#and i was so devastated even though i managed to convince him to return later

[kaltacore]

unconditional devotion is fun and all but i love when you have to work on your relationships with characters in rpgs. it's so much fun when they openly question mc's decisions if they are not aligned with their morals. when they object and start an argument and must be convinced to do something. when they don't join mc in the final fight if you don't trust each other enough.

the payoff hits so much harder this way. if you're a dick to them they will not put you above their principles and stances because why would they? but if you helped them if you proved yourself to be trustworthy if you were good to them they will stand beside you even if they're conflicted and have to sacrifice something for that. and it's so cathartic when you know they could leave but at the end of the day they didn't! because them and your character are besties! friendship and love are hard to earn but you did it and now it helped you win!

[mylarena]

i really love that trope where geralt lends jaskier his clothes at kaer morhen without mentioning theyre his, and all the other wolves are endlessly amused and smug about it. geralt just scowls at them and their teasing and jaskier doesnt know what the big deal is or why they keep giving his shirt pointed looks- he thinks it looks great with the way hes styled it! over his years of traveling the path, hes thought up plenty of ways he can make the bland and dark clothing geralt wears look fashionable. he hasnt convinced geralt to let him style his clothes on him yet, but this shirt is close enough, almost exact, he thinks, so he’s testing out his ideas on himself now that he can.

geralt took his laundry to wash and he hasnt returned it just yet, which is a little annoying but the clothes hes given him to wear are fine for now. again, he has a lot of looks to try out. geralt probably managed to misplace it, or something. the keep is huge, after all.

what isnt fine, though, is the smug smirk lambert gives him every damn morning with no explanation. and geralts always so growly in the mornings, too! gods, youd think he’d be more at ease around his brothers, but its like hes always straight up snarling at lambert and glaring at eskel and coen. vesemir doesnt seem to get any of his ire, at least.

one day, while he’s lost exploring the expansive halls, a basket of bright, familiar fabrics catches jaskiers eye. when he pushes open the door fully, he’s a bit surprised to see all of the clothes he had handed to geralt to be washed- all in perfect condition, if a little dusty. he furrows his brow and deigns to ask geralt about it later- right now, all he wants to do is take his clothes back to his room and put on his favorite doublet.

and so he does! he looks fucking great,if he says so himself. and he does say so. after tousling his hair a bit to give it a charmingly disheveled look, he struts himself into the main hall, practically preening. hes hoping for some acknowledgement on his clothes, even if its just teasing from lambert.

but what he gets is silence throughout the hall. lambert is staring at him with an eyebrow raised. eskel is looking between him and geralt. coen knowingly snickers into his mug. geralt looks fucking devastated. vesemir is minding his own business.

jaskier opens his mouth to speak, but then lambert looks at geralt and bursts into howling laughter. geralt snarls at him and stands from his place at the table, brushing past jaskier as he stomps his way down the hall.

coen gives him a sympathetic look as he approaches the table they're seated at. lambert wipes away a fake tear of joy, giving jaskier a wolfish grin.

[kess-in-the-perthchimzone]

Little details in episode 11

I really love episode 11 (ugly sobbing). And it only improved on returning to it over a week late with a glass of wine. This is very first half heavy because I’ve written a lot about the back half separately.

The bag!! It shows very prominently here, even as Sailom knows he’s about to quit school. Once again, Kang and his family are still with him even though Sailom doesn’t think they are! (And there are so many other points you see it. More than any other episode I can remember.)

The makeup team! Chimon! He LOOKS bone deep exhausted and sad here

Perth plays Kang so interesting here. He starts breathing so hard when he looks over at Sailom. He looks like he’s fighting the urge to jump out of his seat and go over to Sailom.

The contrast of this delicate shoulder hold and Sailom’s arms looped around his chest in episode 10 BREAKS MY HEART.

This is a brutal line. And this is why I don’t take it seriously when people say DR doesn’t ever talk about income inequality. What does school matter when you are the sole source of income for your family? I will never forget this moment!!

The irony of this line is that Kang is probably MUCH more comfortable with Sailom at school — it makes the stalking easier 😂 — but I still want to see the absolute meltdown Kang would have had if Pimfah started sponsoring Sailom. They have been friends since they were babies … would that be the end??

Here is my number one argument for why Sailom needed to be the one to escort in the roleplay. He stops Auto in the gym from prostrating for him, we see that in a flashback (as Sailom is remembering it from the lens of Auto being a good friend). Sailom also tried to stop Kang from kneeling in the bike shop. Sailom has been staunchly, fiercely proud this whole series. The fact that he is willing and comfortable playing the role of service to Kang is actually a beautiful sign that he has grown and changed as a person and is willing to bend in the future. We don’t need to see this again from Kang because we have already seen it in the bike shop and in episode 11 when he finally got to take care of Sailom.

Not one of Sailom’s happy memories being Guy supporting him dating Kang … while Sailom is about to say goodbye to Kang for what he thinks is the very last time. SOBBING

I am CONVINCED Sailom knew it was Kang standing in front of him by his legs/hips alone. He already knows who he’s glancing up to see before his eyes ever meet Kang’s. This boy has probably MEMORIZED every line of Kang’s body.

I just want to point out that Kang was going to walk past him without saying or doing anything!! His face before Sailom thanked him was not mad. If anything he looked like he might cry. And then to have Sailom call him back — I think he got hopeful that Sailom might try to actually talk to him

You can actually SEE how Sailom very formally thanking him felt like a knife to the heart instead. His eyes are DEAD.

Then Kang goes quiet. He stares at Sailom for a long long second. And he keeps making an aborted arm movement as if to touch. Then he leaves as soon as he gets the pin. Boy is so close to crying here.

Meanwhile, Sailom is putting up one of his absolute best I’M FINE!! Fronts. He almost manages a smile.

We the audience sympathize with him so much because we see what he looks like after Kang walks away but Kang is only seeing the facade to this point.

Noticing for the first time that Sailom can’t get all the way through it when he starts to tell Saifah he quit school. I’m so upset. Look how openly devastated he looks

I’ve said repeatedly I want a sunshine Chimon character soon, but I actually think I want a really tortured angry one. He’s SO HOT HERE and also later fighting the guy in the hospital

Sailom’s genuine smile for getting a bonus for working the morning shift!! I’m just really sad thinking about how ever many days he spent working full time not seeing anyone he loved except Saifah in jail and how much that simple kindness had to mean to him

Kang’s bravery here! They were going to run Sailom over and he put himself right in the path of it. Also, Sailom’s immediate trust in jumping on with him.

It’s so weird not hearing boyfriend and it makes me sad!! But also the word friend gives me episode 2 feelings

The more I watch this scene the more important I think it is that Kang is very quiet. He is seeing Sailom being openly furious. Sailom is NEVER like this usually. This is the beginning of Kang starting to really see behind the mask

Full credit to @criticallyobs for this one — Kang definitely thought Sailom was going to get on the bike with him and was pouty and startled when he did not

This part of the episode makes me emotional because it was when I instantly stopped being mad at Kang in the face of his big puppy dog eyes and soft voice.

Noticing for the first time that Kang touched him when he said “Come with me”

After Kang says “be still” in the actual softest voice ever he physically takes Sailom’s bare leg and pulls him closer. It’s … a lot. I’m … overwhelmed

This is Sailom fishing. He’s just emboldened enough by the realization that Kang followed him to try to get Kang to open up

Sailom’s face when he realizes Kang came back!! stab me in the heart!!

The long pause after Sailom says “I thought I had no one left” where Kang fully and unquestionably realizes how much Sailom needs him. Stab me in the heart!!

Sailom is the lighter sleeper of the two canon confirmed

Kang lets out such a deep breath after all his bravado at the door. He was so scared and he braved it for Sailom!!

Sailom’s smile when he realizes Kang is going to come with him to the police station, stoooop

Annnd I’m out of images but still have 15-20 things I want to talk about in episode 11, so expect more to come later

[arabellasleopardcoat]

Hmm… hey! I just read "You wouldn’t believe the things I have done for her" and omg this is so good and so well written!!! That said and taking advantage of the mafia theme, I wanted to know if I can get a mafia boss! very angst (breaks my heart) but with fluffy and happy ending Daemon x wife poc!reader. In that she works for/with him, she is a sort of “jack of all trades” working closely with him on business (meetings, receiving shipments, etc.) and also handles certain shady parts of the business when he is too busy to sort it out. the problem personally. One night, Daemon has a meeting with some partners from the legal side of the business, but he has some unfinished business to resolve (they lost a shipment). And he's upset that he can't resolve it in person, the reader offers to go see it herself. He doesn't want to let her, because it could be dangerous, but she ends up convincing him. Arriving at the place, she manages to solve the problem, but upon leaving she realizes that it is a trap. She manages to dodge some shots, but ends up being hit. She is taken to the hospital, and Daemon is notified. At the hospital, she undergoes surgery. Viserys and Rhaenyra arrive to support Dae. Hours later the doctor tells them that the surgery went well, that she is stable, but that unfortunately she lost the baby (neither she nor Daemon knew she was pregnant). Daemon is devastated, very angry and feeling guilty. Viserys, who was the chief before Daemon, knows exactly what his brother is feeling (the same thing happened to Aemma, but she died along with the baby she was expecting and they knew about the pregnancy, so he passed the baton and decided " retire") tries to console his brother. Daemon orders his men to find out who did this to her. Reader is released from the hospital. They're still looking for clues, but they're not making much progress. Daemon is dedicated to taking care of her. Despite what happened, she is doing well and recovering quickly. One day, he receives a call saying that they found the culprits. He interrogates the guy and then solves the problem in a very violent way. He returns home covered in blood, but the reader doesn't care. She helps him clean up and it's not like she was happy with what he did, but she knew it was something he needed to do to be "at peace with himself", at least that's what she thought. She's much better and he goes back to work, but he kind of removed her (that's a soft way of saying he fired her) from all of her work. She doesn't agree, but he is irreducible. Even though she is fine and he got revenge, he can't forget it and feels very guilty about what happened every time he looks at her. Therefore, he distances himself and spends most of his time at work. She knows that something is wrong with him, but decides to give him space, she realizes that she is useless and that she hardly sees him anymore (he leaves early and arrives late). She notes that they still haven't talked about what happened, he went into caregiving mode and she just accepted it. She waits up for him one night, and tries to start the conversation in a civilized and calm way, but he avoids the subject. She insists and they start to argue, until he explodes and says he can't look at her without feeling guilty, that because of him she almost died and they lost their unborn child. She reassures him (or at least tries to), and says that at no point did she blame him and that she could never blame him. They open their hearts to each other and make passionate love, promising that he will give her another child, please? (sorry for the amount of details and sorry for my English)

Hi! I am glad you loved my fic so much to send me a request after (And don't worry, your english is totally fine) but I can't take it. I am so sorry, it's just that I take all my requests on bingo format. I am nearly done with it too, so I am trying to focus on that. I hope this is alright.

[eddo-tensei]

Miraculous Ninja Bio #2: Adrien Agreste

Alright, you got Ladybug. Now for Chat Noir. To repeat myself, these bios are for a story that involves a shared universe between two shows, Miraculous Ladybug and Randy Cunningham Ninth Grade Ninja. The reason I’m putting these bios together when these characters have their own wiki articles is because things may change and I think I should show my own interpretation for the characters. So, if this interests anyone, please read Miraculous Ninja: Tales of Heroes and Magic.

Miraculous Ninja: Tales of Heroes and Magic (MLB x RC9GN crossover) 

Anyways, let’s get the cat out of the bag.

Backstory: While much of his early life is shrouded in sheltered mystery, Adrien Agreste was still born in luxury to Gabriel and Emilie Agreste, a fashion designer and a model, respectively. Cherished by his parents, this unfortunately led to him being kept away from the world at large, only seen by everyone else when he started his career as a young model. The only person who ended up being his friend through the years was Chloe Bourgeois and as some might notice, she was far from an ideal friend especially in later years. Even so, nobody else seem to cherish him like his mother did, which only served to make it all the more heartbreaking when she more or less disappeared without a trace. Although people did try to look for her, she was never found and eventually, she was presumed gone forever. Although devastating, Adrien did always want to see the world and through one of his last talks with his mother, she did say it was possible, which was good enough for Adrien.

Although it took some more talking, Adrien was able to convince his father and his assistant, Nathalie, to allow him to go outside and attend school. Thanks to his own homeschooling being rather prestigious, he was granted admission to Collège Françoise Dupont where Chloe was also attending. Though he had a rocky start with a bad precedent set by his friend for rich folks, he did prove himself to be a kind person and managed to gain quite a few more friends, including Nino, Alya, and eventually, Marinette.

Of course, that wasn’t the only thing that came to him when he started attending school. Through a chance encounter with Wang Fu, he was given his own Miraculous. The other half of the Yin-Yang set. Powered by the Kwami of Destruction, Plagg, Adrien now possessed the Cat Miraculous and by invoking its power, he becomes the hero of destruction, Chat Noir.

Soon finding himself uniting with Ladybug, Chat was amazed at how much freedom he felt himself have and moreover, he was amazed by Ladybug, who helped him fight against these Akumas. This led to him gaining a love for both. He loved the freedom he had as Chat Noir and moreover, he loved Ladybug for bringing him into this world and helping him along the way. He felt that the only thing he could do to make up for it was to be with her. Unfortunately, that proved to be difficult.

Moreover, Ladybug didn’t end up being the only one Adrien found himself enamored with. Through all the lessons and photoshoots, Adrien ended up meeting Kagami Tsurugi, a fellow fencer who was incredibly courteous to him and although stern, Adrien found himself falling for her too with Kagami eventually returning those feelings. For a short while, Adrien and Kagami did come together, but because of mixed messages and a failure to truly open up, the two broke up. To top it off, Chloe ended up in the center of what was arguably the worst thing she could ever do and afterwards, locked herself away.

In the midst of these misfortunes, Adrien ended up being left alone by his father with only Gorilla watching over him. Adrien hoped that this would be a short time, but instead, he was given news much bigger than he had anticipated. For a collaboration with McFist Industries, he had to move to Norrisville. Although, devastated at first, Adrien was shocked when Gabriel gave him the choice to choose who can come along with him. With the limit he was given, Adrien chose five people. Nino, Alya, Marinette, Kagami, and finally, Chloe. With these choices made and after a lot of talks, he was now a temporary resident of Norrisville.

Appearance: Being a model, it was natural that Adrien would at least look really nice. With green eyes and blonde hair combed into a stylish hairdo, Adrien sported some relatively simple clothes from his father’s fashion line. A white button-down shirt over a black tee with five horizontal lines going over it. Along with some jeans and red shoes, he’s pretty stylish helped by his slightly broad frame that could only come from his dad.

When he transformed into Chat Noir, his hair is much more wild as his eyes become that of Plagg’s, fully green with dark slits as pupils. With cat ears on top and a belt serving as his tail, Chat had a dark leather bodysuit that also had his own weapon of choice, the baton, holstered on his hip like a big iron. Rather minimalist compared to Ladybug, but still impressive.

Personality: In spite of a sheltered life and a rather capricious childhood friend, Adrien turned out pretty alright to most people. He’s intelligent, at least academically, always willing to help, and just likes being around people. He always tries his best and even if he’s not a fan of what he’s doing, it’s better to do something for others than to be alone. He cherishes his friends and it almost becomes a fault to him. He tries not to be too argumentative, but he can get worked up whenever stressful situations comes up. These glimpses of him being improper become his full personality as Chat Noir. Cherishing his freedom as the dark hero, he makes jokes and takes many chances to try and woo Ladybug even if it ends up annoying her.

Speaking of which, an issue with Adrien is that while he does his best to listen to people, he’s not exactly good with actually keeping these words in mind. Also, while he’s intelligent in some aspects, he suffers in emotional intelligence since he doesn’t really know how he really feels on a lot of things. It’s how he had missed out on all the hints Marinette showed of her liking him. Also, combined with his feelings at Chat Noir, he becomes confused and it led to him damaging his relationship with Kagami. Ultimately, he has a lot to learn himself.

Powers: Like Ladybug, Chat Noir’s strength and agility is increased a lot and given that he was already talented with things like fencing, it only shows his strengths even more. Though, whereas Ladybug is more focused on ranged attacks, Chat is all about getting up and personal with the enemy. While it does get him into trouble, it’s not without reason for being the Hero of Destruction, his one ability trumps all.

Cataclysm: With this ball of energy, Chat is able to destroy anything he touches in an instant. Usually coming apart into dust, this ensures complete victory for Chat. However, he only does this with objects since things like Sentimonsters yield unpredictable results and he dares not use it on another person.

Currently, he’s only finding out certain things about his powers, namely his use of the baton having him go up more and more and now that Ladybug had discovered her own new power, Chat wonders when he’ll find his.

Current Events (SPOILERS FOR THE FANFIC TOWARDS THE END):

(IF YOU’VE READ THE FANFIC, PLEASE PROCEED! OTHERWISE, GO READ IT BECAUSE THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!)

After arriving to Norrisville, after unpacking all of his stuff, Adrien went to school with the fact that he had to meet his father’s collaborators in mind. He was unsure if leaving Paris was a good idea and he worried about what could happen since Ladybug wouldn’t be there either. However, when he saw Ladybug fighting a robot with the Ninja, Adrien knew he had to do something and after hiding somewhere, became Chat Noir to help them out. Initially met with friction, Chat ultimately proved instrumental in this fight as he saved Ladybug and the Ninja from getting their heads chopped off by a robotic Cerberus by Cataclysming it.

Soon afterwards, while he was able to have some fun with his new friends, Adrien was soon taken to be measured and checked to see if he could test any of the products McFist and Gabriel plan on making. After that was done, Adrien was greeted with a new Akuma to face in TriMaestro. This time, he worked together with the Ninja and Ladybug to bring this mad band geek down.

After some more tests, Adrien found himself being taken out of his room and no idea on where to go, ended up in Little Norrisville where he helped support Marinette’s new job. It’s also there that a professor told him about what could very well be an apocalyptic event going on under Norrisville and after getting the Gorilla distracted, goes there at night to check what’s up. Soon enough, he encounters the Ninja and Marinette before facing the Swarm that was causing damage to Little Norrisville. After a lengthy battle, he managed to help destroy them. That said, the distraction he placed ended up forcing him to buy a ton of clothes from a pretty bad novelty store, which resulted in him getting a debt for his father.

While he did try to sell his clothes, he ended up talking to Marinette who was attempting to ask him out only for her to clock out. After this, Adrien didn’t know what was going on before Jeerleader made herself known and he found Kagami slamming her face into the floor from a forced incantation. Trying to take care of Jeerleader, when the Akuma struck Ladybug in an agonizing fashion, he ended up attacking her and riling her up even more. Had Rena Rouge and the Ninja not interfere, he could’ve made things worse. Ultimately, Randy ended up saving him and Ladybug from Theresa with a gift.

Soon after, Adrien was doing more tests for his father’s products and after facing another Akuma, a rescue mission almost gone wrong shot his confidence down hard. All the while, Heidi was trying to get his attention and when he refused to give her that, this led to Marinette being the subject of a video outing her as a “creep”. Initially refusing to believe it, he ended up calling Heidi a liar for it only to be chastised by Kagami for denying the possibility that Marinette would love him. Eventually, after an encounter with Heidi’s Akuma, Adrien had to confront Marinette for the truth. Not the truth he wanted, but the truth that was there. When Marinette revealed her feelings for him to be true, as much as it hurt him, he ultimately had to turn her down. That said, when his father attempted to send her back to Paris for the wrongdoings she had done, Adrien opted to defend her because he still saw her as a friend in spite of everything. While he wasn’t sure on what will happen next, he can be comfortable knowing that he was able to defend someone he cared about. He stood up for himself...and a friend.

[number-one-breezepelt-hater]

Thought of another yarrow au.

During Squirrelpaw running away with Brambleclaw to find the new territories Ashpaw and Yarrowpaw meet (probably during a gathering.) and become friends. Yarrowpaw gets a cute crush on Ashpaw and they start meeting in secret. Ashpaw really misses Squirrelpaw so kinda starts using him as a replacement for her. They become kinda of mates??? (They still apprentices so…) Yarrowpaw is fully invested in the relationship but Ashpaw is not and is really hoping Squirrel comes back so he break up Yarrow and try and get with her. Squirrelpaw comes of course and Ashpaw meets with Yarrowpaw one last time to tell him it’s over. He is understandably very upset that Ash is breaking up with him for a girl he doesn’t even know if she returns his feelings. They get into a fight and Yarrow storms off. Broken-hearted Yarrow during that whole clan mashup when they’re all leaving for the new territories, sees Ash and Squirrel talking and walks by and says something rude to Squirrel. Ash gets extremely mad and blocks Yarrow from leaving and demands he apologizes. Yarrow refuses and they get into another argument. Yarrow ends up getting extremely upset and says some things that someone like Squirrel, who has no context for their relationship, that there might more to it then just acquaintances or friendship, and Yarrow storms off again, very sad.

Hawk witnesses this and still being a sweetheart instead of an evil man, offers a Yarrow a shoulder to cry on. Flash forward to lake territories and Yarrowscar and Hawkfrost are together. Yarrowscar is still sad about the way things between Ashfur but is pretty over him. Is a little snarky towards him at gatherings though. The whole Squirrelflight rejecting Ashfur thing happens and instead sulking right away, Ashfur goes to the Shadowclan border to talk to Yarrowscar, to see if they can get back together. He manages to convince Yarrow to talk to him alone. Yarrowscar refuses to get back together with him, explains that he’s with Hawk and even going to have his kits soon. Ashfur is devastated but keeps trying to push and causes Yarrow to snap and say all the words he’s been holding back. After going off on him, Yarrowscar realizes he might still some feelings for Ashfur and walks away before he can say anything else. Ashfur is upset and goes back to Thunderclan to sulk. Some time later the fire scene happens but now Ashfur blames Squirrel his relationship with Yarrow failing as well. Squirrel is confused but now understands the context behind Yarrowscar being mean to her all those years(???) ago. Squirrelflight tries to reason with Ashfur but he won’t listen but instead of Squirrelflight revealing the three aren’t her biological kids she instead doubts Ashfur ability to go through with his plan. Ashfur finds he can not as he remembers the fact he used Yarrow to be a replacement Squirrel. He runs off and Squirrelflight saves the three from the fire. He ends by the lake where runs into the Hawkfrost and in anger he starts a fight with him. The fight gets physical and Hawkfrost wins. Ashfur runs to Thunderclan and now everyone knows what he did.

I haven’t thought of what happens after this. Maybe he gets exiled or something idk. I also wanted an au Ashfur doesn’t get murdered by Hollyleaf and one Squirrelflight doesn’t reveal the secret so I just rolled them into one here since I think the only way Hollyleaf wouldn’t killed Ashfur is if Squirrelflight never revealed the secret. Maybe the secret gets revealed at one point just not during the fire scene but idk this one is still cooking in my mind.

[galacticwildfire]

I'm listening to franscesca and it is so Hope and Poe coded, especially after she's captured and turns to the dark side. I've still got like a million planned chapters until that arc but damn... hozier knows what's up.

When that part of you was ripped away A grip taking hold Like a cancer that grows Each piece of your body that it takes

Though I know my heart would break

I'll tell them put me back in it Darling, I would do it again If I could hold you for a minute

i have an excerpt written for later in the story where they meet on the battlefield, she's a double agent at that point, working with the first order to get the intel she needs to bring them down, but he doesn't know it. He believes she's betrayed him and the Resistance whilst she's been faking every step to try to get the plans to Starkiller. Going as far as to refuse to return to the Resistance even when she had the chance to escape with Poe in order to gain Hux's trust and leaving Poe utterly heartbroken. She's out of her mind delusional and using the dark side, but believes that everything she's doing is worth it to destroy the First Order.

(Ben's extremely pissed that turning her to the dark side only made her direct that anger towards the First Order and not the Resistance, but he's not going to admit his failure to anyone)

They fight in the field as the first order starts coming the city and it gets to the point where her and Poe have to take refuge, Poe grievously injured and Hope's also been shot while they wrestled over a blaster and it misfired. At this point for almost a year Leia's been out of her mind frustrated when it comes to Poe being blindly suicidal in the field trying to bring her back after she was effectively brainwashed into forgetting their relationship, or rather engagement, after she was captured. They seriously considered eloping but neither were game enough at the thought of having to go back to base and tell leia that they got married without her there after all the headaches they'd put her through.

It's the most slowburn story I've ever written, it will take a million chapters of being complete idiots before getting together, then Poe doesn't even make it a fortnight between them confessing they're in love with each other and proposing, only for everything to go to hell almost immediately after. One minute they're dancing together on Naboo and the next Hope's being framed and arrested for the jedi temples destruction and put on house arrest with Poe and Lando there as emotional support before Han, Chewie and Ben all make their dramatic entrances and they end up trapped together in one apartment. Blasters are fired and punches thrown in a re-united solo household as ben tries to convince her that he's come to clear her name, only for him to betray her and bring her to the first order.

So almost a year later Hope and Poe are having it out in this abandoned house thinking he's about to die and she's refusing to leave him "You always said you wanted to die in space. This isn’t space." And Poe makes her promise to leave him and abandon her suicide mission to kill snoke to go back to Leia and the Resistance so someone knows about starkiller.

“If you die with me then every word you’ve said about doing this for the Resistance is bullshit, and I know it’s not. I know there’s good in you.” It’s with those words I break. “I know in whatever sick and twisted way you’ve rationalised this that it's for the fight and it can’t end like this." He clutches my face with bloodied hands so I can’t look away from him. “Go home and prove me right one last time because you’re the only chance we’ve got to stop this.”

She turns back to the light and manages to heal him just enough that they can reunite with black squadron, only for her to be killed when a bomb hits whilst she's trying to save civilians. She gets to take a little walk in the world between worlds to meet Anakin whilst Poe digs her body out from beneath the rubble. Absolutely devastated and broken, the only consolation he has is that despite everyone telling him it couldn't be done he brought her back and she died saving others, that she died a Jedi and he got to hold her one last time.

Meanwhile she's telling Anakin that she made a promise and that she can't die until the fight is over and demands to be sent straight back into it knowing that she'll be tortured, knowing that the darkness isn't done with her, but she'll be damned if she breaks that promise.

As this is happening her brother shows up and finds her body. He and Poe have a very complicated history by this point in the story, Poe's shot him a few times whilst Ben knows that killing Poe and harming R2 are the two things he cannot do if he wants to not be murdered by his own sister (he learns the hard way that murdering their father is number three). Poe's going to be damned if he leaves her in the first order's hands again and is prepared to go down killing kylo ren, but she comes back.

It's a long ass road to any sense of mental stability or true reconciliation, but damn does francesca put me in my feels. Now I just have to actually write it 😭

[vrishchikawrites]

You know what would be interesting?

JC never lost his golden Core.

And Wei Wuxian did not lose his.

But he still gets dropped into the Burial Mounds. And like I dunno how, but he comes out of there having mastered the new form of cultivation.

Jiang Cheng acts like a dick that's par for cannon. And this Wei Wuxian who has survived the burial Mounds with his golden core intact has no time for his drama.

He definitely confesses to Lan Wangji o ce he is out of the burial mounds.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in the Sunshot campain would be brilliant. Cultivating and * *wink wink nudge nudge* * dual cultivating.

JC is seething with jelousy. He has everything. The gentry name, the money and sect leadership but the whole world is only speaking about Wei Wuxian and his like awesome cultivation. Both the sword style and with his flute.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning- Wen Ning convinces his sister to join the war. Wen Ning wants to be on Wei Wuxian's side.

What would JC throw a tantrum over if he doesn't have anything to throw a tantrum over??

Like for example he blames Wei Wuxian for Lotus Pier burning. Obviously it's not his mistake. But one day he is yelling at Wei Wuxian about it and sect leader someone maybe XiChen, maybe Sect leader Nie. Whoever. Comes and like defends Wei Wuxian.

What would he do then faced with the facts? Cling all the more to his warped world view? Or apologize?

It will be interesting to see.

You don't have to take this prompt if it's too messy or whatever. I love you and your writing.

Also, thank you for choosing to write my previous prompt.

XOXO.

(this is a little similar to trapped and patient but also quite different. Hope you like it! The format is a bit different because this is a lot of time to cover in a short prompt)

When he stumbles out of the Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian is stunned. He can't believe he made it, that he was able to survive it, without his sword.

Wei Wuxian walks forward shakily, one unsteady step at a time, putting distance between him and that wretched place.

He feels weak, drained, devastated in small ways.

But he is free.

---

Yiling offers shelter in unexpected ways. He's able to hide in a temple to recover. His condition is wretched enough that he's mistaken for a beggar. A few people take pity on him and offer fruits and buns.

It takes him a week.

That's all it takes for him to recover.

Wei Wuxian washes all traces of Burial Mounds off him, soaks in icy river water for hours on end until he feels purified and reforged.

Now, he's ready for revenge.

---

Wei Wuxian has only tried his cultivation method on the dead. He has used it to repel the fierce corpses, fierce ghosts, and spirits soaked in resentment.

When he tests the method on the Wens, it proves to be even more effective. They scramble like mindless beasts, driven by fear and confusion. The sounds of his Dizi pierce the air and induce madness.

He watches from a distance, indifferent as the Wens turn on each other, swinging their swords, shouting at phantoms, all sense and intellect gone.

He turns away.

---

Jiang Cheng's arms wrap around him and the fog around his mind starts to slowly recede. He stands stiffly, blinking a little before looking beyond his martial brother.

Lan Zhan is there, staring at him with wide eyes. There's so much open concern on his usually stoic face that Wei Wuxian wants to turn away.

"Wei Ying,"

It is only then, under the power of that golden gaze, that his fugue state dissipates. He sees Lan Zhan step forward, almost reaching out only to pull back at the last moment.

Jiang Cheng pushes him away and punches his shoulder, "Where have you been? How dare you abandon us and just frolic off somewhere?"

Wei Wuxian swalllows with difficulty and answers their questions with his habitual dismissive charm.

But that honest expression of open concern on Lan Zhan's beautiful face doesn't leave.

He meets those golden eyes and feels something shift within him.

Shaking his head, he dismisses the feeling. There's no time for sentimental reunions. He turns his attention towards Wen Chao, unsheathes his sword, and kills him in one clean strike.

There. Done.

---

The war is already in full swing by the time he joins it. His martial brother and Lan Zhan are quick to take him to Qinghe, not even letting him ride his own sword.

"Wei-gongzi, I'm happy to see you safe," Lan Xichen greets, running a discreet eye over him. The older Lan brother's concern is well hidden but Wei Wuxian senses it nevertheless.

The man looks like he's just about ready to banish him to the healing halls.

He opens his mouth to reassure Lan Xichen but Nie Mingjue intervenes, slapping his back solidly, "I hear you're responsible for the devastation at Yiling. Good work!"

Wei Wuxian smiles brightly, hoping to banish that increasingly familiar look from Lan Zhan's face. "Thank you, Nie-zongzhu." He smiles up at the man, "I can give you a full report of what happened if you wish it."

The Chifeng-zun's expression shifts into one of approval and he nods, "I do wish it."

"I would like to know as well, if you don't mind," Lan Xichen says and Nie Mingjue nods before he glances at Lan Zhan.

He chuckles, "Lan er-gonzi can join us as well."

---

Wei Wuxian doesn't realize he's been spending more time with the Lan brothers and Nie Mingjue until Jiang Cheng angrily points it out.

"You're too good for us, are you?" He demands, "Abandoning us in favor of your new friends! Even in the battlefield, you and Lan Wangji are inseparable! Have some shame! How dare you abandon your responsibilities and mess around with that man?"

"a-Cheng," Shijie reprimands gently but her voice is weak.

"Aiya, Jiang Cheng, who keeps track of such things amidst a war? They're all our allies. It's not like I have abandoned everyone." He still trains with the Jiang disciples and leads them in battle after all.

"Wei Wuxian!"

"Jiang Cheng," His voice makes his irritation clear, "Is this really the right time to worry about such trivial matters? Who cares about appearances during war? Are were not all one when on the battlefield?" He asks, narrowing his eyes on the furious Jiang, "We don't know whether we'll live or die when we ride out and you're concerned about who fights alongside me? Just who are you speaking of?"

"Who I am speaking of?" Jiang Cheng snaps in return, "Your obsession with that man is unseemly and reflects poorly on the sect! You know it and yet you carry on shamelessly-"

"My obsession?" He demands, "Just what are you trying to imply, Jiang Cheng? You're going to be a brat just because Lan Zhan happens to be the only one able to keep up with me?" It is no secret that his three month stint sharpened his cultivation in ways people find hard to fathom. He didn’t just develop a new cultivation method, he grew. Surviving the Burial Mounds is a feet beyond the skill and endurance of most cultivators. 

Wei Wuxian has earned his already formidable reputation.

Jiang Cheng reels back at the reminder, his face twisting with rage.

Never let it be said that Wei Wuxian takes things lying down. He has spent a lifetime appeasing Jiang Cheng and dealing with his insecurities.

He no longer has the patience.

---

He reaches out instinctively, pulling Lan Zhan out of a blade's path, spinning around to block the strike with his bare arm.

His thick leather brace manages to minimize the damage and he doesn't lose his arm but it is a near thing.

With a hiss, he crowds against Lan Zhan and brings Suibian down in a sharp slash, cutting the Wen before him from left shoulder to right hip.

"Reckless." Lan Zhan says later as he carefully stitches the cut.

"I couldn't let you get hurt." Wei Wuxian says softly, peering down at the kneeling figure before him. He has seen Lan Zhan in various states of indignity, covered in blood, robes soaked in the disgusting sludge of a war-torn field.

Nothing diminishes his beauty.

Wei Wuxian's heart races, his head spinning as he smells the scent of sandalwood. He swallows as Lan Zhan shifts closer, carefully snipping the excess thread and studying his neat stitches.

This close, he feels overwhelmed and realization dawns.

"I love you," He breathes, stunned.

He loves Lan Zhan. The knowledge strikes him now, suddenly, without warning. "How did I not know?" Wei Wuxian feels strangely dazed. How could he not know? It is so obvious to him, his constant need for Lan Zhan's attention, "I hate it when you ignore me." The feeling of those snapping golden eyes on him when he finally manages to gain Lan Zhan's attention, "It's thrilling when you don't."

He has never met anyone more beautiful, "I find you better looking than any maiden." Lan Zhan's proximity now makes him feel-, "Breathless," He says, "When I'm close to you I feel- how did I miss-"

Lan Zhan grip is like vice around his wrist.

Wei Wuxian stops, going pale as he realizes how brazenly he had just confessed love to a man. If Jiang Cheng were here, he'd definitely gut him with Sandu, "Lan Zhan, I-"

Lan Zhan surges forward, eyes blazing and expression dark.

Warm lips slide over his and his mind goes silent.

He doesn't think a single thought that night.

---

War doesn't wait for anyone and Wei Wuxian doesn't say anything in protest when Lan Zhan pulls away from him. He watches with heavy eyes as Lan Zhan shrugs on his discarded outer robes and glances at him.

"Is your body alright?" He asks and Wei Wuxian feels a blush crawl up his neck.

“No! Of course it isn’t,“ He complains even though his body is buzzing with lingering pleasure. He pouts up at Lan Zhan, who studies him with careful golden eyes, “Really, going on and on, taking your pleasure without any care for my virgin body.“ Lan Zhan’s ears are delightfully red, “Who knew er-gege could be so bold?“

“Wei Ying,“ Lan Zhan’s expression is flat but his voice carries a hint of a waver. Wei Wuxian just grins in response, “Be serious.“

In all honesty, his body is already back to its regular state of being. His Golden Core is still spinning furiously and the lingering energy from Dual Cultivation has healed any aches and pains he might have. 

“Fine,“ He says in a petulant tune, inwardly delighted that Lan Zhan is now his, “But er-gege must kiss me to make me feel better.”

Lan Zhan doesn’t hesitate, leaning over him and gently tipping his chin up for the demanded kiss. 

Wei Wuxian sighs, sinking into it as a curtain of silken black hair forms a private cocoon around him. 

---

The war ends but Wei Wuxian’s problems don’t end with it. Three issues stand before him; helping the Wen remnants, helping rebuild YunmengJiang, and figuring out how to marry Lan Zhan. 

One obstacle stands in the way of two of these three goals. Jiang Cheng absolutely refuses to lift a finger to help the Wen remnants, even though Wen Qing’s assistance helped them win the war. Jin Guangyao may have killed Wen Ruohan but Wen Qing prevented thousands of casualties.

Wen Ning was also responsible for rescuing Jiang Cheng from the Wen capture before he lost his Golden Core. It was fortunate that Wen Zhuliu had been called to visit Wen Ruohan and Wen Chao had to wait to enact that punishment. 

Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian managed to steal Jiang Cheng away just hours before Wen Zhuliu returned.

And yet, Jiang Cheng chooses to side with the Jins on the matter instead of listening to Lan Xichen or Nie Mingjue. Wei Wuxian knows it is partly because their sister is marrying into the Jin clan and they can’t afford to make things difficult for her, but still.

Jin Zixuan will obviously protect shijie. There’s no need to be so cautious, especially if three out of four sects oppose imposing any sort of punishment on innocent people. 

On a personal front, Jiang Cheng’s disapproval of his relationship with Lan Zhan is blatant.

Jiang Cheng can’t really stop Wei Wuxian from marrying whoever he wishes. He doens’t need the sect leader’s permission as he’s not really the member of the family. But his shidi is making things difficult with his sneering disapproval and contemptuous comments in public.  

He has already alienated Lan Xichen completely by calling Lan Zhan’s honor in question (boy did he earn the punch Wei Wuxian had leveled at him - sect leader or no). Nie Mingjue will never side with some upstart over Lan Xichen. 

Lan Zhan himself doesn’t care. He has never liked Jiang Cheng and he never will. He only retaliates when Jiang Cheng tries to attack Wei Wuxian. 

His protective er-gege as no tolerance for anyone trying to harm him.

Which is what, ultimately, breaks Wei Wuxian’s ties with YunmengJiang. 

The confrontation is embarrassingly public. He doesn’t mind Lan Xichen or Nie Mingjue being present but feels upset about Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao being there as well. 

“Twin Prides of Yungmeng, isn’t that what you promised me?“ Jiang Cheng demands, “Where will your pride be if you break all of your promises and get into...” He waves his hand at Lan Zhan in disgust, “Is this how you intend to repay us? My father raised you to be the Head Disciple of the Jiang Sect and you would rather be some sort of deviant?“

“Jiang Cheng-“

“And you would side with the Wen dogs too! Was this always your intention? Did you always want to bring down my sect and support its enemies?” 

“The Wen remnants have helped us. They’re not our enemies.“

“They’re not our enemies now,“ Jin Guanyao interjects calmly, his voice soothing and patient, “But surely you see that it may not remain so? We cannot risk another war.”

“They’re barely a few hundred people and we have already taken most of their resources. They’ll live as poor peasants. How can they be a threat to us?“ Wei Wuxian asks. 

“You’re indeed naïve, Wei-gongzi,“ Jin Guangshan says in a gentle, placating tone, “Perhaps your fondness for Wen-guniang is making you turn a blind eye. Beautiful women have a tendency to do that.“ He chuckles indulgently.

The sly implication in his tone isn’t lost on anyone. Lan Zhan’s expression turns frosty and Wei Wuxian feels a surge of fury strong enough to make his blood boil. There are so many things wrong with that statement that Wei Wuxian, for once, is rendered speechless.

“You question the honor of Wei Wuxian of all people?“ Nie Mingjue demands, taking a step forward, “I have stayed silent because Jiang Sect business isn’t my business but I will not have you slander and belittle a proven warrior in my presence!“

“Indeed,“ Lan Xichen says calmly but there’s no mistaking the sharp look in his eyes. Lan Xichen rarely reacts to provocations or interferes in sect matters that don’t concern him. But he’s not going to let anyone upset his younger brother carelessly, “The matter of the Wens is easy to resolve. Let us give them a small piece of land, let them set up a village, and forbid cultivation among them.“

“Er-ge,“ Jin Guangyao begins but Lan Zhan is out of patience. 

He steps back and bows to all assembled before placing a hand on Wei Wuxian’s back, “Wei Ying will choose his own path. Wens will remain free. Wei Ying and I will marry.“ He meets Jiang Cheng’s furious gaze, “Jiang-zongzhu must decide whether his brother’s happiness matters to him.“

Wei Wuxian winces. 

“My brother’s happiness?“ Jiang Cheng demands, “All everyone has ever cared about is his happiness! What about me? What about our Sect? A sect he nearly destroyed because of his loyalty towards you.“ Jiang Cheng looks at him, “Did you forget my mother? My father? How do you intend to repay the enormous debt you carry, Wei Wuxian?“

Wei Wuxian stares back at him, “What is my repayment, Jiang Cheng?” He asks softly, “What will it take for you to consider that debt repaid?” It has been over five years since the fall of Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian has bled and slogged through war to restore that place to its former glory. He has kept Jiang Cheng safe, helped renegotiate shijie’s marriage, and used his name to draw skilled cultivators to YungmengJiang. 

What more can he give? 

“Loyalty.“ He stills, “You devote your life to YungmengJiang and nothing else.“

Lan Xichen makes a faint, alarmed noise while Nie Mingjue huffs in disapproval. 

Wei Wuxian takes a deep breath, feeling Lan Zhan’s fingers flex on his back. He levels a flat look at Jiang Cheng and thinks on the matter of debts. He thinks about Madam Yu’s refusal to bend, of Jiang-zongzhu’s passivity and lack of planning. He thinks about the Wen’s unprovoked attack on Cloud Recesses and the inevitability of war. 

He thinks of his Lan Zhan and shijie’s Jin Zixuan, without swords and facing an armed group of Wens under Wen Chao’s orders. 

He thinks of love. Of what it means to be truly, unconditionally loved. 

No sorrys and no thank yous. No debt owed for simply being a part of someone’s life. 

He thinks of acceptance that comes with an older brother’s amused smile. He thinks of an uncle’s gruff admonishment to behave followed by a stiff reminder to eat, you’re skin and bones already. 

He takes a deep breath and decides. 

“No.“

[headcanon-cafe]

Headcanon for the four lords when their s/o manages to rid them of their cadou parasites and return them to their normal selves

Have fun

I got this so long ago 😭

And Heisenbergs was SOO hard 😭

Unedited

Alcina Dimitrescu

Other than her height and lack of blood list she didn't change to much.

She's still taller than you and sadistic as all hell.

You talked to her about maybe moving outside the village, but after a while of talking she explained that it's not that she's worried but she doesn't wanna move cause this is her home. And she can't imagine a life without her castle as well.

Surprisingly Alcina accepts the mortality really easily. In fact, she very much welcomed it. She thought she'd have to continue to live after you... it was scary for her. Not that she'd ever admit it.

Short story shorter, she might not show it but she's ecstatic about it. (Despite her looking very indifferent about it all.)

The only huge difference after the Codou is gone and so it (most) of the drama is that yoy can officially call yourself Mx. Dimitrescu.

Yall got married and had a tear jerking ceremony 🥰🥰

Donna Benevientto

She's at a bit of a lost.

Yes, of course she's happy that it's finally over. She's also very confused as well as devastated in a way.

She no longer can communicate with Angie...

Even if Donna was the one controlling her in a way she was still Donna's closest and real family, besides you that is.

Despite being happy that it was all over, it took hours of her sobbing for her to finally calm down.

Months later you guys moved out towards the country side in France.

Donna still carries Angie everyday with her. And even has a glass case for her JUST in case there was somewhere she couldn't take Angie. (Though you wouldn't let that happen.)

Besides the occasional breakdown both of you are moving forward and strong

Salvatore Moreau

Everything changed that day.

His looks, the hygiene, he had to move his home. Everything changed.

He was so much more happy and vibrant and he could finally get the proper sun.

He wasn't as self conscious either! Still a very timid man though. But you wouldn't have changed him for anything, yet you managed to change his world!

Sadly, his devotion to Mother Miranda was still pretty strong, it took him MONTHS to get over it, and some serious debates yall got in.

As soon as you were able to convince him of Miranda he wanted to get out of Europe, which you could easily understand.

Y'all moved to Alaska, and he continued to do what he loved. Fishing.all had a very lovely property with a large amount of land near the ocean.

You both even had your own little farm of chicken, rabbits and goats.

Karl Heisenberg

As much as he was happy he didn't have his metal power and shit anymore so it made doing any of the work he enjoys VERY slow.

Or, very slow from what he's used to.

Now, you thought that with the Cadou gone, he would change in both appearances and with power.

The only thing. ONLY THING that changed. Was he couldn't manipulate metal. And he was a lot happier

His strength was the EXACT same. His looks didn't change and other than him being in a good mood more often he was still the same Karl.

When this first happened this man sobbed, it was actually heartbreaking despite this being a good sob.

All his werewolves still loved him all to much.

You did ask him about moving but when yall chatted about with how much he loves both his metal work and his wolve babies it's EXTREMELY hard to go anywhere. So what you did was move to a place about 20 miles away and you two made your own home, with a workshop for him and about 3-5 times a week he goes to his fortress with his wolves to do work and such.

You guys continue with your lives.

With no one in your way.... besides your hundred some wolve babies.

Seriously though. You wouldn't have in any other way.

Matsterlist | Resi 8 Masterlist | Ask Rules | Fiverr | Wattpad

[dancingamongstdust]

sdc group when their partner sneakily joins their Egypt mission? And they only find out when it's too late for them to return?hcs pls?

Yes! My first Jojo's request! Hopefully I get more of these in the future because I love this show.

· You didn’t even make it onto the first plane before you sensed Jotaro’ large presence standing behind you.

· You turned around with a big smile and tried to pretend that it was a complete coincidence to see him there. He just stared while you slowly made your way through the boarding terminal with your ticket out.

· His plan was to send you home the moment that you next landed.

· The fight with Tower of Gray caused a problem with that plan though the stand itself had little effect on your trip. You only noticed when the group went bustling towards the cockpit, their tones betraying the importance of what was happening.

· You had ventured over and asked about the situation.

· The majority of the group had attempted to usher you out and Jotaro didn’t even respond. Still, Star Platinum kept you safe when the plane hit the water and you were practically carried into the lifeboat with the rest of the group.

· Your comment about the trip being more hazardous than expected earned you a glare.

· The rest of the group didn’t realise anything was special about you until you all arrived in Hong Kong officially and Jotaro led you alongside them to the hotel.

· Details about your relationship with him were quickly brought up after that though he seemed content to mostly ignore everything that was said. You found yourself enjoying the conversation with Joseph though he too felt that the trip was too dangerous for you to be on.

· Jotaro didn’t share a room with you in the hotel, instead having his grandfather get you one that was next door to his.

· Before he could disappear after making sure you were safe, you quickly apologised and asked if he was upset. He was always quiet but there was a heaviness to the air that made you feel as though you’d upset him.

· He told you that you hadn’t and that was the last of that.

· You missed your flight the next day when it became clear that Dio hadn’t sent just one person after the group. Star Platinum’s tendency to hover in front of you (whether you could or couldn’t see him) made it clear that you weren’t to be put in danger.

· Jotaro thought it would make you an easy target to send you back alone after you had been seen with the group.

· He was right and you quickly found yourself an occasional target for those who didn’t know any better. They never injured you badly but scratches and bruises became expected as you continued on the journey.

· Jotaro wasn’t affectionate normally but his coldness built up until one day, you asked if he resented you being there and apologised for your brash actions. You had no idea that the things they were involved in broke the lines of reality and fiction.

· He stared at you for a bit before sighing and wrapping one arm around you.

· That was all that you needed to fling your arms around his middle and squeeze him as tight as you could.

· He didn’t need to say it for you to understand that he didn’t hold it against you. Despite the constant danger that you were in, he had found himself calmer about the situation thanks to your presence. It would have been a much harder trip without you being there.

· Kakyoin thought he saw you several times but brushed it off as wishful thinking until toward the end of their Singapore stay.

· You were remarkably good at remaining undetected but more and more creepy things were happening, and it made you want to be closer to the group. It felt like the better option if you were putting yourself in danger anyway.

· There was a moment of silence when you made eye contact – your attempts at sneaking around now thwarted.

· So you raised your hand and waved.

· Kakyoin wasn’t sure what to think. For a second, he was sure that he was imagining it but your reaction to his unexpected departure had been suspicious in hindsight. You had gone from being devastated that he was just leaving without warning, to supportive about whatever he had to do.

· And this would be why.

· You made a joke about being mildly codependent when you sat down next to him, awkward and unsure of how he would react to you being there. It was followed by a question about his sun tanning wear that made him chuckle.

· Somehow, he wasn’t overheating in his uniform even though you were dying in just casual summer clothes.

· You apologised for not telling him that you were coming but pointed out how weird he’d been acting for the past few months. Sure, he had gone back to normal afterwards but you were worried. Especially because you knew fully about the slightly weirder aspect of his life.

· Whether you could see him or not, you felt Hierophant Green appear at the mention. He wrapped around your waist as usual. Close even when Kakyoin couldn’t be.

· As if to prove your worries correct, the first thing you found out after spending a day at the pool (pretending that you were just a couple on a regular vacation) was that an imposter had been walking around as Kakyoin.

· The others weren’t entirely on board with your presence and Kakyoin wasn’t happy with the amount of danger you were in.

· Several times he attempted to convince you that it would be safer elsewhere. He even asked Joseph to get you a plane ticket home at one point but each time you would see or experience something that added to your worries.

· The only way you were going home was if he was with you.

· You managed to remain mostly out of danger despite everything. The main threat you faced came in the form of Death 13 who quickly found a way to manipulate your cares for Kakyoin.

· After the first nightmare, you had started staying up later to make sure he was okay before going to sleep – thwarting the stand’s plans in a substantial way.

· When he nearly lost his eyesight, you didn’t sleep for days on end. You sat alongside the bed and waited for him to recover. Often, you’d think you should call somebody back home to let them know what was happening but he always asked you not to.

· While he was recovering, he asked you again to go home. The trip had almost doubled in danger and he didn’t trust Hierophant to be able to protect you fully.

· You refused once more and reiterated that you had come this far.

· You weren’t going to be going back without him at your side.

· Yeah, Polnareff wouldn’t have noticed you were following at all if it hadn’t been for Jotaro.

· It was shortly after they had arrived in Varanashi and you had accidentally drawn attention to yourself by laughing at Polanareff’s attempts at flirting with Nena. Though he himself hadn’t noticed that you were there, Jotaro had and he quickly come to the conclusion of having seen you before.

· You had made eye contact with him and quickly realised that continuing to hide was going to turn dangerous.

· So you waltzed over to your very distracted partner and draped yourself over his shoulders, playing with the earring and smugly smirking at whomever he had been flirting with.

· He was a flirt, that part you had never minded, but it was always satisfying to show off that he wasn’t truly available.

· Not having expected your sudden appearance, Polnareff had almost fallen over in his scramble to get away from you. After the shock subsided however, he had gasped and swept you into the air with an excited greeting and a seemingly endless stream of French.

· After you were put down, he rapidly introduced you to the rest of the group before realising that you weren’t meant to be there.

· You gave Jotaro an apologetic smile and mentioned that you hadn’t meant to cause trouble with your following.

· He had rolled his eyes and gone back to staring at nothing so you had to assume it was all fine now that you had shown you weren’t an enemy.

· Polnareff on the other hand had begun interrogating you to find out exactly why you had been in India when he remembered saying goodbye to you in France. Though admittedly, that memory was hazy due to the fleshbud having been in effect during time.

· When you explained his suspicious behavior was why you had followed in the first place, he gathered you close and squeezed you as tightly as possible.

· Your unexpected appearance came at the right time. After the bittersweet experience with the Hanged Man, Polnareff had been struggling and you acted as the best possible solution.

· You are a distraction, that much quickly becomes obvious, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

· Unfortunately, you did end up getting injured quite frequently while you were with the group but never once did Polnareff mention sending you home. You were never hurt in a way that would leave more than a small scar.

· The others did suggest it once but Polnareff had instantly shut that down.

· He could make sure you were safe. Why wouldn’t he want you with him at all times?

· You got quite a bit of attention during the trip, primarily from other men who all took great interest in you. It was entertaining to see the contrast between your casual attraction of attention and Polnareff’s active seeking of it.

· The only time either of you got actually jealous during the trip was of Iggy who had quickly realised how to exploit both of you.

· Surprisingly, you managed to follow the group all the way to Singapore before you were spotted by Avdol.

· You could have made it further still without notice but you had been so worried when their ship didn’t arrive in time that you just ran into Avdol the next time you saw him, hugging him as though he was going to slip from your fingers and never return again.

· Avdol was confused though he held it in well enough, just stroking your hair and reassuring you that he was alright.

· After you had calmed and pulled away, he touched your cheek before asking what you were doing there.

· You just shrugged and he sighed.

· Introductions happened then and you made an incredible impression on the rest of the group. Apparently Avdol had been sending you updates about his trip but due to your following, nothing had gotten through and you had to be caught up with everything they had learned.

· Stands were far from a foreign concept to you but you found yourself fascinated by the newer ones.

· Magician’s Red came out shortly after you had examined Silver Chariot closely – betraying Avdol’s otherwise well-hidden jealousy. He simply smiled and winked when you had given him a look because of it.

· He knew their trip would be difficult but Avdol couldn’t bring himself to send you home.

· You had spent such little time together since his first encounter with Dio (him having to flee Egypt shortly after) and he genuinely missed you more than he cared to admit. Additionally, Avdol was very certain that their group could protect you with the combination of knowledge and power they had.

· Avdol kept you well protected while you travelled. Nobody suspicious even got close to you while you were near him.

· He guided you away from dangerous situations with a hand around your waist and a smile on his face. You never even knew there was a problem. Those who got too close quickly found themselves at the mercy of Magician’s Red.

· Even if you couldn’t see his stand, the warmth of its presence would quickly alert you to its appearance. If you could see it though, Avdol would find it harder to brush off things as ‘precaution’ though he would still try.

· After his initial encounter with Hol Horse, you felt your entire world shatter around you.

· That was the end of your journey with the Crusaders as, after he was stabilized, you refused to leave Avdol’s side. You tended to him as best as you could while secretly hoping that he wouldn’t rejoin their quest after this injury.

· But as he recovered you realised that wouldn’t be an option.

· You volunteered to come with him again. Though you hadn’t been much help on the earlier parts of the journey, he was still injured and could probably use your assistance.

· The incident had been frightening to both of you however and when he next left, you weren’t with him. Before he left, you clutched at his clothing in a silent plead for him to stay.

· After the submarine disappeared beneath the waves, you sat down on the beach and just stared at the ocean for hours to come.

· You got to India before he noticed you and it was a complete accident.

· There was a problem with your hotel booking so you had to remain in the lobby for longer than anticipated – a hand propped on your hip and a bored expression on your face. You hadn’t anticipated that the group would make their way downstairs again, a problem with some missing room service.

· Honestly, he really should have noticed sooner given that the additional charges were coming from his account.

· To the others, nothing was wrong. Joseph just kind of stopped walking and you offered a simple smile in hopes that neither of your covers would be blown.

· He didn’t allow that to last.

· His shout of confusion made everybody jump and you turned around sheepishly. There were a few seconds while the rest of the group realised that you were the source of the commotion so you volunteered your information.

· You had been worried after Joseph’s stand developed (having been there when it happened) and you realised something dangerous was going on. While you weren’t planning on getting involved, surely it couldn’t help to at least know what was happening. From his stories, he didn’t exactly live the quiet life.

· Avdol – having met you before – had a feeling that you were trailing him and is pleasantly surprised to be proved correct.

· Joseph was irritated and worried and happy all at once which resulted in a half-hearted but very loud complaint about why you couldn’t understand what the word ‘dangerous’ means.

· He immediately demanded that you take the first plane home and you very simply responded with ‘no’.

· This resulted in a pretty one-sided argument where he continuously tried to urge you to stop being stubborn and just get back to safety. Your response remained the same to pretty much everything until eventually you just smiled and said that it was good to see him.

· That flustered him enough to cut off his tirade.

· A small silence was broken by the return of the hotel receptionist who couldn’t find a spare room to make up for the booking not coming through on their system. She began apologising when Joseph cut her off.

· It didn’t matter, you would be staying with him either way.

· Avdol sighed and commented something about having to change rooms when the question was finally asked by a very irate Jotaro.

· Who the fuck were you?

· There was a great deal of awkward stammering from Joseph before he eventually settled on saying that you were his assistant. You raised an eyebrow at that but went along with it.

· Though it was obvious that nobody believed it, the matter of your identity wasn’t pushed any further.

· You stuck around after that, mostly remaining at the hotel, and occasionally getting slightly hurt. Joseph made very sure that you remained far from any potential stands and you really didn’t mind that all too much.

· A rule was quickly made to make sure you weren’t ever left alone but that was just fine. You ended up dragging Joseph into too many stores, him complaining about it all the while, until you both left with at least one bag each.

· Jotaro didn’t warm up to you for a long time and even then, it’s more tolerance than anything else.

· The trip didn’t leave you badly injured but it strengthened your relationship with Joseph more than you had ever expected.

[aleksa-sims]

My RL gameplay (18+)

CW addiction, drugs

What a beautiful, sunny spring day! 🌼 I remember that day very well! Why, I’ll tell this later!

P. & I had a fight yesterday, when we went home from Sandra because of her stupid boyfriend. He told Philip, that he heard me, telling S. that I love Nico and Philip is more of a substitute for me. BUT I SWEAR!!! I didn’t say this!!! I just said, I can’t forget Nico, even though I’m with Philip happy and love him so much! I explained this to P., but I just couldn’t convince him!! It’s hard for me to get through, when I fight with him. He’s sooo stubborn and he gets really mean to me. Just like a few months ago, when I lived with him. In any case, he didn’t want to stay with me last night and went home. I was totally angry & sad, because I let him go, without explaining right to him. 😩 That’s why I was worried, he would break up with me. I haven’t slept all night and called him, but he hung up all the time and turned off his phone. Yeah, that’s Philip when he’s mad! 🤷‍♀️ 😒 Then I texted him but still, he didn’t write me back.😢 I really thought he didn’t want me anymore and was totally devastated. And........I took drugs again. 🤦‍♀️

!CW ! Sofia gave me these pills the other day, something like this ......Methadone thing, I got in the addiction clinic once. ( This stuff that got me so dead & high for almost 3 days.) And this shit from Sofia, was similar, just not as strong as Methadone. But it was also some kind of opiate, which is why my drug test was positive.

That morning, as usual, I went down to my family after getting up to have breakfast with them. It was a Saturday, so everyone was in a good mood until I got to the table.😬🤦‍♀️

Dad (to me): What happened to you? 😲 You look like an undead!.....Did you cry? 😧

Mom: A., your eyes are black from your mascara. Didn’t you remove your make up? And where is Philip?

Me: He went home last night. We had a fight because of S.’s stupid BF. 😠 He told him shit about me. And now P. hates me. 😔 I think, he broke up with me.😢 😭

Mom: You should have stayed at home! 😠 But you never follow the rules! And stop crying about Philip! He’ll be back.

Me: What if he doesn’t come? I love him so much! Without him my life just sucks.😭

Mom: Please stop it! In 3 weeks, P.’s gone! 🤷‍♀️ What are you going to do then? Are you gonna cry every day or are you gonna finally start taking care of your own life? Like your apartment, which is still full of all your stuff! But no, instead, you’d rather lock yourself up in your room with Philip for days and take drugs. 😠

Me: I’m not taking durgs with Philip!

Mom: No, of course you don’t need Philip for that shit! I know this too well! But Philip doesn’t seem to care, that you’re a drug addict. Sure, he’s not feeling well rn, but I wonder if that’s the only reason.

Me: Philip is not addicted! So stay out of this.😒

Dad: I’m not worried about Philip, he’ll manage this! But you A.? What’s up with you? Your drug tests were positive.

Mom: You have to start taking responsibility for yourself! Others can’t take care of your life all the time. That’s why you’re always bored and taking drugs. From now on, you will at least take care of your laundry yourself! I’m not asking you or Ana to run the house here, but I’m sick of serving you like a princess. In return you’re just disrespectful, and you don’t seem to give a shit. This can’t go on! 

Me: Mhm......................😵 👽🌈😵....... 😴

Mom: A.?.... Are you even listening to us?🤨 .... NO! That surely can’t be serious!? 😦 😠 You’re high again, damn!

Dad (to me): Are you out of your mind? Wake the fuck up! 😠

Ana: Well, I don’t blame her for just “logging out” of this boring conversation. Always the same shit! Can we just ONCE talk about something other than this fucking drug addiction??? 

Mom: You better shut up Ana! You’ve been doing a lot of shit lately, too! Your great boyfriend who brought drugs into my house!!! This thing, is still not settled! I wanna talk to him !😠 😠 

Ana: 🥱  ....

Dad: I've had it! Much has to be changed here! If you don’t follow the rules! I’m gonna kick you out! Especially you, A.!.... Did you hear me? Your behavior is intolerable! Aren’t you ashamed that you’re so stoned sitting here at the table with us? 😠

Me: Ugh, what’s up?🥴 .....Yeah- no! I mean, no I’m not stoned or fucking high! I’m just tired! 😒

Mom (to my Dad): I can’t see her like this!  She’s going to die 🤦‍♀️.... she’s not paying attention at all and will die of an overdose. 😢

Dad: I have to get out of here!... And you A., either you come with us, or you stay locked up here all day. 🤷‍♂️

Me: Have a nice day! I’m staying here!

Mom: Don’t you want to see Sonja? She will be very disappointed if you don’t come. She’ll be there too! It’s her Dad’s B-day.

Me: She’ll understand. Besides, I don’t care about your brother’s birthday!🤨

Mom: Ok, then stay here alone and cry about Philip! We go shopping and after that, we are gone! 

Me: Ok!...  And I’m not going to die of an overdose!... I’m sorry! 😔 OK? I want to quit too, and I’m trying! 🤷‍♀️ I’m-..... really trying, I promise!

Mom: I hope this, A.!!.......... Oh, look who came?🤨

Me: Ha?....Who?

Mom: Didn’t I say, he’ll come back? You see?.. And don’t you and Philip do any shit here! Otherwise, A., I can’t guarantee anything! Your dad will kick you out.

Me: Sure!🤷‍♀️ And..... sorry again, I didn’t want to hurt you or scare you, I’m just dead tired because I didn’t sleep.

Mom: Well, but still, you have to try a little more, A.! And pls finally stop lying! ....See you later! 

Yeah, P. came to me. He read all my text messages this morning and he believed me. He had a headache again last night that’s why he turned off his phone. I was just so relieved that he didn’t leave me. But I was still totally sad and felt really bad!....Philip & I will have to talk about Nico in more detail. Which we will do and after that, it was time for some fun! We will get quite wet & make a bit of a mess here. But this wasn’t really the reason for the trouble Philip and I are going to get with my parents tonight. 😔

Previous / Next

Start

[itsclydebitches]

I’ve been seeing an uptick in “anti-RWDE” posts lately  — which is a phenomenon I’d like to comment on at a later date  — but for now one of them (quite unintentionally) made me realize something about the finale that I haven’t seen others discuss yet. 

So RWBYJNOR saves everyone, right? Let’s just put aside the animation for a moment  — which didn’t show any army members making it out  — as well as the forgotten side characters  — Maria, Pietro, Qrow’s group isn’t forgotten, but still left behind  — and take things on good faith here. We’ll read the finale through the thematic intention: RWBYJNOR saved “everyone” in the Kingdom of Atlas in Volume 8, deliberately contrasting them with Ironwood who was willing to sacrifice a chunk of the Kingdom in Volume 7. Forget all the messiness and just accept that regardless of the consequences  — like a destroyed Kingdom and a “dead” team  — the heroes are heroic because they didn’t give into a “lesser evil” thinking and managed to save everyone. 

Now, how was that possible? 

Let’s go back to the beginning of the seventh episode of Volume 8, “War.” Salem’s grimm have just burrowed through Atlas’ defenses and taken them out. The shields are gone. She flies Monstra into the fields and releases an army of darkness that immediately heads for the city. What’s the very first thing Ironwood does? 

Soldier: Yes, sir?

Ironwood: I am evacuating all citizens to the subway. Prepare Manta Squad Omega, and dispatch to every part of Atlas.

Soldier: But sir-

Ironwood: Now!

He evacuates the people, with “the people” meaning all the Atlesians and however many Mantle folk got to the city prior to Salem’s arrival. When this episode aired I mentioned being confused as to why the soldier was so hesitant. Why wouldn’t you want the people to get to safety when a grimm army is heading their way? Fans against Ironwood took the soldier’s side, claiming that Mountain Glenn proved that any underground evacuation is a death sentence and thus he obviously doesn’t really care about the peoples’ safety. Fans in support of/neutral towards Ironwood pointed out that this is a pretty big leap, no one is coming up with a better idea for what he should do instead, and that within these circumstances it reads like the soldiers is illogically against this idea simply because everyone is against Ironwood now. The show wants characters criticizing his decisions and making him out to look like a crazed dictator... even during moments when it doesn’t make any sense to be upset with him. Shooting the councilman yes, trying to keep the people safe no. Basically, this small exchange was a mess, but the rest of the volume proved that this was a sound call. The subway never collapsed and no grimm ever made it to that enclosed space to pick the civilians off like fish in an underground barrel. 

So, why didn’t that happen? Well, one answer is because Oscar and Ozpin destroyed the whale. But how did they have time to do that? Without the people dying while they were being tortured, talking to Hazel, escaping with Emerald, fighting Salem, etc.? A lot happened between Salem starting her attack and Oscar ending it, so why wasn’t 2/3rds of the Kingdom’s population decimated during that time? 

Because Ironwood sent his army out to keep the grimm occupied. 

Outside of Ironwood’s cartoon villain actions  — random murders and bomb threats  — which get the most attention due to how deliberately, over-the-top horrific they are, these are the two actions that get the most negative attention from both the story and the fanbase. The soldier seems horrified by the order to evacuate. Marrow is devastated that young adults are fighting in this battle. The fandom is disgusted by both aspects of Ironwood’s character: giving orders that, as general, he expects to be obeyed and having an army that follows those orders. Putting side that cartoon villainy, this is what supposedly makes Ironwood the antagonist here. These are the qualities that have existed since Volume 2, resulting in a “he was always a bad guy” interpretation. These are the qualities that have resulted in anyone who likes his character being labeled as a “bootlicker.” We know these qualities make the fandom hate him because otherwise, more people would be confused as to why a presumably heroic character randomly shot Oscar. Orders, armies, and general military associations are at the heart of Ironwood’s presumed villainy. 

So let’s remove them. 

Ironwood has no evil army. Ironwood gives no evil orders. Power and control lies solely in the hands of our non-military heroes. Everything is better! 

...well, no. Because we saw in Volume 8 precisely the choices our heroes made when the attack started: half of them focused on saving a single individual (Oscar) and the other half kept to the sidelines. At no point did our RWB group act after sending the message and prior to securing the Staff. AKA, during the attack of Salem’s army. We got a very explicit moment in which Ruby looked out the window at the battle going on and turned away from it, continuing to discuss ethics instead of joining the fight. The people of Atlas (which, again, includes many Mantle citizens) had no one but Ironwood and his army because a third of the group was trying to rescue Oscar (they never even had a plan to blow up Monstra — that was also Ironwood), a third of the group was up in Amity, and a third was sitting in the mansion. They did nothing to help the people of Atlas being attacked by grimm. 

Thus, if you remove Ironwood’s actions, everything goes to hell. There is no longer an order to evacuate to the subway. Maybe some people go there anyway. Most probably don’t. They run in a panic wherever they can. Hide wherever they can. Go back home for some semblance of safety. 

There’s no longer an army. Either it doesn’t exist because we’ve determined it’s simplistically bad despite RWBY’s grimm-specific context, or Ironwood likewise never gives the order to protect Atlas’ border. Salem’s army moves unimpeded through the city, killing countless people as it goes. How do we know? Because they’re civilians who can’t defend themselves and there’s literally no one else to help. Remember: Ironwood is not giving orders, there is no army, RWB is in the mansion, YJOR is in the whale, Penny is out of commission, the Happy Huntresses are in Mantle. Those in Atlas are entirely alone. In time, Oscar destroys the whale, but by then it’s too late. There’s no concrete way to theorize how many have died, but it’s inevitably a lot. Everyone else is scatted across the city, trying to survive. 

So this scene 

no longer exists. 

When the group gets the Staff and creates portals for “everyone” to escape through, Mantle is ready to go. They’ve gotten everyone into the crater and can funnel them straight to Vacuo. Atlas, however, is in chaos. When Jaune enters the subway there’s only a few people there, many of which may be wounded or dying. He’s right back where he started, in Mantle at the beginning of Volume 8: needing to go door-to-door to find where people have hidden themselves, trying to convince them all to follow him (remember Oscar commenting to Ozpin about how difficult that was?). Except now, he and Nora are the only ones trying to get people to safey, the city is filled with far more grimm, a significant amount of time has passed for people to be killed or injured (making evacuating them even harder, both due to injuries and an unwillingness to leave hurt/dead/missing loved ones behind), he’s trying to convince these panicking people to go through magic portals, not just walk to a crater, and he’s aware that there’s a very short time limit for this task. 

Jaune returns in a panic of his own, explaining how difficult it will be to get that 2/3rds of the Kingdom to Vacuo. How many are already dead. Barricaded. Missing. Closeup on Ruby looking horrified, but then she rallies. They can do it. Atlas is falling, but residual dust gives them just enough time to find, calm, and evacuate those people. They’re heroes after all. Beating the odds is what they do. 

Then Cinder attacks. 

Suddenly, the group can’t evacuate people because they’re trying to keep themselves safe from her. Maybe Cinder gets the powers because Jaune was off looking for civilians, leaving Penny without a mercy kill. Maybe Nora dies because she’s still trying to help people on the city that plows into the one below. Regardless of how details might change, they’re not getting a spread out, decimated population through those portals before Cinder changes the wish and makes them disappear.  

In this version, the story starts with Ironwood wanting to sacrifice 1/3rd of the population to save 2/3rds and the future of the war. It ends with 2/3rds of the population dying instead. 

This is what I mean when I say the majority of the fandom wants to view a very complex situation through a ridiculously simple lens. The fandom wants to denounce every bit of RWBY’s fictionalized military, the context issues of that aside. The story wants to paint RWBYJNOR as the only heroes, in part because they succeeded in saving everyone (“everyone”) in the Kingdom when Ironwood gave up. 

But they only managed to save everyone because of Ironwood. Because he kept fighting for his people to the bitter end. This is why, though his horrific actions obviously exist in the story, they make no sense (he’ll threaten to kill his people so he can... save his people?) and mess up what little is working in the finale. The story wants us to celebrate the group for evacuating Mantle and Atlas, but the Atlas evacuation would not have happened if not for Ironwood’s actions  — the actions that are ignored in favor of having Winter blame him for everything and then killing him off. The rescue of “everyone” was very much a joint effort. RWBYJNOR’s win is not actually a contrast to Ironwood’s intended sacrifice, for the simple reason that their win depended entirely on Ironwood’s actions. 

If we’re going to celebrate the group getting everyone to safety, we should probably also celebrate the guy who got them all to an easy evacuation point and ensured they weren’t eaten before then. Does that mean Ironwood never did anything wrong? Of course not. As established, the story went out of its way to make him into a villain. Rather, it means that other parts of the story failed to maintain that black and white view, complicating the heroism of RWBYJNOR in the process. If we want Ironwood to be incapable of heroic action, always the bad guy, nothing good to say about him whatsoever... then we likewise need to accept that the group is rather unheroic in many regards too. That, on their own, they would have failed to save everyone, just as Ironwood’s plan failed to save everyone at the end of Volume 7. Because they chose their friend over a kingdom. Because they sat around in a mansion. Because by the time they took action again and tried to escape, without Ironwood’s help they would have lost a larger majority than they originally insisted be saved. 

[gildedmuse]

Hey, everyone.

So recently I've (predictably) very not well. Actually, whenever I don't post for long periods, just assume my body is trying to kill me. But I've gotten messages from three people asking if I. Okay, which is super sweet. I am actually trying to work on the next All Hearts, a really long ZoLaw post and two request fics, but mixing chronic kidney pain and capitalist society's mandate to work 40+ hours is not recommended.

But to prove I'm okay and still me, here is some Shanks antics with him being a total slut while Mihawk and Beckman just roll their eyes and go along with it. [Shout out to @jhaernyl who not only listens to me ramble about this stuff, but actively encourages it]. I also have many thoughts on the latest episodes and so many screenshots it's embarrassing. Hopefully, when I'm in less pain, I'll get around to actually posting those. Otherwise I just look like an insane person who literally takes by the second frame shots every time Zoro is on screen.

.... What is that? I look like that anyway? Fair.

Shanks Is A Bad Influence

It feels like Buggy and Shanks split up after Roger's death (the crew was told to, and they are the only ones who went to his execution) and I find it impossible to think Shanks didn't immediately set out and find a crew; like, pirating is the only thing this kid knows in life. This means two things:

He set out from East Blue. Also, he seemed at ease and familiar with the East so it's possible he spent like a year there getting everything together. Maybe he even played around in the other blues for a while before heading back to the Grand Line. I say this because his crew is from all over so either he found and recruited them in the Grand Line or visited various blues. Either way, I'm gonna say it took him about two years before getting a 'proper' start. In that case, he would have started out properly at the age of 17 and we know One Piece likes it's parallels.

That still puts Shanks at 17 to Benn Beckmen's 28. How the fuck did Shanks manage that? I'd call it grave robbing, but let's face it, the little tyke probably got up to some actual robbing of graves as well.

My point being everytime Shanks teases Mihawk about keeping this 19 year old kid on his personal island, mostly shirtless, Benn Beckmen just lifts an eyebrow.

Excuse me, captain, who had prefected the 'opps still don't have my sea legs' trip-and-fall into their first mates lap by the age of 17?

Shanks: Beckmen, you caught me! *Shamelessly nuzzles up* Thank goodness! I could be a devil's fruit user after all and - Ahh!

Benn: *Drops Shanks straight over the side of the ship into the water*

Shanks: *Sputtering* What what that!?

Benn: Checking to see if you had eaten a devil's fruit on us, Capatin.

Benn: You didn't.

Smart ass. But he can't resist Shanks forever. Shanks will wear him down eventually.

Next time Mihawk tracks him down for another match - because you know he gets bored way quicker than he'll ever admit and Shanks is at least amusing a challenge - Shanks makes a big deal out of how Mihawk follows him around, "accidentally" revealing they slept together, sighing about how it's so hard to resist him.

Benn Beckmen is just leaning against the side of the ship, sipping his booze.

Shanks: -and I can't stay for hours like last time!!

Mihawk: Are you quite done?

Shanks: *whispering* Does Benn look jealous?

Mihawk: He looks bored. Much like I am. Is this some strange attempt to get out of my challenge, Akagami?

Shanks: What? No, come on I told you I was game. But, hey, could you do me a favor? Maybe like try and kiss me or something? Like take a swing like your going to hit me but then stop shot and grab me by the waist instead.

Mihawk: .... Trickery is beneath you. Besides, you're absolute rubbish at it.

Shanks: Oh, come on, I would totally help you get laid if you asked!

Mihawk: .... *Sigh* I want a proper match afterwards.

Mihawk: *In a forced, monotone voice* After this I will take you to my lair and have my way with you, Akagami.

Mihawk: ... My lair? Really?

Shanks: *Holding up cue card with quickly scribbled line* What? That is how you talk.

Mihawk: I can't believe I wasted precious hours of light tracking you to this atrociously rural port.

Shanks: See? Now, read the next one.

Benn: Captain? If this is going to take all night, I am going to go join the rest of the men in the tavern.

Shanks: Huh? Wait! Benn! What if Miha really stabs me this time!?

Benn: *Salutes Shanks with his bottle* Sounds like that is his plan captain. Have a good 'challenge'.

Shanks: What? No... *Reaching out hand, like he might die if Benn leaves, looking completely devastated* Not even a little jealous...

Mihawk: You couldn't have thought that pantomime would actually work.

Shanks: Benny, don't leave me.... *Turns to Mihawk, immediately brightening* Oh, well, there's always tomorrow. Hey, Miha, guess whose free all night and horny as a pirate in the calm belt?

Mihawk: .... *Sigh* Very well.

Mihawk might as well get something for the trip he made. Although, he's reconsidering if the sex was actually worth the trouble after he ends up listening to Shanks worry half the night that Benn is shacking up with someone else (after a couple hours of rough and raw fucking, admittedly).

Is it the hat? He likes his captain's hat. Miha, you think his captain's hat is sexy, don't you?

Mihawk: It's utterly ridiculous.

Shanks: ....

Shanks: ....

Shanks: *Smile* Ahh, Miha, I knew you liked the hat!

Shanks: What do you old Northerns find sexy?

Mihawk: I am only four years older than you.

Mihawk: And silence.

Trying to convince Mihawk to go spy on Beckman for him. Shanks doesn't actually care if he does sleep with someone else, it's more that Beckman didn't immediately turn angry and jealous like Buggy would have that has him paranoid.

Mihawk is going to fuck this annoying red head again just to shut him up.

Mihawk: Maybe he doesn't like red haired boys who don't know when to be quiet?

The next morning Shanks is pacing among his poor crew that's gotten stuck listening to Shanks obsess about Beckman again. IS IT REALLY THE HAIR!?

It's not even a matter of Shanks's age (or obvious immaturity). I mean, Beckman got on board and stayed, didn't he? Beckman just enjoys watching Shanks try so hard to get his attention. Like Benn's attention isn't constantly on Shanks. He had to when his captain is always one step away from disaster.

He only left him with Mihawk because it was clear Dracule is not a real danger to Beckman's captain.

Except maybe insulting him to death. But Beckman is pretty sure Shanks can handle it. He's met Buggy. He's suspects Shanks LIKES it if anything.

It gets to the point where when they dock somewhere and see Mihawk waiting, or come back to the ship and spot his familiar silhouette, most of the crew goes off somewhere for another drink (sometimes the newer kids will stay to watch such an awesome fight, everyone else is like... Look, you'll have plenty of opportunities later. This is not a one off.)

Benn just takes a look around, nods to Mihawk (a silent signal for, "he's all yours, do with him as you please, if anything happens to him I will track you down and make sure your last few hours on this blue world are as painful as humanly possible") and heads off.

Oh, it's just the Hawk boy.

That's fine then.

Benn use to be a sailor on a trade ship between the North, East, West and Grand Line. He's seen it all.

They called him The Gun Slinger BEFORE he joined Shanks's crew and became a pirate.

So this young, broke ass kid from the streets of some near artic northern island trying to pass himself off as a Lower North rich type has a thing for his captain? Not really enough to keep Beckman up at night, no matter how good at swords he's supposed to be

Besides, he's pretty sure for the kid to keep tracking down Shanks, he must be bored out of his skull. He's not going to do anything to endanger their captain.

Not if Shanks is the only thing he can find to keep him entertained.

One day, Mihawk is going to be waiting on the dock when a bunch of Red Haired pirates are stumbling home, laughing and chattering amongst themselves (Shanks's crew always seems to be in a good mood). One of them will catch sight if Mihawk and walk by with a smile, patting him on the shoulder.

The captain's occupied. Seems likely he'll be 'occupied' for a good while, too.

Mihawk won't smile, but he will think "So you finally warmed him up to you, Akagami?" and snort lightly.

Poor Benn, though. Mihawk could never imagine being with someone so much younger than him. Shanks is only four years his junior and already it strains Mihawk to put up with his occasional moments of "youthful whimsy" (aka being an annoying, immature child)

"A young, cocky pirate with strangely colored bright hair"

Mihawk just putting that on his Not To Do List.

That lasted until Roronoa.

(Mihawk just looking at Zoro knowing this is bad news.)

Mihawk: *Takes list from Benn*

*Cross out, scribbles*

*Hands back to Benn*

Do Not Do:

- A young, cocky pirate with strangely colored bright hair a silly hat, who is overly dramatic and in any way, shape or form related to Gol D Rogers.

Ace: Hey what's up?

Mihawk: *Takes list from Benn*

Go ahead, Benn, laugh it up. Mihawk is aware he has a type. Young, pretty, and utterly insane.

After that night where Shanks was otherwise 'occupied', it's over six months before Mihawk sees his friend his rival again. He is, as expected, far too smug and proud looking.

Shanks: Oh, Miha, so sorry you came all this way, I'm-

Benn: Well, I'm off, captain.

Shanks: What!? But we, you, I... Benn, hessoeexyarentyouworriedforyourcaptain?

Benn: *patting Mihawk on the shoulder* Have fun with him. Don't forget to return him by noon tomorrow, we have a schedule. Oh, but if you can babysit him for at least four hours? That would be great.

Shanks: BABYSIT!?

Mihawk: I suppose I can be troubled to do so.

Shanks: TROUBLED!?

Benn: Thanks, Hawkeyes. I owe you.

Shanks: *Fake tears clinging to his lashes* You two are so mean!

No, don't feel bad for him. Shanks is just trying to guilt the two of them into bed at the same time, and they both know it.

Thanks no thanks, they're not into that. But Shanks can be pretty cute when he's trying so hard (Benn) and at least he's not as boring as everything else in this world (Mihawk) so they allow him to keep up the act

Shanks: *looking at Zoro's wanted poster over Mihawk's shoulder* But I feel like you'd gladly go to bed with him and his captain if he asked. That doesn't seem fair to me. You'd never go that far with me and Benn.

Mihawk: *Eyes Benn*

Mihawk: *DEAD. ONLY.*

Mihawk: I have my reasons.

They can and do agree on plenty of things, including reciprocally not being that attracted to each other.

Shanks: Sounds fake to me

Shanks: But guys!

Shanks: This isn't about you

He's gonna need you guys to drop the egos and focus on what HE wants. I.E., being in the middle of two sexy Northern men.

Honestly, so mean to poor Shanks!

[hercleverboy]

the comfort of rain

spencer reid x reader

summary ↠ spencer reid is her soulmate, isn’t he?

category ↠ angst

warnings/includes ↠ heartbreak, unrequited love

word count ↠ 1.6k

“Do not bother holding on to that thing that does not want you. You cannot make it stay.” — Rupi Kaur

Spencer Reid was her soulmate.

She was sure of it. The pair had been inseparable since she’d started working with the BAU four years prior, practically joined at the hip, never one without the other. 

He’d never fail to bring her breakfast on days filled with paperwork, when he knew she’d barely slept and craved nothing more than a banana muffin from the bakery down the road. He simply placed it on her desk with a warm smile, receiving a thankful one from her in return. 

Such a small gesture, but it meant the world to her. 

He would press little kisses to the crown of her head after they arrested an unsub, a small act of thankfulness that she was ultimately unharmed. An appreciation that she was okay, safe. 

For all intents and purposes, they were only best friends. Though she’d been helplessly in love with him for years, and she had an inkling he felt the same. She didn’t want to make assumptions, but then again she was the only person he ever really got up close and personal with. Sure, he’d hug the other team members too occasionally, but she didn’t see him holding Emily or JJ’s hands on the jet home after a case that ended badly. He didn’t give them countless book recommendations, or spend his evenings watching TV shows that she was in love with just so they’d have something else to talk about.

He always offered her his coat when it was cold, or when the rain began to fall heavily and she was only in her shirt and jeans (despite how he’d commented, as he looked up at the sky, that it was likely going to rain based on the colour of the clouds. She never listened to him.) 

One of his most treasured memories is the time they were hanging out at his place on a rare Saturday that they didn’t have to go into work for a case. They were watching some eight-part crime series on Netflix that she’d finally convinced him to watch with her, after her complaining about needing someone to talk about it with. The loud clap of thunder cracked through the sky, making her jump up from his couch in excitement, looking out the window as rain began to fall heavily from the grey clouds above. She looked out silently as the rain pattered, watching how people on the street below rushed to find shelter from the unexpected downpour. 

Spencer frowned, coming to stand behind her. 

“I love the rain.” She commented, noting his presence behind her. 

His frown deepened. “Why? It’s cold and wet and- gross.” 

She chuckled quietly at his comment. “You’re not wrong there, but I meant more that I love watching the rain. I like the way it sounds. The way it smells. It reminds me that I’m alive. It’s comforting.”

It was quiet for a little, the sound of the rain pinging harshly against the window. 

“Pluviophile.”

She turned back to him, speaking softly. “What?”

“Pluviophile. It refers to a person who loves the sound of the rain. They often find a sense of joy or peace of mind during rainy days.”

She bit her lip to stifle her smile and turned back to the window, giving him a simple nod in return.  She was always somehow surprised by his never-ending plethora of knowledge.

They stood and watched the downpour together in a comfortable silence.

Spencer supposed the rain wasn’t so bad, after that.

In the recent weeks, she found herself wanting so badly to confess her feelings, but as every friends to lovers story goes- she feared rejection. She feared him leaving. And she’d certainly rather love him from afar than confess her feelings and risk losing him.

He’d managed to embed himself so deeply in her heart that she was sure there could never be anyone else for her.

She was mesmerised by him. Compelled by every word that left his mouth, enthralled by all his random knowledge and infinite number of stories he’d committed to his memory. When they sat on his couch watching Doctor Who, she’d gladly listen to any time travel related ranting he wanted to get off of his chest, without any interruptions or eye rolls. (She could listen to him talk forever.)

She’d often fall asleep on his shoulder, and he’d smile down gently at his best friend, a woman he cared so deeply for. 

She stuck by him throughout everything, and she never sugar-coated things. If she thought he was being petty or overreacting slightly in a situation she was the first to bring it up, to call him out. And he’d listen, too, because he trusted her more than anyone and it’s likely she was right about it. She took care of him, in a way that no one ever had before. It was unspoken between them that they’d essentially die for one another, two souls destined to be one another’s everything. 

When he confided in her one night that he was afraid that he should’ve amounted to more, she was quick to soothe his worries. She held him as he sniffled into her shoulder, with hushed reassurances that he was already doing incredible things, and that his work was making the world a safer place, one case at a time.

She was particularly close to JJ, the woman who had become like a sister to her. She told JJ of her feelings for Spencer, and the blonde had just smiled at her in response, as if it had been obvious. 

“You should go for it.”

“Really? You think so?”

“Think so? I know so. We’ve all seen the way he looks at you. You mean everything to him.”

That conversation was the final push she needed to decide that it was time to come clean about her feelings.

With the nervous pit in her stomach being overwhelmed by the excitement she felt, she tried to clear her thoughts. She could only hope this went well. She was meant to meet Spencer at his place for the evening, and so knocked gently on the door when she arrived, taking deep breaths to prepare herself.

The door swung open, Spencer flashing her a smile when he saw her. “Hey! I’m glad you’re here, I have something to tell you.”

She grinned, making her way past him into the apartment. “Oh god, what did you do this time? Did you misplace your phone again?” She joked, sliding off her jacket.

Spencer shook his head, biting his lip to supress his smile. 

“Okay. Then what is it?” 

He smiled then, and it was a smile she’d hadn’t seen him wear before. One that was so much bigger than the rest, one that reached his eyes and made them glimmer with hope and glee.

“I- um. I met someone.”

and just like that, her face dropped. 

“Her name is Maeve, she’s a Geneticist. We’ve been talking over the phone for about a month now. I know what you’re going to say, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I just wanted to see if it was going to go anywhere-“

Her ears stopped tuning in to what he was saying. She could only hear the pounding of her heart filling her ears, tears burning her eyes as she tried her best to keep them at bay. That’s the smile he’d had, the one she couldn’t quite place at first. She recognised it now. The realisation hit her like a train. 

Lovesick.

Spencer had stopped talking, looking at her with concern. “Are you okay?”

She snapped her head up to meet his eyes.

No, I’m not okay. I’m in love with you.

Is what she wanted to say. 

Instead- 

“Sorry, Spencer. I think I’m gonna have to take a rain check tonight. I’m feeling a little sick, so I think I’m just going to head home.” 

“Oh, are you sure? You can always stick around here for a bit, I could take care of you. You know, technically I am a doctor.” He grinned, attempting a joke.

She didn’t laugh, but gave him her best fake smile, one she could only hope he didn’t read too much into. She hoped he couldn’t see the tell-tale profiler signs of devastation on her features that she was so desperately trying to hide. 

If he did notice, he said nothing about it. 

She shook her head. It was taking everything in her to hold herself together, but she’d be damned if she ruined his happiness because of her own pitiful feelings.

She remembered the smile, his beautiful, lovesick smile. It was for Maeve, not her. It made her heart ache in a way that felt like it was trying to claw its way out of her chest. 

“It’s okay. I’ll uh- I’ll text you later.” She mumbled, grabbing her coat before leaving the apartment, leaving a confused Spencer behind. 

However, all was forgotten when his phone started buzzing, Maeve’s name flashing across the screen. He smiled.

Outside in the car park, she sat in her car as the thunder cracked above her, the treacherous rain coming down in harsh hits against her windshield.

She found herself grateful for the rain in that moment, as the dam holding her emotions back broke, tears flooding down her cold, pink-tinted cheeks.

She placed her head in her hands and began to sob, her uneven breaths and heartbroken cries being slightly muffled by the patters of the rain hitting the gravel outside.

She felt comforted by the sound.

It was as though the sky was crying with her.

Yes, Spencer Reid was her soulmate.

But she just wasn’t his.

Tag list - @beyonces-breastmilk @pinkdiamond1016 @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto @thelovelyrose @averyhotchner @cynbx

[fnfxreader]

Ruv and Sarv with an angel S/O! (Separate please!)

   two angel s/o rq’s and im LOVING IT!! i may have confused the two and wrote the wrong one GYLIHSAD sorry if u saw the other one i posted! 😭😭

ruv & sarvente with an angel s/o

   ruvyzvat

ruv could literally care less about your species. you’re an angel, so what? it won’t change the fact that he loves you.

he’s secretly amazed by the fact that you’re an angel and chose to date him. what good could you possibly have seen in him?

it takes him a while to warm up to you; he’s not the best person, but once you convince him that you don’t secretly hate him, he’s more trusting of you.

he adores your wings. they’re so fluffy! so much warmth. if he’s allowed to, he’ll touch them a lot. he’s very gentle with them and absolutely loves to feel them when you’re cuddling. they’re a big comfort to him.

ruv likes how soft-spoken and patient you are. you two are polar opposites yet you manage to balance each other out.  

he hates being vulnerable; you help him so much with expressing his emotions. he struggles a lot with it and he’s thankful to have someone else to go to for help.

he’s your personal bodyguard and nothing will change that. if anyone’s out of place when talking to you, he will intimidate them with his glare. if they don’t drop it, he’ll deal with them later on in the day.

there are special and rare moments where ruv tries to smile for you, even if it puts him in pain. though his smile is wonky, he’s happy as long as you appreciate his efforts.

bonus if you like to bake/cook! though ruv is a picky eater, there’s a chance you’ll be able to figure out some stuff he may like. you can always go to sarvente for help!

   sarvente

when she first met you, she was ecstatic. someone who managed to get into heaven became her friend?? how cool!

sarvente doesn’t see you any different as an angel. your species may be sworn enemies, but she doesn’t see you that way.

sarv is afraid to tell you that she’s a demon. she doesn’t wanna risk losing you over that; she’d be devastated if she did. she isn’t as courageous when it comes to confronting you about it.

when you’re watching her transform into her otherworldly form for her last song, you’re surprised. why didn’t she tell you sooner? when you push that aside and continue to cheer her on, she’s on the brink of tears.

after her song she’ll apologize for not telling you. her hands are frantically waving everywhere, trying to her best to explain her reasoning. when you wrap your arms around her and give her a kiss, she’s a blushing mess.

so happy you were accepting! she loves you 100x more now. sarvente cherishes the love she receives and returns it tenfold.

she’s always so happy to see your halo! it’s so cute; it’s been a while since she’s seen one, too. she will ask you lots of questions about your wings, halo, etc.

she’s just so interested in it! she’d love to see your wings, she’ll even show you hers in return. when your wings brush against each other, she’s so embarrassed!

‘i hope they didn’t feel that..’

might let you try the ridiculously spicy cake that she makes for ruv as long as you’re positive that nothing bad will happen to you.

[amjustagirl]

CHAPTER 2 - FALLEN

Fic Summary:

The sky Oikawa Tooru’s heart seeks is a world away from the earth yours is buried in. You are a fool to trust him with your heart anyway.

Where Oikawa Tooru tries to recapture your heart. 

Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3

Pairing: Oikawa Tooru x fem! reader

Genre / Wordcount : Angst (7k words), cameo from MSBY 4

Warnings: One non-explicit bedroom scene.

Masterlist link here!

Tag list link here!

You catch sight of Oikawa Tooru as you bustle through the hospital’s sliding doors, your usual cup of coffee in your hand that you buy on the way to work. He’s seated in the waiting area next to a middle aged man you guess must be his manager, from the way he jumps to his feet immediately to act as a human shield as you call out breathlessly - 

“T - Oikawa? What are you doing here?” 

Tooru’s head swivels around to meet your gaze, and you’re shocked by the lifelessness in his eyes until you glance at the bandages wrapped around his swollen knee. 

Oh. 

You try not to stare, but you do so anyway. The sight of your ex-boyfriend makes you feel as if you’re seeing a ghost, a specter from some past life. You last saw him when he was twenty one, young and proud, wax wings fully spread, a speck in the skies. What a difference five years makes. His shoulders are still broad, and the tilt of his jaw is still proud, but the light in his eyes has faded to darkness, and the pallor of his skin suggests far too much time spent away from the sun. 

Icarus, Icarus. Your hubris has led you to such heights, but look how far you’ve fallen. 

It’s surprising there’s no news of his injury, considering he’s one third of Japan’s trifecta of setters in the volleyball scene’s monster generation. With the Olympics rapidly approaching with just over a year to go, an injury must be devastating, especially to Oikawa Tooru, with dreams of Olympic greatness and victory on his native shores. 

A nurse materialises to usher Oikawa away for surgery before he can respond to the pity in your gaze. You look around. He’s alone, save for his manager. No one deserves to be wake up alone after surgery, so you call after him - 

“I’ll check in on you after you’re done! Gambatte!”

He responds with a thumbs up and a weak smile. 

You flip through his medical files once you get the chance. 

Oikawa Tooru, twenty six. Pro-volleyball player for EJP Raijin previously, currently playing in the Argentinian league. Narrowly missed out on making the cut for the previous Olympics, but went on to represent Japan in the last three World Cups, alternating with Miya Atsumu and Kageyama Tobio. Obviously hoping for another shot at the Olympics, but that’s looking bleak from what you’re gleaning from his medical records. 

His right knee has always bothered him, even during his high school days. Now, a decade later, it looks like he’s managed to tear his tendon to shreds. 

Volleyball is a cruel, demanding mistress, especially for one not born a genius. 

The surgery to repair a torn knee ligament is delicate work, requiring an experienced surgeon, and the road to recovery requires extensive physiotherapy. It’s no wonder he’s resorted to the modern Tokyo hospital you work in rather than returning to his native Sendai to recuperate. The downside of doing so though, is that he’d have to recover alone. 

You wrinkle your nose. He may be your ex-boyfriend, but he doesn’t deserve that. 

The sun is setting when you finally find the time to slip into his room. 

As expected, he’s still asleep. The anesthetic will take some time to wear off. From the looks of the surgeon’s notes, the surgery was a success - though you know from the nature and extent of the injury that his road to recovery will be long and winding.   

So you seat yourself in the visitor’s chair with a hot cup of tea and an onigiri to stave off your hunger at not finding time for a break any earlier. You had an awful day at work today, two of your patients puked on you, another tried to fight you when you drew his blood, and the senior registrar in the ward assigned you a mountain of paperwork that you only just managed to complete, so you give in to sleep yourself as exhaustion settles into your bones.

“Princess?”  

You snap awake at the familiar nickname, ignoring the flush working its way up the back of your neck as you leap to his bedside to check his vitals, only relaxing when you’re satisfied everything’s fine. 

“You’re just waking up after a surgery, Oikawa”. When his forehead crinkles in confusion at the sound of his surname, you correct yourself. “I mean - Tooru”. The corners of his cracked lips tilt up in satisfaction. 

“Will you stay with me?” Tooru murmurs, eyelids beginning to droop again. 

You smile fondly despite yourself. “Do you want me to?” you ask. 

He manages to pout even as he’s falling back asleep. “I asked, didn’t I?” 

You smooth his hair from his forehead, slotting your hand into his. “Fine, fine. Go to bed, sleeping beauty”. 

He huffs an amused breath from his nose before he closes his eyes, contented. Trust Tooru to be shameless enough to cling on to his ex-girlfriend without a shred of awkwardness. You end up staying in his room for hours, watching him sleep.

The heart that you’ve locked away behind bars of bone and steel twitches, just once. 

You frown when the nurse catches your sleeve. “A patient’s looking for you” she says, just as you’re about to go off on a short break. 

“Who?” you reply, wondering whether it’s Sato-san who vomited this morning, or Imai-san whose blood pressure niggles at your mind. You do not expect the nurse to flush pink as she replies - “Oikawa-san”, describing the sweet young man with lovely brown eyes and such a charming voice. 

You slip back into his room when your shift ends. You expect to see a shadow of a man with broken wings, and you do catch a fleeting glimpse of Tooru staring wistfully out of the window, face tilted towards the sun before he turns to you with a wide smile and a pleased - “you came!”  

This is the Oikawa Tooru you are accustomed to dealing with. “Stop flirting with the nurses”, you tell him briskly, bustling over to look at his files. “They have jobs to do, don’t use them to carry messages to me.”

“But I’m boredddd.”

“I’m sure you have volleyball videos to watch.”

“I watched them all day today. ‘Sides, I watched all the matches on today already, twice – and I have plenty of time to watch them a third time. I have plenty of time to catch up with you, I haven’t seen you in so long!”

Five years since you broke up to be exact, but you sidestep that fact neatly, pouring over his medical file instead. His doctors’ notes indicate his recovery is promising. He brightens up when you tell him so, playfully complaining that hospital food is shit in a thinly veiled attempt to steal your food, a habit he’s clearly not outgrown. But you’re not all that hungry anyway, so you split your pork bun in half and hand it to him, dropping into the visitor’s chair. 

“So how’re you feeling?” 

“Like shit. My knee hurts so muchhhh.” 

You shrug, careless. “That’s pretty expected, to be honest.”

“Hmph. I thought they’d have taught you some bedside manners in medical school”, he snipes, though the effect is rather lost when his cheeks are comically round and full of food. 

You laugh, the stress from your day lifting from your shoulders.  

“I seem to forget them when it’s you.”

“So mean”, he pouts, hiding the familiar gleam in his eye that appears whenever he’s trying to analyse his opponents, take them apart. “As punishment, tell me about yourself. What have you been up to these days?” 

You decide to treat him like any old friend, giving him the condensed run down of your professional life,  how you’ve graduated from medical school (with top marks I bet, he interjects), how you chose to stay in Tokyo instead of returning to Sendai (your parents must miss you he says, and you brush him off with an airy they have other children, they’ll survive), how you chose to work in this hospital because you’re considering a specialisation in Orthopedic surgery (because of your grandma, I bet, he says, and you choose not to correct that, using your silence as a lie).  

He in turn tells you about the highlights of his career, how he’s spent a year at EJP Raijin before he was headhunted to the Argentinian league, how he spent four years overseas save for summers back in Japan to train with the national team, how he’s hopeful, even now, of recovering and fighting for his spot on the Olympic roster next year. 

You already knew all of that from news alerts on your phone you never forced yourself to delete, diverting him instead with a question about life in Argentina, nodding as he reminisces about his apartment in San Juan where he gets to watch the sun set over the Andes mountains, the kitchen that he stuffed full of Japanese groceries like daishi and mirin and sake and miso in his first year there just so he has a tangible reminder of home. 

You stop yourself from wondering whether he thinks about the little home he shared with you with such fondness. That time has passed. 

His voice wavers as he spins you stories about his teammates - Matteo, whose family owns a vineyard and taught him to appreciate wine like a proper Argentinian, Miguel, who makes the best empanadas and gets roaring drunk every time they win a match, Gabriel, who takes him to his family’s home in the mountains every other weekend because his grandmother is convinced that a single young man without family in the city will starve if he’s left to his own devices. 

It seems his wings were durable enough for him to soar across the oceans, his grit and determination the foundation of the new life he’s built, whole continents away. 

“It’s funny how the world works”, you remark off hand. “I never expected to see you again.”

His eyes gleam again. “The universe seems to work in funny ways.” 

You start spending breaks in his room, scarfing down your lunch and dinner while he talks your ear off about the horrible sitcoms or ridiculous game shows he’s watched today. You catch him watching a video of Kageyama’s serves and you’re amused when he practically hisses when you comment idly that his kouhai has certainly improved since his high school days. 

You ignore his spluttered protests that service records aren’t everything and besides, his own spike serves have definitely won Japan a game or two last year until, with the air of a boy king, he commands you to sit next to him on the hospital bed so he can pull up a compilation of his serves and his best moments. 

Years might have passed, but you’re still hopeless at refusing him. Besides, isn’t it better that you distract him from the sorry state of his knee? So you do as he says, ignoring the faint flutter of your traitorous heart as he leans into your side. 

“See? I told you my spike serves are amazing?”

“Yes, yes. I already knew that. I watched so many of your practices in university, remember?”

He looks at you strangely. “Did you?” he asks, leaning his head on his hand, eyes boring into yours. 

You think of evenings spent sitting on the bleachers, homework in your lap as you watch as the boy you love builds the strength in his wax wings in preparation for his eventual flight. “Yes”, you admit, sheets rustling as you shift away from him, avoiding his perplexed frown. “You were probably too focused on practice to notice.”

You already know you shouldn’t spend so much time in his room, but you’ve spent most of your life doing what you should instead of what you want to so just this once, you ignore rational thought in favour of sentiment.

After all, he’ll be discharged from hospital in a week, then you’ll never see him again. 

Tooru promptly proves you wrong the day before he’s scheduled to be discharged. 

“I need someone to help me move into my apartment.”

“Hire a mover”, you tell him. You don’t even look up from your notes. 

“Already did”, he chirps, undaunted by your apparent disinterest. “But it’d be nice to have a friend who I know will be nice enough to help poor old crippled me put my stuff away.” Then he grins cheekily, “plus I checked with that pretty nurse – Yuna-san was it? Anyway, she told me you’re off tomorrow, so you might as well spend the day with me.”

There goes your excuse to wriggle out of having to spend your rare day off with your ex. 

“I have a mountain of sleep debt to pay off”, you protest, but faced with wide brown eyes and an embarrassing wobble of his lip, you comply. Still, you manage to get the promise of a free dinner out of him, so you suppose it’ll do.

Tooru doesn’t have much to unpack, a couple of cardboard boxes of clothes and books, probably because most of his belongings are still in Argentina. He laughs and raises his hands in an attempt to placate you when you lift an eyebrow, first at the lack of kitchen equipment in his furnished apartment, second at the weights and volleyball he tries to smuggle in behind your back. 

“You’re not supposed to exercise for at least a month or two”, you cluck your tongue, sighing with disapproval at the furtive look he casts at the volleyball sitting at the corner of his living room.

“I can set while sitting on a stool! Don’t scold me, my heart can’t bear it”. He throws a hand across his face, brow creased dramatically. 

Icarus, Icarus. You’ve already fallen once. Will you seek out the sun again? 

A string of familiarity loops into a knot over your heart. If you close your eyes and count to ten, you can imagine that you’re eighteen again, chiding the boy you love for practicing too hard. But you’re twenty six now, a full fledged adult who should know better than to dabble in sentiment again (especially when it comes to brown eyed boys who only dream of the sun), so you slash through the threads connecting you to him with a flash of your teeth, bury your beating heart deeper into the dungeon you’ve built years ago of white bone and solid steel.  

“Do what you want, but your neighbours will hate you if you keep thumping that damn ball against the wall.” You say, simply, dismissively. 

“No one could ever hate me”, he declares with bravado. “I’ll charm them all with my charm and good looks.”

“Ridiculous”, you huff, dumping the last of his clothing into the cupboard. “Where’s the dinner you promised? I want ramen and gyoza at least.”

“So demanding”, he lilts. “I’ll order in. Tonkatsu ramen with char siu, bamboo shoots, extra spring onions with gyoza on the side?” 

Your heart struggles against its shackles. He still remembers your order.  

“Yes”, you finally say. “You got that right.”

He grins at you cheekily, as if to say of course. 

After you gulp down your ramen, devour your gyozas, you pack up, ready to leave. You have an early shift tomorrow, and you’re already dreaming about your soft bed whilst dreading the cup of coffee you’ll have to down tomorrow morning just to stay awake. 

He catches your wrist, presses the spare key to the apartment into your hand.  “Come back. I want to see you again”, he says, an order and not a plea. 

You are about to make up an excuse, tell him anything but the truth that you suspect it’s bad for your heart to keep seeing him again. 

“Please” - he adds with a tint of fragility to his voice. 

“I’ll be back when I can”, you finally say. 

“Tomorrow?” he looks up at you with hopeful eyes. 

“We’ll see”, you pry your hand loose from his grasp, slip out the front door. 

You stay away for two days, citing your work schedule as an excuse until he wears you down with a barrage of cutesy line stickers aimed at driving home how lonely he is and how much he misses your presence. You’re being dramatic as usual, you text him dryly, but you turn up anyway at his apartment on a Friday night, letting yourself in with an armful of reports and a bucket of oden. 

“How’re you doing? Are you listening to your physiotherapist? Eating properly? Sleeping well?”

“You sound like my mother”, he grouses, rolling his wheelchair to the dining table. 

You flick at his forehead, he slumps back in his wheelchair.  “Stop bullying the cripple’, he wheezes through his chortle. 

“You deserve it”, you retort. “Don’t run away from the question. How’re you feeling?”

“It still hurts”, he admits with a mock sniff. “It should stop hurting by nowwww.”

You push your glasses up the bridge of your nose. “That’s to be expected. Your sinews just got stitched together two weeks ago. Not sure why you’d expect any less.”

“Bah, rude. At least you didn’t say I told you so”, he grumbles, spooning oden into his mouth. “That would be insufferable.”

“Well, maybe you’ll listen to me now that I’m actually a doctor”, you inform him pertly, batting away memories of a teenage boy with hazel eyes shouting indignantly at you after practice in the Seijoh gym.

Tooru snorts. “I can’t believe my eighteen year old self was dumb enough to open my future self up to a jab like that”, he complains, chewing on a cabbage roll grumpily. 

“We’re all dumb at eighteen”, you remark. “You’re no exception.” 

“You were dumb enough to date me”, he teases with a mocking smile.  

Your spoon slips from your hand momentarily. It’s the first time he’s alluded to your past relationship. 

“I was, wasn’t I”, you say lightly, before turning the conversation to Tooru’s physiotherapy sessions. 

You have no wish to delve back into the past, but you’re willing to be his friend since he seems to need one for now.  

Tooru’s knee recovers enough for him to shift from his wheelchair to crutches, which he points at you playfully, mimicking a gun every time you pop by for a visit. He seems to plan his physiotherapy session around your schedule, just so he can wheedle you into paying him yet another visit when your shift at the hospital end, bribing you with a cup of coffee with a hint of chocolate from the café across the street that you’ve never found the time to visit. 

“Thank you, kind sir”, you say, accepting the coffee with a laugh. 

“You’re welcome, my lady”, he answers with a smirk, motioning you to follow him for yet another evening to be spent in his home sitting across him, red ink smeared on your hands as you mark up the reports in your lap. 

His façade that he’s coping with his injury just fine slips every so often. You catch him more often than not watching compilation videos of Kageyama and Atsumu at the World Cup this year with a strained expression on his face, or resting his chin on the windowsill whilst staring wistfully at the birds in the sky. 

He does not confide about his worries to you. You’re not sure you want him to. 

But you can’t explain to yourself the impulse to purchase a bird feeder for his balcony, nor the glow-in-the-dark poster of the constellations that you cart into his bedroom until your heart has to scramble for equilibrium when he thanks you, his smile soft. 

“In exchange for all the coffee you’ve bought me”, you reply, turning away to hide all evidence of your heart’s betrayal, the diffusion of blood in your cheeks.  

A month passes. Then another. 

The crutches get kept in the storeroom. A limp remains, but the degree which his knee can bend increases by the day. His mood improves even further, and you constantly find yourself swerving to avoid his affectionate gazes, his attempts at flirtation. 

“You’re looking so pretty today!” he lilts, fitting his arm snugly into the crook of your elbow as you walk down the neon lit streets of Tokyo. He insisted on this outing, and in the custom of your rekindled friendship, managed to convince you to accompany him on your off day so he can get crepes from Harajuku notwithstanding the fact that it takes forty five minutes on the train and his knee still acts up from time to time.  

“It’s my first time downtown in a month”, you tell him. “Of course I’m going to dress up.” You don’t tell him you spent far too long in front of your closet, tossing outfits on your bed until you found one that complements you just right. 

He buys you trinkets, hair accessories that you’ll never wear, tries to win you ridiculous stuffed toys from the claw machine. 

“You’re wasting money”, you scold, wiping the whipped cream from his mouth. 

“It’s not a waste if it’s for you”, he tells you, with startling sincerity that you still doubt.

He doesn’t mean it, you tell yourself. It’s just Tooru being Tooru. 

You refuse to admit what’s staring you in the face until you have to duck your head to avoid his attempt at pressing his lips to your cheek. 

“Goodnight, Tooru”, you manage to say before you bolt off into the night. You check to make sure your heart is still under lock and key. 

It is, but it beats resentfully. Tooru, it beats against its bars with frightening intensity. Tooru. Tooru.  

You ignore it. You know what’s best for it.

You stay away from him for a fortnight, requesting for a change in your schedule without updating him, taking the other exit from the hospital so you don’t have to see him. You stay away until he manages to wear you down yet again, texting you the most ridiculous conspiracy theories about your absence from his life – you must be abducted by aliens, he texts you once, or your mother forced you to marry some stranger, I can break you out if you just say the word. 

He has a guest, you hear another voice, deeper, filled with gravel and intensity, so different from Tooru’s lighter lilt. You do not mean to eavesdrop, but you don’t want to interrupt Tooru when he has a rare guest over, and there’s nowhere else for you wait save for the dusty front step, so you settle yourself in, pen poised to continue your work. 

“What did the doctor say? When are you coming back for practice?” 

“I’m doing good! The physiotherapist thinks I can try light exercise next week. If all goes well, I’ll be back to practice in a month.”

“Sounds promising.”

“I had a good medical team. And I’m actually resting properly!”

“Shittykawa. Stop sounding so proud about doing what’s necessary for your recovery.”

“Iwa-channnn, stop being mean to meeee!”

Ah, Iwaizumi, of course. You haven’t seen him in years, but you remember him from school, a stoic boy with a good heart. You wonder if he’s changed. 

“Are you planning on heading back to Argentina?”

Tooru answers without hesitation. “Of course”, he says airily. “As long as they take me back.”

Your foolish heart shudders with disappointment. Of course. If you run your fingers down his spine, you’ll probably find blooms of wax attached to his very bone. 

You are about to stand up and leave when Tooru speaks up again. 

“But I’m going to enjoy my time in Japan while I’m back. Did I tell you I reconnected with my ex? She’s great, it feels like I never left.”

The firestorm of blood in your ears nearly drowns out Iwaizumi’s growled ‘piece of shit’ (he truly hasn’t changed after all), the clatter of glassware as Tooru protests that he’s not playing with your heart, he truly cares about you, his sullen silence when Iwaizumi demands what’s going to happen when he leaves Japan for Argentina, when he inevitably leaves you behind (yet again).   

Of course. 

You know his heart longs for the sky. There is no space for you. 

You barely have time to react when the door swings open, Iwaizumi on the verge of storming out. You plaster a smile to your face that does not fool him, but you hang on to it nonetheless, cracks appearing only when he gives you a wide eyed look of sympathy that only pours oil onto the flaming war between your brain and your heart. 

“It’s fine”, you say, and though he clearly does not believe you, he bows and leaves anyway. 

Tooru stares at you, mouth open, stumbling over himself with apologies and demands for you to tell him what you’ve overheard, but you motion for him to just stop with your hand, wave aside his protest that he means what he said, he truly likes you.  

Your heart screeches in delight, but your mind is firmly in the driver’s seat. 

“Let’s just pretend I never heard you say that, and we can continue just as before.”

“As friends?” he says, twisting his lips as if the words taste sour in his mouth. He clutches at your shoulders.

“I want more. I want you.”

Your heart thrums in agreement, but you recall assembling the remains of your heart back into your chest whilst kneeling on the cold bathroom floor half a decade ago. The span of five years should have molded you to view your shared past with pragmatism, but your heart seems to have forgotten its lesson. You shake your head.

“There’s no way you truly want me. I don’t think you’ve only ever had space in your heart for anything but your goals.” 

Your response emerges more bitter than you intend. 

“That’s not true”, he weakly protests. “I care about you.”

Not enough, you refrain from telling him. “Let’s remain friends”, you do say, and he opens his mouth to object again, but at the hard look you give him, he slumps back with a defeated nod.

He tries to respect your decision, never complaining when you keep a careful arm’s length distance from him, though you can feel his heated gaze on you whenever he thinks you won’t notice, hear his quiet sighs whenever you shy away from any accidental touch. He droops when you turn down his invite for lunch with his family when they come down for a visit, citing work even though he knows you’re off for the day. 

Still, it’s manageable and he says he needs you, so you return for visits, at least twice weekly, offering encouraging smiles and friendly words when he returns first to light exercise, then to rehabilitative practice a month later, just as he predicted. 

He carves out time for dinners with you, taking care to ask about your day, preferring to spin you stories about the pigeons and doves and crows crowding his balcony rather than talking about volleyball or his practice. He insists on escorting you to his apartment after work when you allow him to, offering you his arm with a soft smile that disarms you, dissolves any resistance. 

It’s an uneasy equilibrium, but it’ll suffice. 

The careful balance you’ve maintained in the space between you and Tooru is shattered when you find you’re not the only one who’s decided to pay him a surprise visit on a Friday night. 

“Tooru, ya didn’t say ya got yerself a pretty girl during yer break”, a man with bleach blonde hair wolf whistles appreciatively when you step into the apartment. 

“I’m just a friend”, you reply confusedly before Tooru’s shout “Shove off, Miya” confirms that one Miya Atsumu has decided to invade Tooru’s apartment. Well, him and what seems like half the MSBY team, with Hinata Shoyo, Bokuto Koutaro and Sakusa Kiyoomi squashed uncomfortably on Tooru’s tiny sofa, long legs stretched across the living room. 

It turns out the MSBY team just finished a game in Tokyo, and Hinata dragged his teammates to visit Tooru in a wholesome bid to cheer him up. You try to excuse yourself after exchanging nods with Sakusa (he hasn’t changed much from his university days) when Miya Atsumu blocks your retreat with a drawled invite for Izakaya and the promise of karaoke after. 

Tooru mouths playfully at you don’t leave me alone with these clowns (you’re tempted to point out that he’s very much one himself), and before you can even blink, you find yourself dragged along to the nearest Izakaya, impressed by the amount of food each man polishes off - skewers of chicken hearts and cartilage, bowls of potato salad and rice with braised pork belly, listening to stories of their exploits on the national team together, stumbling into the karaoke bar tipsy from the beers that Miya Atsumu pressed into your hand, head heavy enough to allow him to wind an arm around your waist. 

“She’s too old for you, ‘Tsumu-kun”, Tooru trills, inserting himself in between you and Atsumu, mouth taut with aggravation. 

“I’m not old, just a year older”, you roll your eyes, as the blonde setter backs away, lips turned up in amusement. Tooru is not placated, muttering how the younger setter is a douche and a sleeze bag as he drapes his jacket over you like a blanket. You nestle against his side, head on his shoulder as his arm rests protectively around you. 

Atsumu watches this with raised eyebrows, whistling slowly, opening his mouth to remark that he’s never seen Oikawa so smitten before when Hinata interrupts with a chirped  “‘Tsum-Tsum, join me!”, handing him a microphone while bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

Karaoke is the most fun you’ve had in ages. Hinata and Bokuto and Atsumu sing all their favourite anime theme songs with gusto - Atsumu even gets misty eyed when he croons Sparkle by Radwimps, reddening when everyone teases him for being a romantic sap, Bokuto shaking his hips to Western pop hits, Hinata showing off his Spanish skills. Sakusa refuses to even touch the microphone but you suppose it’s a win that he’s even in the karaoke booth with all of you. 

Tooru slaps away Atsumu’s attempts at handing you any further alcohol, forcing you to down cups of water until you are no longer glassy eyed, but still tipsy enough to agree to sing ridiculous K-On songs with Hintata and Bokuto, not stopping even when Tooru whips out his phone to video the entire performance with an indulgent smile. 

“Delete it!” you squeal, losing your balance when you try swiping the phone out of his hands, tripping into his lap instead.  

“In your dreams, princess”, Tooru chuckles, his arms snaking around you like a vise. 

“Anndd that’s our cue to call it a night”, Atsumu quips, herding Hinata and Bokuto out onto the street, Sakusa heaving an audible sigh of relief. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, kids!” he calls over his shoulder, throwing you a wink. 

“I’m technically his senpai, cheeky brat”, Tooru mutters, the irritation in his voice washing away as you giggle. “C’mon, it’s too late for you to get home and my place is nearer to the hospital so you might as well stay over tonight. You can take the bed, I’ll take the sofa.”

You shake your head, arguing that you couldn’t possibly turn an invalid like him out of his bed but he huffs at the insinuation that he’s anything but well, his knee almost whole again. You give in after he convinces you that it’d be more inconvenient for him to escort you all the way to your own home rather than put you up for the night, and you allow him to loop his arm around yours and lead you back to his apartment. 

It’s not the first time you’ve been in his apartment this late, not by a long shot, but it is the first time you’re over with the intention of staying over. The t-shirt you borrow from Tooru hangs off your frame, the scent of the fabric softener Tooru uses is familiar. You would’ve preferred being tipsier to dull your senses, but alcohol would only impair your logic, allow your heart to prevail, so you try to quell the thrumming of your blood in your veins by curling up on a seat by the window with a cup of tea when Tooru emerges from his shower. 

“Ready for bed?” he asks, towelling off his hair, frowning when you shake your head. “It’s late, you have work tomorrow, even if it’s the afternoon shift.”

“It’s fine”, you say without turning your head to face him. “Go to bed, I’ll take the couch.”

“I’m insulted, princess. What kind of a man d’you think I am to make his guest sleep on the couch? ”

It’s less dangerous to ignore him, so you pay him no mind, choosing instead to lean your chin in your hand and look up towards the night sky. It soothes you, the moon an old friend, reminding of five years’ worth of quiet nights spent in your own flat, filtering your younger self into adulthood. 

“What’re you looking at?” He takes a step forward, kneels down next to you. 

“The moon and the stars”, you say dreamily. “They’re pretty tonight.”

A myriad of weather conditions must coincide to allow the stars to even be visible in the polluted Tokyo night sky, but tonight of all nights fate intervenes, the stars align. The sky is cloudless, the full moon hangs heavy, the stars shimmer and dance.  

“Are they?” Tooru whispers. “I haven’t noticed.”

You finally turn to look at him. “Why’re you staring at me?” 

The unconscious echo of your past - a boy and a girl, falling in love under the same night sky makes his mouth twist wistfully, eyes faded gold.

“Because you are my sun, my moon and my stars. I love you better than anything in the sky.”

Your mouth falls open, your heart suddenly roaring, pounding against its restraints. 

“You can’t mean that”, you whisper. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”

“I do”, he says, with heartbreaking sincerity. “And I always will.”

Nostalgia, aided by the lingering alcohol in your veins opens the gate to your foolish heart. You want to pretend that you are eighteen again, without a care in the world, indulging in the warmth of his hand on the small of your back, the caress of his breath on your cheek. Your lips beckon his, swallowing the catch of his breath when your hands slide under his shirt. 

“Are you sure about this?” His eyes are hungry, almost ravenous, but his hands still hover at the hem of your top. 

“Yes”, you murmur, pressing open mouthed kisses to the column of his neck. “Please, Tooru - please.” 

He carries you into the bedroom, undresses you with shaking hands, chanting your name with reverence, almost a prayer. His eyes darken with desperation and need, unwilling to allow himself any release until you fall apart boneless, caged in his arms.  

“Stay with me”, he murmurs, after you’ve both cleaned up a second time, tugging you into bed. 

It’s laughable. Five years on, Oikawa Tooru still has the power to make your mind lose all reason (however temporarily). With a single heated look, he commands your heart to break willingly in his hands. How could you not have learnt your lesson? The conversation between him and Iwaizumi merely confirms what you’ve known all this while.

(The sky his heart seeks is a world away from the earth yours is buried in)

Even now, you can see the glimmer of golden wax feathers budding along his spine, gleaming under the pale moonlight. 

You lie under the covers until his breath evens out, then you stumble out of bed. You force your heart to relinquish the keys to its freedom, handing it back to logic and rationality, pulling on your clothing, folding your borrowed clothing aside.  

Tooru mumbles your name, his hand outstretched towards you. “Come back”, he says in his sleep, fragility tinting the edges of his words. 

Your fingers miss the doorknob by an inch. You dash your foolish hopes against the darkness of the room, put on your resolve like armour, leave your spare key on the kitchen counter. 

Without looking back, you slip out into the night. 

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