#...also i got like twenty pages into this one and was like is this specifically a bbc sherlock inspired take?
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i was looking for a library book i put down somewhere stupid and in the process had to be like 'nope this is the Other sherlock-holmes-vs-jack-the-ripper book i have checked out right now'
#it was truly legitimately an accident okay#it's not something i went looking for#i'm just working my way through a few different authors' repertoires and these two happened to be ready at the same time#...also i got like twenty pages into this one and was like is this specifically a bbc sherlock inspired take?#and yep! it is a reskinned johnlock fic!#i do respect the author for being so straightforward about it in her author's note tho#...anyway. not a plus bc i am hella burned out on bbc sherlock but also not a dealbreaker#but i brought a different book to work today and was reading that during breaks#and i'm prob gonna finish this one first before going back to the wingfic one#storm's posts#personal
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MAKE A FAIRY
➭ LAIOS TOUDEN X F!READER SMUT ONESHOT
➭ SUMMARY: Marcille wants a fairy for her birthday, so Laios volunteers to take the job, but, he ends up needing your help.
➭ CW: Subbish Laios, handjob, ass play.
➭ WC: 1.9k
"I want a fairy!"
You, Chilchuck, Senshi, Izutsumi, and Laios all blink in surprise at Marcille's sudden outburst.
It's her birthday today, and she's been thinking about what she wants all day, until now, which puts your party at a halt.
You grip the straps of your backpack and turn to Marcille.
"Why a fairy?" You ask, finding this request a bit strange.
Marcille's eyes sparkle at the question and she clasps her hands together and places them under her chin.
"Well, as a mage, I've always thought it was a mage's right to have a fairy! They're just so cute, and, they're like tiny little servants! I really want one!" She exclaims while looking at her party who just stares back at her.
You smile at Marcille's eagerness, finding her enthusiasm cute. You sigh and you shrug, gazing at your party members before turning back to Marcille.
"Okay, Marcille. How do we get you a fairy?"
Her eyes seem to light up even more at your question, only before nervously scratching the back of her head. She chuckles awkwardly.
"Well..." She pauses before looking down, and she fiddles with her thumbs. "...You need to make one."
Your eyes widen at that, finding that answer unexpected, to say the least. You look around your party and find them having the same state of shock as you, except for Laios of course. His eyes are bright and he's got a smile on his face. Typical.
"Really? How do you make one?" Laios inquires with a upbeat tone.
There's a moment of silence, and, Marcille's face turns red as a tomato. She chuckles awkwardly again, and adverts her gaze from the rest of the group.
"Uhm... well, it's uh... very specific..."
"Oh, just say it, Marcille!" Spats Izutsumi who crosses her arms impatiently.
"Fine!" She grunts. "You need horse manure, herbs, semen, and blood! There," she spits it out very quickly, and her face turns even more red with each word. She huffs like she's out of breath and then slowly looks back up at the rest of you.
Honestly, unlike the rest of the group, you're not surprised at all as you stand there with your arms crossed and pursed lips, while everyone else stood there with their mouths dropped cartoonishly.
"What? It's magic, guys. It's gonna have weird ingredients," you say, trying to get the group on the same page as you are.
Senshi quickly collects himself and points to his backpack. "Well, I have horse manure in my bag for when I fertilize the golems. We all have blood, and I also have some herbs, too. We just need, uh..." Senshi pauses, and you hear a slow, loud gulp come from Laios.
"...S-Semen. Right..." Laios' face slowly turns a bright pink.
Then, once more, the group falls silent as all eyes turn to look up at Laios. His face turns even redder when he begins to feel the pressure on him and he lets out a huff, knowing that he has to be the one to do it since he volunteered in the first place to make Marcille's wishes come true.
"Fine!" Laios' voice cracks. "I'll do it, just... someone give me a bottle or something."
Senshi pulls out a bottle, a glass bottle, from his sack and hands it to Laios, giving him a fuzzy, furrowed brow.
"If you uh, need anything, Laios, let us know—"
"I'll be fine!" Laios insists before he storms off, muttering to himself as he turns around, going off to the corner somewhere to do his business.
You sigh, and turn to the rest of the group and see that the rest of them seem to be just as flustered, even though Laios is the one who's going to be doing the dirty work. You give them a reassuring smile and then you gesture to a spot far away from the corner where Laios is.
"Let's go over there, yeah? Hopefully we don't hear Laios..."
After a while—possibly about twenty minutes or so—you realize that Laios should be done by now. You furrow your brow, wondering what's taking so long, or maybe, he's been snatched up by some sort of dungeon ghoul, which suddenly had you up on your feet. You place your backpack down on the ground and turn to the rest of the group.
"I'm going to go check on Laios... he seems to be taking a long time," you tell the rest of the group, and they wave you off as you walk away.
You walk to the corner where Laios isolated himself, and, you hear a series of frustrated grunts.
"Shit... can't..."
His breath is exasperated, like he's tired. You hang near the corner, wanting to go in and help him, but... you're not exactly sure how he'd take it.
Nevertheless, you sigh, deciding to persevere against the odds, because despite it all, it was for Marcille, right?
You turn the corner, and there, you find Laios with his armor disgarded and his pants around his knees, and his thick cock, hard and in his hand. His face is red and, somehow, turns even redder when he sees you. He lets out a shriek and quickly scrambles to pull his pants up, but before he gets the chance to, you walk over to him and you step on his pantsleg, rendering the fabric immobile.
You squat down to his level, your eyes meeting his. You look at him, taking in the sloppy form of his hand tight around his fist, and his shirt pulled up to sit on his belly, and his red, panting face.
"Laios... do you... need some help?" You offer, albeit somewhat cautiously.
Laios looks down at his cock in his hand, and he looks back up at you. He feels like somehow this will ruin any semblance of friendship you've had together, but, fuck is he having a hard time needing to cum.
"...Yeah," he grumbles, obviously hesitant to answer.
You sit beside him, pressing your back against the wall like Laios is doing and you rest a hand onto one of his thick thighs. Testing thr waters, you slowly begin to rub your hand along his thigh and you feel him tense beneath you. He's obviously not used to your touch as he clears his throat and looks away.
You tilt your head, and, reaching out with your other hand, you guide his chin so he's looking back at you. His gaze meets yours and you offer him a warm smile, trying to reassure him that it's okay to to look at you.
With a nod of his head, he seems to understand, so, slowly, he leans in and he presses his lips against yours, sealing them in a kiss.
His lips, tentative and guessing, he starts moving them in a slow rhythm, wanting to get a feel of where you are, though when he finally sees that you're more comfortable doing this than him, he slowly begins to accept that this is happening, and it's real. His lip movements gain a bit more traction as they move a bit quicker, a bit needier. His tongue slips into your mouth and he moans against you when he tastes the inside of your mouth, and a small part of him comes to fruition, realizing that he's wanted this with you for so long, making his cock throb in his hand.
When his lips pick up their pace, and when his tongue slides into your mouth, you take that as a hint to get things moving along, so you move off of the wall and climb into Laios' lap, straddling him. Your hands rest on his thighs, and his hand comes off of his cock to rest onto your hip, along with his other hand.
Laios follows his instincts—feeling for what is right—as he squeezes your hips and groans at the fat beneath his large hands. He squeezes again, and for a second he feels like he can't believe you're on top of him, meanwhile you're on the same page as him as your hands squeeze his thick, muscular thighs, gasping into the kiss at how good he feels beneath your palms.
Then, once again, you're assuming you can go further as the kiss between the both of you grows more needy when you hear Laios' moans, so, you reach down and slowly grasp his cock in your hands, holding it tightly as you feel for what you're working with.
His cock is huge, certainly, as it's thick at its base and fills thickly all the way to the tip. He's uncircumcised with extra skin at the top and you moan into his mouth once you feel the length of his cock, imagining it burying into the base of you. Unfortunately, though, you don't think you have time for that today so you pull away from the kiss briefly to spit onto your hand to settle for a good handjob before returning to the kiss.
Your hands stroke him, slowly, gripping him tightly and you squeeze at the tip, making him groan into your mouth. He pulls away from the kiss and his mouth leads down your neck, kissing around your skin there as he mutters between each kiss.
"God your hands... feel so good," he whispers into your skin, and you squeeze at his tip again, leaving his cock throbbing in your fist.
You begin to pump him, moving your hand at a rhythmic pace, starting off at a slow pace at first, but as Laios moans and gets needier into the crook of your neck, your hand picks up its pace, and he whines into your ear, nipping at your earlobe.
"Yes, fuck, yes, feels so good."
You smile at that and he sucks on your earlobe, his teeth grind into your skin, making your eyelashes flutter.
"Yeah, feels good, Laios?" You whisper hotly into his ear and he nods eagerly.
"Fuck yes."
He confirms that with a moan, and his hips begin to buck into your palm. You know he must be close as his breathing starts picking up.
However, you have other plans for him, as you remove your hand from his cock, and you pull out the bottle from his pants pocket. You hold it in front of his cock, and you whisper into his ear.
"Laios, I'm gonna make you feel so good, 'kay? Do you trust me?" You murmur into his ear and he nods eagerly.
Whatever it was that you were about to do to him, he accepted fully. Your hands, your fingers just felt so good that he—
Oh.
He pulls his mouth away from your neck to drop open his jaw and lean his head back as he feels your saliva-covered fingers push into his tight hole.
You don't even have to pump your fingers in and out, but once you push your fingers in all the way to his prostate, he lets out a loud moan that probably echoed to the other side where the group could hear Laios, and, he cums violently as his legs tremble, his white semen paints the inside of the bottle, filling it up with how much he cums.
Then, once you're satisfied with the amount of cum, you slowly remove your finger from him and you give him a smile, kissing the top of his head.
"You did so good, Laios," you praise him with a soft purr and Laios chuckles.
"Yeah? Think I might have to make Marcille more fairies for her more often."
#🌑 postings#🌑 my fics#delicious in dungeon smut#dungeon meshi smut#laios touden x you#laios touden smut#laios smut#laios touden x reader#laios x reader#laios touden#delicious in dungeon x reader
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Your Thomas Shelby's younger inexperienced wife and you are both experimenting in the bedroom and he lets you choke him 🥵
Oh absolutely...!
God I can't wait to write this. Thank you for your request! I hope you like it :-)
Show Me How Much You Need Me || Thomas Shelby x Reader
Part One!
Warnings: SMUT, unprotected P in V, choking, light spanking i guess??, face slapping, age gap, degrading language, swearing / vulgar language, kinda mild breeding kink, daddy kink, squirting, mild overstimulation sort of, oral sex (f receiving), arranged marriage, very very very very vague implications of dubcon sort of but like not really but just be warned! adult content. (sorry if I missed any warnings)
18+ Minors DNI
To your parents, being unmarried at the age of twenty was absolutely unacceptable. So on your birthday, they had men lining up around the block, both old and young alike, hoping to be your husband. Now there were some good candidates, not that you had a choice in who you were going to marry. Your parents were control freaks, deciding they were going to decide for you. But as soon as Thomas Shelby walked into the room, cigarette hanging loosely out of his lips, a trail of smoke following him and a huge wad of cash in hand and then tossing it down in front of my parents, acting like he owned the place... You knew no one else stood a chance.
Now you'd been married for a month, Tommy was an insatiable man. He got what he wanted when he wanted. You remember the look in his eyes on your wedding night when you told him you were a virgin, he nearly came in his trousers at the thought of your tight pussy. You've had sex pretty much twice a day or more ever since, he couldn't keep his hands off of you. Tommy showed you how to fuck, how to suck his cock, showed you how to please a man. Of course, the only man you would ever be allowed to please would be Tommy himself. You were hesitant to marry him, you were also slightly afraid of him but as you got to know each other, got to spend more time together as husband and wife, you appreciated his company, and you could even see yourself beginning to love him. But lately the sex between you had started to die down, Tommy being busy dealing with the peaky blinders and all their drama, you'd only have sex every other day or so. Which for you guys, wasn't a lot. But you knew he was tired, it wasn't cause he wasn't attracted to you anymore.
It was pouring rain outside as you both quietly sat in bed, Tommy read his novel quietly, glasses sitting on the edge of his nose while you brushed through your hair, topless and only in some thin white panties for him. There was a visible wet patch from your arousal, you were always wet when you were near Tommy, he just had that affect over you. He thought it was cute how easily excitable you are. You were incredibly needy, now that you'd had a taste of what it was like to have sex, you were constantly asking for it, constantly trying to get his attention. Poor little inexperienced thing you were.
"Tommy," You whined, placing your hairbrush on the bedside table and then leaning over, pressing your face into his neck. "Pay attention to me..."
Tommy let out an amused huff, turning another page of his book, not bothering to even spare one glance at you. "What do y'need, love?" He asked gruffly, reaching his spare arm and wrapping it around you, pulling you into him. He knew exactly what you needed, he just wanted to hear you say it. The way you got embarrassed and shy was incredibly sexy to him.
"Need you..." You whispered, placing kisses along the column of his throat.
"Gotta be more specific than that," He closed his book, finally setting it aside along with his glasses. "What do you need from me?"
"I need... you..." You were flustered, burying your face in his bare chest but he grabbed you by the nape of the neck like you were a kitten and pulled your head up, forcing you to look at him. "I need you to fuck me... Tommy..."
"Is that so?" He chuckled, running a thumb over your bottom lip which you innocently popped into your mouth, swirling your tongue around the digit. You weren't doing intentionally to turn him on, you just liked the way it felt to suck on something, especially if that something was Tommy's thumb. But the sight was suggestive, Tommy wished it was his cock in your mouth instead. "Fuckin' hell, alright, sit in me lap, I'll give you what ye need."
You continued sucking on his thumb, keeping eye contact with him as he pulled down his sleep shorts and pulled down your underwear. "Go on then, take what ya came here for." Tommy pulled his wet thumb away, shoving it between your folds and rubbing your clit, making you weak in the knees. He had so much power over you. So you grabbed onto his shoulders before holding the head of his dick before lining up with the leaky tip and sinking down on him. You watched his eyes roll into the back of his head as you squeezed around him. "Easy, girl." He warned, his cock twitching inside you, he could cum from just how tight you were. God he fucking loved that his cock was the only one you'd ever taken, loved the way you stretched around him.
"Fuck... so deep..." You sat on him for just a moment, adjusting to the feeling. Even though you'd taken him plenty of times, your cunt just hadn't gotten use to the sheer size and girth of him. It made you feel like you were being torn open in the most beautiful way possible. "T-Tommy..."
"Ride me, slut, go on... show me how much you need me." He slapped your ass harshly before grabbing a handful of it and encouraging your hips to start grinding against him. "Such a pretty girl."
You moved your hips back and forth, a bit shy at first as you did so but as more and more pleasure began to build in your stomach, your dignity went out the window as you began desperately bouncing on his cock. Tommy had never seen you so hungry for it before, he just leaned back against the bed, his hands gripping your waist as you took what you wanted.
Your tits bounced right in front of his face and Tommy thought to himself this was the greatest view in the world. His pretty little wife fucking herself and her perfect tits moving in sync with her movements. He let out gravelly groans as you sunk back down on him, sweaty, you froze for a moment to catch your breath. This was still all so new to you, still such an innocent little thing. You still need Tommy's help to get off sometimes, not quite strong enough yet to ride him all on your own.
"Tommy..." You whispered with a small whine. "Need your help..." Your flushed cheeks and blown out pupils were a sign of how lost in the moment you were. He just smiled as he pushed you down onto your back and threw your legs over his shoulders. His cock pressing even deeper into your pussy, somehow. You could feel him in your stomach.
"This what you want, little girl?" He hummed as he started to fuck in and out of you, impaling you on his dick. "Want me to fuck you like the slut you are?"
You moaned, nodding dumbly as your mind went blank. "Yes! Tommy! Fuck me!" You were incredibly loud and you were lucky no one else was in the house because otherwise they'd hear how loud you were being, when usually you were quite reserved around other people. "Pl-Please put a baby in me Tommy... let me make you a daddy..."
"Fuck..." Tommy could cum at your words, "Yeah?" He panted continuing to piston in and out of you, one of his hands grabbed roughly at your tits, playing with your hard nipple. "Gonna breed you like the bitch that you are." You moaned at his words, arching your back further into him as he gave you another harsh spank to your asscheeks.
"Tommy... gonna cum... please... don't stop!" You sounded like a pornstar, Tommy leaned down and kissed you.
"My pretty little wife," His voice was vibrating through you, the gravel of it making you even wetter. The sound of his cock slipping in and out of your sopping little cunt echoed throughout the room as he leaned down even further and connected his lips to yours once again. He felt your fingers curl around his neck, both hands wrapped around his throat, Tommy was never one to get flustered but the idea of you choking him made his hips stutter as you squeezed around him a bit. "Fuck..." He moaned lowly as you held onto his neck. You looked so sweet in that moment. "Such a stupid little girl, when you're full of cock, don't even know what ye doin, eh?" He fucked into you more, feeling you squeeze around him. Your hands held onto his throat as if you were holding him on a leash.
You were a writhing mess, shaking underneath him, only choking him further. You looked at how pretty he looked with your hands wrapped around his throat and how flushed his face was, hair sticking to his sweaty forehead as his hips bruised your pelvis. "Daddy...!" You moaned out, experimentally, waiting to see his reaction. You had always fantasized about calling him it but you were always too nervous to do so. But right now you were drunk on the pleasure, too fucked out to care.
"Fuck... say that again... gonna fuckin' fill you up, love." Tommy was just as desperate as you now, chasing his own high as you started to convulse around him, your orgasm unraveling, he lightly slapped you across the face, hard enough to break you out of your daze but not enough to actually do any damage. "Fuckin' do what I say!" You clenched tighter around him, cumming even harder at the sound of him yelling at you. Him being angry at you shouldn't be so hot but it was.
"Sorry... s-sorry... daddy!" You sobbed out as you gushed around his cock that began leaking cum. "Please... cum in me, please daddy..."
"That's right, baby..." He was rutting into you now, hips moving into you hard yet slow. "I'm yer daddy." He let out a deep mewl as he came inside you, making you moan even louder, your voice hoarse and your throat sore as you let go of his throat, collapsing your arms back. Tommy fucked his cum deep into you despite the sensitivity of his cock. Slowly pulling out of you, he pushed your legs against your chest to look down at the slick between your legs. A little bit of cum dripped out of your stretched out hole, earning you two fingers pushing it back into you, you just whimpered, a bit overstimulated.
"Think I gotta get a taste of your pussy now, love," He hummed getting down on his tummy, face aligned perfectly as he moved his fingers in a 'come hither' movement. You gasped, he was hitting your g-spot each time.
"Fuck, tommy!"
"Eh, that's not me name right now." He looked at you warningly before unhinging his jaw and attaching his hot mouth to your sensitive clit again.
"Oh daddy! 'S too much, too much... please..." You couldn't tell if you wanted him to stop or to keep going, it was all too much for your brain to comprehend. You were seeing hot flashes of white, your body going completely limp as another orgasm washed over you, rendering you helpless to the pleasure that was consuming you from the inside out. "D-Daddy..." You dumbly moaned.
"Tastes so fuckin good, keep cummin' on my face." His nose brushed your clit as he licked up your juices and you came again and again and again. Extremely overstimulated. "Just gimme one more, baby then I'll leave you alone." You were unresponsive, nodding your head weakly, wanting to be good for him. "Such a good girl for daddy, aren't ya?" He made out with your gushing sex, adding a third finger.
And suddenly you felt it burst out of you, drenching his hair, face, and the sheets underneath you. Squirting all over his face and just as you thought it was over, it just kept on coming. Your mouth agape in a silent scream of pleasure, he drank it all up, continuing to slurp at your pussy until it finally ended. He pulled away, leaning back on his ankles, Tommy had a very pleased look on his face, your squirt dripping down his chin and his chest sticky with your cum and the sheets soaking wet. "That was the best bloody thing to ever happen to me." He huffed, licking his wet fingers. You laid there, tears streaming down your face and twitching gently, still coming down. He laid down beside you. "You did so good f'me, so good, you're alright, I'm here."
He held you as you continued to shake, waiting for you to calm down a bit. "I've never done that before..." You whimpered, pussy throbbing, full of cum, and sopping wet.
He gave you a loud genuine laugh, still sticky with your juices as he kissed you. "I'm gonna make you squirt over and over and over again every time we fuck now, just so you know."
You giggled at his words, he was gonna be the death of you.
-
I know there wasn't a whole lot of 'experimenting' or choking so i'm sorry! But I hope you enjoyed anyway!!
#cillian murphy#cillian murphy smut#cillian murphy x reader#peaky blinders#peaky blinders imagine#thomas shelby#tommy shelby#cillian x reader#cillian x fem!reader#tommy shelby x reader#thomas shelby x reader#peaky fookin blinders#peaky blinders fanfic#peaky blinder fanfic#thomas shelby smut#tommy shelby smut#tommy shelby fanfic#peaky blinders fanfiction#cillian#cillian murphy fanfic
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hi not a request but I want to know how you got to be such a good writer. Practice? Or maybe writing exercises? Did you fall inlove with writing? If so, when and how? Has it always been, i don’t know, a thing you like to do ever since you were a lil kid? Or were you inspired by other pieces and authors. (mind-boggling curiosity is driving me rn)
ASDLFKJSD thank you ?!?!?! so. this is a question that i sometimes got on my old blog as well, and i've always dithered on how to answer bc there's no like... magic potion, right. there's no secret sauce.
unfortunately (and super boringly), how you get "good" at writing is just... practice. just hours and hours and weeks and months and years of practice.
i've been writing almost every single day since i was about 10 years old. i'm 30 now so that's twenty years of practice -- neigh on SEVEN THOUSAND DAYS of practice. i also majored in comparative literature, so i paid like insane amounts of money to an higher education institution, for people who are objectively considered experts in this field, to teach me and help me and coach me. i can't discount at all how important that was in like getting my writing to the next level (i can name the specific professor and course in my freshman year that changed me as a writer like that's how deep of an impression it left on me)
that being said, you don't need to do all that to become a "good" writer. and i think that's the best thing about this craft is that anyone can decide to pick up a pen one day and #Nike Just Do It. (also, good is subjective and like blah blah blah all that stuff)
but if you want actual tangible things you can do to improve your writing, here's some things that have helped me:
read. read alot. read everything. think of your body like a car. you need to put oil in to run. you need energy in to put energy out. in the same way, you need to intake good writing to output good writing. ive always been a voracious reader, and for the longest time, even when i was actively writing fanfiction (both online and just for myself), i wouldn't read any other fanfics, i would only read published books, and published books either from authors that i know i like, OR published books that i've vetted (ie read the first few pages of and said okay, this is a style i like and a story that's interesting to me)
it's impossible not to be "inspired" when you take in a lot of good writing. so read. but don't limit yourself to just fiction or whatever. read narrative nonfiction -- some of the most moving stories and well-written things i've ever read are actually essays, or longform journalism stories -- try a bit of everything and see what you like, and make note of the things you like to read
then, dig a bit deeper. if there's a sentence you find particularly moving, take it apart, try to figure out why you like it. i rmbr in elementary school we did "sentence diagrams" and it seems strange but getting really technical with writing is a good thing! and i'm the kind of nerd that loves stuff like this so u__u. BUT BUT the point of this is -- once you figure out how a "good" sentence is structured, you can take that structure and plug your own words in! and voila! it's another good sentence!!!! kind of like a super nerdy advanced version of mad-libs LOL
i went thru a phase of my life where i thought it was super cool to memorize famous first sentences of novels LMFAO (yes. again. my parents should've KNOWN i had adhd as a child holy fuck) but i did that for a while and i think that also just... ingrained in me specific sentence structures and turns of phrase that have stuck with me to this day.
if you read a thing and you don't like it, try to pause and ask yourself why -- was it the pacing? the structure? the characterization? what about it was offputting? try to be a more active/critical reader.
COPYWRITING. okay OKAY so this is a thing that i discovered only.... a few years ago? i think? but its a writing exercise wherein writers will literally copy out word for word writing that they like from another author -- not to publish, mind you, but just for the FEEL of writing it themselves -- NOW. i know what ur thinking "what the fuck why" but think about it this way -- classical musicians spend their entire lives playing pieces written by other musicians. dancers learn dances from other choreographers -- even choreographers start by learning dances by other people right like. why should writing be any different?
this does a few things -- it makes you an "active" participant in the writing. don't knock it till you've tried it -- reading a sentence (even deeply) and having to write/type it out yourself are two totally and completely different things. the way you pay attention to pacing, cadence, punctuation, line breaks, shit that you don't even think about when you're reading, suddenly, you're paying attention to it bc you're the one typing each and every letter, every comma, every exclamation mark.
i have a whole separate folder in my notion just for copywork. for the days that i don't feel like actually writing anything, i'll pick one of my favorite books from my favorite authors, and pull it up on kindle, and just copy out a few paragraphs, sometimes an entire chapter. and you'd be surprised at how different you feel after!
read/listen to poetry. this is more of a personal thing for me but i love the cadence of poetry -- i love internal rhymes and spoken word, i love limerence and sibilance and alliteration. i love IAMBIC PENTAMETER GODDAMNIT. lmfao but like. alot of times, prose is more "forgiving" in a way -- you have more space, more words to do the thing. poetry is (i think) the essence -- especially metered poetry, or specific forms of poetry where you have to write within a super rigid set of rules -- and sometimes, i think that creativity flourishes the best under "stress" aka under a strict set of rules. the shit that people come up with in very strict poetry is INSANE and sometimes i copy those out too, over and over again, just to feel the words and the rhythm
read your favorites over and over again. i used to never re-read books, but as i got older and my tastes became pickier, i find myself going back to reread my favorite books over and over again -- and it's fascinating because every time i go back, i find something new to marvel at, a new aspect. and i think that's the lovely thing about media after it's been put out in the world -- you can consume it over and over and over again, and each time, because of the way your brain is wired, of your physical setting, your mindset, you'll notice sometime different.
if you want a list of my fav books/authors, i can def make one! or i'll just reblog the list i made on my prev blog but yeah! lemme know if that's of interest to you! and i think you'll find that if you read any of my fav authors, you'll see immediately how they've inspired me LOL
and FINALLY be kind to yourself! you do not have to be good at every hobby you choose. if writing is something that just gives you joy and you don't want to become 'better' at it??? then that's perfectly okay! also, there are TONS of different styles of writing -- and not all of them is for everyone! you might like super dialogue-heavy writing, some other ppl might prefer really rich prose! it varies by person, and you'll never please everyone. so the best you can do is just write the stuff that makes you happy and that makes you giggle (lord knows thats what i've been doing on this blog) and if you want to put it out into the world, then do! but if you wanna keep it just for yourself, then that's good too!
just because you don't put it out into the world, doesn't make you any less of a writer!
#🌧 raindrops#writing advice#im so sorry that got so long but i get very passionate about the craft of writing and i can yammer for ages lskdfjsdoi#also like when ur reading something try to 'read like a writer' try to notice lines that you like or words that you love#all my kindle highlights are just like cool sentences i've liked in a book that i can later look back on when i need inspo LOL#i hope this was helpful!!!! pls come talk to me about writing i LOVE TALK ABOUT IT
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even though I just made a joke about it killing the rain forest, I had to conclude my little foray into chatgpt land by asking it some things I know a lot about. so I asked it to "could you create a language" and it spit out some of the most unimpressive surface level stuff about the building blocks of language.
then I asked it: "Can you explain to me what happens in A Dance with Dragons" and it again just said the most cursory stuff that feels like reading a 9 year old's book report. So I said "explain in more detail" and it just used more words to say the same stuff like a 9 year old who can't hit the word count. So i said "explain in more detail" and it's just more of the same...besides the stuff it's wrong about in any case. I didn't read it all, but just from skimming I could see it got some things wrong. like:
Tyrion hasn't made it to Daenerys yet. Daario is missing for most of the book. Missandei is 9 years old. These are three prominent characters from the show, but they are not her most prominent advisors in the book.
The children of the forest creating the white walkers must be from the show because what?? Not only is that not in the book, there's no evidence or foreshadowing of that in the book. The white walkers don't need to be "created" by anyone, they are just living creatures in this world. Even if it's later revealed in a book or by GRRM that was the intention, it's just simply false that it's in ADWD.
But also, it's just unimpressive this "summary". It's just kinda saying vague things that kinda happened. I asked if it could explain things that happened in ADWD, and it just doesn't. I ask for more detail, it just gives more words. I asked for more detail, it just gives more words. Which to me is telling, as these are some of the most popular books of the past twenty years, with endless amounts of meta for free on the internet you could find easily. There is no way that if thousands of people are feeding chatgpt things to analyze, people haven't uploaded large chunks of the book itself. I'm not asking it to give me deep analysis, I'm asking it to explain the plot and it's saying things like "Jon struggles with his leadership" and "Tyrion struggles with his guilt." Okay.
So I asked it something specific:
This is a normal english question, and I get this:
The most important thing that happens to Daenerys and Drogon is that she gets on top of him and flies away. She flies a dragon. "After Drogon appears, Daenerys realizes how dangerous her power can be" like wtf are you talking about. I mean yeah sure, but what a generic ass thing to say.
No shit sherlock, this is a theme running through the books that dragons are dangerous and powerful. But what literally happens between them? And it just doesn't say it.
So I decided to use a more specific question, because maybe I asked incorrectly:
This is 1. wrong and 2. still doesn't mention that Dany gets on Drogon's back and flies away. Like she literally does control Drogon. It is absolute chaos when Drogon returns, and no she doesn't sit there and reflect. She runs into the pit, to Drogon, dodges fire, and instinctively climbs onto his back and flys away and he listens. This is the first time it happens. This is monumental. This is like the culmination of five books of waiting to see when Dany is finally going to fly one of her dragons. And this stupid ass thing cannot tell me it happens. From an insanely popular IP that had a tv show made of it.
This isn't impressive at all. You'd get better, more concise information reading the wikipedia page.
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hey corny. so i always see people recommending to outline their story before starting it, but could you talk a little bit more about what that means? what is an outline and how do you structure one? how long are the ones you write, depending on the project? do you focus on plot beats or feelings? how specific do you get? can u recommend any readings for learning more?
up front i don't have any resources for this, only experience. and outlines feel like one of those things where it's like... there are a million ways to do it and the way that works for me might not work for you. i have a friend who writes out all his ideas on index cards and that, for me, is insane. but he's also a better writer than me so who can say what is right or wrong.
anyway an outline is essentially a sketch but for a story. you go through the whole thing, start to finish, and figure out what goes where and what happens when. the idea is that this is the stage where you work out all the big picture stuff and make sure it all fits together, now, and not after you've drawn twenty pages and suddenly go "wait shit that doesn't work" and have to do it over. it is much easier to delete and rewrite a paragraph than to redraw several pages.
doing anything more, ie including dialogue or feelings, depends entirely on how useful that information is to you at that point in the process and whether the purpose of the outline is for your own guidance, or so somebody else can tell what you're trying to achieve.
this got really long with multiple examples
here is an excerpt from the original outline i used to pitch Hunger's Bite to publishers. this one had to be polished to a professional standard, because somebody else was going to read it and decide whether they wanted to give me thousands of dollars to tell this story. (also several of the details are no longer accurate. for instance it now takes place 9 years earlier lmao)
this paragraph represents the first eight pages of the book. the final book is 264 pages long, and the outline was 12 pages of paragraphs as dense as this one.
it establishes where we are, who's there, and what they're doing. i describe their conversation, but i don't commit to the dialogue. i will occasionally include snippets of literal dialogue, but usually only if it's Important Dialogue, or i just don't want to forget a good idea i had while outlining. it's not expected at this step.
an outline written as part of a pitch to a publisher should tell the whole story, with all the important details, and leave nothing ambiguous. they need to know the tone, shape, and the arcs. no secrets! all the spoilers. outlines for yourself should do this too, but outlines for others need to be as clear about your vision as possible. again, an outline like this exists for the purpose of getting you paid thousands of dollars. you should write it like that.
in comparison, here's an excerpt from the outline i wrote for revisions to my WIP prose novel, so i could show it to my agent (who already read the draft) to be like "do these changes sound good?" i'm not selling it to anyone yet, just making a guide so i can have a conversation about it. so it doesn't need to be neat, it just needs to be functional and clear. the first chapter was entirely new stuff. the second bit was just writing down what was already in the chapter that existed.
i have historically been very bad at outlining things when i don't think i "need" to, and only wrote this one after having written like 60k words of the book without any overall plan. i gave what i had to my agent for feedback and then sat down and figured out how i could apply it. it's made the whole revisions process significantly less daunting. now i have a checklist for things i need to do! this one was a paragraph or two for each chapter, with the ones that needed a lot of rewriting given a bit more detail.
lastly, here's a bit of the outline for the first roger crenshaw book. i was the only person who had to see this, and since the story was planned to be very short i didn't have to worry about a whole lot. as long as i knew what was supposed to go where, it would work. honestly it's not a whole lot different from the previous example.
this one was like five paragraphs and it did the job, and this story was like 15k words. you only need as much or as little as will actually help you on the page.
basically if you take nothing else from this, it's that there are multiple ways to write an outline, that it does not need to be perfect if you're doing it for yourself, and that it only needs what you think is important (unless it is for other people. then it should have everything). and also it's a good idea to do it earlier in the project than after you've written 60k words or drawn--jesus christ i got up to 12 chapters in never satisfied? it's amazing i didn't quit sooner
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love in transit
ghosted by ivy leagues pt 1.
╰ y/n l/n ᡣ𐭩 @ tanning4lifeee & @ filipinabaddiee
╰ popular influencer, mainly known for her vlog content on youtube where she literally just rants about everything and anything. also highkey popular on campus, if not the most popular due to her high following on social media. literally knows fucking EVERYONE, despite being an actual idiot. wakes up with a reason everyday and that reason is jolibee. def not academically smart, nor street smart. how the fuck did she get into college? no one knows. a sucker for alcohol, let alone parties. has a dipshit bf that we will elaborate on soon… pulls the most girls yet chooses to remain straight. ( 👀 )
╰ sophia laforteza ᡣ𐭩 @ sophialaforteza & @ profjolibeeater
╰ yn's literal twin, also initiater… loves pissing off yunjin despite also loving her to death. bonds with yn over jolibee and the fact that their both filipino. in like half of yns vlogs since there always together. matchmaker in the body of a 19-turning twenty year old filipina, along with manon, only difference is her being more devious with her strategies. no like literally… has been caught lacking mid-lecture just zoning out into the back of someone's while thinking of her next plan to set yunjin up, MULTIPLE times. even got put on the uof gossip page by an anon just for that specific reason. genuinely, lowkey smart despite skipping majority of her classes but yk, we love that. a massive theater kid, was always the lead role in any of her highschool plays which is why she minors in drama.
╰ kim minji ᡣ𐭩 @ kim.minji & @ .kiminchii
╰ yn's biggest hater and fan at the same time. HELLA smart which is why she majors in computer science and minors in a shit ton of other stuff. literally top of her class and spams the shit out of it buy using it to snap back at her friends or to simply just brag. a genuine sweetheart, has the most rizz out of everyone and still decides to stay single. ( OUR HUMBLE QUEEN. ) has dated like half of the campus back in highschool tho which is kinda messy but like, who cares yk? might be academically smart, but in no way is she street smart. has no survival instincts whatsoever which is also why she stays humbled. ( maybe due to yns teasing/bullying as well… )
╰ aeri uchinaga ᡣ𐭩 @ aerichandesu & @ .xogisellexo
╰ yn's locker buddy, always lost along with yn whenever it comes to anything academic related. minji tutors her for free drinks and extra compensation at any frat parties. stays up throughout the night, EVERYDAY, just to snooze during class. has a soft spot for yn that's genuinely so adorable to watch from another point of view, but when it comes to anyone else she's usually just a big troll and a tease. speaking of her being a troll, LOVES, trolling her teachers, not to be annoying but just for the sake of trolling. on the verge of dropping out but stays for the sake of her friends, AND the frat parties. hates yn's boyfriend to guts, but keeps that to herself. ( most of the time. ) quite literally aspires to be one of the 'cool, rich aunties' for her friends future children which is also what motivates her to stay in uni.
masterlist ᡣ𐭩 next
NOTES | BYE I JS REALISED I HAVE TO DO FOUR POSTS JUST FOR THE PROFILES ALONE OMG 💔💔 bear with me guys bear with me now also i couldnt bother revising or editing and most likely will not for the profiles so u get what u get 🥰 i already have the first chapter in my drafts and not even the fkin profiles omd imma lock in guys trust 🤞
TAGLIST | @meizinisnumberone @hiraizyo @arihiu @artrizzler19 @1luvkarina @sunshinez4 @kristalag @fruityg0rl @meiphobic @meganskiendielsbtc @gtfoiydlyj @yazzyminny @vrtualstar ( closed .ᐟ )
#— rei's masterlist .ᐟ#— rei's works .ᐟ#katseye#megan skiendiel#megan skiendiel imagines#megan skiendiel fluff#megan skiendiel smau#katseye fluff#katseye smau#katseye x reader#katseye imagines
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13 books tag game, tagged by @amemoryofwot
1) Last book I read:
Starter Villain by John Scalzi, in an effort to 1) get back on my Hugo nominee completionist bullshit and 2) give him a second go, since I was deeply unimpressed by the first one a few years ago. It was...you know the thing about how badly-written books can help you learn more about writing than well-written ones? That!
2) A book I recommend:
I am metaphorically grabbing everybody I know by the collar and telling them to read Some Desperate Glory, unless the subject matter isn't for them which is fair, but it's so good.
3) A book that I couldn’t put down:
I distinctly remember finishing Gideon the Ninth at like 11pm because I couldn't wait until morning, which must be seen in the context of me being asleep by 10pm every night of my life I get a choice in the matter.
4) A book I’ve read twice (or more)
I went through a solid decade of reading Hogfather every Christmas and I've probably got a few more left in me.
5) A book on my TBR
I've got Mary Beard's latest book, Emperor of Rome, on reserve at the library.
6) A book I’ve put down
Tried The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart last year because it was blurbed well and I was in a fantasy mood, and got like...twenty pages in. It didn't leave enough of an impression for me to remember exactly why, just a general 'I don't care about these characters' vibe.
7) A book on my wish list
Kate Elliott is being very kind about progress updates in her newsletter and I want her to have the time she needs...but I am also chewing at the bit for Lady Chaos.
8) A favourite book from childhood
I was SO into Redwall as a kid. First fanfic I ever wrote.
9) A book you would give a friend
This is hard because I always want to rec specific books to specific people, I sincerely believe there's no generic book which is good for everybody. Um, maybe All Systems Red since Murderbot seems to resonate with a wide audience?
10) The most books you own by a single author
(Physical books only) An ACTUAL single author? Anne McCaffrey for sure. An alleged single author? I own 36 Trixie Belden Mysteries books.
11) A nonfiction book you own
Storm over Mono, which is a really interesting account of the fight to save Lake Mono in California, a scientifically interesting and historically and ecologically unique place.
12) what are you currently reading
Technically between books but I'm about to start The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older. I liked the first one fine but it didn't grab me grab me, so we'll see how it goes.
13) what are you planning on reading next?
My mostly-science book club is going retro and reading Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman which I have been putting off because I have Heard Things about Richard Feynman...but also I gotta gird my loins and get onto it.
I have not been around Tumblr enough lately to think of who to tag but with 100% sincerity, if you see this and it starts the wheels turning in your head about books you've read lately and so on, you're it!
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Recent chapters of the underrated Fate spinoff Fate/type Redline got me in my feelings so I had to talk about it at lengths, even moreso now that it hasn't updated in months (the mangaka, Ryouji Hirano, has health problems I believe). Spoilers obviously.
Now, when I call type Redline, "underrated", it's more of a subjective than objective assessment. Despite being a manga and thus far more accessible than the untranslated visual novels or light novel series of TYPE-MOON, I see it discussed fairly rarely. At the very least, as far as I know, there hasn't been much big posts analyzing it, so I believe this should be one of the first.
Just don't expect something really deep, these are mostly my musing, rambling observations.
In fact, for a long time, I didn't really have a well-articulated thought about Redline's themes. The contrast of a Holy Grail War taking place in the middle of a world war simply had me chalk it up to the tried and true "war is hell" and not think any deeper (which was a bit intellectually lazy of me). And there is certainly that, but it's a bit more elaborate than that, or else I wouldn't find Redline as interesting. And it all reached a thematic "climax" of sorts in the recent chapter as of the time of writingé
In reality, the story signaled its central theme from the very start, I just wasn't paying attention. One of the first chapters ends with this page:
At first, I thought this was just about Nobunaga. But it turns out this specific page and its text will become the precursor of how the manga is going to present Servants, and how this presentation fits into its larger representation of what war is.
Something you hear somewhat frequently when people mention Redline is "it made Servants scary again". It is only half true, Servants have usually only been "scary" in specific circumstances (Bluebeard in FZ, True Assassin in FSN, and Jackie in Apo come to mind). What they actually mean is that Redline shows Servants as above human again, and it does so by showing them brutally go through lots and lots of human bodies, when Fate is usually about Servants fighting each other. You see Servants vs. humans sometimes, but it's usually 1v1 deals. The only notable exception I can think of is Clan Calatin against Alcides in strange Fake.
There is also Apocrypha, but they are up against armies of homunculi, golems, and animated skeletons, so the dynamic is a bit different than with modern armies. It does however say this.
Indeed, Lancer of Red could burn to ash and crush the stakes with his flames and divine spear. But the Red camp's odds of successfully opposing the Black camp's overwhelming amount of material resources were fifty-fifty. Fighting a force of twenty thousand was beyond the capacities of even a mighty Heroic Spirit. Even then, there would have been no problems if they were alive, but right now they were Servants. The more they consumed prana in great quantities, the closer they approached death. (Apocrypha volume 2 ch.2)
Which is interesting in light of Redline's story, but I digress.
But here, in Redline, because it's during the Second World War, and members of the military are using Servants to do their bidding as well as planning to use them to win the war, there are a lot of interactions between Servants and modern human armies, usually violent ones, to catastrophic results, as Servants go through lots of human meat like cheese. The picture above is after Oda Nobunaga shoots down an entire fleet of American planes heading to Japan.
It's a type of interactions we only ever really saw when Berserker Lancelot in Zero overtook a JSDF fighter jet to fight Gilgamesh on Vimana, while the other plane got eaten by the Lovecraftian horror Caster summoned. The militarized forces of Faldeus in FsF mostly only go after human mages and steer clear of Servants.
And that makes for an interesting contrast that Redline is all too happy to highlight time and time again. When they say "Servants are scary", they mean "Servants are above human", in every sense of terms. No normal human can harm them or even pose a challenge to them, for they are above human strength and capabilities: they are superhuman, they are inhuman.
And that does not just mean inhuman power, but also inhuman thinking.
One of the main conflict throughline of the manga is the relationship between Kanata Akagi, our main protagonist, and his Servant Okita. They don't clash as such, it's not like Fate route Shirou hindering Saber from doing her job, nor is it like Kiritsugu disregarding Saber. It's more low-key, like a misunderstanding that can never be solved. Okita was a warrior in life, and this Holy Grail War in war-torn Japan is just another battlefield to her. Kanata however was born and raised in a Japan long after the war ended, in more peaceful times where he never had to kill. And it's this fundamental difference in lived experiences and mindset that stops them from ever reaching an understanding about how to approach the war:
Even later, as the war goes on, after Okita almost killed potential allies (more on that later), and Kanata reveals to her he comes from the future and what his goals are (ensure his grandma doesn't die and he can come back), and they decide to have a more honest partnership with each other, it's still not enough.
Because when Okita kills a human soldier again, this time a soldier wounded by Berserker who charged Kanata because he was a Master and he blamed magi for how pear-shaped the whole situation has become, this time she does a 180 and instead of convincing Kanata to become ready to kill, she instead wants him to think of her as his tool to kill in his place and take the burden upon herself:
Kanata can only ask her if she's really fine being a sword to be used by someone else and nothing more, to which she replies that's all she needs.
Do note how completely obscured, borderline blank (save for a small, thin-lipped smile), Okita's face is as she says this. As if Kanata and us readers really can't tell how she actually feels about her own words.
This is not the first time the manga does this with Okita.
Coming back to the almost aborted alliance I mentioned earlier, what happened is that, a few chapter before this, the Rider of this war, Sakamoto Ryouma and Oryou, met with Okita to ask her and her Master for an alliance to stop the war from spiraling further and kill more innocents. It would be normal to be suspicious of their intentions, especially since Ryouma initially hides from her that he is a Servant.
But that's not the reasoning Okita uses to reject the alliance and subsequently attack them:
"There is only one path for me (war)." And here it is again: "She's not human."
And it happened even earlier too. When Servant Assassin (Okada Izou) fights Okita, he grows more and more disturbed as he doesn't feel fear, anger, or exaltation as he fights and cuts her, feeling nothing at all from her aside from the scent of blood. Okada's thoughts are interspersed with Kanata's own thoughts about visiting his dying comatose grandmother in the hospital as a kid. And when Kanata touched his grandmother's hand, just like when Okada faces Okita, all it felt like was that:
As you can see, a lot of emphasis, both textually and visually, that Okita does not feel human, and her way of thinking is so alien people can't comprehend her.
And it's not just her, Servants in general are portrayed this way throughout. You saw the pilot's words about Nobunaga at the start of this post, but it occurs later as well. When she was first summoned in the previous war a few years ago by the Imperial Army, her summoner was an arrogant dude who tried to get her to submit and she casually beheaded him. Following that is this page:
Nothing showing on this blood soaked face except for elongated eyes like those of a monster. And after that, everyone in the room prostrate themselves before her like she is a god they worship.
She picks her Master from the crowd, the half-Japanese girl Kaname Asama, and she treats her surprisingly decently from what we see throughout the manga, giving the shrinking violet of a girl respect like she is her attendant, unlike Kaname's boss Magatsu (more on him later) who threatens her and even hits her.
So you would think they have a cordial relationship? Well, maybe they did, but that was until the recent chapter, which has Magatsu's Berserker fight Lancer, and instead of helping their ally, Nobunaga wants to leave, which leads to this exchange:
The same face and eyes again. Kaname doesn't understand her Servant, nor can she tell what she's thinking, just as Nobunaga's face loses all expression, making it impossible for us to tell as well.
(This is not exactly new in regard to Nobu: Keikenchi, the original author of Koha-Ace and the mind behind Redline, already made a Koha-Ace oneshot previously focusing on her, and in it it was shown that, when she was alive, Nobunaga could not "hear" the voices of other people, other humans, and it's her being unable to understand other people that contributed to both her rise and fall)
Another Servant serving as a good example of this is Berserker, which obviously makes sense when it's the Class that from the very start of the Fate franchise in Fate/stay night was there to be impossible to communicate with. But interestingly, everything that surrounds Berserker, not just the Servant itself, reinforces this theme, as if the story employs irony in making the maddest of them all in a war full of mad people the more in-depth examination of the idea instead of being the most obvious.
But I need to scale back a bit to explain.
The Master of Berserker is Major Magatsu, the head of the Imperial Army's magecraft division and one of the main human antagonist. He is kind of interesting in how it's not just his Servant, but his own actions that act as a fulcrum to demonstrate the point. See, in these last stages where it is clear Japan is going to lose, Magatsu wants to keep the war going. His main goal is that he sees the war as not just for the glory of Japan, but as an opportunity to create a world where mages stand at the top, even planning to orchestrate a secret coup within the Japanese military. He is able to amass a great number of men under him, all fanatically loyal to him due to a mixture of his own charisma and appeal to nationalism as well as cigarettes laced with suggestive tobacco making the soldiers smoking it pliable. His followers are so loyal in fact, that when a team of them comes back defeated after facing a Servant trying to deal with Team Kanata, they beat the only survivor up and torture him for his failure and for failing Magatsu, without Magatsu's knowledge or consent (in fact, he is slightly disturbed by this and thinks to reduce the dosage of the tobacco).
But that doesn't deter him from his tactics. Even when he has to hasten his coup after being forced to when pro-war proponents in the war ministry are assassinated, leading to his enraged troops to blame the proponents of suing for peace within the ministry, he still keeps with the easily pliable and fanatical troops even though it is clear he can barely control them. "When the madman runs, any man not mad starts running" is written on a banner hanging on the wall of the magecraft division's headquarters, and Magatsu, who doesn't know who wrote it, finds it a good quote, not knowing how prophetic the words would become. Regardless, Magatsu has made the entire magecraft division and then some fold under his command by making them believe he will be the hero to save Japan. He makes many speeches about saving the nation and how the preservation of the Empire is vital to the preservation of the soul of the nation, and can easily drive crowds into nationalistic frenzy with talks of using Archer and Berserker to fight on mainland Manchuria, and clearly invoking the spirit of complete sacrifice to the nation like in banzai charges and kamikaze, even if not explicitly:
Sometimes, an ordinary and unrefined person will defeat their fear of death and become a noble person with the resolve to throw away their own lives. This phenomenon, which one could call a miracle, is occuring at this very moment, in various places within Japan. War allows all sorts of miracles to exist.
For these reasons, the Colonel, the so far unnamed high-ranked Nazi who is Magatsu's main ally, praises him for "having a knack for understanding human nature", which is why he gives him Berserker, as he believes that, if he experiences the war from the same position as Servants, Magatsu may be able to come to understand them...especially, as he notes, Magatsu completely failed to have Nobunaga pay him any attention:
Magatsu, for all his charisma and servile attitude, completely fails to have Nobunaga pay him any attention even once since her summoning years ago. When summoned, she ignored him in favor of going to Kasame. She doesn't follow his orders nor does she even acknowledge him as a faithful follower: he might as well be air in her eyes. Not only that, she only talks to his subordinate Kaname Asama, whom he disdains for having foreign blood due to being half-Japanese. And the Colonel rightly realizes that Nobunaga's lack of interest makes him seethe. Magatsu seethes so much in fact that he comes to the conclusion that he doesn't need to understand Servants, especially to win when they don't seem to care what he's they're fighting for, so he would rather settle for Berserker than the unruly Archer, believing he can control him thanks to the Heroic Spirit Restraining Device provided by the Nazis. Very predictably, it goes pretty poorly.
As soon as he's summoned and out of the tank he was put in, Berserker immediately begins to indiscriminately kill soldiers of the magecraft division for no reason, and when Magatsu attempts to use his Command Spells on him, he cuts off his arm and crushes it, making the Command Spells disappear. Berserker then engages in a rampage throughout the magecraft division base, gleefully killing every soldier in his way, yet does not kill his Master despite his failed attempt to restrain him:
Magatsu is unwittingly along for the ride as Berserker carries him in his arms as he goes about his "fun".
Naturally, Magatsu's men try to slow down and stop Berserker using "anti-Servant" weapons (lol) that obviously do jack shit. But they use too much firepower and seemingly ignore Magatsu's cries for help, which leads him to believe that they are trying to kill them both. Berserker agrees in his twisted logic, and enacts more violence as he believes his Master is in danger.
The reality is actually different: when Kaname Asama try to get to exercise more caution so they do not accidentally hit and hurt the Major, when he is clearly an hostage, one soldier slaps her and rebukes her, madly stating that there is no way the savior of Japan would ever get hurt by these weapons.
They keep throwing weapons and men at Berserker, which eventually confuses Magatsu, because weren't they trying to kill him? Why then are they wasting their lives against a Servant?
Which is when the point is made.
As this massacre rages on, Magatsu is telepathically contacted by the Colonel, who congratulates him on summoning Berserker and says that the Restraining Device is working wonderfully saying as the major's mana and life are still intact. Magatsu, enraged, accuses the Colonel of having done something to his men, maybe brainwashing them to kill themselves, which is a fair accusation considering it is the Nazis who did assassinate the war hawks and forced Magatsu to accelerate his coup plans.
Except the Colonel says he had nothing to do with it and the reason for the soldiers' actions is far simpler: they admire Magatsu, they truly, genuinely do. The Colonel explains that his accomplishments, from taking control of the war to making a Servant protect the capital from air raids, made him look like a true messiah in the eyes of his men, and Magatsu was too blind to see it. Of course he denies it and calls the Colonel a liar, until he sees one of his men approach and try to reach him, only to be pierced by Berserker's spear for his troubles, and as he lays dying, Magatsu hears his last words on his bloody lips: "Glory to the Major."
As the one-sided battle against the human waves of martyrs continue, the Colonel throws Magatsu's earlier words about the war "allowing miracles" back to his face, bringing the whole arc to its logical conclusion, and I will transcribe the speech in its entirety since it intersperses scenes of the battle and that's too much images to for this post:
How about you open your eyes to reality for once? The only sane person in that battlefield is you. War is cruel. It burdens its victims with a detestable fate. But look at them. They do it for their country, for you. Their madness calls forth even more madness. All these men rush forward, knowing well only death awaits them. War takes these ordinary men, and turn them into martyrs. War allows all sorts of miracles. I thank you. You've allowed me to witness something beautiful. Did seeing people die finally get to you? Feeling remorse? I suppose you didn't have what it takes to be a soldier. This is no time to be losing your mind, Major. It's not everyday you get to experience war from such a safe position. Revel in it a little more. You are at the center of a miracle. That which creates miracles, and gathers people's faith. What do you call that, Major? Do you know? A God. Congratulations, Messiah. In this exact moment and place, you are the one closest to a God.
Just as the voice of God can't reach mortals, your voice can't reach these men. For alas, there are none who can hear it. Raise your head, Major. The curtain has fallen at last. And you should now be able to understand her a little more.
Archer arrives, looking down at Berserker and Magatsu standing on the mountain of corpses of all the men of the magecraft division, and Magatsu tries one last time to get her to look at him by calling for her help, as all he ever wanted was to prove he was worthy to stand at her side...and she laughs in his face. She mocks him for thinking he could ever control a Servant and finds his tear-stained and snotty face hilarious.
And Magatsu, at this last straw after everything, breaks.
As he begins to laugh maniacally, his Servant joins in, and as Archer, Berserker, and him laugh, it's as if the corpses of his men, their mouth frozen in bloody leering rictus by rigor mortis, are laughing with them. Magatsu finally realizes it was wrong to think to use Servants in a war, because they could never be measured by human standards.
It's not that Servants can't be understood, not solely. This sequence of chapters shows it goes deeper than that: it's war that turns everyone mad, and thus makes understanding impossible among humans. And Servants are humanity writ large, the highest of the high and the lowest of the low, because you need to be larger than life to be remembered for eternity in the Throne of Heroes. Which means that, where war turns humans into mad monsters, it makes the Heroic Spirits standing above humans into the embodiments, the apotheosis, the personified concepts of madness.
They are mad gods.
The World War and the Holy Grail War are both founts of insanity, because that's what war does. The average soldier's brain briefly brushes with the eternal sublime, the mysterium tremendum et fascinans that turns humans into figures of worship recorded and enthroned for eternity beyond space and time. And this brief contact with the Absolute gives them the divine language that makes them unintelligible to other men. Their visages, like Moses' after descending the mountain, can no longer be looked upon. They are completely obscured to us who don't live and breathe for war, for violence is their domain now.
War makes Berserkers of us all.
Is it any wonder that the Classes of the Holy Grail War by design favor warriors and warmongers? This war is rife with adepts of violence: a warlord (Nobunaga), a warrior (Mori), a secret police assassin (Okita), a plain assassin (Okada), and a martial artist (Li Shuwen). All of which mad in their own way and choosing the path of violence over any other options.
And I don't think it's a coincidence that the sanest and most "normal" Servants we have seen in Redline not only belong to the Classes less obviously about violence or weaponry, Rider and Caster, but their identities are also not famous for violence: the Rider was a politician and diplomat, while the Caster is a scientific thought experiment about the laws of physics.
I don't know how this will conclude or shake out, but I have my suspicions. Our protagonist Kanata comes from the peaceful post-war Japan and has so far always been repulsed by violence, despite attempts by his Servant and his grandmother to get him to get used to it to be more effective in the war. In fact, he reaffirms that he wants to win the war without becoming a remorseless bloodthirsty killer.
I can see potential routes the story can take depending on whether he slowly succumbs to war's madness or he heroically resists its call. Especially if he is pitted against what seems to be one of the main antagonists, the Nazi Colonel, clearly war's most fervent prophet, whose face is always obscured.
We'll see. The latest chapter as of the time of writing is the fight between Lancer and Berserker. Even the pair that seems to get along the best, Team Lancer, has the Master threatened by her Servant for almost "interrupting" his fight by trying to heal his wounds. And her (current) last words are a perfect encapsulation of the manga and my whole thesis:
#fate type redline#fate/type redline#koha-ace#fate series#spoilers#okita souji#oda nobunaga#sakamoto ryouma#okada izou#mori nagayoshi#li shuwen#world war 2#world war ii#world war two#wwiii#wwii era#imperial japanese army#ramblings#long post#anti war
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Fainting
Request: Yes / No Thank you @badthingshappenbingo for my card!
Don’t be shy, request things! <3 Have a nice day/night
Fangs Fogarty x Fem!Reader
Word count: 3747
Warnings: Bulimia, Self-harm, Starvation
Y/N: Your Name
Y/N/N: Your Nickname
Prompt(s):
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Fangs and I have lived together for about a month now, and in that month I’ve managed to hide the fact that I fucking hate my body. No one knew and I was too worried about being judged to tell anyone. I knew deep down that Fangs would never judge me, I mean we’ve been dating for three years now, but the voices always win in the end. So that’s why I spend a lot of time in the bathroom whenever Fangs goes out without me.
“I’ll be back in a bit, babe!” Fangs called. He was going out with Pea for a job with the Serpents.
“Okay! Be careful!” I called back. Ironic I’m telling him to be careful when I sit at home and throw everything up.
“I will, love you!” He said.
“Love you too!” I said and heard the door close behind him. I waited a bit to make sure Fangs wouldn’t walk back in because he forgot something. The last time that happened I pretended to shower so he wouldn’t hear me. Once I was sure he wouldn’t come back I got off our bed and walked into the bathroom. I pulled out the scale and took a deep breath before I stepped on it. I closed my eyes and tried my best not to shake. I took another calming breath and slowly peeled my eyes open to look at the horrid number. 130 pounds… I sighed, at least I lost two pounds since yesterday. I didn’t really eat anything yesterday. Or the day before. Or the day before that. In fact, I couldn’t really remember the last time I ate a proper meal in which I didn’t throw up a few hours later while Fangs was asleep. It was probably a year ago? Someone at school made a comment about me that I brushed off in the moment, but it was like a silent switch flipped in my brain. After that, I went home and stared at the mirror, noticing all the imperfections about myself. That was the day I decided to lose weight. When normal methods weren’t working, I turned to the extreme. It was the only thing that gave me results… It didn’t help that I started comparing myself to people Fangs talked to. The girls were way prettier than I am. The boys were skinnier than me. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Fangs chose me out of everyone. I couldn’t think of any reasons that Fangs stayed with me all this time, or even why he asked me to move in with him after my trailer burnt down. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy with Fangs, but something in my head just isn’t on the same page as my heart.
I sighed and looked down at the number once again. 130 pounds. It was below the average weight of my age group, but 120 or even 110 would be way better. I stepped off the scale and looked at myself in the mirror.
Look at your thighs, they’re so fat. Don’t forget that huge stomach of yours. Did you see that girl he was talking to at the bar last week? Now she was perfectly skinny. The perfect body.
I sighed and ran my fingers over my body. Fat. That was all I could feel. I was fucking fat. No matter how little I eat, or how much I worked out. I will always be fat. Fat and fucking ugly. I would never be perfect like those people Fangs talk to. I took off my clothes and looked in the mirror again. I stared at my stomach. Even though the scale says I got smaller, to me it looks like my stomach has grown another twenty pounds. My stomach growled as I lightly touched it. I hated the hunger pains, but the feeling of emptiness was too addictive. I love feeling like I finally was in control of my body. I moved my hands down to my thighs and felt the small scars that were slightly raised. When I first started that’s how I would punish myself when the workouts didn’t work, or if I gained another pound or two. That didn’t last long since Toni found out and told Fangs. I wasn’t too attached to the cutting, so that was easy to stop. The sharp pain as the razor glided through my skin, pulling beads of crimson up through the cut, wasn’t as good as the starving. It didn’t make me feel better like not eating. I shook my head and glanced over at the toilet. I’ve become very acquainted with it. My head was shoved inside it at least twice a day. Sure my stomach was empty, but I knew I could still get some stuff out of me. I kneeled down and gently lifted the lid. I stared down into the toilet and took a few breaths. Throwing up on an empty stomach always hurt, but it was worth it to lose those few pounds. I opened my mouth and took my pointer finger into my mouth. I slowly pushed it to the back of my throat and gagged once I found the spot. I was good at not pulling my finger out when I gagged now, so I just kept pushing on it. My stomach was screaming in pain as it tightened with each gag. It took a few minutes, but eventually, I felt the burning creep up my throat. I pulled my finger out and leaned over the toilet. I watched as the bile flew into the water and already felt a little lighter. It wasn’t much, but every little bit helps. I took a few breaths to recover and quickly pushed my finger back inside my mouth. Once again it took a bit, but I eventually threw up more bile. It still wasn’t enough though. I kept going and going until my head started to spin. I felt really dizzy and weak, but it was working. I felt lighter. I kept going until black dots invaded my vision. I fell back on my ass and held my head.
“J-Jus-st a b-bi-it mo-ore…” I slurred to myself. I tried to get back up so I could finish, but I just fell to the floor more and my vision turned completely black…
*Fangs POV*
I walked back into the trailer with a smile as I carried some Pop’s for me and Y/N. I placed the bags and drinks on the coffee table and noticed Y/N wasn’t there. Must be in our room with her laptop or something.
“Babe, I’m back! I brought Pop’s.” I called but got no answer.
“Baby?” I called again, thinking she couldn’t hear me. Still nothing.
“Y/N, you asleep or something?” I said as I walked towards our bedroom. She wasn’t there. I furrowed my brows and wondered if maybe she went out with Toni or something. I pulled out my phone and called her. I heard her phone ring and followed it to the bathroom. I quickly hung up and walked over to the bathroom. The shower wasn’t running so she should have heard me.
“Y/N? Baby? You in there?” I asked as I gently knocked. No answer. My heart started pounding faster and I quickly opened the door. I stopped in shock as I stared inside the bathroom. Y/N was lying on the floor, looking unnaturally skinny and there was vomit in the toilet. I quickly rushed over to her and checked her pulse. The small thump from her neck made me sigh in relief. I carefully pushed my hands under her and lifted her up. I gasped when I felt how light she was. How did I not notice how much weight she lost? How did I not notice how her bones were starting to be visible through her skin. I shuddered and felt tears pushing themselves to the surface. How the hell could I be such a shitty boyfriend and not realize the love of my life was putting herself in so much danger. I carefully made my way to our room and gently laid her down. I grabbed one of my shirts and carefully put it on her, she was drowning in it. I tucked her in so she wouldn’t get cold and checked that she was breathing again. I sighed and left to deal with the bathroom. Once I was done cleaning I grabbed her some water and placed it on the nightstand. I pulled up a chair and sat next to her. I stoked her hair and tried my hardest to think of what could have made her do this, or even when she started. I blamed myself for not seeing anything different. I believed every smile Y/N always put on. Every laugh she made. How the hell did I not see anything!? I tried to calm myself down, but I was so angry with myself. Maybe even a very small part of me was mad at her for not coming to me, but I pushed that away. I shouldn’t be mad at her, she needs me more than ever. I grabbed my phone and decided to call Toni and see if she knew anything about this.
“Hey Fangs, what’s up?” She answered after the second ring.
“Did you notice anything off about Y/N lately?” I asked, getting right to the point.
“Uh, no? Why? What’s up?” She asked, worry clear in her voice.
“I came home and she was passed out in the bathroom with vomit in the toilet. She’s really fucking skinny Toni…” I said, feeling a tear involuntarily fall down my cheek.
“What? How skinny?” She asked.
“Like I can see her ribs starting to poke out.” I answered and she gasped.
“W-What? H-How?” She asked and I sighed.
“I don’t know, T. I didn’t notice anything different…” I said quietly.
“How? Have you guys not… ya know?” She asked and my eyes widened.
“We’ve both been busy, but every time she’s just wanted to ya know, please me…” I said and felt my stomach turn slightly. She’s been hiding this for so long…
“Shit Fangs, are you at the hospital? Want me and Pea to come by?” She asked and I shook my head.
“I just have my bike and I-I don’t know what the hell they’ll do to her. I’m scared to take her there. What if they say she’s dying, or they lock her up, or I don’t know…” I sighed.
“Fangs if she’s really bad you’ve gotta take her to the hospital, they’ll help her.” She said, gently.
“Toni I can’t, what if she never forgives me for that? Clearly, she’s been hiding this for a while I don’t want her to hate me…” I said, fully crying by now.
“Listen, Fangs, you wanna help her, right?” She asked with a sigh.
“Yes…” I whispered.
“Then you gotta take her. I’ll call Pea and we can use his truck, okay?” She asked and I shook my head again.
“Can’t I just wait till she wakes up? They’re gonna keep her there for who knows how long.” I said and she sighed.
“I don’t think you should wait. What if this isn’t the first time she’s passed out?” She asked and my eyes widened. I didn’t think about that.
“J-Just let me wait till she wakes up first. Let me talk to her.” I begged and she sighed.
“Fine, but you call me after, you got it?” She asked.
“I promise.” I said and she sighed again.
“I’m still calling Pea and letting him know what’s going on.” She said and I sighed.
“Fine, just keep him from barging in, I don’t wanna scare her.” I said and she agreed. We said our goodbyes and hung up.
I sat there in silence as I just stared at Y/N. I couldn’t stop thinking about how awful I am for not noticing anything. She hid it really well, which hurt. I had stopped crying but didn’t bother wiping my face. I just held her hand and stared at her. That’s when she started shifting. She slowly opened her Y/E/C and looked around for a moment before they landed on my dark brown ones. Neither of us moved or made a sound, just stared at the other.
“I’m sorry…” She mumbled after a moment. She looked down and a tear rolled down her cheek.
“Never. I mean never, do that again.” I choked out as my tears returned. Y/N looked up silently and reached up with her other hand to wipe away my tears.
“You shouldn’t cry over me, I’m not worth it…” She whispered as she continued to caress my cheek. I felt the anger return and pulled back from her.
“No Y/N! Don’t you ever think that! You’re more than worth it, you’re my perfect girl. I don’t understand why you even thought you needed to lose weight in the first place, but you’ve always been perfect! You’re beautiful, funny, caring, and amazing! I love you, I always have. I can’t stand seeing you do this to yourself when you don’t need to. I saw what was in the toilet, when was the last time you ate?” I asked and she had more tears falling down her gorgeous face.
“I-I don’t know. Yesterday at lunch? I don’t know. I-I…” She started crying harder. I pulled her in for a gentle hug and stroked her hair.
“How long have you been doing this babe?” I whispered.
“A-A ye-year…” She answered between sobs. My heart broke and I sighed. I held her for a bit longer and gently pulled her back once she calmed down a bit.
“Baby, you need to eat and actually keep it down. You need to get better, Y/N. Please.” I said and she shook her head.
“I-I can’t! Looking at all those people that you talk to, they’re so much prettier than me! They’re skinnier, hotter, cooler, everything! Those people at school made me realize that I’m never going to be like them. I’m never going to be good enough for you…” She said, sobbing into her hands. My eyes widened as I stared at her. Who the fuck said that to her? She’s always been perfect, my everything… I gently pulled her hands away and tried to catch her eyes, but she avoided me.
“Y/N, look at me, please?” I asked quietly. She looked up and she looked so broken.
“Y/N Y/L/N, I love you more than anything. I always have and I always will. No one in this damn world could ever compare to you, baby. You’ve always been my number one and I have never even thought of another person. Guy or girl. You don’t need to change yourself just because some jealous bitch said something to you. I will always love you no matter what.” I said and she sobbed.
“Do you mean it?” She asked in a broken whisper.
“Every word baby. I promise you that I love you with every piece of my heart. I just want you to get better right now. You passed out Y/N, do you know how scared I was?” I asked quietly.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” She cried and I pulled her into my chest.
“Shhh, it’s okay baby. You don’t have to be sorry okay? We’re gonna get you some help and get you better, okay?” I asked and she nodded.
“Now, I gotta call Toni and tell her you woke up before she and Pea come breaking down the door.” I said and her eyes widened.
“Y-You told Toni and Pea?” She asked with more tears falling.
“I called to see if Toni noticed anything with you, I was so worried Y/N.” I said, caressing her cheek and wiping the tears. She closed her eyes and leaned into my touch.
“Toni wanted me to take you to the hospital and I know I should have, but I just didn’t want to lose you.” I admitted and she looked up at me.
“I’m so sorry, Fangs…” She said and I shook my head.
“You don’t need to be sorry, baby.” I said and kissed her forehead.
“Now let me call Toni and maybe I can convince her to not take you to the hospital, but you have to eat a bit of the Pop’s I brought home, deal?” I asked and she nodded while taking a shaky breath.
“I’m not gonna make you eat all of it, but you need to eat at least a little okay? We’ll work on this slowly.” I said and she nodded.
“O-Okay…” She whispered. I smiled and kissed her head once more before I went to get the food. When I walked back in she was fiddling with her hands. She looked up and I saw her sniff the air subtly. Her stomach growled and I smiled slightly. I walked over and placed the food on her lap, but left the milkshake in the other room. It would be way too heavy for her right now, even if she did love them.
“I got your favorite, but I think we’re gonna skip the milkshake today and just stick with water, alright?” I asked and she nodded. Her shaky hands took out the burger and fries and gently laid them on the blanket.
“Alright, I’m gonna sit right here and call Toni and you’re gonna start eating, okay?” I asked and she nodded. I pulled out my phone and called Toni as I watched Y/N slowly start to eat the cold fries. I watched as she put the first one in her mouth and she moaned slightly. I smiled as she continued eating them.
“Fangs! Is she awake?” Toni answered.
“Yeah, she’s awake.” I answered and I heard her sigh.
“Perfect, I’m with Pea and Juggie right now and we have the truck so we’ll be over in a few and we can take her to the hospital.” She said as I heard movement from her side.
“I don’t think we’re gonna need to take her to the hospital.” I said as I watched her pick up the burger. She took a bite and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. I chuckled and smiled at her.
“Fangs she passed out, she needs to go to the fucking hospital.” Toni said, slightly annoyed.
“I think we can deal with this ourselves, T.” I said and she groaned.
“Seriously? You agreed to take her to the hospital when she woke up.” She said and I sighed.
“Just come over and see, I promise we got this.” I said and she sighed.
“Fine, we’re already on our way.” She said and hung up. I hung up and saw Y/N was halfway done with the burger.
“Slow down babe.” I said with a small chuckle. She blushed and looked over at me.
“Sorry…” She mumbled and I smiled at her.
“Don’t be, I know you’re hungry, but like I said we gotta take it slow.” I said and she nodded.
A few minutes later, our front door was opening. We heard three sets of footsteps coming towards us and Y/N looked scared. I grabbed her hand and gently gave her a reassuring squeeze. The door opened and in walked Toni, Pea, and Jughead. They all looked at Y/N with wide eyes and Toni rushed over to her other side. She pulled her in for a hug, which Y/N returned.
“Are you crazy? Starving yourself or throwing shit up, whichever. How long has this been going on, huh?” Toni asked and Y/N looked down in shame.
“Toni, relax. We already talked about it and look she’s already eating.” I said and grabbed Y/N’s hand again.
“I’m sorry…” Y/N said quietly again.
“Babe I already told you, you don’t need to be sorry.” I said.
“No Fangs is right, sorry Y/N/N, I’m just worried.” Toni said, taking a seat on the bed next to her.
“We all are.” Jones said. She looked up at Pea and Jughead and they each smiled at her.
“Yeah, so who ass do I need to beat for starting this shit?” Pea asked and Toni rolled her eyes. Y/N laughed and I smiled at her.
“If I’m honest I don’t even remember who said something…” She said and blushed slightly.
“I just know it was about a year ago and that’s when I started looking at myself differently. I just hate how I look and constantly compare myself to everyone else and…” She trailed off.
“Wait, that’s when you started cutting, were you doing this too?” Toni asked and Y/N shook her head.
“No, I started after you guys helped with that…” She said with a guilty tone.
“Oh Y/N…” Toni said and pulled her in for another hug.
“I’m so-”
“Nope, don’t you dare apologize.” Toni said, cutting her off.
“Yeah, we’re sorry for not noticing anything.” Jones said and Y/N shook her head.
“I hid it, there was no way you guys could have known. I mean I was wearing clothes that were a bit too big for me so you guys wouldn’t see my weight change.” She said and we all looked at each other. That explains a bit.
“We’ll that’s fucking over, let’s go get you some more food.” Pea said and she shook her head.
“I’m kind of full.” She said and I placed the rest of the food on the nightstand.
“That’s okay, like I said, slow.” I said and she nodded with a small smile.
“Fangs is right, we gotta take this slow, but we’re all here for you and we’re gonna help every step of the way.” Toni said with a smile. Pea and Jones also nodded and Y/N teared up.
“You guys are the best and I’m really so-”
“Stop apologizing Y/N/N, or I’m gonna kick your ass.” Pea said and she laughed a real genuine happy laugh. We all smiled at her and I gently squeezed her hand. This might be a hard and long road ahead, but we would all support her every step. I think she finally realized that she’s amazing and if not we would all be here to remind her.
Tag list: @les-bio-lie @tashy-bear @ashwarren32 @hollie-blogs-blog1 @lover-of-books-and-teas @nerdygaloresposts @teenwolfbitches28 @kmc1989 @drw0301bieber @lady-of-lies @ravenmoore14 @ravenempress101 @cillianchamp @rowanthomasknapp @rachelxwayne @ready-4-fanfiction @emo-godess-loves-you @hiya-imthatgirl @mindsetjupiter @averysinclaire @mittelerde1999 @sweetest-peas @rousewriter @camiconfessions-blog @thecaptainsgingersnap @cenyddtheunicorn @jacksxsouthsideserpents @lover2448 @mamacobie13 @fandom-princess-forevermore @liz-owl
#fanfic#prompt#riverdale#riverdale imagine#fangs fogarty#fangs fogarty imagine#fangs fogarty x reader#fangs fogarty x fem!reader#fangs x reader#fangs x fem!reader#toni topaz#sweet pea#jughead jones#bad things happen#bad things happen bingo#fainting
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Heya, got a question about cybersecurity meetups. Do you think folks would be cool with a rando showing up because they're curious and like learning new stuff, especially for writing? And also because internet privacy is super important rn and there's no good books or written sources I can find on hacking, the dark web, etc; let alone digestible to somebody who knows what a directory is and how to use command line and not much more.
Also. I know it's gonna vary per location, so if you can't speak for all of 'em, I get it. Are these kinds of spaces like 2600 and Defcon queer friendly? Or I guess what I'm asking is are they notorious a place queer people should avoid. I'm non-binary and don't rly pass as remotely normal or straight, and I have nobody to go with me :|
Thank you!
Meetups that are publicly listed are very cool about randos showing up to learn new stuff and talk to weird people. Most meetups tend to be about 5 parts socializing and 1 part "tech activity" like a talk or a demo if they have a tech activity at all, so you're mostly just going to be meeting people and talking to them about themselves.
I will say, if you show up specifically saying "i'm a writer and i'm here to learn about stuff for writing" you're probably going to get some trolling - that's pretty common and a lot of meetups do have to deal with stuff like journalists periodically showing up to get the inside scoop about the scary hackers and that usually gets some fairly mean-spirited teasing directed at them.
So it's better to show up because you want to learn generally. People don't like being used as reference material during their socializing; they're there to hang out and talk to people with similar interests, so ask them about their interests. You can just say you're new to the scene and you heard about hacker meetups online and wanted to learn more.
If you want to do something to pregame and learn a bit about hacking ahead of time you may want to try hackthissite.org, check out 2600 magazine, or look on the DefCon forums to see what's going on in your local DC Groups. There are some good books about hacking; I like The Cuckoo's Egg and am asking anyone with good books or memoirs about hacking to chime in in the notes.
I will say, asking about the darkweb specifically might get you some eyerolls because it's something that sounds a lot scarier and more intimidating to most people than it actually is. You can get on the darkweb now. You can do it on your phone. Here's a very basic get-started guide. I don't think it's necessary to use a VPN to use Tor (most guides recommend it and then link to pages full of affiliate links for VPNs), and here's the Tor user manual to get started if you want to. Be careful, and if you're planning on doing anything that requires actual anonymity do a LOT more research before you follow the advice in any guide, but yeah pretty much everybody with an internet connection can get access to the darkweb in about twenty minutes. It's just websites that you need to use a slightly different set of tools to navigate to (granted, the content of the websites might be horrifying, so. Again. Be careful.)
Anyway moving on:
Defcon has had Queercon (a queer party for queer hackers) as a part of the con for at like twenty years and I know many queer and trans people who are part of the scene. And there are a lot of trans folks who I know who are volunteers at defcon and help to run hackerspaces and who volunteer and attend and run all manner of cons. I can't speak for your local group, but I've found that hackers in generally are more tolerant of a *lot* of things than the broader population is (they are weird people who engage in a hobby or who engage in work that is often technically criminal - they don't have a lot of room to judge and the more sensible ones among them know that).
HOWEVER I have personally had problems with defcon the conference specifically about harassment and infosec does lag behind other parts of the tech sector in participation from women. Defcon is working on it and i know their current head of conference security is very serious about ensuring that it's a welcoming space for people and that if people DO have problems at the con it is handled in a serious, sensitive way. (Legitimately, he's a good dude) I just. I don't go to defcon. There's more info in my pinned post. That conference is burned for me.
BUT there are a lot of other conferences, big and small, and there are a lot of local groups to look into. You'll have to get to know your local scene, but I'd bet that if one part of your local scene is unwelcoming that other parts are more open.
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Trolls - Accidental Knight and the end of the world (Field of Forget-me-nots au - what if?) -PART 2!!!!
Okay, so this is a what if off of second movie of the FoF au (this post), where Barb won. This was inspired by the fic "The Beginning of the End" by AnimationFan2006 on Ao3. Pls go give it a read. I highly recommend that anyone go to look at the rest of the Field of Forgetmenots au. And I had to split it in half because I posted the first one at 2:00 am. Here is that first post!
Now on to the meat of the story.
Our survivalist group is now mostly formed, Floyd, john Dory, Bruce, Demo and Crimp have met up with Tresillo, Wani and Keith in the pop forest. After some explanations Tresillo and Keith take everyone (minus John Dory he needed to hide Rhonda and Wani stayed behind to help him get back), back to the bunker through the tunnel network. Bruce ever since entering the tunnel hadn't been able to take his eyes of Keith. His parental instincts going into over drive from the moment that Demo said who the trolling was. Bruce may have been out of the loop for a few years when it came to the royal family, he was fairly certain they were made up of warm colored trolls, but that doesn't mean he isn't horrified by the implications of why this poor little kid was on his own. Floyd is on the same page. They both start asking Tresillo questions and get the truth, which isn't any better then the misconception.
Tresillo: Keith isn't the prince. Queen Poppy didn't have any ninos.
Floyd: Then why did Demo call him Prince?
Tresillo: Because Chico was captured along side Queen Poppy, and Queen Barb is an idiota. I don't know the specifics, but his hermano was the chief of security for the tribe, and some how Chico ended up going with them.
Bruce: Wait, I get the brother going, but their parents let a child go?
Tresillo: Once more pop troll, I don't have all the details, but from my understanding, his Papi is long gone. All he had was his Hermano.
Floyd: Then where is his brother?
Tresillo: *sigh* where the all the héroes go. Keith's brother was the first to stand up to Queen Barb, and the first to fall to her song.
Both Floyd and Bruce are horrified. This poor kid probably watching his brother sacrifice himself while trying to save him. Bruce is just thinking of how all the parenting book he read telling him how harmful an upbringing without a stable family unit can be for a kid. It also doesn't help that Keith has the same hair and eyes that Bitty B once had. They both decide that they were going to keep Keith safe, and find away to help Bitty and get Keith his brother back (not knowing their the same person).
Once back in the Bunker, they loop John Dory in and they do try to approach Keith, and give him comfort. Telling him that Big brothers would always come back for their little ones.
Keith: Would you do that for you're little brother?
Floyd: Of course.
Keith: Then why can't I believe you?
Keith fully knows who John Dory, Bruce and Floyd are, and what they did. He's going to subtly twist that knife he put in their backs every chance he got. They had twenty years to find Branch, and now that he was gone they just show up at the bunker like they own the place. He's polite to Crimp and Demo, Branch taught Keith manners after all, but he's not going to be civil with Brozone. And he's certainly not going to tell them who Branch became.
During their stay at the bunker, John Dory and Demo join in on the excursions, to capture Zombies and round them up in a pen in a dark corner of the woods. While Bruce and Crimp stay in the bunker with the children, and Floyd while he recovers. This allows DJ to start to help more with the outside work. John tried to object at Keith going out with them, but he's quickly proven wrong when Keith proves to know the forest better then any of them. When John asked how Keith knew all this stuff, the trolling only ever answered, "My brother taught me." John feels very strongly when it comes to learning about Keith's brother. The whole situation kind of feels close to home. After all he was saddled with his brothers after his parent's death, just like Keith's brother, and from what John could tell, the brother did a fantastic job. Keith could clearly take care of himself, and he adored his brother, it took a very strong person to be able to raise a child like that after losing your parent. He was certainly stronger then John ever was, All he managed to do was break his already broken family apart further. Sometimes he would wonder if Keith knew that, and it was the reason why the trolling was so cold to him.
At some point, Floyd wouldn't have been able to sleep one night and He would stumble on to a Keith who had fallen asleep while working on a book. He picks the trolling up, and starts to take him to bed. Tresillo would be up and point out that Keith had been sleeping in his brothers room and gave his to the girls. Floyd would follow this information and tucked Keith into his brother's bed. He would put the book on the nightstand while tucking the trolling in and knock said book off of the nightstand as he turned to leave. Said book is a photo album as Floyd would soon learn, and landed open to a page with a single picture. A picture of Keith and an older blue troll cuddled up on a hospital bed asleep, the trolling's hair obscuring half of the older trolls face. At first Floyd just figures it's Keith and his brother, and find the photo cute...until he notices the green leafy vest on the bed next to them. And everything clicks.
Floyd runs out of the bedroom and wakes up his Brothers, dragging them to his room to show them the photo. John Dory and Bruce immediately recognizes the adult as Branch. Sure his hair was darker, but John and Clay's hair darkened as they got older. It's all just confirmed when they take the picture out of the album and flip it over, reading on the back, "Three Days until Branch can come home. Boys are celebrating early with snuggles! :] " Floyd would continue to to flip through the album, while Bruce and John spiral over this revelation. Their baby brother had a baby brother?! He was in the hospital at some point?! For what?! Who took care of Keith during that?! Grandma?! Who was the dad that Keith mentioned?! And they didn't know any of it. Eventually the older two siblings are pulled out of their panic with a shocked gasp from Floyd, who found the earlier pictures, from Branch's grey days. How on earth had they let their baby brother go grey....They spend the rest of the night just going through the album. Seeing Branch and Keith, Branch as grey, Branch missing and eye, their brother with a pink female troll, and an older troll that looks almost like a purple haired keith (they all assume that this was Branch's adoptive father, as Rosiepuff isn't anywhere to be seen).
In the morning the three of them confront Keith, they do so gently, at first believing that Keith simply didn't know about them, however they we're into a very rude awakening when Keith says, "I know who you are, I know what you did, but unlike you I know the aftermath. We're not family. Family doesn't abandon each other." And well, there's little they can do about that...other than try and make it up to Branch by protecting Keith and saving him.
Sadly, things aren't as safe at the bunker at they originally thought. The group had been capturing zombies and storing them away on the other side of the village, until they could find a cure. They didn't expect a Rock patrol to find where they were keeping the horde, and the group is forced to relocate, sealing up the Bunker so that the Rock trolls can't find it. Keith tries to get them to go to Bergentown but JOhn Dory is driving so that wasn't happening. They travel passed bergentown, and look for a place toe shelter. Rhonda needs a rest after two days of travel, and they stop at an old abandoned golf course. The kids immediatly want to check out the living horror movie place, the adults follow. DJ trips on a wire and the clown activates. Keith Marches up to the clown, little bow drawn, just like Branch would've done, much to Brozone's horror. Viva pops out giving Keith a giant squeeze, and pulls the group further into the putt putt course.
Keith doesn't like a the puttputts at first glance, they look feral like a predator and it makes him uncomfortable. He lived with a grey Branch he knows what paranoia looks like, this this was different then what happened to Branch. This was worse. He warns the other trollings and considering that Keith was a good judge of character, they take him seriously.
After reuniting with Clay, both him and Viva pull the brothers, Tresillo, Demo and Wani into a private meeting. While DJ and Crimp take the kids to get fries. Viva tries to should Keith off on to DJ, but the trolling follows them into the meeting room and remains stubbornly in his seat.
Viva: Look Keith sweetie, we're going to have an adult talk in here. You'd probably have more fun with your friends.
Keith: I'm not here to have fun, miss viva. I'm here to talk business.
Clay: Look kid, a lot of the stuff we're going to be talking about is, scary and very serious.
Keith: You want to talk serious fun boy? My family is currently brainwashed or imprisoned, I've lost my home to a maniac, and now I have to deal with people like you talking down to me, because I'm a child. I'm not here for fun, I'm here for progress.
Demo: *whispering to Wani* Are you sure he isn't the prince?
Demo's comment make's Viva ask questions, to which she learns that while Keith wasn't in fact Queen Poppy's heir, he was still the closest thing and considering that's what the rock empire believes their keeping up the ruse so that there's less of a chance they'll brainwash or kill Keith on sight. Viva is ecstatic to learn that her baby sister is alive, and grows horrified to learn that poppy's currently held captive in rock troll territory. Clay doesn't believe them, mostly it's his emotions regarding John Dory and now keith's jab that are making his judgement poor, but he convinces himself that what trolls would be hostile to them when there was bergens to worry about, and how could they trust what a kid is saying. Though, he holds himself as Demo, Tresillo and Wani's stories match up with Keith's.
After being convinced about the dangers of the Rock trolls, Clay and viva immediately make plans to go full on lock down. No one goes in no one goes out. Everyone objects to this. Wani, Tresillo, and Demo, knowing that the plan would never work with Rock troll weapons. While Keith and the other brothers want to go get Branch (one of the few things they can agree on).
Clay: Wait, wait, you just spent like the last twenty minutes explaining why these guys were dangerous, and now you want to go into their territory.
Keith: I want my brother back.
Clay: from what you told me kid, he's gone. You need to move on.
Keith: Just because your too much of a coward to get your brother back, doesn't mean I am! Then again I guess you're already used to throwing him to the bergens to save you're own skin!
Clay: what are you talking about?
Keith: You probably never cared about Branch in the first place, after all you left him to die once already.
Clay: WHO IS THIS KID?!
Brozone: *Share's glances*
Floyd: Clay, Branch is keith's brother.
Mean while in Volcano Rock City, Hickory finally found a way to make contact with the imprisoned Queen and remaining un-zombified pop trolls. He might not have been able to get to the cells himself, but he found someone who could. Jovi was a mixed troll (rock and celtic), who didn't under any circumstance agree with Queen Barb's conquest. It took a bit to convince him to help, but Hickory manages it. Being a nurse, with a family member on the medical board, Jovi managed to get clearance to access the prisons underneath the guise of mandatory check ups and patch jobs on minor wounds. When he finally opens the cell that held Poppy he was in for a sorry sight.
Poppy had been completely crushed by her imprisonment. Her home destroyed, her friends put in danger, and her family...Her dad had been turned but she wasn't sure what happened to him after that. Cooper is imprisoned like her and they weren't allow to see each other. No one will tell her what happened to Keith, and Branch...Branch was gone. The man she loved secretly had been warped away by the powercord. She saw him everyday, but it isn't her branch. Her Branch wouldn't taunt her with her failures. Her Branch wouldn't hold his own sword to his neck making threats to hurt himself, her Branch wouldn't lie about finally being happy after being turned. After a month she wanted Branch to turn that sword on her, or for Barb to corrupt her. Her color had long bled away, there was no hope in her prison.
That is until a dull blue troll with golden streaks in his hair comes to her cell. Jovi tells her everything, that keith escaped and that he nad Hickory were working on a way out of their. Poppy breaths a sigh of relief that Keith got away and she wants to believe him about the rest, she really does, but she can't. Jovi tells her it's okay, he just asks her to be ready to take a chance when the time comes.
The snack pack are a little more receptive to Jovi's news, and their ready help however they can. Even if waiting like Jovi asked is hard. Right now their trying to establish contact with outside help and that could take time. Smidge mentions that they used bloodhound beetles to send messages in the village and it gives Jovi an idea. Volcano Rock city didn't have bloodhound beetles, but they had something similar. Fruit bats could travel for miles, if given something to smell for. With a little help from a friend of his who trained therapy bat's and one of Demo's old bandanas that Hickory found they manage to send a message out.
Things at the putt putt course had been tense for the passed few days. Viva and Clay had held firm about their desicion to hunker down, and no one was happy about it. John managed to get viva to let Rhonda in but that was a small comfort to him. He feels like a sitting duck and he's not the only one, Tresillo and Wani are just as stir crazy as him. Bruce spends most of his time keeping the peace, Clay is hostile towards everyone but him and Floyd, and is letting his anger take control of his actions, John can't make suggestions because "he can't stand it when he's not in charge", Tresillo, Demo and Wani can't help because "they don't understand how things work here" DJ and Crimp don't even try. And Clay certainly doesn't listen to Keith. Bruce had been trying to get everyone to at least agree on a plan, and so far he felt powerless. Oringially he thought thagt Floyd would back him up, but Floyd was too busy trying to take care of that Keith kid.
Key work trying, Keith wouldn't let any of them near him. It hurt really, watching Floyd follow this kid around like a lost puppy. Bruce's theory was that Floyd thought he could redeem himself after failing to protect branch if he could keep Keith safe, keep his other little brother safe. Clay thought it was stupid, the kid wasn't their family. Sure he was close to Branch, that much was clear after he saw the photo album, but that didn't mean Keith was there brother. The kid didn't want to be their brother. Bruce had let Clay vent to him about all these harsh feelings, but he also made his younger brother swore never to tall Keith about them. Even if the kid hated them, he was still a kid that had lost all of his family, the last thing he needed was rejection.
Viva had tried to talk Clay into speaking more with his brothers, but she knows it's a losing fight. Viva had been talking more to DJ suki, trying to learn all about her sister, and slowly the DJ words have been getting to her. "Why don't you go get her" "CJ's mom, was my big sister, I knew I could count on her." "Sometimes family's worth the risk." It was starting to break her resolve. After all her dad had once, launched a full-blown escape to save poppy, why couldn't Viva do that for her sister. When she went to clay about it, he shut it down though, they had no way of planning such a mission. They didn't know where her sister was kept, they didn't have a way to get the team there and back, and they didn't know what the Rock trolls were capable of.
All this changes when a small fruit bat flutters into the golf course with a letter addressed to Demo.
----
there will be a part three.
#fanfic#dreamworks trolls#trolls#canon divergent au#field of forgetmenots au#trolls branch#trolls floyd#brozone#clay trolls#viva trolls#trolls keith#keith trolls#john dory#trolls bruce#hickory#trolls tresillo#trolls wani#trolls demo#trolls crimp#dj suki#part 2#end of the world
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Remus Lupin x Reader
Warnings: Swearing, slight smut at the end?
Summary: Reading with Remus evolves..
Remus Lupin was pretty, you’d give him that. Especially with the way the dim lighting of the common room cast shadows across his focused face, accentuating his jawline, the same jawline that kept tensing and making your breath hitch. The slope of his nose created a path to where the tip of his nose was buried into a book, specifically one about magical creatures.
You were sitting curled up on a sofa in the gryffindor common room, knees almost pressed to your chest. It was quite late and you and Remus were the only ones left sitting around, both of you reading. Well, you were trying to, but your gaze continued to shift from the words on the page and drift over to Remus, sitting opposite you on another sofa, his legs stretching out across the length of it, his back against the arm of the chair and his large, slender fingers cradling his book. You were always quick enough to flick your eyes over and catch when he turned the page, your gaze moving down his finger and across a prominent vein travelling down his hand.
“I can feel you staring at me.” Remus’ voice rang through the common room.
You swallowed, gaze snapping up to his face, the same face that was still focused on his book, eyes trained to the page “Hmm?” you responded, not wanting to admit to blatantly staring at his hands. Finally, his eyes moved from the book he was so engrossed in, meeting your gaze across the space, “I can feel you staring at me” he repeated, tone still the same, he sounded so unbothered so why did he point it out? You shifted slightly, watching as his eyes once again focused on his book and you looked away, going to respond until Remus piped up again “you can come get a closer look if you want” he stated simply. Your eyes snapped back up to his face and you noticed a small grin tugging up the corner of his lips, though the cheeky lycanthrope didn't move his eyes from his book, the only thing he moved was his legs, shifting them off the sofa so his feet were planted on the floor, well one was anyway, his other leg crossed on top of it so his ankle was resting on his thigh.
It was clearly a silent invitation, and that was made clearer when his eyes met yours over the top of his book, raising an eyebrow at you before he reached for his cup of tea on the coffee table beside the sofa, having a sip and placing it back down. You got up ‘reluctantly’, well, you were trying to make it seem like you didn’t want to but you had been waiting for Remus to invite you over. You sat down beside him, not too close but not too far. “I don’t know why you sat over there anyway..” he nodded over to where you were just sat “I’m not going to bite your head off if you sit next to me” Remus spoke again and you shrugged, leaving your book discarded in your lap as your attention went back on to Remus, not that it ever left. “I haven’t seen you turn a page in about twenty minutes” he remarked, that same charming grin from earlier sneaking back onto his lips.
20 minutes was an over statement, you thought, “Ohh, so you were staring at me, too?” you teased, a grin also sneaking onto your lips, he shrugged, “and if i was?” he answered, and you watched as the dumbass dragged his pointer finger up and down the spine of his book unthinkingly before snapping it shut and you swear your heart stopped for a split second. You simply rolled your eyes at him, tapping your fingernails against your own book cover “what's so interesting about-” you paused to analyse the front of his book, the same book you already knew the name of since you had been staring at his hands nearly the entire time.. And now, this was technically an excuse to do it again “magical creatures?” you finished, leaning back against the sofa, head still turned in his direction. “You’d know if you paid attention in class, trouble” he replied using that nickname. That damn nickname.
Remus had decided it was fitting for you since you were always getting in trouble with him, Whether it be him telling you when to study, making sure you were paying attention in clqww or when you were causing trouble. Ever since the marauders had taken you under their wing in second year (after you had slapped Severus for his blood supremacist opinions) they knew you’d be the perfect addition to their group. And you were. James and Sirius took it as their responsibility to use you to help with their pranks, and it was a good thing you were charismatic and charming.
“I do pay attention” you replied, crossing your arms and Remus hummed, you watched his green eyes dip down to the book in your lap, reading the cover “then you’d know to be reading about magical creatures as we dont need to be studying astronomy for another few weeks” he said, referring to the book you were reading and you pulled the book closer to your body, as if keeping it safe from Remus’ prying eyes. “I was reading for my own enjoyment actually, Remus” you scowl. “Ah, I see, so you do know we have an exam next thursday? On magical creatures?” your gaze immediately drops and you stutter “of course i do! I'm about ten steps ahead of you, Remus Lupin”
His eyes seem like they shimmer from you saying his full name, his grin twitching wider, a small scar that graced his lips, stretching. “Are you now? We’ll see about that, sweetheart” he replied before reopening his book, flicking to the page he was last on and you tried not to show any visible evidence of what that nickname did to you but you definitely felt your insides flip.
“Well..” you start, Remus’ eyes immediately back on yours as he reaches for his cup of tea again “why don't you let me read it instead of pestering me” you continue, shifting again so you were leaning closer, hand stretched out, waiting for him to give you the book.
Instead, he moved, not without a small huff as he shuffled himself closer, sitting beside you. By now you had moved so you were sat in the same position as before, knees pulled up onto the sofa, your book was now placed beside you as you were more focused on the boy sat on the other side of you. Remus held the book in front of you and flicked back to the first page. The first thing you noticed was that he had annotated the pages, ink underlining all of the important bits he needed for later.
“Why don’t I help you?” his voice was like honey, now much softer since he was closer and you swore his warm breath hit your cheek, and if you weren't blushing before you definitely were now, a slight pink tint flushing your cheeks. “The point of this was so you wouldn’t be pestering me..” you mumbled, “Oh, c’mon sweetheart, who would i be if i didn’t?” he half whispered, voice low, and you’re breath hitched in your throat again. “So, since you don’t pay much attention in lesson-”
“I do” you cut him off.
“Yeah, okay. let’s just start from the beginning, yeah?” he said, and began reading the start of the page, though your eyes drifted elsewhere in the room, knowing that if you looked to the page and saw his fingers tracing the words you’d definitely combust. You decided to get comfier, stretching your legs out and letting them dangle off the edge of the sofa.
“Hey, eyes here, pretty girl” he murmured, tapping the book, making sure your eyes met the page before continuing. That wasn't the first time Remus had used a pet name on you and you hoped and prayed it wouldn’t be the last because the way it had your mind spinning and heart racing was a feeling you always wanted to experience. As much as you wanted to focus on exactly what Remus was saying all you could do was gaze at his fingers and listen to his smooth welsh accent pronounce certain words, focusing on one word before focusing on another when he said something that provoked his accent. As if he knew you weren’t paying attention, he shifted the book into one hand, the other hand closest to you moving to your thigh giving it a gentle squeeze while he continued his reading.
As he got to the next page, his hand moved slightly higher, and you gasped, he immediately paused upon hearing it “is this okay?” he whispered, gently moving his fingertips. You nodded, not caring that your head was tilting and leaning against his arm now, “words, darling, let me hear you” he said lowly and you swore goosebumps rose onto your skin. That bastard. “Yeah. Yeah, its okay” you whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible, “good, good” he mumbled, reading a few more words before stopping again.
He leaned in slightly closer, near your ear “how about you read the next paragraph for me? Think you can manage?” he whispered, hand travelling even higher and you shifted your thighs together “okay..” you mumbled.
“Good girl” Remus replied quietly, lips pressing to your cheek.
And as you began reading, voice still quiet, his hand parted your thighs and moved higher.. and higher…
#remus lupin#remus x reader#remus x you#remus x y/n#marauders#marauders x reader#marauders x you#harry potter#harry potter fanfiction#harry potter fic#first post
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Arc 2 Damages
Catching up on my horribly behind Pact Annotations 😔
2.1
“Blake,” Rose said. “It’s fine. It’s done, you’re in charge, I’m the backup. You want me to keep the criticisms to the most vital points? Fine. You want me to do the research and supplement what you’re doing, fine. You win.” “I don’t want to win. I want us to be on the same page.” “The same page? You got the power, I got… this. How do you have a partnership if things are this unequal? Let’s face it. Look at what happened to Molly. Grandmother is willing to use us as expendable assets. I’m nothing more than a piece in a greater puzzle. I’ll serve my role, and the road ends there. I’m the most expendable one of us.”
I severely SEVERELY doubt this Rose. Like I don't want to invalidate your feelings here but I feel like if you were a normal vestige you would also be named Blake and not y'know. Rose 2. Like presumably she got to root around for whatever reality she wanted so she not only picked girl Blake but she picked girl Blake who is named after herself.
Like Ivy is not named Rose. Presumably it was not your parents first choice. Though actually I do wonder about that. Was there a rule in reality proper about not naming your kids after Rose Sr. That feels like a really obvious appeal tactic I'm surprised none of them went for it.
“I don’t deny that they’re fucked up. But grandmother lived. She hit the ripe old age of eighty-five, and I doubt you do that while messing with stuff like this if you’re dumb. Besides, dumb people aren’t the type to spend the kind of power it takes to make a sapient being, only to throw it away like you’re talking about.”
Yes exaaactly
She shook her head. “No. Nothing. The early ones… I sort of skipped past the earliest diaries, because a child’s writing is hard to read in big doses. Some stuff on the relationships between the different groups here. But if you’re looking for tips on where to focus our studies, we may have to look a bit further.”
Very curious if the pages Rose read were the pages we got in the last interlude. I feel like the knowledge of why she didn't induct her children is valuable data to have. So if Rose knows it and isn't sharing that's suspicious. But also she might just not know. There's no way of knowing if the interlude is what she read. Deceptive and wiley Mr Wildbow
Cheap side-mirrors were about four dollars for a pair, round mirrors about six inches across. I checked that I could see Rose inside and grabbed twenty. I think she might have actually smiled, when I glimpsed her.
:)
His mother was forty and looked ten years older, by the condition of her skin and hair, her arms full with a bundle of shirts with superheroes on them.
WHICH SUPERHEROS??? A NOBLE BUG CONTROLLING GIRL WITH BIG WET EYES PERHAPS???
“Fine,” I said. “Let me give the basket to the cashier-” “Don’t be an asshole,” Callan said. “Go put it all back on the shelves and racks.”
This is so fucking funny. According to Blake and Rose Callan is a horrible asshole who conspires to ruin the lives of those around him for his own gain. But he draws the fucking line at being rude to service workers.
Three of the ribbons stood out from the rest. Too straight, too narrow. They were like spears that had penetrated Callan, Aunt Irene and Christoff and plunged into me. Forced connections between us. Too direct to be natural. Someone had aimed them at me.
The other funny possibility is that the DuChamps specific brand of fuckery said "bother Blake as much as possible while helping the average citizens of Jacobs Bell"
The girl smiled, giving me a look. Confident, brash, if I remembered right from the vision. Her brother kept his eyes straight forward, watching the ground for slick patches and lumps of snow he might stumble on. He was burdened down with bags of stuff, while she strutted.
Very interested to see how their relationship ends up paralleling or contrasting Blake and Rose's
Also I'm trying so hard to picture them as normal humans but at some point my brain decided to see them as the green haired Betty spaghetti villains from DreamWorks Trolls. It's making it very hard to take them serious
She would be the Briar Girl. No other name. A recent addition to the local population, as of six years ago. She apparently lived full-time in the woods and marshes behind Hillsglade House. Grandmother’s suspicion? She had contracted with a familiar too powerful for her to handle, creating something that was less a partnership than a practitioner dominated by the spirit. The bear-thing would be the familiar, the stick her implement.
She's very Rachel adjacent in a way
Maggie Holt, the girl with the checkered scarf. She was a teenager, making her slightly younger than the Briar Girl, and her eyebrows made her look perpetually angry, helped by a swift, graceless manner of walking.
Too an extent it really feels like Wildbow is taking maximum advantage that his reader base is coming from worm and hoping/expecting a new group of unruly young adults forming a found family via rebelling against authority like the Undersiders. Like at this point in the story it's so easy to imagine Laird as the sort of Armsmaster equivalent and Blake Rose Johannes Maggie and Briar unionizing to take him down. It's a clever misdirection and a compelling argument for reading the Wildbow Chronicles in order of writing
2.2
Vestige? “Of Rose?” the North End Sorcerer asked, his eyebrows raised. “Yes,” Padraic spoke out loud, at the same Laird said, “I don’t think so.”
I also have lots of questions about how much of Rosie is Blake and how much is Rose Sr
That being said. I don't think Padraic is the best judge of these things.
“Well,” he said. “Let’s get this out of the way. Who’s interested in taking the deal?” Wait. What? “Not seeing any raised hands,” Laird said. “It’ll be good if we get this out of the way, before it gets messy.”
You know maybe it was unfair to Laird to compare him to Victoria Dallon. He seems like he actually uses his brain to strategize sometimes.
“My rose has done what she aimed to,” Padraic said. “You’ve offended two of us, Aimon Behaim. Johannes and me both.” “I’m not Aimon, my name is Laird,” Laird said. Padraic looked a touch annoyed at being corrected. “Aimon, Laird, Lame Airhard, no matter. You’ve wounded me, ignoring me in this critical moment. I have far more to lose than you, don’t I? An immortal lifespan, against, what, thirty more of your years? Twenty of your wife’s? Sixty two of one daughter’s, fifty one of another, one of a son’s life? Add them together for your family as they are now and you have, what?”
If I were in Pact I would 100% die to some Padraic related shenanigan. He's so cool and funny. I like that he's kind of an ally to Blake and Rose by complete accident just on the grounds of being incredibly inconvenient for everyone else around him.
Also he seems to like Rose Sr lots so I'm excited to learn the history there. I hope they kissed. Not in a shipping way just in a I think the concept of an incredibly dangerous Diablerist and an exiled Fairie Prince having a terrible awful fling with no redeeming qualities has lots of comedic potential
Johannes and Maggie. North End Sorcerer and the girl with the checkered scarf. And, I had to note, a small contingent of goblins. The dog walked alongside Johannes, through slush and snow, the long hair not getting wet or dirty. Johannes wore a white coat, and it was pristine.
In a better world they could have been a fun sequel to Aisha and Alec. Which I say not to imply these characters are actually similar to Aisha and Alec. Just that they could have been a fun kind of different spin on that character archetype/friendship dynamic
2.4
“Being more honest means you stock up more goodwill with the universe and any others you meet. Borderline dishonesty is useful, lying by omission is better yet, and unvarnished honesty is better still. I can’t quite interpret it, but perhaps you were joking? Sarcasm?”
Nooo don't take away his sarcasm it's one of his most charming traits
“A vestige is fragile. Defy the natural order, and the vestige suffers.” “And a damaged vestige drains energy,” I said, glancing at Rose.
👁️👁️
2.5
“You’re wrong,” she said. “The things they conjure up are there. They’re fabricated, and it’s this affinity for things that have been crafted that helps the Faerie avoid being touched so easily by fabricated things. With glamour, the Faerie might create an image of a flower. It’s an image. But as they put power into it, it gains substance. As people see it and recognize it, they feed power into it. Plant that flower in a garden, leave it be, and it will grow as any flower might. It becomes a part of the garden, and the garden adapts. It adapts to the viewers, becoming what they want and expect to see. A two way street. Given opportunity, it becomes as much of a part of things as if it was always there.”
In my friend groups discord we have a custom emoji called So In The Chronicles that is deployed when one of us wants to go on a long spiel about something related to World of Darkness or Chronicles of Darkness
"Anyway imagine that right here. I'm not gonna get into it but just know I'm thinking it. Also I really wanna try and bait my Chronicles friend into reading Pact As your partner Rose already said, they’re weak against the unrefined, against crude things. That includes attitudes."
OH BLAKE YOULL BE SO GOOD AT THIS
“Yes,” she said. “Ornias. He once placed stars in the firmament, but he now calls them down to earth. Say his name seven times.” “Perfect. Ornias,” I said. “Jesus penis fuck, Blake, no,” Rose said.
LMAO
I was just grabbing this passage because they keep bringing up Ornias later and I wanted to note what's said about him but now I also want to keep a record of Rose saying Jesus Penis Fuck
Also idk if Wildbow would even want to get into it but how exactly does religion work here. Like if belief gives power and names call forces would a genuine devout Christian be protected by invoking Jesus or God? Many such questions
“Stupid, fucking, impractical sword!” I hit the weapon instead. As she leaped back, she couldn’t move it out of the doorframe. One downward swing, and the pipe struck the blade. It broke in four different places along the length.
I think I understand the glamour stuff really well but I wish I didn't because now I'm thinking about how easy it would be to reverse engineer a magical girl into Pact world. Like you get a young practitioner raised on precure in here, give her a fairy familiar and put a focus on glamour and transformation and you could get a precure duo practitioner and familiar. They could even have a fancy glitter wand as their impliment
“-nament,” I finished. “Ornament.” No fucking way was I ever saying that name a seventh time.
Does he just have to say it once from now on or does the count eventually get set back to zero. Cause idk about Blake but I would definitely at some point make the mistake of saying it when recounting this incident to someone else later and summoning the guy
“I think I see why she might have picked you,” Ms. Lewis said. “Blake was picked, then?” Rose asked. “It’s not just him being the second heir?” “I already said too much. Take your prize, Blake.”
👁️👁️
I really need to stop using the eyes they're not saying anything really but like what can I say to this. What does this MEAN lewis
“Mom! Fine! Stop- stop and listen, don’t call it a favor, then. Call it a repayment of the favor you owe me for taking Jo to her six-in-the-damn-morning dance lessons for the last half a year.”
You know I have to say there's a certain point at which feminity** in fiction just becomes so boring. Like speaking as Femme Lesbian. Like Padraic and the other fairies are a really fun feminine in the sense that they're pretty Fairie Royalty who like to dress in pretty clothes and flirt. But they're also horrible drunks who could kill and probably wouldn't do it in a clean way. There would be blood and stuff
The DuChamps seemed fun at first, being an all girl line of practitioners, but then you give them the least messy practice, they all take fairies as familiars, and now they also do Ballet and get grossed out at Blake's Spit and Blood. Also I don't think being white and blond is a feminine thing but it's another contributing factor in making them turbo boring to me
**also obligatory I am a non binary femme lesbian using short hand gendered phrases to express abstract personal concepts of gender please don't take this as a "Tumblr user felonytaxevasion thinks feminity is composed of dressing nice and hating spit and also that men can't be fairies or do ballet" or anything like that please I will kill myself
2.6
Gonna start speed running some commentary I don't think I have much to say about the rest of this arc
I'm very sad about Lewis saying Blake is going to die soon but I'm also not convinced he won't beat the odds so I don't have much to say on that
I turned to look. A girl in a checkered scarf, sitting on the stairs by the front door. “Maggie,” Rose said.
MAGGIE I LOVE YOU MAGGIE
The little dagger had a funny blade, wavy. It looked more decorative than useful. “What is it?” I asked. “Kriss-style athame. It’s used a lot in Wicca, but that’s more because this one guy was a blade aficionado. I like it more for its roots as a sacrificial blade.” “You do much sacrificing?” Rose asked. “Nah. But I like the old stuff, the mysteries, the biblical stories about God as a deity of sacrifice and blood. It resonated with me.”
On the topic of gender this is a really fun Maggie gender moment. The next chapter talks about implements and how swords and weaponry are representative of Masculinity to others. And Maggie uses a knife, small sword, but the blade is curved simultaneously disrupting the """"phallic""""" imagery and also interrupting a knifes traditional purpose of slashing and stabbing.
But then also also she chose the knife specifically for its historical roots in violence but specifically organized violence used as a means to an end (sacrifice). Incredible but if character building I think especially in combination with how she's tied to Molly
Not much to say on Gathered Pages as of This Moment
2.7
“This is exhausting,” Rose said. “Watching every word you say, watching every word others say…”
Hey world building question if a practitioner declared "I'm about to lie now" would they be able to then lie without being forswarn for doing so. What if you lie and then follow it with "what I just said was untrue" does lying and admitting it count for anything
If you can't lie even while declaring you're about to lie then "I'm about to lie" is an automatic out because if you don't lie after then you've lied right then
If I forget something and lie on accident but to the best of my knowledge do they still get me?
I think I would either be a great practitioner or explode myself on day 1 no in between
“That’s her stuff, there?” Maggie asked. I had to raise myself up off the couch a bit to see where she was pointing. The duffel bag and pile of clothes was still on the floor just beneath the arm of the couch. I collapsed back onto the cushions. “Yep.” “Didn’t really know her that well. Saw her a few times. She didn’t show at the council meetings until the last month, and I don’t think she was game. Took her longer than it took you guys to realize you can go out and maybe not die.”
Not to be that annoying guy that makes everything about shipping but what if they had a doomed Yuri moment. I know Maggie killed her. That's a pro not a con
Speaking of
“Maggie Holt is the one who orchestrated the attack on your cousin, Molly Walker. She had command of several goblins and ordered them to strike her and leave her alive. She did it at our behest, in exchange for small favors, gifts of power and offers of knowledge.”
Highlighting to myself the "leave her alive portion" that could mean the goblins didn't listen. That Molly simply bled out after the goblins left, or that someone else did the killing blow. Interesting phrasing and I wish literally anyone asked for more details
“Doesn’t count, or we’d be lying every passing second. Blake, she wasn’t even a person to me. They talked her up, big bad diabolist who didn’t know what she was doing. I only really talked to her after I ordered the attack, saw how she wasn’t doing anything except defending herself, and I realized what I’d done. I tried to call it off, but it doesn’t work that way.”
How long was the attack??? Multiple days?? Just one night???? Many a question left unanswered about Molly Walker
Okayyy cutting off liveblogging here I have a lot of feelings about Maggie backstory but not a ton of thoughts phrased into sentences about it
Also I have like five more chapters to finish annotations for oops. I might run through three pretty quick I have a lot more to say about 4 and 5
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Spade… I think something is afoot with this Amazon book, but not in the way everyone else thinks.
When you go to the Amazon page for the “Tortured Poets” - Willow Bowery book (published on Feb 22nd, or the 53rd day of the year — 🎁 anon), there is this description:
The 🎁 anon used the same language of what “this is” and what “this is not” in the clues. So we know what this book is NOT… it’s not the manuscript. It’s not an album or a department. It’s shared musings between an author and their audience. Got it.
Here’s where it gets interesting. While on the page for the “Tortured Poet” book, there was a sponsored ad for another poetry book: “This is a sign.” by Anon. This popped up right below the other book, as an ad, not in the “you might also like” section (so not based on search algorithm, but is a paid ad by the anon author).
Remember on February 20th (2 ✌🏼days before this Willow Bowery book was published to Amazon) when TaylorNation posted the pic of old Taylor from her Funeral in Anti-Hero with the caption “if we won the lotto, we wouldn’t tell anyone. But there would be signs.”
And everyone was all like… wtf? Seemed totally out of the blue.
(🎁 anon mentions PUBLISH and says something about looking above/for the ones the came before it)
Here is the description for This Is a Sign - Anon (published to Amazon on Dec. 20, 2023).
Book overview
“For those of us who are looking for a sign that everything will be okay, this is it.
This is a sign. is a stream of consciousness in the form of poetry and prose collected from journals and phone notes written by anon in “the pond” of her twenties, typed on a 1980s Smith Corona Typewriter, and arranged into this collection. It explores themes of home, heartache, heartbreak, and healing.”
At the Tribeca Film Festival Q&A, Taylor reveals that Typewriter in the All Too Well Short Film was an Easter Egg — it was the instrument by which the protagonist, Her, would go on to write her book.
The specific typewriter in the ATW short film was a Smith-Corona, sold under the Sears Cutlass brand.
In the author description on Amazon, it says:
“seeking to soothe souls through poetry and prose”
and provides a link to this website: anonpoetryandprose.com
So naturally, I followed the link and it takes you to a very basic webpage with a notice of the book launch, a link back to the Amazon page, and a banner that scrolls “This is a sign. -This is a sign” continuously.
The sidebar menu has only 2 options: Contact (“send me a sign”) by email, and “Postcards from Poet” for $20 with the following description: Randomly chosen poems from This is a sign. handwritten by me on a locally-sourced vintage postcard and sent to you from wherever I am ✨
Sounds like this mysterious Anon is quite the jetsetter, traveling around the world and sending postcards.
If the Willow Bowery “Tortured Poet” book is a callback to this community, and specifically to the 🎃 anon riddles, then I surmise that, with the bizzaro TN “there will be signs” ig post and the ATW short film typewriter Easter egg… perhaps our mystery author is TS herself, and this book of poetry (I’m guessing written while she recorded at Long Pond at age 29), Is a message to “us” who need reassurances that everything will be okay.
Anyway, long story short I ordered the book. And I think I might get a postcard when she starts her tour again… and see where it’s sent from.
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Twenty Questions - A Goth Fam One-shot with just a smidge of OC romance
Summary: A few weeks after arriving on Kuraigana, Perona is desperate to get to know her mysterious host. After much pestering, she gets him to agree to twenty questions.
Lightweight one-shot goth fam fun. Notes can be found on my AO3 account under the same username.
Word count: 7k
The woman was like a fly. Or a mosquito. Something that was annoyingly persistent and had absolutely no survival sense to back off lest it be squashed. Her ability to fly only served to further the analogy. Mihawk had certainly considered squashing her before. He wondered if there was a place where he could buy a giant fly swatter, if for no other reason than to send a message.
It wouldn’t be so bad if her focus wasn’t on him all the damn time. Perona barraged him with questions about himself, his life, his past, constantly every damn day. But Mihawk liked to keep things close to his chest. He didn’t like giving out information about himself unless it was necessary, both for his own safety and because, frankly, it was no one else’s business. He would give opinions, insights, sure, but anything that was about him specifically, about his past, about what made him tick…that was for him and a very few, select set of people. Perona was not one of them. Neither was Zoro.
In the few weeks since Mihawk had returned from Marineford, Perona’s prying into his personal life had ramped up from the occasional probe to see how he’d respond, to becoming more and more insistent. He was beginning to regret letting her stay, but he also didn’t feel he could kick her out either. The man wasn’t a total monster - she and Zoro had filled him in on what happened at Thriller Bark. He knew she had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. That damned compassion that he tried constantly to suppress, he supposed, got the better of him. But she sure was pushing her luck.
Perona, for her part, didn’t get why Mihawk was so reluctant to talk about himself. She knew he wasn’t thrilled about his new houseguests, and he made that clear pretty much every day. But she felt like he was making it harder on himself by making no effort to get to know her and Zoro. She’d tried to tell him about herself, hoping that might get him to open up, but he’d frequently silence her with a raised hand and a firm “I don’t care.” She wanted to believe that he was just afraid of getting attached to them. Yeah, that was it. Totally.
And yet she also couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt. Why didn’t he like her? She was very likable! She was cute and funny and charming, goddammit! The cold shoulder was decidedly un-cute, and she was determined to put an end to it.
On a rainy evening at Kuraigana, Mihawk sat in his chair before the roaring fireplace, a book in his lap and the castle quiet except for the patter of rain against glass. It was too quiet, perhaps. Mihawk looked around the room. Zoro was on the couch flipping through a book of his own and munching on a rice ball. He didn’t seem to be reading it, just perusing. Typical, Mihawk thought.
Perona was nowhere to be found, and that meant trouble. He briefly wondered if he should go looking for her to make sure she wasn’t getting into anything she wasn’t supposed to, or if he should just enjoy the peace while it lasted. He chose the latter, positive it would end sooner or later.
“Mihawk,” Perona said, her face suddenly dangling upside down in front of him in a wave of pink hair. And there it is, he thought, huffing out a sigh.
“Mihawk, I have a proposition for you.” Perona flipped right side up and crossed her legs as though she was sitting on the floor, while floating in front of him at eye level.
“Hmmpf. Not interested,” Mihawk replied, lazily turning the page of his book and ignoring her.
Perona ignored him. “Twenty questions.” Mihawk looked up from his book with a raised eyebrow. “Twenty questions?”
Perona nodded. “I get to ask you twenty questions of my choice, and you answer them. If you can do that - just give me twenty - I’ll never bother you for more information about yourself ever again. Promise. Pirate’s honor.”
Mihawk scoffed. “First of all, the promise of ‘pirate’s honor’ is shaky, at best, as many pirates have no sense of honor, or at least a questionable one, and I don’t know if you’re one of them.”
Perona puffed her cheeks in anger. “Well you might know if you took the time to get to know me and–”
“And second of all,” Mihawk said, cutting her off, “I don’t believe you anyway. I don’t believe for a second that, if I did answer your twenty questions, you’d be satisfied. You’d keep nagging me for more information. I won’t give you an inch so you can take a mile.”
“Actually, I think you should do it,” Zoro cut in, his voice slightly muffled as he chewed on the rice ball. “She did the same thing to me when we got here. I gave her some answers and she backed off. And the things I didn’t want to answer she didn’t push me on. Throw her a bone and she’ll be satisfied.” Zoro didn’t mention that he also, somewhat selfishly, wanted to know more about their mysterious host, and fully supported the pink-haired pirate’s quest for information, even if he wasn’t interested in being involved in it himself.
“Thank you, Zoro,” she said. “See? I have self-control. I just also would like to know more about the person I’m spending an indefinite amount of time with. Come on, Mihawk…please?”
Mihawk looked at Perona, her eyes wide and lips in a pout in what he imagined was supposed to be a sad puppy dog face. He glanced at Zoro, who only shrugged. Mihawk sighed. “Fine. But here are my terms. Yes or no questions only. How much or how little I elaborate is up to me.”
“Fine,” Perona replied, thrilled at her own progress. “But then I get to ask follow up questions about ten of them that don’t count towards the twenty.”
“Absolutely not,” Mihawk replied. “I’ll allow you to ask for more information on three questions only.”
“Eight,” Perona replied.
“Two”.
“Six.”
“One.”
Perona narrowed her eyes. “This isn’t how negotiating works, ya know! You’re supposed to be trying to meet me in the middle!”
“Take it or leave it,” Mihawk said, not backing down.
“Fine!” Perona said, frustrated. “I’ll take the three, geeze.” Perona floated away for a moment and came back with a small notebook in hand, settling down on the couch next to Zoro. “Ready?” she asked.
“I suppose,” Mihawk replied. “But one more thing. Everything I tell you about myself, no matter how insignificant a detail is, does not leave this castle. Ever. I keep things to myself for a reason, and I’m only giving you what you want so I can live in my own house in peace. That goes for you too, Roronoa. None of this makes its way to your crewmates or anyone else. Are we clear?”
Perona nodded enthusiastically. “You got it! Promise!”
Zoro nodded as well. “Whatever secrets you have are safe with me.”
It seems Perona’s frustration had dissipated and now she was just happy to get what she wanted. Perona opened the notebook. “I wasn’t expecting the yes or no stipulation, so I’ll have to re-word some of these. Let’s get started!”
Mihawk sighed and sipped his wine. “Let’s get this over with, then.”
“Question #1,” she began, “Did you become the World’s Greatest Swordsman when you were…” she thought for a minute, rewording the question in her head, “Let’s say younger than Zoro?”
Mihawk turned to Zoro. “How old are you?”
“Nineteen,” he said, “Almost twenty.”
“Then yes,” Mihawk responded, “I was younger than Zoro is now.”
Perona jotted something down in her notebook. “Great. Question #2. Do you have a best friend?”
“Yes. Two, actually.” Perona and Zoro both raised their eyebrows in what Mihawk thought might have been surprise at the fact that two people liked him enough to be his best friend.
“Question #3” she continued, “Do you have any talents or hobbies, aside from what we know about?”
Mihawk thought for a moment. “I do, yes.”
Silence overtook the three. They stared at each other.
“If you want more information, you’ll have to ask for it. I’m not going to just give it to you.”
Perona sighed dramatically. “Fine! Request for more information.”
Mihawk smirked. “One down, two left. Well, you know I enjoy farming and cooking. I can play a few different instruments, some quite well and others not so much. I enjoy learning other languages and am fluent in several.”
“What instruments do you play best?” Zoro asked.
“Guitar and violin, probably,” he responded. “I’m fond of strings.”
“Do you collect anything?” Perona asked.
“Hmmm. Nothing I would formally consider a collection, no, at least not in the sense of collecting coins or old magazines or anything like that. But I do have quite a lot of knives of different styles and makes from all over the world. I enjoy buying and trading art. And I enjoy filling out the wine cellar, though I can’t really claim that collection as ‘mine’ since so much of it was here when I moved in.”
“Is there anything you’re really bad at,” asked Zoro, “Or that you really don’t like to do?”
“I’ve never been great at the visual arts,” Mihawk admitted, “Though not for lack of trying. I don’t particularly care for organized athletics, though I do admire the people who play them. And I hate golf. More than most things, I hate golf.”
“Have you ever played mini golf, though?” Zoro asked excitedly. “I agree about regular golf, but mini golf is fun.”
“Do I look like I’m twelve to you? No, I’ve never played mini golf, and have no intention to.”
Zoro shrugged. “Your loss.”
Perona giggled. “The image of you trying to putt a ball through a windmill is kind of hilarious.”
“I’m glad you find it amusing,” Mihawk deadpanned, cringing internally at how much he had just given away, even if the information was harmless. “Is that all?”
Zoro and Perona nodded at each other, then Perona spoke. “Yup. We can continue. Question #4. That cross you wear around your neck…”
“The stabby cross,” Zoro cut in, remembering the time he felt its point in his flesh.
“Yeah, the stabby cross. Do you wear it because you're religious?”
“Ha!” Mihawk laughed. “No, not at all. I’m not arrogant enough to say there is definitively no higher power that exists, but I do lean that way. Agnostic, perhaps, might be the right word. It doesn’t matter to me one way or another if there is a God.”
“Then why do you wear it?” Zoro cut in.
“Zoro! You used up one of my questions!” Perona huffed, fists on her hips. She then flipped through her notebook and made a number of angry scribbles.
“Sorry! I’m just curious.”
Mihawk lifted the cross that hung on his chest, turning it in his hands and examining it. “It was a gift, a long time ago. It also suits my personal style. And I do quite enjoy the look on peoples’ faces when they realize it’s actually a knife. That never gets old.” He looked pointedly at Zoro, smiling slyly. Zoro frowned angrily.
“Question number….six, I guess, thanks, Zoro” began Perona, ignoring the exchanged looks. “Is there anything you’re afraid of, like a phobia or something?”
“Hmmm,” Mihawk pondered, mulling over how to answer that one. “I’d say no, not in the sense that I believe you’re asking anyway. But there are certainly things that make me uncomfortable.”
“Are you gonna tell us what?” she pressed.
“Is that a request for more information?” Mihawk responded, eyebrow raised.
“Hmmph. No, I guess it’s not worth using another request for info this early in the game unless it’s really good. Anyway. Question #7. Have you ever been dangerously close to death? Like, actively dying close?”
“Yes, actually,” he said. “I was a rather frail child, and got sick quite frequently up until I was around 9 or 10 years old. I’ve been on the verge of death from things as boring as pneumonia several times. Since then, however, no, I haven’t knocked on death’s door to quite the same extent.”
More scribbles. Mihawk was desperately starting to wonder why she felt the need to take notes. He’d have to burn that notebook when he got the chance.
“Question #8,” Perona started, looking back up at him. “You don’t have a crew of your own right now, but have you ever worked on another pirate’s crew?”
Mihawk looked up in thought. “That’s a bit complicated. When I was much younger I did sail on someone else’s crew, yes. But I’ve purposely never aligned myself with anyone else from the moment where I had a choice. Does that make sense?”
Zoro nodded. “I get it. It was a situation you were in, not necessarily something done out of loyalty to a particular captain. Right?”
Mihawk nodded. “That’s a good way to put it, yes.”
“Question #9, then," Perona continued. "Related. Have you ever had your own crew, or do you want to?”
“Hmm,” Mihawk replied, “That sounds like questions nine and ten to me.”
“What?!” she huffed. “No, there’s two clauses, separated by a comma and followed by a single question mark. It’s one question with two parts. So nyeh.” Perona crossed her arms over her chest, proud of her retort.
Mihawk chuckled. “Fair point, I suppose I can’t argue with your grammar. No and no. I could very easily amass a crew of my own if I wanted, but I don’t care for the responsibility of being a captain, and have nothing to gain from doing so.”
Onto Question #10 then,” said Perona. “Do you have any living relatives?”
“I do, yes,” Mihawk replied.
Zoro and Perona looked at each other. “Think we should use another request for more information?” Zoro asked.
Perona thought for a second. “I think so. Okay, tell us about your family.”
Mihawk sipped his wine. “The only living family I have are my parents. You’ve met them, Zoro. In Sabaody.”
Zoro’s brow furrowed in thought for just a second, before the realization dawned on him. “You don’t mean…”
Mihawk only nodded. Zoro laughed. “No way!”
“What?” Perona inquired, looking between the two men. “What’s so funny? Tell me, come on!”
Still chuckling, Zoro answered. “Mihawk’s dad is Silvers Rayleigh.”
Perona’s jaw dropped. “THE Silvers Rayleigh? Dark King Rayleigh? Is your dad??”
Mihawk nodded. “Indeed.” He decided he didn’t need to provide any information about his mother’s past unless asked.
Perona was shocked. This was more dirt than she could have ever dreamed of.
“So that must mean you grew up on Gold Roger’s ship?” Zoro asked, doing the math in his head.
“I did,” Mihawk responded. “From the time I was born until I was thirteen and went off on my own, much to the distress of my mother.”
“Do you see them often?” Perona asked.
“Maybe once a year or so. My mother and I will call each other occasionally, but they have their own lives and I have mine. I don’t always get along very well with my father, so when I visit it’s generally for my mother’s sake. But we’re usually cordial to one another regardless.”
Perona decided not to push the topic, figuring that Mihawk had given her more than enough and probably wouldn’t appreciate her digging into his daddy issues. “Okay then! And we’re halfway done. Question #11. Do you like being a Warlord?”
Mihawk huffed. “‘Like’ is certainly not the word I would use, no. I appreciate the freedom the position grants me, but I also have no love or loyalty for the World Government. The other Warlords feel much the same way, it’s about the only thing we can all agree on. It’s a trade-off.”
“Question #12. Do you support the Revolutionary Army?”
“Hmmm, an interesting question,” Mihawk said. “In theory, in belief, yes, I do believe in what they’re doing. But…if you’re asking me whether or not I’m personally a member of the Revolutionary Army….do you really think I would tell you if I was?”
“So much for your theory, Zoro,” Perona grumbled, making notes. Yes, that notebook would definitely have to burn.
Zoro only shrugged. “It woulda made sense.” Mihawk hid his grin in his wine glass.
“Question #13. When Zoro is eventually ready to challenge you for your title, will you actually kill him?”
“I feel like I should be insulted,” Zoro said before Mihawk could speak. “Why are you assuming that I’m the one who’ll be dying?”
“No offense, Zoro,” Perona said, “But I mean…come on. Look at the guy. I’ve seen you out there training….you’re great, but you’re not him. Not yet, anyway.” Zoro huffed and crossed his arms in response.
Mihawk didn’t even try to hide his amused smirk. “Yes, I will kill Zoro eventually. Or perhaps he’ll kill me, but I doubt it. We’ll see how he’s doing when the time comes. But whether it’s two years from now or twenty, one of us will die, there’s no doubt about that.”
“And you’re both just…okay with that?” Perona replied.
Mihawk and Zoro nodded, at each other then her. “Of course,” Mihawk said, “It’s the nature of passing on the title of World’s Greatest Swordsman. I killed the man who held the title before me, and he did the same before him, going back hundreds of years. One day someone will do the same to me and claim the title. Whether it’s Zoro or someone else, I do not know. But it will, in all likelihood, happen one day.”
Perona looked back and forth between the two men. “How…how can you just sit here, together, knowing one of you will kill the other like it’s nothing? How are you both so….okay with this?!”
“It’s part of being a swordsman, Perona,” Zoro said. “Not all swordsmen want Mihawk’s title, but for those of us who do, we know how it goes. We know that it’s kill or be killed, and to fall to the World’s Greatest Swordsman…I mean it sucks, yeah, I never want to lose….but it’s a risk I have to take, and there are worse ways to go. I’d much rather die in an honorable battle by Mihawk’s sword than by anyone else’s.”
Perona turned to Mihawk. “And you’re just…fine with this too? You agreed to train Zoro, knowing what he wants to do? Like it’s no big deal?”
Mihawk nodded. “I did. And it is a big deal, to be sure. I would not have agreed to train him if I didn’t believe he had potential to be the next in line. I won’t deny this…arrangement is certainly unorthodox. But I also believe there’s a reason he’s here. And, I suppose, you as well.”
“Hmmm…okay, but what about this: Hypothetically, what if you and Zoro fight, and he just….defeats you without killing you? If you know you’re beaten, why not just surrender and save your own life?”
“An admirable desire,” Mihawk said gently, “But that just isn’t the way it works.”
But it could be, right?” she pressed. “I mean, there’s no rule saying it can’t. It’s only a bunch of dead guys telling you otherwise.”
“Perona,” added Zoro, trying to explain. “For people like me and Mihawk, defeat is a fate worse than death. It’s better to go out knowing you fought honorably than to live knowing you were defeated. Mihawk’s already beaten me once. I took him on before I was ready and I made a vow that day that no one, either him or anyone else, would ever defeat me again. I’d rather die than live with breaking that vow. He feels the same.”
Mihawk nodded in agreement. “It’s about honor, Perona. Honor and pride. These concepts are inextricably linked with swordsmanship, they’re things we value above all else. Do you understand now why, when the time comes, there can be no peaceful resolution?”
Perona huffed out a sigh and sunk into the sofa, her arms crossed. “Yeah…I get it. I still want to tell you that it’s stupid, and that your lives are more important than your pride, but…I get it. And I respect it, I guess. Whatever.” Mihawk and Zoro both chuckled. “I just hate knowing that I’m gonna end up going to one of your funerals one day and it’ll be the other person’s fault. And I love funerals! But I like you both, and this one is gonna suck.”
“Don’t dwell on it for now, ghost girl,” Mihawk said with an unusually soft smile. “It will be a very, very, very long time before Zoro is truly ready to face me in battle.”
“Ya got enough ‘verys’ in there, Mihawk?” Zoro said with a sour look. Mihawk only grinned smugly.
“Ugh dammit,” Perona whined, slapping her fists on the sofa. “And I guess I just used up a request for more information too.”
“No,” Mihawk said, “I think that was an important discussion to have. You still have one left. Now, onto the next question.”
“Perona, can I ask one?” Zoro said.
Perona checked her notebook. “Hmmm, yeah I think I can spare a question, but it better be good. What is it?” Zoro leaned over and whispered in her ear. Mihawk looked on curiously. “Ohhhhh! Yes, go ahead.”
Zoro grinned. “Great! Question #14. You told me once that you and Shanks used to be rivals. Even with one arm, knowing how strong of a pirate he is, do you think you could beat him in a fight today?”
Mihawk chuckled. “That is a good question, Zoro. But it’s the wrong question.”
Zoro’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Well, the question isn’t could I defeat him or could he defeat me, it’s why would I bother fighting him in the first place?”
“I don’t understand,” said Perona.
“Well, look at it from my perspective,” Mihawk said. “Say Shanks and I do fight, which we wouldn’t because I don’t fight opponents who aren’t at their full strength. But…hypothetically. It’s a losing situation for me either way. If I win, well, I defeated a swordsman with one arm, big deal. But if I lose…if I lost to a one-armed swordsman…that would be devastating. Sure, I would go out honorably, knowing I lost to a superior opponent, but personally, given my history with the man….” Mihawk shuddered at the thought. “It’s simply not worth the risk.”
“Okay, I get that,” Zoro said. “But all that aside. Do you think you could defeat him, yes or no?”
Mihawk pondered this. “I genuinely don’t know, as much as I hate to admit it. I don’t fear Shanks, he’s one of my closest friends, but if it came down to it, he’s also the most powerful Haki user in the world. I see no shame in admitting that as strong as mine is, his is miles stronger, even if I am the better swordsman. We’ve always been so evenly matched, and that’s part of what I enjoyed about battling him. When we were younger, our fights would rage on for days until we had no choice but to call a draw. Dozens of times we’ve fought with no victor. If he wanted my title, it's certainly possible that he could take it from me, or at least put up a good fight in the process.” Mihawk shrugged. “But I also know he’d never do that, so I don’t really think about it.”
“Question #15, then!” Perona said. “Have you ever considered eating a Devil Fruit?”
“Absolutely not,” Mihawk scoffed. “I don’t need some kind of magical power to become stronger or achieve my goals. My strength as a swordsman speaks for itself. I also have very little respect for Devil Fruit users as a whole. It feels like cheating in a way, like having power you haven’t done anything to earn.”
“What? Hey!” Perona cried. “That’s not fair! I could be strong even without my Devil Fruit power!” In her anger, Perona sent a flurry of hollows through Mihawk’s chest. Over the past few weeks, Mihawk had been building up an immunity to her ghosts. It still wasn’t pleasant, but he could handle them without letting her know he was affected. As the ghosts passed through him, his expression remained stoic, but inside he was dying a little. Mihawk shook it off as quickly as he could, and a thought occurred to him.
“How old were you when you ate the Hollow-Hollow Fruit, Perona?” he asked.
Perona’s jaw dropped a little. Did he…just ask her a question? About herself? Perona resisted the urge to get all starry eyed over her progress. “I was about nine,” she replied, as calmly as she could.
“Hmmf,” Mihawk replied. “I meant no offense, Perona. I do have more sympathy for people in your situation, and I don’t carry the same lack of respect. It’s surprisingly common for children to eat Devil Fruits without knowing what they are or at least fully grasping the consequences. I know Luffy is one of them,” Mihawk nodded to Zoro. “Buggy was too. But many more people make the active choice to curse themselves in the pursuit of power or wealth or whatever else. Those are the people I tend to look down upon. Though, I will admit, there are a few exceptions for whom I carry quite a lot of respect.”
Perona looked down, hiding her smile. She felt like she had finally cracked his tough exterior, just the tiniest bit, and she felt proud. “I can understand that. Let’s move on. Question #16. Do you have a girlfriend?” Mihawk was about to answer when Perona cut him off “OR…a boyfriend?” With so few questions remaining, she had to fit in as much as she could.
Mihawk narrowed his golden eyes. “No.”
“Hmmmm,” Perona pondered, looking at her notebook. He saw her scribble a few things, but he couldn’t tell what. Zoro looked over her shoulder with interest. “Question #17. Do you have anyone you’re romantically interested in, maybe someone you’d like to have as your girlfriend-slash-boyfriend?”
Mihawk huffed and looked towards the fire. “...Yes. There is someone.”
“Request for more info!!!” Perona cried excitedly. “Tell us more!”
“What would you like to know?” Mihawk asked begrudgingly, regretting giving her that freebie earlier.
Well, how did you meet? How long have you known each other?”
“We met about twelve years ago or so,” Mihawk began. “I had been caught by Marines. An Admiral. This was before I was a Warlord, so I was still considered fair game at the time. He was a powerful opponent, but given our earlier discussion on pride and defeat, I’m sure you can imagine how…humiliated I felt. I was in a cell in shackles waiting to be transported to Enies Lobby. And she was the other person in my cell. We knew we’d be on a ship to be judged for our crimes in the morning, and so the whole night we just…talked. About everything and nothing. She was clever and wise, and made me think of things I’d never once considered. And she was so easy to talk to….”
Mihawk looked down at the glass of wine in his hand. “Anyway, morning came, and I made some joke about how it had been fun, and maybe I’d see her in prison. And she looked straight at me and said ‘No, you won’t. We’re getting out of here.’ Turns out she had a Devil Fruit power, one the Marines didn’t know about at the time so they didn’t put her in sea prism stone cuffs. She slipped out of the cuffs, out of the cell, and set me free. I was….flabbergasted. Then I was angry. I asked her why the hell she had let me sit there for hours thinking we were caught when she could have always gotten us out and she said, ‘I’m sorry, I was just really enjoying talking to you.’ And…no one had ever said that to me before. So we escaped, and have been friends ever since. I consider her among my best friends, actually, and she considers me hers.”
“Ahhh, so she’s one of those exceptions to the no-respect-for-Devil Fruit-users rule you mentioned before?” Zoro asked.
Mihawk nodded. “She is.”
“And you want to be more than friends with her?” Perona pressed.
“Ideally, yes,” he replied.
“Does she feel the same?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you planning on telling her?”
“Absolutely not.”
“But why???” Perona whined. “If you have feelings for her, you should let her know!”
Mihawk sighed. “It’s not that simple. I’m…not good with people, if you haven’t been able to tell. Never have been. But she and I, we clicked. I value our friendship for what it is, not what it could be. If it ever didn’t work out between us, or if I told her how I felt and she didn’t feel the same….I won’t gamble what we do have in hopes of having something else. It’s not worth the risk to me. I have her in my life, maybe not in the capacity that I want, but I do have her. And that has to be enough for me.”
Perona was stunned. “Wow. Okay, but what if she told you she felt the same? Would that be different?”
Mihawk shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t say I wouldn’t be happy, but the fear of messing it up would always be there. I have a good thing…I don’t want to ruin it.”
“You don’t think you’re capable of being a good partner,” Zoro said. It wasn’t a question.
“No,” Mihawk replied, slightly taken aback by the younger swordsman’s rather perceptive statement. “I don’t. I’m far too selfish for that. She deserves a much better man than I.”
“What if she fell in love with someone else?" Perona asked. "Would you be more inclined to tell her then?”
“Perona,” Mihawk said, exasperated, “This isn’t a romance novel, it’s real life. I’m not going to…to break into her wedding and confess my love to her and beg her to choose me. She’s had a number of relationships over the years, as have I. Some more casual than others…or entirely casual for me, I suppose. I’m no stranger to seeing her have affections for someone else. And yes, it hurts…like hell sometimes, honestly. Sometimes…I wish she would notice the way I look at her. I wish she’d realize how much faster my heart beats when she’s around. I wish she’d realize how perfect we’d be together...” Mihawk trailed off, before snapping himself out of his thoughts. He’d said far, far too much, but he didn’t often get the opportunity to talk about this and it was all just coming out. Only Shanks knew the true extent of his feelings….and Zoro and Perona did now too, he supposed. “But I have no claim over her. I never will.”
“What do you like about her?” Zoro asked, trying to bring the topic back from the brink. “Like, what is it about her that draws you to her, over anyone else?”
Mihawk smiled. “Well, she’s certainly beautiful. But I’ve met a lot of beautiful women, that’s nothing. She’s smart, wickedly so. She loves philosophy, and can talk about it for hours. She and I have talked about the most minute details of what it means to be human, what it means to exist in this world…I can talk to her for hours on end. And she’s kind, that’s another thing I love about her. She’s so talented in so many different things, and she encourages me to try things I never would have done before. She….I feel like she brings out the best in me.”
“Do you get to see her often?” Perona asked, smiling softly, so happy to have brought this out of her host.
“It depends,” he replied. “We try to make time to see each other, but she’s a pirate as well. She has her own crew, her own obligations and goals. We do call each other somewhat regularly though.”
“Hmmm. You should call her. Invite her to come visit.”
“Ha!” Mihawk laughed. “What, so you can play matchmaker? Please. How stupid do you think I am?”
Perona huffed. “Well fine then! It was just an idea! But….I still think you should tell her.”
Mihawk remained silent for a few moments. “Perhaps one day. Perhaps you’re right. I suppose I’m not doing myself any favors…” Mihawk shook his head, removing the idea from his mind. “Now, have you done enough digging into my love life? Can we move on?”
“I guess,” Perona said. “Let’s move on. Question #18. Do you believe in fate? Or destiny, or anything like that?”
“I do, to an extent,” he replied thoughtfully. “I believe that there are certain key points in the world that are destined to happen, but how exactly we go about getting to them is not written in stone. Luffy, for example, may very well be destined to become King of the Pirates. I’m not ready to put all my money on him just yet, but I do believe it’s possible if not likely - as annoying as I, personally, find that to be. But on his way there, he’s going to break every rule and subvert every expectation along the way.” Zoro smiled, proud that his mentor saw such promise in his captain and his crew.
“Question #19,” Perona continued. “Have you ever done anything really, really stupid while drunk?”
Mihawk laughed. “Oh, yes, especially when I was younger and spent a lot of time with Shanks. I have so many stories I could tell you.”
“Request for more information!!” Perona cried.
“Nope,” said Mihawk with a grin.
“No?”
“You’ve used up your three,” he said, smirking. “That’s all you get for this question.”
Perona’s face turned red. Zoro held back a laugh. “But…I…. UGH!!! FINE! Last one then, I guess. Question #20. Do you….I mean, are you…UGH! Sorry, I’m having trouble figuring out how to word this as a yes or no.”
“Eh,” Mihawk said. “We’re almost done, and you’ve already taken a pickaxe to some of the most closely guarded details of my life. I’ll give you this last one, no yes or no required.” He didn’t say that he had actually been quite enjoying himself.
“Really? Thanks, Mihawk! Okay, what would you say is your biggest motivator in being a pirate?”
“Freedom,” he answered. “I don’t much care for money or power except as far as it serves my ability to live freely. Everything I do is more or less towards that purpose. Frankly, I don’t trust any pirate who believes otherwise.”
Mihawk watched as Perona scribbled something. “Okay then,” she said with a smile. “We’re done. See that wasn’t so bad, was it?” She batted her eyelashes at him.
“Hmph,” Mihawk replied. “I suppose not. What have you been writing in there, by the way? Remember, everything I’ve told you is confidential. That cannot fall into the wrong hands.”
“Don’t worry, Mihawk. I didn’t write down anything sensitive. I just like knowing about people, and writing it down helps me figure them out.”
“You promised that twenty questions was all you’d get and you wouldn’t ask me anything else about myself for as long as you’re here,” he responded. “Do you feel like you’ve gotten enough information to figure me out, then?”
Perona thought for a moment. “I think I’m on my way. But I intend to keep my promise. Any other pieces of the Mihawk puzzle I get will either be picked up through observation or openly volunteered by you. Promise.”
That was satisfactory enough of a response, Mihawk supposed, especially for as late as the evening had gotten. “Good enough. Goodnight then, Perona. Zoro. See you in the morning.”
“Night, Mihawk,” they responded.
“And Mihawk?” Perona called after him. Mihawk turned wordlessly. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.” He then nodded and exited the living room.
Mihawk opened the massive door to his bedroom and made his way towards the sitting area where a number of transponder snails sat sleepily on a table. He kicked off his boots and picked up a particular snail. Then, settling down in a comfortable armchair, he lifted up the receiver. The familiar badabadabada repeated several times, then cuh-lick.
“Well hello there, Mihawk” a feminine voice said, her sly smile apparent on the snail.
“Hello there,” he said, unable to suppress his own grin at hearing her voice. “How are you?”
“Oh you know, same old same old," she replied. "The crew and I just left Alabasta, we’ve been there for a few weeks aiding the rebuilding efforts.”
“You know, most pirates aren’t so overt with their good deeds. No wonder the World Government doesn’t know what the hell to do with you.”
She giggled. “I am nothing if not an enigma. So how’re things with the kids?”
Mihawk rolled his eyes. “Ugh, please don’t call them that.” The woman laughed even harder. “It’s fine, but it’s frustrating. They’re the most obnoxious people I’ve ever met, especially that ghost girl. She’s been trying to get me to tell her about myself ever since she got here, and she finally needled me enough that I gave in.”
“You know,” she said, “I seem to recall a time when I was the most obnoxious person you’d ever met, also for being particularly insistent about asking you questions about yourself.”
“That’s different,” Mihawk replied.
“How?”
“Well, because I like you.”
“You didn’t when we first met. But nothing like a few hours in a jail cell together to endear two people to each other, right?” she said with a grin.
Mihawk huffed out a laugh. “That’s certainly true. I suppose I am a few weeks into a two year sentence for a crime I didn’t commit.”
“Give it time, Mihawk,” she said gently. “I admire you for doing as much as you are given how bizarre the situation is. It’ll get easier, just…show them the side of you that you show me.”
Mihawk blushed a little. He hoped the transponder snail didn’t pick it up. “Thank you. I’ll…try.” Mihawk stopped and took a deep breath. “Listen…since you’re in Paradise, I was wondering if you’d perhaps…like to meet up sometime soon? If you don’t have anywhere in particular to be, I mean.”
The snail smiled. “I’d love that. It’s certainly been too long, hasn’t it?”
“It has,” he agreed. “And…if you’re willing – and if you’re not, that’s totally expected and I won’t take any offense, I just, I really enjoy the time we get together and I–”
“Mihawk!” she cut him off. She’d known him for long enough to know that when the otherwise unflappable Dracule Mihawk started rambling, he had something on his mind.
Mihawk sighed. “Would you like to go out with me?” he said. “On a date?” He held his breath.
The snail beamed. “I’d love to. Took you long enough to ask.”
Mihawk smiled widely. Only she could bring that out of him. “I’ll set out tomorrow. Perhaps we could meet somewhere in between where we both are now? Water 7, maybe?”
“We do always have fun in Water 7,” she said, smiling fondly at the memories. “That would be perfect. I…I’m really, really looking forward to seeing you, Mihawk.”
Still smiling, Mihawk replied. “I’m looking forward to seeing you as well. Goodnight. I’ll see you soon.”
“Goodnight, Mihawk. Sleep well.” That night, he absolutely did.
The next morning, Zoro and Perona were surprised when Mihawk marched into the kitchen proudly, wearing the open black coat and red shirt he usually wore at sea, his feathered hat already on his head and a travel bag over his shoulder, which he dropped as he approached the two younger residents.
“Heading out?” Zoro asked, handing the older swordsman a full mug of coffee.
“Warlord meeting?” added Perona.
“No,” replied Mihawk, “No Warlord meeting. I called her last night. I asked her out.” Mihawk took a sip of his coffee to hide his grin, and for dramatic effect. “She said yes.”
Perona squealed and did loops in the air before embracing Mihawk in a bone-crushing hug, pinning his arms to his sides and knocking the wind out of him. For a ghost, she was surprisingly strong. “I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!”
“Ghost girl,” he said lowly. “Off.”
Perona backed away, hands in the air. “Sorry!”
Zoro chuckled, his arms crossed over his chest. “I’m happy for you, Mihawk. I hope it works out. How long will you be gone?”
Mihawk downed the last of his coffee and placed the mug in the sink.
“I suppose that depends on how it goes. Probably around two weeks with travel time. Zoro, I’m sorry to put our training on hold, but –”
Zoro laughed and patted the older man affectionately on the back, much to Mihawk’s surprise. “No need to apologize! The Humandrills should be all healed up, I’ll fight them while you're gone to keep my skills sharp.”
Mihawk nodded in approval. “Both of you, behave while I’m gone. Try not to burn the place down, will you?” With that, he grabbed his travel bag and began walking out of the room. Then, he stopped, turning only partly to face the two younger residents of the castle. “And by the way….thank you. Both of you. For encouraging me to talk to her.” Without waiting for a response, he exited the kitchen, then the castle, leaving Zoro and Perona with broad smiles behind him.
#dracule mihawk#perona#roronoa zoro#goth family#one piece goth fam#one piece fanfiction#dracule mihawk x oc#dracule mihawk x reader#very slight romance#mostly getting to know you headcanons
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