though Leon always told him to take his defeats in stride..it was still hard.

So he cut the interview short and ran away, making it clear he wanted to be alone without the company of bodyguards.

Why would he need them when he had Pokémon like Gengar? They're the only ones who really understood him. They never gave him weird looks for talking to the dead.

Yet he suddenly began to second-guess his decision, considering he now had no shelter from the comments of passerbys.

They doubted him all because he was the youngest of the gym leaders and wasn't as confident as the rest of them..and it wasn't right. They didn't know him like the others did.

He worked so hard to get to where he is now....not to be heckled and ridiculed for just being a kid.

Luckily, the Slumbering Weald was rather quiet at this hour-

"Use Thief!"

A flash of black and orange suddenly dashed in front of Allister, causing him to help as he stumbled forwards and collapsed to his knees, scraping them hard into the stone. The shock of the surprise attack led to his mask falling off and clattering to the ground.

Before he could reach for it, a Thievul snatched it up in its jaws, darting back to someone who was whistling for it.

He looked up, a hand over his face as he stared at the duo who attacked him: a teenaged trainer boring a smug grin, and their dark type by their side, holding his mask hostage.

And they weren't alone, as another trainer showed up with their Obstagoon, who took the mask from Thievul and wore it on its own face as mockery, laughing.

"You better give that back!" He cried out, horrified and angry. "Y-You two don't know..who you're messing with.."

"I think we already know." The Thievul's trainer sneered cruelly. "You're just a weak little kid. Did you know that you're the most unpopular gym leader in this week's poll?" They waved around their rotomphone

"..I-I don't care about popularity.."

"Pssh. That's a bloody lie if I've ever heard one." Obstagoon's trainer huffed. "Ya really showed your fans how selfish you actually are. Ya wouldn't stick around for autographs and just ran off...how do ya think Leon and the rest of 'em will feel when they hear about that?"

"Stop it..please." Allister begged, his hand grasping Gengar's dusk ball in preparation.

"I doubt they'd want someone like you representin' the-"

"VUL!!"

Out of nowhere, a blast of dark purplish energy careened into Theivul, causing it to slam into the nearest tree and flop to the ground like a ragdoll. Its trainer looked bewildered, confused as to where that shot came from.

Then a blur of white appeared and snatched the mask straight out of Obstagoon's hands, much to its shock as it looked all around...unable to see who it was.

But soon they all heard a spine-chilling howl, spinning their heads to find out that the source was you.

A white Zoroark standing in the fog.

Yet while you certainly looked like one, your hair was drastically different compared to the usual tied-back look of normal Zoroarks. Instead, it appeared as long shaggy wisps with red streaks waving all over the place and covering one of your eyes.

Not only that, but your whole body looked as though it's been through the toughest of battles: scars littered your torso, some patches of fur were entirely missing, and--to Allister's shock and sadness--you only had one arm. The other was nothing more than a stump.

Even so, you weren't backing down as you stalked towards him, the bullies, and their Pokémon, teeth gnashed in anticipation.

Thievul and Obstagoon both took up protective stances, ready to attack on their trainers' commands.

Except..

No commands were uttered for a few long moments, and they looked back to see the sheer horror plastered on each of the humans' faces.

"I-It's...a...a....IT'S A ZOMBIE!!!" Thievul's trainer shrieked, forcing their fox partner back into its ball. "So the rumors are true..y-you really CAN summon the dead!!"

"...huh..?" Allister blinked in immense confusion.

He didn't summon you..

"W-We were just kiddin'. You're great!! You're worthy of wearin' that ghost badge!!" The other stammered, recalling Obstagoon. "We won't bother ya..e-ever again...just...."

They took one look at you, and as you growled lowly, the two trainers screamed and ran away.

"WAAAAAAHHH!!!!"

"DON'T EAT OUR BRAINS!!!"

After their voices faded and Allister watched them disappear for good, he looked back up at you in wonder. No longer was he covering his face, so you could see his eyes practically sparkling.

"They were wrong." He whispered. "You're no zombie. You're...the Hisuian Zoroark I've read about."

Of course you were. He's heard about this variant from what he believed were just myths of the Hisui region that existed long before Sinnoh. From what he knew about them, and judging by your current appearance...the agony you suffered in life was also reflected in your death.

Had he not been a ghost trainer with such a unique connection to the type, he would've thought you were a zombie, too.

As your gaze pierced through his soul, he remained on the ground, feeling as though he got hit by a frozen status effect. He didn't dare to move, knowing that a Hisuian Zoroark's anger was not to be trifled with.

Perhaps you saw him as just another human to take your rage out on.

For you likely held the same grudge as all the others of your kind...

One that was bitter, eternal, and cold as the frost that took your life after you've spent all your energy and hatred in battle; your scars and lost arm were simply the products of you flinging yourself into vicious fights with humans and Pokémon alike--no self-preservation instincts to be found.

Allister had no clue what you were thinking, but as you suddenly crouched down in front of him, he flinched back, arms shielding his face in fear of what you might do.

"Zo...."

"..wh-what..?" Uncovering his face, he was stunned to see something familiar in your grasp being handed over to him:

His own mask.

Of course. He forgot you swiped it from that mean Obstagoon earlier.

Yet he didn't take it back right away, instead looking up at you and seeing nothing but warmth in your eyes. He noticed the one covered by your hair was blind, given the milky look and the deep scar that went through it.

Despite seeing how you've suffered countless hardships, likely endured an agonizing death, and came back out of pure spite and hatred for humans...

You reached deep into your cold, dead heart and rediscovered strength and kindness--both of which you used to protect this young ghost trainer when he needed it most.

You knew he wasn't like those who exiled you.

No.

He was a friend.

He reminded you of all your children back at home: the Zoruas who followed you in life, death, and the after..fearful of what they've become, but feeling safe when you were around.

You couldn't reach them anymore, yet you wanted to protect someone. Anyone.

And you found Allister.

A small sniffle and whimper snapped you out of your thoughts, noticing the tears rolling down the young boy's face. You frowned a little, looking down at the mask.

Was this not his?

"D-Don't worry, I'm....so happy, Z-Zoroark..thank you.." He whispered shakily, smiling as he took it back, putting it on to hide the rest of his tears. "I..d-don't know how you got here, but you saved me. You put those bullies in their place. Nobody takes me seriously as a ghost type gym leader..much less a trainer..but you do, don't you?"

"Ark-ark.." Nodding, your gaze went to the dusk ball clipped to his belt, and you tapped on it with a rugged claw.

At first, he flinched at the sudden motion, before realizing you just wanted to see the pokeball. "Oh, this? I-It's a dusk ball..a version of a pokeball that helps me catch Pokémon at night. Or in caves.." He showed it to you, allowing you to sniff it curiously-

Only to accidentally boop your nose against the button, causing it to open and capture you.

At first Allister panicked, dropping the dusk ball to the ground as he watched it shake several times, scared out of his mind.

A million thoughts were running through his head right now:

Was it going to break?

Were you going to be angry?

Did you want to be captured?

What if-

*click*

'Huh...?' Bewildered, he looked down to see that the accidental catch was successful. And he picked up the dusk ball, opening it and letting you back out, expecting you to be enraged.

Yet..you seemed content.

You looked surprised, sure, but you soon smiled upon seeing him and nodded your head.

Indeed, you wished to become his partner Pokémon.

"O-Okay..I guess you're coming with me from now on." Allister quietly laughed, brimming with joy on the inside. "But first you should meet Gengar. I think..you two will get along well."

"Zor...ark, ark!"

[nethhiri]

Slipping and Falling

Security Guard! Zoro x Mermaid! Reader

One Shot - Modern AU

Warnings: none

I'm really proud of this one and I think it's so stupidly cute <3

The only thing worse than a mall cop was a nighttime security guard, even worse: a nighttime security guard at an aquarium. Not even a museum. Zoro had been the daytime security guard until he dozed off one too many times, then he was demoted. His boss, Mihawk, said that if he couldn't wake up for the day shift, maybe he was more suited for the night shift. He didn't say it was a demotion, but Zoro wasn't an idiot. This was probably his last chance before they canned him.

He breezed through the doors, already 5 minutes late. He threw open the door to the small security office, apologizing and straightening his uniform. "Sorry. My stupid roommate baked my keys into a loaf of bread again." 

"That's either the weakest excuse you've had yet, or your roommate hates you." King already had his jacket on, ready to leave.

"The second one. Please don't tell Mihawk I was late." Zoro threw down some rice balls and chips from the convenience store down the street, his snack for later. 

King snatched one of the rice balls. "Deal."

"Oi!"

King gave him a peace sign and flicked him off.

Zoro let out an exasperated sigh. His shift had just started and it was already off to a terrible start. He plopped down in the shitty folding chair and threw his feet up on the flimsy desk, watching the small black and white monitors that overlooked the exhibits. Only a few couldn't be seen, one of them being the new mermaid exhibit. The tech guys hadn't come to install the camera yet. Which meant that Zoro had to walk the halls every so often, making sure everything was fine. If something happened to the mermaid, he would definitely be fired. 

He grabbed his flashlight from his belt, which also had mace and a nightstick. What the hell was he gonna do with some weak-ass pepper spray and a glorified baton? He walked through the aquarium, shining his light around the places that weren't illuminated at night. He jumped when he saw two eyes reflecting back at him. The mermaid's exhibit wasn't lit at night either. She was basically a person, she needed to sleep too. He tapped on the glass.

You covered your ears and frowned. The noise was amplified through water and it hurt your sensitive eardrums. 

"Oh shit. Sorry!" Zoro put his hands up to signal he meant no harm. "I didn't mean it." The mermaid swam up to the glass and mimicked his movements.

As far as he knew, it didn't talk. The mermaid did understand language though. He watched you copy him. Zoro did a few more poses to see if you would copy those too. He ended with making some kind of funny face, pulling his cheeks out and his lower eyelids down. Zoro was disappointed when you didn't copy that, and could swear you were laughing at him. Huh. He continued his rounds and returned to the office. The rest of the night was uneventful. 

The next few nights were more of the same. Each night when he stopped by your tank, he tried to make you laugh again, mostly to prove to himself that's what you were actually doing. Even though you didn't talk, you were obviously an intelligent creature. Tonight, he had a new game. Zoro wanted to see how smart you were. He also felt bad that you were stuck in that tank without anything to do and maybe this would be entertaining. He took three Solo cups and set them upside down on a cardboard box he brought over. Then, he showed you a piece of candy and put it under the cup. Zoro mixed up the cups slowly.

"Where is it?" Zoro watched as you pointed right away to where it was. "Nice. Ok." He grabbed the candy and backed away from the tank. It was nearly floor to ceiling. It was huge. There was a gap at the top where people went in and out to perform tank maintenance. Zoro aimed for the top and threw the candy into the tank, observing as it sank down and you swam to grab it. He laughed when you put it in your mouth and spit it out. "That's a sour one. Give it a chance." He laughed again as your face contorted with the sourness, relaxing a little as it got sweeter. You pointed at the cups. "So you liked that? Let's try faster." He went a few more rounds, giving you candy every time. Then, you disappeared, returning with three shells. You plucked a scale from your tail and stuck it to the bottom of one of the shells. You repeated his actions and looked at him expectantly. Zoro pointed at one of the shells and you turned it over, revealing no scale. "I meant that one." He pointed to the shell next to it and you flipped it. You grinned and took the scale out from under it, swimming to the top of the tank and leaning over the glass above him. Zoro caught the scale and looked at it in his hand. It was iridescent. He couldn't really say if it was blue or green or purple. It was kind of all three at once. “Thanks. I have to go now, but I’ll be back tomorrow, ok?” Zoro flipped the scale over in his hand, watching the colors melt together as he patrolled the corridors. He wondered what else he could entertain you with. You seemed to enjoy it a great deal. He wondered if you responded like this to any of the keepers or the guests of the aquarium. 

Unfortunately, Zoro had to call out sick the next two days, some kind of stomach bug. The next time he came around to your tank, you were nowhere to be found. He was tempted to tap on the glass again, but he knew you didn’t like that. Instead, he threw some candy in, the kind he knew you liked. Zoro waited for several minutes, opening a bag of chips that he had brought with him and popping a handful into his mouth. You emerged, drawn out by the candy, after a few minutes, darting out to grab it and go back to your hiding spot.

”Oi! Where ya goin?” Zoro yelled through a mouthful of chips.

You shot him a look from around the rock you hid behind. 

“What?!” Zoro was at a loss. “Did I do something?” 

You pointed at him, then to where he stood, then behind you. 

It took him a minute to remember, but he did. “You’re mad because I wasn’t here?”

You gave him a curt nod. 

“Aw man I’m sorry. I did say I would be back, huh?” He ran a hand through his hair. “I was sick. I couldn’t come to work.”

You stayed in your spot, eating the candy.

”How can I make it up to you?” Zoro would hate to piss off the only company he had during these long nights.  You coyly peeked around the corner and pointed to the chips in his hand.

“These?” Zoro held the bag out and you nodded. He couldn’t very well toss those to you. They would get soggy. He walked up the ‘employee only’ spiral staircase that went to the top of your tank. He didn’t like being up that high so he focused on looking into the water and not at the ground. 

You swam up to the rim of the tank, hands grabbing for the chips.

”Okay. Okay. You have to eat them here though or they’ll get mushy.” He handed the bag over. 

You carefully inspected the chip before biting into it, delighted by the crunch. 

Zoro hadn’t been this close to you previously. He noticed the different tones in your hair, how it flowed around you. He saw the slightly different colored speckles in your Y/E/C eyes. Your skin looked so soft and there were freckles he hadn’t noticed from behind the glass. There was a slight grin on his face as he watched you enjoy chips for the first time. You were particularly fascinated by the crunch, biting them slowly to listen to the noise they made. Zoro sat with you and took the empty bag when you were done.  “So am I forgiven?”

You looked him up and down before nodding slowly.

Zoro smiled. “Good. How about I come back with more tomorrow? Really this time.”

This time he kept his promise. Each day he brought you a new flavor. He figured out you didn’t really care for the spicy ones, probably because spice was a bit foreign to you, also explaining why human snacks were so intriguing. Maybe you would like the spice eventually. He would find you waiting at the top of the tank for your special treat. It was weird to watch you eat in silence, so he would tell you about his day or his roommate. Occasionally, he would tell you something about himself. You were a great listener since you didn’t talk. 

Several weeks passed like this. Zoro had to take a brief vacation to help his other roommate recover from eye surgery; there was a tragic accident involving a stag beetle. When he came back, Mihawk was none too pleased. King had taken over Zoro’s shift, but kept falling asleep since he was usually a day shifter. Every morning during this time, Mihawk would come in to take over and find that the snack counter had been raided. It looked like raccoons had gotten into the packages. Curiously, the cameras hadn’t picked up anything. They moved periodically, panning around. It seemed like whatever or whoever was stealing, could avoid them. Nothing else was tampered with or taken.  “Hey, shitbag. Hope you get the rat problem under control. Or Mihawk is gonna have your ass,” King slapped Zoro’s shoulder on the way out. 

“How is this my problem?! It happened on your watch!”

”And now it’s your watch.” King laughed as the door shut behind him. 

Zoro stopped at your tank, as was his routine now, and explained he didn’t have anything for you since he couldn’t get to the grocery store to restock. His eyes couldn’t be torn away from the disappointed pout that crossed your features. He was a bit ashamed to admit he really liked looking at your face. He wasn’t alone. Part of the attraction to the mermaid exhibit was your beauty. He didn’t like the idea he was the same as the people who paid to ogle you. He actually cared about your well-being. 

That night the thief struck again. Zoro didn’t see a thing. Oh, but he heard about it the next day. Mihawk lit his ass up, calling him as soon as he managed to fall asleep at home after his shift. He accused Zoro of falling asleep on the job again. That wasn't true, but it's possible that he was distracted, daydreaming perhaps. He would have conversations in his head with you. He imagined what you might sound like and how you might speak. He liked spending time with you and he wanted to know more about you, but couldn't do that if there was no way you could communicate with him. 

Zoro purposefully waited for King to leave before going in the back entrance. King would definitely taunt him over his shortcomings and he really didn't want to start the night that way. He was already in a bad mood since Mihawk woke him up just to yell at him earlier. Zoro sat heavily in his uncomfortable folding metal chair and slid down, knees pointing to opposite corners of the room, glaring at the monitors. He wasn't going to take his eyes off the screens for a second. He would get to the bottom of this just to rub it in Mihawk and King's faces that he could. 

When it came time for his nightly rounds, he checked every door and every window to make sure they were all locked. There wasn't any evidence around them that pointed to someone coming in from those potential entry points. He looked up at the air conditioning ducts. Is someone really going to go all spy movie just for some snacks? There was a noise in the direction of your tank that alerted him to the fact that he wasn't alone. Quickly, he ran in that direction, putting his flashlight in his mouth so he could hold his baton in one hand and his mace in the other. The large, open room came into view and he caught movement in the corner of his eye. Before he could react, he suddenly lost traction under his feet and was tumbling backwards. The last thing he remembered was hitting his head. 

His head was throbbing. Zoro groaned as he came to. Why am I wet? His entire back was wet, not damp, wet. He opened his eyes to soft light and a blurry, dark shape hovering over him. He blinked a few times, each blink making his vision clearer. A person? But there's not supposed- He pushed himself back, feeling around for his mace. 

"Who- Who are you?" He made contact with his flashlight and flicked it on, pointing it in the direction of the shadow. Red eyes flashed back as the light from the flashlight bounced off the back of your eyes, reflected to him. His eyes slid from yours, down your body, and landed on your tail. "Mermaid?" What was she doing out of the tank? 

You scooted closer, using your arms to pull you across the slick floor. 

Zoro looked at the water all over the floor and back at you. Your hair was plastered to your body where it was still wet, but he could see some parts that were fluffier and strands that were blown around lightly by the air conditioning. That made him think you had been sitting here with him for longer than a few minutes. How long had he been out for? He looked at the ceiling, which was partially made of glass, so that the mermaid could have natural light. The sky outside was the dusty purple color of early dawn. His shift would be over soon. And King would be coming to take over. King is coming! Suddenly, he was panicking. 

"We have to get you back in the water!" If King saw the mermaid like this, Zoro's ass was going to get canned. Zoro crouched in front of you, about to slip his arms under you so that he could carry you back to the water. He paused. "Oh... Um. Is it ok? Do you mind if I...?" 

You opened your arms up to reach for him.

He took that as an invitation, scooping you up bridal style. Your arms wrapped around his neck for support. Zoro didn't want to slip again, but he had to hurry to get you in the tank and all of the mess cleaned up before King got here. He jogged up the stairs to the top of the tank and gently dipped you down in the water. "Stay." He had no fucking clue how you got out, but he needed you to stay in. He zipped back down the stairs and hurriedly grabbed a mop from the janitorial closet, getting all the water dried from the floor. Zoro ran around the rest of the aquarium, making sure nothing happened while he was knocked out. Everything seemed to be fine. 

Zoro had just headed back to the security office when King came in to take over the shift. Just in time. He breathed a sigh of relief and then immediately started thinking about how the fuck you got down to where he was. Did you jump out of the tank? Crawl down the stairs? He was thinking about it until he went to sleep for the day. 

He came in early the next evening. The aquarium was still open and he went to see what your exhibit looked like when it was still open. The tank was big, but he wasn't quite convinced it was big enough for a creature like yourself. He watched as some guy banged on the glass with his hand. Zoro instantly frowned, knowing that you hated when people did that. He walked over and grabbed the man's wrist, pulling it away from the glass and thrusting it into the man's own chest. 

"Stop that." Zoro glared at the man. "She doesn't like that."

The man looked him up and down. "Who the fuck are you? Her keeper?"

"Actually, yeah. I am. So cut it out or you'll be escorted out." 

The man grumbled but didn't do it again.  

Zoro stood in front of the glass, eyes searching for you for a moment, finding you with a sweet smile on your face. You made the slightest nod in his direction, thanking him for putting an end to the horrible noise. Zoro stuck around until the people cleared out, making sure it didn't happen again. The last two people were a couple, who couldn't be bothered to stop their heavy petting after the two minute closing warning. You were staring curiously at them. He shooed them off and waved at you as he went to clock in and trade off with King.

There was some paperwork he had to take care of which delayed his usual stroll to your tank. It was about an hour past his usual stop in his loop. As he approached, he could hear shuffling and some crinkling. It stopped suddenly when his shoes make a squeak on the tile flooring. He cursed under his breath, inching forward slowly. There was the hurried sound of crunching followed by the slap of feet against the floor. 

"Stop! Thief!" Zoro yelled after the footsteps, nearly eating shit on the wet floor again. "Where the fuck is all this water coming from?" He ran down the hallway, then back up the hallway, then did a full loop, and stopped. He didn't hear the footsteps anymore. "Dammit." He snuck around more quietly on his way to get a mop. The thief had to be somewhere. He cleaned up the mess without any further sign of the intruder. Curiously, the snacks that were eaten included some of the flavors of chips he had brought you. That just meant the thief had good taste in snacks. Only two bags were eaten, so he wasn't worried about actually continuing his hunt. He could cover that up. Mihawk could shove it. All he cared about was getting to your tank. Zoro sighed. Now, he was really late. You were going to be mad at him. 

As it turned out, you weren't. Especially since Zoro had brought you something new to try. He was beginning to feel guilty. What if these foods were really bad for you? What if they made you sick? He also couldn't resist seeing the way you lit up when he came around with your nightly snack, or your pout when he pretended he forgot it, so he would continue to spoil you. Zoro climbed to his spot at the rim of the tank. You were already there waiting with your hands held out in a bowl-shape. 

"Didn't we talk about begging?" Zoro tsked at you. 

You held your hands out more demandingly and furrowed your eyebrows.

"Jeez. Okay, here you go." Zoro placed some incredibly misshapen small chocolate chip cookies in your hands. 

You gave them a curious sniff before putting all of them in your mouth at once, filling up your cheeks. 

Zoro chuckled. "You remind me of my roommate, who I had to fight off by the way, to get these to you." He averted his eyes for a moment and his cheeks turned pink. "I, um, made them myself." At the cost of shining his other roommate's work shoes for a week, he helped Zoro out with the baking. When he turned back, you were holding your hands out again and licking the crumbs from around your mouth. He grinned. "So you liked them?" 

You nodded. Reaching your hands out further. As he leaned down to put more in your hand, you caught sight of the pink in his cheeks. Reaching out curiously, you poked and pinched at his cheek. You didn't know humans could change color. 

Zoro jerked back. Not that he was afraid of you, he was just taken aback by your sudden interest in something other than food. "What? Is something on my face?" He only turned a deeper hue, cheeks burning red. 

You placed your palm against his cheek, feeling the warmth in it. Humans were a lot warmer than you thought. With the other hand, you continued to munch down cookies. You offered the last one back to him, noticing that he didn't eat any. 

Zoro wasn't aware that you knew the concept of sharing. "Thanks." He popped it into his mouth, stretching to swat a crumb out of your hair. 

You leaned forward and pressed your lips to his, just like those people from earlier. 

He pushed you, very gently, back. "Whoa! Hey, what are you doing?" If Zoro's cheeks were red earlier, now they were purple. "That's for- That's just for people who um-" He saw a hurt look on your face. "No, don't do that. It's okay!"  He patted your hand and explained. "You can't just do that. That's called a k-kiss and um, it's for two people that really like each other." 

But you did like him. Did he not like you? 

You still looked hurt. "Um, here, okay." Zoro knelt by the tank, getting his knees wet from where you had dripped. He held his arms out and waited until you copied him. "We're friends. So this is what friends can do. It's called a hug." He circled his arms around you, very lightly squeezing. You did it back, except you were not very gentle about it. "Oh, wow, you're a strong one huh?" Zoro let go, waiting for you to do the same. He waited some more. "You can let go now." There was a funny look in your eyes, and your smile was awfully sinister for a sweet mermaid. 

You pushed back from the edge of the tank, dangling his car keys in front of you.

Zoro felt his back pocket. "What the-?" He laughed. "You little shit." He motioned for you to come back. "Give those back!" 

You shook your head. 

"Please!" 

You looked at him expectantly. 

"I'll bring you more cookies tomorrow?"

You threw his keys back to him with surprising accuracy and he caught them in midair. 

Zoro shook his head to himself, walking back to the security office. He couldn't stop thinking about how soft your lips were.

For the next few days, nothing eventful happened. Zoro had racked up multiple weeks of doing Sandi's chores, just so he could learn to make a few more different cookies for you to try. Why was he doing all this? He told himself it was because he felt bad that you were trapped in a tank for the rest of your life. And he did feel bad about that, that part was true. Selfishly, he wanted you to like him. Tonight's batch hadn't gone well. He wasn't looking forward to breaking the news to you. Zoro hated seeing disappointment on your face. 

He was shocked when you were nonchalant about it, and a touch suspicious. Later, Zoro remembered that he stored an extra snack in his backpack and retrieved it to give to you. Again, he heard the telltale crinkling of a chip bag. This time, he would get the thief. Zoro must have startled them somehow even though he didn't make a sound because the thief took off running. He kept up this time, barely making out a shadow in the dark. As soon as he got close enough, he tackled the person, fingers brushing against bare, wet skin. What's with everything always being fucking wet!?.This person was... nude? What kind of sick pervert-? His thoughts were evaporated from his mind when he saw that it wasn't just any random naked person. It was you. "MERMAID?!" He looked down. "But there's legs and- a-and-!!!" Zoro got up faster than he'd ever moved and covered his eyes. "S-stay right there." He turned around and ran to his backpack, where he had a change of clothes for the gym. 

Zoro came back with a T-shirt and boxers, practically throwing them at you. From the top of his head to his neck was red. It turned out that your bottom half could turn into a human's, in every way. Funny, when you had a tail, your naked top half, covered by your long hair, didn't seem scandalous. With a naked bottom half, the naked top half was painfully obvious. 

"A-are you covered up?" Zoro peeked to make sure before dropping the hand over his eyes. "I'm so sorry for- for seeing and um... Sorry!" He felt bad about tackling you even though you weren't hurt. He offered you a hand to get up. Now it made sense. Every time he forgot a treat or was late in getting to you, the thief struck. It had been you all along. And the legs explained how you were able to get out of the tank, too. 

You were wobbly upon standing, as you always were when you got your legs.  You grabbed his shirt for balance as you stumbled unsteadily forward. 

Zoro gave you his arm to hold while you slowly gained control of your legs. He tried not to think about how cute you looked wearing his clothes, leading you toward the fish tunnels, where there weren't cameras. "I think you already understand, but you can never let anyone else see you like this, okay?" There was concern in his eyes. Zoro was certain they would turn you into an even bigger sideshow attraction than they already had. "And you have to stop stealing food or I'll be fired." Zoro held out the chocolate bar he had found in his backpack, yanking it back when you reached for it. "Mermaid, show me you understand." Zoro only relinquished the candy when you nodded.

Tearing into the packaging, you discarded it on the floor, holding the chocolate in your bare hands. 

"Oi! You're gonna get it everywhere." It was too late, as he saw the brown staining your hands. He sighed. "Never mind." 

You laughed at his alarm. 

"So you think it's funny, huh?" 

You nodded, popping another piece into your mouth. Your hand reached playfully to smear some on his cheek.

"Don't do that!"

You giggled again. 

He really couldn't be mad when your eyes were glittering with joy and your giggling brought a stupid grin to his face. He wiped off the chocolate and licked his finger. 

After the last bite, you looked at the mess on your hands and wiped them on your shirt, to Zoro's horror.

"Oi! What's wrong with you?! Quit that!" He grabbed your hands. "What are you? An animal?" He dragged you to the bathroom to wash your hands. 

You thought about it and nodded. 

"No! You're a person." Zoro stood behind you and guided your hands. It made sense that you had never washed your hands before. 

Watching the water made you thirsty. You bent down to drink out of the sink.

Zoro practically jumped backwards when your hips moved back against his. "H-hey. We'll get you some water. Come on." He knew you were unaware of what you were doing. It wasn't on purpose. He was ashamed at the thoughts that entered his brain at that second. Pushing them away, he grabbed your hand again and brought you to the water fountain, where he demonstrated how to use it. 

After that, he followed you as you walked through the nearby exhibits, the ones without surveillance. Zoro watched as you excitedly pointed towards some fish. You stopped in front of one of the larger tanks, putting your hands against the glass and smushing your face against it. This tank was much larger than yours because it held whale sharks. Your smile slowly fell into something more somber as you yearned to go back home. You missed the wide open ocean. 

As dawn approached, Zoro led you back to your tank, gesturing for you to go back. 

You shook your head.

"What do you mean no? You have to." Zoro hadn't seen you like this before. You weren't your normal perky, sweet self. "What's wrong?" 

Your lip quivered. You pointed to the doors and yourself. 

"You want to leave?" 

You nodded.

Zoro scratched his head. "You can't leave. I- I wish I could help you."

Tears spilled over the rims of your eyes. 

"Oh no. No. No. Don't do that." Zoro looked around as if there was someone else that could comfort you. Relenting, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into him. "I'm sorry, mermaid. I really am." He felt you shake with sobs, gently sitting down with you on the floor. He ran his hand over your hair, thinking about how much of a loser he felt like. He let Mihawk and King walk all over him. Zoro hated this job. The only thing that made it tolerable was you. So why did he care so much about keeping it? Money and the ability to see you. He could find another job, but he couldn't find another you. "Mermaid, give me some time. I'll think of something. Okay?" 

You pulled your head away from him, with a sliver of hope in your red-rimmed gaze. You nodded. 

Zoro helped you out of his shirt, which you got stuck in trying to take off. He shut his eyes and turned around while you slid his boxers off and jumped back into the water. He squatted down and put his hand on your cheek, rubbing it with his thumb. "Stay." He said it tenderly, but he meant it. Zoro couldn't have anyone else finding out about your secret. 

Over the next few days, Zoro thought about how he could smuggle you out. If you disappeared and he never came back, it would be pretty obvious who stole you. If you disappeared, he would be fired anyway. He put that plan on the back burner and thought about how he might be able to improve your current living situation. 

"Don't you think the mermaid should be in a bigger tank?" 

Mihawk looked over his newspaper at Zoro. "Oh so you're a marine biologist all of the sudden." He was about to leave for the night but wanted to finish his articles first. 

Zoro rolled his eyes. "No. I just think the mermaid looks kinda sad lately." 

"You won't have to look at her sad face much longer." 

"What? What's that mean?" 

Mihawk lowered his paper once more. "Oh. You haven't heard? She's being transferred to a government facility." 

"Why!?"

Zoro's boss eyed him suspiciously. "Why do you care? Have a crush?" 

"Oi! Shut up, man. A guy can't feel bad for a creature that's nearly human being imprisoned? How would you like it?"

"I think if you feel bad for imprisoned creatures, this job isn't for you." 

"Yeah you're fucking right about that." Zoro was heated. 

Mihawk threw his paper on the desk. "Because you care so much, they want her for research." Before Mihawk clocked out, he tossed over his shoulder. "Say goodbye to your little fish friend. She's leaving tomorrow." 

Zoro was sweating with this new information. Tomorrow! He hadn't come up with any kind of plan. Maybe he could ask Luffy and Sanji if they would help. No, he couldn't ask his roommates to be accomplices. He avoided you until the last remaining hour of his shift, unsure how to tell you what was happening. Seeing you cry again was going to break his heart. Hell, his heart was already breaking because he knew he had no way to save you. He couldn't break you out of here, and he certainly couldn't steal you from a government facility. 

Zoro found you in your usual spot, waiting for him. You seemed to be in better spirits, which made it harder for him to tell you. He sat on the edge of your tank, setting his backpack down. He had planned to leave right after. "Listen." He let out a deep sigh. "I don't know how to tell you this but they're moving you out of here t-tomorrow." Your face brightened and you pointed to the door. He smiled apologetically. "No... not out out. You're being transferred somewhere else." He could see your eyes get glassy. You pointed to him, then yourself, then the door. "I- I can't. There's no way." Zoro held his head in his hands and apologizing over and over again. 

You pushed yourself up to sit on the edge of the tank as well, wrapping your arms around him. The two of you sat like that for some time. Zoro ran his hand through your hair, trying to memorize the way it felt before he had to say goodbye. You leaned your head on his shoulder, staring into his gray eyes. He shifted so that you could face him better. Leaning forward, you paused, as if asking permission, and Zoro didn't stop you as you pressed your lips to his again. His hand tangled in your hair, pressing you deeper into the kiss. He let out a startled noise when you bit him on the lip and you felt heat rise to your cheeks as you broke the kiss and looked away bashfully. 

"No. No. It's- It's okay." Zoro's voice was low and raspy. "Do it again." 

You did as he asked, lightly biting him on the lip, and he returned the favor. You pressed your tongue into his mouth, running it alongside his own. He groaned. Now! When he was fully distracted, you tugged him into the water with you. His eyes widened in terror as you pushed him to the bottom of the tank, sucking the rest of the air out of his lungs. You broke the kiss and touched the side of his face lovingly, watching him flail as he fought to break free from your grip. You petted his hair as he had done to comfort you. Only a minute or two more before he became unconscious. It hurt you to do it, but you couldn't live like this anymore. You had waited for him, though that didn't mean you couldn't also think of a plan in case he failed. 

When King came in, not long after, he immediately noticed something wasn't right. None of the lights were on. The power was out. He rushed to the emergency generator and powered it on. All the pumps to the tanks were connected to it in case something like this happened. Without the backup power, it would only take a few hours for creatures to start dying off. With it on, some of the lights flickered back on. The generator only powered the most important electronics, not the cameras. Naturally, the first thing King did was check on the most valuable assets. While his eyes scanned your tank, trying to find you, they instead found Zoro floating at the top of the water. 

Within 15 minutes, the aquarium was swarming with first responders. In the chaos, no one noticed someone in a gym shirt and boxers run out the front doors, all their attention on Zoro. Nor did they notice the drying puddle near the main circuit breakers, located unwisely next to the mermaid's tank.  

Zoro had no fucking idea what happened. He thought it was just a nightmare until he woke up in a hospital. They said someone broke into the aquarium and stole the mermaid. They shorted out the main power so there was no security footage. It was assumed that Zoro was defending the mermaid when the attacker got the upper hand on him. Mihawk had left him a message wishing him a speedy recovery and to take his time coming back to work, in fact, maybe he shouldn't come back at all. He was cleared for discharge after a day with some antibiotics to prevent pneumonia from setting in. 

When he came back to his apartment, Sanji greeted him from the kitchen. "Hey, assface. Your girlfriend has been waiting for you for a whole day now. What the fuck is wrong with you? Making a girl as pretty as her wait? I don't even know how you managed to pull someone like her." He was half-pouting as he said this.

"Girlfriend?" Zoro didn't have a girlfriend. 

"Yeah she was in your clothes. She's your girlfriend isn't she? While you were busy laying your lazy ass in the hospital, she showed up looking for you. Well, I assumed so. She doesn't talk much." 

Zoro didn't wait for the blonde man to finish before running into his room. 

Luffy piped up from the couch, calling after him. "Tell her to quit eating all my snacks!" 

When he opened his door, you were sitting in the middle of his bed, surrounded by empty snack wrappers. His previously white shirt, now on you, was covered in orange and brown snack residue fingerprints. Your entire face lit up upon seeing him. You jumped from the bed and ran to him, throwing your arms around him and peppering kisses all over his face. 

"Oi!" He pushed you back lightly. In a quiet voice he hissed, "You drowned me!" 

You nodded happily and bounced on the balls of your feet in an excited way. You pulled him back down and rubbed your nose against his.  

The pieces gradually fell into place. "This was your plan." He grabbed your face as you nodded again. "I knew you were fucking smart." He pulled you in for a hug before kissing you. 

You pulled away, grinning. You were hyperventilating with excitement and working up courage. 

"Easy. Breathe. " Zoro could see you were trying to communicate something. "What is it?" 

"S-s-s." You furrowed your brows. 

Zoro's eyes widened. He didn't think you could speak. 

"S-stay." You pointed to yourself, soft, hopeful eyes tilted towards the green-haired man. "Stay?" 

A reassuring grin crept across his face. "Stay." He pulled you in for another hug, resting his chin on your head. 

[raidark]

Look, i'm not saying that Jacaerys' insecurities are not interesting or that he has legitimate worries (which will be proven right if they stick to the book... though i'm unsure on whether they will blame his behavior with Them for the betrayal).

But i'm still angry at everything they did to him. Especially since Book Jacaerys is my favorite character of Fire and Blood, of the whole Dance.

It makes me furious how many people are saying we the angry Jace stans have 0 media literacy and asking if we rather have Jace still doing nothing as he did for the whole season.

THAT is exactly the problem. That he didn't do anything in the show while in the book he did SO MUCH.

"And now you say you will strip that from me too" could be perfectly something Jacaerys says to the writers of this mess.

They sidelined all of his alliances achievements with the Vale, the Three Sisters, White Harbor and the North (the lack of Pact of Ice and Fire hurts the most). All the time that could have been spent to develop his character had they wanted and show his potential. Instead we only got a little show only scene with the Freys that barely proved anything about him.

I loved Baela's scene with Corlys, but it was Jace who mediated between Rhaenyra and him in the book, it was by his order that he was made Hand of the Queen.

It was also him who had the Dragonseeds idea... and before you say that he was also the one with the idea in the series, take into mind that in the book he called for the Dragonseeds (Valyrian ascent bastards) from the very beginning. The whole thing with nobles only is only in the show. Book Jacaerys didn't have any prejudice or apparent problem with bastards at this point of the story. It's obvious that he had already accepted this fact and it's in fact because he knows his origins that he gave Dragonseeds a chance and his faith. He leaded them for the love of god.

Yes, it's true that due to the nature of the book we don't know exactly what was he thinking. But it's the complete opposite reaction to his show version. Whether Book Jace understood or not the danger this plan posed on long-term, he did so just like Rhaenyra did, because they had no chance at the moment. Not to mention that while in the series all the candidates come from Kings Landing (?¿?), in the book they're taken from Driftmark and Dragonstone (which is populated, not only a castle for Targaryen), so there's a bit more of trust on them as subjects than on completely unknown people from the city taken and ruled by your enemy. (It also weren't so many who tried in the book)

I've seen some people say that Jace was besties with Addam and Nettles... and while we actually don't know their relationship, we do know that they mourned him badly while Ulf and Hugh weren't that affected. I really don't think they would be that affected if they didn't have some kind of bond before, even if it wasn't told to us. And I mean, it was Jace who supported legitimizing Addam and Alyn and make Addam heir to Driftmark ahead of Joffrey. Which, well, doesn't seem likely in the show.

The thing is that Jace DID a lot of things in the book, supporting his mother, basically leading the Blacks on the name of Rhaenyra Targaryen, who couldn't do it since she was RIGHTFULLY grieving during a lot of time after everything that had happened in quick succession, both Luke and Visenya's deaths.

And you know, THAT'S NOT BAD. It gave time to have other characters doing things like Rhaenyra's sons. It explored a side of Rhaenyra and how much her children's death affected her, explicitly showing how much they mattered to her and how brutally it broke her inside (while filling her with pure unadulterated rage after the Gullet). But well, playing devil's advocate, I understand a bit why they didn't go with this since I don't have any faith most watchers would try to emphatize with the grieving mother part of Rhaenyra, and would instead call her a weak queen.

Jace was a supporting and loving son, an extension of Rhaenyra, heart of the Blacks, responsible for the alliances that would bring them to victory by the end of the war. A boy who came to understand and accept his status in the world and used it on a positive note for her mother's cause. A worthy heir to Rhaenyra, one of the few people in this whole period that was worthy of becoming King in the future.

This wasn't about wanting him to do nothing in the show. It was about not butchering his character and be faithful to all the stuff he actually does. But because the writers couldn't (or didn't want to) understand it wasn't Rhaenyra's turn in the characters front lines right now (it would have come later), instead they had to underline him and strip him of everything he did and give it to other characters, while giving him traits and opinions that has made a lot of people despise him.

His fate was meant to be a tragedy that made an apparent victory for the Blacks as hollow and catastrophic as a defeat. And now there's almost no more time and Jace will be remembered by show onlys just for his self-hating identity crisis (which he could have had in the book as well, or before in the show, but not anymore at this point) and his bordering hypocritical classism. Not for everything he actually did and the traits you could imagine of him from what is said in the book.

But hey, apparently a certain part of the fandom thinks that's the only thing that makes a character, a human, complex and interesting.

I don't hate show Rhaenyra. I don't hate show Jacaerys. I will always support Rhaenyra's claim. But I can't just stand after so many decisions that go against them. Especially in the case of Jace who is already receiving such amount of vitriol hate while receiving love just from being victimiced and poor sad boy.

Ah. My boy needs his own sub-team inside Rhaenyra's supporters at this point -- not putting him against Rhaenyra or anyone else. But. Seeing Rhaenyra's stans wishing for his death...

I don't hate the characters. I hate the writers. I hate the changed dynamics, the change in characters' ages, the erasure of Nettles, how Jace was striped from everything his characte is, the stupid decisions....

[dwindlinghaze]

Hiii ur writing is sooo good

I was wondering if u could do a Remus x reader who is James sister and she falls for the first time she sees him and just like a fluff kinda thing idk but I was thinking and it sounds cute 🤷🏽

no worries if u don’t wanna write this but if u do thanks you write him so well 💗

hi!! tysm for requesting! i hope you like this! sending lots of love 🤍🌸🫧🪽

the light is coming

(remus lupin x potter!reader)

contents : fluff, pining

　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

"james! where are we going?" you squeezed his arms, leaving white prints on his skin.

"ow- we're going to meet my friends," james answered, pushing through the crowds in diagon alley.

"i've meet them before," you replied with a huff. you wanted to see them actually, since your pretty crush is a part of his friend group, but you weren't going to show it. playing it cool.

"but you've never met them," he emphasised.

it's true. just sharing smiles and waves when you passes them in the hallway. you were younger than them so your schedules were different.

"so... here's my sister!" james happily introduced you to his friends once you entered a coffee shop where his friends were.

"this is sirius," he pointed to the infamous hogwart's handsome boy with eyes so grey and cool. he wore a black leather jacket with shiny chains decorated within them.

you sent sirius an awkward smile. the thing is, you were scared of meeting them in person, face-to-face. not because they intimidated you, but because you were never really comfortable with the presence of men around you. you knew deep down that james' friends are friendly and fun but that fear doesn't go isolated.

"this is remus," james tilted his head to the boy standing closest to him. he wears a green coloured sweater, even though it's the summer. you noticed this of course, he never took his jumpers off. his hair was the perfect shade of golden blonde, eyes as green as a comet in the sky. he wore a macrame bracelet that his mom probably made for him.

he has a different aura. you actually might be comfortable with him overtime. his gaze so friendly and warm, despite his scruffy exterior. you thought you might actually blush when he sent you the prettiest smile known to men.

"and here's peter," james patted peter's shoulder. he was shorter than all of them. he seemed kind and polite. wearing an outdated cardigan with the edges a bit worn out.

"lovely to see you guys," you chuckled, sending a happy smile. and in return, you got warm greetings back.

"let's go to the quidditch store!" james announced, dragging you and sirius by the arms.

your brother and sirius were in a deep conversation about quidditch that you ncould never understand so you wiggle yourself out of his grasp. preferring to walk behind them along with remus and peter who were having a peaceful time admiring the wizardry architectures.

your pace slowed down, meeting with the two. a part of you also just wanted to be closer to remus. he welcomed you by smiling at you with the kindest eyes. leaving your heart hammering. maybe it was a bad idea to leave james 'cause now you're in this messy situation.

"hey," remus started softly, not wanting to scare you off. "how you're enjoying your summer?"

"hmm good, how about you?" you replied, finding it hard to create a complete sentence.

"it was fine, missing school though. wait- i meant friends- james sirius peter not like i'm a school-lover or anything," remus let out a nervous laugh, tips of his ears turning a shade of red.

"yeah i totally understand that. i miss my friends too," you smiled at him warmly. "did you do anything exciting?" you asked.

"no, not really. you?" he looked so focused at you to the point that you think you might disappear.

"uh i just.. went to the beach s'all, nothing really exciting. i guess when we grow older, the things we find exciting isn't much fun anymore," you shrugged, still keeping your eyes away from him.

a few seconds later, he pulled your shoulder to himself, making you gasp reluctantly. he did that so you wouldn't hit the person who was carrying a trolley. how convenient.

that simple gesture made your heart beaten twice as fast. your long time crush was holding you?

"oh i'm so so sorry," remus pulled his hand away, sending apologetic eyes. "i- i didn't want you to hit him so i pulled you, i'm so sorry!"

"that's okay remus, i appreciate what you did," you smiled softly. "can i call you that?" you asked.

"you can call me anything," he smiled.

you two bonded together overtime. he is becoming your best friend in the whole entire world.

he asks about your day. he opens doors for you. he asks what is your favourite breakfast menu were so he can save it for you. he pulls out chairs for you to sit.

"i've been seeing funky things about you and moony," james said one day.

"what funky things?"

"as if you two were in love...?" james quirked his eyebrows up.

"we're not," you huffed, feeling your ears turning warm.

james looked at you suspiciously, "y'know you can tell anything to me. i won't let remus knows that you're in love with him, promise."

"i'm not!," you defended. though you think you were.

"you are! i can see it. y'know i'm really glad it's remus who you've fallen for because he's a good guy. the only one i'd let you be in a relationship with."

"james stop that. i'm not in love with him, he wouldn't love me anyway."

"oh you're so wrong about that!" james said before he left you to his quidditch practice.

remus did everything right. starting from little things to big gestures like this one.

you were sitting on the grass besides the black lake with a carpet under you. seeing the waters shining and glimmering.

it has been a routine for the both of you to sit here every friday, talking about literally anything and everything.

surrounding you were pretty wild flowers, matching your florally dress that you wore today.

it would be a lie to say that remus wasn't in awe of your appearance. your hair were shining under the warm light of the sunset. everything was perfect today.

"is this okay?" he asked, wrapping both of his arms around you from the back as you stared into the big wide lake. he just wanted to be close to you. to feel you. hug you.

your stomach was flipping, feeling his gentle touch. "yeah, you're so warm," you cuddled into him as he nuzzled his face to your neck.

he swore he's going to ask you to be his girlfriend soon. it's inevitable. he feels it.

[sunbeamah]

JJK Mermaid AU just sitting in my documents-- Yuuji centric!

Naturally, Yuuji is the pearl of his pod-- the most beautiful and strongest mer there. His tail is pink and shimmery, sparkling golden in the light-- but beyond appearances, it's also very powerful. He has mating requests coming in from all the different oceans and seas.

Much to the displeasure of his nine older killer whale mer brothers.

So they set up a system-- in order to even ask to court Yuuji, you have to fight and defeat all 9 brothers, starting from the youngest (Shooso) and ending with Choso. Only 4 mers have ever beaten all 9 brothers. Inumaki Toge, Okkotsu Yuuta, Ryoumen Sukuna and Gojo Satoru.

In Inumaki and Okkotsu's cases, they genuinely wanted to court Yuuji, but ended up meeting and falling in love with one another. (Inumaki took 3 tries to defeat all 9 brothers, while Okkotsu did it in 1). They'd show off for Yuuji and push themselves harder and harder upon seeing the other, until they reached a point where it wasn't about Yuuji anymore. They weren't even thinking of him (no hard feelings though!)

Inumaki's tail is white with navy blue markings down it, his fins are very fine and large, they appear to be wavy as well

Okkotsu's is white at his hips, but quickly fades into black. There are speckles of white decorating the topmost parts, and his fins tend to have white veins running through them

In Ryoumen Sukuna's case, he called Yuuji boring, which offended the brothers and caused them to challenge him. He fought all 9 and won. Yuuji ended up fighting him afterwards, and even though he lost he continues to fight Sukuna whenever they come across each other. Sukuna (though he'll never admit it) enjoys these matches.

Sukuna's tail is a thing of legends. He's a 10-tailed octopus, a bad omen for all those that lay eyes on him. They're a dark pink to match his hair, and have black markings to match those on his upper body.

In Gojo Satoru's case, he wanted to piss the brothers off. He'd heard of their strength, and how they were undefeated across all 7 seas, and thought 'lol I could take them'. Unfortunately, he could. He doesn't do anything with his courting privileges except swim in at random times to hang out with Yuuji and piss the brothers off.

Satoru's tail is pure, blinding white, with a bright blue iridescent sheen to it. The fins are long, wide and appear to be very thin, but there isn't a single scratch or tear on any of them, a pride point for fine-finned mers

There are mers who are allowed to talk to and interact with Yuuji despite not having defeated the brothers, of course. They're a trusted minority, and their ranks include:

Ieiri Shoko

She healed Yuuji when he was sick as a guppy, and treated Shooso and Tanso's wounds from their many fights. Her tail is a murky grey, and the very tips of it are black.

Kugisaki Nobara

Their pods travelled together for a while when they were younger, and they had great fun sparring together. She's his closest friend! Her tail is a classic green (the little mermaid hehe), though she dyes it in gold around her hips and at the veins and tips of her fins-- a modern, fashionable practice

Nanami Kento

Looked after guppy Yuuji after his grandfather passed and before his brothers discovered him, and greatly disapproves of Gojo Satoru, urging him to stop visiting Yuuji. A trusted ally on all fronts. His tail is white and heavily spotted in black. There are blue tinges by his hips, and some parts of his fins are torn

Haibara Yuu

Nanami's pair, who also looked after Yuuji! An honest mer with good intentions that they fully trust. His fins are slashed right through the middle, but he still maintains an excellent swimming speed. His tail is a classic dark blue, blending into darker waters easily

Yoshino Junpei

Despite his obvious interest in Yuuji, it's clear the mer doesn't have the courage or audacity to try to propose any kind of courtship. The brothers trust his cowardliness (they're very dramatic and rude). He's a glowing blue jellyfish mer, though some of his stingers are perpetually bright yellow with electricity

And now for the list of beaten mers, and who they were beaten by:

Mei Mei - Choso

Kamo Noritoshi jr - Shoso (5th eldest)

Todo Aoi - Choso (brutal fight)

Zenin Mai (forced by her clan to fight) - Shooso (2nd youngest)

Zenin Naoya - Eso

Juzo (curse user who wanted to make Gojo into a coat rack) - Sanso (7th eldest)

Haruta (made creepy comments, had to use all 6 miracles in his first fight, tried to run after. didn't work.) - Tanso (3rd youngest)

Toshihisa (one of the curse users who fought Kusakabe) - Tanso

Manami - Kotsu (6th eldest)

a LOT of unnamed mers, usually beaten by the youngest 4. Rarely does anyone ever get up to the eldest 4.

Some mers request to fight Choso straight from the beginning, and he'll honour that request if all his brothers consent to it, but he absolutely DETESTS those that do ask -- he feels that they're disrespecting his younger brothers by not fighting them, or that they don't think Yuuji is worth all the effort of fighting 9 brothers.

Tsukumo Yuki once challenged all the brothers at once, including Yuuji, to offer courtship to Choso. She won.

Now she trains with Yuuji so that if a potential suitor defeats all his brothers, they'll have the hardest time fighting him as well.

Her tail is black with an iridescent sheen of gold, and the tips of her scales are brown. It makes for an eye-catching look!

[cosmicjoke]

One tactic that some Eren fan once tried to argue to me, in trying to defend Eren's actions, is that Isayama, halfway through his story, suddenly decided that fighting back was "bad", and that's the cause of Eren's supposedly sudden shift in character at the end of the story. This person basically tried to blame it on Isayama changing his mind about the themes of AoT and, thus, on bad writing. They couldn't just accept that that was who Eren was all along; a whiny, selfish child that put himself and his desires above everyone else. Eren isn't bad because he was "fighting back", he's bad because he used the justifiable cause of self-defense as an excuse to commit horrific atrocities, when the real reason behind his actions was a childish inability to accept the way things were. It's why Eren's murder of the two sex traffickers who had kidnapped Mikasa was, on its face, justifiable, but the real reason behind Eren's actions wasn't. He did it because he was bored and enjoyed it. He could have waited for his father to get the authorities, but he didn't. And he didn't because he wanted to do what he did. He wanted to commit murder. It wasn't self-defense, it was self-indulgence.

Isayama never condemned the concept of self-defense or fighting back, and I think anyone who thinks he did wasn't paying any kind of attention to what they were reading/watching, and they aren't giving AoT enough credit for its nuance and sophistication.

The thing about AoT is that it doesn't present or force any sort of black and white moralistic world view on the reader/viewer. I talk about this with Levi a lot, how Levi is really representative of how morality isn't a static concept. How it varies and depends on the circumstances. He's a good man, the kindest, most compassionate man, that does quote on quote "bad things". Bad things within the context of normal society. But context always matters, and violence and killing isn't always wrong, even as it's always tragic. Jean, for example, very harshly criticizes Levi for killing people, only to be placed shortly thereafter in a position of having to kill in order to defend both himself and the lives of others; and when he falters and fails to do so, it's Armin who's forced to take that burden upon himself. We see in that moment how Jean's static morality and stubborn world view caused great harm to one of his friends, because he was more interested in preserving that static idea of morality and, thus, his own self-comfort, than he was in protecting his comrades. Jean's unmoving morality costs Armin dearly. Jean, in that moment, was extremely selfish.

And yet Levi later says to Jean that he doesn't know what's wrong or right, and he doesn't condemn Jean for his inaction, but simply states a fact; that Armin saved his and others lives by taking action in his place. Isayama's themes are never so basic or self-righteous as to present a definite answer on moral questions. He never tries to convey any kind of black and white world view. Rather, he presents the complexity of morality, and it's ever shifting conditions, while also showing us the oft tragic outcome of violence, even when that violence is justified or necessary.

Eren's actions weren't actions taken in self-defense or defense of others, they weren't necessary to his or anyone else' survival, and so they can't be defended and aren't justifiable. But Eren was given the power he was in an attempt at self-defense. Because a group of people was being persecuted and punished for things they weren't responsible for. That act of giving Eren power is justifiable. And that's the tragedy. Of having to rely on a bad person like Eren in a desperate attempt to survive. Just like Armin's emotional distress at having to kill in order to save Jean was a tragedy. Armin was justified, but it didn't stop him from being damaged by the event. It's not the self-defense itself that's wrong, but the fact of people being placed in a position of having to defend themselves at all, and all the many consequences of that, including the trauma is causes, both to ourselves and others, the sometimes ugly things it forces us to, and the cyclical, inescapable nature of it, that's tragic.

So it's not about questions of right and wrong, good or bad. Really, AoT is more a study on the tragedy of human nature and of nature itself. The world is cruel but beautiful, as Mikasa says. It's designed this way, and we're designed this way, and that's the way it will always be. Kill or be killed. Nature itself is predicated on that truth.

[sanjisboyfie]

๑ keep safe : see you later, vivi! (20)

one piece x male reader

if he's a serial killer,

then what's the worst thing that can happen to a girl,

who's already hurt?

i’m already hurt.

if he’s as bad as they say,

then i guess i’m cursed.

looking into his eyes, i think he’s already hurt.

he’s already hurt. ​​​

『 prev 』

[name] was flying. that was the last thing he remembered, as well as the bright sky above his head. but when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a dark ceiling.

then he began hearing the snores around him.

he blinked slowly, wondering where he was. but when he looked to the corner of his eyes and saw luffy’s tuft of black hair, he didn’t think twice in closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

he smiled to himself, reminding himself to apologize to vivi when he woke up. after all, he didn’t get to kill the warlord like he had promised her. instead he left that to luffy.

vivi had herself sitting in between [name] and luffy the whole time they were sleeping. the others had gotten up the next day. and after the treatment chopper and vivi had done for them, they were feeling much better.

it took [name] two days to wake up with enough energy. the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was chopper.

“ah, what a cute mascot we have!” [name] smiled, sleep still in his system.

at the sound of his voice, chopper whipped his head around to look at him and jumped on him immediately.

“[name]!!! you’re awake!” the doctor cried, suffocating [name] with his plush body completely covering [name]’s face. “i was so worried!!” just as [name] was going to comfort the worried chopper, the doctor’s personality did a complete switch. and instead of being worried, he was angry at [name], “there was a bullet lodged right in your stomach, asshole, why didn’t you say anything! you were running around with an open wound, you could've died of blood loss!

“not to mention — if pell hadn't caught you do you realize you'd be dead?! falling from such a height!! not to mention that you weren't completely immune to the explosion either! you're lucky you have no scorch marks!!”

“what's another scar on my body, anyway?” [name] pouted, crossing his arms and looking down at his bandages in interest, “oops, i think i opened the stitches by accident…” the blood was beginning to leak to the surface which made him hum in confirmation, “yep, i surely did!”

“the scars aren't the point! and bastard!!! i’ll kill you for re-opening your wounds!” chopper said, charging at [name] with more wraps of white bandages, “just stay still and listen to doctor's orders!”

“ah, tony-kun, i think we should ease up on the yelling…[name], might not be completely-”

“vivi!!” [name] shouted, outstretching his hands to grab her wrist. chopper jumped aside, huffing with his entire chest in annoyance at [name] who was ignoring his screams.

the rough pull to her wrist made her stumble forward and into [name]’s bandaged, and bleeding, chest.

“sorry, vivi,” he apologized immediately, holding her tight as his chin rested on top of her head, “i wasn’t able to take care of crocodile like i promised. do you think any lowly of me because of that?”

there was silence and soon the only sound in the room was vivi’s whimpers and cries. [name] said nothing and kept smiling at the girl in his arms, squeezing her tight to comfort her.

“[name], thank you,” she cried, lifting her head to show her teary eyes and trembling expression, “if it weren’t for you, pell and this entire country would have been done for!! thank you so much!!”

[name] laughed at her gratitude, the sound of his laughter only sending her into a deeper crying state. chopper sighed, shaking his head at [name]’s manners before leaving the room to grab vivi a glass of water.

“so pell is alright?” [name] asked, scooting backwards on the bed so he could rest his back against the frame. it also made more space for vivi to sit. but instead, she stood up and took ahold of one of the bandage wrappings chopper left behind.

“he’s alright, he’s quite angry with you though, last i checked,” she chuckled, flinching when she felt [name]’s hands wipe the tears away from her cheek.

“and you’re okay?” he asked her gently, holding her face in his palm, “there anything else i need to do to make sure your job as princess is easier?”

vivi shook her head.

the strawhat crew were never going to be forgotten, she’d assure that.

he chuckled at her actions, lightly tapping her cheek with his palm before letting his arm fall.

”i never met any princess before, vivi, but no matter who i meet i doubt they’ll be a better person than you,” he complimented sincerely, resting his hand on top of hers, “your courage is honorable. you’ve saved this country just as much as luffy has,”

she bit her lip, scolding herself for wanting to cry again. [name] noticed it too, laughing to himself, “but you sure are a professional at worrying! c’mon, princess, the people can’t have a leader as emotionally driven as you!!” he teased, obviously joking.

she rolled her eyes, unwrapping the sullied bandages off of his chest. she frowned seeing the scar from where he was shot. it was on his lower abdomen and currently seeping with blood. she disinfected the area quickly, [name] not even flinching at the alcohol being put to his wound, and then wrapped it once more. the entire time she worked she tried to ignore [name]’s e/c eyes watching her.

then she lifted her hand to flick him on the forehead. seeing as she couldn't "harm" any other part of his body without the risk of worsening his injuries.

his injuries…it seemed that it was the only thing she could see. she didn't lift her head once to look into his eyes.

when he noticed a pained look on her face, he moved his fingers to be underneath her chin and made her look at him.

“what’s wrong, vivi?”

she shook her head, lip quivering as she denied to speak her thoughts. [name] didn’t push for answers, instead holding her once more and rubbing up and down her back to comfort her.

“i just think…you’d make a great knight, [name],” she broke the silence, burying her head into his chest. [name] didn’t reply, only looking down at her in confusion. “you've been protecting me since we've met and you've protected this country. despite my attitude to you in the beginning, you've been nothing but kind. thank you so much,”

the two laid there in silence and [name] thought vivi had possibly fallen asleep. but when he moved to lift her up and put her in the bed beside him, so she could be most comfortable, she had stopped him.

”let’s just rest,” she breathed out, falling limp in his arms.

and he wasn’t going to deny her of sleep, so he moved her to be next to him and pulled the blanket over them. he fell back asleep rather easily, his breathing evening out in a matter of minutes.

when chopper came back into the room, he sighed at the two. as a doctor, he was really worried for [name]’s health. but as his friend, he was even more scared. [name]’s condition when pell flew  him to them, they really thought he was done for.

his body was bleeding from almost every crevice and chopper knew blood transfusions were out of the question for [name]. how [name] sufficed such tremendous and dangerous wounds and survived was a mystery. perhaps it had to do with his blood, but genuinely, chopper had no idea. there could be numerous theories he could come up with, but the only real answer would be from [name] himself. 

or...[name] could have a case of recovering freakishly quickly for no apparent reason, something both zoro and luffy both had as well. 

either way, it was something that intrigued and confused chopper at the same time. but if [name] was going to start getting into life threatening situations then it’d be a real cause for concern instead.

he shook his head multiple times, ridding himself of those depressive thoughts and simply climbed up to the foot of the bed. he was planning on just monitoring [name]’s condition, but he soon felt himself getting sleepy too.

then all the bodies laying on the bed were sleeping, luffy resting in the bed next to them.

after another night of recovery, luffy finally woke up. this called for celebration from everyone. a feast was to be had later that night. the moment [name] saw that luffy was up and healthy, he went over to his bedside and immediately smothered him.

luffy grinned, “[name]!! i haven’t seen you in so long,”

“yeah, yeah,” [name] said, nuzzling his face into luffy’s shoulder, “but y’know…i’m angry at you,”

“angry?! why? what’d i do?!” luffy asked with a pout and a whine in his voice.

“you didn’t let me land a single hit on crocodile, you asshole!” [name] shouted before biting into luffy’s rubbery shoulder.

a yowl was released immediately at the action, “hey, hey, hey!!! that hurts, knock it off, bastard!” [name]’s teeth were still digging into the flesh. he pulled his head back, making the skin of luffy’s shoulder stretch. “that hurts a lot! stop it!!”

[name] only grunted in response, not letting his jaw relax.

the rest of the crew watched with deadpan expressions as [name] attached himself onto luffy like a backpack as their captain ran around the room, begging for mercy.

“[name]! quit it!” luffy shouted in frustration, grabbing and slapping [name]’s face in annoyance, “it’s not my fault you couldn’t take care of him yourself! bleh!!” luffy’s tongue stuck out in a taunting manner at [name], which the man didn’t appreciate at all.

“i’ll kill you luffy!” [name] rung his hands around luffy’s neck, shaking him back and forth as he cut off the rubber man’s air supply.

”both of you, enough!!” chopper said, turning into his large form and wrangling [name] off of luffy, holding the two apart as if they were two cats fighting and clawing at each other. the two still tried attacking each other, kicking and punching the air, with sharp teeth barred at each other.

the rest of the crew only sweat dropped at their behavior, internally sighing in relief to see that neither of them had changed after their life-threatening injuries.

the room stayed as chaotic as it could be with an energetic luffy and [name] practically bouncing off of the walls. and it stayed like that until they were called down for their celebration feast.

the crew looked at each other in fear the moment they stepped into the room, hearing the hungry stomachs of luffy and [name] bubbling in anticipation. after seconds of sitting down, the food was presented to them.

[name] and luffy were the main ones who were eating as if their lives depended on it. the captain would use his devil fruit to his advantage, continuously stretching and stealing food off of other people’s plates then shoving it into his mouth before they’d be able to fight back.

[name] on the other hand was consuming things the moment they were set down on the table, not giving the others a single chance to take a piece. sometimes he’d haphazardly throw meat onto one of their plates, but that’d be because he’d take the rest of the food off of the dish and swallow it whole.

“we’ve got a lot, so-” vivi was cut off when [name] shoved noodles into her mouth and grinned as he ate from the same dish.

“ish sho good, ife neba hat noodwes like fis!!” he said, as if anybody could understand what he was saying. he swallowed his noodles, eyes glowing with stars, “wait! wait! wait! let me try your alabasta coffee! it’s gotta be good, huh?! get me coffee, please!” he shouted at no one in particular.

after a couple of minutes of waiting, a freshly brewed cup of hot, black coffee was placed in front of him. he ate a handful more dishes, to give it some time to cool off, before chugging it all down in one go.

tears filled his eyes as he cried for a refill, “it’s all so yummy!”

soon, the entire dining room was filled with laughter. the guards around them couldn’t hold back cackling at their rambunctious behavior and the strawhats themselves were laughing as chopper and usopp both got onto the table and started dancing.

it took a while for them to finish eating, mainly because of luffy and [name], but when they were done eating the most lavish meal of their lives — they were escorted to the bathing house.

[name] had a small towel wrapped around his waist, taking in a deep breath of the relaxing scent that was all around them. then his grin turned devilish as he grabbed ahold of luffy and usopp by their necks.

“hey, hey! no running, we’re gonna crash!” usopp shouted, slapping at [name]’s arm that was practically choking him. luffy didn’t complain though, clapping his hands and cheering as [name] ran.

“let’s go for a swim!!” [name] shouted, throwing the two of them forward and into a deep pool of water that was coming from the grand fountain. when he saw luffy and usopp crash in, he threw off his waist towel and followed soon after. he created a huge splash that soaked almost everyone near them.

“idiot! act more mature!” sanji shouted from the sidelines, his face now drenched with water, “also you guys are disgusting! this is a bath, not a pool!”

“sanji, come on, join us,” [name] said, resting his cheek on his palm. he was propped up against the marble wall that encased the pool of water they were in, a smirk on his lips. “or should i come over there and make you?”

sanji’s eye twitched at the invite, “don’t use that tone with me, shit for brai-”

he couldn’t finish his sentence as [name] was already jumping out of the water and running over to him. sanji’s eye locked in on [name]’s and he visibly cringed as he realized he couldn’t run. and in seconds, he was thrown into the pool of water that usopp and luffy were swimming in.

“zoro!!” [name] shouted, running to his next victim.

“hey, you can’t! i’m washing chopper, so-”

“zoro and chopper!!” [name] corrected, not stopping in his pursuit of collecting the two. he ran over with impeccable speed, throwing the duo in with the rest of the crew. chopper sputtered out water as he reached the surface and zoro simply leaned on his elbows, his hands planted on the bottom of the bath, and spat out a fountain of water from his mouth, a disgruntled look on his face.

[name] grinned, properly joining all of them and grabbing ahold of some of the shampoo and conditioner, “who’s going first?” he invited, showing his lathered hands.

”me! me! me!” luffy shouted, splashing his way over to [name] and sitting in front of him, presenting his hair to be washed.

[name] grinned, leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss on luffy’s cheek before going to wash his hair. luffy giggled at the action, closing his eyes in bliss.

he made sure to massage his scalp, to relax him further. and it worked seeing as luffy completely folded into [name]’s torso in a matter of seconds. after washing out the shampoo and conditioner from luffy’s head, [name] worked on scrubbing his back.

he’d prod and poke at luffy’s flesh every now and then to tickle him, making the captain whine and then laugh.

“alright, you’re all done! who’s next?” [name] invited once more. luffy shot up from his spot in front of [name] and took a position standing behind him. when [name] looked at him in confusion, the ravenette only grinned as he too now had shampoo lathered in his hands.

“i’ll wash your hair, [name]!” luffy proudly declared, making [name] smile in thanks. usopp took a seat in front of [name] and soon a train of washing hair had started. the sniper didn’t hide how vocal he was about the pleasant sensation of [name]’s hands washing his head, making [name] laugh.

“damn, [name]! you’re really good!!” usopp said with a look on his face that screamed pure relaxation, “we gotta take more baths together, i think i’d sleep like a baby every night if i got this treatment on merry,” he drawled on, his eyes shut as if he were about to go to sleep.

[name] worked his hair through usopp’s curls for a little while longer, moving onto conditioning, before announcing that the man was done and clean. usopp shouted his thanks, a pure smile on his face. [name] brought water up to his hair to wash out the product, sighing in delight at the relaxing temperature of the water. 

after luffy and usopp were finished, [name] went over to zoro and roughly took ahold of the short green hair.

“i’m plenty capable of washing myself, no thanks!” zoro rejected, going to move from [name] and to somewhere more secluded, but [name]’s hands firmly planted themselves on his shoulders.

“nope, not taking that as an answer,” [name] grinned, already working his hands through zoro’s short hair, “come on, i’ll give you a massage too,”

zoro groaned, his bottom lip jutting out as his eyes squinted in annoyance. first he was annoyed that [name] insisted on washing him, but now he was annoyed at how good it felt. [name]’s fingers gently washed his hair and massaged his scalp. and then when it finally came to washing down his back, his touch turned firm and completely relaxed his strained muscles.

not to mention, the warm water around them almost made him knock out into a deep sleep right then and there. [name] had his tongue pocking out in concentration, digging his fingers into a particular knot in zoro’s back.

he was humming to himself without realizing it and that’s when zoro really thought he’d fall asleep by accident. the low hum of [name]’s voice, the strong hands massaging his back, and the warm body heat that they were radiating off of each other.

the only reason why he didn’t knock out right then and there was because there was a sudden loud crash coming from behind the two. both him and [name] looked over and saw that half of them were laying down flat on their face. sanji even had a stream of blood coming from his nose.

[name] sighed, putting two and two together, reminding himself to lecture them later for peaking in on the girls. he was too busy scrubbing into zoro’s back that he couldn’t be bothered with it right now.

when the perverts of the bath house finally collected themselves, [name] was sitting in front of zoro and the swordsman was roughly washing him now.

“gentle, zoro, how many times have i told you i’m a sensitive man?!” [name] scolded, slapping zoro’s arm with his towel.

“shut up, i’m not even scrubbing that hard!” zoro shouted in return, but he did let up a very little bit. his eyes scanned over [name]’s muscular back, taking in the sight of [name]’s tattoo. the man in front of him had a very objectively nice figure. his shoulders were wide and his waist was slim. the tattoo on his back only seemed to pronounce these two features. 

zoro coughed at the sight, averting his eyes and quietly telling [name] he was done. [name] sighed in thanks, turning around and leaning on the marble walling of the bath. the two were now facing each other, [name] with a pleasant smile on his lips whilst zoro did anything but look at the said grinning man.

“thank you,” were the king’s words to break the silence. everyone looked at him, eyes widening just a tad when they saw him begin bowing his head down at them, “thank you for saving this country,”

“hey, hey, is it okay…for a king to do such a thing…?” zoro asked slowly, looking at the king who was still bowing down to them.

“this is a serious incident, king cobra! a king should never bow their head to anybody,” igaram said, the blonde looking worried at the king’s actions.

“igaram, authority is something you wear over your clothes. but we’re in the bath, there isn’t such a thing as a naked king,” [name] chuckled at the metaphor, looking at the king in interest. “i’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart, as a father and as a resident of this land. thank you very much, i really appreciate it.”

luffy laughed his trademark laugh, eyes turning into crescent moons as his pearly whites were on display. the rest of the bath was turned peaceful, a drastic difference from when they first entered.

[name] was mellowed out, having a towel rest on top of his eyes and forehead to cool himself off. he almost fell asleep if it weren't for luffy bouncing over and jumping onto his chest.

“let’s go, [name]! we've been in here for too long! we gotta get dressed snd go now!” he said cheerfully, hugging himself deep into [name]’s torso. [name], used to the man’s close contact, nodded his head in understanding and stood the both of them up.

he had his hands resting underneath luffy’s thighs, carrying him as if he were a baby. the captain at least had some decency to put a towel on over his waist. shamelessly, though, he grinning like a kid who just won candy.  it was obvious luffy had no problem latching onto [name]’s figure and using him as a personal transport.

trusting that the grip luffy had around his waist and neck would be enough to keep him upright, [name] removed his hands from luffy's thighs to tie his own towel around his waist. they met up with the others in the changing room. [name] put on a black set of robes that were set out for them.

luffy got dressed in his own attire as well, but jumped right back onto [name]’s back once they were both wearing clothing. they returned back to the grand room where they were settled down for a conversation on when to leave. luffy rested his chin on top of [name]’s head, legs around his torso to prop himself up to that height. 

“we should be ready to leave by tonight,” nami said first, looking around the room for reactions. [name] agreed, for the most part everyone else did too.

“alright, let’s leave after we eat some more delicious food!” luffy said, completely missing the point. [name] slapped his cheek harshly, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

”no, we leave tonight, right now,” usopp shouted.

“yeah, if we have no other reason to be here, it’s best to leave as soon as possible,” zoro chimed in.

[name] carefully watched vivi’s expression, frowning when he saw her lip quivering as if she were about to start crying. just as he was about to say something to her, a royal guard entered the room and was carrying a den-den mushi for them.

“someone named bon-chan wants to speak with you,” he said to the straw hats, hesitance in his voice.

“who the hell is bon-chan?” the crew echoed in confusion, not recalling anybody with a name like that.

“but he insists he’s your friend, so…” the guard continued, holding the transponder snail out to them.

sanji was the one who got up, picking up the receiving end and immediately an irritating voice filled the room, “hello? hi there!”

and then their line of the transponder snail was immediately slammed down to hang up. the ones who had interacted with the caller all cringed in distaste. it only started ringing again the moment the call ended, earning angry glares from sanji and [name].

luffy stretched and took the snail, picking it up and speaking in a defiant tone, “huh, it’s you! what do you want from us?!”

[name] looking at the snail that mimicked the caller’s expression, grimacing as he could imagine the man spinning around in his pretty ballerina costume as he spoke into the den-den mushi.

“oh? that voice! it must be straw hat-chan! you really surprised me, y’know? you’re so strong!” the voice complimented, making [name]’s look of disgust only deepen.

“what do you want from us, mr. 2?” [name] asked in a deathly serious tone, glaring at the snail.

“no! no! don’t call me mr. 2, yeow!” the voice cried out, panic evident in his voice, “if this signal is caught by the navy, we’ll be in trouble!”

“what do you want from us.” [name] repeated, more stern this time to get to the point.

“oh, i took your ship!”

“that’s not funny!!” zoro, nami, and chopper cried out in unison.

“you bastard! this isn’t a joking matter! tell us where you are right now!” usopp said, pointing a finger at the snail in anger. like the other three, his teeth were barred and sharp as well.

“on your ship!”

“don’t fuck around right now, bon-chan,” [name] spoke in a taunting tone, “we both know what i’ll do to you if you lay a hand on merry!”

“no, no! it’s not like that, geez!” bon clay cried out, “we’re friends, right? i’m waiting for you guys at the upper reaches of the sandora river! but you have to hurry, i don’t know how long i can be here for before the navy finds it!!”

[name] grit his teeth, hanging up the snail and looking at the rest of the crew.

“now, what?”

they all looked conflicted, eyebrows furrowed in thought. they all decided that it’d be better if they left right away, not wanting to leave merry in the care of a past enemy as well as the fact the navy could find it at any second.

the crew began moving, [name] equipping himself with his sword and making sure that the cloth around his wrist was securely tightened.

”everyone…” vivi lowered her head as they all stared at her, waiting for her to continue, “what…should i do?” she softly asked, tone wavering.

a silence passed over all of them before nami spoke up, “listen well, vivi. we’ll give you 12 hours. once we take our ship back at the sandora river, we’ll draw the ship near the eastern harbor just once at exactly noon tomorrow. we probably won’t be able to anchor. if you want to continue traveling with us, that moment is the only chance to come aboard. if that happens, we’ll welcome you…though you’ll become a pirate!”

vivi blinked several times at the invitation, nodding her head in understanding.

“since you’re the princess of a country, this is the best we can do to invite you,” sanji sighed, looking somewhat troubled in having to leave behind vivi.

“come, vivi! definitely come! let’s go right now!”

[name] smacked his hand on luffy’s head, apologetically smiling at vivi. usopp began dragging luffy away and [name] was left to be the last one to scale out of the window.

he walked over to vivi, grinning down at her as he ruffled her blue locks, “this isn’t goodbye, even if you don’t end up coming. i’ll make sure to see you in the future, vivi! all of us!”

she nodded her head, pushing herself forward and crashing into [name]’s chest. the grip she had on his waist was tight, as if she didn’t want to let go. but after a gentle tap on her shoulders from [name], she released him from her hug.

“this was from pell,” she breathed out, handing him a crumpled up letter with his name neatly written on the front. he grinned, recognizing the lettering — thinking back to his impromtu lesson he received from the princess herself on the going merry. it seems even the guards got proper education on higher learning, “i assume it’s his thanks all written out. he was really bashful when he handed it to me,”

“then i’ll read it on merry,” [name] grinned, “vivi, you’re an amazing princess — you’ll make an even stronger queen one day!”

and then he was gone, just like that. he jumped form the window, using the rope to touch ground with the rest of his crew. and vivi was standing there, a blush on her cheeks at his sudden compliment.

but like [name] said, she'd trust they'd see each other again. whenever that time was.

the journey to the ship wasn’t super long, but it left them enough time to think. nami looked particularly forlorn, causing worry for the other crewmates. but when they realized she only looked like that because of beri, they all threw their worries out the window.

[name] had to physically stop himself from beating bon clay to a pulp when they reached merry, choosing to silently walk around the ballerina as they carried all their goods onto the ship.

the ship sailed on once everything was brought on board, bon clay still lingering on their deck. he seemed to bat his eyes whenever [name] walked by, but the man he was trying to woo would only shove his face away with his hand and a grimace.

by the time the sun came up on their journey, they were surrounded entirely by the marines.

[name] grit his teeth in annoyance, holding onto the railing as iron bars were lodged into merry’s wood. he concentrated on one of the ships that was targetting them, waving his hand in the air and causing it to capsize with a humongous wave.

“yes! [name]! keep doing that, whatever that is! keep it up!”

“it takes a lot of energy! i won’t be able to do it for all of them!” [name] bit back then beginning to breathe heavily. he noticed that they were beginning to get surrounded by 8 navy ships now.

“well, do as much as you can anyway! we can’t keep taking hits like that!” nami said, worry etched onto her features.

thankfully, usopp was able to land a cannonball into one of the ships. that bought them more time, but they weren’t going to move from their place. this is where they needed to be. vivi was going to meet them there.

thinking of the princess coming to the harbor and not seeing their ship, it made him infuriated. these marines had to ruin everything!

he turned around, waving his hand once more and causing two more of the ships to crash down.

bon clay began to beg for them to leave, but all of them refused. once luffy mentioned they were waiting for their friend, it seemed to woo the man in acting as a decoy for them.

and as bon clay got the formation to break apart, the strawhats were able to successfully move deeper into the harbor and closer to shore. and the only thing they could do was wait.

vivi’s voice began to ring in the air, making [name]’s face brighten up. he ran to the railing, to search for her at the shore. but gradually, the smile on his face began falling as he saw that she was nowhere to be seen.

she was giving a speech, but not for them. she wasn’t at the shore, which means her choice was obvious.

it did sting a little bit, [name] giving a bitter sweet smile to the country. he wished vivi could have joined them. she felt too close as a crewmate to be anything else, too. a selfish part of him wanted her to choose them over her country, but he knew that that was unreasonable.

“let’s go, luffy,” [name] said softly, patting the strawhat of his captain, “she’s made her choice,”

“but-”

“no, we have to accept it and sail onward,” [name] said, shaking his head at luffy, who was pouting in sadness.

just as [name] was going to turn his back on the shore, sighing in defeat, he heard her call out, “everyone!!”

he turned around in an instant and grinned ear to ear, waving at her. the others began rejoicing, perhaps too soon. since the next words that left her lips made all of them still, “i came to say goodbye,”

“huh? what did she say?” luffy said, the wide grin on his face turning into a flat line.

“i can’t…go with you! thank you so much for everything! i’d like to go on more adventures, but there’s no ignoring that i love this country! so i can’t go!! i…i…i will remain here! but if we ever meet again some day, will you call me your friend again?!”

[name] chuckled at her crying expression, looking at the rest of the crew with a sad smile.

“you’ll forever be our-”

nami and [name] acted in sync, slapping luffy’s mouth shut and onto the deck with grim expressions.

“you can’t! the navy has noticed vivi! if they see us making contact with her, they’ll assume the worst!”

“she’ll become a criminal!” nami added in, tears glistening in her eyes, “let’s part without saying anything!”

[name] pursed his lips, a grin of mischief on his face. he quickly ran to the back of the ship, a smile on his face that he hoped the princess could see. silently, he turned his back to her. he untied the black cloth around his left wrist and stuck it up in the air.

the straw hats joined him by his side, all showing their marks of friendship with pride. despite the cannons that were being shot at them, the rocking of their ship, and the chaos around them — they all stayed still and showed off the black ‘x’ on their left arm.

“set sail!!!”

BONUS : pell’s letter to [name]

[name],

as i am writing this, you are currently in an unconscious state and have been in one since yesterday. it is troubling to think that someone like yourself has been the one protecting princess vivi recently. to think that someone who makes such reckless decision was keeping her safe…it’s most certainly unsettling.

but she’s told me about you — your adventures together and how much you have sacrified for her, plus this instance in which you saved this country and my life, as well as every civilian’s life. i’ve learned from her debt to you, one that she has said she can never repay properly. and i do agree with her.

i could never repay you or properly put into words how thankful i am to you and your captain for keeping princess vivi safe and saving this country from the evil clutches of crocodile. to us, the strawhat pirates will never be forgotten.

the reason why i could not face you in person and instead opted to write you this letter is because of the utter shame i feel in making you be the one to hold the burden of saving the country on your shoulders. if i were more competent, then we would have both been able to save everyone, but instead i proved to still have a ways to go before i can be the perfect guardian for princess vivi and this country.

the princess had told me that my shames and worries were silly, then further reinforced that idea by saying that you were a rather laid back individual who would care for nothing of this sort. but, i can’t push aside my shames at this moment, but i also cannot stay silent in your actions and not show my genuine gratitude.

from one guardian to another, i thank you very humbly in everything you have done — but especially everything you have done for the princess. her smile reaches her eyes now and her shoulders are no longer slouched in stress and in worry of saving her country. but besides that point, i think you alone have saved her as well. saved her from walking down a dark path of loneliness and abandonment.

thank you for not giving up on princess vivi and pushing her forward in returning back home.

take this letter as a means of holding me accountable in the future. if we ever cross paths again, which i think the princess would like very much, then please utilize me as a proper guardian this time and trust in my abilities to prove myself to you. you have done me a great fortune i could never think of properly repaying, but allow me to at least try and hold a candle to the bright flame you have ignited when you saved this country.

yours,

pell.

additionally — i am glad i was at least the one to bring you the joy of flying. hopefully, when we meet in the future, we can go on the same flight together once again.

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[  .ᐟ ] alabasta arc ends 🥹gonna miss vivi fr i need the straw hats and vivi to reunite in the manga ughhh like rnnnn + i finally caught up w the manga guys!!! i know everything thats going onnn (i had to reread from wci-present) concerningly enouhh i think it took a week?? definitely more than three days...i think

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[addicted-to-the-knife]

I've come to realise that there are two ways people mischaracterise Will. (NBC Hannibal, specifically)

One being the "uwu innocent babygirl who was manipulated into doing bad things by the big bad Hannibal". And the other being the polar opposite of it, where even his better qualities are turned into something that signify how "evil" he truly is.

Where is the nuance?

Will Graham is a complex character with many different aspects about himself that don't cancel each other out.

He's not a good person. We know that. We should know that. The show has been very clear about that. But he's also not entirely bad either. People rarely are entirely good or bad. I'd argue that nobody is ever just one or the other.

It's not all black and white. And taking moments of his genuine goodness and turning them into something they're not just to prove the point that he's not a good, innocent little baby like some people believe, is just as wrong.

His empathy and compassion are not a lie. He's empathic to a fault. He has true compassion for others; especially those that are weak and vulnerable and are victimised by others or themselves or failed by the system. He genuinely wants to help them.

Of course he's doing that for his own gain. One could argue that his motivation is selfish, since he could not live with the guilt of lives not saved or letting victims be even more victimised. So, he helps in order to make himself feel better. He also helps others in an attempt to prove to himself that he's not as bad as he fears he is (especially in season 1).

To say that because his reasons for helping are selfish and only for his own gain, whatever that may be at times, make him a bad person and that he's actively preying on the vulnerable for it, is such a huge misunderstanding to me. Helping people is seldom a completely selfless act. Most people do it to get something in return; even if that something is simple acknowledgement and recognition for having done something good. The motivation behind it shouldn't matter as much if people are being helped in a genuine way that is good for them.

And to take Abigail as an example for his "true predatory and manipulative ways" is also not the way to go. He was genuine with Abigail. His killing of her father triggered such unbearable guilt within him that he reacted irrationally and tried to forcefully insert himself into her life and replace her father in order to minimise the guilt and make up for what he's done to Abigail. His intentions weren't bad, but they were selfish. He didn't manipulate her, though, nor was he preying on her vulnerability. He did genuinely care about Abigail (or rather, an image of her that his guilt produced), too much one could argue, and he acted irrationally and selfishly; because (re)actions fuelled by strong emotions are always irrational.

He was also very genuine about helping and caring about Georgia and Peter, for example. Especially Peter is a good example because that was at the beginning of the honeytrap. By some people's logic, he shouldn't have a single reason to care about Peter and be a friend to him, and he should have only been getting close to him to manipulate him. But that's not what happened. Will saw himself in Peter and he wanted to prevent from what eventually happened to happen at all. He genuinely wanted to help Peter out of his situation and come away as unscathed as possible.

Also, let's not forget that he had no reason to put on a facade with Bedelia in the second half of season 3. When he says, during their session, that his first instinct is to help a wounded bird, he wasn't lying or putting up an act. He was being genuine. His empathy and compassion for the weak and vulnerable is real. He wants to help. And he'd much rather hurt whoever has wounded the bird in the scenario. Bedelia even admits that her first instinct is to crush a weakened animal. Neither of them saw a reason to lie to the other.

When Will kills people, he feels righteous. He kills people that "had it coming". They deserve it, in his mind, for having hurt and/or killed others.

He's manipulative, yes, but from what we know and have seen, that is pretty exclusive to people in power, like Hannibal, or Jack. He doesn't manipulate a weakened person. (The only example that is iffy on either side is with Chiyoh, maybe. It shows that he's no better than Hannibal; even if he still wanted to believe that about himself at the time. He forced Chiyoh to kill because he was curious and he manipulated everything around that for it to happen. But again, Chiyoh isn't a weak or vulnerable person; especially not in Will's mind.)

By no means is Will a good person or innocent. And Hannibal didn't make him a killer. That was already inside him and all Hannibal did was to let that beast loose. And Will likes it. He likes how powerful he feels, and he likes the rawness of it all. And yet he doesn't use that against people that are already victims.

The fact that Will isn't a good person does not negate that he's empathic and compassionate and that he has a genuine want to help others. Because those things alone don't make you a good person. Those qualities can be true and exist, just like his enjoyment of killing and having power over others do. At the same time. They don't cancel each other out. That's exactly what makes him such an interesting and complex character.