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abbyromanoff · 6 months

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BREAKING POINT

PAIRINGS: Natasha Romanoff x autistic!reader

WORD COUNT: 1811

WARNINGS: fluff, angst, mentions of break ups, happy ending, R has autism, stressful moments, think that’s all :)

NO ONE IS PERMITTED TO STEAL, COPY, OR REBLOG MY WORK AS THEIR OWN!!

Nat’s footsteps seemed to be blocked from your ears, your mouths constant quivering being the only of the five senses that could work. You couldn’t stop picking the skin at your nails, causing blood to slowly arise from the flesh. And your fists continued to squeeze the sheets beneath you, but none of this seemed to register through your mind. No, the only recurring thought was the worry, the same worry you had been desperately trying to rid yourself of. After multiple months of therapy, psychiatry, medication, none of it worked. The only person who could help wasn’t you, it was the girl who chose you; your girlfriend.

She was your best friend, your keeper, and your lover. But she wasn’t here, not anymore. The large fight the two of you fell victim to seemed to cause your fall and the astronomical break-up. Nobody saw it coming, you two were a match made in heaven. But that didn��t seem to stop it from happening, and you found yourself desperately trying to fill the hole she left from only a week later. After the separation, Nat found herself arriving in the quinjet as she was forcibly given a mission with her heavy heart. She knew she could do it, but deep down she also knew she couldn’t; it felt like a constant battle between her sensibility and her idiotic nature.

But the entire time there was only one person on her mind: you. Not the enemies, not her teammates, not herself, but you. You always failed to leave her mind, even in times when it was not quite appropriate. She was determined to make it up to you some way or another, she knew she had to be with you again. She was hopeless without you, she didn’t know what to do with herself. But you always seemed to know, and that’s one thing she loved so dearly about you. Now that she was unable to sleep beside you, instead sleeping with the guilt of losing you, she felt lost.

“Y/N?” The voice startled you, your legs instinctively tightening against your chest for protection, your eyes only widening as you saw the woman you wished to see. But you were in her room, with her blankets, and the realization caused you to rush to your feet. You began fixing the bed but felt hands fall to your waist, causing your movements to falter before you quickly picked up from where you were.

“Y/N,” You sighed, and Nat’s frown deepened hearing the crack in your breath. She turned you effortlessly in her hold, her breathing turning ragged as she took in your expression. Your eyes were heavy from the tears and tiredness, your lip was bitten through and had dried drips of blood. Your smile was no longer visible, but she could see deep down how happy you were to be with her, you always failed to hide it.

“Look at me,” When you refused to complete her request, she spoke once more. “Please?” You sniffled before turning to look up at her, your eyes falling anywhere but in line with hers. That wasn’t unusual for you, but she still grew concerned.

“Can you tell me what’s going on?” You shrugged your shoulders, feeling as though weights were holding them down. You brought your head to the side again, but she tilted it back with a warm smile. She couldn’t truly smile seeing your saddened look, but she tried for you.

“I don’t know.” You weakly spoke, tears beginning to return to your drying cheeks as you felt your body growing in size. Your entire being felt so heavy, yet you weren’t. You were a normal, healthy size, but you felt as though you weighed ten tons.

“Do you want to sit down? Yeah, just sit, baby, you’re okay.” The nickname sent shivers down your spine, but you were unable to react, only leaning your head against her arms that found your shoulders.

“You don’t need to talk just yet, just breathe with me.” She drew circles on your skin as you watched her lips, your gaze constantly changing but she continued to praise your willingness to follow her directions. Moments later she was sat next to you, and she could tell you were now calmer than before.

“Do you want to talk about it?” You shrugged once again, and she chuckled softly. Her lips pressed onto your forehead, and her hand played with your hair while the other drew shapes across your thigh.

“Is it about us?” You shrugged.

“Is it about someone else?” You shrugged.

“Is it about work?” You shrugged.

“I just- I don’t know how to explain it.” Those were the first real words she heard you speak, and hearing your voice brought more relief than she imagined.

“Well, give it a shot and I can see if I understand.” You looked down at your fidgeting hands, a smile threatening to creep across your face as hers laid on top of yours.

“I had this really good plan, everything was all written down and memorized and I- I would’ve done everything and I would’ve been okay and I wouldn’t even have to spend time thinking about something else because I would be so busy. But then my alarm didn’t go off and I woke up late and I just felt so tired. I wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep but I knew I couldn’t, but I didn’t have any energy to get up! And then I went to grab a bowl and- and the dishes weren’t even done like I asked and my favorite cereal was gone so I didn’t know what to eat because I always eat that. And then I had training but there was this constant like, I don’t know, buzzing sound that was like a bug or something and no one but me could hear it, I felt crazy. And Steve just kept talking and talking and then I just snapped and started yelling at him, but I didn’t mean to! And I just ran out and I came in here because your blankets are really soft and they feel nicer than mine and I like to play with them but I realized I can’t be in your room once you came in and I freaked out, I didn’t know what to do.” You released a deep breath when meeting the end of your rant, your posture failing to land straight as you forced yourself not to sob. You were so close, you could feel your throat beginning to tighten, but you didn’t want to in front of Nat, not now.

“You’re always welcome in here, love.” She paused. “Can I ask you something?” You nodded, finding yourself unable to speak.

“That ‘something else’ you were trying to get your mind off of, what was it?” You continued to show a lack of response, and she could tell you weren’t going to.

“Was it me?” A small nod came from you after what felt like ages of waiting. She sighed, biting her lip and cursing to herself.

“I’m sorry, I- I know it’s not your fault-“

“No, it is. I’m so sorry, love, I’ve been so stressed lately and I didn’t know how to let it out, one thing about the Red Room is that they don’t teach you how to handle things well unless it involves fists. But that’s no excuse, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you or have let it ruin our relationship. I want to work on this, but first I want to take care of you, is that okay?” You agreed hesitantly, and she soon got to work. She knew you were too weak to bathe, so she planned to help you when you were more energized after resting. She led you to lay down on her bed, putting the blankets over you and grabbing a sweatshirt of hers. She helped you put it on before handing you the stuffed animal you loved so dearly. You had it since when you were a child, and it seemed to be your comfort on lonely and sad nights.

“Is it okay if I lay next to you?”

“Yes, please.” She giggled at your politeness and allowed herself to follow her steps. She asked Jarvis to turn down all lights and shades to create a dim room for you, you always loved having that darkness. The light often hurt your eyes and caused headaches, so she did as much as possible to belittle that.

“How about this: tomorrow afternoon, when we finish eating and training and getting in some work, we’ll take some time to help you work on an easier and less stressful schedule, yeah? And maybe we can ask your therapist if she’s willing to see the both of us for a few sessions, so we can work on anything that’s affecting our relationship. And I’ll be with you every step of the way, I promise.” She held out her pinky, causing you to instantly interlace yours with hers. She grinned, and you let your head rest on her shoulder as your arm went across her stomach. The plushie rested between you two as she left a kiss to its soft fur before kissing your lips in a slow, passionate manner.

“I’m sorry I can be a lot, Natty, I don’t mean to be.” Silence followed before the rustling of sheets was heard, causing you to lift your head while she looked down at you.

“You’re never too much for me, you’re just perfect.” You smiled softly in response.

“Nat?” She hummed, signaling for you to continue. “You’re perfect to me, too, you know.” Her lips turned upwards, and she felt her heartbeat rising as a blush ran to her face.

“I’m glad we can agree on that. Now go to bed, and when we wake up we can have a nice bath and maybe do some coloring?” It was more of a question than a statement, but she knew you’d say yes without a question.

“Can we also finish that documentary? Oh, and our puzzle! Or the Legos! And we can make cookies too, but they have to be chocolate chip.” She chuckled meaningfully, and her eyes began to close as her voice grew deeper as the tiredness from her mission began catching up to her.

“We can do whatever you want, sweetheart. Like I said, I’d do anything for you, even if it’s cookies and shows and puzzles and legos and coloring and baths.” She led on, causing your excitement to grow. You left a kiss on her cheek before bringing your body impossibly closer to her. Your warmth made her feel a sense of comfort that no one could describe as anything other than pure love.

“Sleep well, baby bear.”

“Sleep well, momma bear.”

—-

I would like to say before I receive any hate that I personally have autism myself and this is what I personally see as one of my struggles and I thought I’d write it

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animeyanderelover · 1 month

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Anon: Yandere Johnathan, Dio, Joseph, Caesar, Wammu, Jotaro, Josuke, Giorno and Jolyne Headcannons with a Female Tanjiro Reader? She’s kind, compassionate and fights to protect, save others and find a cure for her sister to turn her back into a human (She’s also a very hard working individual).

Tw: Yandere themes, toxic relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, delusional behavior, clinginess, overprotective behavior, stalking, paranoia, manipulation, blackmail, guilt-tripping, gaslighting, isolation, abduction, death

To fit this theme better into the JoJo verse, darling’s sister is a vampire instead of a demon.

Tags: @simplydlightfuldestiny @flaming-vulpix

Darling is like Tanjiro

Jonathan Joestar

💍Given your brave and kind personality, it is no wonder that Jonathan falls head over heels for you. Both of you fight side by side as his adopted brother Dio starts plotting his evil schemes with the new powers given to him by the stone mask. Your sister was one of the many victims that was turned by him yet somehow she retained her control and her heart as Dio didn't take over her mind. Despite Zeppeli's caution and advice that he should free your sister of her suffering, Jonathan is moved to tears as he witnesses the determination and love you have for your younger sister, solely led by his emotions as he offers to help you. After all your sister is very tame despite having been turned into a monster by Dio and hides during the day in a box you crafted for her. Both of you are trained together by Zeppeli in Hamon and join forces in order to put a stop to Dio's craving for power and to find a cure to turn your sister back into a normal human again.

💍One would think that Jonathan should know best about your talents as he has trained together with you yet he falls fast and he falls fast, leaving him with the constant taste of fear and worry lingering on his mind and in his heart. Whenever a battle ensues, he always tries to shield you and to protect you out of fear that you might get hurt. Whenever he loses sight of you, his heart drops as paranoia quickly takes hold of him. He suffers the loss of his father and eventually the loss of Zeppeli and all of it only enforces his growing obsession as even his teacher ultimately dies, proving in his mind that even with all of your strength you can still fall during this battle. As someone who was raised to be nothing but a gentleman, it is his desire to cherish and to protect you yet he seems to overlook that his noble gestures to protect you are received as an insult from your side as you think that he is underestimating your strength. Whenever you confront him about it though, he shies away from the conflict, hating the thought of arguing with his sweetheart.

💍Instead whenever conflict arises between you two, he tries to appease you in whatever way he can. At this point it is painfully obvious how he feels for you and Jonathan isn't even trying to hide it from you. He wants to treat you well and he does exactly that. In his mind fate must have brought you too together as both of you met, struck with tragedy inflicted upon the two of you by Dio. Sometimes his obsessive thoughts plague him and the shame comes crushing down on his heart yet more often he is prone to those delusional phases where he thinks of your meeting as destiny. The young Joestar heir has already plans to ask you for your hand in marriage as soon as both of you have won against Dio. He initially plans to ask you after peace has returned but depending on how paranoid and desperate he gets, he might even ask you beforehand if you'd do him the honor of letting him be your husband. He promises that he will worship you and do everything in his power to protect you and your sister.

Joseph Joestar

🦾Joseph, Caesar and you form a trio when the Pillar Men appear as you have your own motivation for fighting them. During the expedition that Speedwagon took due to the rumored existence of other Stone Masks your sister, who was part of the team that accompanied him, was transformed into a vampire and you reunite with her during your first encounter with Stroheim who kept her alongside with Speedwagon captive. You are quite different from Joseph who relies on his wits and runs away when he realises that his situation looks helpless whilst you always stand your ground to save even those who do not deserve it even if you are only inches away from death. Multiple times he has sworn to not help you if you were to get in another such tense situation yet he has never had the heart to abandon you, leaving him no choice but to return and trick his way somehow out of the danger. Joseph always wants to scold you after every stunt you pull yet you always thank him with such a sincere look on your face that he doesn't have the heart to do so.

🦾You are sometimes really too good for your own good as well as his own good yet despite the differences between you two, Joseph finds himself growing very attached to you and he knows that. Although he tries to hide his growing feelings, to people like Caesar it is quite obvious that he has caught feelings for you. Whenever there is a fight, he seems much more willing to fight and show off somehow but only when you are watching. Not to mention that he has gotten more hostile towards Caesar as he knows that that man has to flirt with every young woman within his vicinity, including you. He comes up with the most random bullshit to annoy you two only to interfere as soon as he notices that Caesar tries to flirt with you or simply just makes soma gagging sounds to distract you from him. Caesar might as well see it as a challenge as he openly admits to Joseph that he doesn't think that he would make a good partner for you. From that day on Joseph comes up with the most ridiculous things to keep you occupied with him.

🦾Whilst it may appear like a bit of a cheap method, the fact that Speedwagon is looking out for your sister whilst you are helping to hunt down the Pillar Men in search of a cure is something Joseph uses to his advantage. After all he is quite close with Speedwagon so he likes to brag about it if he gets the chance. Throughout the entire time you three spend together, he starts slowly resenting your determination to help others though. He wouldn't call himself inherently a bad guy but he is also not someone who would willingly risk his life for some random stranger. You are the complete opposite as you always want to save everyone, something that sometimes isn't possible. He doesn't want you to lay down your life for random people, as noble as some people may think that is. In his mind it is simply stupid so during fights he starts actively dragging you away when he realises that the threat is too much to handle. He wants to live and he wants you to live as well. It is as simple as that. You want to see your sister being turned back to a human again, right? You won't witness that if you're dead.

Caesar A. Zeppeli

🫧Lisa Lisa sends you as reinforcement during the earliest confrontation with the Pillar Men and whilst Joseph is initially gawking at you and wonders what you plan to add to the team, Caesar quickly shuts him up and apologises to you. Joseph truly has no manners when it comes to treating a pretty lady, plus he has utmost trust in his teacher so he has confidence in you. From the very beginning Caesar always favors you and treats you very well, although it is to be expected. As you join in the fights though and he gets to see just how much kindess and compassion you hold in your soul, his feelings deepen more and more. He truly admires your willpower and your determination to help people in need even if those people have threatened you before. Joseph, shrewd despite his sometimes stupid decisions, obviously notices the feelings of his rivals and starts teasing him about it. He goes too far when he tells you that Caesar catches feelings easily for women, something that almost ends in a fight between those two if it wouldn't have been for you stopping them.

🫧His disdain for Joseph grows after that. How dare he even suggest to you that his feelings aren't sincere? Caesar urges you to not believe anything Joseph has told you as he swears to you that his feelings are sincere. When you three return to the island owed by Lisa Lisa, Caesar finds out about your sister that his teacher has kept safe during your absence. Initially he is very alerted as he doesn't trust your sister. She could pose a threat and harm you after all, even if she is also a lady. He knows that you would never let him harm her though as even Lisa Lisa assures him that she is different from the rest. After his wariness fades away, he can't help but wonder why you have never told him about her existence though. Do you not trust him? He immediately seeks you out to ask you about what has happened in your past and presses on even as you hesitate for a moment. When you eventually decide to tell him your tragic past, his heart starts bleeding for you. You poor thing have gone through so much...

🫧After he has been entrusted with your path, he only starts feeling more protective about you. You are a woman too pure for everything you had to endure and it is your outstanding kindness that has him growing slowly more paranoid. He has seen terrible people in his life, people who would abuse your compassion and earnest desire to save others. He could never forgive someone if someone would stomp on your kindness and he could never forgive himself if he were to let anything happen to you. Caesar starts sticking close to you from that moment on, always paranoid when he isn't near you and can protect you. Obviously you address his smothering overprotective antics but you only get a lovesick smile in return and a kiss on your knuckles as he murmurs that he could never allow anything to harm you. In his eyes you deserve the world and nothing less after all the pain you had to go through and he intends to give the world to you. He is truly in love with you and in his eyes it is normal to protect the lady he plans to make his wife and spend his life with.

Wammu

🌪️You are there together with Joseph and Caesar when the Pillar Men awaken and even if Wammu is far above you when it comes to strength, you refuse to back down. Even if you stand no chance against him, you stand time and time up again and he can tell that you put your all into this battle. There is a drive behind your eyes, a determination that keeps you going even if you shouldn't be able to stand anymore. It is that fire in your eyes that has his heart skipping a few beats as he proudly proclaims you as someone truly brave and worthy and even expresses gratitude that he was able to meet someone like you as soon as he has awakened. He almost doesn't want to kill you and Joseph, who has caught wind of Wammu's fascination with you, uses that partially to convince Wammu to let him and the others live for now so that they can return stronger. Wammu takes the bait, especially because he is eager to see how much stronger you will be the next time he sees you. You have the potential and willpower after all.

🌪️His thoughts always seem to be around you as he eagerly and almost impatiently waits for the time to come and Kars and Esidisi sense his troubled feelings. Kars just bluntly advises him to take you if he desires you but Wammu refuses to use such underhanded methods as he prides himself as a strong and honorable warrior. So he chooses to challenge you when you find your way to him again to save Caesar as the young man impulsively storms into their hideout. As soon as you see how heavily wounded Caesar is, you are instantly willing to sacrifice yourself to save him and that is when Wammu offers you a deal. If you duel him and win, he will not only let Caesar go but also give you the antidote in his lip ring, something Joseph needs if he wants to survive. If you lose, he is free to do what he wants with you. You take the offer without a doubt and put a magnificent battle, even if he ultimately bests you. Even as you are bleeding heavily, you refuse to give up though and out of respect he not only lets Caesar live but gives him the antidote but takes you with him as you still lost and you accept it without throwing a tantrum.

🌪️He caters instantly to your wounds as soon as he has taken you with a gentleness you didn't expect from a Pillar Man. After he has bandaged all of your wounds he decides to ask you what it is that motivates you so greatly and why you were so determined to find his kind. Initially you look at him silently and just as he is about to assure you that you don't have to tell him, you decide to open up. You confess to him that your sister was turned into a vampire due to a Stone Mask and that you had heard that his kind had invented them and so you had hoped to find a cure for her. Hearing your motivation truly only manifests you as a noble and honorable human as a warm feeling of pride spreads in his chest. It is in that moment that he decides that he desires to have you as his partner, though he is aware that you two stay on different sides of this current battle. Yet he sincerely wishes to help you so he makes another suggestion. He will help you to heal your sister but in return he asks of you to stay by his side as his lover in the future and remain loyal to him and he promises in return to cherish and love you until the end of time.

Kujo Jotaro

🚬You join the crusaders during their long and difficult travels to reach Egypt and DIO somewhere along the way. Your first encounter with them almost ends in a big fight when your sister escapes during the night and crosses paths with Jotaro who initially mistakes her as another minion of DIO. You arrive just in time and throw yourself in front of her, fully prepared to take all of Star Platinum's punches to protect your little sibling only for his Stand to stop in the last second. When the rest of the group arrives, you find yourself able to explain the situation you are in and since you have the same goal as everyone, you decide to join them with your own respective Stand. Jotaro clarifies to you from the very beginning though that if your sister should ever turn attack them and let her instincts get the better of her, he will have to get rid of her. You manage to hold his stern gaze though and reassure him that it won't happen as your sister is different from the others.

🚬As all of you continue their journey, Jotaro learns to value you as a member of the team. You are strong and even your sister joins the fights when there is no sunlight around. Although he will openly admit that your very idealistic goals to protect everyone are at times quite exhausting and both of you have gotten into a few fights already. Jotaro has less problems sacrificing a few people if it can't be helped and reprimands you for your silly daydreams that you will always be able to save everyone only for you to get mad at him and call him heartless in return. What you don't seem to realise is that Jotaro's harshness and rude words are born out of a growing worry he feels for you the longer you are part of the Crusaders. He won't grieve random people he couldn't save in time but you are no random stranger to him. You are someone he has learnt to value and respect and he won't just watch as you throw yourself in danger over and over again to save someone who doesn't deserve it as you even express kindness to their opponents, though only after they have been beaten.

🚬The tension only grows the closer you get to your destination and the more you are put through. Jotaro's obsession at this point has already gotten to the point of no return and he knows that yet he hides it, clueless on how to even act on those feelings. Although they do slip out in the very unpleasant shape of growing oppression and control he starts to keep on you. He has had enough with your antics by now to the point where he even tries to remove you from the scene to prevent you from trying to play hero again. Star Platinum, his Stand, has started acting on Jotaro's obsession as well and shows the feelings the man is trying to suppress much more openly. If you are within vicinity, it will suddenly grab you and pull you instinctively closer to it, much to Jotaro's slight embarrassment as he doesn't plan to tell you of his feelings. You won't be involved in theit final battle, he already knows that you would end up sacrificing yourself for someone else. Don't worry though, he will keep his promise and find a cure for your sister. He isn't as heartless as you claim him to be after all.

DIO

🕰️He feels like he is seeing a ghost of someone in you he has despised so much to the point where he feels the need to eradicate even the ancestors of said person. That's right. There is a resemblance of Jonathan DIO sees in you and whether it is his own petty hatred or a dormant fear he holds against the only man who ever beat him, he perceives you as a threat. He wants you gone and all of his minions are begging him to let them take care of you yet you have caught his attention to the point where he wishes to take care of you himself. Yet one of his pawns would not listen to him and assaults you themselves nevertheless only to be beaten by you and your sister. DIO couldn't care less about their death but it is the report that a vampire fought by your side that catches his attention. He's the only one who creates vampires. How is it then that someone who should obey him is fighting side by side with you? It seems like he can't just simply kill you after all. Instead he orders his pawns to gather information about you and the vampire fighting by your side.

🕰️It doesn't take long for his minions to find what he wants to know as they are more than eager to please him however they can. Apparently your sister was turned into a vampire by one of his pawns he can't even remember and you are searching for him to demand for a cure to turn your sister back into a human. That's his chance. DIO can barely suppress the diabolical grin on his face as he realises that he could probably break you by tormenting you by using your sister against you. If he can gain control over her and order her to attack you, he is sure that he can break you down. As soon as you reach his hideout, his minions ambush you and even though you put up a brave fight, ultimately you are captured. His presence frightens you, he can tell as much by the way your heart hammers inside your chest yet you refuse to let any of your fear show as you stare him right into his eyes as he gloats about your loss, already suggesting with an evil gron on his face what he plans to do now that he has you and your sister.

🕰️Yet you are so stubborn and headstrong and so is your sister as he is unable to gain control of her nor can he break you. He has always taken what he has wanted yet strangely enough he doesn't find himself displeased. Instead he revels in your unwavering determination and your immunity to fall for his charm, something that has brought countless men and women to their knees. After all the harder something is to obtain, the sweeter the taste of victory will be. He finds himself desiring to break you and then to possess you and to achieve that, he commits truly horrible deeds all to trigger your mental breakdown. He may force himself sexually on your sister whilst forcing you to watch or the other way around, will blackmail and threaten you to expose your sister to the sunlight and so many other things that should tear you apart yet even through your greatest sorrow and grief, that spark in your eyes never disappears. It frightens him a bit, confuses him to why you don't give up. Why do you persist? Wouldn't it be easier for you to just drown in your misery? You really are special, aren't you?

Higashikata Josuke

💎Josuke is hotheaded and enjoying his life and his youth. He is quite passionate about showing his feelings which is why he has no real way to cover up his growing infatuation with you as he quickly descends down the stairs of obsession. Above all it is your kind and compassionate attitude that has won him over and he greatly admires you for the strong and forgiving person that you are. You even complimented his hair when you met for the first timw which only added fuel to the inferno. Due to his openess to express his feelings though, Josuke has no lid on his emotions which means that he has no real way to control him. He isn't even attempting to control them in the first place and this has led him to be quite volatile depending on how he feels. Whether he is euphoric or enraged, he will act on those emotions. His infatuation has made him quite clingy which is why he often follows you around and always desires to be with you as his mood is otherwise quite grumpy which means that he is quite easily angered.

💎Okuyasu calls him one night and informs him that he has seen a strange person sneaking inside your house as he just happened to pass by and instantly Josuke is alarmed. He ignores his mother's confused questions as he rushes to your house in the middle of the night and pounds against the door, his heart hammering against his chest in fear. When you don't answer, he instantly assumes the worst and Crazy Diamond quicly destroys your door only to instantly repair it. He looks fully prepared to murder the strange woman he finds in your house but you arrive just in time to stop him and his stand from attacking her. With no ther choice left but to tell him the truth, you tell him that the person is your sister and your tragic backstory about how she was turned into a vampire and how you are desperately searching for a cure. A part of Josuke reacts quite intrigued because whilst he knows about the existence of stands, he has never known about the existence of vampires, although he also expresses his concern about your safety.

💎When he realises how much you wish to turn your sister back into a human, his heart instantly melts and he promises to help you however he can. It is his duty as your boyfriend to make his girlfriend happy after all. You do not quite know what he is talking about, although you obviously have noticed the obvious crush he has on you. What you don't know as of now is that Josuke has gone genuinely delusional with his love for you to the point where he already thinks that both of you share the same love for each other. Even if the situation isn't pleasant for you, he sees this as his chance to shine and to make you love him even more than you already do in his mind. He starts speculating pretty soon that perhaps his own Stand Crazy Diamond could be the solution to all of your problems and the idea that he can be your hero excites him as he rambles to you about his idea. He truly feels like you two were meant to meet because what are the chances that he would have the perfect solution to turn your sister back into a normal human.

Giorno Giovanna

🐞You have joined the Mafia a while ago yet you have quickly risen through the ranks. You are earnest and hardworking and hate to let people down, always set on fulfilling the missions you are entrusted with. On the other hand it is also that the Don favors you that you have gained so much in such a short time and his feelings for you only seem to get stronger the longer he gets to know you. You are the kindest soul he has ever met as you do not tolerate the abuse of power by others and refuse to follow orders if they go against your own set of morales. You have gone even as far as to sometimes suggest to Giorno himself that he could do something to better the way of the Mafia and if you would have been anyone else, he wouldn't have tolerated it with a genuine smile and a promise to consider your advice. Giorno isn't oblivious to his feelings and he isn't surprised either that he fell for you as hard as you did. Your kindness and compassion resemble the rays of sunshine and he knows that he wants that warmth for himself.

🐞You have never really elaborated on your private life even if he questioned you gently about it. You may be able to fool others but not Giorno who has dedicated so much time to observe you and memorise your every reaction and emotion you have shown around him. You are hiding something from him, something that burdens you. You deserve better than that and whilst he recognises that you probably don't wish to worry him as you probably assume that he is already busy enough with his duties as the Don, you don't seem to understand that he sees his duties in catering to your needs and every worry just as much. With connections throughout the entire country, very soon he finds out sacred information you never wanted him to know. He soothes you as soon as you figure out what he has done as you feel like he has broken your trust as he gently holds your trembling hands and promises you in a gentle tone that he only wishes to help you. He already knows everything but won't you tell him yourself?

🐞He promises you to protect your sister and keep her identity hidden just as much as he promises you to find a cure for her. Even if he knows that he has partially broken your faith in him by invading your personal life and finding out something you don't want anything to know, he would lie if he would claim that he feels guilty. Instead he feels like he understands you even better now than he understood you before as he now knows more about your personal motives for joining Passione. Not only that but he is not above realising how much control he would hold over you by using your biggest weakness in form of your sister against you. It is quite a cheap move and he knows that yet he will do what he must do to protect you and to keep you for himself. He cares too much to lose you after all. He is genuine when he swears to you that he really plans to find a cure for your sister. You should be prepared though that he will demand something in return from you for his assistance and it'll most likely be the first step to make you his forever.

Cujoh Jolyne

🪢Jolyne and you meet in Green Dolphin Street as both of you were labeled as criminals. She has been betrayed by her ex who decided to blame the accident and the death of the car accident on her and you have been locked away because you have a history of breaking into rich and important people's houses, although you have never stolen something. Unfortunately you were caught and had been unfortunate enough to get caught by an especially unpleasant couple who made sure to lock you away for good. Both of you recognise that neither one of you is a bad person though and you hit it off quite well with each other. Her tough personality she likes to put on is something you learn to live with as you can kind of guess that she does this to hide her own vulnerability. You talk about all sorts of things as you spend your time together in jail as you treat her with kindness and respect. Something that makes her heart very flustered, although she doesn't want to admit it.

🪢Jolyne has never been exposed to much kindness in her life as her own father has largely neglected her during her youth and so she is like a dry sponge who eagerly absorbs any kindness and compassion you give her. It is no wonder that you have her wrapped around your finger as quick as you do as she grows increasingly possessive and clingy. She is selfish about any kind word and any minute you can give her as she is very prone to jealousy as soon as you give your attention and sweetness to someone else but she doesn't care about such things, if she even recognises the wrongness of her feelings to begin with. she is just desperate for all of your attention and affection and doesn't shy away from beating someone up with her stand Stone Free to get rid of any unpleasant pesk who tries to get between you and her. You also join her when she plans to break out and she doesn't even have to beg you as you quickly agree. She is dear to you after all. A statement that turns her harsh facade to mush.

🪢It is only a while later though that you confess to her that you have another reason for breaking out. You have a little sister who was turned into a vampire and you have been searching for clues how to cure her, hence why you broke into people's houses who you suspected to have something useful. Jolyne has rather mixed emotions when you tell her. On the one hand she does feel sorry for you and can understand your desire to help your sister. All of that doesn't compare to her jealousy though and even some part of her can admit that this is quite petty from her. It's your own sister after all, someone who would pose no threat as a possible rival. Jolyne's obsession goes beyond the simple jealousy of romantic rivals though. She strives to be the most important woman and person in your life and desires to have all of your attention and love for herself so your sister is still perceived as a rival as she wonders who you would choose if you had to do so. For now she has you for herself though and she tries to push the gnawing jealousy out of her mind, although she grows much more touchy as you work on breaking out of prison.

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northern-loner · 5 months

Text

If anyone wishes for something light for the night after the meltdown that was today, here's an extensive hc list on different character's fighting styles. :))

q!Bad: Despite what most think, he’s very much a throw-caution-to-the-wind type deal. Yet he’s also the closest thing the island has to a tank; stalking slowly and brutishly and taking you down with one or two bloody hits.

q!Fit: To put it simply, old school. Also the controlled vibe of military training. When he fights, he seems to drop into a sort of rhythm more than anything. You can’t really tell if he’s even thinking or just on autopilot. Slower movement, and more raw attacks.

q!Foolish: Despite his overall physique, he tends to play a more evasive angle. Constant bobbing and weaving until you start losing your composure and get sloppy; that’s when he finally strikes.

q!Philza: A silent and swift approach, always searching for a good opening for sneak attacks. Before you’d see him flying overhead and firing with ranged weapons, but now he goes for a trident as the next best thing to launch himself up and fling himself at you from above. He also looks for ways to end the fight as quickly as possible; easy opportunities to one-shot you.

q!Charlie: Strangely enough, he likes to prioritize splash potions and other projectiles more than anything. He’s also annoyingly slippery, using his slime capabilities to slide around his opponent and keep them on their toes for him.

q!Roier: Insanely acrobatic and uses precise strikes, while also knowing practicality with his opponent. One thing to remember about him is that he simply won’t hesitate, so keep your eyes open.

q!Cellbit: Playing dirty is just about second nature to him; grabbing at your hair, trying to knock your legs from under you when he’s lower. He’s also oddly calculated for someone of his caliber, takes all the time he wants just analyzing the situation before making a move. Although his way also involves getting as close to you as possible so he can get you in your weakest spot. It’s gotten much more messy since his murder spree began.

q!Pac: He tends to play dirty like Cellbit, but not to the same degree. It’s more akin to street fighting than anything. Much more insecure and unstable back in the day, but ever since the first Purgatory he’s grown into something that works for him.

q!Mike: While he may not be the strongest between him and Pac, he’s definitely the most aggressive. He always tries to nab the offensive first no matter what.

q!Etoiles: He prioritizes honor above all else in a good match. None of the dirtier tricks, just straight swords and shields and as much of his body as possible. Although you’d be a fool to mistake this as him being predictable.

q!Baghera: Real showy and dramatic, she always tries for the biggest weapons and armor she can get her hands on. Tries to make herself look bigger, and lots of heavy footwork.

q!Tubbo: Incredibly trigger happy, only being rivaled by Etoiles’ hunger for battle. He likes finding random out-of-the-box ways to do combat and even customize things with his own machinery. He’s also oddly nimble, and he knows how to use his size when close to opponents.

q!Bagi: Beautifully fast and agile, incredibly abrasive and unafraid, normally trying to opt for offense first but knowing when to stick with defense. Her size leads to her prioritizing sneak attacks and coming off as a nagging thorn in the side for her opponents, always being there when you don’t want her to be. She also knows how to improvise when at her lowest.

Feel free to add on as you see fit! <3

#qsmp #qsmp headcanons

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saetoru · 1 year

Note

Wakasa canon needy boyfriend HEHEHE 💖💖💖 he needs attention always !

[ NEEDY ] IMAUSHI WAKASA.

“waka, please,” you sigh tiredly, but wakasa can hear the smile in your voice—he can even feel it as your lips press against his forehead in a gentle kiss. but he doesn’t let the soft touch of your lips bribe him into letting go, however. instead, he’s shifting more weight to press onto you as his face hides in the crook of your neck, pulling an exasperated groan out of you as you glare down at him.

“no,” he mumbles, latching onto your body tighter, “stay.”

“i can’t.”

“yes you can.”

“i need to get up,” you huff, “i’ll be late for work—again.”

“then be late. just tell them you had important things to do.”

“cuddling in the morning isn’t important—”

“that’s rude,” he interrupts, pouting into your neck as his hands squeeze your hips, “it’s important to me.”

you can’t help but roll your eyes, can’t help but purse your lips as you look down at the mess of hair under your chin as wakasa tucks himself into you. it’s a losing battle every morning—a constant back and forth that you know you’re powerless to win.

at first, imaushi wakasa seems like a distant guy. he seems like someone you’d get lucky to even hold hands with, someone who keeps his space and maintains his composure. at least, that’s what you used to think. it doesn’t take long after dating to realize he’s quite the opposite—that he’s clingy in the mornings, that he needs far too many kisses throughout the day to be normal, that he follows you around the house like a lost puppy, that he can’t sleep without you playing with his hair at night.

it’s funny at first, it’s cute and makes you just a little giddy that a renowned gang member is as needy as he is around you—but sometimes, like right now for example, it’s just a little inconvenient too.

“wakasa, you have to let go—”

“don’t wanna,” he grumbles, grabbing your hand and planting it over his head. you sigh—and yet, you’re tangling your fingers into his long tresses and scratching at his scalp. and really, you hate to admit it, but maybe it’s not entirely his fault that he’s as spoiled as he is—you never seem to really be able to fight against him, giving him exactly what he wants no matter how many times you tell yourself not to.

“you’re so damn needy,” you mumble, slowly rubbing circles into his back as he sighs happily. you eye the clock wearily, watching as the seconds tick by and the minute hand moves slowly but surely until you’re late—just like you are every morning with him.

“no ‘m not,” he murmurs—and then his head tilts up and his lips tug into a tiny pout as you pull your hand away from his head. “why’d you stop?”

“see?” you snort, pinching his nose affectionately, “very needy.”

your hand moves to cup his face, rubbing a thumb over the swell of his cheek. and there’s something satisfying about seeing someone like him pout as he presses his face deeper into your palm, something that makes your chest swell fondly as he closes his eyes and leans into your touch, something that makes him that much more human. sometimes, you almost don’t think it’s the same person—the man you’ve watched punch noses in can’t be the one sprawled over your body right now, can’t be the one who whines for five more minutes of cuddles in the mornings as you’re running late for work.

“can’t you just call in sick,” he grunts, plopping his head onto your chest, staring up at you as he props himself up on his chin.

“no,” you roll your eyes, “you ask me this every morning. the answer is still the same.”

“if you loved me you would,” he grumbles, glaring at you as you poke his curled lips with a giggle.

“don’t i love you when i run late every morning for your extra cuddles?”

“hardly.”

“you’re ungrateful,” you flick his forehead, chuckling as he clicks his teeth and swats your hand away, “i risk my job for you every damn morning.”

“you don’t need it,” he insists, “i’ll take care of you, and you stay with me in the mornings. it’s a win-win, see?”

“i don’t think being stuck under you is a win—”

“oh yeah?” he grins, making your heart skip a beat, “but you never seem to complain when you’re under me,” he says cheekily.

and he’s unfair—looking up at you in that handsome way he does, throwing you that lopsided smirk with a strand of hair loosely hanging across his face. you tuck it behind his ear, trailing your thumb along his cheeks and across his nose, tracing over his lips and under the crinkles of his eyes.

for a moment, you think maybe wakasa isn’t the only one who’s needy—you think maybe you need him just as badly as he needs you too.

“waka,” you groan, throwing him a dirty look as he snickers. “i really have to get up—”

“just five more minutes,” he pleads, flopping back onto your chest and snuggling against you, tucking his head under your chin. and when you kiss his forehead, he’s sure he’s won—just like always.

“you said that like twenty minutes ago,” you raise a brow.

“this time for real,” he mumbles.

it’s a lie—you know it as well as he does, but you don’t think it’s a morning without imaushi wakasa clinging to your body until you’re more than a little late.

so with a fond smile and a roll of your eyes, you wrap your arms around him as you kiss the top of his head, pulling the blanket over his body as he sighs in content.

“you’re a liar,” you snort, shaking your head as he smiles victoriously into your shirt.

gray omg u get me sobsob he’s so baby CRIES 🥲

#teepods.writings #drabbles.#wakasa x reader #wakasa x you #wakasa fluff #imaushi wakasa x reader #imaushi wakasa x you #imaushi wakasa fluff #tokrev x reader #tokrev x you #tokrev fluff #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers x you #tokyo revengers fluff #tr x reader #tr x you #tr fluff

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kingdaddydaichi · 5 months

Text

☆ title: redefining (ch. 11) | ( ch. 10 ) ☆ ( ch. 12 - wip )

☆ pairing: cop!daichi sawamura x single mom!reader

☆ wc: 2.5k

☆ synopsis: four years after leaving your toxic ex, you find yourself a single mom to a 11-year-old boy named musubi, who harbors a lot of misdirected anger. you hear from his fifth grade teacher, mr. suga, more often than your own mother and a resulting friendship is born. meeting suga’s best friend wages a war between your head and your heart - one that challenges everything you think you know about love and police officers. neither are to be trusted. both have left you lost and scared when you needed them the most. so, when a cop comes knocking at love’s door, just how strong is your resolve to keep your heart under lock and key?

☆ warnings/notes: sfw. cop!daichi. mutual pining. angst. domestic disturbance. fear. idk like, the way daichi talks to subi might come across as patriarchal? but it's the way i feel like daichi would speak to him under the specific circumstances, how he knew he would get through to him. i am deeply sorry for the massive real-life time gap between chapters //sob. but i'm committed to finishing this series. my love for daichi and this story is settled deep inside my bones. I'M BACK BITCHES /aff 🫶🏼

she's falling in love now losing control now fighting the truth trying to hide but i think it's alright, girl yeah i think it's alright, girl

losin control - russ

Life can be a rip-roaring bitch sometimes, y'know?

The first week or so after your fallout with Daichi had been relatively easy. The fact that you were still angry at him helped a lot more than you'd have liked to admit. The battle to get him off your mind was constant, but all you had to do was remember the way his eyebrows angled inward when he yelled at you. You’d never seen him like that before and it had scared you, triggering your fight or flight response on top of the heart-wrenching pain of seeing him being a little too friendly with his ex.

But what you kept pushing down with all of your might was the fact that daichi was right. He had called you on everything you’d worked so hard to hide from him. The fact that he’d seen you so clearly scared you more than the look in his eyes when he raised his voice at you. He had been angry, yes. But a lot of hurt had weaved its way into his words as well.

Halfway through the second week, however, things started to go downhill. You found yourself reaching for your phone a couple of times to tell Daichi about something ridiculous or funny that had happened only for your fingers to stop short as your heart sank.

Oh. right. I'm not supposed to do that anymore.

You’d even tried venting to Suga about Daichi in hopes that he would validate you, but he wasn’t as sympathetic towards your plight as you would’ve liked: “But isn’t this what you wanted?” he'd said. “You’ve been saying that whatever the hell was going on between you two had an expiration date…” “You’re right. It’s probably better this way so you and Daichi can each find the people you wanna be with...” That last one had really dug deep - the thought of Daichi with anyone else made your heart splinter and your stomach wretch. But you had swallowed your heartache down with the lump in your throat and nodded with a meek “Yeah, exactly,” knowing deep in your bones that you didn’t mean a word of it. Suga knew it too.

The week after that was the week from hell. Crying in bed every night because you missed Daichi so much was made that much worse by your shitty week. Life could’ve just given you a normal week but NOPE. Every single day, multiple times a day, you’d pick up your phone to send him an angry text about your boss or the rude ass lady at the grocery store. Or the fact that some really, really important notarized legal documents got lost in the mail. Three trips to UPS, two trips to the post office, and $91.00 later the paperwork finally reached its intended destination via next day air. You wanted to ask him to arrest the incompetent twat who put your mailer on the wrong truck in the first place and then smile at his reaction. To top it all off, your son’s behavior had hit an all-time low. You’d been hoping that it would’ve improved after the disciplinary hearing, which Subi had attended as well but, if anything, his behavior at home had gotten worse too.

You wanted to call Daichi. You wanted him to come over and hold you as you curled into a ball against his chest. To feel his hands in your hair and his lips on your forehead telling you that ‘everything’s gonna be okay’. Because you’d believe it If Daichi was the one saying it. He’d make sure of it. But you couldn’t do any of those things and it made you cry. Like getting kicked when you’re already down.

Daichi didn’t have it much better.

He’d called and apologized to Yui, who had called him a “fucking asshole”. There was the drunk driver who had puked on him while doing his field sobriety test (he probably deserved that, he’d guessed). Then there was the day he got stuck directing traffic in a torrential downpour. The police-issued waterproof ponchos had done nothing for his wet socks and the sloshing in his shoes.

There were also all the little annoying things that kept happening to him - his washing machine quit working (mid-cycle, no less), he got a flat tire (in a different torrential downpour), he stubbed his toe one morning while getting out of bed (talk about a rude awakening) - nothing too serious but just enough to piss him off.

The worst of it was finding out his mom had to be hospitalized for Covid. She had to be on oxygen, but the prognosis was good. She was expected to be okay and eventually make a full recovery, but of course it made him worry about her nonetheless.

And through every bit of it, you were on his mind. He missed you something fierce. But some of the things you’d said still weighed on his heart:

“...how cruel can you be?” “You’re not even my type.” “Just go back in there and fuck your ex-girlfriend!”

That last one had hurt the most. Did you really think that lowly of him to think he’d do that to you?

To be fair, he also remembered some of the things he’d said to you:

“Would you have liked it better if i’d introduced you as my fuck buddy…?” “What? Not toxic enough for ya?” “...you don’t have to be a jealous girlfriend about it…!”

They made him cringe every time he remembered. Sometimes the words you had thrown at each other kept him up at night.

Tonight was one of those nights…

Daichi was reading in bed, trying to take his mind off of you when his phone buzzed on his nightstand. Thinking it must be work-related at this time of night, he picked it up to see who was calling. When he saw your name on the screen, his heart wanted to claw its way out of his chest. What could you possibly want? Best case scenario was you wanted to apologize, but that could wait until tomorrow. If you didn’t want him to make you a priority anymore, he was going to honor that. Worst case scenario was you were reaching out to him for another booty call, and he was done with that.

Either way, he let your call go to voicemail, but just as he was about to put his phone back down, your text came through as three little numbers:

911

Daichi sat bolt upright and immediately tapped the call button. Halfway through the first ring, you answered. “Daichi?” You were crying and he could hear a young man’s voice yelling in the background.

He sat forward in his seat, wide brown eyes darting this way and that. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Subi,” you cried. There was a loud bang accompanied by a muffled sob from you. “He threatened to hurt me and now he’s throwing things…”

Before you could say anything else, daichi was on his feet, throwing on a pair of sweats and a hoodie before heading for his front door. “You at home?”

“Y-yes.” you were crying so hard you were wheezing. “Daichi, please…please help?”

“I’m on my way.” His voice was remarkably low and stern and comforting as he told you to go inside your bedroom, lock the door, and stay there. He made sure you didn’t have any injuries and stayed on the phone with you for the 10 mins it took for him to get there. It normally took twice that long to drive from his place to yours, but he had his blue lights on, going well over the speed limit.

“Daichi, I’m so scared,” you sobbed.

“I’m almost there, (y/n). Just five more minutes. Come on, deep breaths.” He talked you down enough that you weren’t crying as hard. “Alright, I’m here. Do you know if he’s still in the house?”

“Yeah, I can hear him. But the front door is locked.”

“Do you feel safe enough to come out of your room and open it?”

You’d heard Subi’s voice getting further away and the slamming of his bedroom door. “Yeah, I think so.”

You slowly came out of your room and hurried to the front door, nearly collapsing in Daichi’s arms when you swung it open. He hugged you and told you everything was okay. He walked inside slowly, noticing some broken glass and other, obviously thrown, objects on the floor, and called your son’s name. Your pre-teen came out of his bedroom to find a man he didn’t recognize standing in the living room.

“Who’re you?” he asked.

“I’m Daichi, a friend of your mom’s. You must be Musubi.”

Musubi narrowed his eyes at him and shrugged in response.

“What’s been going on, man?”

Your son crossed his arms over his chest. “Maybe it’s none of your business.”

Daichi’s dark brown eyes remained steady on him. “Well, seeing as how your mom is my friend and she’s scared and crying, I’d say it is my business.”

The boy rolled his eyes. “Whatever. It’s not that big of a deal-“

“Wrong again. Your mom doesn’t feel safe in her own home. That’s a problem. It’s just the two of you living here, right?”

Subi shrugged. “Yeah, so?”

“Then that makes you man of the house, doesn’t it?”

Your son’s eyes met Daichi’s for the first time since he first spoke to him. “Yeah, I guess.”

“And as the man of the house, don’t you think it’s your job to protect everyone in it, including your mom?”

The boy didn’t respond, but his facial muscles relaxed as he maintained eye contact with Daichi. He had his undivided attention now. He was speaking to him man to man and your son was listening intently.

“It’s a big responsibility to be in your position,” Daichi went on, nodding towards you. “Your mother and her safety are under your watch. She doesn’t feel safe with you when you’re the one who’s supposed to be protecting her.” The off-duty police officer's voice remained calm and even as he tilted his head. “So tell me, Musubi: do you really think you’re qualified to be man of the house?”

You watched and listened with awe as Daichi took command over the situation, showing Subi what it means to be in full control. He leveled with your son while making him feel validated and understood. Rather than telling Subi how he should talk to you, Daichi did far more by showing him what it means to be a good man; he was teaching Subi how to treat others with respect in the way he spoke to him - by demonstrating to him that you get respect from others by being respectable.

Your son’s gaze fell under the weight of Daichi’s words. His beliefs about what it means to be a “man” had just been challenged and shaken to the core. He thought it meant being loud and aggressive, lording over others, calling the shots and expecting others to submit to him - no doubt all the tactics he’d learned from watching his father.

“You think you’re in control here? Because, from where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like it.” The boy’s gaze followed Daichi’s as he looked around at the broken items in the room before looking over at you, still trembling and sniffling. “If you lose control, it means you don’t have it, Musubi. It’s that simple. Do we have an understanding?”

The boy’s eyes locked with Daichi’s again and he nodded.

“Good man. Now,” Daichi said with quiet authority, “Clean up the mess you made.” It wasn’t a request.

“Yes, sir,” Subi murmured as he started picking up the pieces.

You couldn’t believe the words that just came out of your son’s mouth. Yes, sir? You looked up at Daichi - The Musubi Whisperer - wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Never even raised his voice and had him under his complete command.

“(Y/n), can I talk to you for a minute in the kitchen?” Daichi said it just loudly enough that your son could hear how his mother should be talked to - by asking, not demanding.

“Of course.” You followed Daichi until your son was out of earshot, then whispered, “How the fuck did you just do that?”

Daichi shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of experience. Oldest of 5 kids. Team captain. Cop.” You smiled and nodded, wiping the last of your tears away. He put a tentative hand on your shoulder. “You okay, (y/n)?”

“I think so,” you sniffed, wiping your freshest tear away with your shirt sleeve. “I’m so sorry to have troubled you, but you were the first person i thought of-”

Daichi shook his head and pulled you into his arms. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m glad you called me.”

Whether it was the catharsis from the highly charged situation or your need to feel Daichi close was irrelevant when you fastened yourself to him. Before you could think, your arms were around his waist and your head tucked against his chest.

“Thank you,” you said, your shaky voice muffled by the warmth and weight of Daichi’s arms wrapping tightly around you.

“If it happens again, call me again. If you need anything at all, call me,” he said, rubbing your back. This was the Daichi you’d known all along and fucking hell, you missed him.

You tightened your hold around his waist. You were so immensely relieved to hear him say that. Maybe he still wanted to be the one you called. Just maybe he wanted to be the one you needed.

“I will,” you said, nodding against his chest.

Before he left that night, he shook Subi's hand. “Take care of your mom.”

“Yes, sir.” Holy hell, there it was again. Daichi hadn’t even told him to call him sir. Leastways, not with words. How did he do that?

“Do I have your word?” Daichi asked, squeezing Subi’s hand. “Yes, sir.”

“Alright, I’ll stop by in a couple days to see how things are going," he looked at you, "...if that's okay."

Your son’s lips pursed as he fought back a smile as he watched you nod. “Okay.”

After Daichi left, Subi said, “You should find a guy like him, Mom.”

Your mouth dropped open, your heart skipping a million beats. Your son had no idea who Daichi was, what he did for a living, or the highly complicated nature of your relationship with him. Finally, you smiled and said, “Yeah? He’s a good guy, huh?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “He’s alright.”

Your son turned to you with his shoulders slumped and tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

Your body shook with tears as you nodded against his shoulder. “I know, baby. I love you so much.”

Subi squeezed you tighter as he told you he loved you too.

ch. 10 ☆ ch. 12 (wip)

series mlist | daichi mlist

☆ taglist: @chaoskrakenuwu ☆ @ceo-of-daichi ☆ @honeybunny-sawamura ☆ @yuujispinkhair ☆ @luvkun4 ☆ @briokayama ☆ @mrs-sawamura ☆ @heroesfan101 ☆ @millenialfanfictionaddiction ☆ @citrustsuki ☆ @darthferbert ☆ @crystal-lilac ☆ @hannas16 ☆ @cookiesandmilksx ☆ @strawberrystepmom ☆ @anejuuuuoy ☆ @maexc ☆ @little-ms-awkward ☆ @patheticliesblog ☆ @strawbmarma ☆ @lomons ☆ @victorianhorrors @gazzybums ++ ask/dm/comment if you wanna be added to or removed from a taglist

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greenyvertekins · 6 days

Note

Oh my god I just had an epiphany on the core flaw of IDW’s story.

Sonic is one of those fictional worlds that’s incredibly idealized. By making the core story of the comics be about Sonic’s morality, it forces characters to be written OOC by making them always go, “Hey, Sonic. Why don’t you just kill Eggman?”

This in turn forces Sonic to be written “out of character” because his world wasn’t designed to have an answer to that question, meaning any answer he’d have for said question would always be out of character no matter what answer he gives. It breaks the suspension of disbelief you’re supposed to have about stories in this franchise. You’re not supposed to ask that question because it ruins the flow of too many stories in the franchise.

This also explains why people have less critiques with the games Flynn writes (Which are prompts given to him by Sega) compared to the constant flack he’s under for IDW (A story he came up with himself that’s merely peer-reviewed by Sega). He’s fighting a losing battle by coming up with stories that don’t fit a world that wasn’t designed with those themes in mind.

Archie’s (or rather, SatAM’s universe) was designed with those inherent morals in mind. Now that he needs to write for the universe of the games, he comes up with stories that would’ve fit better in that universe instead. A “square peg in round hole” logic, if you will. This isn’t an inherent flaw of the Archie universe compared to the game universe, it’s simply an adaptation with different rules, but one’s logic cannot fit in the other and vice-versa, leaving Flynn as a fish out of water.

TLDR: The problem with IDW is that Flynn is putting too much thought into the moral dilemmas of the Sonic universe when the world of the games is completely incompatible with the way he normally writes stories.

In short, the comic introduced a moral quandary that not only doesn’t fit the franchise whatsoever and is thoroughly incompatible with Sonic as a character, it needs to defile the canon it parasitises as well.

The funniest thing about it is Flynn’s lame-ass attempt to brush off criticism by claiming that Sonic is a kids work anyway, effectively saying you’re stupid for investing in it as well.

#Verte’s asks #opinion

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oddlyhale · 9 months

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Call me a boomer or whatever, but I actually like doing budgeting.

If they're that strapped for cash, and if I had to make budgeting decisions, I would: - Cut Jaune out of the volume. Since his arc ends with him reverting back to his younger self, there's no need for him to be in Ever After. - Weiss killed Penny on the Golden Bridge. She's in terrible grief for what she did and is in constant anxiety to explain herself to Ruby. - Cut Little out of the volume. From what I understand, creating Little was a huge feat because their model is more complex than the usual models we see. Cut them out and save money and time from creating them. - Move the Red Prince battle at the end of the volume. We can keep the marketplace throughout the volume since it helps set some world-building of Ever After through the NPCs and environment. - Neo is fine in the volume, she didn't pop up much. And since she has no VA to be paid, Neo is very expandable, but it was good that they didn't overuse her this volume. - No suicide arc!! It was stupid!! - Keeping Ruby separated from her team for the majority of the time. Would save quite a bit of time and money to only focus on Ruby rather than having to focus on them all at once. Yang, Blake, and Weiss can have their own episodes. - Ruby starts to see glimpses of Weiss running off into different wooded paths, yelling something about being late. Ruby chases Weiss throughout the volume. Weiss doesn't stick around often and vanishes. - Neo is down on her luck. She doesn't feel the need to go after Ruby because she feels like she's trapped in another universe and she can't get back home. However, a new anger towards Cinder festers. - Instead of creating more Ever After characters, utilize the main characters. Weiss can be the White Rabbit and Blake can be the Cheshire Cat. Yang can either fight to stay normal or become a character. All will be cured by the end of the volume. Neo also starts to act like the Mad Hatter. - It appears that Ever After is taking over the minds of whoever has fallen. Ruby and Yang both feel the effects as they both start to feel different from their old selves, but they're able to stay original. - Eating food (A LOT OF FOOD) and drinking a lot of tea was a notable part of Alice in Wonderland 1951. They could say that eating anything from Ever After causes the character change. - Ruby can't find Cresent Rose but she does find Summer Rose's weapon at a blacksmith's shop (but she doesn't know it belongs to Summer Rose). She carries that around because it feels familiar to her, but also she wants a weapon to defend herself. It'd be fun to watch as Ruby tries to work with a new weapon. - Weiss sees the glass sword of Penny's. She doesn't remember Penny, but the sight of the sword throws her into a frenzy and makes her lose time. Her time dilation goes out of control and it causes bouts of chaos wherever she's at, but the Red Prince isn't bothered by it.

i'll come up with more later in a reblog

#rwde #rwby rewrite #volume 9 #budgeting

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wardevilwins · 2 months

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What is the point of a hero?

Anticlimax in Chainsaw Man Part 2

Part 2 is garnering more and more criticism as it extends its excruciating middle portion towards the inevitable collapse. There are talks of Fujimoto losing the plot, skipping over important details, the story not making sense, Asa being flattened into a supporting character for Denji, and more.

To my mind, these criticisms center on the same thing: anticlimax.

The Falling Arc ends with the first major anticlimax of the entire Chainsaw Man series. That moment turned out to be a sendoff of many aspects of the series which had defined its identity in part one: the breakneck pacing, the grotesque monsters, the ultraviolence, the detailed rendering, and most significantly, the cycles of catharsis.

Part One was a face up rendition of the heroes journey: the cathartic cycle. This cycle was paralleled with the hedonistic cycle of consumerism. From the very origins of the series, Fujimoto was critiquing the heroic narrative by exploring a different perspective on the hero’s existence. In the lineage of Devil Man, Evangelion, Utena, etc. Fujimoto considers the harm that heroism does to the hero.

However, in part one, we don’t understand this dynamic until the final arcs of the series. The hero’s journey is played mostly straight, with exciting adventures, a lovable cast, a host of creepy monsters, despicable villains, cosmic fantasy. On the surface, this is normal Shonen Jump. The walls are closing in behind the scenes.

This is the mechanic behind the Makima turn. It is a reveal, but not a twist. We are well aware that Makima is not human, is suspicious, and has some malicious intent surrounding Denji. The reveal is what those intentions are, and what makes it so compelling is the nature of her intentions.

We learn that all the events of this story — the job, the romance, the organization, the friends, the family, the adventure — were being manipulated with the express purpose of destroying Denji. His cycle of catharsis was always leading him to his doom. It was made to destroy him. His tragic flaw is ignorance: he didn’t stop to think about what was going on.

Part 2 picks up on Denji in this same state. He is still chasing the cycle. He goes out, defeats the monster, everyone praises him. It’s great. However, we see the same lingering signs that something is off. The people he abandons in his fight against Cockroach. Corrupt government institutions using him as a popular spectacle.

But in the first Asa-focused section of the story, we the readers are also locked into the cycle. Asa follows the same journey — literally the same, from bat devil, to the eternity devil, to a final climactic battle where she faces her childhood trauma and arises an actualized hero. Or did she?

Because that isn’t what happened to Denji. The cycle of catharsis was not a journey of self discovery; it was a trap. A distraction. A cover for the underlying intentions of the state as embodied by Makima. Even the idea of Chainsaw Man as a hero was a part of the plot to destroy Denji’s life.

But with Asa, as we approach the apex of her story, right as she has asked Chainsaw Man to save her, and she herself is using her own powers to save him as well, overcoming her fear of the other to risk her own life, plummeting towards certain doom! How will they escape!

They don’t. They get eaten. And somehow Nayuta is there and she just saved them. ??????????????????????????????????????????

It’s like their powers didn’t even matter! What about all that character development? They just lose? And then it doesn’t even matter that they lost? Then what was the point?

What is the point of a hero?

Asa’s introduction ends with the series’s first anticlimax, but that will not be the last. In fact, it is only the beginning. Because for the rest of the series, it will be constant. Every single tension will be diffused. Every single horror will be dodged. Every build will break.

Let’s go down the list:

Denji is forbidden from being Chainsaw Man, and his identity is stolen. He isn’t Chainsaw Man anymore.

Denji thinks about rejecting Fumiko’s advances, but can’t.

It appears Fumiko and Denji will fight, but then they don’t.

Asa becomes a minor celebrity and cult figurehead, but we never see any of it.

It seems like Miri will be Denji’s friend, but he’s an insane cultist.

It seems like Miri and the other hybrids will go on a spree, but Quanxi stops them.

It seems like Denji, Nayuta, and Fumiko will have to fight a mob of monsters, but Quanxi saves them.

It seems like Yoru will fight Yoshida, but he runs away.

Denji fights and defeats the hybrids, but is attacked and captured by a random mob.

Nayuta is in danger, but we cut away.

Denji gets chopped into pieces, and is quickly put back together.

Quanxi appears again, defeats everyone, but immediately surrenders.

Asa’s time as a hero is explained away as a passing fad.

As a reader, I can’t lie, it is annoying. And aggravating. And it is so blatantly intentional that it pisses you off. Fujimoto is refusing to give catharsis. Even the climactic moment of Denji’s arc — facing down Barem in front of his burning home — is not catharsis. It is torture. More building trauma and tension. Never any satisfaction.

Basically, he’s narratively edging his audience. And face up telling you that this is what is going on too. He even does it as a gag during Fumiko’s introduction. He gives a little peek at the catharsis that he knows we all want to see, but he won’t do it. He can do it — he was doing it all through Asa’s development — but he is deciding not to, and showing you that he’s deciding. He’s playing with his cards face up, but folding every hand.

Asa’s celebrity being totally sidelined is by far the most controversial of these instances. Her introduction fully engages us in her hero’s journey — a true hero’s journey. She isn’t a hedonist like Denji; she has ideals. She is fighting to save people. She actualizes. She becomes a real hero of the city.

But we don’t see it. Instead, we leave her story and look at Denji, who explicitly can’t be a hero. And through Denji’s story, we see the other side. Asa’s heroism is Denji’s downfall. She is getting everything that he was after. We understand what Asa has by what Denji lacks.

Asa’s catharsis is hidden. Or rather, her heroic catharsis is hidden. We got to see her journey to becoming a hero — to taking Chainsaw Man’s place — but not what happens when she is living that life. The same kind of life Denji lived under Makima.

Denji had Makima rooting for Pochita, manipulating and deceiving him. Asa has Fami rooting for Yoru, manipulating and deceiving her. Makima made Denji a hero to manipulate the public. Fami made Asa a hero to manipulate the public.

So in some sense, there’s no need to show it because we’ve seen it all before. But you still could. And it would be fun. Everyone would like it. It’s fine to, right?

Right?

Running parallel to the anticlimax is a long winded critique of popular culture. Particularly fandom culture. That is to say, hero worship.

The members of the Church worship Chainsaw Man because he saved them. The media uses Chainsaw Man and Asa as distractions from the horrors of life under threat of devils. Fans of a certain idol are driven to stress and conspiracy by a scandal. Meanwhile, wars are breaking out, government facilities are being invaded, people are turning into monsters.

Their love of Chainsaw Man turns them into monsters.

Barem and Fumiko are a notable skewering of the real-world Chainsaw Man fanbase. Fujimoto roots his critique of hero stories in a critique of his own hero story. While it is a reckoning for his fans, it is more so a reckoning for himself and the impact that his story had on the world. What was the point of what he did? What did it accomplish?

As of writing, the story isn’t finished, so the ideas aren’t complete, but at least at this point (chapter 164) it doesn’t look good. We see Fumiko is lost in her sexual obsession, abusing her target. We see Barem is completely insane, overwhelmed by a glorification of violence. We see a vast mass of fans whose obsession is harnessed to turn them into mindless killers.

You cannot help but think about the Chainsaw Man fandom in the wake of the anime. Harrassing the series director, constant asinine opinions all over the internet, the discourse around MAPPA — not around Chainsaw Man at all. Egregiously horny art. Legitimately disturbing sexualization. Popular response focused on the action and violence, not on the meaning of the story.

Is this what he wanted? Is this what heroes inspire? Is this what happens when you give people catharsis?

Is this what heroes are?

So, for Asa, he doesn’t do it. He won’t do it. He won’t create a cycle of catharsis. He won’t make a heroic tragedy. Instead, he will divert, avoid, hide, pause, deny. When she follows the path, we look away. When we want the hero, we get nothing instead.

Fame — heroism — isn’t a triumph. It’s a flash in the pan. An illusion. A tool of distraction. A vector of misogyny — society. A corruption of the self. For the hero and the fans.

Denji’s long arc is the positive exploration of the negative space Asa’s story leaves. Look away from the hero at hand and look at the hero that was. Look at what it did to him, what it does to him. Think about what this story does to you. Think about what it does to the world.

We are done with the spectacle. We’ve left catharsis behind. We’re living beyond the high. So, what is there? What can there be? What other story can you tell? How do we relate, exist, outside of saved and savior? If the hero is a lie, who will save the world? Can the world be saved?

We’ll have to find out.

#chainsaw man #csm analysis #long post #anticlimactic

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tumblezwei · 5 months

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Not a RG person (or any kind of shipper really), but I don’t entirely gel with your earlier post on Ruby and Oscar, more specifically the latter. Because the way I read the story’s themes, it seems to me that much of their shared theme is being drowned out by the legacy of those who came before them.

Ruby, through the constant comparisons to her mother, her lineage as a Silver Eyed Warrior, and effectively being Ozpin’s successor as the leader of those against him despite not really wanting the role (even though she stepped up as admirably as she could).

Oscar however is literally at risk of being drowned out, just being subsumed by the Ozma collective and becoming nothing more than another face with Ozma’s traumas and failure to change. He’s not proving himself his own man; he’s struggling to preserve what little of himself is left in the face of an unwilling mental parasite, all while constantly battling the fears of both himself and Ozma.

To me, it seems more likely that what might happen at the end is that Ruby and Oscar end up leaving on a journey together once they’ve been freed of their respective obligations; Ruby can finally be a normal huntress saving people without bearing the weight of the world, while Oscar can finally find his own identity and have an adventure without the risk of losing his personality. Their goals would align pretty decently on that regard.

I get the gist of your point, but I think we disagree on a few key things.

The most pressing one is Oscar's situation. While he is definitely at risk of being consumed by Oz in universe, I don't think that that's where the story is pointing to at all. Nothing we've seen from Oscar's character development so far leads me to believe he's sinking into his fear at being consumed. Every time he's been given the choice to be like Oz, he's gone against it.

In volume 6, when he knows about information that Oz is keeping hidden, he fights against Oz's possession and tells the group. In volume 7 after Ironwood goes off the deep end, he chooses to trust that Ironwood can be reasoned with when Oz would have just given up. After being tortured by Hazel he chooses to trust him and Emerald, something Ozpin was incapable of doing. He's the one teaching Oz that Oz can change. With every volume his convictions grow stronger and his sense of right and wrong solidifies.

It's true that he's struggled with the idea of where he ends and Ozpin begins, but I don't believe for a second that what we're seeing play out is Oscar losing his identity. And like I said in my previous post, it's because he knows all of Ozpin's fuck ups that he's able to see Oz for who he is and grow to be better. If he were truly at risk of becoming just another Ozma, then I would think him completely redundant as a character.

He is absolutely not drowning in Ozpin's legacy.

I also don't really like the phrasing of Ruby being Ozpin's successor. He was her mentor, sure, a shitty one at that, but I don't think he's been much of a leader of anything for a long, long time. Now, he certainly used her mother's leadership abilities to his advantage, and when he saw the same potential in Ruby he used her too. But I can't accept the idea of him passing down a mantle to her. Not to hate on the guy, I do like his character an awful lot, but that man did nothing to help her grow into leadership except one speech that only helped to catalyze her depressive spiral lmao.

But that's more of a personal gripe that an argument against your point. I think the main problem we have is that you've read the themes differently from me. Despite how depressing the show can get, it's a lot more hopeful than people give it credit for sometimes. And specifically for this post, than what Oscar stans give it credit for.

They often read his fate as something a lot more cynical and tragic than it actually is imo, and try to find a lot of similarities to Ruby in order to ramp up the angst. And there's nothing really wrong with that, I'm no stranger to making my faves suffer more than they realistically would, but I just don't think Oscar is in that much danger. I think the narrative is pointing a very clear and direct line towards Ozpin disappearing from his mind and the cycle of reincarnation ending. Oscar's arc has been about finding out who he is, but that isn't just an endpoint goal, it's something that's already happening.

But if you don't believe that, if you think that he's still actively being corrupted by Oz, then I think you'd come to the conclusions that you have in this ask, and you'd see more parallels to Ruby's spiral. And that's just not what I see.

#ask #anon #discourse tag #I also kind of disagree with how you think the show will end #but that's just another personal thing #I just believe Ruby won't be a huntress at all in the end lmao

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kierancampire · 8 months

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I just played/beat Sea of Stars! I will start with non-spoiler stuff

So over all I really liked the game! I admit I found it slow and thus took it slow until the third main town/area you go to (not counting where you start), but yeah, once it reached that point I couldn't put the game down! I was playing it at every chance I got! I thought the game was beautiful, I really liked the music, characters, story, and there were so many moments throughout the game that I had my mind blown or just otherwise freaked out! Although if I do have a mild complaint, which I admit this is an odd one for me especially, the game was kinda easy? Like, as you can see I beat it without "dying", I had characters pass out but never a full party death, and although I admittedly has a few close calls, yeah, I never truly died. There are so many campfires, you can always go back to them between fights, you have a few healing options, death was never a huge concern! But yeah, the game is beautiful, the combat is super fun and engaging, there was absolutely awesome enemy design, I just loved the experience so much!

Now onto the spoiler stuff, I'll start from least to most spoilery:

So I have seen people complain about getting the true ending, but I really didn't find it that bad? Like I think I had to use a guide to get 10 or less conches and that was it? I found doing the optional challenges and bosses were super fun! In fact, getting Resh'an's ultimate weapon was the closest I got to a game over on that boss!

I hated wheels. I sorta ended up cheesing everything with the mage and assassin, but it's so luck based and I have awful luck, so I would lose matches as the opponent kept getting constant EXP and such, while I would get nothing! Though weirdly the only opponent I beat on the first try was the Watchmaker haha

An aspect I disliked with combat was, so you build up the combo/ultimate meter and they top out, thus you need to use them to get the most out of it in a battle to rebuild it again. Also you gain MP by attacking normally, and create a thing called "live mana" by doing so. My issue with all of this is though, particularly with the bosses towards the end, I would have a plan in mind about how I wanted to do something, but then the boss would do a certain attack that I had to stop and would be forced to use certain characters/attacks, and as you have no idea how much HP a boss has, you could chance using your ultimate attack and defeating the boss before they heal or use a big attack, or you can break the attack and make the fight take longer when you coulda just killed them, but you have no idea. But beyond that too, sometimes enemies/bosses would do an attack chain that I had no way to break so I'd get screwed over by having no chance to break it, or I'd use Serai, then immediately after using her I'd need to use poison/her disorient ability and be screwed over. Or a boss/enemy would be spamming big attacks so often I ran out of MP and couldn't do anything to stop the attack! But yeah, for me it was kinda frustrating how I'd constantly want to use an ultimate or combo move, but I got stuck chipping away at the boss as they just kept using big attacks I had to break, and sometimes I'd get stuck doing the same attack sequence over and over as the boss kept doing the same thing again and again. There could be careful planning and strategy to how you attack, use live mana, MP, stuff like that. But other times the battle was completely based on the bosses attack patterns, and you'd get screwed over after using a character, mana or whatever because the boss did something you didn't expect

I did find the game a lil formulaic and it kinda forced me to take breaks, as the game is almost boss battle after boss battle, there will be like 10-15 normal encounters or a story break, and then it's another boss, I just found that mentally taxing at times

So I didn't cry (but I almost did) when Garl dies, but I kinda wish I did cry as I had no idea that he was just going to be dead for the rest of the game! I thought he'd be revived but I didn't expect it to go on for as long as it did! Which once you do eventually revive him, again, I almost cried as it had just been so long!

There were a few things I found a lil disappointing, like, One, Two, Three, and Four, they just sorta disappear at the end. Unless I am blanking on it I wondered where the good witch was as you never see/hear about her, at least not in memory, but it's Moyara who died before the game starts? Also in the "true" ending, you Erlina reunite with what I assume was Brugaves, but again, he also disappeared and their ending is sorta sad no matter what version you get, they still end up as deformed monsters when their feelings were sorta understandable, even if they agreed to an inexcusable thing

I also must admit I was a tad disappointed with what happened with Resh'an and Aerophul, like the fact that they both walk off, after everything Aerophul did, the fact that he just walks off, after what he did to Serai's people and the pain he inflicted on so many worlds, it just kinda sucked that he walked away

But yeah, it was a really beautiful and fun game, and over all I really did enjoy it! I ended up finishing on it at level 21, I didn't have to do any grinding minus a bit of gold grinding around the final third of the game, and it was just a really fun experience!

#personal #sea of stars #game #gaming

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thedo0zyslider · 1 year

Text

Canine Instincts - Words

Joel is known for being bloodthirsty, a bit of a manic even. He doesn't think he's snapped before, not like this, and especially not over Jimmy dying; of all people

A03 Link

There was always a point when Joel tended to lose his mind a little. It started slowly, of course, a red life’s bloodlust flowing through him the moment he lost his second life. Or in this case, when he got too reckless, died a few too many times and lost many more lives than the universe was usually willing to give. When his time was wasted and ticked down to almost nothing. The insanity was always accompanied by a desperation to live, to cling onto his last remaining bits of life.

The desperation to live had been creeping in slowly this time, always there but barely noticeable. It had morphed into a need to protect his teammates, Jimmy specifically. He’d found himself planning on how to keep his ally alive, jumping to give Jimmy a kill at every opportunity. He didn’t worry much about Grian, he knew the avian was a capable fighter. Not that Jimmy was bad at fighting, he was actually fairly competent at it, he was just always given the short end of the stick.

The urge really set in during the last few weeks, when all of them had gone red. The whole trio was low on time, and Jimmy was at the lowest with three hours. Everything always became a blur once he was red really, he didn’t even know Jimmy was that low until he mentioned it. That fact wasn’t sitting well with him at all. There was no way in hell Joel was watching Jimmy die, not if he had anything to say about it.

Jimmy died first all the time, sure, and it sucked. Despite some people (like Grian ) laughing at the fact, they all knew it was a cruel thing to put him through. Especially someone as…well, nice as Jimmy. The blonde himself hated it too, probably much more than he’d very say. Joel didn’t know why the universe had chosen someone like Jimmy to torment, but at some point during this game he realized he could maybe do something about it. He could keep Jimmy alive this time, now that they were teamed.

So he channeled the normal bloodlust into that he thinks, to keeping Jimmy alive. Sure he was acting like a maniac, and dragging all three of them in stupid situations. Joel might’ve been dying left and right, but he didn’t mind. It just made him closer to death than Jimmy was, and that was good. Because he didn’t plan on outliving either of his teammates.

But no , things could never go as planned for him. Because that would be far too easy and uncomplicated.

They were going to climb the ladder to their new base. Climb the ladder and make somewhat of a plan. It sounded so simple, so easy, and yet he and Grian had to go and bloody fall off. And they'd died, but that was fine because Jimmy was safe.

And then Grian had pushed Jimmy to his death. Yeah that wasn't flying, not one bit.

" Grian!" He yelped, watching as their ally appeared all the way down at spawn. "What was that for mate?"

"I didn't know he was so low!" The avian squawked, wings puffing up defensively behind him. Joel just made a huff of annoyance, and started to replace some of the crops until Jimmy got back. He's a bit peeved at Grian, but he doesn't want the man to die either, really he doesn't. So they'll get over it, he'll get over it. It's fine.

The day after that seemed like a constant uphill battle for time. He'd gain time, then he'd be killed again. Joel had even gotten a quad kill at some point, and had been aiming to give his time to Jimmy. Yet he died before that could happen. He always seemed to die before he could give over his time, and it was getting bloody frustrating.

The next few hours were a blur of them dying, then gaining time, then dying again, repeat cycle. That was until Etho got a boogey kill on Jimmy, and they all went into panic mode. He didn’t die permanently, though he should’ve, because he had less than two hours. But the timer had messed up, and they still had time, they could save him.

And Bdubs, godbless Bdubs , was running up to their little trio and begging for Jimmy to kill him. They weren’t even allied with Bdubs, but here he was, offering up his time for a poor little canary that the whole world pitied. And Jimmy wasn’t so much of a fool as to not take it. Jimmy had a free kill on Scott too, and in the blink of an eye it seemed like he was back up to an hour.

They went up to Skynet after that, to get more time, because everything at this point was about getting more time, and Joel had to watch in horror as his whole life goal shattered into a million pieces right before his eyes. And Grian did nothing but laugh about it in the end.

" Jimmy! " He yelled, watching as the other fell to his death. It was a stupid way to go really, a very stupid and very Jimmy way to die too. The blonde had been trying to send down a TNT minecraft and slipped . He'd slipped off the edge and now there was lightning striking the ground below. Grian was also yelling beside him, but Joel didn't hear exactly what.

He’d failed, Jimmy was dead. He’d failed to save him, because he couldn’t save anyone could he? Everyone he loved died, and he could do nothing about it it seemed. Time became a blur after that, and he went a little off the rails; as Grian would put it to the Nosey Neighbors. Jimmy’s death had broken him, truly, and Joel had felt the tether snap as soon as his teammate started to fall.

They have a funeral for him, and Joel can’t help but think of the last two he got. It’s always Jimmy getting a grave, innit? He can’t help but remember last time, how they’d had one for Jimmy and Tango as they watched his ship burn. He thinks that the funeral wasn’t very serious, when it should’ve been. He remembers the grave in the flower valley, and the solemness and grief surrounding it. Joel knows he can’t match that, that no one can, but he hopes his own grief comes across; because it’s painful and clawing at his chest like a rabid dog. He hopes it does, but Grian’s certainly isn’t; so much so Joel distantly wonders if that man has any grief left to give anymore.

Everything after making the gravestone is a real blur, and most of his memories were just pain and dying. They were feeling of losing more and more time and the feel of his axe occasionally slicing through flesh. He remembers everything in a miniscule detail, because he let himself relish in the bloodlust like he never had before. Grief does that to a man, Joel thinks.

One of the first things he did after Jimmy died, well one of the first things he remembered doing, was killing Scar's dogs. It was a little sad, ironic even. Him , killing dogs , despite… everything . It felt a little wrong, Joel had to be honest, but he did it anyway.

He remembers blowing up things too, blowing up people. He’d gotten Martyn and Cleo with one minecraft, and had whooped loudly in joy as the extra hour was added to his timer. He blew up Scott’s house as well, for no reason other than he wanted to. That explosion killed another dog, and Joel barely even noticed, nor did he care who’s dog that was.

Grian had stopped being with him at one point, but Joel could see him gaining kills in chat. It wasn’t a big deal, as long as Grian didn’t leave him too, he’d be fine. That man was all he had left, and no he did not count the new Bread Bridge, because that was not the Bread Bridge. His baby was dead , and he still wanted to break all of Team TIES bones for it.

“Where've you been lad?” He calls, seeing Grian climb up their cursed ladder system after a while.

“I’ve been making new friends because you’ve lost your mind!” Grian exclaimed, reaching the top of the ladder and shambling onto the structure above. He looks a little annoyed, and Joel doesn’t quite get why.

“And who’ve you been hanging out with?” He asks, a little bit of a bite in his tone.

“Pearl and BigB.” Grian returns the bite, and all Joel can do is glare at it.

“You’re leaving me and I’m not even dead!’ He throws his hands up in the air a little dramatically, and it’s probably really petty to be mad over this. But they’re friends, Grian’s basically his only one. They're in an alliance and Joel cares about him, even if he did complain about the Bad Boys and tried to kick out Jimmy at least twice. He’s the only person Joel has left and he can’t be alone again. He just can’t .

“Because you’re insane , Joel!” Grian just repeats himself again, and he’s not making the best argument here is he?

“When am I not? ” Joel shoots back, and the argument ends there, Grian muttering something to himself and going back down the ladder. He’s glad its over, because he doesn’t want to argue with Grian that much, especially over stupid stuff like that.

And maybe the other was right. Maybe he had lost his mind. But who cares? This is a death game, one Joel is known for losing his mind in. He doesn’t know why it matters now, or why it isn’t expected. All he does here is lose his mind eventually, and he thought people had stopped expecting better of him by now. After the second time, after the murder sprees, after everything.

At one point people decide it’s a good idea to hunt him, and then Joel has most of the server on his tail. He starts running at one point, a whole group of them after his head. Running through a forest at night with hostile players on your back, shooting arrows at you and nicking you with a sword whenever they catch up is never a good experience, but he’s survived worse. He’s died to less too, so Joel can make it through a manhunt, he likes to think.

He hears Scott's voice behind him now, as he's running blindly. Joel tries to run faster at that, and doesn't think he succeeds. "For everything he's done!" He hears Scott yell behind him, and then there's the feeling of an axe through his chest, and Joel is dead again. He’s dead again, another hour gone, and it won’t be the last thirty minutes the other man will steal from him that week.

His relationship with Scott was so…. strange in these games. That was the only real world to describe it. Strange . Everything was so familiar, so natural, that Joel was sure they had to have been friends elsewhere. Yet at the same time they kept antagonizing each other. He’d burned their wall, he’d killed Scott and threatened his allies time and time again. Scott had killed Joel as well, threatened his few allies and destroyed things he held dear to him in return. It was an unintentional rivalry, the two constantly trying to one up the other when something happened. Well, now the whole thing was kind of internal, Joel supposed. He’d been trying to kill Scott, and by proxy Martyn, all season. Now he was being hunted down like an animal, scrambling for time and cowering from several barrages of arrows, and Scott was always in the pack, always trying to take his time and always bloody succeeding. Everytime Joel had died to a player over the past few days had been Scott’s kill, and he was going to be right pissed if the other man got the final blow on him.

He goes back to the base, well aware he’s low on time, and starts another search for more people to slaughter. It’s easy to forget your friends with the people around you in these games, and Joel think’s he already forgot that weeks ago, if he ever remembered at all.

Grian stayed, despite their earlier disagreement, and Joel was more than a little glad. He didn’t want to be alone, not again, not for a third time. He leaves Grian at one point, Joel can’t remember what they were talking about, but it was probably explosion related. Not much else to talk about anyways. As soon as he does, Scott’s shooting him down for a second time. Joel respawns, takes a glance at a timer, and his blood runs a little cold. He only has eight minutes left.

Before he knows it he’s in front of the Clock Tower again, and Joel knows people are hunting him. If he wants time he has to work quickly then get out. It’s not just Scott hunting him, it’s been a small group this whole time. He knows Cleo’s in it, and Martyn probably is too. Where one Mean Gill goes the other is always sure to follow, that’s something everyone’s learned about that alliance; especially if the Mean Gill in question is Martyn.

He sees Scar hovering around, and he knows he can get a kill off him. Because he’s Scar and he’s alone at the moment. As he starts attacking there’s a flurry of feathers, of district parrot wings next to him, and Joel’s only ally left is trying to stop them from fighting as best he can.

“Joel kill me!” Grian’s beside him in an instant, not having left the area since Joel’s last death only five minutes prior. The avian must’ve sensed how low on time he was, Joel can see it in his eyes; they’re all wide and scared for him oddly enough. “Kill me now! Don’t bother with Scar!” He doesn’t waste any time, and takes Grian up on the offer, sword swinging almost blindly.

He kills Grian just as he was asked too, and somehow manages to get Scar as well. He has an hour now, an hour left to live, to try and keep doing whatever he’s trying to bloody do at this point. Joel doesn't know what he’s doing really, he’s running on autopilot at this point, but it diesn;t matter; as long as he survives. It really doesn't matter a few minutes later, because he’s still being hunted and Scott’s killed him again. The hour he’d gained, gone, down the drain, and half of it given to a man Joel really wants to punch right now.

Three times he died like that, maybe more that he lost count of as well. All at Scott’s hands. He's gonna tear that man's bloody gills out, he swears it.

Joel has three minutes left, and he’s still being hunted. He’s running, he thinks maybe what he’s been trying to do since Jimmy died is run, stay alive for as long as possible like he always tries to do. But it ultimately doesn't matter, because everyone dies in a death game. Joel’s hiding behind some quickly placed cobblestone wall when he feels the arrow hit. Scott hits him again for a final time, and he’s less pissed about it than he’d thought he’d be. Mostly because he’s dead, he’s gone, and his timer has run out.

If there's an afterlife waiting for them, he feels like Jimmy’s gonna be hounding him for how stupid he was when he gets there, and yeah. Yeah, Joel deserves that, but it’ll be worth it if he gets to see his friends again. He wonders if there’ll be a grave, and hopes it’s put next to Jimmy’s.

#joel smallishbeans #ron.writing #ron.fic #limited life jimmy #limited life #jimmy solidarity #grian #limited life smp #trafficblr #limited life joel #i dont think ive gone insane over joel on a blog before and i SHOULD

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braveheartstoryteller · 9 months

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"Actually, we kind of like gettin' dragged into your messes." Goofy in Re:coded Playing Re:coded added to my understanding of both the story of Re:coded (which the cutscene version does not do justice), and of the character of Sora. In light of one of my recent posts, I'd like to take a look at Sora through the lens of this story. From what I can tell, both Sora and Data-Sora share the same backstory. Kairi isn't mentioned, but I think it is safe to assume she'd be a part of that story. This is important to me, because it shows that Data-Sora's characterization is the same as Sora's. But from there, Data-Sora's story diverges, and because of that divergence, he changes. As an aside, as a storyteller I find the comparison between Sora and Data-Sora interesting because it shows how a character's journey changes them. But anyway I digress, let's look at the divergence. After gaining a keyblade, Data-Sora finds himself on his island, now full of bugblox. While looking around, wondering what to do, he hears a voice, the voice of Mickey. Who then guides him in what to do, and tells Data-Sora that if he needs help, he only has to call for it. This stays as bit of a constant through the story, except for the very end. Eventually, like the original, Data-Sora loses the keyblade. But unlike Sora's short experience without it, and with a side of betrayal and loneliness, Data-Sora choses to go off alone in search of Data-Riku who has been now captured by Maleficent. This sets off a sequence of events that was to me the coolest part of the game: Data-Sora's discovery of what it means to rely on others. First off, the game hits it home just how powerless Data-Sora is at that time without the keyblade by trapping him in a prison of Blox and heartless, conjured by Pete. Goofy then comes to his rescue, freeing him from his prison. However, when confronted by Goofy about his actions, he apologizes, clearly showing remorse for his actions. Goofy on the other hand, is actually here to help, and won't hear of it, to the point that when Data-Sora makes to leave the castle, Goofy is surprised. Data-Sora himself is surprised and relieved that Goofy isn't mad and follows him. This starts a time, that which goes on a while, where Data-Sora is forced to rely on Goofy and then Donald, for protection and support. It is fascinating to me just how it felt to play through this. Instead of fighting directly, you're watching the other's health, directing them where they need to go and do, and to top it all off, in the English version of the game, the command "ask for help" replaces the normal attack command. In fact the sequence accumulates to a point where you have this prolonged battle, which you have to play support to Donald and Goofy and try not to die yourself in that time. It works so well to drive home this idea of reliance on others. An idea, that Data-Sora seems to take to heart. At the end the sequence, Data-Sora gets his keyblade back when he needs to help others the most, and only then. It is that connection with the others, who he now knows will support him even when he fails them, that he finds his own strength to protect who matter to him. He seems to know, in my mind at least that "my friends are my power, and I'm theirs." In fact in the game Donald and Goofy tell Data-Sora just that. "Our friend is our power! And we'll always be his!" It's right after this that Data-Sora regains the power of the keyblade. Seemingly connecting these two ideas together.

There is much more to Data-Sora's story, but this is to me the crux of the difference between Data-Sora and Sora. Just the fact he knows what it means to be supported, makes all the difference.

#kingdom hearts #kh sora #kh data-sora #kingdom hearts re:coded #storytelling #character study #deep dives

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surv1vra · 2 months

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give me kayce's thoughts on his three siblings please xox.

okay but kayce's views on his three siblings are all different. now while normally i would start with the eldest and work my way down i'm going to do this a little differently. i'm going to start with beth.

kayce loves beth, and he does not blame her for their mom's death like everyone else does. it was an accident, and that could just be because kayce was there when their mom died, the two share this trauma bond of losing their mother at a young age and being at the scene when she died. kayce spent his life trying to prove to beth that she wasn't at fault, even if she blames herself or lets others blame her. he will always show her he loves her (as seen in the pilot episode of the series) even after both leaving the family ranch for different reasons, and showing support for each other.

now onto lee.

lee dutton and kayce are a little strained, in my head, because lee was supposed to be the one who wanted to take over the ranch. lee knew john always favored kayce for taking over the ranch, even after kayce and john constant fights about his life, and lee tries so hard to prove himself. this causes the oldest dutton and youngest dutton to constantly butt heads. i also headcanon that lee was there when john branded kayce for getting monica pregnant and keeping the baby. kayce feels lee could have stopped their father but didn't. and kayce wishes he knew why his brother didn't stop it. but kayce going into the navy and leaving the ranch to be with monica and not coming around after returning from active duty, never really gave them a chance to correct their relationship. it is strained up until his death and part of the reason kayce takes his death tough even with witnessing his last breath — reminding him of their mother's death.

and finally jamie...

this is a complicated one for me to figure out. even with the knowledge of four full seasons and a couple episodes of season 5... mostly because we barely see their dynamic together except for a few scenes here and there but i do know while kayce loves all of his siblings, his love for jamie is different. kayce grew up seeing how john treated jamie differently than lee or kayce, and hated this treatment of jamie. kayce, even after learning jamie is adopted, will always see jamie as his brother and will love him as such. kayce knows that while his family and jamie are against each other kayce is not a part of the battle. yes he disagrees with what jamie decided to do to beth, but he doesn't hate jamie. he is still family and will always be family.

#& i didn't decide to leave i was told to ↬ kayce dutton.

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spxceclxwn · 1 month

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[Where are you now?- The Wrecks]

Dear Kiwi,

This is going to be kind of all over the place.

Things have been so messy recently. The past couple of months have been pretty crazy, from losing lovers and friends to losing family members to creating stronger bonds with people I never thought I would.

In February, I was admitted to the psych ward. i spent so much time thinking about him and how I’ve been fighting my whole life to be the person everyone wants me to be, yet somehow I've never been good enough. It's either I’m to crazy and clingy or I'm to distant and distracted. Recently I’ve learned that no matter what, it doesn’t matter how people view me. When I was released in March, I tried so hard to fix things between everyone, yet somehow I only made it worse. I thought that getting help would prove to everyone that I can change and I can get better, that the meds and therapist could cure me from my own mind, but that wasn't true. My mind still wanders and screams. I still cry every night trying to figure out why... why things had to be like this.

My phone is still flooded with memories I can't seem to get rid of. Every year, popping up with a new smile, melting inside every time, yet I don't even know you. I don't know the person behind those gorgeous eyes anymore. You've now long forgotten about me, but every waking moment, you flood my head like a storm. I still see you in the moon. I hope you are doing alright. You never fail to shine so bright.

Growing up, I was constantly told that life wasn't always going to be rainbows, but i wasn't expecting it to hurt so much. I didn't have a lot of time to just be a kid. Now I'm almost 20 and going to the playground with friends and smoking weed, trying to heal the child that never was. If you were to ask me how growing up was, I would tell you it was fine; it was normal. The breaking of glass and constant screaming in those walls was like music at that point, but I knew it could have been worse, so yeah, I'd lie and say it was fine and move on, but nothing would have prepared me for the day I’d have to be an adult.

I don’t blame my parents for the way things turned out; they were still kids when I was born, and they did everything they could to keep us safe. I especially don’t blame them for my mental disorders. I remember my mom saying, “If I knew it was genetic, I wouldn’t have had you,” and that broke my heart, knowing how much she meant that.

I know being around me is hard. Hell, being around anyone with bipolar is hard, and it’s tiring. We have bad meltdowns and bursts of anger. We are so loving one minute, and then bam, our emotions are so hard to contain sometimes that it's so exhausting for everyone involved. The constant ups and downs and no way of knowing when, yeah, it's hard for people on the outside, but imagine being the one it's happening to. The pain and agony never go away, not with the meds, not with the people that do stick around. No matter the amount of effort, it'll always be too much to handle.

I'm so tired of fighting this battle of life when all I want is love and peace.

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sixpennydame · 2 years

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North Star✶Chapter 2

A Levi Ackerman x oc slow burn

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Levi tries to escape his ghosts, and he thinks he's found the perfect place. He just didn’t expect to find you there.

A/N: Thank you to @youre-ackermine for providing a mood board for Mursa. I can't wait to explore this town more in following chapters.

Would you say that of our fallen comrades? Their lives, were they meaningless? No, they weren't! It's us who gives meaning to our comrades' lives!

It feels like…my time has come. Hey Levi, can we face our dead comrades with pride?

Devote….your heart…..

Can you still see us?….Levi….Levi…

LEVI!

Levi wakes up with a start.

“Captain Levi! You alive in there? We gotta be at Council Hall in 20 minutes!”

“Shit.” Levi gets out of bed and goes to the closet. He never oversleeps - what’s going on with him lately? And why can he never escape these dreams?

He limps to the water basin to wash his face. Levi was able to adjust to losing sight in his right eye and two of his fingers, but two years later, his left leg still gives him trouble. He had worked hard to recuperate; although it was incredibly painful it was a hell of a lot better than being pushed around by Gabi and Falco in that damn wheelchair. He’s resigned himself to the fact that he’ll never walk normally again. He grabs his hat and jacket and opens the door to see Jean standing there.

“Damn, Captain. I knew you never really slept before, but this is overboard, don’t you think?” Jean teased.

“Shut up. I may have a bum knee but I can still beat your ass to a pulp. And how many times do I have to tell you: I’m not your captain anymore,” Levi huffs, as they both walk down the stairs and out the door.

“Ok, ok, I hear you loud and clear,” Jean says, lifting his hands in surrender, “The rest are meeting us there. Let’s take the trolley.”

The city of Lira became the capital of Marley as most of the northern and eastern coasts had been completely decimated by The Rumbling. The few that were left of the central government and military converged here and began the slow reconstruction process. 80% of the world’s population was gone and those that survived needed food and shelter. Lawlessness increased when those who’d lost everything converged upon cities that weren’t destroyed. Because Lira was further inland, it was left fairly intact, and this is where Levi and the other surviving Scouts ended up after leaving Fort Salta.

Not that Levi had much of an option of places to go. After the Battle of Heaven and Earth and the destruction of the Founding Titan, he and the others were deemed enemies of Paradis. Mikasa was the only one brave enough to return to the island, in order to bury Eren in his homeland. Levi, Armin, Connie, and Jean decided to stay in Marley as advisors to the military and assist with reconstruction efforts. Pieck, Annie, and Reiner tried to build homes with the other displaced Eldians.

“Home..”, Levi thought, as he rode the trolley car to Council Hall. Is this where he was fated to stay for the remainder of his days? His closest friends dead and gone, and he, the lone survivor again. No longer in a physical state to fight as a soldier, yet he keeps pushing forward. But to what end? Now that there are no more titans, what is his purpose?

“‘Bout time you two got here,” Connie smirks, “they hate it when we’re late.”

“Don’t blame me, I had to rouse Capt- uh, Levi - from the dead this morning.”

“You’re hilarious, Jean,” Levi replies dryly. “Let’s go, brats.”

After meeting upon meeting regarding road development to a fort in the west, Connie, Jean, and Armin invite Levi to eat dinner with them. While the young men discuss a possible peace envoy to Paradis in the near future, Levi silently listens, but his mind is elsewhere. He doesn’t care about building roads and peace treaties. He’s tired of the constant struggle.

Levi stands up to leave. “Where are you going?”, Armin asks.

“Back to my place. I’m tired.” He grabs his jacket and hat.

“Does he seem grumpier than usual?” Connie whispers, just within earshot of Levi, as he walks out the door of the cafe and down the road back to his apartment. The sun is starting to set and shopkeepers are closing for the night. Lira just got electricity and the street lights blink on. He thinks about how he looked up at the stars that night long ago with Farlan and Isabelle. When the sky was endless and riding beyond the walls was the pinnacle of freedom. The city lights of Lira make it impossible to see the stars tonight.

He wants to escape. Somewhere far away where he’s not known as a devil of Paradis, Eldian, or ‘Humanity’s Strongest Soldier’. He’s done what he promised for Erwin and his comrades, but their ghosts still haunt him.

As he enters his apartment, he opens the drawer of his desk and takes out a map. He’s got to get away from this city and make his own way in the world, away from the responsibilities of being a soldier. He looks at the map of Marley and traces his finger west, far west into the mountains. “Mursa”, he says, as he sees the name on the map. Why does this name sound familiar to him? It looks to be at least a three-day train ride, but it would be just far enough to escape all this. He gets up from his bed and begins to pack a small bag. He collects the money he’s been saving and folds the map up to bring along. He starts to feel the slightest tinge of guilt leaving the group behind. He’s known them for so long, but they’re capable young men with dreams of building this new world; they don’t need him - not anymore.

Levi writes them a note and leaves it on his desk. He decides he’ll leave Lira and The Scouts behind come dawn tomorrow, and turns out his light.

The next morning, Jean is knocking loudly on Levi’s door again. “Oi! Levi! Two days in a row is a bit much. I have a mind to just leave you”- he notices when he turns the doorknob that the door is unlocked. “What the hell has gotten into you? Hello?” Jean looks around and sees a note on the small dining table:

Jean, Connie, Armin ~

It’s time for me to move on. Take care of yourselves.

~Levi

——- ✶ ——-

You knew the journey back to Mursa would be difficult, but you never imagined it would be like this. As the wagon made its way further from the fort, all you could see were steaming, decomposing titan bodies. The steam covered the sky making it a perpetual evening. It was as if a giant bomb had gone off and decimated whole towns, where only ruins of buildings and flattened bodies remained. As you made it closer to the mountains, the titan carcasses became less frequent, but they had still done some damage. You prayed Mursa was still there. The small town was seated in a valley between two large mountain ranges, and the only way to get there was to take a long, winding road through the south range. At the best of times it was treacherous, and you wondered what it was like now. When that wagon would go no further, you hitchhiked with whoever would take you further. After four days, you finally arrived exhausted, dirty, and starving. Your friend Mabel was the first to see you wandering aimlessly down the road. “Catherine?! My god!” She ran towards you as you practically fell into her arms.

In these two years since The Rumbling, you’ve helped the town to slowly rebuild, as many of the buildings and homes had been weakened from the earthquake-like impact of the titans. You kept yourself as busy as you could, since it helped to divert your mind from thinking too much about your own loss. But every night, you returned to the large home that Martin and you once shared. It was actually his family home, but his mother and father had passed and his younger brother hadn’t been seen in years, and seemed to have no interest in returning to Mursa or living in the home. At first, the loneliness of all the empty rooms nearly drove you crazy. In every corner there were memories and photos of your previous life. You have no memory of your parents, and Marten’s father brought you in when he’d found you as a small child wandering in the woods. They never officially adopted you, but you loved them as your own family; it was no surprise when you and Marten finally fell in love. Now they were all gone and only their pictures remained: too painful to look at, but you couldn’t bear to put them away.

After a year, you decided to turn the home into a boarding house. Silver had recently been found in the mountains, and that had brought more people in looking for a temporary place to stay until they started their own homestead or moved on. There were five other bedrooms in the house, and it was frequently full. In the past two years, you’ve created a nice routine for yourself: wake up at dawn, go out to the chicken coop and collect eggs, make breakfast, clean, do laundry, work in the garden, prepare dinner, talk and play piano with the tenants in the sitting room, go to sleep. On the weekends you’d go horseback riding in the meadow outside town. You’ve discovered that the busier you are, the less time you have to linger on the deep sadness you felt in your heart - constantly surrounded by people, but always feeling alone.

“Catherine, another amazing dinner. Would you just marry me already?” Max said, after a hearty laugh. The other four guests laughed as well.

“Oh Max, I’m sure you say that to all the women in Mursa.” You tease. Max has been living in the house for 3 months and was always joking and laughing.

“She is way too good for you Max. You don’t stand a chance!” Albert added. “Seriously, Cathy, I don’t know how you do it all. Here - let me help you with those plates.”

“The pleasure is all mine! But if I don’t find another tenant for the other room I might be in trouble.”

“Ah, don’t worry, Catherine,” Max replies, as he puts his arm around your shoulder, “it’ll all work out. And if nobody takes it…can I have that room? It’s got a bigger window.”

“Absolutely not! It’s right across from my room and I don’t want to hear you snoring every night. Now it’s your turn to do dishes.” You laugh as you make your way into the kitchen.

——- ✶ ——-

The last leg of the journey to Mursa was proving more difficult than Levi thought. The train stop deeper into the mountains still hadn’t been repaired, so he found himself stranded at the train station in Levaro, just at the base of the southern mountain range. Levi’s choices were to get lucky and find someone taking a wagon or truck there or to buy a horse and ride into the mountains. He decided on the latter - he’d always loved horseback riding and it would be good to have a horse anyway, should anything happen. He stopped at the stables in Levaro to see what he could get.

“Mursa, eh? That’s quite a journey on horseback, especially since the roads still ain’t so good. Beautiful country…but usually a place where people go to forget or be forgotten.” the stable owner says.

“Sounds exactly like what I’m looking for,” Levi replies, taking out his wallet. “How much for the brown mare?”

As Levi made his way further into the mountains, he realized he’d made the right choice in buying a horse. Many of the roads were in serious disarray, and being worked on in sections. Levi could see a large group of workers repairing the train tracks that went into Mursa. After a two-day ride, the two mountain ranges opened up to a beautiful, green valley, with Mursa settled neatly within. At this height, Levi could see one main road with several stone houses dotted throughout, and although the journey here was long and difficult, he could understand why people would want to settle here. A creek ran through the northern side of town and there were a few farms on the outskirts of town and what Levi thought to be several horses grazing in a large meadow.

It was late morning, and Mursa was bustling with people buying goods and talking with each other. Although the town had grown in three years, the townspeople could still spot an outsider, and Levi felt all eyes on him as he entered a small restaurant to eat breakfast. As he ate, he went over what he needed to do: find a place to stay, and then find a job. A bath would also be nice, he thought to himself. He asked the waitress about any hotels in town.

“There’s the Songbird Hotel just down the way, but if you’re looking to stay a while I’d suggest the boarding house just down the road. Catherine was telling me she had a room to rent. Tell her Maddie sent ya.”

Maddie gave Levi directions on how to find the house, but as there was only one main road through Mursa and it was the very last house outside of the town center, it was easy to find.

The first thing Levi noticed about the house was that it was old but well-kept. Wild flowers of all different colors covered the front garden and roses grew along the white picket fence and up the front walls beside the front door. Even though the house was just outside of town, there was a quiet peace here, with only the chirping of birds being heard.

He tied his horse to the fence, opened the front gate, and knocked on the door, but there was no reply. As he was about to leave, he heard something from behind the house. You were singing and humming to yourself, as you always do when you hang all the bedding out to dry. You see a shadow from behind one of the sheets and lift it up.

He recognizes you immediately. Your wavy hair was tied up, but some strands had fallen around your face, loosened by the wind. Your eyes, no longer red and tear-stained, now bright and shining. What are the odds that you would be here, in this town? And then Levi remembers; you had mentioned Mursa in that hangar bay. You smiled as you saw him, and he could have sworn you recognized him too.

“Oh! you startled me! How can I help you?” You felt slightly embarrassed that this man came upon you as you were singing your heart out, especially since he seemed so serious. You assumed he was a veteran, since he had a long scar across his face, but maybe he worked in the mines as well. He didn’t look like he was from around here, but most of the workers that came through Mursa these days were from all over.

It doesn’t seem that you recognize him after all. He was wearing a lot of bandages at the time, so of course you wouldn’t know him. Maybe it’s better that way, he thought. It was a painful time. “Maddie told me you had a room to rent. I’m looking to stay in Mursa for a while.”

His accent was different from others you’d heard, and you wondered where he came from. “Yes, I do. You came at the perfect time, actually. Let me show you around the house. Follow me.”

You grab your empty laundry basket and he follows through the back door of the house. The kitchen is large, with several cabinets, a gas stove, and even an ice box, which Levi was impressed to see. “I cook breakfast and dinner every day for all tenants, seven days a week. A portion of your rent goes to buying groceries but you’re welcome to buy whatever you like and store it here. You can also use the kitchen as much as you like; all I ask is that you clean up any messes you make.”

“Cleaning is no problem for me”, Levi replied. As you both leave the kitchen and enter the dining room, he notices that everything is spotless.

“That’s great to hear. I’m a bit of a clean freak, so I expect the tenants to keep their rooms clean and to help me with chores around the house every once in a while. I’m only one woman.” You say, as you lead him into the sitting room.

Levi follows you into a beautiful sitting room with two sofas, a small writing desk, and a piano in the corner. The fireplace has a large stone hearth and mantle with several photographs displayed. “This is our sitting room, or lounge area. We all enjoy coming in here after dinner and reading or playing music. I do ask for everyone to be quiet after sundown, since most of the men who live here have to get up rather early for work.”

“It’s only men who live here with you? That seems a bit dangerous for a woman.”

You give the man a serious look. “All of my tenants are completely respectful, though some are a little rough around the edges. But I can assure you, I can take care of myself should there be any trouble.”

“Understood,” Levi replies. “I have no doubt you can defend yourself. I meant no offense.”

He looks at you and you can tell he’s being sincere. “None taken. Let me show you the room you’ll rent.” You walk out of the sitting room, past the front door and down the hallway. “There are four bedrooms upstairs and two down here, one of them being mine.” You take your keys and open the door to the room across from yours. It’s a spacious room with a large armoire, dresser, and brass bed. “This is it. I hope you don’t mind that there’s only one wash room on this floor, so you’ll be sharing it with me, but we have indoor toilets and hot running water; we’re one of the few places in town to have that.”

“Looks great. I’d like to move in immediately, if possible. And maybe take a bath too.”

“You have yourself a deal, Mr…”

He doesn’t know at first if he should use his full name, but doubts that any detailed information about Paradis or him has reached this far out. “Ackerman. Levi Ackerman.”

You shake his hand. “I’m Catherine Reader. Welcome home.” You say with a smile as you hand him the key. “I’ll get the contract ready while you take a bath. There’s towels and soap in there if you need.”

Levi starts the bath water then walks to his room, puts his duffle bag on the bed, and grabs a clean set of clothes. He takes a long sigh as he settles into the bathtub. It was a little silly, he thought, you welcoming him “home”, as if he was some long lost part of the family. But something about how you said it with that warm smile made him feel relaxed for the first time in a long time. The bath was helping with that too.

After Levi bathed and put on some clean clothes, he walked to the kitchen, where you were taking out some cups and your hot water kettle. There was a small table in the center of the room and when he saw the contract there, he sat down to read it.

“Would you like some coffee or tea? I’m just heating up some water. If you want tea I’m afraid all I have is jasmine. I’m the only one who drinks tea in the house and it’s my favorite”

“Tea would be great. And jasmine’s my favorite too, actually.”

“Really? What a coincidence! I only thought there was coffee or black tea in the world until this gentleman I met down at a cafe on the coast bought me some jasmine tea to bring home. It changed my life,” you say with a laugh.

Levi’s eyes widen. “Oh really? How long ago was that?”

“Oh gosh, about…two, three years ago. Feels like an eternity, though. Everything is so different now.”

Levi couldn’t believe what he was hearing. You had to have been the woman he ran into on the piers and then met later at that cafe. It was coincidence enough that you were the same person he met in the hangar at Fort Salta, and now he was going to live in your house. He stifled a laugh. Three random meetings, and you had no idea who he was. He decided to keep his discovery to himself for now.

“Yeah, everything has certainly changed.”

——- ✶ ——-

While Levi took his horse to the stables and settled into his new room, you started preparations for dinner. Your new guest seemed…particular….to say the least. You could have sworn you saw him run his finger across the credenza as you were showing him around the sitting room. For some reason, you wanted to impress this man, even though you’d just met him. You were going to make a simple soup tonight, but decided to make your specialty: breaded pork cutlets with mashed potatoes and greens from the garden.

As you finished cooking, you heard the others arriving home from work.

“Catherine, we bring gifts!” Max exclaims, entering loudly through the door as usual.

You meet them at the door. “Peaches! Mr. Nuzzo’s orchard is producing already?”

“Yep, and we all pitched in and bought a bushel for you,” Luka replied.

“I’ll have to make a pie with these tomorrow. Thank you so much! Go wash up - dinner will be ready in 15 minutes.”

You’re taking out the dishes when Levi enters the dining room. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Could you set the silverware? I’ll go grab the glasses.”

“Was that the other tenants I heard coming in?”

“Yes, they all arrived in Mursa in the last several months. They can be a bit obnoxious, but they’re young and just starting out on their own,” you laugh as you set the glasses at each place.

The others come downstairs, freshly bathed, and take their seats at the table. “Catherine, is that your famous pork cutlets?” Luka asks as you all sit down to eat. “What’s the special occasion?”

“Well, we have a new arrival to our home. This is Levi Ackerman. He’ll be renting the open room on the first floor.”

“Nice to meet you Levi,” Albert says, as he passes the mashed potatoes to Max, “I’m Albert, this here’s Max, and that’s Luka. We all work at the Silverthorn Mine up the road. Patrick there is working on the new railroad track as an overseer. He’s fancier and smarter than us,” Albert says with a laugh.

“Where are you from, Levi?” Patrick asks, taking a bit of his potatoes.

“Far away.”

“..But you’re from Marley?” Patrick continues to prod.

“You could say that.”

“And what brought you to Mursa?”

“Just looking for a change of pace and a job.” Levi dryly replies as he takes a piece of bread from the basket. The others look at each other.

“We might be able to find you a job in the mines,” Luka mentions.

“I’m not interested in working underground. I’ll check around for jobs tomorrow.”

You can tell that Levi is uncomfortable answering all these questions and note that he’s definitely the silent type. “That’s enough questions for now, guys. Give the man some time to eat.”

You quietly listen to the young men talk about the fight that almost broke out over who found a large vein of silver, and as you finish your dinner, you stand up to take your dishes to the sink and to start cleaning up the kitchen.

“Here, let me help you.” Levi says as he stands up to follow you.

“You really don’t have to do that. It’s your first night.”

“It’s no trouble. I enjoy cleaning, actually.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that. You could learn some things, fellas.” You say with a laugh as you take the serving dishes to the kitchen.

As Levi begins to take the other dishes, Max stands up.

“You know, Catherine is an angel. One of the nicest people in this town. If you mess with her in any way, hurt her, or cheat her out of money, I’ll fuck you up. You got that?” He says as he stares Levi down. He’s much taller, and it makes him feel like he has the upper hand.

Levi looks up at him with his steely grey eye. He guesses Max is probably around 20 years old and a hothead, trying to prove something to everyone. He wouldn’t doubt if he has a bit of a crush on you as well. He reminds Levi of a mix between Eren and Jean - the worst possible combination of personalities, in his opinion. He’d love to punch this guy in the face, but that probably wouldn’t leave a good impression on his first night.

“Levi, don’t mind this asshole. He’s just messing with you,” Albert interjects as he puts his arm around Max. “Right Max?”

Max grins. “Yeah, I’m just messing around. Welcome to the house.”

Without saying a word, Levi grabs the other dishes and brings them into the kitchen. In his younger years, someone talking like that to him would have met the tip of Levi’s knife. But he knows it’s not worth it now. “I’m getting soft in my old age,” he thinks to himself.

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#levi ackerman #levi heichou #levi ackerman angst #North Star #North Star series #aot fanfiction #levi x you #chapter 2 #sailor's stories #eventual smut #slow burn #hurt/comfort #sixpennydame north star #north star chapter 2

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