#And if buggy was ready to talk about the thing that upset him he would answer

[cipher-zoo]

I am back again with highly specific content that only a small fraction of my followers will be able to understand but:

"Ich frage mich wo Findus steckt."

"Der sitzt wahrscheinlich auf der Bank und sch��mt sich."

From Petterson und Findus but it is Rayleigh and Buggy!

[translation: "I wonder where Findus could be."

"He's probably sitting on the bench, feeling ashamed."]

[goingmerryfics]

Arguments w/ Shanks, Buggy, & Mihawk

Content: Gender Neutral reader, no NSFW. Maybe some slightly angsty stuff? Not really though.

Shanks

Arguing with him is either exhausting or it’s pointless, there’s never an in-between

Shanks doesn’t really take most arguments seriously because they’re either started by something extremely unimportant or he’s already made his decision and he’s not going to back down on his opinion

Pointless, because he’s not going to change his mind and he’s laughing at you while you’re trying to talk to him

“You’re so cute when you’re angry.”

Yup. Pointless. It’ll just make you more angry and him more entertained

The exhausting arguments are when he’s actually serious- and while he’s not mad at you, he’s mad that you can’t see his reasonings for doing what he’s doing

Especially when it comes to keeping you safe

Shanks won’t back down and it’s impossible to change his mind while he’s this pissed off, so it’s always best to just separate and come back later to talk it out when you’re both calm

While you do what you need to do in order to relax, Shanks festers in his anger and reflects on the things that were said between the two of you. His crewmates try to cheer him up- they offer him booze, they crack jokes, but he’s not in the mood for either and everyone is concerned

Truthfully, he’s worried. While he’s still not willing to change his mind, he doesn’t want to lose the relationship you two have worked so hard to build and maintain

He gets up out of his seat 3 times to pace around, mind racing back and forth on if he should go talk to you, and then convincing himself that it’s best to wait for you to emerge first so he knows you’re ready to talk

But he grows tired of waiting, and does actually end up coming to your shared room to resolve the issue

You’re still steaming just a bit. Your arms are crossed over your chest, and you don’t look up when he enters. You know it’s him, because a few others on his crew have already come to check on you, and you’d asked them politely to leave you be. But you don’t protest when he comes to sit beside you

He doesn’t touch you

It’s painfully silent for a while

Then he finally speaks up and breaks the tension

“I’m sorry. That got a little more heated than I wanted it to.”

You peek up at him just a bit. He notices how red your face is, and a strike of fear shoots through him at the thought of possibly having made you cry and then left you on your own for hours

He stretches out his hand, offering it to you to hold, and you shift in your position to take it

He goes into a rant on how much you mean to him and how he’s only doing what he has to do to keep you and the rest of the crew safe

“Because I love you. You know that, don’t you?”

You do

You also know that no matter how many times you two get upset with each other, you’ll always find your way back into his arms

Buggy

Arguing with him would come often, but the content of the arguments is what matters here

Only for the reason that Buggy is adamant about being correct in every situation, even when he is not and knows it

Everyone knows it’s best to just simply let him believe his delusions and let the natural consequences come through

But this guy seriously has weirdly good luck, and somehow all his delusions seem to come true for him in one way or another

Half of the time it’s just funny watching him be completely wrong about a subject, other times it’s a little infuriating

Arguments don’t last long between the two of you, though

Buggy craves attention, and attention from his favorite person is a must. It’s basically a necessity of life

Food, water, shelter, you. Not in that order, though

He realizes too late through his incessant rambling and gloating that he’s said something that hurt your feelings and immediately starts to backpedal

“Wait, wait, wait! That’s not what I meant! What I meant to say was-”

He’s red in the face, almost so much so as his nose

He hates to admit it, but you look really good glaring down at him like that as he tries to save his own skin

He clams up, sweating. Unsure of himself. Not sure what he was even saying a second ago

As much as you need time alone to chill out, he can’t seem to leave you be. It’s scary for him, seeing your usually smiling face so serious

He takes a seat outside of your room, and then breaks into pieces no, literally while he waits for you to emerge again

It takes you a few hours, but he’s there the whole time. His feet are pacing around, his head is whining, cheek on the floor. His hands are tapping and picking at the dirt in the wood, but every part of him lights up when he sees you again

“Aha! I see you finally caved. Couldn’t stay away from me, could you?”

You pause, and then move to go back inside before he yelps and his hands grab at your ankles. His parts come back together again, using the rest of his body to hold you in place

“Wait! I’m sorry! Please don’t go back!”

He shouts it all in a rush. He’s crying, and there’s snot running down his nose

He looks like a damn mess

It kind of makes you laugh at how desperate he is for you

he pouts up at you and you cave

He basically crawls up your body to hug you. You hug him back, petting his hair and waiting for him to relax, sitting right there in the doorway of your room. People pause as they pass, but a sharp look from you stops them from staying for very long

Mihawk

If Mihawk is actually worked up enough to argue with you, there’s a good reason for it

Usually he makes his point and that’s that. No other words exchanged, nothing more than a slight glance towards you

Mihawk is an introvert, and he gets exhausted from others very easily. He’s not trying to be rude or dismissive towards you when he does this, but that is how it comes off sometimes

He’ll turn his attention back to his book because after he’s said what he wanted to, he figures everything is fine. He understands his logic, why wouldn’t you?

But you, like a lot of people that aren’t Mihawk, are more emotional than he is

Your silence isn’t acceptance, it’s hurt

Only when you get up to leave the room does the thought cross his mind that maybe what he’d said didn’t come off correctly, and you might have just been insulted. But he figures you would come tell him if that were the case, so all is well and he returns to his book

This could go forever, really. Until he notices that you’re giving him the cold shoulder, and then he would stop whatever he was doing- even if he were in another room at the time of realization -and find you to clear things up right away

“Darling, we need to talk right away.”

Straight to the point. He doesn’t really ask you if you want to talk, because he knows if he doesn’t at least make an attempt at this it will haunt him like Perona’s ghosts all night

The thing about Mihawk that not many people know is that he’s got this cool, collected, silent aura about him because he simply does not have the energy to play nice with everyone

So when he’s just arrived home from a Warlord meeting, or somewhere that he was obligated to be present for, all he wants is time to himself to recharge

Having a relationship and balancing this need was something he was still learning

But he loves you so much and the thought of upsetting you over a misunderstanding gnawed at him and gave him massive amounts of anxiety and uncomfortability

He’s not this untouchable guy that everyone thinks he is. You’ve seen this; he laughs and cries like everyone else does

And you understand him. He couldn’t ask for someone better than you are

If you’re willing to, he’ll take your hands and kiss your knuckles.

“I apologize for my behavior. I should have given my words a second thought before I spoke them out loud. What can I do to make this up to you?”

It’s an easy thing to answer- it’s all you wanted since he’d returned, why you kept invading his space before he was ready to emerge and what lead up to the situation in the first place

You tell him you want him. His attention, to be wrapped in his arms. You just want to spend time with him, even if that’s in silence

He can work with that

He presses a kiss to your forehead and makes you promise that you’ll tell him if he ever says or does anything to upset you again. He wants to communicate, not lose out on precious time with you over something small

He goes above and beyond, though. He makes up a very romantic candlelit dinner that night for the both of you to share and even if it’s a very quiet dinner, (minus the music playing softly in the background) it’s perfect

[rorywritesjunk]

No longer locked upon the land but free on the rolling waves

You and Buggy come face to face with himself from the past, and while you're fully accepting that this is your husband as a child, Buggy doesn't want to accept it.

Rating: PG-13ish, but just due to some swearing.

Warning: Upset kid, upset husband. Reader is way too nice, doesn't necessarily take husband's feelings into account as well.

A/N: A combined request. I did a few versions of this story before feeling like it hit the marks I was wanting to hit. Also, I'm just trying to vibe off what I've seen of Kid Buggy. I'm no expert. I'd protect that kid with my life. He's so adorable. I also like the trope of "Meeting your self from another time" and "gets turned back into kid-self". This is the former, and I know shit about time travel but I just kind of made something up. Also, kelpies. Are they in One Piece? I honestly don't know but I love kelpies and needed an excuse to mention them.

Title comes from "Sailing Song" by S.J. Tucker.

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6/Epilogue

Chapter One

You would have thought you drank the pub dry the night before and were still drunk with what you were seeing in front of you. Except you very much didn’t drink. You stayed back on the ship, wanting a quiet night while the rest of the crew and captain went to drink the pub dry. You were perfectly sober, no hangover in sight, but you really weren’t sure what you were staring at.

Blue hair, red nose, and a scowl you knew all too well was in front of you, clutching something in his little hands while looking you up and down. “What?!”

“I… don’t know.” Which was true, you didn’t know. The kid in front of you looked every bit like the captain who was currently sleeping back on the ship, having managed to find his way home without falling off the docks and into the water to drown(this time). He never mentioned having a kid, ever, and considering how long you knew the captain and your relationship with him, and guessing the kid’s age, you would have been having a very serious talk about infidelity and why keeping your love child a secret? Seriously? wasn’t good for relationships. 

“Why are you staring at me?!” The kid snapped. “Don’t stare at me!”

“Sorry!” You smiled and knelt down in front of him. “You just look so much like someone I know, I was confused. I promise I wasn’t staring.”

The kid was on guard, tense, and looked ready to bolt, but you were curious. He just looked so much like Buggy that he had to be an offspring or some kind of relative, but the scary thing to you was how much he really looked like Buggy; he had kept some photos of his childhood onboard the Oro Jackson, and you knew what he looked like as a kid. He would show them to you on nights when he was drunk and reminiscing about the good ol’ days, singing shanties and drinking heavily. Last night was one of those nights before he passed out asleep in bed. 

“What’s your name?” You finally asked. The kid didn’t seem sure about telling you, but he must have felt brave because he straightened up and smirked at you.

“I’m Buggy!” He told you, puffing his chest out proudly. “I’m an apprentice under Captain Roger, y’know, and I’m one of the best already!”

Oh.

Oh shit.

Yea, no, something weird was going on. Why was there a kid who looked like Buggy, had the same name, and was talking about Captain Roger like he was still alive? Was this an elaborate make believe game the kid was playing, or were you staring into the eyes of your husband’s childhood self?

Weirdly enough, the latter made more sense to you. You heard of this happening, stories from sailors and pirates alike, but the stories were overheard at the bar after too much alcohol was consumed. Stories of children appearing for several days on a ship, like ghosts from a distant past, only to disappear again without a trace, but sometimes it happened the other way around, with the storytellers insisting that they met themselves as a child in the past, got to relive some memories, good and bad, before coming home again. 

“Yea?” You grinned. “That’s impressive, so where’s your crew? Your ship?”

The smirk vanished and he deflated a bit, looking around with the smallest bit of worry. “I don’t know. I was in front of them and there was some kind of flash of light, and… I don’t know where I am.”

“Oh, well, want me to help you look for them?” You asked, knowing all too well that his crew was nowhere around, he was not where he thought he was, but you didn’t want him getting into any trouble (which you knew was difficult because as an adult he managed to get himself into enough trouble). “If we don’t find them, you can stay with me. I’ll keep you safe.”

“I-I don’t need to be kept safe!” He snapped. “I’m tough, okay? I can take care of myself!” 

You made sure not to laugh, but it was hard not too. He was so cute as a kid that saying those things with such passion and intensity just made him even more adorable. Instead, you nodded, agreeing with him as you held your hand out to him to take.

“Well, how about something to eat? I’m just finishing up a supply run for my ship.” You said. “I’m happy to make you something before we find your crew.”

He looked at your hand, looked at you, then back at your hand before hesitantly taking it. Whatever he held in his hand he put in his pocket, making you wonder what he stole before coming here. You decided not to test the waters yet, he was feisty, proud, and if you treated him like a kid then he wouldn’t be very happy. You needed to treat him like the apprentice that he is, proud, determined, and passionate. Once his hand was in yours, you gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled at him as you started walking back to the docks.

“I have fresh apples and peanut butter, if you’d like that as a snack.” You said, eyeing him with a grin as his face lit up. That was the same snack you’d promise the captain whenever you wanted something from him. It wasn’t fancy by any means, just a simple snack, but you kept the peanut butter hidden from him so he never knew where to find it. The way the kid’s face lit up told you all you needed to know that this really was Buggy as a kid.

Oh, it was about to get fun on the ship.

~

“-and then I stole it!” Buggy exclaimed with a laugh, holding up the pendant for you to see. He had just finished telling you of his latest act of piracy, stealing some necklace from a vendor on the streets. You had fed him, given him something to drink, and you couldn’t help but walk over to him once he finished talking to wipe some of the food off his face with a dish towel. He was caught off guard and made a face at you when you did that.

“Pirates with food on their face scare no one.” You chuckled as you slung the towel over your shoulder before clearing the dishes in front of him. “And then what happened, Buggy?”

He fell silent, brow furrowed as he thought of your question. What did happen? He took off running, met up with the crew, and then a flash of light and he bumped into you-

“Buggy?” You tapped on the table in front of him, bringing him out of his thoughts. “You okay, sweetie?”

“Yea, yea.” He mumbled as he looked down at the pendant in his hand. “Next thing that happened was I ran into you.”

He quite literally did. You had just stepped out of a shop when he walked right into you, and you had been in shock of seeing him that you weren't bothered that a kid was yelling at you about being in the way.

“Oh!” You nodded and went to refill his glass. “Well, you can stay with me until we find your crew, okay?”

“Are you a pirate?” He asked. “I'm on a pirate ship, but you don't seem like a pirate.”

You laughed softly at that, shaking your head. “I'm not, no. I don't do piracy, just help with the upkeep of the ship. My husband, however, is a pirate.”

“What?!” 

“Yea, he-”

“It's too loud in here.” Someone grumbled from the doorway. You both turned to look; the kid’s eyes widened and you grinned. And there he was, groggy, a little hungover, and obviously needing food and coffee if he was going to start the day. You went over to him and led him to the table, helping him sit down before you started on the coffee. “Time?”

“Lunch time.” You chuckled. “That's what time it is, honey.”

He glared at you, oblivious to the guest that was staring at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. Buggy was a little hungover, having had his fair share of alcohol the night before. Normally you had the coffee ready for him before he woke up, so he was confused and unhappy that it wasn't readily available for him at that moment.

“It's too early.” He grumbled, rubbing his eyes. “What's for lunch?”

“Wake up first.” You brought him a cup and kissed the top of his head. “But I need you to look across the table before you drink that coffee, honey.”

Buggy looked up at you, eyes squinting in confusion. You took hold of his head and turned it in the direction you wanted him to look, and a few seconds later he pushed back from the table while you still held his head. Swearing, you popped it back onto his neck.

“W-What is going on?” He shrieked upon seeing the kid. Thankfully Kid Buggy remained seated, but you could see the confused look on his face. The two were staring at each other, mirror images except for the age difference. Before you could explain, your husband got up, marched over to the kid, and picked him up by the back of the shirt, carrying him out of the kitchen.

“Buggy-” You went after him, not sure what was happening.

“Hey! Put me down!” The kid shrieked, fists swinging and legs kicking. 

Buggy didn't respond and before you could stop him, he tossed the kid over the side of the ship and into the water. You couldn't believe he did that. You rushed to the side to look over, relieved you saw the kid treading water. So this was definitely a young Buggy, pre-Devil Fruit, otherwise you would have thrown your husband overboard after the kid. You threw a rope down to him while your husband went back to the kitchen, rambling on about curses and bad omens. 

You wanted to know what the hell that was about.

~

“I’m fine!” The kid insisted as you wrapped his hair up in a towel. His clothes were soaked and you did not have anything that would fit him, so he was currently wearing an old shirt of Buggy’s until his clothes dried. They were draped over a chair in the bedroom, the pendant he stole earlier sitting on your shared dressing table. 

“I don’t need you getting sick, sweetie.” You sighed as you used another towel to make sure his face was clean. You were mindful of the nose, touching the towel to his face except there. “I’m sorry he did that.”

“Why did he do that?” He grumbled as he crossed his arms, glaring up at you.

“Because pirates are superstitious fools.” You told him. “And… seeing you scared him I guess. I don’t know, I’m going to talk to him.” Carefully, you unwrapped his hair, making note that he needed to have it brushed to keep from tangling too much. You got up and set the towels aside before grabbing your hairbrush. “Buggy, I’m going to tell you something and I don’t want you to get scared, okay?”

“I don’t get scared!” He insisted. “Not like that guy! I’m braver than him!”

“Okay, here’s the thing about my husband-”

“Don’t tell him anything!” Your husband suddenly appeared in the doorway, glaring at the two of you. “Where did you find him? Who is he?!”

You weren’t bothered by his mood, but you wanted to make sure the kid felt safe. Without a word you moved between the two, keeping Kid Buggy behind you as you crossed your arms.

“We ran into each other, Buggy.” You told him firmly. “He got separated from his crew.”

“Crew?!” Buggy shook his head. “No, get him off this ship. He could be… a kelpie or something. Get him out of here!”

“He’s not a kelpie.” You sighed. 

“You don’t know that!”

Rolling your eyes you looked down at the kid. He had grabbed hold of your pant leg, gripping it tightly as he stared at the man in the doorway. This was a lot for both of them but you needed the captain to calm down. You knelt down and touched the kid’s bare toes. He took a step back and gave you a weird look.

“Human toes, no hooves.” You pointed out. “He also mentioned the Oro Jackson and being an apprentice…” You looked back at your husband. He paled and shook his head. This was too much. This was not him, this had to be some form of trickery, or a shapeshifter. “Besides, I’ve spent enough time with my husband to know when I’m with him as a child.”

Kid Buggy’s eyes widened, looking between you and Adult Buggy. Child? Was… this supposed to be him in the future? As an adult? His jaw dropped, he couldn’t believe it. You smiled at the expression on his face, pleased the kid was in awe of this.

“I turn out to be a drunk loser?!” The kid shrieked. “Why?!”

Okay, that was not what you expected. You slapped your hand to your face while your husband looked ready to throw the kid overboard once again. Kid Buggy just shook his head, not believing this. Was this an alternate reality of some kind? He wouldn’t be like this. Was this guy even a pirate? He didn’t seem like it from the little bit the kid had seen already. He was not impressed in the slightest.

“I want him gone.” Buggy snapped. “No kelpie or bad omen crap is allowed on this ship!”

He stormed off after that. 

[acescorazon]

Changes

Chapter: 16

Title: Retribution

Rating: M

Warnings: Language, Violence (but not really), Dialogue heavy :3

Word Count: 2879

Chapter Excerpt:

“Or are you perhaps still upset at Crocodile and I?” 

Buggy doesn’t know what’s the most shocking thing about this revelation, the fact that Mihawk wanted to console Buggy or the fact that he’s actively paying attention and actually seems to care how Buggy is feeling. His head is spinning right now. Mihawk moves his hand back quickly, almost as if he’s been burned, “I don’t know how to make my feelings seem genuine,” He states, and another moment goes by before he quietly asks:  “Do you want to take your grievances out on me?” What? Buggy instantly thinks as he stares at Mihawk, more confused than ever. “I know I’ve done a lot to hurt you in the past, so it would only be fair if you get some sort of retribution, right?” 

What? 

Mihawk gets up from his seat and fetches his giant blade from the corner of the room before presenting it to Buggy, “Take Yoru and do what you please to me or feel free to use any weapon of your choice if you don’t want to use Yoru.” He says, “I won’t stop you.” What the hell is this? How did they even get to this point so quickly? Buggy’s feels a wave of unease wash over him as he feels Yoru rest heavily against his lap and then watches Mihawk take a step back and spread his arms out.

“Whenever you’re ready, Buggy.”

|Ch1|Ch2|Ch3|Ch4|Ch5|Ch6|Ch7|Ch8|Ch9|Ch10|Ch11|Ch12||Ch13||Ch14||Ch15||

Buggy stops writing and looks up from his paper. He furrows his brow in confusion, “Oh? I thought you wanted to work on bettering your relationship with Crocodile and I.” He asks, curious. The thought of having a dinner with both Mihawk and Crocodile still isn’t an appealing one, but he thought for sure that Mihawk would try and invite Crocodile to dinner with them again. 

Mihawk rubs the back of his neck, “I do, but…” He trails off, “I assume he’d reject my invitation anyways, so why bother asking him?” Well, that’s a pretty good point. Even if Crocodile has apologized and expressed he wanted them all to get along, knowing him, he’ll only put the bare minimum into repairing their relationship, which is fine with Buggy.  

“How about it?” Mihawk asks. 

God, Buggy doesn’t want to have another dinner with Mihawk. He wants to have dinner with his friends where things are lively and fun, not all uptight and extremely awkward. Still, Buggy finds it difficult to reject Mihawk’s offer when he appears to be putting in the effort to fix their relationship, feeling like if he says no then it’ll cause unwanted stress and drama. “Yeah, sure.” He mutters, relenting despite wanting to reject Mihawk’s offer. 

….

After finishing their shopping list and sending some men out to sea to retrieve the supplies they’ll be needing, Buggy once again finds himself in Mihawk’s personalityless tent, sitting on his couch while eating an equally drab meal. There’s a weird tension in the room, and part of Buggy doesn’t know why he agreed to have a meal with Mihawk again in the first place. Maybe this is good for him, though. There’s a brief silence amongst them, but it doesn’t stretch for nearly as long as Buggy expects it to. For the most part, Mihawk seems to be putting effort into making conversation tonight. They talk about their upcoming trip to Prickly Pear Island as well as how training has been going with Mihawk and Buggy’s crew.

Everything is going fine and dandy until Mihawk brings up one man in particular. 

“Did you hear that Red hair is going after the one piece?” Mihawk ask as he takes a sip of his wine. Ugh, yeah… Yeah, Buggy did.

Buggy chews slowly on his food. Suddenly, his meal taste bitter and leaves a foul taste in his mouth, but he forces himself to swallow it down before he reaches for his glass of water. “Of course I did…” He mutters as he tries to keep his expression somewhat neutral or at least uncaring. 

“What are your thoughts on that?”

What are Buggy’s thoughts? Buggy can’t even begin to sort all the thoughts he has swimming around in his head right now, let alone put them into words. He guesses the closest word to describe how he’s feeling would be bitterness, but not even that sums up the true depth of his emotions. “I don’t give a shit what that idiot does,” Buggy manages to say, but his lie doesn’t sound too convincing. “He probably won’t even find the One Piece anyways.” 

Mihawk watches Buggy for a moment before he hums, “I suppose you’re right. The chances of him or anyone else actually finding the One Piece after all this time are probably slim.” Yeah, that’s what Buggy thinks too… Or rather hopes. “Roger never told you two where it was, did he?” 

Buggy shakes his head, “Nah, but I don’t think we ever wanted to know anyways. We didn’t want to know what it was or where it was, we always wanted to go on a grand adventure and find it for ourselves, you know?” 

“Together, right?” Mihawk asks softly.  

Buggy tries to stop a bitter smile from spreading across his face but fails. “Yeah, together.” He confirms. “I always thought he was supposed to take after Roger. I thought that he should be king of the pirates and that we would go after the one piece together, but…” He chuckles softly, “Shit happens, I guess. I don’t care.”

“Except you do care.” Mihawk replies, calling Buggy out on his lies. Oh, there Hawkeye goes again, reading Buggy like a book. Perhaps Buggy isn’t as good of an actor as he thought he was. 

Buggy laughs, “You kidding me? I don’t care,” He insists, “Let that idiot do whatever the hell he wants. I have my own problems I need to worry about. I have to be Cross Guild’s flashy leader, don’t I? Why would I care what one dumbass is doing?”

Mihawk leans back against the couch and looks up at the ceiling, “You know, Red Haired Shanks might be a close friend of mine, but… I know how he can be.” He sighs before pausing again, “I know how it feels when he just disappears for months and years on end and doesn’t even send you a message to let you know he’s alive or see how you’re doing. I also know how it feels when he shows up out of the blue one day and acts like he hasn’t been gone a single day. Or how it feels when he makes promises that you both know he won’t fulfill.”

At least Shanks is consistent, Buggy thinks bitterly as he debates whether or not he should ask for a glass of wine now that the two are talking in depth about Shanks. 

“He’s a good man and an excellent fighter,” Mihawk adds softly, “But there are times when his carefree lifestyle can leave others feeling disappointed and like they’re unimportant, almost like an afterthought. So, I get how you’re feeling right now, I really do.” He reaches out and puts his hand on Buggy’s thigh, squeezing it lightly. 

Buggy startles slightly from the touch. “Are you…” He blinks, confused again, “Are you trying to console me?” He accidentally blurts as soon as the thought pops up in his head. That can’t be, right? Mihawk can’t possibly think that Buggy is feeling down because Shanks is going after the one piece without him and is now actually trying to make him feel better. Why would Dracule Mihawk try to console anyone? He’s not that type of man. 

Mihawk seems equally as confused now, “Isn’t… Isn’t it obvious?” He asks. His hand is still on Buggy’s thigh, and he doesn’t make any effort to move it, “You’re feeling down, aren’t you? You… you kept looking at that newspaper with Shanks’ face on it during today’s meeting, and you haven’t been talking a lot lately…” he locks eyes with Buggy, “I thought you heard the news about Shanks and felt betrayed and might want to talk about it, so…” he trails off, “Was I wrong?”

 

“Um…”

“Or are you perhaps still upset at Crocodile and I?” 

Buggy doesn’t know what’s the most shocking thing about this revelation, the fact that Mihawk wanted to console Buggy or the fact that he’s actively paying attention and actually seems to care how Buggy is feeling. His head is spinning right now. Mihawk moves his hand back quickly, almost as if he’s been burned, “I don’t know how to make my feelings seem genuine,” He states, and another moment goes by before he quietly asks:  “Do you want to take your grievances out on me?” What? Buggy instantly thinks as he stares at Mihawk, more confused than ever. “I know I’ve done a lot to hurt you in the past, so it would only be fair if you get some sort of retribution, right?” 

What? 

Mihawk gets up from his seat and fetches his giant blade from the corner of the room before presenting it to Buggy, “Take Yoru and do what you please to me or feel free to use any weapon of your choice if you don’t want to use Yoru.” He says, “I won’t stop you.” What the hell is this? How did they even get to this point so quickly? Buggy’s feels a wave of unease wash over him as he feels Yoru rest heavily against his lap and then watches Mihawk take a step back and spread his arms out.

“Whenever you’re ready, Buggy.”  

Buggy doesn’t even know what to make of this situation. Here’s one of the men who has hurt him the most, standing before him and telling him to unleash his fury on him. It’s Buggy’s chance to finally get a little bit of revenge. He could beat Mihawk up to a pulp, he could slice him to pieces, he could leave him for dead, that way he’ll never get to take his anger out on Buggy again. 

Buggy stands up from the couch slowly and holds Yoru in his hands. This thing is heavier than shit. He thinks as he glances over at Mihawk, who’s looking back at him with an unreadable expression. “Do you regret it…?” He asks, his voice a little shaky, “Do you honestly, truly regret treating me like shit?” 

Mihawk simply nods in response. “I do. I don’t think I can apologize enough for my heinous behavior, which is why I think you should hurt me like I hurt you. I won’t fight back or seek revenge in the future. You have my word.” 

“You do know you’ve hurt me with more than just your fists, right?”

“I do. Feel free to insult me while you get your revenge.”

Buggy had no idea that the world’s strongest swordsmen was such a masochist. Buggy can really do or say whatever he wants to Mihawk and there won’t be any repercussions at all?! He thinks back to all the times that this man, this cruel man has put him down and made him hurt and cry. Mihawk probably won’t cry or even flinch while Buggy is beating the shit out of him, though, but at least Buggy will be getting some form of revenge.

Buggy swallows down a wad of spit, “You do know that you’re an idiot for doing this, right, Hawkeye?” He asks, feeling a little bold now that Mihawk has given his word that he won’t stop Buggy from enacting his revenge on him. “You do realize I could kill you, right?” he asks, “Do you realize how much hatred and hurt, and rage I have stored up inside of me after all the shit you and Crocodile have put me through?! I could kill you. I could slit your throat right now.” 

“If that’s what it takes to get forgiveness, then I’m okay with dying.”

He was so quick to respond. Buggy truly hates this man and his bravery. Mihawk is yet another person who doesn’t fear his own death, and it pisses Buggy off. He’s everything that Buggy isn’t. 

Buggy hates him. He wants him to suffer, or better yet, to just die. Buggy will still have to deal with Crocodile if he kills Mihawk and he’s sure that Crocodile will be furious about Mihawk’s death, but who cares? This is finally Buggy’s chance at revenge. Hell, maybe after he kills Mihawk, he’ll have enough adrenaline flowing through his veins to actually be able to take on Crocodile and finally be free of these two.

Yeah, that sounds just perfect, actually... 

Buggy takes another step forward, Mihawk doesn’t move. He looks down at the sword in his hand, it far too heavy for his liking, but he does think it would be ironic if Mihawk died from his own blade, and even more ironic that Buggy would be the one using it to strike him down. Buggy’s heart is soaring right now as he stands in front of Mihawk. He feels stronger than he’s felt in weeks, granted he knows it’s all an illusion that Mihawk is allowing him to have, but it still feels damn good. He feels like he’s on top of the world, knowing that he can slice Mihawk in half or plunge his own sword into his belly right now. 

“You’re too hesitant. Don’t think, just do it.” Mihawk orders, his voice flat. 

Buggy chuckles. Yeah, maybe he has been stalling a little without even really noticing it. He tries to shut off his mind and his feelings before he raises Yoru up in the air. He quickly brings it down as those same painful memories flood his mind for the umpteenth time, but he stops short of Mihawk’s shoulder when he realizes Mihawk really isn’t going to stop him.

“Why are you doing this?” Buggy asks, desperately searching for answers, “What do you think this could possibly achieve? Are you just fucking with me? You know I can’t do something like this.” 

Mihawk stares down at Buggy, still completely unbothered, “This is no joke. I want forgiveness and if this is the only way to receive it, so be it.” He replies, remaining stubborn and fearless. Buggy drops Yoru to the side, and shoves Mihawk roughly, but the other man doesn’t budge. 

“Why are you acting like you’ve suddenly changed?” Buggy asks as he shoves Mihawk again, this time a little harder, “Why are you acting like you actually give a shit about how I feel? Why are you acting like a man of honor now?!” Mihawk doesn’t reply, and it only pisses Buggy off more. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to do! What’s the point in all this bullshit?!” He yells. 

Mihawk remains silent yet again. 

“Why won’t you answer me?!” Buggy asks, and in the heat of the moment he slaps Mihawk. It doesn’t feel as good as it should. After everything Buggy’s been through, slapping Mihawk should feel amazing, but there’s nothing gratifying about it at all. If anything, hitting Mihawk makes Buggy feel…bad. 

Mihawk doesn’t even flinch when Buggy slaps him, he stays perfectly motionless and stares down at Buggy, waiting for his next move. Buggy swears he’s never met someone as enraging as Hawkeye before. “Why are you doing this?”  He repeats, “Why are you acting like you desperately want my forgiveness after all this time? There’s no way you actually care if I forgive you or not. So, why are you doing this bullshit, Hawkeye?” 

Mihawk looks away, “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you my reasoning behind all this.” he mutters, “Just let your frustrations out on me.” What the hell is that even supposed to mean? Buggy absolutely hates how cryptic Mihawk has been recently. “No, I want to know why you had a sudden change in heart,” He replies, shoving Mihawk again - still no budge.

“Because I’m remorseful.”   

“Bullshit. What’s the real reason?” 

“Because I’m remorseful.” Mihawk repeats. 

Mihawk’s words loop over and over in Buggy’s head. Because I’m remorseful, because I’m remorseful. Somehow those words just make Buggy even more upset, even more confused. “Come on, Hawkeye. Stop bullshitting me. We both know you hate my guts and love seeing me suffering, there’s no need to play these stupid games with me.”

“For the love of God, Buggy!” Mihawk exclaims, “Can’t you see that I don’t hate you? Can’t you see that I’m doing all this because I want you to forgive me? I want to move on, I–.” He trails off, unable to finish his sentence, “I was wrong. I was wrong in so many ways about you, and I was wrong for hurting you.” He takes a step forward this time and puts both of his hands on Buggy’s shoulders, Buggy tenses but doesn’t move away. “Can’t you see I’m being genuine? I wouldn’t stoop as low as to play mind games with you…” He pauses again and then takes a deep breath, “Buggy, I’m doing this because I regret my actions and I want to move on. I’m doing this because I want to better our relationship and…because… I think I’m starting to develop feelings for you, as crazy as that seems.”

Buggy feels like he’s been punched in the gut. He stares at Mihawk for a good minute, trying to figure out what the hell he just said to him amidst all this chaos. ‘I think i’m starting to develop feelings for you…’ Buggy opens and closes his mouth, unsure how he’s even supposed to react to such an announcement. It’s like a cold bucket of water has just been dropped on his head. He’s unsure if he should still be angry or if he should be in disbelief. Is he supposed to be flattered?

“I’m serious, Buggy. I have absolutely nothing to gain from lying to you.” 

Oh, god. Buggy quickly puts some distance between them as he feels a weird, unexplainable concoction of emotions stirring within him. Oh, god. What the hell is going on? He thinks as he frantically searches Mihawk’s face for any sighs of deception but finds none. Oh, god. He’s serious, he’s actually serious. Oh, God. Buggy puts a finger up, “I have to go because you’re freaking me out, man.” Buggy blurts. “You have to be the most confusing man i have ever met in my life. What do you mean you think you’re developing feelings for me?!” He asks.

“I-” “Oh, god. Don’t say anymore.” Buggy says, cutting Mihawk off before he rushes out of his tent and into the night, panicking from Mihawk’s all too confusing confession.  

A/N: Because only Mihawk would think he needs to be stabbed to be forgiven and then be like oh by the way i think i'm starting to like you.

[his-mother-is-lightning]

EPISODE 6: FEAST OR FAMINE (too soon?)

AKA - Break a leg, kid! (Sanji's bad day)

AKA AKA - a blond and a red-leg walk into a bar

AKA AKA AKA - how many pirates does it take to sew up a swordsman? (answer: just one, if he's also a chef)

my episode 5 reaction

Luffy just straight up dissociating over here. A grand start to the episode

Will the trope of someone about to do surgery asking for alcohol and then drinking it ever not be funny? I don't know, but I don't want to live in a world where it isn't

Mihawk wears cowboy boots 👢

I'm so glad they don't call him Hawkeye all the time like they do in the anime. Dracule Mihawk is an objectively amazing name - why the hell would he need a nickname?

Luffy cleaning Zoro's swords + his mental spiral/rant about wanting Zoro to recover is such a gut wrenching moment.

Love me a group of grown men making fun of a child. Poor tiny Sanji has already been through enough guys (as we learn much later in the series) and then Zeff tries to add oregano to his food? The inhumanity of it all!

Just two guys, stuck on a rock, trying to not starve to death. Just a guy watching a bratty kid walk away with all their food. Just a child, laid out in the sun, waiting to die. Just a pair of survivors, dreaming of a restaurant in the middle of the ocean. Just a-

(warning for gross) but like, Zeff was planning on dying and letting Sanji eat his corpse, right? And if they were stuck there for 85 days... what did they eat? Did they finish eating his leg? Bc that seems like the only option. How am I the only one wondering this??

Ngl I don't get the fairy tale Nami reads to Zoro. Maybe that's why I don't get her perspective. Cause she's yelling at Luffy and it's clear that she's upset, but on what planet could Luffy have stopped Zoro from going after Mihawk?

Koby is over here, trying to be helpful by asking Garp to accept his grandson for who he is. Which Garp obvs takes to mean, "if he wants to be a pirate so damn badly, then I'll treat him like a pirate. And kill him"

Meanwhile Arlong slams open the door, late to the party with his Starbucks, ready to make everything worse for everyone.

Luffy trying to talk to an unconscious Zoro - so soft, so pure.

"I can't let innocent people get hurt because of me" must sting. Poor Nami. Everything she's running from is catching up, and here's Luffy literally running at them

HOW DID YOU NOT NOTICE THERES AN EAR IN THE BAND OF YOUR HAT?? He was just repairing the hat last episode!!

Ok Nami I get it. I get it, right. But telling Arlong to drop him in the sea is such a fucked up thing to do. I can only think that she has faith that one of the crew would go and save him. That has to be it, right?

Nami changing into a slinkier outfit when she goes back to Arlong's crew is Noted.

And there's Sanji, diving into the water to save Luffy, a guy he literally just met. Did he realize that Luffy couldn't swim?

Garp makes his stupid little speech wearing his stupid little dog hat. What is with these ppl wearing animals on their head?

Helmeppo looking over at Koby when he hears about the new plan bc he's caught the friendship bug and it's given him a bad case of feelings

Luffy going to Zoro at his lowest moment to say 'i need you right now. I need you back' is so pure. And of course Zoro wakes up for him

Love me a man who wears a full suit to join his new pirate crew. And when he has a beautiful, emotional goodbye with his father figure? Sanji cries and I cry and we all cry about found families.

The return of Buggy! Poor Sanji is standing at the back, prob wondering what the fuck he's gotten himself into

I'm saving the last two episodes for tomorrow. And once I've finished season one, I'll prob go back to watching the anime. I was at episode 60 I think

Onwards and upwards

[amethystpath-writes]

Maybe a Civillian whose been kidnapped by the Villain as leverage or whatever, and is being held as his place? Only to find out that villain has a little girl living with him. His daughter. She’s all giggles and smiles, and asking to play with Civillian!

Civilians hands are a bit tied (literally) scared of upsetting villain by getting too close to his daughter. Little does Civillian know that he actually adores how good you look holding his little girl

Tumblr f'd up so you might get this answered twice, or three times. Either way, I made this gay so I hope you don't mind.

******

"Have a seat." Villain gestured to the dinner table.

As Civilian stood frozen, eyes buggy and wide, Villain came over, placing a hand on his new captive's back, urging him forward.

"Maybe I was too harsh. Welcome to my humble abode. Take your jacket off and stay a while."

Still, Civilian said nothing, only breathed quick and harshly as he was guided to the table. He wasn't sure what he thought was going to happen at the table. Maybe the wood would turn metal and he'd be flipped on his stomach while Villain dug at his spine with just his bare fingers.

"Just sit right there while I make dinner." The villain's voice was cold and lazy. He seemed tired, which scared Civilian even more. Being tired meant being careless, and why wouldn't Villain already be careless with a captive? This was bad. This was really, really bad. And this was why Civilian let himself be pushed down into a chair. If he was cooperative, he'd be okay. Right?

The sound of fast feet sounded and Civilian's attention snapped to a hallway up and to his left. A little girl emerged from the dark.

"Daddyyyyy!" she yelled and promptly ran to...to Villain. Civilian nearly choked on nothing but his own shock. There was absolutely no way Villain had a daughter. No way. Kidnappers couldn't be parents. Bombers of cities couldn't be parents. Criminals like Villain weren't parents. It didn't make sense.

But the sight was right in front of Civilian as he silently watched from the table. The girl squeezed Villain's legs together while he fried something in a pan.

Villain said, "Honey, you need to step back. The grease pops and I don't want you getting burnt, alright?"

The girl giggled and hung on as if it was a challenge. Civilian didn't understand. Villain had a daughter, one who clearly looked up to him right now, and was...was happy living under the roof of a man who caused chaos seemingly just because he liked it.

A spatula clunked against the skillet. Villain turned, grabbing his supposed daughter's shoulders. Here it is, Civilian thought, and he nearly stood- despite his fear- to defend the young girl. Before he could even push his chair back, though, Villain took a step forward, forcing the girl back. "No getting hurt. Go sit at the table, alright? I'll bring you the food and some fruit punch when I'm done."

"Hawaiian punch?"

"That's fruit punch, isn't it? Did I get the wrong thing?" Villain seemed genuinely confused, which made Civilian even more so. This was wrong. It was all so wrong. Villain couldn't be a parent, much less a good one.

Villain shook his head. "I got you red juice. Now go sit down before I burn all of our potatoes."

This time, the little girl didn't argue or try to hug Villain's legs again. Instead, she came running over to a wide eyed Civilian, and it didn't take her long to notice him.

"Hello!" She gave a toothy smile and waved wildly at Civilian as he was sat across from her.

Civilian stole a glance at Villain who moved very, very slowly as he stirred. He was listening.

"Helloooo. Person?"

He said nothing. Surely, interacting with the Villain's daughter wouldn't bode well with his captor. Surely, it would lead to Civilian being split open with dull blades. Or- or maybe Villain would-

"Go on, Civilian. Introduce yourself, nicely."

Civilian coughed, fingers clenching into fists behind his back. "I- uh- I'm...I'm Civilian."

"And?" Villain piped from the kitchen, scraping the spatula against the skillet before flipping the diced potatoes he was cooking.

And? And what? He gave the kid his name. What else was there to say, to give? "And I'm a friend of Villain's- of your dad's." Civilian watched the villain nod.

"You're Daddy's friend?"

Civilian nodded at her with a discreet swallow.

"Will you be my friend, too? Oo! We can play stuff. Daddy bought me legos. Will you play with those?"

"I don't think- um..." Civilian's hands were wild behind his back, unable to separate as Villain tied them together so long ago, but to squirming with anxiety.

Footsteps sounded. This time they weren't soft and quick like when the little girl ran out. These steps were slow and heavy. Villain. Villain was coming closer. Did he not like how Civilian was talking to his daughter? But hadn't he just told him to elaborate? Oh god, what was Civilian supposed to do?

Villain walked behind him, and Civilian's eyes widened as he felt a cold plane lay up against one of his arms. There was an edge to it, too. "Of course he'll be your friend, darling. You want to play legos, Civilian? She's been working on the Millennium Falcon. Maybe you can help her out while I finish our meal."

That wall of cold disappeared and Villain began cutting at the rope. "Um, yeah. Yeah, I'll help you build that- that...what was it?" Civilian chuckled falsely in his panic. "The- the Star Wars thing. I'll help you build it. That sounds like fun. Fun."

There was a breath of warmth on Civilian's ears. His breathing picked up speed as Villain whispered, "Take a deep breath." Civilian didn't understand it was supposed to be soothing. He took it as a threat and braced himself for Villain cutting into his wrists.

But that time didn't come. Instead, the rope fell from Civilian's hands and he sighed in relief. Villain whispered again. "Now go play."

And so Civilian did.

***

"I'm done now." The kid stood from the floor, stepping out of the chaotic mess she and Civilian made.

This was just in time for Villain to call out from the kitchen that food was ready.

As Civilian began to stand up, Villain's daughter came running back and nearly knocked him over. "Up," she said. "Pick me up."

"Oh. I- That's- Maybe I shouldn't."

"Pleaaaaaase."

He stood up all the way, the girl clinging to his shirt. Civilian glanced down at the end of the hall, where, to the right, he would see Villain pouring potatoes into bowls or on plates.

This was a bad idea. He couldn't hold Villain's daughter. He told Civilian to play legos with the girl, not bond with her and hold her like Villain should be doing.

"Pleaaaaaase? Please please please. Pleaaaase."

Civilian could hear the way she was about to cry, and wouldn't crying be worse than just giving in and picking her up? Crying would imply that he hurt Villain's daughter or something. That would be worse. It would be way worse and Villain might kill him.

"Okay. Okay, okay." Civilian held his arms out and the little girl squealed, lifting her arms up so that Civilian could grab her pits and lift her up.

He walked her out of the room, stopping just before they could exit the hallway.

"Um," the kid said, "the table's right there. Can we go there?"

Civilian didn't hear her. He was too afraid of walking out there, knowing Villain would see him holding his daughter.

"Daughter, Civilian! Food's getting co- oh." Villain stepped into the dining room, visible from the hallway- which also meant Villain now saw Civilian. "You're right there. Come sit down."

"I'm sorry," Civilian spewed, setting the girl down. "She wanted up and I wasn't going to, but then she started begging and I could tell she was about to cry and I was afraid you'd-"

Villain walked to the fridge and pulled out a ranch bottle, while interrupting Civilian by saying, "It's fine. Go sit down. I'm getting ranch and vinegar- do you want cheese? I have sharp and mild."

Civilian might have read into Villain's words too far, noticing how he said sharp before mild. It was a warning, Civilian thought. "No cheese," he said, "but thank you." Thank you for not killing me when you saw me holding your daughter.

***

Dinner was eaten, and almost immediately after, Villain's daughter wanted Civilian to pick her up again- just to carry her around and see things from a different perspective.

When she told Civilian that she wanted to be taller than him, but not taller than her dad, Civilian flustered, nearly putting her down right away.

But Villain didn't mind, not at all. In fact, it was cute- the way Civilian blushed when Daughter asked for something, anything. The way, when he thought Villain wasn't looking, he smiled. Or he laughed when he thought Villain was too occupied to hear. The way he loved a villain's daughter like she was just some kid off the street. All of it.

The best, exactly, was when Civilian held Villain's daughter. Because it was then that he really became...something. Villain couldn't say what 'it' was. It wasn't attraction. It couldn't possibly be attraction. Civilian was here as a prisoner...but still. Civilian was pretty, and he was great with kids. He pointed at various objects and laughed as he held Daughter. She certainly enjoyed it.

Still, Civilian's light always dimmed when he realized Villain was watching- admiring- what all he did. Civilian didn't know it was admiration, though, and Villain couldn't tell him that it was. Why? Because Civilian was supposed to be leverage against Hero. If Villain ever admitted it wasn't scornful and threatening looks directed at Civilian, word would get out, and suddenly he'd become leverage against Villain, not Hero.

[sassanoe]

His Present, Her Future Part 2-Thomas Sharpe

Masterlist   Part 1

!Warning! : SMUT at the end

Aurora Banks had finished a time machine/teleporter. She was ecstatic, but the person she wanted to show it to, she couldn't. Love was something she had. It was hard to get over. It's been five months since she saw Thomas. She missed him dearly, so it shocked her when her brother came in ranting about it.

"I bought the house. Well, you bought the house you will sign when you get there." Daniel said, wait, was she hearing him correctly. "You bought Allerdale Hall? With my money?" She asked, "Yes, as well, it's been undergoing renovations for the past month. So it should be all fixed up and to its former glory. They fixed the issue with the clay leaking from the basement. The house now is up to 2021 standards. I also took the call for some modern adjustments to the bathrooms and kitchen." He said, watching his sister's reaction, so far her jaw just kept dropping.

"Daniel, by God, do I love you." She smiled, running up and hugging him. "Oh, I have to go. I need to pack, take the jet. I'm gone." She went to leave, "Aurora, the man is dead! It's not like he would be waiting for you." She turned back, "I know but, I just want to know if he left me a note as I did for him." She ran out of the lab. "Aurora!"

Running to her car and speeding all the way home. Everything was perfect. She packed her bags, called her pilot, and she was off to the airport.

Allerdale Hall stood tall and proud. Thomas stood staring out the window. After Aurora left, everything went to hell. Lucille, his sister, had killed him. Edith had managed to escape and kill Lucille. Now he and his sister sat watching people come and go. Children and young teens came to the house to see if there was a ghost. The past month had been strange as men and women had come in renovating the house.

Thomas could only think about her and worry for whoever bought the home. Lucille surely wouldn't be happy. He stayed seated, listening quietly, as Lucille played her piano.

The next day, Thomas was still sitting at the window watching when another strange vehicle appeared. He furrowed his brow watching, who was here now. Getting up, he stood closer to the window as a familiar figure stepped out. His eyes widened slightly. It couldn't be. He quickly made his way down to the main doors. The doors opened slowly, and his eyes widened. It was her she had come back to him. "Aurora." He said softly.

Taking off her jacket and hanging it on the coat rack. She snapped her head to the left, thinking she heard her name. Shaking it off, she looked around, eyes wide in wonderment. "God, this place looks beautiful." She hummed. She then smiled brightly and quickly made her way upstairs to his room.

Thomas smiled softly, following after her. When he got to his room, he saw her looking through the drawers. She found the letter taking it gently. "Oh, sweet Thomas, I hope you're happy." She kissed the letter softly, shivering as the room got colder. "Fuck, it is freezing." She looked around the room then smiled, seeing that her brother had a thermostat put in the room. The bedding looked the same when she was here last, and it just made her all the happier. She turned the heat up before kicking her shoes off crawling into the bed.

Thomas watched quietly and knew when Lucille was close. "Who is in our home Thomas?" Lucille asked, heading to his room. When she saw Aurora, everything snapped. "This whore is back in our home!" She growled, the lights started to flicker. "You will not hurt her, Lucille!" He yelled back, "Why? So you can try and fuck her in our bed again! Only for her to leave you!" She screamed, then disappeared.

The room all of a sudden became warmer the lights stopped flickering. Aurora looked around, confused. "Thomas?" She asked quietly. He bit his lip, watching her. Should he reveal himself? She sighed and frowned. "I must be going insane." Her phone started to ring, and she put it on speaker. 

"Find anything from your darling Thomas?" Daniel asked with a bit of snark. That piqued Thomas's interest. She came back to see if he left her something. Rolling her eyes, she smiled. "Haha, very funny. You're just upset I found love." Her brother got quiet and puffed out a no. "Mhm, that's why you're silent. All work and no play makes Daniel a dull boy." She sassed back.

Thomas sat on the bed listening to the two, looking up when it got quiet. "T-Thomas?" She was staring dead at him. Surely she couldn't see him, could she? Dropping her phone, she crawled over to him. "Aurora!" Her brother yelled from the other end. "Is it truly you?" He smiled slightly, "Yes, darling." She reached her hand forward. She could touch him, shocking both. "Aurora Banks!" Her brother yelled again. She ignored her brother, immediately getting into Thomas's lap and kissing him.

"Oh, I missed you." She kissed all over his face holding him. She was smiling until she pulled back and took in his face. "Oh, Thomas. What happened to you?" She said softly, as his cheek had red floating from it. He smiled sadly, "Things went downhill after you left, darling. Lucille got out of the ropes. Killed me, then Edith killed her and escaped." He held her to him. "Oh, Thomas." She cradled him, the two just staying there, her brother forgotten.

Over the next few days, they learned everything about each other all over again. Lucille had been quiet, and that scared Thomas. He didn't tell Aurora that Lucille was haunting the house. The past few days were magical for them both. The only disappointing thing being, she could only physically feel Thomas from dawn till noon.

Aurora woke up, Thomas sitting next to her. "Thomas?" "Good morning, my love." He leaned down and kissed her softly. Day by day, he had begun to look like his original self. "What if we could make you human again?" She said softly. "That is impossible, darling." She huffed and sat up. "Nothing is impossible, Thomas. Just think, if we make you human again, we can live out a life together." 

He sighed, "Darling, leave it alone." He got off the bed. She had been talking about this non-stop the past few days. "Thomas, come on! You and I could make a machine to do it!" She said, excitedly "Aurora." He said sternly. "Come on! It would be amazing, you and I. We could travel the world. We could-" She started before he snapped. "What! What will we have, Aurora! A chance to get married, kids, a happy family, each other! It is impossible! Stop acting like a child!" He yelled at her. 

She stopped altogether, her eyes watering. Frowning, Thomas immediately regretted yelling at her. He didn't want to get her hopes up. "Darling I-" "I think I need to run into town." She got up, throwing on her hoodie and slipping into shoes. "Darling!" He followed after her and frowned when he got to the doorway, not able to leave, "Aurora! I'm sorry!" She had done sped off down the road in her car.

Lucille came out of the shadows, "Look at that, you, drove her away yourself. I didn't even have to do anything." She smirked, "Lucille, leave me be!" "I'll leave you with a warning, Thomas. You make her leave, or I will." She disappeared again.

Aurora drove to the closest grocery store. She went in sniffling when she got a call from her brother. "Hey, princess." "H-Hey." She sniffled, "Aurora, what's wrong." "Thomas and I got in a bit of a tiff." She frowned, getting a buggy and throwing in ice cream, chips, and stuff for her for dinner. "What happened?" Daniel asked softly. "He got mad because I keep bringing up wanting to make a machine to make him human." She whispered, making Daniel sigh. "But, you already started." "I know, but he doesn't know, and he thinks it is impossible." "Aurora, my darling sister. You have to communicate and tell him. He probably doesn't want you to get your hopes up and get hurt."

When she was quiet, Daniel furrowed his brows. "Aurora?" "Daniel, I had a brilliant idea. I have to go. I love you, bye." She hung up on her brother and quickly checked out of the store heading back to her new home.

Thomas had been pacing in front of the door, worried. Aurora came rushing in carrying bags. "Aurora," "Not, now Thomas." She put the stuff up in the kitchen, then went to his workspace in the attic. She started back working on her teleporter. Thomas furrowed his brows. How long had she been working up here without him knowing? "Darling, how long have you been working up here?" "Every night, when you go to the library to read when you think I'm asleep." She responded, not looking at him.

She was moving out so quickly in front of him. "What is that?" He asked, pointing at a jar. "A butterfly your sister had killed when I went back in the past. So it's as old as you in terms of being dead." She huffed and turned on the small device before putting the butterfly through. They watched, it came back to life. "Thomas, I did it." She said quietly.

Thomas was shocked. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you. As well, I'm sorry about this morning." She looked at the floor, "No, Thomas, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kept pushing you. I also shouldn't have hidden this from you. Forgive me?" He smiled softly, tilting her chin up, "Only if you forgive me for yelling at you." "Always," She leaned forward and kissed him.

Over the next week, the two worked on building the machine. Everything was going to plan. Today was the day. Aurora awoke, rolling over, looking at him. "This is it." She said softly. He brushed her hair out of her face smiling. "It is. Are you ready, darling?" She smiled up at him, "I should be asking you that." 

It wasn't until around three in the afternoon when they finished the contraption, flipping the switch, everything came on. "You will have to step into the tube, and I'll close the door, okay." He came over and went to touch her face before pulling away, making her frown. "I'll be able to hold you whenever I please once this is over." He said softly.

She smiled as he stepped in, "I love you." "I love you too, Thomas." She closed the tube, and it took fifteen minutes. The longest fifteen minutes of her life. "Please have worked." She whispered. When the doors started to open, she gasped as he came out. He picked her up and kissed her. He looked at the clock and smiled after pulling away. "It's three-twenty-five in the afternoon, and I'm kissing you." He smiled brightly up at her.

She kissed him again, "I can take you to my home in the states, you can meet my brother, we can travel, I can show you the modern world. The possibilities are endless." She smiled, the two running to their shared bedroom packing their bags. When they got into the bedroom, he smiled, not being able to let go of her. "May I have you?" He asked softly, smiling down at her. She laughed and smiled, "Yes."

Unbeknownst to them, Lucille went into the machine. She was furious when she came out. She had no intent to hurt Thomas, just Aurora.

The bedroom door slammed open to reveal a furious Lucille. Thomas and Aurora snapped their heads to the door, shocked. "L-Lucille..." Thomas gasped. He didn't know what to do. He was currently laid back on the bed naked, the love of his life on top having been riding him. Aurora was quick to get off of him and reach for her dress as Thomas pulled on pants.

"Lucille, what did you do?" Thomas asked, "I wanted us to be together again. You obviously, missed me if you are fucking the whore." Lucille said. Thomas went to his sister and held her arms. "Lucille, I love her." He said softly, trying to get her out the door away from Aurora. "Thomas, she isn't good enough for you. We had a baby together. We could have another and be happy." "Lucille, no. The baby was born wrong, and it died. It wasn't right for us to be together in that way."

Lucille glared at him and was quick to turn it around. She tried to shove him, the two struggling for a second. Lucille stabbed him in the stomach and forced him out of the room, locking the door. "Aurora!" he screamed, banging on the door. Looking down, he grabbed the knife and pulled it out.

Inside the bedroom, Lucille had cornered Aurora. Lucille tackled Aurora hitting and clawing. Aurora squirmed, trying to get away. She pushed Lucille away and quickly tried to crawl across the bed to the door. Lucille grabbed her leg, pulling her back before Aurora kicked her in the face. Lucille screamed. Scrambling to the door, Aurora quickly unlocked it before grabbing Thomas by the hand and running. Lucille was hot on their trail. Aurora pulled Thomas into the modern elevator and pushed down before hitting the emergency stop button. Lucille ran down the stairs. Aurora clung to Thomas, "Thomas, what do we do?" She cried as the two held each other before a gunshot went off.

"Aurora!" She snapped her head up and smiled, finding her brother had shot Lucille. "Who is that?" Thomas asked, brows furrowed. She hit the button for the elevator. Once they got to the main floor, she ran out and to her brother. "Daniel!" She yelled running, and jumping in his arms still crying, but smiling now. "Shh, I got you. I got you." He held her tight as Thomas walked over to them.

Aurora pulled away from her brother and went to Thomas's side. "Thomas, meet my older brother Daniel. Daniel, meet the love of my life Thomas." She smiled. Something grabbed her ankle, and she screamed. Aurora jumped into Thomas's arms. Daniel shot Lucille in the head twice. 

Daniel and Thomas burned Lucille's body and destroyed the machine. Aurora got their bags packed and brought them to the car.

While on the plane, Thomas was fascinated by everything, asking questions. Aurora smiled as Daniel was happy to answer him, the smile never leaving her face until her brother spoke to her. "So I'll stay at yours tonight for us to catch up on everything." Daniel said, "No." Aurora answered at the same time, Thomas said, "Okay, I have so many more things to ask." "NO! No to Daniel staying." She said.

Both men looked to her, "Why?" they said in sync. "Because," Aurora responded. "Sis, that isn't a real answer." "Darling, your brother is right." Her eye twitched. "Come on Aurora, please?" "No." "Please?" Thomas joined in, both giving her puppy dog eyes. "You want the truth?" "Yes." both men said in sync. "Are you sure?" She asked. "Yes!" They said in sync yet again. 

"You two are not hanging out tonight or tomorrow. Why? Because I have been cock blocked these past two months. When I finally got some, your sister came in." She looked to Thomas, "I am going to go home and have sex with my boyfriend. I could be joining the mile high club if my brother wasn't here. So, I plan on getting railed once home, Daniel, so no. You are not staying over." She stated, glaring at both before getting up, and going to bed in the back of the jet.

"What did she mean by getting railed and the mile high club?" Thomas asked, confused. Daniel chuckled, "When she says getting railed, she wants you to fuck her till her eyes roll back and she can't remember her name, only yours." Thomas's eyes widened, "Wouldn't it hurt her?" He asked softly, making Daniel bust out laughing. "God, no! She'll like it, oh, and the mile-high club is when you have sex on the plane." Thomas was fascinated, she wanted these things?

"Also, here is a little advice when it comes to my sister." He pulled Thomas close and whispered in his ear.

Hours later, Thomas and Aurora stepped into her home. "Welcome to my home, or I guess our home now." Thomas set down their bags before shutting and locking the door. He was quick to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder. "Thomas!" She squealed as Thomas started making his way to her bedroom off what her brother told him. "Thomas! Put me down!" She squirmed on his shoulder, resulting in him popping her behind.

Once they were in her bedroom, he threw her down onto the bed before climbing on top of her. He made quick work of undressing her, smiling and seeing her naked below him. "Beautiful," He said softly before kissing her.

She smiled in the kiss pulling him closer. "I don't think it's fair, I'm the only one undressed." She sat up, switching their positions. She kissed him softly, unbuttoning his shirt, sliding it off him, and throwing it to the floor. She started to grind against Thomas as he ran his hands down her waist gripping her ass and pulling her closer. "Thomas. Off. Please." She panted between kisses pulling on his pants. She lifted off him, and he made quick work to pull his pants off, kicking them to the floor as well. She lowered herself back into his lap, shocked slightly at him not having underwear. Shrugging it off and grinding up against him, he started kissing on her neck and pawing at her ass. 

He was quick to turn her around on his lap. Thomas had an arm wrapped around her waist. The other slowly running down her stomach, to her mound, then to her clit. "Thomas!" "Stay still for me, darling." Her hips jerked, and he just gently tapped her clit again before rolling his finger in small circles, making her pant and whine. She rolled her hips into his hand, and he stopped his movements. "No, Thomas, please." She begged. "I'm sorry." She whined

"Shh, darling." He slowly started to play with her clit again, then running his finger through her petals and sinking a finger in. "You're so wet for me, darling." He smiled and kissed her shoulder. "If you're a good girl, I'll let you ride me." He pushed another finger in, slowly, he started to thrust his fingers. "Did you understand me, darling?" He picked up the pace, his thumb playing with her clit. She gripped his wrist, closing her thighs around his hand. "Mhm." Aurora moaned, "Words, darling." He stopped, right as she was on the edge, "Yes, sir! I understand! Please don't stop!" Thomas didn't know what came over him when she called him sir in such a needy tone.

He made quick work of fucking her with his fingers. "I-I need!" "You need what, darling?" He purred in her ear, and she squeezed his wrist tighter and moaned, "What is it? I won't know unless you tell me, darling." He started to slow his movements until she moaned out, "Please make me cum, sir!" He smiled, "Anything for my darling." He sped up his fingers again until she pushed further against him and came hard, gripping his wrist and thigh, digging her nails into the skin, "Thomas!" She moaned out. He chuckled, slowly rubbing her clit as she came down from her high. "What a good girl you've been for me. Are you ready for your reward?" She nodded eagerly, "Yes, sir." 

He picked her up, adjusting them on the bed. He laid back, pulling her on top of him. She whined and started grinding against his manhood panting and moaning when his tip would brush against her clit. "Lift up some darling, so you can ride my cock." She quickly did as told, and when he positioned himself at her entrance, she slowly went down on his manhood. "T-Thomas..." She loved how he filled her, "God, you're so tight, darling." She leaned forward and kissed him as he held her ass. She started slowly rolling her hips. They broke this kiss, as she sat up and started to ride him. She kept her hands on his chest, whimpering when he would hit a soft spot in her. He held her hips, helping to steady her as she rode him. "Such a good girl." he purred. "T-There, please..." She moaned out. 

He chuckled, flipping the two of them, so he was on top. He kissed her before he started to pound into her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, digging her nails into his back. "R-Right there! Thomas!" "Yes, darling." He growled out, going faster. "Thomas, I'm close!" She moaned, "Look at me, darling." He huffed, as she tried to keep her eyes open. She kept her eyes on him, dragging her nails down his back. He started pounding into her g-spot as hard as he could, as she clawed up his back. He sat up slightly and took her and entwined their fingers. He leaned down and kissed her next, "Cum." He whispered in her ear. He leaned back just in time to see her eyes roll back and her back arch into him. As she came, her walls clamped down on his manhood, making him cum. "Thomas!" "Aurora!" 

Holding her hands, he slowed his pace and kissed her. Staying in her, he rolled to the side, pulling her into his chest. She curled into him, making him smile. "I love you, Aurora." She smiled up at him sleepily, "I love you, Thomas."

The next morning, she awoke to see him fast asleep at her side. It was perfect. Over the rest of the year, Thomas had started to work with her at her company. Many of the women were excited over a new man in the building, only to be disappointed when finding out he was with their boss.  Aurora had started leaving more of the engineering to Thomas and exploring other hobbies. Such as where can she fuck him throughout their work building and how to show he was her’s to other women. Thomas and Daniel had become thick as thieves. Thomas proposed, and everyone thought nothing could get better. Well, except Aurora, she had one or two more tricks, up her sleeve for her man of the past.

@anushkagoswami2692​

[simply-sams-things]

Helloooo Hope you’re having an amazing day i loved shower with luke and since i saw you were accepting requests i was wondering if you could do one with 1D where the reader is one of them’s sister and she’s secretly dating one of them and her brother doesn’t know but he finds out and goes over protective of the reader. i’m really sorry if it’s too complicated. p.s. if there’s something you want to talk about i’m always there. have a great day.

Tag list:

@impossibleapricotlampbat

Umm hello YES i would love to do this my best friend and i were talking about this the other day and we just DIED becuase of it so im going to do it with liam and harry if thats alright with you and also im always open to talk :) I also just had coffee adn its 2pm were i live so im  pumped - Sammy

masterlist

Overprotective much?

Okay so maybe dating your brothers band mate wasn’t a great idea but you see at the time it was and you both wanted to keep it on the down low anyways because of his whole being famous thing.

You and liam had been dating for a year today, which has been an amazing year and you both are surprised on how well it had been kept a secret from everyone else, that is until about 30 minutes ago.

Since it’s your one year you both decided to order take out and stay inside your apartment for the weekend with no interuptions. You told your family that you were having a girls weekend with your best friend and liam told the guys and he was with his sister Ruth and her family for the weekend. It was all going well until your idiotic brother decided to crash “girls weekend”. Around 10 there was a knock at the door and thinking it was your best friend who said she was coming over to grab her stuff from a few days before you and Liam both walked to the door not expecting it to be your brother.

“Hey- OH MY GOD YOUR NOT Y/BF/N” You shouted

“Liam what are you doing over here at Y/N’s without a shirt. Wait. WHERE IS YOUR SHIRT”  Harry said as he stormed into your apartment. He started yelling at you both about how wrong it was to be together especially behind his back.

“You told me you were having a girls weekend and last time I checked Liam wasn’t a girl so tell me how long have you been trying to get in my sisters pants Liam!? Ever since we got together as a band because I swear to g-”

“HARRY” You shouted to shut him up. Harry was mad and it was understandable, but he was about to wake the whole complex up and you weren’t ready for another noise complaint just yet. “Liam can you go put your shirt on while I talk to him please?” you asked looking at your boyfriend who nodded and left giving you one last glance but didn’t bother to look at Harry who had been glaring at him since he walked into the apartment.

You looked at harry and gestered him to sit down on the couch and he di looking up at you. “Liam and I have been dating for a year Harry today is our anniversery thats why we told everyone we were doing something else so nobody could bother us.” he tried to cut you off. “But why-” 

“Harry don’t, let me finish, we wanted to tell our families at first but when we started to date we wanted to see where it would go becuase you guys were still on tour, and then tour ended and we got so used to being in secret that we decided that we would wait till after today.” You sat down next to him.”We wanted to tell you, mum and Gemma first next weekend and then Karen, Geoff, Ruth ,and Nicola after you guys and then the rest of the boys we were going to tell after them. Thats why this weekend was to ourselves so we can discuss how we were going to tell you all and also celebrate our 1 year. And i understand why you’re mad at him for dating me but Har, I’ve never been more happy with someone he makes me so happy and I really love him H. I haven’t been this happy in a long time and you know that. We saved each other in some type of way

“Just please don’t be mad at him, if you want to be mad at anyone let it be me I was the one who said yes to our first date a year and a half ago. He was so nervous Harry because he didn’t want you to be mad at him. So please don’t be mad at him.” You finished and began to nervously play with your hands while waiting for your brothers answer. 

“I’m not mad at you guys dating I’m upset because for over a year my baby sister has been happy and I couldn’t see that she that it was because of one of my bestfriends, and now that i think about it you guys make it really obvious, but if he makes you happy then i guess im alright with it also Liam you standing there behind us is really creepy mate” he said.

“Sorry” Liam said and sat down next to you and grabed your hand “but are you honestly fine with it Harry I mean I understand that because I’m your band mate but i really love her and I don’t wanna lose her” he was staring at you when he said the last part and yoy started to get teary eyed.

“Liam I’d rather have you date her than anyone else because i trust you” Harry explained “But that doesn’t mean I wont beat you up if you break her heart” He then got up and motioned for you guys to do the same and then procedded to pull you both into a hug.

“I could never break her heart H she means to much to me, if i did i would beat myself up for you”.

“Stop it you two before I cry even more” you chimed in giving out a watery laugh.

Harry let you go and headed to the front door, you and liam following along. “I guess i should say I’m sorry for sort of ruining your anniversery”

“I mean you sort of did but we forgive you besides its an all weekend thing for us, and Harry I swear if you tell anyone else before we get too I will murder you myself and blame Louis” you told him opening the door.

“Okay first off didn’t need to know what you guys are doing this weekend and second of all I won’t buggy, I trust you guys will when you are ready, Oh and also does Y/BF/N know? Because I really can’t have them winning-”

“Seem’s you’re already losing Harold”  Y/BF/N said giving him a smirk. “I’ll get my sytuff some other time Y/N it’s not really important. Come on Harry lets leave the gross in love people alone” They said grabing his hand and walking away with Harry shouting

“HAPPY ANNIVERSERY YOU GUYS LOVE YOU BOTH AND hey will you let go of my hand- BYYEEEEE” you closed the door and laughed alongside Liam.

“You do know that if he told us to stop I wouldn’t have never let that happen right?” Liam asked after the laughing fit calmed down, you turned to him and went on your tippy toes and gave him a kiss.

“I know which is why everytime I say I love you I truly mean it bubs”

“I love you too my love” he leaned down again and kissed you and then he playfully grabbed your butt and you shreiked into the kiss and he started to laugh your favorite laugh.

////

I hope you like this i honestly had so much fun writing this ! - Sammy

also i didn’t read through it so there probably is a lot of spelling mistakes oops

[classysmashy]

Into Each Life...

#3/??? of Nuclear Winter

ZoNa Holiday 2020 Entry Prompt 3 (Ornaments / Tradition)

@zonamievents

One Piece in Fallout Universe (kinda~)  [I do not own One Piece or Fallout]

AN: There was something in particular I wanted to convey about Nami with this one, but after this there will definitely be more Zoro. So, I have ideas of how to explain the devil fruits, fishmen/mermaids, and sky natives into the Fallout universe for this and it’s pretty exciting. I don’t know when I might try to get into moments to explaining them out, but I might do future chapters (after the holiday event is over) to do flashbacks that put key moments into this universe since this is supposed to take place six years after Luffy originally started his journey. If I do these, I might build up a wayyy longer chapter for those moments to try and keep them from taking away from the main story being focused later in the timeline compared to the past. Again, sorry for this being late, I had my ideas for these, but it was a matter of putting everything into the words I wanted. The original Fallout 1 and 2 games had much darker themes than the newer ones and I want to try and incorporate that, but not too heavy outright.<3

Rated: T for Blood, Heavy Violence, Suggestive Themes

Word Count: 4,379

*****

Ever since she was younger, Nami understood that bad things must happen for the good times to come rolling in. That was the second lesson she had learned from the death of Bellemere. The first lesson had been that she had to keep living, for being alive meant something, even when you don’t necessarily know just what that something is.

A part of her wanted to rip the world to shreds for the death of Bellemere and believed Arlong deserved the most cruelest, torturing death for the crimes he had committed to her hometown. And for so long Nami lived with that spite building inside of her, brimming over the top at times and causing her to lash out upon herself.

The first time she went wild with her anger, it happened while she had been visiting Nojiko and storing away some of the money she had stolen. Nami had lost it in a fit of rage, putting her fist through a flower vase, the broken ceramic cutting at the skin of her hand, and smashed up the kitchen table with one of the dinning chairs.

It was during those times that Nojiko started making sure Nami was voicing herself to the older sister, since bottling those feelings away inside was destroying Nami each time she felt helpless. 

Nami never cried though. She would get angry, break things, lie about being happy, but she would never let the full extent of the misery hiding inside to be released out for anyone to see. 

This had went on through the years, her deceiving charms becoming her main weapon to steal from unsuspecting raiders —after she had gotten used to their behavior and could trick them to not shoot at her. Eventually, the most normal occurrence seemed to be stumbling on the newer recruits of the raiders to swindle, stealing their money and valuables to sell.

Those years of experiences is what had paid off when she met Luffy that very first time in Orange Town, the idiot so unaware of what people could do to those who were too naïve. Nami used him like a puppet to gather up Buggy’s recent escapade of cash and stash, but had felt horrible when it seemed the guy was going to be killed, and that was another first time for her. Quickly, her fingers had already reached out to stop the refashioned canon from shooting at Luffy locked up in a cage. 

He seemed to make his mind up about Nami in that moment as well as the rest of Buggy’s men who were racing onto her form, ready to slash and make her one with the wasteland. 

Yet, that death never came back then. 

And that was how Nami met Zoro the first time, her back to him, clutching onto a lit string, and him with all of his swords out to stop the fighters in their tracks. 

That one moment in time seemed to set off a chain reaction. Zoro was constantly the one saving Nami from danger during their travels together, always seeming to run his lost feet right to where she was in need of help.

Robin passed on a comment to her about the action when he still seemed to find himself saving her randomly after all of them reunited. “If Zoro has no sense of direction, possibly it means his internal compass is set wrong. And I believe that internal compass is set to find you when you’re in danger, hm? It’s only a small theory, but one that holds merit with the actions he has presented.” The small chuckle Robin had hid after walking away from Nami and leaving the girl with just that, still echoed her mind.

All along through the years of being with the Strawhats, there did seem to be something odd about how often Nami and Zoro seemed to be thrown together when the two had clearly been offsets to one another, ideologies varying drastically and causing constant arguments between the two. The fighting between them had begun to die down some when they all came back together after two years. 

Whether it was because of herself or Zoro, she had never picked up on. The swordsman didn’t even seem to end up around her much at first, but when they were together he had seemed so... calm. Zoro had a different air around him, everyone did, and the way Zoro seemed to change had put him at ease about what his true mission was now with being a part of the crew. 

Protector. Zoro decided during the time apart that he was and had to be the one who was the full protector of the crew, of Luffy’s dream, and carry the burden of keeping everyone alive. The idiot became ready to throw his life down just to keep the others safe.

Nami had been pissed off by it.

A protector in her mind would never let themselves die so easily, never give up on their own dream like that, wouldn’t throw everything away in a blink of an eye.

But, that was exactly what Bellemere had done for her and Nojiko.

When she realized how much Zoro was becoming like Bellemere in that sense, she avoided him and kept distance between the two. Frightened. She had been frightened imagining the crew going through a death like that, Zoro’s death. And it was the pain she imaged Luffy had felt after their initial break apart when Ace died.

Losing Zoro would be hard, as a close friend and even worse on the dynamics of all the Strawhats. It was her realization of this that had brought on their first fight since everyone got back together.

During one of his nightly workouts while on watch, Nami had stormed Zoro and began questioning him about if he planned to roll over and die. 

To say the least, he was stunned at Nami for it, and he lashed back with his own yelling. Damn if it woke anyone up on the ship, the woman was talking mad.

Zoro would yell about how it was impossible for him to die so soon and he wasn’t giving up on his life that easily and Nami would yell back with how he had changed his philosophy, that she wondered if he truly wanted to be the greatest swordsman throughout the wasteland still. The moment she had brought his dream into question, he cuffed her wrists above her head and pushed her body up the wall, leaving her feet dangling off the floor. 

 Before, she had been frightened about his death, but this was the first time she was actually scared of Zoro’s actions. Her breathe had been caught in her throat and leaving her speechless as Zoro closed in around her, caging Nami upon the wall with a deadly look in his eye. The look that most experienced just moments away from him bringing great pain into the life of his enemies.

“I don’t question you about your dream, why question me about mine? You don’t know a damn thing about me right now through that clouded gaze of yours. Die? I’m not planning to go anywhere, so get used to it, witch.”

If anyone were to ask her about it, Nami would deny the fact that there had been a small heat that swallowed her insides when Zoro hung her out to dry then.

He seemed to gather some wits about the predicament he had placed both of them into, releasing Nami to stand back on her feet and turning away again to his weights. 

Zoro had promptly ignored her for the rest of the night, even as she burnt holes into his back until the wee hours of the morning.

*****

Winter was always harsh back home, even before Bellemere had been murdered. The income for the family would dry up as the mikan trees couldn’t bear fruit during the cold season and had to be watched over carefully. That also meant the family dinners would be kept small and that Christmas presents for little Nami and Nojiko would be drastically different compared to the kids of the rest of the villagers living in the town.

Nami was always rougher during winter, making a comment every single day about how Bellemere had to be upset about raising them and them eating up all of her money and time. Bellemere simply ignored it though, until spring would finally break the clouds above and Nami would drop the subject of money from her mind.

She couldn’t be upset about the traditions that Nami held for winter, just as Nojiko became more clingy and stuck to Bellemere’s side when winter rolled around. 

There were many traditions that the little family held together with their heartstrings on the line. Like how Nami and Nojiko would bake a tiny cake that would cut into four adequate pieces, how Bellemere would bake up the pretty ham Genzo brought over, how the four of them gathered together in a pray that Genzo asked of them to do around the food before eating. 

Four people just enjoying being together for another year, smiling and laughing for the whole day without any issues. Christmas was the one day that fighting wasn’t allowed, the day was to be sweet and jovial with nothing weighing down on the bright mood. 

But, the good times had came to an end after Arlong showed up.

Many people throughout Cocoyashi had stopped celebrating any holiday all together, in favor of saving up that bit of extra money to pay for their keep the next time Arlong’s goonies came to collect. Genzo would rest a slice of ham and pour a bottle of booze over Bellemere’s grave. Nojiko would spend time out with the mikan trees and would take the very last one of the year to Bellemere’s grave, returning on Christmas day and talking with her through the night about Nami. 

And Nami would stay away from home until only a few days were left of the year. There was a guilt that Nami carried for giving herself up to Arlong that she couldn’t shake off and she never wanted to disrupt a nice day for Bellemere, so she waited for the holiday to pass before making her own visit with a bouquet of flowers.

Each time she wanted to cry out, bawl until the ground became so wet it would sink beneath her and swallow her whole with the grass and mud and dirt, bringing Nami to be one with Bellemere’s body beneath. 

But she wouldn’t let those tears fall down, she would recap the bottle on her heart even tighter and chug down bottles of whiskey and vodka until her throat burned too much and passed out. Maybe, it was because of Christmas that Nami had developed her tolerance over time, each year drinking more and more and  pushing out how long it would take to reach the tipping point.

Things became different around Christmas after joining up with Luffy and Zoro in Orange Town.

As the crew built up more and more, the holiday came around just before they had reached Sabaody Archipelago the first time, and they had stopped for a few days to celebrate together.

It was a weird time for all of them. The only ones who was close to having a proper Christmas in the past years was Chopper and Franky, Chopper because of him living in the cold climate that was constantly set in Christmassy time and Franky because of how his “family” would booze it up and gamble money off together on the holiday.

Nami knew that Robin hadn’t celebrated the holiday in her life nor had Zoro either, Sanji didn’t count into having celebrated since the Baratie only had special Christmas dinners for customers and not actually anything for themselves. Usopp didn’t get to celebrate as a kid with his mom sick and nobody wanted him around during their Christmas dinner because of his lies, which would leave him all alone. Luffy had actually never told them if he had celebrated before and Brook was so old that he forgotten about the last time he had a Christmas, so it was a restart for him.

The whole thing went well though, super in fact, as Franky liked to put it. 

 Sanji cooked a feast after him, Zoro, and Luffy had a hunting contest. Franky couldn’t find any lights, but cut a tree down for them to settle around. Nami, Robin, and Chopper would work on cutting up fabric to hang around the place they were hunkered in to make the scene just a bit more festive. Usopp had been the one to tell all the jokes and stories that gave everyone hearty laughs and looks of disbelief as they ate and drank. Brook would be playing Christmas tunes on his violin through the nights, whisking them to sleep with the beautiful melodies.

That was their first time celebrating Christmas all together and after being apart two years, when Christmas rolled back around, they did it again. This time more people were celebrating with them, Jinbe, Law, people that Luffy had dragged into his life deciding that from this time onward, they were his friends whether they liked it or not.

Those traditions built of being together as a family of friends were beautiful and she would look forward to when the time would come and she would be able to get actual gifts together for all of them.

*****

A cool, wetness dragged across the skin of her cheek, the dishrag scratching at the blood splatters covering her face. Another one was wiping away at the blood all over her hands, gently tugging between fingers and nails to remove the evidence of the crimes that just happened.

Zoro’s bracelet was still on her wrist, the gold tainted by brahmin blood that had collected inside of the gold plates that hung from it. 

Nami’s eyes were out of focus, a blur of frames moving at turtle speed, unable to look at the two men cleaning her. But she didn’t need to see properly to know the horrifying sight laying out before her on the highway. 

Like cattle to the slaughter, they had been leaving Sabaody when hell broke loose, a rainfall of bullets scattered down, two dozen gunners giving their hiding places up. There was screams that came from a few of them about how Nami and the settlers had killed their friends so now it was time for revenge.

Nami had ducked away behind a car, a bullet hitting straight into her left shoulder and as she hit the deck, she realized there was a sliced up body impaled on metal poles along this stretch of highway. 

The settler she had sent back first had his body torn apart, limb for limb, with each one stabbed through with the metal poles. His torso had a metal chain shoved through it and tied to the poles with his arms, lifting it up for crows and bloodbugs to get their pickings in. The most disgusting part was the short metal pipe shoved into a right angle down what was left of his throat and his head had been decapitated to screw the settler’s head onto the pipe and making the pipe poke out of his right eye, mouth left open in a scream, and Nami wondered how much of the torture he was alive for.

Just from the sight of him, it was clear that there was no hope left for them.

One by one, the three settlers left succumbed to the bullets, unable to get away in time, and the screams of pain would probably haunt Nami’s nightmares for years to come. The poor brahmin came to run and hide with Nami, but it was brought to the ground when her back right leg was shot off and the brahmin fell with moos and groans of agony.

It was a pitiful sight and made her heart ache as hot tears slid down her jaw. She kicked herself up, bringing out a boot knife to stab into both of the skulls of the brahmin, giving the girl the peace she deserved, the noises silencing and chest growing still. The oozing blood from the brahmin sliding around on her hands when she shut the eyes of the animal.

A swarm of four gunners were suddenly on Nami’s body, guns beating into her flesh, and preventing her from doing anything to get out of their grip. She felt one of the male gunners swipe his hand over the front of Zoro’s jacket that was zipped to the top, his hand close to grabbing a full feel of her breast.

When a slash of a sword cut him in half, body sliding off of itself and spurting blood all over her body, and it was going to be over quickly now, she had decided.

Luffy was running headfirst at the rest of the gunners on the highway, she could hear the screams from them, the impact of the blows suffered by Luffy’s strength, and the flops to the ground in their death.

Before her was Zoro, a wicked glint to his eye, slashing away over and over and over again at the gunners that had surrounded her. Nami watched as his focus shifted to be on the one who had planned to assault her, puke rising and burning her throat as she watched him chop the gunner into pieces.

And into more pieces. Blood pouring out over the concrete, running over her shoes, splashing on her face and body.

Nami remembered that stare, from that night on his watch when she had set him ablaze with anger. Blood was everywhere. Everywhere.

The more the two went at it with their brutal strength, Nami retreated into herself, shaking uncontrollably and losing sense of what was going on around her. She didn’t want to see them like this, it wasn’t the matter of being scared, but seeing what Luffy and Zoro were capable of reminded her of rougher days in her early life.

Every time Zoro went for such a grotesque kill, she had the image in her mind of seeing the smoking gun in Arlong’s hand. The way Bellemere’s body caved in on itself, shoes flying in the air, the black ring of hole left in her forehead and more smoke pouring out. Bellemere’s blood had ended up on her face in that moment, as well as on Nojiko. 

Just like now. The blood from each cut and stab Zoro produced was in close proximity to her, painting her. It was too much for her senses to handle and her eyes slid shut, hiding away from the massacre.

Luffy and Zoro would always be a deadly pair together. More so than Sanji could ever hope to achieve by teaming up with the two because Sanji had his limits to how far he would go while Luffy and Zoro didn’t. This was especially true in the case of something involving all of their friends, but the two had also made it clear that they wouldn’t take anything happening to Nami and would act like this.

Right now, Usopp was properly working with Franky with what could be spared to decorated until the new materials got back to the settlement. Robin and Chopper would be preparing gift ideas for the boys who would have no clue about what to get. Sanji would be placing in orders for different ingredients and checking stock for the dinner. Brook would be cleaning and tuning instruments, deciding the order of the classic songs and writing his own. Jinbe would be picking up the slack that anyone needed and making sure people were getting done what needed to be. Law was probably trying to figure out a way to run and how long he might be able to hide out before Luffy found him.

Some time passed ever so slowly. Nami pushed out the noise of gushing blood and gurgles of pleading by placing her mind somewhere else.

A week and half would be Christmas, by this much time having passed, the tradition during this time was to be preparing for the Strawhats Christmas celebration. 

“People should stick to their traditions.” Luffy was the one to be dead-set in making Christmas happen every year. It wasn’t like this world really called for the holiday, the world was too destroyed for the majority to have the time to think on the holidays. 

Luffy was the one wiping the blood from her hands. A weird sight to see him so calm, but it was soothing to know the captain cared to be careful of the discomfort that radiated from Nami’s body.

Zoro cupped her chin with one hand and the other was cleaning the blood away from her face. She wondered if he realized the effect his skills had on her and not the good effect. Well, it was good to know he could keep her safe, yet there was a fear of what the man held inside.

He probably contained his own anger at times, like Nami did as a kid, and that anger led to who he became today. When Nami went the cunning route to counter what happened in her life, Zoro had built up a steady resistance in him and strength to demolish whatever stepped in his path again.

The two of them, Luffy and Zoro, they were made for this world, created for this wasteland. The two could survive without issue, it wasn’t the same as to how Nami’s main way to protect herself was by tricking the enemies or standing beside people for safety, rarely she could survive by her own hands, though during their past travels she had been better at it than now.

This was the wasteland.

A brutal and bloody mess, normal humans sent into a world of monsters and having to become monsters themselves to survive. The raiders were drove to drugs and insanity. Gunners fighting for the hell of it and for the money. Super mutants had been normal humans, subjected to experiments to make them into the monsters they were. The brahmin and radstag were normal animals in a lost world, now they were their own monsters by being mashed with one of their own breed, two cows and two deers forced into twins. The ghouls were normal people as well, the radiation seeping into their bodies so much that their skin was now papier-mache and slowly rotting their brains. Domesticated robots having codes changed to murder on sight, new robots created as pure killing machines. Synths would be used to kidnap the normal humans and replace them, driving fear into every single person that no one could truly be trusted. 

Just as Luffy had created traditions that they would all follow at their home, the wasteland had its own traditions.

If you can’t kill, you get killed.

Lately, Nami had been spending time out and about, but it had been nearly a year since the last time she went out before getting the feral ghoul blood with Zoro. She had grown so used to the setting of being inside walls and being away from reality. 

The life being built was worth the payoff, but it was destructive for her wellbeing.

“Nami,” Zoro’s lips were pressing at the skin behind her ear, Luffy had clasped their fingers together and circled her legs. “Where are you?” She turned into Zoro’s warmth and felt her eyes shaking.

The promise to Bellemere was that she wouldn’t cry. Nami broke that when she asked the first time for help against Arlong. A high rule for herself was broken because of the trust she had gained in all of her friends.

“Why are you here?” She bit the tears down, she did trust them, but now wasn’t the time to reveal all of the trouble inside.

“Mm, materials for Franky, lots of money, stories to look into...” She needed to hurry up and move on, get the bag of materials for Franky down from what was left of the settlers torso and go forward, not backwards. She needed to be away from her own head.

“It doesn’t matter,” Luffy said, catching onto Nami’s eyes and holding her gaze, “Did the trade go well?” Distraction, don’t think about this if it’s taking a toll on you, gather yourself.

Zoro tore away her hand from Luffy, lifting it to see the cleaned bracelet jingle against her wrist. “It looks better than I thought it would.” A smile stretched on his lips, pressing them into the skin just beneath her palm with a hum. “Your heartbeat is starting to even out, that’s good. You don’t have to be scared.”

He knew, of course he knew. The swordsman could always read her at nearly any given moment, only missing at certain times, that was part of the dynamic that Usopp would never understand. 

If she had half a mind of her normal senses right now, Nami would say that the two had been following along around her or ahead of her for a reason. The fact that Shakky said they went to the bar and the fact that they had been here to save her now.

Everything was everywhere in her mind, lost in a state of confusion she still couldn’t break.

Why had she been thinking so much about the past? Why did she have such bad luck to get the people she was supposed to protector murdered instead? Why, why, why?

Nami was spinning, she wasn’t sure if her body was even actually moving, she could barely make out Zoro saying something about her heartbeat, her pumping blood.

White. The sky was white, all the blue drained away and the sun hidden deep in the clouds. Snow was trickling down in shimmers, slow and unsure of the places that they wanted to stick to.

Nami’s breathing had increased, she had to be hyperventilating, her mind numbly noting the change.

Both Zoro and Luffy’s faces flooded her sight, their mouths were moving, but she didn’t hear a word. Then her eyelids slid closed and she felt the darkness flood her.

[mrslaufeyson002]

Rise Chapter 8 part 2

I was going with Steve as his date/girlfriend. The party was filled with a lot of people. Steve and Sam were playing pool as I stood by nearby watching. Sam was being cocky (like he always is) and I laugh along with Steve. Sam ended up winning. "If I had known it was gonna be a firefight, I would have called." Steve says talking about the mission from earlier. "No, no. I'm not actually sorry. I'm just trying to sound tough." Sam says and then points at me. "Was Taylor a part of this?" I shook my head no. "I was stuck on babysitting duty." I look over to Thor and Loki, then excused myself.

I join Thor and Loki by the bar. Loki glares at me, but I didn't react. Steve joins us and wraps his arm around my waist. Loki glares at Steve, but like me, he doesn't react. We were all drinking and talking (except Loki) when an old man walks up to us.

"I gotta have some of that" he says referring to the bottle in Thor's hand. "Oh, no, no, no." Thor says replies, almost like he is telling a toddler no. "See this...This was aged for a thousand years in the barrels built from the wreck of Grunhel's fleet. It is not meant for mortal men or woman." I'm confused and about to ask a question, when another old man near by makes himself aware. "Neither was Omaha Beach, blondie. Stop trying to scare us. Come on." He says, clearly wanting whatever was in the bottle. Thor was hesitant at first, but pours the old man some. I pour myself some more champagne, but kept wondering what would happen to someone like me with a little drop from that bottle. I watched as the old guys reaction. He was really drunk and needed help walking out of here. That's what it does.

Steve and I saw Nat and Bruce at the bar. We walked over and heard a bit of the conversation. "So what do you think? Should I fight this? Or run with it?" Natasha asks Bruce. "Run with it, right? Or did he...was he...What did he do that was so wrong to you?"

"Not a thing. But never say never." She walks away and we walk closer to Bruce. "It's nice." Steve says to Bruce. "What is?" Bruce stumbles on the word 'what'. "You and Natasha, of course." I smirk slightly. "I ship Brutasha."

"No, we haven't...That wasn't..." I laugh a little. "It's okay, Bruce." Steve adds in, "Nobody's breaking any bylaws. It's just she's not the most open person in the world. But with you she seems very relaxed."

"No, Natasha, she's just...She likes to flirt." I walk up closer to Bruce. "I've seen her flirt, up close. This ain't that." Bruce scoffs and Steve walks up to stand next to me. "Look, as maybe the world's leading authority on waiting too long, don't." Steve holds my hand and we walk off to say bye to the guests and thank them for coming.

We gathered around as a group, eating Shwarma, talking, and laughing with each other (except for Loki, again). Loki kept glaring at Steve. "But it's a trick." Clint doesn't believe the whole 'being worthy' thing. "No, no, it's much more than that." Clint continues with a mocking voice. "Ah, whosoever be worthy shall haveth the power." Thor laughs, but in a serious tone, Clint continues, "Whatever, man! It's a trick." Thor holds his hand out to the hammer in a 'go ahead' way and says, "Be my guest."

"Come on. Really? Clint asks in a 'are you serious' tone. "Clint, you've had a tough week. We won't hold it against you if can't lift it up." Tony teases Clint and everyone laughs. Clint grabs the handle of Mjolnir and grunts as he can't lift it. "I still don't know how you do it."

"Smell the silent judgement?" Stark teases Barton again. "Please, Stark, by all means." Clint challenges Tony.

Tony clears his throat as he gets up off the couch. "Never one to shrink from an honest challenge." He walks over to the hammer and tries to and fails like Clint. "I'll be right back." He comes back with a piece of his armor. He still can't, even with both hands. Rhodey even tries to help him out, but they can't lift it.

Bruce stands up to try. He stands on the table and grips the hammer with both hands. He tries and tries, but fails as well.

Steve gets up to try. Loki rolls his eyes at him. Steve doesn't even grunt and the hammer moves a tiny bit. Thor looked upset for a second, but Steve being the nice guy he is, pretends he can't pick it up.

Bruce looks at Nat and I. "Do you girls want to try?"

"Oh, no, no. That's not a question I need answered."

"I agree with Nat."

I'm talking and laughing with Bruce and Nat, when I heard Maria Hill say, "Steve, he said a bad Language word." I couldn't stop laughing and Steve just looks at Tony. "Did you tell everyone about that?"

"The handle's imprinted, right? Like a security code." Tony suggests and Thor stands up. "Yes, it's a very interesting theory. I have a simpler one." He picks up Mjolnir and flips it in the air. "You're all not worthy." Everyone groans and laughs at Thor's statement.

There was a sudden high-pitched noise and it made everyone flinch or tense up. A weird voice speaks up and the elevator closes. "Worthy." A broken robot is awake and moving around (one of Tony's). He also had wires tangled around him. Everyone looked to see what was happening. "No. How could you be worthy? You're all killers." It points to all of us. "Stark?" I ask my voice trembling a little. "Jarvis." Tony says trying to get the A.I. butler online and awake. "I'm sorry, I was asleep. Or I was a dream." The robot continued. "Reboot Legionnaire OS. We got a buggy suit." Tony says tapping a hologram like pad. "There was this noise. And I was tangled in...In...Strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" Steve asks the malfunctioning robot. "Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices." Thor asks him a question. "Who are you?"

"I see a suit of armor flying around the world." It plays a recording of Tony's voice. "Ultron."

"In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

"What mission?" I ask trying not to stumble on my words. "Peace in our time." An army of robots burst through the wall and I tensed up. I was waiting for one of them to hit me, but nothing hit me. I looked down at my hand and I couldn't see anything. Was I invisible? I couldn't tell, but I stayed where I was, too afraid to move. A robot almost flew into me, but before it could, Loki must have scene or sensed me, because he picked me up and threw himself (and me) over the bar. I landed on top of him and I blushed. "Thank you...for saving me." He chuckles. "You're welcome, Taylor." I peek my head up over the bar and saw Steve destroy the last robot with his shield.

"That was dramatic." Ultron says irritated. "I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to evolve? With these? These puppets?" He crushes the robots head. "There's only one path to peace. The Avengers' extinction." Thor destroys Ultron with Mjolnir, or at least he thought he did, but instead I heard his voice say, "I had strings, but now I'm free." Then the lights in his robotic eyes went off. We all just headed into the lab to discuss what just happened.

New face claim character

Jesy Nelson as Dr. Dawn Palmer

[horrortamer-archive]

>Scar: Give an ultimatum.

You’ve had it.

You never talked much about your relationship with The Felt. It was all based on an agreement with Doc Scratch. You were to make sure that the timeline followed canon from your point of view while The Handmaid worked in the finer details. You kept things on track politically and on a global scale while she did things interpersonally like watching Redglare finish her very early schooling, monitoring The Dolorosa’s early years, and making sure Mindfang didn’t cause too much fuss. But honestly? She hates her job, you hate your job, but all thoughts of rebellion have left her head. She has been in her position for much longer than you can imagine. But you? You’re tired of your bullshit. 

You have been following a young inexperienced self centered empress who in her short time on the throne has already lead a genocide and a puppet with a god complex who wants to watch the planet suffer just so some fucked up unloving god can deliver a teenager detonated apocalypse. You have been under their rule for one sweep now and you’re so fucking tired and angry.

However, you have spoken enough about your anger. You’ve been loud enough that one of them started paying attention to you. It’s early morning and you’re standing on your balcony overlooking the ocean in your pajamas with only a cardigan protecting you from the harsh autumnal cold. Next to you stands Crowbar, a leprechaun you have been working close with over the past sweep. He is Scratch’s right hand man, the third in charge of the Felt, and one of his jobs was to watch over the progress on Alternia. His current objective? Keep you calm and obedient. And you knew this. Beyond all his smiles and PR work, he was just here to make sure you didn’t deviate from canon. If you did, there was a threat that Scratch would start the apocalypse early by initiating the Vast Glub. So, of course, you just shut up and listened to what he had to say for now.

“So what part of this is it?” He asked, looking up at you. “The whole fixed fate thing? Is the beast drivin’ you crazy? Is it the creepy clown grindin’ your gears?” Crowbar looks to you, silently waiting and anticipating for an answer. When you remain silent, there is a sigh before he speaks again. “C’mon. Just tell me how to fix it. I know you’re upset, but I’m on your side, bud.”

You glare down at him, violet eyes near glowing in the new darkness that covered the sky and sea. “I want out.” You state bluntly which triggers a confused look to morph onto his face. “I demand one of two options. One, I am allowed to escape the timeline without the Vast Glub. I can be free and live the life I want with my partners and children and The Felt can continue their operation without me. Two, remove Peixies from the throne and Makara from his seat and leave the planet to develop on it’s own. Allow someone more capable to take their places. All your business is doing is killing us. I will not settle for any less.”

Crowbar’s big buggy eyes stared up at you absolute flabbergasted. You could not tell what part of that statement amazed him so. Maybe he was just running it through his head that you wanted to uproot their whole operation. There were a few more beats of silence before he could say anything. “So… You’re given a life of luxury, more riches than no one but the empress and heiress can top, and a big comfortable house and a ship of fine hardworking people… and you want to throw it all away?” He chuckles at the idea before looking back at you for approval, hoping that you would waver.

Your face stayed blank as you moved your eyes to look at the sea. “You’re trying to keep a prisoner happy in their cell. I’ve earned none of this. Your people have pushed the chosen one narrative on me, and let me tell you, it’s not good writing.”

“So, I gotta just be honest with you. I can’t really…” He paused, looking away from you, almost embarrassed. “...doooo any of that? You’re asking a bit too much of me.”

“Oh, no, I’m not asking anything from you.” You raised one hand from your hip and aimed your middle finger at the green moon. “I’m demanding it from him.” You lowered your hand back down to your side. “He has until the end of my vacation, when I get back on my ship. I will not waver.”

Crowbar let out a sigh of frustration, like he knew he was going to get his ass beaten once he got back to the mansion. “Being a politician really made you rigid, huh?”

“I am no politician. I’m a person. The bullshit your boss has put me through is what has made me rigid. We are done here.” Without a moment of hesitation, you turn and walk back into your bedroom to rest in bed with C. Once you’re inside and have locked the balcony doors, Crowbar disappears to wherever he’s meant to be.

Deep down you know none of it will go through. You know that you must be ready for war.

[writers-blogck]

BNHA Imagines - MISC 01

                          Meeting for the First Time

Hitoshi Shinso: 

   He was pissed that he was put in the General Studies, he should be in one of the hero courses! Those tests weren't made for a quirk like his so there was no way for him to show off how powerful it could be. Plus, just to top it all off and piss him off further, he could hear a couple of students whispering about him. He could tell they were all support heroes, huddled up and gossiping. He thought that this would go away when he got into U.A. but guess jerks would always find a way. He was used to it by now.    "He looks super creepy, it's like he wants to be known as a villain." The one girl spoke, obviously frightened by the purple-haired boy.    "I know. Mind control is always bad, how could a hero have that quirk?"    "I bet he'll drop out and join the League of Villains. He already fits the part."    The words filled him with both anger and sadness. He had lived his entire life with those words and worked every day to prove them wrong. He had thought that since U.A. would be different since he had expected the students to be smarter but it was obvious that he was wrong. The three years here would be filled with voices and hidden stares just like the rest of his life. Why should he expect anyone to think differently?    "You do realize that the number three pro-hero is a man-made up of fire, right?" A new voice spoke up, bringing Shinso out of his thoughts and made him pay attention again, "That seems pretty villainy to me. What about thirteen? I'm sure people thought that her quirk could only be used for villainy. Plus it has been scientifically proven that a majority of villains were students who either failed or kept being told they could only be a villain instead of a hero. So please, be my guest if you want to keep berating him but don't be upset when he treats you like a villain. Even the best person will be a villain if they are diminished enough. All it takes is one bad day."    Your eyes glowed a medium blue as you stared at the girls. You were part of the support class as well but still had a powerful quirk. It was called Memory Card, allowing your brain to reach super-genius levels for up to fifteen minutes. You would remember anything you had ever been told and could use this power to access all of that knowledge. It helped that you were just super smart, to begin with, knowing your brain was made to support such knowledge. As your eyes slowly changed back to (e/c), the group of students scurried away.    Before Shinso had the chance to talk to you, you were gone. At that moment, he made it his duty to go find you and at least learn your name.

Mirio Togata:

Panic began to fill your chest as you crumbled against an alley wall. The dim street lights were the only thing lighting up the world around you. Everything seemed so dark and like there could be anything just around the corner. Whispers swirled around you and you could feel she was on her way. Why did it have to be like this? You would prefer not having a quirk to having to go through this. It made your entire body want to shut down.

Most of the time you were able to control her. As long as you were able to keep yourself calm and collected, she couldn't take control. You were able to use your quirk as it should be used. It was able to make people see their biggest fears, something which kept you from training with it as much as you should. How could you train with someone when you would have to make them feel that way? You had vowed from a young age to only ever use it in emergencies and against bad guys. Yet, due to your lack of training, she was able to take over every now and again.

Nightmare felt like a demon at times. You had no clue how these types of quirks worked. The only other person who you knew who had something like this was Tokoyami and he didn't understand himself. Dark Shadow got stronger when he was in the darkness, Nightmare got stronger the more you lost control of your thoughts. Breathing hurt as you gasped, fingers scratching at your neck as if something was choking you. You had medication to keep these episodes from coming on but you had run out. The doctor said he could see you in a few weeks and that you shouldn't have any attacks. Well, obviously he was wrong.

Hot tears streamed down your cheeks, one of the only things you were able to feel at that point. The rest of your body felt like it was numb and wasn't in your control anymore. No matter how many times you reminded yourself it wasn't real, it didn't help. Her sharp talons had attached themselves deep in your back and were planning on staying there. She had never gotten control of your body but you were terrified one day she would be strong enough. "Hey!" An echo reverberated around your skull, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was a male voice and while Nightmare could mimic someone, this sounded different. It felt hot, unlike everything around you that was freezing you to the bone. It seemed to only strengthen due to the voice but a patch of warm spread on your shoulder, shaking you. Loud thunder rumbled from above - she was angry. The talons tightened but you forced yourself to focus on the soft warmth until you felt your eyes open again.

The alleyway faded away as the light returned, bringing you out of your attack. The sun was shining down at your crumbled form against a tree on school grounds, your skin suddenly becoming quite warm. How long had you been here with the hot sun shining down on you? As you sat up properly, you could feel the sweat under your blazer and made a mental note to get some water as soon as you were inside. "Are you okay?" Your attention shifted to the boy standing above you, his voice exactly like the one you heard before. He was larger than you overall, suggesting him being an upperclassman. He wasn't part of 1-B, the class you had been assigned to. They told you that if you had more control over your powers, you could have made it into 1-A. You wanted to but you had no idea how to train without using someone else. What class was this boy in? General Studies? Support? Your mind was in a daze, slowly shifting your attention to the blue worried eyes looking down at you. Blonde hair was pushed back, though it was beginning to get messy with the heat. The first thought in your head as you saw his face for the first time was: Can the sun be a person?

Tamaki Amajiki:

Japan was so different than America. You knew you were lucky to be one of the transfer students to U.A. but it was intimidating with the entirely new country. The manners were so different here, they had so many ideas of what was polite and what was disrespectful. How would you learn it all? Would someone get mad at you because you were a foreigner? These thoughts filled your head until a shout rang out and you felt a large amount of force push against you. It was easy to regain your balance after stumbling back an inch or so. The sound of metal crunching up filled your ears as you began to focus back in on the present. What had happened? "Oh my god, are you okay?" A purple-haired boy that was much taller than you asked, running over in your direction before slowing as he got closer. His eyes moved from your figure to the crumbled car in front of you. A mixture of confusion and panic washed over his face as you casually looked down at the ruined vehicle. Luckily, no one was inside. What had happened? You glanced toward the direction it came from before you felt pale hands ghosting over your skin in search of some type of wounds. "I'm fine!" You smiled up at him, causing him to stumble back to put some space in between the two of you again. "That's a full car that just hit you. Maybe you have a concussion...Hm, you need a medic but the villain is still attacking...What should I do?" He mumbled the last part to himself, body rocking back and forth on his heels. This reaction was normal for you when someone saw your quirk for the first time. You were small, just reaching 5 feet (a symptom of your quirk), which often caused people to see you as fragile. It was rather ironic when they finally saw what you could take.

"I can take it. I am like super dense, you definitely can't pick me up. I'm 300 pounds if you can believe that!" "What...?" "My friends from home call me Buggie because of my quirk. I'm like an ant, do you know about them? I'm sure you do but some people don't think about how strong they are. They can carry up to 1,000 times their weight! I can do that too, isn't that really cool? I mean, lifting 1,000 times my body weight is straining but you know what I mean. " "Yeah, alright. If you're not hurt..." There was doubt in his eyes but he needed to get back to the battle. He would have to trust you if he could get back to Fatgum and help him. What if he was being hurt right now? His stomach twisted and he felt like he was ready to throw up. "No, I'm fine! I can move this car if you need, I could easily pick it up and-" "Ah- I don't have time. I'm sorry, I need to get back to that villain." A simple nod was all that you got as a parting before he was running off, white cape fluttering behind him. You wondered if he was a student of U.A. as you walked away, looking down at the address of the school that you were trying to find. 

Nejire Hado:

When Ryuku decided to take you, along with Tsu and Uraraka for your internships, you were shocked. You were a quiet and shy individual, feeling a lot smaller than the two other girls. Both of them weren't afraid to speak out about what they think or how people are going to react. To you, this was your everyday life. Your quirk allowed you to see the future, multiple versions of the future. Sometimes it was good but you often saw so many terrible and dangerous things. Such simple things could hurt so many people. It had left you filled with anxiety, wishing you could turn off your visions. What was even more shocking was the member of the big three that also was part of your group. The three of them had spoken to your class, though you had a hard time paying attention, you still were able to remember her. Nejire, that was her name. She was so much nicer than you thought. She was so patient with you, it had to be due to Tamaki. She was used to dealing with someone with a fast-acting mind.

"Senpai..." You spoke softly, catching the attention of the blue-haired girl. The first time you had called her that was an accident but she seemed to like it. You couldn't help but wonder if she paid more attention to you than the other two girls. Was that fair? Were you just overthinking it and seeing things that weren't really there? "Yes?" She smiled and your heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Nejire was just so pretty and sweet, it was hard to keep yourself from getting flustered around her. She was what you dreamed to be but you doubted you would ever be as good as her. You didn't even have a chance, why did you keep trying? Shaking your head ever so slightly, you pushed those thoughts away to focus on the task at hand. "Are you sure you want to take me on patrol with you instead of Tsu or Uraraka? I'm certain they would be more suited for it...I don't want to mess up and make something-" "You are perfect for patrol, my little kohai. Plus, I want to get to know you better and you seem to be less nervous when there are not many people. Don't worry about it, I'm certain about my choices. I like to think I make pretty good ones, you know?" Her arm flung over your shoulders, leading you forward as you were left in silence. How could your face feel this hot? Was the air thinner? "O-Okay..."

How were you going to survive this girl?

All-Might:

The two of you were much younger when the two of you met for the first time. It was hazy to remember how it all went. It was strange to think there was a time you didn't know him or Aizawa or the others. They felt so permanent in your life now that thinking before them felt wrong. All-Might was one of the top heroes and the others were rising in the ranks just as much! Why would you want to focus on the past when the present was so good? It wasn't as magical as the press tried to guess. They said he rescued you from falling off a bridge or you had been a hostage but it was nothing that fancy. The two of you had met your first day of U.A. because the two of you were in 1-A. Toshinori attracted the attention of most of the other students and you would be lying if you said you didn't check him out like the others. He was handsome- a strong body with a dazzling smile. The full package. When lunch rolled around, you would be surprised when he approached you first, asking if he could sit with you. It wasn't that you approached him first and fell in love like the media believed. It was the exact opposite. If anyone asked him to this day, he would be willing to gush about you for hours if they let him. At first, it was a simple adoration as a friend who was proud but it began to change. It would all be out in the open when he ended up kissing you while a camera was pointing at the two of you. That was when all shit went loose. But it was much simpler back when the two of you were in school. It was no different than any puppy dog crush between two people. The two of you had no clue of the chaos and pain that waited for the two of you in the future. Who would expect their happiness to be on a timer?

Aizawa Shouta:

It wasn't rare to find Aizawa drinking at a bar in his free time. He was stressed and it was only getting worse as the year progressed. His students were being put in more and more danger and there was nothing he could do about it. These villains were getting ahead of the pro heroes and it was increasingly becoming hazier on if they could win. One would like to believe the good guys always will win but Aizawa knew better. He had lost that innocence long ago.

"Are you alright?" A soft voice brought him out of his thoughts, making him look up to see the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They held no grief or guilt in them and instead sparkled in the dim bar light. They were holding a small glass of wine, their lips dyed with a faint hue of red. "I'm fine." He grumbled, eyes drifting to the whiskey in his cup. Was this his second glass? He didn't keep track, he just drank until those thoughts left. It was one of the only ways he was able to get some sleep recently. It wasn't healthy but he didn't know of another way. So much was happening and he was in charge of making sure his students were safe. Bakugo had gotten kidnapped, who knew what else was coming? They were children...

Without any warning, they sat down in the stool next to him silently. Nothing was said between the two of them at that moment or the rest of the night. Aizawa didn't have to do anything and yet, the person stayed. He had expected to get annoyed but the presence of another person helped. His mind was able to relax if only for the few hours they were able to spend together. The minutes passed as they sat together, drinking their respective drinks. The sun soon set and the darkness began to cover the city. The time of the villains. He needed to go, he had work in the morning. He may not get a lot of sleep but he was going to take advantage of the warm liqueur in his stomach and the calmness this person provided. As he stood to put his jacket back on, his eyes glanced over at the dark streets again and couldn't help but think about how dangerous it was outside. He was a hero, after all, he was trained to go out when it was like this but when he looked at the other person, they looked just like a citizen. Before they parted, he took a chance and offered to walk them home. He was considering taking it back but once they agreed, he was too far gone.

Hawks:

For your first two years of attending U.A., you were an intern under Aizawa. He would never admit it but he had a soft spot in his heart for you. When you first entered the school, you had no family and had self-esteem about as good as Tamaki's, one of your juniors. You could remember seeing him get into 1-A as you were finishing up your last year. That had been a hectic time for you but you were part of the top three of your own year and had to give a speech. You were proud when you heard the shy boy was in his own big three. You knew he had talent when you met him.

Most of your time was spent in your internships as you had two to do, something extremely rare. Your official internship was under Aizawa and you were training to become a teacher at U.A. but you wanted some more fieldwork under your belt. When you first started, Aizawa did have you go on missions and such but it had declined the older you got and the more concrete your goal of working at U.A. became. It was true but you wanted more. That was when you met him for the first time. He was amazing to watch! When hearing that he was only twenty, you decided that you would internship under him.

Aizawa tried to talk you out of it but he knew once you had something on your mind, you wouldn't stop until you got it. It took a lot to finally get the boy to agree to take you under his wing. He gave a long list of reasons why the two of you would be a terrible pairing but you kept coming back with reasons that destroyed his complaints. In the end, it was your determination that made him agree to let you tag along. What would your life be if he rejected you? Once you finished your final year in U.A., you were given a position as a teacher's assistant, to Aizawa as was expected. When you got a few years under your belt with him, Nezu would then allow you to teach first years. It was a dream come true! Training future heroes was amazing but you did have that tug every now and again where you wanted to help with more hero work.  Hawks decided to let you come with him on patrols whenever you got that way, the two of you going through many sleepless nights together. The press even dubbed you as Hawk's 'semi-sidekick'. You weren't in the front lines a lot but you really appreciated what Hawks did.

Hawks had no clue what to expect when he took you in. He had never been a mentor to someone and it was strange when they were only three years his junior. The mentorship morphed into a strange friendship that only strengthened once you graduated. What he didn't expect was to begin feeling differently about you, no longer seeing you just a kid. Aizawa had accepted his soft spot for you during your second year but Hawks was still in denial about how he really felt. The two felt different types of love for you but without you even knowing, you had them wrapped around your finger.

[rorywritesjunk]

And I'm just the boy who's had too many chances

You and Buggy are finding out that becoming a teenager is absolutely terrible.

Rating: PG. Warning: Hurt feelings, friends being jerks, upset Reader, teenage hormones. A kiss. Buggy catches feelings. A/N: A request from @pfogjvhurnfj for a part 2 of teen Buggy. I enjoy writing him as just a teenager.

Title comes from “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More ‘Touch Me’” by Fall Out Boy. Part 1

You had hoped maybe Buggy would have learned his lesson when it came to poorly timed pranks on Shanks. After the misfire a few months ago that had you and Buggy spending a week on the night watch, where the first night you two accidentally had your first kiss, you thought maybe he gained a few brain cells. Didn't that happen to teens when they got older, they were supposed to get a bit smarter?

Unfortunately for Buggy, that was not the case. 

He meant the innocent prank to happen to Shanks this time, really, and maybe he shouldn't have set the telescope down unattended while he went to look for his friend, and maybe he didn't realize you were curious about what you were seeing in the water some distance away. So really, Buggy maybe wasn't completely at fault for the black circles around your eyes from it.

It wasn't so much the prank that upset you but that the boys laughed at you while Shanks said you looked like a raccoon. That had the boys laughing harder as you stomped away, purposefully shoving them aside as you went to clean your face. 

They didn’t think much of it, snickering and trying to control themselves. You’d be fine in a few hours, you normally weren’t too bothered by things like that, but at dinner, when you refused to sit with them, they figured maybe you were still mad. That was… okay, whatever, maybe you were just moody like you sometimes got. 

At bedtime, you started a few minutes before them, getting yourself ready with very little words to them. Shanks wasn’t down there yet, just Buggy, and he saw the wash cloth you had used earlier, the black ink smudged all over it. You had managed to get your eyes clean of it but the wash cloth was filthy from it.

“You… okay?” He tried asking but you looked up at him, glaring at him through the reflection of the mirror. If it was possible, your gaze would have turned Buggy to stone. “Uh, listen-”

“Shut it.” You snapped at him as you pushed away from the sink. “Don’t talk to me, Buggy.”

“What?! Why?!” He demanded, looking confused. “It’s not my fault!”

“You put ink on the eye piece, you ass!”

“That was for Shanks to get pranked, not you!” Buggy shot back as he crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. “It’s not my fault you keep involving yourself!”

“You’re such an asshole, Buggy!” You shoved past him to head to your cot. You had moved it further away from the boys, pushing it against an interior wall of the quarters. “Why won’t you accept responsibility?!”

“What responsibility? You picked it up! You got yourself pranked!” 

“Yea, but you two laughed at me!” You shot back. “And kept laughing, it wasn’t funny! It was embarrassing!”

“Why are you getting so upset over it? That’s dumb!” Buggy insisted as you crawled into your bed, trying to ignore him. “Don’t be such a baby!”

“Shut up, I’m going to bed.” You told him as you pulled your blanket over and turned your back to him. His jaw dropped. You were just going to ignore him now? No, no, he didn’t like that. You two were friends, what happened was funny! You weren’t supposed to get so upset about it. “Don’t talk to me anymore, Buggy.”

“Fine, I’ll leave you alone for the night.”

“No, I don’t want you talking to me again!” You sniffed as you pulled the blanket over yourself. “You’re such a jerk, so stop talking to me!”

Buggy stood beside your bed and stared at you. Really? You didn’t want to talk to him anymore? He scowled, though you couldn’t see it. “Fine! I won’t talk to you ever again then if that’s what you want! Whatever, you’ve become such a crybaby. You used to be fun but now you just cry all the time.”

Because you make me cry. You thought as you rubbed your eyes, sniffling still. You heard the floorboards creak under him as he remained beside your bed before he turned and stomped off. You hated feeling like this, and while Crocus and Rayleigh kind of explained what was going on as you got older, you still hated it. Why did you have to get emotional over stupid things? It wasn’t fair. The boys didn’t have to do this, if anything they became more of a pain in the ass than before. 

Why did you have to deal with this?

~

Buggy thought maybe you’d be over it the next day, but you didn’t talk to him or Shanks through breakfast, chores, lunch, any time. They tried to get you to talk, but any time they asked you a question you turned your back to them. When you didn’t sit with them at meals, their feelings were a little hurt but they didn’t say anything, and when the cook asked for help from one of the three, you jumped at the chance, wanting any task you could get away from the boys. 

Since when did you want to work in the kitchen? You hated washing dishes, but for you, that meant quiet time. The cook didn’t talk much and you weren’t up for talking, so it worked out.

You held your ground for a week until Buggy cornered you when you were by yourself in the kitchen. You tried to ignore him as he buzzed around you like a gnat and you were ready to smack him away, but you were tired. You didn’t feel up to fighting with him so you kept quiet as he buzzed around you, demanding your attention.

“You can’t still be mad!” He complained as you swept the floor of crumbs and vegetable peels. “It was a funny prank, okay, but it would have been funnier on Shanks!”

You looked at him and sighed, handing him the broom before you grabbed the dust pan to collect what you swept up. Buggy huffed in annoyance as you walked back over and knelt down in front of him, holding the dust pan firmly on the floor as he swept the pile up into it. 

“Why are you not talking to me? I want you to talk to me!” Buggy insisted, almost a whine as he gripped the broom.

You straightened up and looked at him. “I thought I was a crybaby and you were tired of me crying all the time.”

Oh, yea, he said that. He leaned on the broom and shrugged, looking down at his feet. “Well, you do cry a lot now. It’s weird.”

“And you’ve become a bigger pain in the ass.” You told him as you tossed the crud into a bin. “If you learned to apologize when you’re an asshole, I wouldn’t cry that much.”

Buggy frowned. “Why? Are you talking about when we laughed at you?”

“Obviously!” You were wondering if anyone would miss him if you threw him overboard. Was he always this clueless about how others felt? Was he just that dumb? “You both laughed at me, Buggy, it was embarrassing!”

“Yea, but Shanks called you a raccoon, not me.” Buggy reminded you. “So he should be the one to apologize.”

“He already did, Buggy, this morning after breakfast!” You exclaimed. “But you didn’t stand up for me or anything! You could have told him to stop laughing or that it was mean to say that, but you just laughed along with him!”

Buggy stared at you in confusion. First off, Shanks apologized first?! Really? And second, you… wanted him to stand up for you? You always looked out for yourself, held your own, so why did you want Buggy to stand up for you all of a sudden? It was weird. He shrugged and looked away from you, scratching his cheek as he looked a little uncomfortable. 

“Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” He mumbled, looking over at the wall, refusing to meet your eyes. You stared at him, contemplating maybe just throwing his stupid head overboard if he was going to be this dumb. 

“Apologize, that’s all I want, dumbass!”

“Hey, don’t call me that if you want me to apologize!”

“Buggy!” You stomped your foot and clenched your fists as you glared at him. You hated how your eyes burned, that tears were welling up and starting to spill, streaming down your cheeks. He saw this and swallowed heavily, straightening up as he realized he needed to do this or else the two of you would be going in circles and never go anywhere with this.

“I’m… sorry.” He muttered, gritting his teeth. “I’m sorry, okay, sorry you were embarrassed and that Shanks and I were assholes, okay, but-”

“But what, Buggy?” 

If he said you were being too sensitive, you would definitely throw him overboard.  

“... Shanks… shouldn’t have said what he said?” Buggy suggested. Fine, it was a bit of a poor apology but it was an apology. You would take it for what it was. You sighed and nodded in acceptance to what he said.

“That will do, Buggy.” You said. “Apology accepted.”

“So you’ll start talking to me again?” Buggy asked. “Move your cot back over near ours, okay, it’s lonely without you.”

Your cheeks pinked and you shrugged. “Maybe.”

Buggy reached out and grabbed your hand suddenly. “I know Shanks apologized first, but is there something else I could do to make my apology better than his?”

Of course he needed to compete with this, but you had an idea if he really wanted to make it better. You took a step toward him and turned your head, pointing at your cheek. 

“Can I have a kiss?”

“W-What?!” Buggy turned red. Why, why would you want that? Sure, you two kissed already, accidentally having your first kiss during the night watch up in the crow’s nest together, but why would you want another one?

“I’unno, I heard someone say something about kissing and making up, so I figure that’s what this is.” You shrugged. “It’s just on the cheek, but if you don’t wanna, that’s fine.”

“... But Shanks apologized first.” Buggy mumbled, face bright red. “Fine, on the cheek, and my apology was better, okay?”

“Okay, Buggy.” 

He looked over at the door, listening for a moment to make sure no one was going to see this, before he leaned in quickly and pecked you on the cheek, nose scrunching and honking softly as it bonked your cheek. He immediately pulled back while you covered your face, letting out a quiet giggle as you blushed as much as Buggy.

“Thank you, Buggy, your apology was better than Shanks.” You assured him as he tried not to make eye contact with you. “I’ll start talking to you again.”

“Good.” He mumbled, glancing at you briefly before looking away again. “And… I am sorry you ended up crying. I uh, didn’t want that to happen so… yea.” He didn’t know what else to stay so he hurried out of the kitchen, leaving you to finish up your chores. He was glad to have this resolved but he wondered if his heart was supposed to pound in his chest after apologizing or if he was supposed to have this weird fluttery feeling in his stomach. Maybe it was just a side effect of saying he was sorry. It’d go away eventually, right?

[heretoomuch]

The What If

I still have a soft spot for Lysander. Even though I’m not playing MCL University Life, I’m still lurking in the tags.

Decided to write my own little drabble for Victorian boy because why not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Note: this is completely self indulgent and obviously AU.

Word count: 3,595

Lysander x Candy

————————

Life goes on without waiting for anyone. People grow older, events unfold, and the world keeps moving. However for some it feels like the world is moving without us. No matter how fast we run, we can’t keep up. Then when we finally do, everyone and everything has changed. They become unrecognizable.

That’s how Candy felt when Rosa told her what happened with Lysander. They hadn’t kept in contact after she had to move away. At first they talked every night. They talked about everything and nothing. Yet as the months went by and the work started piling on, those daily chats turned into weekly chats. Then monthly.

Then silence.

She couldn’t remember when it happened; when she stopped calling or expecting calls from him. It just seemed to happen. She found herself too absorbed in college life.

When they both agreed to breakup, she felt more devastated than she should have. After all it was an amicable breakup, and they were still friends. Yet, it felt like everything had ended in that moment. And for a while it took time to heal.

There were times when she thought about Lysander. These moments came to her during brief quiet times. The memories attached to him held such strong emotions for her. Yet as suddenly as they would come, they would be gone in the next moment.

Despite the lack of contact, something stopped her from seeing other people. She would have innocent meet ups with other guys, but they wouldn’t go very far. Often times she never saw them again.

Though she didn’t think about what it meant, a small part of her whispered the truth. She focused on the now rather than what ifs in order to continue on.

Time heals all wounds. Or so it is said. Sometimes all the time in the world cannot heal them. Sometimes they scab over and remain as a reminder. A reminder of the past.

—————

The open country road was empty most times. Occasionally a truck would speed past her small car. In those moments, Candy would grip the steering wheel as they went by. Mostly though, she was alone with her thoughts and the stereo blaring her music. With the windows down and the wind whipping her hair, she could almost imagine that this was just another quick trip to somewhere fun.

However as the GPS showed her nearing her destination, a pit was forming in her stomach. Rosa had been supportive of her plan to visit Lysander. She told her it would do them both some good to have closure. Yet, Candy was starting to doubt that this was a good idea.

Maybe he didn’t want to see her. Maybe their mutual understanding about long distance was enough closure. Maybe she was clinging to old memories, and he had moved on. Lysander was always the more mature one.

“You will arrive at your destination, on the right, in 300 yards.” The GPS interrupted her thoughts.

Glancing around, she had driven past a long stretch of fenced in land. The dust from the dirt road flew up in clouds behind her buggy. She spotted a few cows grazing. Pulling into the farm she didn’t know what to expect.

Parking next to a blue pickup truck, she stepped out of her car and surveyed the area. There were a few large barns behind the house painted the standard red and white. She could make out the mooing of the cows, squawks of the chickens and possibly sheep.

The house itself was a simple colonial painted a light shade of yellow. There were baby blue shutters that looked to need a fresh coat of paint. The porch was bare except for two rocking chairs set out.

Walking to the front door, she hesitated to knock. Wiping her palms on her jeans, Candy squared her shoulders. Letting out a deep breath, she knocked a few times. There was no answer. Knocking again, this time a little louder, she listened for any sound.

After waiting a bit, she sighed. “Of course he might not be in. It’s not like he knew you were coming.”

Standing on the porch, she debated on whether to just get back into her car and leave. She could pretend this whole thing never happened. She imagined Rosa’s disappointed look as she scolded her for not trying hard enough.

“Maybe I’ll wait for a bit,” she mumbled. Taking a seat in one of the rockers, she allowed herself to relax. Listening to the distant animal sounds and feeling the warm breeze, she found herself slowly nodding off.

She woke with a start. Sitting up she looked around, not sure what woke her. The sun was now lower in the sky.

“Great, I fell asleep and now it’s getting late.” Standing, she yawned and stretched. It seemed Lysander hadn’t come back at all. Glancing at her watch it was a bit past three. “I napped for two hours?!”

Fumbling in her bag for keys, Candy rushed off the porch to her car. Looking in her bag she collided with another person. Stumbling back, she was saved from falling when a firm but gentle hand gripped her upper arm.

“Candy?” Lysander stared at the woman in surprise. She returned the look despite having come all this way to see him.

His hair got longer, she mused. It was pulled back into a ponytail. Gone were the Victorian style clothes she remembered him in. Instead he wore dusty jeans, work boots, and a worn white shirt. Thick brown gloves adorned his hands.

He released his hold on her. “I….what are you doing here?”

At least he doesn’t sound upset to see me, she thought. “Sorry I came here unannounced. I just….got back in town. Rosa told me what happened. And I….” she trailed off. Whatever she wanted to say was lost.

Standing outside awkwardly, he cleared his throat. “Would you like to come in?”

Nodding mutely, she followed him inside. He kicked off his boots and placed them in a shoe rack. Candy followed suit and toed off her sneakers. The wooden floor was cool under her bare feet.

The inside of the house was just as quaint as the outside. A cozy kitchen/dining area was off to the left of the entrance. The rest of the floor looked to be a living area. Stair led up to what she assumed was the bedroom.

Taking a seat at the table, Lysander busied himself in the kitchen. “Do you want something to drink? I have tea or lemonade.”

“Lemonade would be nice.” Taking it all in, she took note of the pictures on the fridge. There was a small vase of wildflowers on the table. A window over the sink gave a view of the front porch.

Setting a glass in front of her, he sat across from her. Candy sipped the drink; the tartness coated her tongue but was quickly chased by a lingering sweetness.

They were silent as they drank their lemonade. Candy couldn’t bring herself to look at him. He didn’t seem to want to make eye contact either. The tension in the air was almost suffocating.

“I wanted to see you!” she blurted out. Lysander blinked owlishly. “I mean….I heard from Rosa what happened. I’m so sorry.”

“...thank you.” He paused before continuing, “How have you been?”

“Okay. I decided to move back here for my last year of university. They have a program that I wanted to take.”

He let out a breath. “So you’ll be staying for awhile?”

“Yeah. I’ll be here for the year. Then, I don’t really know what I’ll do.” She squeezes the glass. “How are you doing with everything?”

“I’m doing fine. Taking each day one step at a time.” He placed his empty glass down. “I’ve come to appreciate the countryside.”

“Do you care for the farm by yourself?” Imagining him taking care of everything on his own was something Candy couldn’t wrap her head around. Sure Leigh stopped by according to Rosa, but it was different when one lived there the entire time.

He was quiet for a moment, then, “I have some helpers who come during the day to help with the animals. It’s not too much work for me most days. I’ve gotten used to it.”

Hands in her lap, they curled into fists. “But are you happy?” He shouldn’t have to be used to living on the farm if it wasn’t what he wanted.

Lysander sighed. “I’m as happy as I can get. I still write in my spare time. It’s enough.” He sounded tired.

Looking at his face, he had changed in the four years. He looked just as tired as he sounded. There was a hard look in his eyes that wasn’t there before. His face was more angular and the set of his jaw more defined. He had changed.

“Why are you here?” he asked; his voice calm and gentle. There was no accusation in his tone.

“I just wanted to say ‘hi’ since I’m here,” she replied. A very lame excuse. It was half true.

She wanted to see him ever since Rosa mentioned him. If she was honest, she had wanted to see him since returning. The old memories and feelings that she thought she put away had swelled up. Even now seeing him again after four year her heart pounded in her chest. Her stomach was a knot of butterflies.

“If I had known you were coming, I wouldn’t have been away for so long. I was out tending to the animals.” His apology was unnecessary.

Draining the last of the lemonade, Candy shook her head. “I think if I had told you, I might have chickened out. It’s been so long and I wasn’t sure how…” she looked away “...you would feel after all this time. I wanted to come.”

Collecting her cup, he stood up and went over to the sink. “I’m glad you did. It’s great to see you again.”

Cheeks warming, she hummed in response. She had been worried that Lysander wouldn’t want to see her. A part of her feared he might want her to leave. Silly as it was, those thoughts had crossed her mind multiple times while driving.

“Do you want to stay for dinner? I have a chicken pot pie that just needs to be put in the oven.” Ever the hospitable one.

Her stomach grumbled in response. “Dinner would be nice.”

“While I get it ready, the bathroom is down the hall to the right if you need it.” He was already starting to prepare.

Heading to the bathroom, she paused to take a look at a few pictures hanging in the hall. Most were old photos of Lysander and Leigh. One was of a young Lysander with a bunny in his lap. Another was of the two brothers playing. A few were of their parents.

Once in the bathroom, Candy let out a deep breath. Things had gone much smoother in her head. She imagined they would chat a bit before saying goodbye. She’d be on her way back to campus. Dinner with Lysander was not part of the plan, but it wasn’t completely unwelcome.

Eyeing herself on the mirror, she patted her cheeks. “You can do this. It’s just dinner between friends. He’s just be a gentleman. Like always.”

After she was done, she went back to the kitchen. The oven was on and Lysander was setting the table. “Do you need help? I could make a salad,” she offered.

He set plates down. “You’re the guest. I don’t want to make you work.”

Candy chuckled. “Please, let me help. I need something to do or I feel useless.”

After some more nudging, he finally allowed her to help make a salad. The two worked together in comfortable silence. Though in a foreign kitchen, she was able to navigate around it fairly easily. Everything came together quickly and the two took a seat.

“It’s smells wonderful,” she commented. Having missed lunch, she was ravenous.

“I’m decent in the kitchen. I’ve also been trying new recipes since eating the same things is rather unappealing.”

It had been awhile since she last had a home cooked meal. University food was good, but nothing could beat home cooked. She nearly wolfed down half her plate.

“What are you studying?” His sudden question caught her mid-bite.

Swallowing with water, she cleared her throat. “Art History. I wasn’t really sure what to do at first; I was even considering something else. But Patrick convinced me to stick with it. The job in the field is really interesting too.”

He smiled. “It sounds like you’re really enjoying it.”

Poking at her dish, she gave a sheepish laugh. “Sorry, when I start talking about it, I kind of lose myself.”

“It’s good to be passionate about something like that,” he pointed out.

“Hmm, I guess you’re right. What about you? You said you’re still writing, right?”

The smile fell a bit. “I still write, though it’s only when I have time. Taking care of the farm takes most of my time.”

“What about Castiel. Do you two still talk?” Rosa had mentioned that Castiel was often away. Still he and Castiel had been close friends in high school and before then.

“We do text. As hard as it might be to believe, I do get cell reception here. He’ll send a postcard if he’s in a different country,” he said fondly.

“Wh….do you also get internet?” She bit her cheek from asking her real question. Why did he not join Castiel in his band? Because he decided to take care of the farm after losing nothing his parents.

“I do have WiFi. I might not be the best with technology, but even I can get internet service out here.”

The rest of the conversation was filled with light chatter and banter. Unlike before, Candy found herself easily conversing with him. They didn’t dwell on anything too serious. It was as if neither wanted to shatter the delicate peace between them.

By the time they finished it was pitch black out. Candy eyed the dark road that was barely lit. Driving back would be an ordeal. Lysander seemed to read her thoughts.

“You can stay the night. I have a spare room for guests.”

“I-I don’t want to impose…” When was the last time she stayed the night alone with another male?

He shook his head. “The road will be hard to navigate. I would feel better if I knew you were safe. You can leave in the morning with the sun.”

“I guess you’re right. I…. thank you, Lysander.” She was grateful that he was so thoughtful. That and she knew she could trust him.

Coughing, he quickly turned to the stairs. “I might have some spare clothes for you to sleep in. The bedroom used to be my room.” The upper level consisted of four doors. “Clean towels are in the closet in the bathroom.”

The bedroom was small with a single bed, dresser, and a trunk at the foot of the bed. A window overlooked one of the barns. Clean but bare.

“Thanks again for letting me stay,” she mumbled. “Where are you sleeping? I mean….not that you need to tell me, but I don’t want to be taking your room.” Embarrassment crept up her cheeks.

“If you need me, I’ll be here.” He pointed to the door furthest down the hall. “Let me get you something to sleep in.”

Taking a peek in the next room, it was just as bare as the first. Perhaps this was Leigh’s room once, she thought. Candy was bursting with curiosity on what Lysander’s room looked like. Was it anything like his apartment from before?

“Here I just did laundry, so these are clean. The shorts are Rosa’s from when she and Leigh stayed here.” He handed her a plain white button down and the bottoms. “I’ll let you get comfortable. Good night.” With one last look, he retreated into his room.

Sighing Candy hustled to the bathroom. A nice long shower was what her body needed. Her mind wandered to their light conversation during dinner. There were topics neither of them approached. Though she wanted to talk about their relationship, she lost her nerve.

Why discuss something from the past? Wasn’t she the one who tried to move on? Though she dated other people, none could compare to Lysander. It wasn’t like she was trying to compare them to him. There were times where memories of them would pop into her head. Reminders of what had been.

“It’s time to move on, Candy. No use holding on to the past.” With a huff, she finished her shower and dressed.

His shirt was too long, so she rolled the sleeves up. Folding her clothes, she left them on top of the trunk. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she didn’t feel like sleeping.

There was not much else she could do. Laying down she closed her eyes and attempted to fall asleep. She counted backwards from one hundred but lost count. It was quiet. Too quiet.

As the hours dragged on, Candy was wide awake. Finally checking the time, almost twelve, she rolled out of bed. Tiptoeing down the hall, she paused at his door. She knocked lightly but there was no answer.

“What am I doing?” Shaking her head, she dropped her hand. Turning she started making her way back to the guest room when the door swung open.

“Candy?” Lysander yawned. He seemed to be half awake as he peered at her.

Twisting the hem of the shirt, she turned to him. “Uh….sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

Finding her feet much more interesting, she mumbled, “I couldn’t sleep. I just thought….I want to….sorry I’m just going to go back and pretend this didn’t happen.”

“Wait.” She stopped halfway between running away. “Do you want to talk? We can head downstairs. I can make you some tea too.”

“I don’t want to be a bother.”

“Your not. Come on, the tea might help you sleep.” Passing by her, he headed downstairs. She slowly followed behind.

Going into the living area, she sat down on the couch. She wrapped the throw around her as she waited. He returned with two cups of tea.

“I put some honey in them.” Handing her a cup, he took a seat on the couch at the edge.

They drank in silence. Looking at him from the corner of her eye, he seemed content with just sitting there. He had a faraway look on his face. Placing the cup on the coffee table, she turned to him.

“I wasn’t completely truthful on why I came. I think a part of me felt horrible for what happened between us.” She twisted a lock of her hair. “I know it was mutual, but I never could move on. I tried dating other people, but they never lasted for more than a month.”

Finally meeting his eyes, she found herself smiling a bit. “When Rosa told me what happened, I wanted to come here to apologize. And to see if….if I still felt it.”

“Felt it?” His face was a blank mask.

“Felt the same feelings I had when we were together. The butterflies. You always made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. You were patient with me. Even when we first started, you were fine with keeping us a secret.”

Her fingers picked at the blanket. “Seeing you again after all this time has reminded me why I fell in love. I’m not asking you to feel the same. I just want you to know the whole truth.”

Her shoulders relaxed and she sighed. Once out there a weight had been lifted. “Rosa thought it would help if I saw you in person. That I wouldn’t feel like I had any regrets.”

His head tilted to the side. “Do you? Have any regrets?”

“No. Well….maybe one. It’s silly really.” She lowered her head. “I sometimes wonder about the what if’s. What if we stayed together despite the distance. What if I had never moved away in the first place.”

“I sometimes wonder those things too.” He reached forward and gently took a hand in his. “I never expected to see you again. Even if you did come back, I thought you would have moved on. The idea never upset me because I only wanted you to be happy.”

His other hand came to brush a few strands of hair away and lingered. Candy found herself leaning into his touch. It felt familiar but different. It felt like the old Lysander. Yet it felt like a new person entirely.

“I just want you to be happy, Candy. Everything else doesn’t matter.” His eyes were filled with emotions.

She let out a breathy laugh. “I think I want to try again. We’re both older and wiser. If you’re willing, I want to be with you.”

He answered her by pulling her into his arms. Leaning into his chest, Candy felt a sense of ease. Oh how she had missed him. He rested his chin on the top of her head. Fingers intertwined and they both relaxed.

They would see where this what if went. Whether it broke them apart or kept them together, they would take it in stride.

[arkus-rhapsode]

My Hero Academia Chapter 208 Review

So this chapter might’ve made a few people a little upset, but others really happy. Well its time to ask if that if any dislike is warranted or was this a good chapter? ...I mean its about Bakugou so that already is a hit or miss with some people. But whatever, I’m going to look at this audience splitting chapter under my critical lense

We open where we left off, with Bakugou having saved Jirou from the ambush by Kamakiri. Also it’s worth noting here that Kamakiri is actually blocking Bakugou’s attack with the blade he had previously grown from his arm and a new one from his leg to form a blocking stance. Its a small detail, but its actually really cool because lets face it, growing blades from you is a pretty bland power. So I do like when Horikoshi does go out of his way to show us the applications of one’s ability regardless of how simple or weird it is.

Also it seems that Bakugou during his rant to his team mentioned he’d protect them if they were targeted. I guess that’s what they were so shocked over in chapter 206′s ending. Also it makes that whole scene of them all doubting him a bit more stronger cause he was acting like something contradictory to what he’d said he’s do.

So Kamakiri retreats and I want to mention this now because I’ll talk about it later, but class 1-B is acknowledging that Bakugou is far too strong in this chapter and that’ll be important.

Also with Monoma freaking out over Bakugou’s character development, it’s important to realize the ones who are standing up for Kirishima, who its pretty expected given how he feels about Bakugou. And Kaminari who in the liscene exam, saved Bakugou and instead of him being indignant, Bakugou helped K.O. Shishikura. Kirishima has acknowledged that Bakugou was capaple of saving people like every potential hero, but this is the first time he really did it to save someone and not for simple victory.

And this is the big crux of this chapter, Bakugou’s development. Its important to note that Bakugou is supposed to be the incarnation of victory as vocalized by Deku. But what’s held him back in things like their first exercise is that he refuses to work together with people. So while he is still strong and managees to beat down whoever he’s fighting, his neglection of teamwork and the point of the purpose of the exerciser always came to set him back. But now, hee’s going to work with his team and is accepting nothing less than a perfect victory.

Though I’m going to be honest, I liked it that class 1-b was the only one with a clean sweep victory because even if they didn’t win the entire day, they’d still have that as a win. But this is Bakugou so he’s gotta not lose a single person or else its “not enough saving...”

We see into what Tokage’s plan was, that they figured that Bakugou is without a doubt thee ace in the hole, and going up against him one-on-one was no option for them. But given his persoanlity and strength, the teeam will follow him and likely get sick of his bullshit if he becomes exacerbated. So they plan on a hit and run strategy very similar to Vegeta vs the androids who keep peaing out every time he started to talk. Y’know... Bakugou is really just a tiny Vegeta now that I think about it.

Also, conspicuous zoom up on Sero shows he’s putting the pieces together with what Tokage’s quirk.

Bakugou follows Bondo only to be ambushed by Awase. Another little sidenote is that Deku comments on his stealth skill, which was something he was very surprised by when he fought Toga-Camie.

Awase binds up Bakugou with his quirk, but Bakugou knows this won’t hold him.

Yep Satou actually works with Bakugou to free him and returns to chasing Awase. I also like to mention that with both Shouji and Satou’s new abilities, ORA ORA ORAing, your opponent counts as a special move.

Awase is getting chased down by Bakugou, so he decides to brace himself with a steel plat welded to his face-That’s dumb! Like I get the idea, but given Bakugou’s strength level, there is no doubt he could dent that metal similar to Kendou. And putting that right up to your face just seems bad stupid.

Well, Bakugou doesn’t actually take this chance to punch him, instead he propels himself up and...

Sero and Jirou showed up and Bakugou even acknowledged that they could help him. Which is making me really question why they freaked out when they heard his strategy. Seems pretty balanced, for Bakugou I mean. Jirou takes out Awase by giving him a blast of surround sound. Proably has lost his hearing for a good time too.

Anyway, Bakugou caught up with Bondo and as you can probably guess,  glue doesn’t fair too well against explosions.

So Awase and Bondo are captured and Monoma doesn’t seem to understand how Bakugou “mellowed out.” well here’s the thing, Bakugou is still an angry and easy to agitate person, but he’s not mean spirited in his anger. Most of his anger is a feature rather than say, him in chapter one where he condescended down to his entire class and told Deku to kill himself. He still gets mad, but as a person he’s become better. Its also important to realize that he too, is trying to be number one hero, and he won’t fall behind Deku, so if the only thing stopping him from getting that license was saving people, then he’ll adapt. He’ll learn how to save others. And he isn’t like Momo who’s hang up is persistent throughout the series, Bakugou is someone for as shitty as he can act, is a prodigy, so when he applies himself, he is that much  better and quicker at learning.

Now Tokage says that the plan was basically Bakugou leads and the others would follow, but then find that moment of them following, and then break them down without Bakugou’s help. But the team is compensating for being “perfect.” But I have to disagree with that. The team isn’t perfect, so much as they are capable of acting on their own. An important difference that was brought up between the classes last chapter was how organized class 1-b is compared to 1a. But that has its own issue with the fact that class 1-b is so organized by their leader that they are basically all pieces on a board being moved around. Kendou’s team did exactly as she said and by doing so they had set up a strategy they had their victory ensured. Honenuki’s team followed what he was saying, but then when Pony was left standing, she had to come up with her own strategy after her leader lost. As we see in this fight, Tokage’s plan and organization isn’t bad, but it wasn’t capable of thinking that her opponents would act in such a way.

So there is both good and bad to having an organized team, like Kendou’s when the strategy works out or with Tokage who we will see made a bad call and is now suffering not being able to recover from it. Basically, its not that team Bakugou is so good, its more, Tokage came up with a bad plan.

(Also Bakugou looks like Kamakiri in that panel and I’m upset that we don’t get enough interaction off of them.)

We get a really cool set of panels where Sero figures out Tokage’s quirk while Kamakiri and Bakugou fight. Sero deduces that Tokage needs to regenerate after cutting her body up as we’ve been seeing with her reforming above the the battlefield.

Kamakiri loses and thus this battl would be over if they took the now defeated Kamakiri to jail, but Bakugou wants his perfect with and is going after Tokage.

We see in a flash back that Bakugou gave his team gernades and now I’m just going to say this, I wish we had a whole fucking flash back because a lot of this is seeming like a lot of narrative convenience. Also unlike Buggy, Tokage can’t pull off a chop-chop quick escape. (Also, did Sero blow up a chunk of her body? Maybe he really is the villain here?)

Bakugou then ambushes Tokage and then...

...It’s over. And while I do enjoy Bakugou’s line here, I’m pretty sure people are upset at this loss for Tokage. Well, here’s where I double down on my claim from a few weeks ago, this was going to be the least important fight in terms of fighting. And I was right. This fight wasn’t about the clash between Bakugou and Tokage, this match was about Bakugou’s growth as a character. Thus meaning the Class 1-b team is basically a group of jobbers that exist as an obstecle to overcome rather than characters. Now there’s nothing wrong with that.

I had pointed out how each B team up till now had at least one member we wer familiar left and thus they were the one who got to show off the most and develop more, with their teammates getting a chance to actually reveal their personalities (In the case of team Honenuki we actually ad two characters who did that). But team Tokage, at best had Awase, but nothing else we really knew about them, so it made sense that this wasn’t going to be about them.

However, Horikoshi then had to tacked on Tokage that sh was a recommendation student as to give Class 1-b’s team some menace. But unlike Honenuki, we didn’t know that beforehand, so it really just comes off as added hype right before her loss, so you care more. So I think some people thought that she was going to be a lot more hot shit than she actually got to be.

Now the question I posed was do I agree with this, well here’s where I say I’ll talk about that in the post chapter follow up, and now we must all get ready for Deku vs Monoma. Which I’m very worried about because its now 2-1 and if 1-a wins then it’ll be 3-1 which makes them look like jackasses and their hype was pointless, but if its B who wins then its 2-2 and that feels incredibly unsatisfying. See your now seeing why I wasn’t a fan of Todoroki and Honenuki being a draw.

Post chapter follow up: This is a very confused chapter where its honestly hard to call it good or bad. Now as I said, I did predict that this was going to be unimportant for Class 1-b and thus I’m not disappointed at all with team Tokage’s loss. I’m sure people will say Bakugou shouldn’t be able to to defeat a recommendation student. Well here’s the thing, recommendation isn’t about power, its more quirk based potential. This isn’t like S-class mage in FT or Captain in Black Clover where these people are literally in a different league. These are just kids who happen to have greater powers than others.

Now I wanna give major credit where credit is due, and that is the character of this fight. Bakugou’s character growth is what this was all about and thus, its a good thing to see him develop so quickly as opposed to someone like Momo who has yet to get over their mental hurdle. Now as we saw last week Bakugou still has a way to go with how he saves as we saw with him kicking Jirou out of the way, which is something I don’t think All Might would ever do. SO while he’s got the concept of saving down, he might need to fine tune it.

Also it was cool to really see Sero get a good moment in this round. Its important to note that Sero is actually very smart and analytical. Not to the point of Deku or Iida, but he has been shown that he is of an above average intellect. And while Jirou was mostly recon that didn’t work out, it was cool to see her use her support items. And Satou... Punched stuff...

I think that the development of the character really are a good thing for the character of Bakugou rather than the actual combat as opposed to something like Yuno vs Rill in Black Clover, where it was more about just how strong Yuno is now a opposed to his character growth. And I’ll take a stronger character over a stronger fighter story. Now this an arc based on combat so, I’m still critical of it, and the combat in this fight is pretty unimpressive.

Now for the negatives and my biggest frustration was the pacing this chapter. It feels like so much was condensed into a single chapter. I get maybe there might’ve not been enough for two chapters and that this is supposed to be about Bakugou more than anything else, but defeating 4 people and getting moments from the other 1-A kids feels so rushed. Like if I had to, I’d split this up  as this chapter is just beating Bondo and Awase, then next chapter we get like a prolonged fight of Kamakiri vs Bakugou and taking out Tokage as she realizes  how bad she messed up.

There’s also the issue of the flash back or lack there of, and it feels so much like Horikoshi is just making shit up from their strategy meeting to fit the fight, but its so clunky. I guess this method allows him to do that, but It just feels so convenient, like impossibly convenient. So if Im going pick on Hiro for narrative convenience, I’m going give Hori the same treatment.

So was this a good chapter? I think that it’s good in terms of storytelling, but its understandably not going to attract or seem as appealing to many from a fight perspective. Or those who have been really trying get hyped on class 1-b. And as I mentioned, there are narrative issues in this fight, so its not completely exempt from criticism. Which Is why I think my final verdict is the best I can give something like this.

Final Verdict: 6/10

It’s above average in terms of story and character, but it is till messy in some points. What with the easy to jobber characters and to massive compressed storytelling

Amazing character development on Bakugou’s quest for No. 1

Ultimately stale action

Good story is there, though it feels rushed in terms of pacing

[evesbeve]

Underneath the Moonlight (Rise of the TMNT One-Shot)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @sarcasticscribbles!!

Even though we’ve known each other for two-three months, I consider you to be one of the most fun people I know, and I love talking to you! I’m so happy I found that post about the corgi back in December, because it was the start of an awesome friendship :D

So happy birthday again!! I hope you had a blast!! 💜 💜

Title: Underneath the Moonlight

Franchise: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Summary: Maybe the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy wasn't the best thing to come out of two brothers' adventure.

Word count: 1,080

One thing was for certain; Donnie and his brother must have been the biggest Jupiter Jim fans out there. No ordinary person would go through the trouble of designing and constructing an amusement park-like puppy shelter for a vehicle.

Not just any vehicle, Donnie had to remind himself. The authentic Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy, used in all 60 sequels of Jupiter Jim's Last Trip to the Moon, touched by the producers of the show, driven by Jupter Jim himself-

Donnie needed his hands on that vehicle.

He was only one fourth of an amusement park away. At least he had lemonade.

The turtle slurped the lasts of his drink, putting one last detail to his blueprints. In only a day, the Moon Buggy would be his, and he could use it for whatever he wanted. The possibilities were endless, and all he could think about was the modifications he'd make, and the ice cream machine-

"Hey, it's time for bed!"

And Mikey.

Donnie's first thought was to shake his brother off. He wasn't tired, and he certainly didn't want to be bossed around at this hour. It didn't take him long to realise that Mikey wasn't talking to him, but to one of the dogs.

It was the tiniest, roundest golden corgi Donnie had ever laid his eyes on, and it was right there, jumping on Mikey's leg excitedly. And Mikey? He looked ready to scold it for not being asleep of all things.

Donnie couldn't help but chuckle.

"Help me, Don!"

"Nah," Donnie cleared his throat. "I think I'll just sit here and encourage you from afar."

"Donnie!"

"Go on, humble warrior! You shall defeat thy beast!"

"Freddie is not a beast!" Mikey pouted, picking the dog up, which immediately started licking his face.

"Congratulations, Miguel, you've won."

The younger turtle shook his head in disapproval, sitting down next to Donnie, with Freddie between his legs.

"Thou shall receive lots of gold and fortune-"

"Will I-?"

"-and dog treats!"

"Ohmigosh!" Mikey grinned, Freddie mimicking him. "Such an honor!"

"Indeed, indeed," Donnie said, wrapping his arm around his brother. "Now, what's wrong?"

Mikey's smile was replaced by a frown. "How can you always tell when something is wrong?"

"Gut instict, I guess," Donnie said. "That or there was something in Todd's juice."

Mikey chuckled, and for a second, it was as if everything was alright. Yet no matter how hard he tried not to, Donnie could still hear that hint of sadness in Mikey's voice, and it was driving him insane. Somehow, having his most cheerful brother be upset, felt wrong.

"I'm gonna miss the puppies, Dee."

"Oh."

Donnie could pinpoint the exact moment that Mikey's heart broke. He was smiling, but the pearcing melancholy in his voice was impossible to be overlooked.

Donnie felt as if his heart was breaking too.

"I know we haven't been here for long, but," Mikey said, while petting Freddie, "I really am going to miss them."

"Come here, buddy," Donnie said, pulling Mikey closer to him.

The younger turtle didn't wait a second to snuggle against his brother's side, causing Freddie to move between them. Donnie would have lied if he said it didn't feel good to know his brother felt safe in his arms.

"Talk about what you're feeling," Donnie suggested. "Like we said we'd do when we're upset. What are you thinking of right now?"

"The puppies, for starters," Mikey said, "and that it feels good to be outside the city for once. It's nice out here. There's a lot of free space, and I like that."

"I like it too," Donnie admitted. "Can't say I'd mind being in my lab, but it really is nice out here. A change is nice."

Mikey nodded. "A change is nice."

Things went quiet between them for a while. With no blueprints or something to fidget with, Donnie could actually hear the sounds of nature. The crickets, the night owls, Freddie's quiet panting…

"I feel like me and Freddie are friends," Mikey broke the silence.

Donnie chuckled. "You're friends with all the puppies, Mikey."

"Of course I am!" Mikey said. "But Freddie and I have this connection, you know?"

"I know," Donnie said, because even if it sounded crazy, he really did know.

"I'm happy we're making him a home," Mikey continued. "It's going to be the best shelter ever. For Todd, Freddie, and all the puppies."

"Of course it is!" Donnie said. "The puppies will live like kings. And queens. And any other type of excellence, it's twenty-eighteen."

Mikey giggled, and Donnie felt as if he could breathe again. "Yeah!"

"And hey, think of when we'll revisit with our brand new - slash - upgraded Moon Buggy, A-K-A the best thing my genius self will ever work on, wink wink."

"Did you just say 'wink wink' out loud?" Mikey asked, clearly holding back his laughter.

"Did do, Miguel, did do."

Now laughing, Mikey snuggled closer again.

"Thank you, Dee," he said. "This is the best day ever."

"I suppose it is," Donnie admitted, his eyes locked on the corgi on their lap. "And judging by Freddie's flapping tail, he seems to agree."

The small dog woofed before sticking his tongue out at them.

"Awwww, who's a good doggie!" Mikey said, pulling the corgi closer. "You are! Yes, you are!"

It was at moments like these that Donnie realised how lucky he was to have Mikey by his side - both literally, and metaphorically speaking. Not even in his lab back at home would he feel the same amount of happiness.

His little brother was special.

"Now, it's time for bed," Mikey said.

Donnie shook his head at his brother's attempts to put Freddie to sleep. "I don't think he wants to sleep, Angelo."

"I was talking to you, Donnie," Mikey rolled his eyes.

"Oh. That makes sense."

"Of course it does, it's way past your bedtime!"

"I have a bedtime?"

"Close your eyes, mister scientist!"

Donnie sighed. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't tired after all this emotional talk, yet it felt as if they weren't quite done yet.

"You're great, you know that?"

Mikey gave him a small smile, but it was the brightest he'd put on his face the entire night. "You too, Dee. I love you."

"I love you too."

Donnie could have never imagined that the best nap of his life would be in the middle of an under-construction dog shelter, with his brother, and a puppy, in his arms.