#Dream’s pose and Blue’s colors were FIGHTING ME | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sonic-gallery · 7 months ago

Text

Another World Ogiri November 2023 [What are Knuckles and Sonic doing...? ]

★Example

“You must have been gooey at first!”

Two characters appear every month in surprising outfits and situations! Let's enjoy Ogiri together with illustrations that will make your imagination run wild!

This time, the defender with the proof of victory, Knuckles, the fighting king, takes on the sonic clown, the challenger Sonic! The outcome of the dream match where power and speed collide is...! ?

What kind of lines or narration would you use?

You can style it based on the atmosphere and world view of the two of you in the game, or you can create a bold arrangement! In the example, it seems that Sonic is having trouble with being too free... Even if it's a gleeful joke from such a point of view, it's OK!

Please enjoy it and tweet with the tag "#Isekai Ogiri" on Twitter (X) ♪

We will introduce the good ones in a reply from Sonic's official Twitter (X) account.

We are looking forward to your fun Ogiri posts!

Act11: “An unforgettable rival”

"This belt is just for me! That's right!"

"'Knuckles! Knuckles! Oooooooo!"

Raising his championship belt and roaring towards the audience is Knuckles the Echiduna, the red echidna fighting king. With a large crowd filling the arena, the champion's performance will heat up the venue.

“Ladies & Gentlemen! The long-awaited title match is finally here!”

The robot referee ``Omochao'' also flew around the ring, further enlivening the venue.

"Knuckles, the undefeated absolute defender, will the title be replaced today!? The featured challenger enters! The clown at the speed of sound...Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Hey! Looks like you're doing well, knucklehead!"

The challenger, a blue hedgehog, appeared illuminated by a spotlight and landed dashingly on top of the corner post.

Sonic, dressed in a colorful clown suit and performing spectacular acrobatics on the spot, greeted Knuckles and the audience with an exaggerated pose and a fearless smile. The audience seats were also excited.

Knuckles says he's a nasty bastard and hits both Kobushi and glares at the challenger...

"Did I meet you somewhere? I don't care, but I don't think you'll be easy on me."

Sonic and Tails trace the source of the energy and arrive at this venue, but they find Knuckles, the "King of Fighters," there.

He also seems to have a Chaos Emerald that has mutated into a "Champion Belt"... but even with that power, there is no sign that he will regain his memories after seeing Sonic and the others.

"Why? There's also a reaction from the Chaos Emeralds."

"He's always been a gullible guy, and the effects of strange things may be strong... Well, just look at him! If you give that stone head a shot, he'll remember it."

...So, Sonic challenged Knuckles to a fight as a "challenger".

"Knuckles! Knuckles!"

The ringside was filled with rumblings as people cheered for Knuckles. Sonic glanced at the crowd waiting anxiously for the gong to start the match, and with light steps that could be seen as a provocation, he closed the distance to Knuckles...

"Whoa, challenger Sonic! What on earth are you planning on doing!?"

He slowly opened his fist and grinned, and countless balls appeared between his fingers. As if by magic, he threw one ball high into the air, and it flew over the corner post of the ring at high speed, demonstrating a spectacular ball juggling act.

The audience held their breath as they watched this unexpectedly high-level performance. Eventually, the balls piled up one after another in front of Knuckles' nose, and...

＜＜Pon! >>

When all the balls popped, Flicky, a blue bird, was perched there, looking around. Knuckles jumps in surprise and Flicky flies away.

“Did you like the little greeting from the newcomer?”

"Y-you bastard...!"

After giving a mischievous wink, Sonic grins again.

Laughter leaked out from the audience seats. Afterwards, a rain of applause showers down on the ring, praising the spectacular performance.

"'Wow, that's amazing!'" "You totally pissed Knuckles off!" "Sonic! Sonic!"

"...Tenmeee!"

Sonic speaks to Knuckles, who is shaking his fists and showing his anger, from atop the ring post.

``I don't dislike the away atmosphere, but I just don't like it when I'm losing to you in the audience.''

Before I knew it, the cheers that had been dominated by the champions had turned into a 50-50 split in just a few seconds. Knuckles is bread! He slaps his cheeks with both hands, burning his fighting spirit towards Sonic.

“We get along well, I was just thinking you wouldn’t like me either!”

"Knuckles! Knuckles!" "Sonic! Sonic!"

"Let's both be in high spirits in the ring and in the audience! Now, let's start the match!"

<<Khan! >>

A gong sounded throughout the venue, signaling the start of the match.

The two stare at each other in the center of the ring. Knuckles keeps his eyes on Sonic as he moves around quickly.

Knuckles judges the timing and hits an accurate and fiery straight, but Sonic narrowly evades him. As for Sonic, he keeps increasing his speed in an attempt to break Knuckles' stance, which he doesn't like...

"Blue Tornado!"

It spins around Knuckles at high speed with a blue afterimage. He creates a powerful tornado and launches Knuckles high into the sky, then launches a zigzag run-up and spin attack!

＜＜Gashi! >>

Everyone expected a clean hit due to the intense sound of the impact, but...

"Shame for you"

Knuckles, who blocked Sonic's attack by sandwiching his fists between his fists, showed his teeth and grinned, then slammed Sonic to the ground with great force.

"Volcanic, dunk!"

<< Zugoon! >>

The explosion and shock that erupts as the bullet hits the ground. Sonic was launched into the air by the recoil, but there was no visible damage, probably because the impact was dispersed by the high-speed spin, and he quickly regained his balance.

“Oraoraoraaaaaah!”

"Hey! I guess I won!"

Knuckles is in hot pursuit and Sonic is dodging him... Red and blue trajectories passing each other in the air engage in a fierce battle.

"S-Great battle Chao!"

"'Wow, that's amazing!'"

Omochao, along with the audience, cries out in surprise as the live commentary can't keep up with the high-level, high-speed battle. Everyone can't help but cry out in the face of this battle.

"Well, you're still as stupid as ever... But it has to be like this!"

A powerful, fearless and worthy adversary. Before Sonic knew it, he found himself in an unusually excited mood during this serious battle with Knuckles, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"You're an angry bastard, but you'll do it! I've been waiting for someone like you!"

And so was Knuckles. My body moved on its own in the face of a sharp onslaught and speed that I should have never experienced before. For some reason, my heart was warmed by a mysterious and nostalgic uplifting spirit.

"(It's still not like this... Give me the best blow to defeat him!)"

That moment when our mutual excitement reached its climax...!

“It’s time to go to the finale!”

"It's top notch!"

In response to the furious kick unleashed from a top-speed sonic spin, the punch of the fist was like an explosion from an active volcano. Their best blows collide with each other.

<<<< Dogaan! ＞＞＞＞

A clean hit to each other's faces...! The two people collapsed at the same time, and the cheers were louder than ever.

"""Ooooo!"" ""Knuckles! Knuckles!"" "Sonic! Sonic!"

"Ryo, both of you are down! Chao counts! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..."

"Two...."

In the noisy audience, Tails can't help but clench his fists, as if praying, waiting for the two to return.

"I... Tee!!"

"Oh my god! They got up almost at the same time... Ciao~!?"

Wake up at the same time. But Knuckles was the first to speak.

Knuckles ran up to Sonic, not noticing that he had blown up his toychao in the process, and said this while holding his kicked head.

"What are you doing, Sonic! What are you looking like?"

"...Huh? Tails, it happened like you said, right?"

Knuckles was looking at Sonic with a proud face while stroking his cheek where he was punched, but he suddenly remembered something and let out a scream.

"Yes, listen to me! While I was destroying Eggman's factory, I found a strange monster underground!"

Knuckles is pointing under the ring, as if time has stopped and started moving.

"This guy's in the way... Oh!"

A flash of spirit!

<< Zugone! >>

When he swings his fist at his feet, the ring is blown away along with the floor with the impact. After the swirling debris and dust settled, what I saw below was...

It was a large gaping hole that was still collapsing from the inside in a chain reaction into a huge underground space.

The two of them stare at the hole in amazement, ignoring the noisy audience seats. Breaking the silence, Tails's energy detector makes a loud noise.

＜＜Pipipi! Pipipi! >>

At the same time, a heavy tremor erupts from the depths of the earth...! The area around the hole began to collapse, and the venue became noisy.

"It looks like the energy flow is heading deeper into this hole...! We have to hurry!"

"Ah! ...But wait a minute."

Knuckles snatched the microphone from Omochao, who had stumbled back, and called out to the confused audience:

"Hey, you guys! I'm sorry, but I've gotten into a bit of a wild situation! I'm sure you have a lot to say, but please leave this place to me and evacuate!"

After giving a shout, he shoves the microphone at Omochao and forces him to take charge of the evacuation.

“I-I don’t know what it is, but everyone just runs away~!”

"'Knuckles is saying hello! Run!'" "'Ooooooooooo!'" "'Knuckles! Knuckles! ......'"

"Wow... everyone's gone."

Knuckles smiled at Tails, who was overcome with admiration and was stunned, and then turned to face the dark, deep hole he was heading towards and silently looked down at it.

"...It turned into a forfeited match."

Before he knew it, Sonic was standing behind Knuckles, pretending to be disappointed, and laughing.

"Hey! No matter how you look at it, I won, but you can try it again."

“That’s my line!”

With that said, Sonic jumps into the hole first, followed by Tails. Knuckles chased after it and jumped into the hole, smiling wryly and saying,

"We really get along well, don't we?"

"Cognitive frictional energy"

What the three people saw after passing through the hole was an unusual landscape that they had never imagined. A huge, cylindrical, dark underground cavity about 100 meters in diameter and depth...

At its bottom is a huge white parabolic antenna that looks straight up and is exactly the diameter of this cavity, and in the center of it stands a large conical glass tower like a rocket, emitting dazzling light. I was doing it.

"this is......!?"

Sonic grabbed hold of Tails as he flew, and Knuckles used his specialty to glide, observing the strange sight as they slowly and carefully descended.

＜＜Pipipi! Pipipi! >>

As you descend, the unknown energies that are gathering from various otherworldly areas gradually increase in strength. By the time Sonic and his friends descended halfway down the shaft, it had become a visible torrent of countless purple lights.

"Wow, that's amazing...it's similar to the power of the Phantom Ruby though..."

Tails couldn't figure out what this energy was. However, in the midst of this flow, the moment Tails saw visions of different worlds in various places flickering up and down, emitting intense sparks, a great realization came to him.

"I see! I understand!"

Tails was so surprised that Sonic almost threw him off, and the truth he told him was shocking.

Sonic and his friends' "stars" have been forcibly overwritten with their own perception of countless otherworldly images held by various people using the Phantom Ruby weapon. The gap in perception between the star's original reality and this otherworldly reality was putting a strain on the star, causing it to generate a huge amount of energy.

"So...I guess we should call it 'cognitive frictional energy'...Eggman's purpose was to steal this from all over the world!"

Just as Tails finished his explanation, the three of them landed on the plate of the giant parabolic antenna at the bottom of the cavity and looked up in silence.

"Cognitive frictional energy" coming from all over the world is received by this antenna, gently reflected, and collected at the tip of the central glass tower. The energy converged there could be seen to fall intermittently and be stored in the bulge at the base of the tower.

"He's still a top-notch guy when it comes to doing stupid things."

"Yeah. He's the one who walks around with his clothes on."

Sonic and Knuckles are stunned, but can't hide their bitter smiles on the one hand and their irritation on the other.

"Look at the base of the tower! There's so much energy gathering that it's distorting the space around it... It's enough power to destroy this planet four times!"

Tails tells Sonic and the others with a serious expression.

“What should I do?”

"Well, that energy hasn't been activated yet, so if you release it from the fixed field, the star will self-repair and the events will flow backwards..."

"...Tell me so I can understand, Tails!"

“Anyway, I guess it’s okay if we just destroy it.”

"Well, actually, Knuckles is right... Let's destroy that thing, release the energy, and restore the world to normal!"

“Oh, leave it to me!”

Knuckles rolls up his sleeves and heads towards the tower in high spirits. Sonic saw it off with a bitter smile for a while, but...

“Well, this guy has to be like this.”

I looked at his back and nodded with a smile, and followed him in good spirits.

...... Eventually, the three of them arrive at the base of the tower, where countless otherworldly visions flicker around them, and they sigh once again at its majesty.

The light leaking out of the tank-like shape and the image of another world are like the screams of something. The three of them took up their position with Knuckles in the middle, and finally made up their minds.

"It's made of a very strong crystal, but I think Knuckles' power can break it."

"It's nice to have stupid power. You don't have to think about anything."

"At least thank that idiot for today. Let's go!"

Just when Knuckles raised his clenched fist high and was about to swing it down forcefully!

<<Bashuuu>>

The tank glowed exceptionally brightly, emitting a blinding white flash.

"Wow!"

In the next moment, a purple pillar of light several tens of meters in diameter pierced from the tank to the tip of the tower, and from the tip far into the sky.

"W-what is this...!"

In the meantime, only a few seconds. After that, a silent tower and silence reigned over the area. And a loud, familiar voice echoes from the sky...

"Ho, ho, ho! You came all the way to this place, you damn hedgehogs! You had a good sight, but it seems you were a little too late."

"Eggman!?"

Sonic and his friends look at the sky.

``It's true that this situation is the result of my genius plan. This is 'give and take.' In return for delivering a fun parallel world to everyone, I gain enormous amounts of energy and use this most powerful weapon. That doesn't mean it's completed."

"The strongest weapon!? Something that uses that much energy...?"

Perhaps satisfied with Tails's voice, Eggman gets excited and raises his voice.

"If you can stop me, try to stop me. I'll use Kisama and the others as testing grounds for this most powerful weapon and turn them into trash!"

＜＜Gogogogo...! >>

"Wow!"

As the ground rumbles, countless plant branches and roots spring up from under their feet at an abnormal speed, and before they know it, Sonic and his friends are pushed to the ground, along with the parabolic antenna that has turned into a giant flower.

“!?”

"No way...! Are you creating a different world locally?"

“It’s a mess!”

When they returned to the ground, they found a scene that looked like a hybrid of a chemical plant that had been converted into an energy facility and a sinister plant, and...and then...the ground trembled behind the three of them. When they turned around, they saw a purple-golden giant towering over them.

"This is Eggman's ultimate weapon...!?"

The curtain of a terrible battle was about to be cut off.

#Sonic #Otherworld Comedy #Knuckles The Echidna #Sonic The Hedgehog #Miles Tails Prower #Sonic Channel

32 notes · View notes

2sleepy4dis · 2 years ago

Text

╰┈➤ ❝ Persona & Velvet Room ❞

┊ ➶ ｡˚ ° One-Shot

┊ ➶ ｡˚ ° Linked Universe x Wildcard!Reader

┊ ➶ ｡˚ ° Note: Long! First part is introduction on Velvet Room then the second part there's a bit of the chain. This part mostly concentrate about the Reader and some info!

»»-----------►

A blue wake drifts in the darkness. You open your eyes and see a butterfly, uncannily blue, it posed itself on a lamp.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

A voice echoed along with laughter in the room from nowhere made you flinch and search for it.

"My name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance." The voice introduced itself… It was a very familiar name and a familiar line too.

"You already know that this place exists between dreams and reality, mind and matter… And you who signed the contract can enter this place… Welcome to your velvet room."

You know it very well but you let the voice continue not being able to understand the whole situation... But why is that you're only able to hear a voice...?

"Even if you're still unable to see what lies in front of you, the longing in your heart remains…

"…What longing you ask…? Hmmm...

A little light shall mark the beginning of the answer of your doubts."

…light? Your gaze fell on the butterfly on the lamp. Slowly and carefully you approach it. The butterfly gently burns off blue and with a touch of your fingertips it dematerializes, scattering its flame around and then uniting inside the lamp. Its velvet blue color now illuminates the room. In the middle there's a sofa. a desk on the opposite side. Against the wall the room is partially surrounded by shelves while further there's a black screen. The lamp is the source of light while on the ground and walls you can see patterns where blue lights run through toward the black screen and the desk.

Are you transported to another world? Or game..? But Link… You haven't even said goodbye and—! It didn't took much when you sunk. You were just someone who got lost in the dimension and had no particular relation with them. Separation was bound to happen. What difference would it make if you suddenly poofed out of their world? …What's the point…?

"My my, this is quite a room."

You flinched and turned around at the owner of the voice right next to you. Which you swear wasn't there before. The person was tall, fair-skinned with hair white as snow and eyes of marigold colors. Their outfit recalls a butler and the color matches the velvet blue with hints of black, white and gold.

They bowed at you, a hand on the back and another in the chest. They lifted their heads up with a distant smile and introduced themselves as a resident of the velvet room and to be your attendant, your butler to be specific.

The butler turned on the desk and so did you. Approaching it closer, you notice it has some buttons on the right side. Familiar arrows and four letters and two buttons next to each other and lastly a white circle. On your left a black screen.

"Allow me to demonstrate," the butler moved behind it and tapped the white button and it turned to gold which light started running through the gaps of the blue desk. "Magnificent," they whispered. "We attendants most likely rely on books. But I do have experience on this so I hope to be helpful nonetheless."

Understanding what they meant, you nodded. The black screen on the desk lightened and showed a hologram of a dagger. Silver, s-curved with light-ivory hilt and engraved patterns on the blade.

Your eyes widened at a sudden memory recollection. You read it out and held it in your hand remembering that… Stunned, you put the same hand on your chest.

"An interesting way of a persona manifestation. A dagger." The butler said and you looked at them to catch their eyes. An amused smile draws on their lips. "Not exactly adequate to fight… but it's all on the holder's hand what it's used for." They paused.

"So, what will you use it for, I wonder." Their smile became more clearer yet it was unattached to any emotions. They turned around and walked then turned to you.

"A vile entity was able to take hold of incomprehensible knowledge to mankind! And you…" They held out their hand to you with open palm "...aware of your role as stand here yet still lost and with a soul like wavering flame!"

"...Thou shall not ask for answers that time will give.

"Strengthen your heart along the path, be brave to form bonds and wise shall you be…

"…And I shall be at your service to guide you in this colliding worlds."

Their words and their figure faded in the darkness as you woke up. The unnatural velvet blue is now replaced with the color of the morning sky. It was as if you hadn't slept at all, chest rising up and down after the dream… but it was not as you know it was true.

The Velvet Room… This means the events have to do with the subconscious and consciousness of mankind but you have no further information to conclude the wholeness of it… is this Hyrule real or a figment of mankind…?

"They woke up!" An enthusiastic voice notified, making your head turn. It was Link. Wind to be specific. The youngest ran toward you and the others followed him.

The chain gathered around you. The others just stayed quiet waiting for you to speak while Hyrule and Time kneeled at your height as the former asked how you were feeling.

"I'm fine… I… umm…" you lower your gaze, lips pursing and debating if to tell them about your dream. The chain looked at each other with concern.

"H-Hey, now. Let's take it easy." Wild spoke relieving the tension "How about we eat something first? You can't think clearly with an empty tummy!"

The suggestion was favorable as everyone nodded. Time looked at you and pointed to a wooden basin filled with water.

"C'mon, get yourself ready. The water should still be warm." He said with a gentle tone. You nodded and stood up with his help and get prepared for the day.

You looked at the group and concluded to not tell anything for now…

»»———-　　———-«

That's it! That's All! For Now!

A/N: Thanks for reading until here! I'm actually hoping no one would read this...? ahah;;; I feel like going back in 2013 l, oh dear. Sorry if my content is... off-topic...? >_< )... a fanfic crossover of a fanmade... what in the world??

#🖊 ima writes #linked universe x reader #linked crossover

24 notes · View notes

tff500 · 9 months ago

Text

Barian Love by Aidan O'Kane, Chapter 1

Dextra whimpered as she Opened her Eyes, the last thing She Remembered was bemoaning that she wasn't able to buy more time after she lost a Duel to Dumon and Saceificed to The Barian World. She soon Noticed to realise she was in Barian World, She soon Noticed a Reflective Baria Crystal behind her and she froze in horror, She had butterfly wings, with blueish-cyan antenna, her now was that of the other Barian Emperors, her Skin was purple, and she wearing a salmon, Yellow, and lime green dress. Her right Eye color was gold and her left her Duel Gazer Tattoo color of Greenish Blue, but Neither had pupils, and Her Duel Gazer tattoo was Present on both of her eyes, and on her chest Her Barian Chest Emblem, She was now a Barian, "No... no... I can't... be a Barian... what about Earth, I failed to Protect Yuma, Now I'm a Barian! What about The others, what about Nistro!?" She Cried before Suddenly falling down on one knee, "My Head... it feels Funny... Nistro is... is... who.. who is Nistro?" Suddenly a familiar Figure Touched Dextra's Back, it was Marin, Nash's Sister, "Nistro is gone Dextra, He and Several of Yuma's allies, Tried stopping us from getting to him, the others were Quattro, Nelson Andrews, Anna Kaboom, Roku, Kaze, Bronk Stone and..." She Stopped not wanting to tell Dextra that it was Her Dumon duelled, "a girl named.... Cathy..." she said, Pretending it was Cathy Katherine Dumon dueled and not Dextra, "and they were Enemies of Barian World" she Added, Dextra thought for a moment "Enemies of Barian World, I remember now! Were fighting to save Barian World!", "what about Nistro?" Marin Asked, Dextra thought, Her antenna twirling Blushingly, "Well if they Are gone now, I am glad, good riddance", "and what of the Humans" Asked Marin, "they mean nothing to me, I am a Barian, let me join you" said Dextra, She soon Wrapped her Butterfly wings around Marin, "Um, Dextra, what are you Doing?" the latter asked, "well it has been awhile Marin, I just wanted to fly you back to the Palace" Dextra Flirtingly, they arrived at the throne room, Dumon, Vector, Alito, Girag and Mizar were standing in front Surprised at Dextra's Presence, Especially Dumon, "Nash, I this innocent Barian wondering through Barian World" Marin said, Dextra looked up noticing Nash sitting on his throne with another Barian With him in a romantic pose, "Marin? Who's that with Nash?" She asked, "That's Yuma... He saw the error of his Ways and gave up the remaining Number Cards to Nash in order to destroy Astral World, enemy of Barian World" Marin replied, "Marin, what is Her name" Nash Asked, "My name is Dextra... but that doesn't mean a thing now... I am Bellatrix" Dextra said, "Marin take our ninth Barian Emperor to your private chamber, Maybe let her rest" Nash order, "Yes my brother" Marin said, Taking the newly christened Ninth Barian Emperor to her private Chamber. Dextra lay in Marin's Bed thinking of only Marin, She was still thinking the name Nash gave her, "Bellatrix, that Name Sounds good", She can Only Fantasize about Marin, she dreamed she was dancing with her, "I'm yours Marin. Now and forever. My soul belongs to you. We can be together" she said, "Indeed Bellatrix" Marin Said, Ironically Marin was fantasizing the exact same thing Awhile, Dextra in her Barian was sleeping in a way a Butterfly does, her antenna twitched as Marin woke her up, "Hey Bellatrix" she said, "Please perhaps call me Dextra when we are both alone" Dextra said flirtatiously, "Okay, anyway, I asked Nash if You and I went swimming in the Barian Sea And he said yes" Marin said, "Really?" Asked Dextra, "Really really" Said Marin.Later on Marin and Dextra went swimming together in the Barian Sea, Dextra relaxed in the Crimson water as she started to become comfortable her new life as a Barian, Marin soon rose up from the water, "Dextra come, I wanna tell you something" she said as she took Dextra under water, She held Dextra close and almost immediately kissed her. Dextra was surprised by this...

#yugioh zexal #merag #rio kamishiro #anna kaboom #marin #dextra #droite zexal #droite #dextra zexal #fanfiction #Icebutterflyshipping #BellatrixXMarin

2 notes · View notes

hakyeonsmonstercock · 1 year ago

Text

ok gonna make a masterpost rant on my thoughts / hopes for #hakyeonsolodebut bc he’s coming back soon and i know hwang sejun follows me personally so

1. pre-release digital single

option 1: summer

song: ok i know someone at that fuckass company is gonna be like “omg you should totally do a ballad” so i thought what if we didn’t have to suffer and it was just a little teaser for the album like dream and free tempo and hyuk’s songs were and not the main song? if we have to get a slow song, rather than a ballad i want something soft and sweet like choco chip cookie.

outfit: a mix of the ceci photoshoot and big issue, oversized shirts but less pink and more.. sparkly? i’m seeing stickers on his skin and glitter on his hair but idk that might be a vision for another time. anklets if we’re doing a beach thing. hair curly and parted so his eyebrows show a little (put some glitter on them like aoa cream king) maybe even some novelty hair clips

m/v: aesthetics..... the overused 3:4 aspect ratio solid color background with some objects in front omg.. but i’d eat it up for hakyeon honestly if it was more pastel and told a story. cutesy nostalgic with a girl maybe so he can trend for being boyfriend material again. balloons, very colorful, sunny summer-like,

option 2: autumn

song: i know vixx generally don’t do trends (thank god they never did beat drop chorus noise /barf) BUT, and hear me out, CITY POP is kinda on the rise and his #aestheticcore ass would GO ALL OUT. yukika - neon is like, representative intl stan choice but it is actually amazing. i can see hakyeon going upbeat retro but in my mind the prerelease single is a slightly faster ballad over a vaporwave/futurefunk/citypop instrumental (can you tell i don’t listen to that cringe shit). i can also see some trot elements being thrown in that suit fit hakyeon’s voice

outfits: imagine this picture but with highwasted brown pants instead and a much flowier white/blue shirt with like puffier sleeves? maybe an extra button undone. then a beret (!), huge fucking dangly earrings, and his hair styled wavy like for the big issue magazine. black shoes with a high heel because fuck you or whatever these shoes are called because fashion.

m/v: yeah i want it melancholic and rainy and dark and him singing to a stand mic late at night reminiscing.... the night sky.. stars.. starlights.. get it?

2. title track

option 1: sexy

song: if hakyeon went for a sexy concept, and i could totally see him do cunt very well, bass down low and heavy, something like shinhwa’s first love (!!!), hashtag’s freesm, sujeong’s tiger eyes, OR something with a western pop influence: poison, give it up to me, or even hara’s midnight queen

but the ideal? this song is everything i could ever want for hakyeon’s solo debut. the jrock-pop-dance-edm influences are brilliant, it’s fast paced and hot and leaves plenty opportunities for what hakyeon does best, and that’s stare at a stage camera seductively.

dance: mm a lot of hip work and some flowy arm movements. a little contemporary dance break for hakyeon to flex. female and male back up dancers falling over him/fighting for his attention/serving as his chairs (which he did already lmfao). also that thing where one person moves from stage left to stage right and the dancers behind them copy and freeze in various poses/wave choreography. ALSO there’s a smirk and panting and a growl in this song... if no one got me i know hakyeon’s facial expressions got me!

outfit: THIS gay ass shirt is the ONLY choice wtf!!! taemin move promotions inspired but with higher wasted pants to suit hakyeon’s body type. no necklaces either, maybe gloves, dr martens... the highlight of this outfit would be his arms and lipoma <3 in an ideal world id ask for a little red gradient lip too but whatever, the eye makeup can go crazy instead

m/v: literally let’s bring it back to 2012 give me a box set and 50% dance shots 50% head shots i don’t give a fuuuck!

option 2 / follow up promotions (maybe featuring a female idol): i didn’t ask to be born latina

song: k hakyeon is canonically latinx so his debut song should have a lot of latin dance or even bollywood influences! i’m thinking if solo: koda kumi shake it, , tomochin’s loca, enrique iglesias’ bailamos or if he wants to be quirky he can plagiarize ACCHA ACCHA (get it????)

and if he invites one of his bitches shakira’s la tortura, cocosori’s mi amor, enrique iglesias’ takin back my love . he already covered havana and choreographed it and put his girls in those flamenco dresses soo... we know you want to king

dance: i trust hakyeon to make troublemaker the 2nd most controversial performance in recent history. honestly just want him to do this to shake the table a little bit if he decides to go for a feature.

but if it;s a solo song... belly dancing!!! hello?????/ literally unfulfilled potential all up in this bitch! when he starts feeling ethnic >> he’s gonna be my cousin shakira said my hips don’t lie...

outfit: RED! hello?? arguably his best color? when we put him in a sinfully tight shirt and add lace details and a huge leather corset-like belt and a deep v neck cross with long wide sleeves with details on the chest so it’s borderline a figure skating costume and HELLO WHEN WE CONVINCE HIM TO WEAR A CROP TOP AND BELLY DANCING PANTS AND THOSE SEQUIN SEE THROUGH SKIRTS AND DANGLY ACCESSORIES AND SOME INTRICATE WAIST CHAINS ohHoHHohhhpdhp yes it’s all coming together *brain fuckng explodes* also she should grow out his hair kinda like taekwoon hyde era? embrace your heritage king

m/v: a whole storyline set in like the 50s in which hakyeon is a bartender/cleaner at a cabaret club and he stares wistfully at all the performers on stage and imagines himself up there and practices and then the climax of the song has him receiving standing ovations and as the song closes he’s like jolted from his daydream :’)

OR one of those stereotypical man having an orgy with a bunch of women mvs

4. pussy eating anthem

stellar - vibrato imagery. nuff said.

3. ft. yikyung

obviously this is just wishful thinking but since yikyung’s pretty active rn and has a whole song it’s not too far fetched? what’s far fetched is how close they are irl but i don’t doubt hakyeon will get a lot of his friends to feature, whoever they are.

5. ballad

6. ft. vixx

aww in my light fashion i do think hakyeon would all but force vixx into the studio to do a cute little gift for the fans song <3 i don’t doubt he’d try to include h*ngbin too in some way. i don’t have concrete ideas for this one cuz fan gift songs suck but he’d probably be involved in the production/lyrics <3

#oh sis this draft is from like 2019 😕#hakyeon #vixx #cha hakyeon #vixx n #for posterity

3 notes · View notes

spinchip · 4 years ago

Text

The Skirt

Pairings: background jaya Wordcount: 3700 Warnings: ask to tag Summary: Zane gets caught admiring a skirt at the store, but he knows the rules. Boys aren’t allowed to wear that stuff... right?

It’s a sweet, simple sort of thing, where it lays across the mannequins thighs. It’s a high waisted skirt in pale pink, long pleats that fold nicely. It’s paired with a tight white long sleeve shirt tucked in, and a gaudy hot-pink trench coat, and a pair of beige booties. The outfit is nice- the jacket a little much for his own personal taste, but cute in it’s own way. He glances down at his own hips and back up, imagining how the skirt would look against his skin. He reaches out and touches along the bottom of it, feeling the smooth fibers, wondering not-seriously if they had it in his size- not that he would buy it. Not that he should even be thinking about buying it, or how it might look on, or how it might feel-

Nya rounds the corner of the aisle he’d lost himself in.

Zane jumps away from the fabric as if it’d bitten him, nearly knocking over a rack of expensive sunglasses, a hot flush of shame crawling up his throat. He clenches his hands at his side and tries to play it off by switching focus to a pair of aviators with black frames. He can see Nya as she wanders up in the reflection from the lenses, looking between him and the mannequin’s outfit he’d been examining, an inquisitive tilt to her lips.

“Zane? Do you… like this?” She reaches up to smooth out the pleats of the skirt, ruffled by his own hands.

“No.” He answers right away, not giving an inch. He fumbles to pick up a pair of sunglasses just to be doing something with his hands, and doesn’t say anything more. He knows he’s tense, but he can’t help it.

“I don’t know. I think it’s kinda cute.” She hums.

It’s… a trap, or something. Zane can’t figure out how she's trying to box him in, and it’s making him anxious, “You should buy it if you like it.” He tries, setting the glasses back with firm hands, tracing the frames of another pair.

“I don’t think the pink would match my complexion,” there’s a pause, then she tries, “It would look really good on you-”

“I do not like it.” He cuts her off, lacing his voice with steel, shoulders hunching. He strides away from her without glancing back, he doesn’t want to see the look on her face, he doesn’t want to know if she was laughing at him. She’d laughed at him before, in his pink apron, and she'd called him cute then too.

Her voice had been filled with cruel edged mirth, “He’d looked so cute in it!” as he retreats from their food fight, an unfamiliar feeling he’s learned was embarrassment welling up in his chest, making his processor hot. He threw that stupid apron away. He announced his hatred towards pink over and over again. He didn’t need to lose all his progress with a moment of weakness.

He did not like how it felt when his friends laughed at him.

The others are trailing around the store at their own pace, and Zane is lucky only Nya caught him- and even then, he has plausible deniability. Except now she’s lingering around him, he can see her out of the corner of his eye, so he sticks strictly to the mens section- folding a pair of jeans over his arm and a pale blue turtle-neck he thought would go with his eyes. He doesn’t even think about looking at the lavender button up at the end of the rack- he’d learned over the years. Lavender and pastel colors, they were just as bad as pink, even if it was in the mens section, or gender neutral. Sometimes he worries about the light blues he tended to favor, but any blue was okay all the time, probably. They hadn’t made fun of him yet.

He’s looking through a pile of joggers when Nya calls out, “Zane!”

She catches his attention and Jay and Cole as well, holding up a white dress from the rack. It’s a beautiful summer dress, white straps lined with lace leading into a sweetheart neckline, eye closures down the center before it breaks into a delicate and flowy trumpet skirt, “Isn’t this pretty?” She asks, smiling encouragingly.

It is. If you had asked him what kind of dress he’d like to wear, he would be thinking of this dress while he told you none at all.

She’s making fun of him.

He wilts a little, drawing in on himself, and swallows past the painful lump in his throat, “I suppose.” He grits out.

“Hey, why not ask me?” Jay pipes up, “I’m your boyfriend.”

Nya jumps, as if Jay’s presence in the conversation was a surprise.

“It is pretty,” Cole comments, squinting at it from the tank tops he’d been pawing through, “Not really your style, though.”

Nya shakes her head and opens her mouth, “No, I-” She stalls, glancing at Zane- who’s looking increasingly upset, “I was thinking about trying something new...” she trails off.

Jay meanders over, “Well, you should probably get a different size. This is way too big.” He comments, looking it over.

“Yeah… right.” Nya says, and Zane slips away from them quietly.

When he gets back to his room, he sets his bags from the mall on the bed and starts to pull out his new clothes. Nya had let it go, in the end, and hadn’t teased him about his slip up after the dress thing, so the rest of the trip had been nice. They’d stopped at the food court for lunch and spent some time in the skateboard shop so kai could buy some new wheels, and then an hour and a half goofing around at the arcade before they’d called it a day.

Zane folded his new pants and tucked them into the dresser, reaching blindly into his bag while thinking about what to make for dinner.

All thoughts of food vanish from his head when he pulls out the pale pink skirt he’d been admiring.

He drops it and jerks his hands back to his chest, spinning around as if to catch Nya jump out from behind a potted plant and shout aha! Caught ya! ...but no one is there. He’s alone. He approaches the offending article of clothing cautiously, digging his receipt out from his bag while already certain he won’t see the skirt listed there. Nya must have bought it and slipped it in with his things, there’s no other explanation. It’s his size. Why? Is there a… a joke here? What is Zane not getting?

He should take it back to her and let her return it, probably. He picks it up and tosses it in the trashcan next to his desk instead, and puts away the rest of his clothes with hands he makes sure don’t shake. He doesn’t entertain the idea of trying it on. Pink and lavender weren’t allowed, skirts- skirts were worse. A pink skirt… he shakes his head, hanging up a new turtle neck, and leaves the skirt behind in the darkness of his room.

Nya sits up a little straighter when he comes into the living room, “How was… putting away your clothes?” She finishes clunky, fishing for his reaction to her prank.

“Fine.” He says without breaking stride, crossing into the kitchen and plucking his plain white apron up off the hook, sliding it over his head and getting to work.

Except, even as he chops onions and serves dinner and eats with his friends, even as they play video games and watch a movie, he can’t stop thinking about the skirt. It’s there, in the back of his mind- he’d always liked skirts, thought they were pretty and sweet. He used to dream about buying nice skirts and dresses when he could afford it, different kinds for different occasions like maxi dresses and pencil skirts, but this was before he knew it was silly and laughable. Before it was wrong.

When the night finally comes to a close, and he retires back to his room, he makes a bee line for his trashcan and delicately pulls the skirt out. He sets it on his bed and pats out the wrinkles, appreciating the craftsmanship.

He locks the door and undresses, sliding the skirt over his hips. He zips it in place and takes a step towards the mirror before he hesitates, throwing off his blue hoodie and digging up a tighter white turtleneck. It’s the closest thing he has to the outfit the mannequin was wearing that he’d liked so much. He smooths down the pleats, playing with the edge- something tight and uncomfortable in his chest loosens, and he breathes easier. It’s nice. It feels… like he always thought it would.

He steps in front of the mirror. He fiddles with the cuffs of his sweater, smiling at his reflection. He looked good, the skirt fits perfectly. He poses even though it makes him feel a little immature, striking several different stances, turning around to see all the angles. He’s got the perfect set of shoes to pair with this-

He stops halfway to his closet, standing in the middle of his room wearing a skirt he loves, reality rushing back.

He takes the skirt off, pulling on a pair of pajama pants, and folds it nice and neatly. He unlocks his door and walks across the monastery to Nyas bedroom, knocking politely. There’s a long pause before he can hear her footsteps on the hardwood. The door opens and she squints at the hallway light, blinking up groggily at Zane, “Huh?” She quips eloquently.

He holds the skirt out and drops it, she fumbles to catch it, “Return it.” he tells her, “I do not want it.”

She blinks, her sleep addled mind processing before it connects, “Zane,” She shakes her head, holding it out, “It’s yours, I saw you looking at it- it’s a nice skirt, it would look nice on you.”

He refrains from saying it does. He frowns hard, he doesn’t get it- she sounds so sincere, but he knows the rules, “I do not understand the joke. Am I supposed to wear this so you may laugh at me?”

Nya looks lost, “Laugh?”

“Like my pink apron.” He explains, huddling into himself, “Except this is worse.”

Understanding lights up her face with shame and sadness, “Zane… I-”

“Return it.” He insists, pushing the skirt back towards her, and then hesitates, “Please. Do not tell the others.”

He takes a step back and nods, turning away and bidding a hasty retreat. When he gets back to his room he stubbornly refuses to think about how freeing it was, how good it felt. He stamps down any longing as he crawls into bed, and falls asleep most certainly not filled with regret.

The following morning, Nya slinks into the kitchen as Zane and Kai are putting together breakfast looking like a kicked puppy. She keeps throwing inconspicuous sad eyes at Zane that he’s stubbornly refusing to acknowledge, but she thankfully doesn’t let the others catch on or else she might be forced to tell them what was bothering her.

After breakfast, she offers to help Zane with the dishes, and meets his “I do not require assistance,” With polite insistence, where she ends up washing as he dries and puts them away.

It isn’t until they’re nearly done that she organizes her thought’s enough to turn to him as he puts away the final stack of plates and says, “I think you should keep the skirt.”

He feels himself grow tense, closing the cupboard slowly before he looks at her, turning around to face her and scrutinizing her expression hard. He tries to dissect her intentions, tries to figure out why she’s saying this- he knew Nya had joined in on the teasing before, but he didn’t think she would push so hard. All his previous data suggests she doesn’t have a cruel streak like this in her, but she’s been keeping the joke going hard.

He entertains the idea that she really is being sincere, but that doesn’t make sense either, because there were rules. Zane had to figure them out fast when he was younger and newly exposed to the world- You have to make eye contact when conversing with people to be respectful, asking for explanations to jokes ruins the fun, and boys should never wear girl clothes. If you broke the rules, you were weird, and people laughed at you, and they made fun of you.

“No thank you.” He says stiffly, turning away and rinsing out the sink, “I do not like it.”

She looks miserable, “I’m sorry we laughed.”

He shakes his head and doesn’t respond, the conflicting information making his head hurt, leaving her alone in the kitchen.

A week later, the team has another rare day off. They’d set aside the day to go to the park, and Zane was looking forward to it. He’d spent the previous day in between patrols picking up ingredients to pack the perfect picnic. Cole throws open the door to the kitchen as Zane finishes packing up his basket, hauling a large cooler behind him.

“Hey frosty!” He greets, popping the lid on the cooler and fishing out waters and juice from the fridge, “Aren’t you gonna be hot dressed like that?” He comments.

Zane glances down at his jeans and t-shirt in comparison to Cole’s tanktop and shorts combo, “I am the master of Ice.” He points out, “I don’t get hot.”

Cole concedes his point with a dip of his head, “Speaking of master of ice, can I get a little help with keeping the drinks cool?”

Zane nods, waving a hand over the cooler and packing the drinks with snow and ice. Cole thanks him as Zane hefts up his basket, the two meeting the rest of their team on the deck of the bounty. Nya perks up as they come out on deck, and steps aside so the two can see their teammates.

Jay already looks overheated, miserably melting under the sun. Lloyd seems unbothered, dressed in a sleeveless hoodie and shorts. Kai basks in the sun, smiling brilliantly, wearing a t-shirt and…

Zanes processor stutters, “Are you wearing a skirt?” He asks neutrally, blinking down at Kai’s maroon pleats.

“Yeah,” Kai glances down at the fabric, “Nya gave it to me, it doesn’t fit her anymore. Isn’t it cute?”

Zane has no idea how to respond, so Cole beats him to it, “Looks good, dude, but how are we supposed to play frisbee?”

“I got shorts on underneath so I don't accidentally flash anyone.” Kai waves his hand dismissively, and no one else comments on the wrongness of the outfit.

Tentatively, Zane says, “You… like to wear skirts?”

Kai frowns, mistaking the hesitance for judgement, “Is that a problem for you?”

Zane looks away, “Not at all.” He says, confusion making his voice stiff, missing the way the others glance at his tone of voice disapprovingly.

They go to the park, and Zane can’t stop looking at Kais skirt. He finds himself frowning at the other man more than once, shaking the confusion out of his head and trying to ignore it. Did it… really not matter that Kai was wearing a skirt? Cole had complimented him, and Jay hadn’t said anything against it either. He finds himself not joining in on the frisbee game most of the time, focusing on getting the picnic set up to hide how he was too mixed up to focus on the sport. Soon enough, the others wrap up their game and join Zane on the blanket Nya had packed.

They eat and chat idly, and Kai sighs in content after he’s finished, sitting back, “That was amazing as always, Zane!”

Zane doesn’t look at him as he puts away his own half-eaten sandwich, “Thank you.” He says simply, lost in thought.

“Zane.” Jay says, and Zane glances up at him. He startles slightly at the way Jay is looking at him, pointedly disapproving, “Why are you being so weird about Kais skirt?”

“...Why aren’t you?” Zane asks genuinely, familiar hot shame crawling up his throat as his friends frown at him.

“Dude…” Kai mutters, clearly hurt, “Not cool.”

Shame, confusion, and guilt swallow Zane up for a long moment before it’s burned up by a flash of frustration. It didn’t make sense. They’d made fun of him years ago for his pink apron, laughed him out of the room and not bothered enough to see if he was alright afterwards because he broke the rules- he gets it, he wore the wrong clothes, it’s a funny joke… So why is Kai allowed it where Zane isn’t? Why is it funny when it’s Zane? Why does he get mocked while Kai gets defended? Defended when Zane hasn’t and wouldn’t ever make fun of him for his outfit-!

He stands up abruptly, “I’m going back to the bounty.” He announces before he turns on heel and all but runs from them.

“Zane!” Nya calls, but he doesn’t turn around.

“Let him go.” Cole says firmly, and Zane clenches his eyes shut as he boards the bounty.

His stomach churns with his tumultuous thoughts and he makes a bee line for the room they have in the bounty, crawling into his bunk bed and curling into a ball. He stares miserably at the wooden walls, thinking about too many different things.

He misses his pink apron.

He didn’t think it was funny when he saw Kai in that skirt. He thought he looked nice...

Why did they laugh at him?

He wakes up at the sound of quiet voices, disoriented for a moment- he didn’t remember falling asleep. He makes his way out of bed slowly, the room dark, and blinks against the harsh hallway light as he steps out of their bedroom. He rubs sleep out of his optics as they adjust to the change in atmosphere, making his way to the living room.

He stops in the doorway, looking in at his friends. Kai is still wearing his skirt, laying across the recliner sideways, his legs thrown over the edge. The others are in various states around the living room, laying on the couch or the floor asa movie plays unwatched on the TV screen, the quiet sounds what lured Zane here in the first place.

Zane’s stomach plummets as he remembers the hurt look on Kai’s face at lunch. He didn’t want to make Kai feel like he did, he didn’t want him to feel laughed at, “Kai?” He says from the doorway.

The room reacts to his voice, everyone immediately sitting up to peer at him. Jay's head poked over the back of the couch along with Coles, and Nya and Lloyd craned their heads around the couch from the floor.

“Hey, Zane…” Kai says, sitting properly in the chair.

“I want to apologize.” Zane says quietly, “I really have no issue with you wearing what you like. I am sorry I acted so oddly.”

Kai fiddles with the edge of the skirt, “It’s okay… I know.” He says just as soft, “I think we all owe you an apology too.”

Zane tilts his head in confusion, stepping into the room a little more.

Jay nods, “Yeah, Zane, we’re sorry.” He says sincerely, “We acted like total jerks about your apron.”

“My apron…” Zane’s eyes flicker to Nya, who ducks her head a little at how she obviously snitched.

“Nya told us what was bothering you, and we feel really bad about it.” Cole agrees, “We were stupid and mean. There’s nothing wrong with wearing pink.”

“Or skirts.” Kai pipes up, “I’m sorry we hurt you.”

“If you want to wear that stuff,” Lloyd adds, “No one will laugh.”

Zane blinks at the way his eyes water dangerously, looking down at the floor, “It is not… wrong?”

“No.” Kai says firmly, “We were wrong, not you. Wear what makes you happy, and we’ll be on your side.”

Zane swallows and thinks about how much he’d loved the pink skirt, how pretty he’d felt with it on, “I accept your apology.” He says with a small smile, “Thank you.”

Nya grins and with a wink says, “I think i have something that belongs to you, then.” She stands, “But first… group hug?”

Smiling, Zane holds up his arms, and the others converge on him. He hugs them back tightly, smile growing wider as he sighs happily. The frustration and hurt sliding off his shoulders makes him feel so light, and a barrier he hadn’t realized he’d raised falls to pieces.

He couldn’t wait for their next off day.

Which comes sooner than he expects. It’s rare to get out of patrol so often, but Lloyd insisted they make up for their slightly disasterous park trip only a few days later. Ninjago is thankfully not in terrible danger, so they decide to head to Mega Monster Amusement Park for the day- and Zane is half certain Sensei Wu allows it only because he’s craving funnel cake.

They’re supposed to leave soon, and Zane is nearly ready. He slips on a pair of white boots and laces them up, standing up and admiring his outfit in his mirror. He’s got on a loose white sweater tucked into the waistband of his pink skirt, and he adjusts it one last time before nodding in satisfaction, smiling genuinely at his reflection.

He does a little twirl because he can’t help himself before he throws open the door to his room and makes his way to the deck of the bounty, smiling as the skirt bounces and flows with every step.

He’s the last to arrive, the others all waiting for him. To his pleasant surprise, there’s no flash of anxiety as he trots over- they won’t laugh. He knows they won’t.

Nya lights up when she sees him, “Zane’s here!”

Zane happiness seems to be contagious, the others all perking up at the sight of him.

“You look really nice.” Kai compliments when he gets close, and Zane smiles so hard his cheeks hurt.

“Yeah, that’s a nice color on you.” Cole comments.

Jay nods in agreement, “Zane looks really good, yes! Can we go to the amusement park already?”

Zane laughs, bubbly and light, “Thank you all! Jay’s right, let us go have some fun.”

As they disembark the bounty, Zane makes eye contact with Nya, and smiles softly at her. She grins in return, bumping shoulders with him, and they catch up with the others.

#zane julien #nya ninjago #kai ninjago #jay ninjago #cole ninjago #ninjago #spinchip fic #wu ur student looks gnc af

432 notes · View notes

thesumlax · 2 years ago

Photo

So I`ve been taking venlafaxine for quite a while, and aside from allowing me to properly function as a human being, it has an interesting side effect of sending the dream-generating parts of the brain into overdrive. Unfortunately, it does not improve the ability to remember the dreams, so these are all that`s left from a truly massive amount of ideas...

1) A cetacean with messed up eyes that produces glowing purple slime from its back, mainly for communication. It has two related species that are mostly blind and use their slime (one`s green, the other`s blue) to construct nets for hunting. These dolphreaks apparently inspired some legendary sea serpent, though the legends actually made them less weird (unsurprisingly).

2) Apparently a very large fly (like a medium-sized bird or smth). Very dangerous, presumably beacuse it`s venomous. Also very intelligent and has a habit of deliberately attacking people who know what it is and try to avoid it.

3) A sapient echinoderm that uses three of its arms as "heads". Despite the obvious differences in... everything, they seem to live in apartments very similar to human ones.

4) There was an underwater landscape full of some Spore-looking creatures, this is the only one I remember.

5) Possibly the same dream as the previous one, this large black worm with translucent green and blue entrails was apparently some sort of video game controller. Like, you dissect and manipulate its guts to play - I don`t know how it`s supposed to work.

6) The monstorus earth whale, a terrifying predator that swims rapidly through the earth. In this exact pose, yes, sticking vertically out of the ground. Eventually it transformed into an absolutely enormous magma beast, kinda split up and fused seamlessly with the surrounding rock and magma. It was fought by a weirdly agile cartoonish Godzilla and, I kid you not, Aleksander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, who was piloting a bizarre transforming robot tractor of his own design - №7 is an approximation of what that may have looked like.

8) Kaiju transformation of some alien guy - the most interesting part is how his eyestalks turned into serpents.

9) There was a massive line-up picture depicting several related families of Lovecraftian gods and monsters. This is the only one I remembered.

10) This one`s very fuzzy, but I think there was this scuzzy bird, with cartoonish and ridiculous appearance but also terrifyingly large, just standing motionless in the sea. Completely ossified and sessile, it relied on its flying offspring to feed it.

11) This Dark Souls-looking executioner guy was actually just a costume used in a school play. Despite the ridiculously high quality of the suit itself, they were armed with a regular cheap hatchet.

12) Apparently an ice-themed member of a set of elemental dragon creatures, colored blue with yellow fringes. Bizarrely, its main power has nothing to do with ice - it`s producing these edible "fruits" (№13). I don`t really remember the other dragons, but I think several of them were depicted like №14.

15) A "gorgon" that was playable in some kind of monster arena fighting game. Had multiple skins, one of which was identified as a "vampire" due to its unusual dentition (№16).

17) A hypnagogic picture (possibly a DeviantArt post) of an entity identified as "Tdirr Ilbot, the Horse Dragon". Their integument was like a green and brown moss or lichen, and their faces were featureless black glass orbs. I think "Horse Dragon" is their job title.

#my art #sketches #dreams

8 notes · View notes

nightingale-interactive · 3 years ago

Note

what would the ros do if someone in the senate harassed mc

Christian: I take another small step back from Senator Bracken's overbearing presence. My gaze flitting from his leering blue as I try to find my own favorite shade of the very color.

Across the room, Christian Anderson stood with his crowd of advisors. The deep black of his suit bringing out the bright hue of his eyes. I only make contact with his comforting gaze for only a moment before Bracken was obstructing my view.

"How about I take you to dinner tomorrow night?" He grins. "Maybe we can talk about some of the things I need fixing."

Opening my mouth to respond, I'm cut off by the deep baritone of my savior. Relief washing through me at the barely controlled anger that resides within a normally docile tone.

"There's a lot of things that you need to fix, Senator. At least from what I've heard from your wife," Christian smoothly interjects. Placing himself deliberately between me and the Senator. His hulking form dwarfing the much slighter form of the Senator. "Things that I'm sure can't be resolved in a simple dinner meeting."

Bracken's eyes narrow. "Mr. President, I was just sayi--"

"I know what you were saying and I'm not going to allow you to say anymore." Christian's voice lowers as he takes a small step towards Bracken. "I suggest you leave before I have you thrown out of here for contempt."

For a brief moment, I almost think that Bracken was going to argue with Christian but he simply backs away-- his proverbial tail tucked between his legs as he scurries to the relative safety across the room.

Sighing, I rub the back of my neck. "Thank you, I was this close to snapping at him."

"I wish you would have," Christian replies with a deep rumble of his chuckle. Even though a certain level of tightness still remains within his voice. "How about we get out of here? Go to our spot and I can help you forget all about Senator Bracken."

I smile. "I thought you'd never ask, Mr. President."

Alcina: Forcing a smile onto my face, I listen as Archibald Campbell drones on and on about a bill he was fighting for. A topic that would normally intrigue me if it wasn't for the heated glances he kept giving me every time I shift.

It also didn't help that I couldn't stand him. While America was fooled by his charming smile and shimmering blue eyes. I saw the exact type of person that lurks just beneath the surface. A person that would do anything to get his way no matter what.

Not taking no for an answer... no matter the consequences involved.

"I still don't understand how that imbecile made it onto the committee but I'll try not to question it." Zoning back in, I try to focus my gaze onto his but I can't seem to. Especially not when I notice his eyes darkening as they glance down once more. "What do you think?"

It takes me a moment to realize that he was actually asking me a question; not my breasts. "I think Senator Harkin deserves a chance to prove himself," I reply evenly. "Just like you had to when you first joined."

He smirks. "Unlike Harkin, I'm actually good at what I do."

"You're good at being a dick, Campbell, nothing more."

The smooth voice coming from behind me shouldn't relieve me as much as it does. I don't even have to turn around to see the painfully bored expression gracing an elegant face. Emerald eyes boring into blue as Alcina Anderson stops beside me. The faint scent of her perfume, and her natural aroma, wafting over me in a comforting breeze.

"Madam First Lady," Campbell grits out. "It's so nice to see you."

"Not as nice as it'll be to see you leave, Senator." There's a moment of silence before Alcina offers him a pointed smile. No amusement sparkling in her gaze as she crosses her arms. "That wasn't a suggestion, Senator Campbell, it was a command. I need to talk to one of my most trusted advisers. So, please, do us all a favor and leave."

Without another word, though I knew he wanted to say more, Campbell leaves. Allowing Alcina to finally turn her softening gaze to me. "Now that he's gone, darling, I can finally steal you away."

"I would like nothing more."

Stephen: "I don't think I'm the woman for the job, Senator Williams," I reply with as much decorum as I could possibly muster. Hoping that my fraying nerves didn't showcase too badly. I knew that the man standing before me wasn't a bad person. He just couldn't hold his liquor to save his life.

Something that I, unfortunately, had to deal with.

"I-I thi-think you a-are," he slurs as he cants his body closer to mine. Bringing the scent of his cologne and whiskey to my nose. A combination that causes my nose to wrinkle in distaste.

Holding up my hands, partly to placate him and to keep a certain amount of distance, I speak. "I promise you that I'm not, Senator, but I'm honored that you think I am."

Jolting back at the sudden touch on my bicep, my eyes widen as Senator Williams gets that much closer to me. My hands balling into fists as I get ready to lay into him. But the sudden presence at my side, mixing with a much fresher scent, causes me to loosen up.

Stephen's normally jovial voice is tight with anger. "Senator Williams, it's an honor to meet you." Holding out his hand, he immediately shakes the hesitant one that was proffered. Already pulling the intoxicated man back towards the bar. "I was wondering if you could talk to me about the Dream Act? I've been so curious about ever since I heard it on the news."

Shooting a brief glance over his shoulder, Stephen offers you a warm smile before he turns his full attention back to the man.

My heart warming as I watch my savior take a proverbial bullet for me.

Quinn: "Is there a problem here?"

The quiet tone of the question poses it as more of threat than it probably was. Though I couldn't bring myself to care as I turn my head to meet closed-off gray.

Special Agent Quinn Matthews stood in all of their Secret Service glory. A certain tension in their shoulders as they observe Senator Jolie and myself. Something that causes my own to fall away as I notice the telltale signs of their protective nature kicking into gear.

Taking a small step back from the Senator, I offer Quinn a grateful smile. Thankful that they had arrived when they did as I wasn't sure I was going to be able to control my next actions for much longer. Which would have undoubtedly been bad for not along myself but my firm.

It wouldn't do to have my face plastered on tomorrow's front page with the headline-- Infamous Fixer Breaks Senator's Nose At Diplomatic Gala.

So, I was more than happy for Quinn to take the reigns. Even if they didn't seem to have any inclination to continue speaking. Simply staring at Senator Jolie as they stay stiffen.

Something that seems to be more effective than words with the type of person that Senator Jolie was. I watch as the woman shifts underneath the impenetrable stare of the Agent before she finally turns away completely. Taking her overbearing presence with her as she goes to mingle among the crowd once more.

Heaving a sigh of relief, I offer Quinn a sparkling smile. "Thank you, Agent Matthews."

Their lips quirk ever-so-slightly as they incline their ahead. "Of course."

#scandal #christian anderson #alcina anderson #stephen beckett #quinn matthews #senate #anonymous #scenario

64 notes · View notes

whump-me-all-night-long · 4 years ago

Text

The Jewelry Box: Amber’s Beginning pt. 2

Well, here’s part two to the intro of the series. There’s probably going to be a part three, although when that will get written is anyone’s guess.

Taglist: @newbornwhumperfly @unicornscotty @itsleighlove @whump-scribbles @getyourwhumphere @skunkandgrenade @penny-for-your-whump @lektric-whump @just-a-whump-lover @thelazywitchphotographer @restrainthenmaime @angstyachesplus @lilbitwhumpy @leaderofthebeanarmy @aquard-skaii let me know if you want to be added/removed!

CW: intimate whumper, creepy whumper, collared, multiple whumpees, lady whump/whumpees, referenced death(s), Jess (and Sapphire) continue to have dirty mouths, let me know if I need to tag anything else!

Masterlist here

---

To Jess’ eternal disappointment, the key was not, in fact, for their collar. Instead the Jeweler - Jess’ lip curled at the name - used it to unhook the chain from the headboard. Once that was off, Jess leapt up, intending to sprint to the door and figure out the rest of their plan from there.

The Jeweler had other plans. As soon as Jess was on their feet, he swept a leg under them, sending them toppling to the ground with a grunt.

Disoriented, Jess pulled themself onto their hands and knees, a hand holding their head. They were about to try to get back up when a foot pressed down on their back, between their shoulder blades. Their unsteady arms and legs gave out beneath them and they tumbled back down, flat on their stomach. They glared somewhere above them, snapping, “Jeez, dude, can you just not?!”

The Jeweler laughed above them, adding a bit more weight onto their back. “Before we leave this room, I want to make sure we have an understanding. There will be no funny business from you, okay? You will behave and then I won’t have to punish you. Everyone wins.”

Jess scowled into the wooden floor. Dream on, fucker, they thought, but they said, “Okay, fine. I understand.”

“Wonderful.” The Jeweler hauled them back to their feet, making sure to keep the chain wrapped tightly around his hand. When he tugged on it, Jess was forced to follow them or risk suffocation. The Jeweler gestured back to the tray he had set down on the nightstand. “Now, do you want to take it or not? It’ll help you recover quicker, last night was not nice to you, but I won’t force you. Not this time at least.”

Jess glanced back at the tray, noticing that there were a couple inconspicuous white pills and a glass of water sitting on it. Hell no, they thought, shaking their head. “No- no way, dude.” They glanced at the Jeweler, wondering if he was about to get angry and blow his lid off.

But he just smiled, opening the door. “Very well.” He lead them out into a surprisingly normal hallway, with several doors and branching hallways on either side. A few picture frames were hung on the wall.

As the Jeweler lead them, Jess let their eyes wander over the pictures, not realizing what they were seeing until one in particular caught their eye.

It was a figure dressed in bright, rich shades of reds and oranges. Their skin was warm brown and their hair, which fell in waves down their back, looked as if it was almost on fire. Orange-gold flakes decorated their skin and hair, and they looked to be posing on their toes, arms arching out above them. They were quite beautiful.

Jess shook their head and began to move on, wondering why they were thinking that, when they noticed that the Jeweler had stopped too. He was gazing at the photo, with a wistful sort of longing. “That was my Garnet,” he said. “He was such a shining soul. Shame…” He trailed off before looking up at Jess. “He was one of my first Jewels,” the man explained. “But an accident-” his lips pursed at that- “caused him to leave too soon. It was a mercy to put him down.”

Jess felt disgust and horror mingle inside them. This man had killed someone? Jess looked back at the picture, noticing what they hadn’t the first time. Nearly invisible wires pulled at Garnet’s wrists, forcing him to balance precariously on his toes. Bruises, almost perfectly concealed, dotted the man’s body. And his eyes were wide not in excitement, but fear, with tears welled up in them.

Jess shuddered, not resisting as the Jeweler led them on further. A wave of nauseous dizziness swept through them, most likely remnants from whatever the Jeweler had slipped them. They turned down several more hallways, Jess quickly becoming hopelessly lost. There were no windows or doors that lead outside. Finally, after several tense minutes of silence, the Jeweler stopped in front of a door that looked like all the other doors in the halls.

Using another key, he unlocked the door, revealing an illuminated set of stairs. The Jeweler cheerfully set off down them, pulling Jess along too. The door clanged shut above them, locking, and Jess swallowed, unable to help the feeling that they were being swallowed up by the earth.

When they reached the bottom, there was another door waiting for them, this one made of solid steel. The Jeweler unlocked it using a very long pin number and a fingerprint ID. Jess watched on, amazed and terrified at the how well organized this man was. The door swung open after a short beep, and Jess frowned, peering closer to look inside.

The Jeweler gave a quick tug on the chain, causing them to stumble forward into the room. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all the same plain white tile, and there were several racks filled with a huge variety of objects behind glass cabinets along the back wall. Jess saw everything from workout equipment to swathes of cloth to a number of items they chose not to take a closer look at. But that wasn’t the weirdest part.

No, the weirdest part were the six small cells set into the walls, three on either of the side walls, with large panes of glass acting as the fourth wall and keeping them sealed. Well, that and the humans trapped inside them.

Jess jumped back and stared, wide-eyed and unbelieving, at the five people trapped, one to a cell, with the one empty one glaring out at them.

“What- what the hell is this place?” Jess croaked, turning to the Jeweler.

Before the Jeweler could answer, though, one of the people - a young man, maybe a few years older than Jess, with vibrant blue hair and a scowl Jess could see from a mile away - banged on the glass of his cell, glaring at the Jeweler.

“You asshole!” he yelled. Jess blinked, surprised. How long had he been stuck in this place? “Carn- Carnelian’s only been gone a couple of days! And you’ve already replaced him?!”

Jess took a step back, curling in on themself. Whatever they had stumbled into must’ve been a hell of a lot bigger than they first thought.

The Jeweler just smiled, glancing at Jess. “Ah, yes, this is my new Jewel, Amber. Amber, meet everyone. Everyone, meet Amber.”

A wave of anger swept over Jess and they snapped before they could help it. “I told you, fucker, my name is not Amber, it’s fuckin’ J-”

They was cut off by a sudden cracking noise and pain exploding in their face. It took them a moment to realize what had happened: the Jeweler had slapped them. They blinked, a burst of dizziness exploding through them. They were one of the most skilled fighters they knew, and they hadn’t even seen the blow coming.

The Jeweler watched them, an expression of interest on his face. Jess felt their lip curling, and forced themself to back off. The Jeweler smiled, as if he could tell what was playing through Jess’ mind.

He turned, gesturing to each of the people. “This is Sapphire-” the blue boy let out what sounded too much like a growl for comfort- “Ruby-” a short, slight slip of a girl with the most vibrant red hair Jess had ever seen glanced up at them, fear in her eyes- “Amethyst-” a much taller, curvier, paler woman with pastel purple hair watched them with calculating eyes- “Emerald-” a man build like an ox with dark skin and kind green eyes watched without expressing much interest- “and my darling Diamond-” a person with the palest skin Jess had ever seen, white hair tumbling over their shoulders, smiled up at the Jeweler. With how pale and faded they looked, Jess could swear they might be a ghost. They also seemed like the only person who was actually happy to see the Jeweler. Everyone else seemed angry or fearful.

The Jeweler smiled, clearly pleased with himself. “Now that introductions are done, I’ll show you to your new home, let you get acquainted with the other Jewels, and then I’ll be back later to continue your initiation.”

The Jeweler lead them to the empty cell, which was, of course, right next to the angry one - Sapphire. Jess had never been good with names, so it was a good thing that each of the other people were so obviously color-coded to go with the gemstone they were named after. The Jeweler unlocked the door to the cell, and shoved Jess inside, unhooking the chain and slamming the door back closed, all in a few smooth motions.

Jess stumbled in, glancing around at their surroundings - a small bed attached to the far wall, an empty nightstand next to it, and a metal toilet across from it (Jess had seen prison cells more luxurious than this) - before turning back to face the Jeweler. They took up their fighting stance, legs planted slightly apart, arms crossed in front of them, and a look on their face that was a mix between a scowl and a smirk - a smirl, they called it - that Jules said could make anyone throw the first punch.

“So what?” they drawled. “This some psycho dream of yours, kidnapping innocent people and dressing them up as, what are these? Gemstones?”

The Jeweler’s smile twitched, which was one of the first signs of his emotions, but when he replied, his tone was light. “Jewels, actually.” He took a step back, surveying Jess. “I’ll be back later,” he said with a wave of his hand, and before Jess knew it, he was gone.

94 notes · View notes

zae82 · 3 years ago

Text

Labour & Birth

It was time for their child to arrive in this world. Nat had never felt so scared in all her life. Whatever happens, she doesn’t want to lose the baby.

Dr Cho reassured Steve and Nat that everything was okay. Both baby and mother are doing well.

It was a long six hour labour.

“Alright now. I saw his head. Time to push. Push harder. As hard as you can Natasha.”

Nat was panting and groaning in pain. The pain was overwhelming but she didn’t want any epidural. She was telling Steve all kinds of things in her semi delirious state.

“This isn’t suppose to be possible Steve. I’m not supposed to have kids. I don’t know how this is happening. And I love you so much. If anything happens to me. You have to take care of him okay. Tell our son I love him too…”

“Nat you’re going to be fine… I promise you. You and our son are going to be perfectly fine. I love you too.”

“I had this weird dream the other night, you and I and others fighting some huge battle in an open field… and I had a platinum blonde bob. I don’t think it suits me.”

Steve smiled and clutched her hand tight. “I think you look beautiful with any hair color Sweetheart.”

And he wondered if she’s remembering more of her life back in their reality/world.

The baby came.

Finally holding their precious boy. Aaaah My Babiesss…😍

“He’s so perfect…” Nat uttered. Her son was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. He had blonde hair and his eyes were ocean blue just like his father’s.

“Thank You….” Steve whispered and pressed a tender kiss on her head.

“What are we going to name him?” Nat asked him.

“James.” Steve smiled. James Samuel Rogers.

Both Dr Cho and Nurse Holliday look pleased.

Also I will never get sick of both of them slow dancing. True Love Bitches…

Labour & Birth pose from @conceptdesign97sims

#sims 4 #steve rogers x natasha romanoff #romanogers #capwidow #stevenat #my babiesss #my ship is better than yours #i will go down with this ship #james rogers

24 notes · View notes

danny-chase · 3 years ago

Link

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Batman (Comics), Batgirl (Comics), Batman and the Outsiders (Comics) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain & the Batfam Characters: Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Dick Grayson (briefly), Barbara Gordon (briefly), Tim Drake (briefly), Bruce Wayne (Mentioned), Jefferson Pierce (mentioned) Additional Tags: Batfamily (DCU) Feels, The timeline is a mess, feelings of discomfort, Feelings of Not Belonging, Crocs, POV Cassandra Cain, late night bathroom girl talks, no beta we die like Cass, dreams of alternate timeline, timeline converging, Confusion, Eventual Fluff, Nightmares Summary:

The one where Cass know something is wrong with her Crocs, and it spirals into more being wrong with her world.

Cassandra never thought much about what she wore, it’s not like it mattered much in the grand scheme of things. What was ‘right’ to wear, ‘wrong’ to wear, she didn’t really know, she just picked what she liked, and that was that. Barbara helped keep her closet in three neat sections: clothes for fancy things – charities or dances, clothes for blending in outside, and clothes for training. It was simple, easy, efficient. She didn’t have to think about it.

But here she was, pacing back and forth in front of her closet. It wasn’t the clothes she was confused about, but a pair of shoes. Light blue, with holes. Duke called them crocs. Crocs. She turned the word over, again and again in her mind. She remembered picking them out, but the memory was blurry, she had this eerie feeling they were wrong somehow.

She’d had this feeling before – that something was wrong with the world, with her. Her costume sometimes felt wrong, like it didn’t quite belong. She shifted, irritated, from side to side. Sometimes, she talked wrong too, thought wrong. Everything, some days, just felt wrong.

And here she was, standing on her hands, glaring at her crocs. Her crocs that were wrong, but they couldn’t be wrong because she’d gotten them with Duke. She remembered – she was sure she remembered.

It had been a cloudy day, her arm stuck in a sling. Bruce had said she was training too hard, she should take it easy, and she had disagreed. But then he brought up Duke. Duke, who had been injured by Karma. Who was so angry and hurt, but she never knew what to say to fix things. And Bruce hadn’t known either. But all the same, they had to try something.

He gave her money and instructions. Take Duke to get food at the mall. It had been easy, fun. He was upset, but took the time to make her laugh, thanked her for spending time with him. They’d spun through racks of clothes, posing with sunglasses, and trying on random things, then swapping. They bought him a short shirt that showed off his belly button. A… crop top, he’d said. And she, skipping through the aisles had stopped in front of the blue crocs.

She’d felt strange then, like the world was wrong, and somehow, she felt drawn to them. Duke had looked at her as though she was crazy when she tried them on but shrugged and told her she had great tastes in fashion (lie). He’d been getting tired, the more they walked, but he smiled all the same, told her she looked great in them (not a lie). And she bought them, now here she was, feeling the same feeling of wrongness.

Sometimes, she felt like a different person.

Sometimes, she felt like Duke shouldn’t be there.

Sometimes, she missed people she met once.

And sometimes, she stared at the blue crocs, with an inkling she’d seen them before she’d ever stepped foot in that store.

She’d been feeling well this week. Things were going well with her team, things were going well for her. She had almost finished her latest book, when she was struck by the feeling of wrongness once again. She gripped her hair, squeezing her eyes shut, burying her head in the side of her chair.

She was Cassandra Cain. She was herself. She wasn’t wrong. This was her, wasn’t it? This was her life.

But even her name sounded wrong in her head. Cassandra felt right, Cain felt wrong. But if not a Cain, who was she?

She was powerful. Strong. That was right. She’d taken down ten men last week in hardly any time, and it felt so right!

But sitting in a chair reading felt wrong.

It was so confusing. She didn’t understand, why this but not that?

Throwing the offending book across the room, she stamped to her closet. Flinging open the door, she glared at the shoes. The crocs glared back, there little holes mocking her.

The holes.

The holes were wrong.

The color was right.

She was getting somewhere. The holes were wrong, the color was right. But again, why this and not that? Clenching her fists in frustration, she threw her head back, wanting to scream but holding it in. Instead, she grabbed her costume and headed out.

Cass had dreams, dreams of being in a city she didn’t recognize. Spending time with people she didn’t know. And the people she did know were different. Tim was smaller in her dreams, and Dick was older. Bruce was… he felt more familiar. And Barbara – she didn’t know why, but Barbara was always in a wheelchair. But she hadn’t been there for that, had she?

Every time she saw the bats, they felt wrong. Different. Maybe different was the right word. Was she the only one feeling like this? She couldn’t tell. She told Duke once, and he shrugged saying something about déjà vu. But the word didn’t feel right.

Barbara was worried. “You can talk to me, Cass, what’s wrong?” But how could she explain what was going on? Bruce whispered to Jeff about how she was quieter… withdrawn. He’d said withdrawn. But she wasn’t trying to change, wasn’t trying to… withdraw. The world was just confusing, she couldn’t keep focused with this immense feeling of dread shrouding her.

In the dreams, sometimes a girl gave her tea. In a little shop. In the city she’d never been to. And she woke up screaming because it always faded away into a wasteland.

And for some reason, she kept calling Stephanie Brown when it happened.

Tonight, she’d called again.

“Cass, bad dream? Are you okay?” She felt like she’d known Steph for years.

“Everything’s wrong.” She confessed. Steph hummed. The line was quiet. She should hang up, she usually did. Usually just said yes and hung up. But, Stephanie’s voice was comforting, it was good to know she was safe.

“Wrong like, things are going wrong right now? Or like, things feel… off.” Cass sucked in a deep breath. Maybe, just maybe, someone else understood.

“Off.” She replied.

“Like… things aren’t quite, right?” Exactly.

“Like… people are… different?” She explained.

“Like they didn’t use to be there.” Steph agreed.

“Or were there longer.” Cass breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t wrong. Something was wrong, or well… off. But, whatever it was, it wasn’t in her head. The world was wrong. Not her.

“Do you ever dream about things that never happened, but it feels so real you’re certain it did?” Cass nodded, then realized she was using a phone.

“Yes.” She sat in silence for a moment. “Can I… come over?” Steph felt right, an beacon in the midst of the chaos of the wrong world.

“Please.” Steph sounded just as eager to stick together.

“Coming.” She hung up the phone, and snatched up a bag, flinging open the door of her closet, and grabbing some clothes for tomorrow. The blue crocs leered at her, so she shoved her feet into them. Maybe Steph would know why they were wrong.

Steph sat on the edge of the toilet, and she sat on the rim of the tub.

“This feels right.” Cass decided. Steph nodded.

“I don’t know why but you’re right.” She plopped her head in her hands, tired and agitated, but excited. “I feel like I know you, but like we only met a few months ago.” She made a thinking face.

Cass thought too. She took in Stephanie’s face, and closed her eyes. The burning town came to mind.

“Were you in…” She trailed off; it was a dumb question. Steph would have died with the girl who gave her tea if she were there.

“Go on.” It was stupid. “I’m not going to judge, throw anything out there, no wrong answers.”

“In my dreams, there’s a city.” She opened her eyes, staring into Steph’s face. “It burns, and I’m there, with you.” Steph tilted her head.

“In my dreams, sometimes I die.” Cass winced.

“Me too.”

“Could it have happened in the city? I don’t know, maybe we had like past lives there or something?” She suggested.

“I’m me when I die.” Cass asserted. She always died fighting, nowhere near the city.

“Me too.” Steph sighed. “It’s so frustrating. I don’t get it.” Cass nodded.

“I feel wrong.” She added.

“Literally, same.” Steph shook her head in frustration and made to leave the bathroom. “Okay, good night’s sleep, we’ll work on it again tomorrow.”

Cass wanted to scream. She wanted to know, to know right now. Wanted to get this figured out.

“Whatever.” Was all she got out, Steph shrugged indifferently.

“Sleep will help your brain work better. It’s a scientific fact.” Cass followed her out into her bedroom.

There were purple crocs inside her closet.

She stepped closer.

“Cass, what are you-” Steph kept talking, but Cass couldn’t hear her anymore.

The holes on the crocs were filled.

Suddenly, she felt herself being pulled out of Steph’s room, her mind whisking her away into a memory she’d somehow forgotten, a memory that didn’t feel wrong - a memory that felt right a memory that-

The purple crocs were in her hands, she was in a small store, a crocodile painted on the wall behind her. Stephanie was laughing at Tim. He was wearing green crocs. Barbara was in the corner, chatting with Dick from her wheelchair. They were smiling fondly at each other. Love painted across everyone’s faces.

And she, was so happy. She was standing still, basking in the afternoon glow of the sun, and the warmth of those around her.

“Thanks for holding those for me, you want a pair too?” Steph bounced in front of her and plucked the crocs out of her hands, giving her a friendly wink.

“I think you should get bright blue ones.” Dick suggested. Barbara snorted. They both were looking at her fondly.

“If she gets blue ones, you have to get yellow.” She pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s only fair.” Tim agreed. “As long as no one gets the same color we should be good.”

A pair of blue crocs were dropped in her hands. Her heart was expanding in her chest.

“Okay, everyone, she needs charms too, move it people!” Steph cried happily. Everyone dug in the bins surrounding them. Little icons, little… charms. The word sounded right. The blue crocs were right.

The memory faded out, and she found herself quickly falling asleep.

She woke up before Steph. Silently, she tiptoed downstairs. Her crocs were full of charms.

#Cassandra Cain #Cassandra Wayne #Stephanie Brown #batfam #my writing #Dick Grayson #Barbara Gordon #Tim Drake #Duke Thomas #Cass and Steph are best bros even though they don't know it yet #Late night bathroom talks are the shit #Like you haven't lived until it's 1am and you're talking about shit with your homies sitting on the edge of a tub #I miss Cass being a bigger part of the family

23 notes · View notes

whirlybirdwhat · 4 years ago

Text

belong among the wild flowers

For kyo for the 2021 Sake Exchange!!!! I hope you enjoy <33333 READ ON AO3 - outsider pov, ‘you’ are the outsider pov, gen, straw hat focus

You’re a seller. A seller of flowers that is. Beautiful flowers from seeds grown all over the world, grown by you and your wife – and.

Well.

Grown by you now, but it’s all the same. 50 years and your flowers haven’t lost their vibrancy, only gained.

This morning you smile, breathing in the cool air so soothing on your old lungs and head out into the fields of beautiful flowers, filled with oranges, blues, pinks, and –

Red.

There’s –

There’s red in your fields, between the blues and the yellows.

The reds are the complete opposite side of the farm, by your wife’s grave, because she loved the color so much.

What is red doing here?

“Shishishi!”

Ah.

The hackles in you calm. Its just a boy.

(Your wife had loved children.)

He’s small, thin, dressed in vibrant baggy blue shorts and a red tee, open to display scarring on his chest. His head is turned away from you, black hair flying in the wind to shield his face but –

There is gold upon his head. Golden straw.

Odd.

(The last man who came here wearing golden straw had died, his death in the newspaper. Oddly, already, you hope this boy won’t be the same.)

Its wrapped in a red ribbon, bright red. Red doesn’t belong. Red –

“Shishishi!” The boy laughs and turns to her again, smile wide, scar under his eye sloping and wave like, so much more faded than the angry red across his chest. “Ah! Old person! Do you know where these flowers came from?”

You blink. Once. Twice. Eyes darting to the watering can in your hand and to the dirty but lovingly patched overalls you’re wearing, then back up to him. “Come again?” Is all you can say, but he’s already off on a tangent.

“Ooh! Pretty! Hey, old person, these are almost like the flowers from back home! And the ones on Robin’s flower beds, the ones from where she grew up – Shishishi, I’m gonna take a few, kay?”

And he reaches down, down down and –

“No!” You yell, sudden, grabbing his hand, and hitting him over the head with your watering can. “Don’t pluck those flowers young man!”

“Owwwwww-why do you have haki?” He rubs at his head, eyes wide, and huh.

Who knew such a scrawny brat could know haki?

“It’s the New World, brat! All old people know haki!” You tell him, a faint whisper of laughter in your voice. “Stop stealing my flowers!” You snap again as his hands snakes out and snaps back with a rubbery twang.

“But they aren’t your flowers!”

“Yes they are”

“No! They’re Robins!”

“NO!” You shout, forehead to forehead with this boy. “They’re MINE! I grew them! I loved them! They are mine to pluck!”

He stares at you, pulling back, head cocked to the side, before his eyes brighten. You look at him critically as you bend down, easing dirt back into place and burying a worm back into its home.

“Ah!” The boy shouts, fist landing in his hand. “They’re your dream!”

Your dream…

You haven’t had yours in a long time.

When you last did, it was with your wife by your side.

You shake your head at the boy, irritation bleeding into melancholy. “No. These flowers aren’t my dream.” You ease a petal up, gently brushing off dirt and giving it a gentle kiss. Your wife had always laughed when you did that, right before she gave you a kiss as well.

“What is?” The boy asks, bending down with you, sitting on his heels and now careful – so very careful – not to touch your flowers.

“Mm?”

“What’s your dream?” His hand drifts to the same petal you are touching, and you look up, and oh –

There’s earnesty in his eyes. Honesty. A raw kind of hope, a raw kind of belief. He’s open, and you can never understand him, never want to, never will be able to look deeper than that bone deep honesty but –

You know this boy is a pirate. Only pirates chase dreams as honest as this. Only pirates want dreams as honest as this.

(How old is he? The last pirate you saw was an old man, and the closest to this boy’s age was still a cabin boy. You don’t think this boy is like that – he can’t be. He’s got too much in him for that.)

Your tongue speaks without your bidding, without your permission.

“I used to have one. Don’t have it now.”

He gives you a look. And maybe – maybe his eyes catch on the lines on your face, the etches of sorrow, the pockmarks and signs of age and the places your wife kissed. Maybe he knows that you’re a liar as much as this boy is not.

“Then what do you want?”

Again – your mouth moves without you wanting it to. This boy has power, some strange presence, a compelling to him that you can’t seem to fight.

“Well, the Duke’s head would be nice.”

The boy nods, standing up, casting a shadow on you as the sun rises behind him. “Alright! I’ll beat up the Duke for you, and then you’ll give me flowers!”

Wait what –

“Let’s go!” Unstoppable as a whirlwind, this boy grabs your hand and tugs you forward, and off you go, running through the paths of the flowers and determination in his eyes.

“BOY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!” You scream, panicked, watering can left behind.

“Shishishi!” Is all you get for an answer, a laughter like petal in the end and –

Well.

It’s been awhile since you went on an adventure like this.

The boy’s name is Luffy – Monkey D. Luffy.

(There hasn’t been a D. on this island since the last man with a straw hat.)

You learn this because a red-haired girl screams it when you crash into her, raging and furious, leaving Luffy with large bumps on his head.

“MONKEY D. LUFFY!” She cries, fists raising down and bracelets and log pose catching in the light. “DON’T DO THAT!”

“Owwwww – Nami!” Luffy looks to her, giving her a long reminiscent of puppy dogs and pleading.

Nami sighs, brushing off dirt from her orange overalls, and gives him her own look, something between terrible fondness and annoyance. “Don’t rocket!” She tells him, before tossing him a tangerine – one of your neighbors, by the looks of it. “Look!”

(You and your wife had walked through the groves when you were young and in puppy love. You had taken a flower and put it in her hair, just as your neighbors’ father had chased you out of the grove for theft. It had been fun.)

Luffy catches the tangerine, looking it over, then up at Nami.

“They’re just like Bell-mere’s!” Nami tells him, her eyes bright with something like nostalgia, so different from the rage only moments before. Her enthusiasm is earnest, just like this boy’s, and oh - they must be crew. “I can’t believe Cocoyashi trees are all the way out here!”

The name catches your attention, with the disbelief, and you smile at her. “Our island, Flors, has plants from across the world – the rarest, prettiest, sturdiest you can think of. Are you from Cocoyashi? Must have been a long time since you saw trees like these.”

She gives you a glance, an assessing look, then tosses her head back and laughs. “No, I have my own trees back our ship. Ah – who are you?”

Trees on a ship? Tangerine trees? What-

“NAMI!” Luffy interjects, before you can give your name, dancing on the tip of your tongue. “Which way is the Duke?”

“The Duke?” Her attention switches from you to him in a moment. “There’s a Duke?” You don’t think it’s possible, but her eyes – they seem to turn into belli signs. “Where? Why do you want him? Is he rich?” She’s shaking Luffy now, and you can’t help but let out a laugh, same time as Luffy.

“Shishishi! If I beat up the Duke, I can get flowers from the field for Robin!” He says, as if it makes perfect sense. It doesn’t. You aren’t sure where he got the idea that you would give him flowers, or that he’ll be able to beat up the Duke, but –

“Okay!” Nami says, brightly, soundly, understanding this wild boy. “I’ll find out where the gold is.”

Gold?

When had gold come into the equation?

“You go ahead – I’m sure if you run around enough someone’s going to come out and yell out you. Then I can have all the Duke’s gold!” In seconds, she’s pulling a staff from her waist, snapping it together and twisting, so that electricity crackles at the top. Her eyes alight, and there’s something dangerous about her. Something a bit deadly, a bit wanting, a bit fierce. “Be done soon Luffy! The log pose should settle by the end of the day, and I want to get out of here before the storm hits!”

Storm?

“Aye Nami!”

You remember deciding that this boy was a pirate, for how he talked about dreams. You decide this girl must be a pirate, for how she’s unafraid of the storm, the wind, the weather.

You stare at her, old limbs creaking, bewildered. She reminds you of your wife, when you had first met her, all wild hair and adventure. Something aches, quietly, inside your chest – but, strangely, this time, it isn’t a sad ache.

Just a nostalgic one.

In moments, Luffy arm is around yours, and he’s running, your feet off the ground and yourself carried in a side hold.

“BRAT!” You say, elbowing him with Haki, but this time his own defense is up and you simply have to bear the running for now.

Seeing the island go by, faster than it ever has, you can’t seem to make yourself mad.

The next stop is apparently up in a tree, though why you can’t fathom. All you know is Luffy was running and running, and running despite your yells of terror again, and then he stopped, slamming you into his back. It had lasted all but a moment, before he was reaching a hand up and shouting that absolutely dreadful phrase –

“GUM GUM ROCKET!”

-And dragging you high into the sky, crashing through branches, and into the waiting arms of a long-nosed man.

He screams.

You scream.

He doesn’t drop you though, only settling you on the part of the branch closest to the trunk, and continues scream.

You stop, then start again, because there is a living plant wrapped around him, moving like a wolf, and a bug the size of your head fluttering next to his.

You are a seller. A gardener. You deal with bugs. Just not the bugs this particular orchard has, because Old Man Johnson is terrifying and likes to collect bugs bigger and bigger than your face.

Fuck, you think, looking down to the bottom of the forest floor but finding it far too high for your old, brittle legs, even with haki.

Luffy has no such problem, falling off the branch only to bounce right back up, tumbling into the long-nosed man just as he had tumbled into Nami. “Usopp!” He cries, joy in his face and –

Usopp’s face, morphs from terror to joy and pride and happiness in an instant, his arms coming around to circle Luffy as if this wild boy had always belonged there. It’s sweet. It’s comforting.

It’s rocking the sturdy branch you are sitting on, and you have no idea how Usopp is managing to keep his balance.

Then you notice the living plant pushing against Usopp’s back, the bug helping, and immediately understand how.

But not why.

Does this man have control over plants or something? A bug devil fruit? His crewmate, Luffy – for what else could Luffy be than his crewmate – has a devil fruit, you think, so it wouldn’t be so surprising. It’s like magic the way the vines grows and growls, familiar to you in some distant way that you can’t quite name and –

“Luffy!” Usopp cries, holding Luffy to his chest. “You’re here! When you shot off I tried to look for you, but had to fight a thousand giant flowers first! Each threatening to swallow me whole but I defeated them with my trusty slingshot!”

What? You start to think, something that you think is far too common with these people, before noticing the way Luffy’s face shutters at giant flowers and swallow whole. Odd, you think, odd, but you aren’t the only one to notice. Usopp’s face flicks over Luffy’s with careful affection, cautious notice, and then lunges into another tale.

“It was after that I stumbled upon these! Look – Luffy they’re just like the island I trained on!” And Usopp shoves a bunch of seeds into Luffy’s face, seeds that split before your eyes and grow into beautiful figures and designs.

Luffy’s eyes turn into stars as you watch. “OOOOO! From the mystery Island with the plants!”

“Ah Bowin Archipelago Luffy.”

“Bowie Archipelago!”

“Ah, close enough! Anyway – with these I can breed new types of Pop Greens! Like maybe a dragon!”

“A Yeti!”

“A giant tiger!”

“A giant!” They go on like that, trading amazing fantastical thing after amazing fantastical thing, each more incredible with the last, each with full surety that this thing could happen. It’s… its foolishness mixed with childish glee.

(You remember looking after your neighbors’ children with your wife, watching as they laughed and laughed and laughed. They had the same tender joy that Usopp and Luffy have, though where the children were edgeless and free, Usopp and Luffy’s joy is tempered with age and hard muscle, truth of pirates beyond the fantastical wildness of dreams. Its joy brought into reality.

You wish your wife as here to see it.)

Usopp takes a pause from chattering with Luffy, and also a pause from making the branch bounce far to much for what you’re comfortable with.

(Your wife had always teased you for your fear of tall, wavering places. It made you smile when you climbed crows nests for her.)

“I do wonder,” the long-nosed sniper ponders, “How these plants got all the way here. The Bowin Archipelago is in Paradise – nowhere near here.”

“Shishishi! Nami’s tangerines were here too!” Luffy tells him with glee. “And Robin’s flowers!”

“Really!? Amazing! Hey – who’s your friend? Do they know anything about this?” Usopp turns to you, gaze piercing like any sniper should.

You gulp.

Then register what he called you.

“I’m not his-“

“They’re a mystery person!” Luffy cuts in. “I gotta beat up a Duke to get Robin’s flowers from them!”

You would face palm, but that would mean letting go of the trunk.

“A Duke!?” Usopp cries, a mix of fear and readiness. “Did you tell Nami? She’s going to want his money before you beat him up.”

The confidence these people have in this boy – you don’t get why.

(Maybe you’re starting too. He’s pulled you away from your garden, hasn’t he?)

“Shishishi! Nami knows! She’s gonna get the gold while I beat him up!”

“Do you even know where the Duke is? What if he’s strong? Terrifying? What if he has a thousand teeth and eyes and wants to eat me for picking his flowers – Luffy you gotta beat him up, you gotta!” Usopp chatters, wavering between fear and terror and sheer bravery. An odd one, this boy is. You like him though.

“Shishishi! I will!” Luffy promises him, grin stretching wide on his face and promise ready on his tongue, not a doubt in his mind. “Just watch me!”

Usopp melts, just a little. Ease ripples through him, and he lets out a quiet, proud “I know.” Then – he turns to you. “Uh, would you like a ride down?”

Yes. Yes you would. You nod, before Luffy stretches out his hand and oh god not again, your joints are not good for this adventure –

“OI! SHIT HEADS!”

Luffy’s arm stretches back, a laughing tumbling out of his mouth and you turn to your savior.

It’s a man, in the most god-awful shirt you have ever seen, with boat shoes and horrible matching shorts.

It’s a man, with blonde hair and cigarette and swirly eyebrows shadowing a glare on his face as he holds giant fruits from the seeds of the giant land of Elbalph inn either hand with ease.

It’s a man, who is floating in the air.

You let out a large squeak but no one seems to notice.

“SANJI!” Luffy cries, and this must be another one of his man crewmates, and just how many of them are on this island, exploring and racking up havoc.

You spare a moment to consider how Sanji got over the giant fences Farmer Green had set up. Then you remember, right, he’s flying, and wonder how that’s happening.

Sanji gives a kick, and dodge Luffy’s lunge, letting him fall to the forest floor and bounce back up. “Hey Captain. You guys know where Nami-swan or Robin-chwan are? I found some rare fruits that I can use, and I want to give it a try.”

“Sanji! Meat!” Luffy cries, practically salivating.

Sanji gives a shrug. “No meat, Captain. Haven’t found anything like that on this island – just plants, plants, and more plants.” Luffy sags where he stands, in a pout so childish, and Sanji’s next words come out in a rush that he tries to play off as nonchalant. “Me and the shit-swordsman can go and cut up a sea king. I think I saw some off the coast.” Here, his tone turns ponderous. “I could make a Sea King platter with this dressing – and palate that with a fruit salad or start shish-kabobbing if we are more pressed for time…”

“And dessert!” A voice pops up, tiny and squeaky, and a racoon dog in a hat pops up from behind Sanji’s shoulder. “You promised me desert!”

“CHOPPER!” Luffy and Usopp cries, and in an instant, the animal is jumping from where it was clinging to Sanji’s back and into his apparent crew-mates arms.

“Usopp! Luffy!” The animal cries, holding up his bag. “I was able to restock EVERYTHING I had from the Birdie Kingdom! Even the rare ones that only grew there! I even found the herbs that can help with heart stuff that everyone thought went extinct! This place is AMAZING!” There’s sheer glee in the animal’s – Chopper’s?- gaze and-

Oh dear sweet mother of oceans. The animal speaks. The animal has a name, speaks, and knows medicinal plants.

You want to faint. You want to go back to our flowers. You – you –

Chopper is right next you, holding a vial of spicy something underneath your nose, rescuing you from your faint.

You somewhat wishes he didn’t. You are old and quite done with this, you think. Are any of these folk even paying for what they are grabbing?

“Ah! You’re awake! Make sure to drink more water okay?” Chopper tells you, looking so concerned, and oh, he’s adorable.

You nod, belatedly, then tune back into the conversation.

“…beat up the Duke for Robin’s flowers!” Luffy is telling Sanji determinedly.

“Ah! Anything for Robin-chwan!!” Sanji twirls in the air, eyes like hearts. “I’ll help – ah, Never mind. I need to get these to the ship – this kind of fruit supposedly decays within five hours of being cut from the branch, which is why they’re so rare. I think the Duke’s mansion is that way though.” Sanji tilts his head, blonde hair shifting, and gestures to the distance. Luffy follows his line of sight like a dog after a ball.

“Shishishi! Thank Sanji! Make a biiiiig feast for when we’re done! A party!”

“Alright captain. Chopper!” And Sanji turns to you and the tiny – doctor? Is he a doctor? – and calls over. “You coming with me or do you want to help Luffy beat up a Duke?”

Chopper perks up and turns from you, leaving Sanji to glance over you, mostly hidden behind the very fluffy reindeer. “With you! I want to make these medicines soon as possible so I can get more if needed.”

Sanji nods, and gives another kick with his legs, keeping him in the air somehow – even with Haki, you have never seen this – and turns to Usopp. “Usopp?”

“Ahhh I would only overshadow Luffy if I went! Too little a job for me!” Usopp crows, hands on his hips, grin on his face.

“Coward.” Sanji tells him, deadpan clear. You remember the tale this man told at the beginning and wonder what his role on this crew is.

Usopp squawks but doesn’t deny it to both Chopper and Luffy’s uproarious laughter. Sanji gives a sly grin, and in seconds, faster than you can tell, Chopper is back on his back and Usopp beside him on the branch. He nods to Luffy, and with a brief “See you, Luffy!” he’s off, kicking his way through the sky.

Usopp stares for a moment then starts yelling again, leaping fearlessly from branch to branch, and you realize, with sudden clarity, that it was not the bravery that was the façade, but the cowardice.

Luffy’s crew is odd. You just want to wonder how he fits into it all.

Luffy takes you on his back this time, scratchy straw placed carefully on his head instead of crushed against your cheek.

It’s running, so much running, and stretching and stretching.

You have time to think. To wonder. To question.

It builds in you, tumultuous and roiling. This boy – he’s running across the entire island, all for a chance for some flowers. He wants to face the Duke, the Duke who is so terrible, so terribly horrible, just for some flowers. For some Robin.

It’s clear he could so easily take them anyway – you may have haki, but you are no match for the muscles rippling under this boy’s back – but he doesn’t.

You’re dream, he had said, and it marks him as a Pirate but it just makes you question –

What’s his dream? Who’s Robin? Why is this straw hat so familiar? Who is he? Cabin boy or crewmate or something more?

You start with the simplest.

“Brat. Who’s Robin?” You ask him as he pauses upon the top of one of Flors’ giant mushrooms. He pauses for only a moment, before turning to you with the most blinding grin.

“She’s Robin! My archeologist!” My, he says, like she’s his. My, he says, like he’s in charge.

My, he says, like he’s the captain, and suddenly, you realize that’s because he is.

This boy, smaller than you were when age didn’t bend your back like a willow, with sloping and burning scars, and a smile like the sun – is a captain, the captain of Robin and Nami and Usopp and Sanji and Chopper, and more you haven’t met. A pirate crew in the New World.

It humbles you, in a way you didn’t expect.

“She likes flowers?” You ask, instead of voicing why, why does a pirate crew need an archeologist, why do they follow him, who are you straw-hatted boy?

“Yeah! She has a whole garden on the Sunny! And the flowers in your garden are from her home! She showed me a book of them once.” Every word is said with pride, and you wonder how you missed it all before, the way he cried Usopp and Nami and Chopper and Sanji with mine, and love, and protection all those times before. This boy is a Captain.

Then, his words strike you.

Home island.

Those flowers in your garden were from Ohara, given to you by a woman so long ago, a gift from her home island in turn for a glimpse of the stone at the center of Flors. Your wife had loved those flowers.

Ohara is gone now.

These flowers are all that’s left.

These flowers, and Nico Robin.

Oh, you think, oh.

Straw Hat Luffy, 1.5 billion berry wanted man, laughs from where he carries you, dashing from mushroom to mushroom.

He’s so young, and yet, not really. He’s 19, or so the papers say, and he’s taken on all three of the government strongholds and come out almost on top each time, has fought emperors and warlords, saved kingdoms and islands. He’s young, but not in the naïve way, the childish way. Only the youthful way, in that his face still has baby fat and his smile has crinkles from laughter not rage.

(No one who holds a loved one in their arms like that is young. You speak from experience.

Your wife had been soft and bloodstained when she brush the hair from your face.)

He’s…

This boy – this man…

You have run out of words to describe him.

Suddenly, like before, like in your field of flowers, the words spill from your lips unbidden. This boy has revealed so much by only praising his navigator. You could so easily turn him in. Yet –

“The Duke is a cruel man,” You begin, not really sure if Luffy is listening, not really caring in the end. “He came here ten years ago, drawn by our beautiful, beautiful flowers and plants. He thought he could make a profit, thought he could earn billions from this place and – he – “

Luffy stops moving.

He doesn’t interrupt. But –

There’s not a lack of care in him. In his eyes as he turns to look at you. It’s a lack of need.

“I don’t need you to tell me this. The Duke hurt your dream, right?”

You nod, small, quiet.

“Then I’m going to beat him.”

Simple as that, he smiles at you, not brilliant, not vibrant, but safe. Sure.

(I’m going to turn the world upside down! The last wearer of this hat had cried, so sure, so confidant.

The echo of that – louder and changed and triumphant – is here.)

Luffy moves again, and you don’t speak. You don’t think you possibly could.

(Here’s a story, that the future King of the Pirates will never know, but one that draws close to your chest.

You were born and raised on this island, collecting sea grass by the sea, when your wife had washed up on the shore, wild haired and half drowned. You had rescued her, your strange, sea-faring wife, and learned of her travels, her tales, her losses at sea. It’s a miracle she made it to shore.

It’s a miracle she wakes up in your arms, and offers you a kiss.

You loved her then, and you will love her for the next infinity. She tended the gardens with you, loving the colors and the reds that you had saved her in. She loved and lived and so did you.

Then the Duke, cruel faced and greedy, had shown up, making each of you sell your wares in stead of trade, bringing in outside sales, and taken all of the profit for himself.

Then the Duke, cruel faced and greedy, had fought your wife who was bold and terrifying and a pirate with her sword still strapped to her waist, even at 30, 40, 50 –

And struck her down.

That’s the end of the story, for you are just a gardener, a seller of flowers, with old bones and the haki your wife taught you, who once saw the Pirate King and the archeologist of Ohara, collected seeds from a thousand islands and planted them with care, who had a dream, once, shared with your wife but –

Your wife is dead, and so the story ends here.)

(A boy in straw is here, and so your story blooms.)

A voice sings out from the flowers, and it’s with joy that Luffy jumps down, rubber easing the impact that shocks up your back, to sing with a skeleton.

A skeleton, who has an afro and a guitar and who can sing.

“Yohohohoho!” The skeleton laughs, melodious even without vocal chords. “Hello Luffy!”

“Brook!” Luffy smiles, “Franky!”

Who –

“YEOW LITTLE BRO! Isn’t this island SUPER!?”

A singing skeleton, and a cyborg, with a hair shaped into sunflowers. Sunflowers.

If it weren’t for the sting of the vial still sniffling in your nose, you think you would pass out again. The New World is weird – but not this weird.

Dear mother sea almighty – these two tower, yet are dressed in sparkling floral patterns and shirts.

Luffy jumps into their arms without hesitation, setting you down just before he does in the first time since the tree and the other members of his crew. The cyborg – Franky, you think, by Luffy’s laughter – catches him easily, swinging him about and finally settling him on his shoulder, where the skeleton, Brook, places a crown of flowers around his hat.

It’s sweet, with love and adoration in every motion. This whole crew is like that, and it hurts you, emboldens you, does to you a thousand things to see them be like that. Loving, without restraints, without fear, whole and happy. It is incredible that this boy, only a teen, this man has been able to gather to him such authority, such power, such loyalty.

It warms you, you think.

(It strikes a chord in you, you think, of something like jealous but not all at once. You want this, but you will never be a part of this crew, and you never wanted to have this, never knew it was missing before this but – here it is.

Without you.

You miss your wife.)

“Who’s this, Luffy?” Franky asks, gesturing to you with a large red hand. Flowers are painted over it, in the colors that the children use to paint the fences. Little handprints scatter about, and its obvious that these two had had a run in with the children of the island, and cared for them, gentle and loving.

“Shishishi! They have the flowers Robin likes! From her island! I’m gonna beat up the Duke for them so I can get the flowers!”

It’s an old routine by now. You still don’t quite believe he can do it, no matter that you know he has beaten billion belli pirates and warlords and emperors. He’s just – The Duke is –

“Sounds perfect, Luffy! We beat a few of the Duke’s ah, lovely gentlemen there.” And the skeleton waves his hand to the path behind him, sweeped beneath giant flowers, to where bodies lay in the ground, bloody, barely breathing, and decidedly unconscious.

All covered in the white uniform of the Duke’s men.

Oh, you think, feeling familiar rage bubble up at the sight of them. Oh.

“They were picking on some SUPER kids! Had to put a stop to it, knew you wouldn’t mind.” Franky enunciates, striking a pose. “Zoro helped out, but we lost him when we turned away for a second.”

“He really blends in with all this green, Yohohohoho!” Brook snickers, and you remember bounty posters with a piercing glare and green hair and none too little blood, and wonder how you lose an entire ex-bounty hunter turned pirate.

You don’t think you will ever know what these people are. Ever.

“Shishishi! We’ll find him!” Luffy reassures, already grabbing onto you again.

“Bro, you’re just as bad!” Franky tells him, and you wonder with what? Before Luffy has hauled you onto your back.

(Maybe you should invest in hiring someone to do this. You haven’t been off your feet so much in YEARS.)

“Shishishi! Bye Franky! Bye Brook!” Luffy shouts, ignoring his crew and dashing off into the woods yet again. “Sanji’s throwing a feast after I beat the Duke!”

You leave the clearing, bouncing through sunflowers, to the sounds of cheers of “Knock ‘em dead Luffy!” and “A party! How delightful!”

Running, and running, and running. Always more running. Are these pirates always like this – running from location to location, dashing and jumping, never settling more than a moment?

“Shishishi! Yeah! What’s the fun in staying still?”

Oh, you said that aloud, didn’t you?

“You’re funny old person!”

“Oh, shove off you brat. What happens when you can’t beat the Duke?”

When, you say, purposeful, deliberate, smothering the hope in your chest. When.

“I will.” Comes Luffy’s response, and you should have expected that, you should have but –

“But-”

“I Will.” Comes Luffy’s grin, and –

“Why?”

It comes out of your throat strangled, half dead because you don’t get him, you don’t, you don’t, an you don’t know why because this boy is just like your love and your wife, adventurous and outgoing.

“Remember?” He looks at you, never moving, and oh, you do. “The Duke hurt your dream! He can’t do that!” And he won’t, goes the unspoken promise.

“Oh,” You say, like you said before, trying to commit that truth to heart. Oh.

It’s mid-afternoon by the time you arrive at the Duke’s mansion. It’s gleaming white, made off the backs of the poor farmers of this station, who only wanted to grow plants and share seeds in peace. It fills you with rage. Horrible, horrible rage that consumes your very soul and makes your bones ache.

The place where your wife last caressed your face burns.

“This it?” Luffy asks you, and you give a nod. He slides you off his back, offering a steady arm for your to grab onto, and you both stare at the mansion. You have dreamed of setting this place on fire. Dreamed of it.

Here, Luffy is ready to make it a reality.

“Now – where’s the Duke?” Luffy tilts his head to the side, peering at the building. You peer with him, trying to remember where the Duke liked to make his nest when –

“You! Peasant! Off my lawn!” Comes a voice, a voice that fills you with rage, from the Duke’s own personal garden.

“Oi – what’re you doing old man? I’m trying to sleep here,” Comes another voice, younger with a deep timber and ooh–

Luffy’s tugged you by the wrist and you go over the hedge, landing squarely in front of –

“Zoro!” Luffy cries, and tackles the man with three swords, lying on the ground.

Ah.

That’s why Franky and Brook thought this man would blend in. He’s so green. Like a little moss ball. A marimo!

Adorable.

Zoro caves easily to Luffy’s demands, catching him and moving aside so Luffy can find his own place wrapped around him, ease in every motion. Comfortability in every act.

“Hey, Luffy – you know where everyone else is? I was beating up some of the weird guards around this place and wound up here.” Zoro asks, seemingly entirely genuine.

Luffy only throws his head back and cackles. “You got lost!”

“No, I didn’t! This place moves that’s all! Like Usopp’s plants!”

“No, you’re just stupid Zoro.”

“I am not!”

“Are too!”

“A-HEM!” The Duke calls, interrupting, and to his credit doesn’t even flinch when the unimpressed glares of Zoro and Luffy land on him.

The Duke is – he’s towering. Eleven feet tall with muscles toned and strong, haki perpetually on his fists and a war hammer on his back. He wears pristine white suits, a flower in the lapel, red and plucked from your own garden, and his servants lay out a carpet before him, so he doesn’t have to deign to step in the mud in on an island of farmers and gardeners.

You hate him. You hate him.

Something flies in the air, landing perfectly on the Duke’s white clothes.

A – a booger?

You look to your right, and there is Luffy, picking his nose and looking entirely unimpressed. “Heh – Who are you?” He asks.

The Duke, pale skinned and furious, goes red. “I,” He declares, pompous, his servants cowering in the background, “Am The Duke of Flors, Lord” –“

“Ooooh, you’re the Duke! Zoro doesn’t he look like the axe-dude?” Luffy cuts the Duke off before turning entirely to Zoro. Zoro, for his part, cocks his head to the side.

“You know, if I cut off his arm, he really does.”

You stare.

The Duke stares.

Luffy wheels back his hand and smashes his fist into the Duke’s face, coated in haki and a direct hit to the man’s face.

There’s a cracking noise and a scream as the Duke goes flying.

You stare.

The Duke is too far to see.

Zoro snorts. “What he do?” He asks. Luffy cocks his head toward you and Zoro gives a hum before settling back down into the ground. “Wake me up when you’re done. The bastard interrupted my nap.”

You stare.

Zoro snores.

The Duke comes crashing down from the sky with furious screaming, fist cocked back, only to be met with Luffy bouncing him off and back – blowing himself up like a balloon.

You stare.

The Duke screams.

Luffy laughs, and jumps into the fray, easily knocking back the guards that attack him, and Zoro defending himself easily with one sword as he lies down.

(He has three swords though. Why? Why do you need three swords? You are so confused.)

You stare, surrounded by guards attacking you as this invincible fortress, surrounded by walls of white and a legacy of blood, begins to be torn down. The Duke comes back, white clothes ruined, trading blows with Luffy who almost looks as if he’s toying with him. In the midst, a skeleton and a cyborg appear, riding atop a motorcycle of all things, knocking down entire walls of this palace that should have never been.

Usopp appears, the same time as the aerial squadron of the Duke’s arrives, and giving you a small nod head into the battle without a second of fear. He’s – he’s no act of bravery, and now, yyou think you could believe in every one of his tales, as you watch plants bloom to life to become dragons and snakes and forces of nature hundreds of feet tall. Chopper, the small raccoon dog – he’s different now, charging and shifting forms in an instant, and he’s a zoan, but you thought zoans had three forms.

Not seven.

Not – Chopper crunches something and grows and roars – not eight.

You are frozen, held in place, even as Sanji comes to drape a jacket over you before heading off, by this crew.

The Straw Hat Pirates, they are called. Dangerous they are called.

And they are.

But you can’t help but feel anything but awe as you stare at them, magnificent and beautiful and deadly, wielding nature and bending it to their very whim. They know they can win – and they know that this is nothing.

They’re having fun while they do this, with amazing feats and sights that you – even living in the Grand Line, the New World, thought you would never see. The last straw hatted man who came through here, walked these fields and touched these flowers – he had nothing on this.

“Ah!” A voice next to you says, loud enough amidst the explosions of laughter and fear, familiar and sweet. “Should have known this was where Luffy got up to!” It’s Nami, with a large bag on her back.

You give her a look, then look at Luffy – now fighting the Duke in the sky, with a giant fist, covered in haki and fire.

This boy –

“Amazing, isn’t he?” Nami asks you, settling down and adjusting the solid gold crown on her head. “He saved all of us – saved entire kingdoms. Just because we were his friend.”

Really!? Amazing! Hey – who’s your friend? Do they know anything about this? Usopp had said, and Luffy hadn’t protested.

Friend.

The Duke had hurt your dream, and here Luffy is, destroying an entire kingdom for you and your dream.

It’s – it’s incredible. This boy, he –

“He’s the man who will be King of the Pirates,” Nami tells you, nothing but truth ringing loud and free in her voice. “And we’re going to follow him, and chase our own dreams.”

Tears well up in your eyes as you watch the Duke fall from the sky, chased by a man made of rubber, chased by a king in a straw hat, chased and chased and chased and –

“So,” Nami smiles to your side, looking into your face. “Are you ready to chase yours again?”

The Duke slams down into the ground in a flurry of petals and red, and oh –

It’s red. Red your wife’s favorite color, wife the color of your favorite colors, red the color of the horizon and everything god, red, red, red –

Red, the color of the ribbon around a straw hat, and red, the color of the vest of a king.

It’s beautiful.

“Yes.” You say, trembling as the Duke fails. “Yes – I’m. I’m ready. My dream – my dream –“

Luffy raises a fist, and delivers a single punch that frees your entire island, avenges your wife, saves you.

He smiles as he does it, a grin on his lips and a shout to the sky – “I’M THE MAN WHO WILL BE KING OF THE PIRATES!”

It’s red.

“My dream is to collect all the flowers in the world! To shelter them! Even the flowers at Raftel!” It’s like an oath, spilling from your lips, last said hand in hand with your wife but now – now alone, but not, because your wife may be gone but she’s still here – never forgotten, always loved, and alive in your shared dreams.

Nami smiles, Luffy laughs, and you think red looks beautiful in your garden.

There’s a party on the shore, next to a ship with a sunflower head, decorated in flowers and the fruits of the island. The Straw Hats celebrate, as well as with the other residents of the island, who praise them and thank them and welcome them, lading their arms with all sorts of delicacies.

You aren’t there. Neither is Luffy.

Instead, the two of you head back to your farm. This time your back is straight and there’s a smile on your face. You stand tall and on your own but not alone and –

It’s good.

Luffy smiles at you, gentle and brilliant, and you look to the fields where the flowers he wants are –

Being tended to, by a woman with long black hair and a tender smile. A fishman is next to her, blue and tall, seemingly awkward amidst the yellows and blues and delicate petals, but just as willing to stand with who you can only assume is Robin.

“Luffy!” She cries first, so happily, showing the petals to Luffy. He jumps into her arms, swinging her arounds, and in quick motions you carefully take the plants from the earth to wrap into a boquet, roots attached to be easily replanted, and had it it Luffy. By the time he sets Robin down, he’s pressing the flowers into her hands.

“For you!” He says, bright, and you know he gave you a dream back but –

You know, in truth, he really defeated the Duke for his crew. For his family, his nakama. For Robin, to see this bone-deep happiness on her face.

She smiles, and later you will hear tales from the guards of the stone, who speak of a women who could read the ancient script inscribed upon It while having a thousand arms but –

For now, you see a woman gifted the world, and know joy.

The fishman beside her – Jimbe your recognize, first son of the sea – gives a laugh and oh, is there red here, is there love here.

This boy, this king to be, Luffy, he came in and swept you all like wildflowers in the wind, simply to make one person happy.

Amazing, you think, looking around your island that’s unchained and your dream restored and your fields filled with red, how one man’s selfishness, leads to an island’s freedom.

You wave goodbye from the cliffside, your wife’s grave beside you. Upon the ship of a king is a bag, to be filled with the flowers of the island at the end of the sea and returned to you after that. You had been given a hug before you left, one made of rubber limbs and crushing weight, and watched as he rejoined his crew and celebrated another adventure.

You had watched the party they had upon the shore, so wondrous, so amazing, and had watched them sing out victory over the crowds, with chopsticks up their noses and a rock star as their backdrop.

The Straw Hat pirates – their names dance on your tongue.

How amazing, how wonderful, how world-shaking to know them, even for just a moment.

You have met straw hat wearers and archeologists and kings but never – never have you met anyone, just like them.

So you wave from the shore, your wife with you, and belatedly, tragically realize that you gave them your dream, but never your name.

Damnit!

53 notes · View notes

jiikyu · 4 years ago

Text

Taste of Marigolds In Bloom

Herb of the Sun — Or Marigold was often used during the Middle Ages as a love charm. Carrying one of these brightly colored flowers was thought to bring love. Though be warned for they are also poisonous. Chapter V. It’s becoming painfully clear you find comfort in the wrong things. Like the smell of the ocean. A smile that’s far too blinding. In the way calloused hands always seem to find their way back to you. Despite everything — Can you really be blamed for falling? ∘◦ ✿ ◦∘ All characters are 18+ Yandere!Mirio x Fem!Reader(AΩβ) Y/N = Your Name F/N = Your Full Name E/C = Eye Color H/C = Hair Color Warnings: Yandere / Unhealthy Behavior / Delusions / Angst / Possessiveness / Manipulation / Breaking & Entering, tho we don’t really elaborate on it this chapter? First Chapter Here❦ Previous Chapter Here❦ Next Chapter In Progress... Taglist. @missyredbean @yandere-romanticism

∘◦ ✿ ◦∘ You’re fading or — At least that’s what you’re starting to suspect. Time seemingly has escaped you. Who knows how much time has passed with you holding of the bathrooms door handle. The metal resting loosely against your skin is now warm from the shared contact and it’s beyond disappointing because — It’s the farthest you’ve been able to will yourself. Motionless you find yourself stuck at standstill. You hate it. You hate the invisible thing stopping you from opening the door, like you would have if it were any other day. It’s not the dry clothes that stick uncomfortably to your skin or the wet droplets coldly clinging to you. Something familiar yet foreign. Settled in the pit of your being, it claws and begs you not to abandon the shelter these thin walls provide. You know what’s taken hold of you and god, does that make it so much worse. You just want it gone. But, how do you kill fear? There is no reason for your hands to be clammy or for the hairs on the back of your neck to stand raised. All you’re doing is making the situation worse, for yourself and — For Mirio. He’s probably worried. Plus, it’s not like you can stay locked away forever. Right? Only when you’re able finally gulp down the passing mania and turn the handle do you realize that you’re alone. Light pours from behind you, spilling into the empty hall. Your E/C eyes take a moment to adjust but it’s clear that Mirio is nowhere in sight. How long had it been? The stillness is broken by the familiar ding of your microwave from the kitchen. “Just in time Y/N!” And just like that the shame eating away at you disappears as quickly as it appeared, lulled into submission by the voice calling out to you. It should probably frighten you. How fast your troubles seem to melt away with the sound of his voice. Leaving the bathroom you forget the jacket still hanging from the tubs edge. Your footsteps are muffled by the carpet underneath, it’s then that you notice the sweet scent dusting the air. You follow the faintest hints of sugar and — milk? Rounding the corner you spot the familiar silhouette standing under fluorescent white light. And it’s hard to miss just how comfortable he appears to be in your kitchen. The jug of milk has been removed from the fridge, garnished with paper towels littering the back counter and a lone spoon sitting forgotten... Oh and one of the cupboard doors has been left hanging wide open. You’re really not sure what he’s done to cause such chaos. The last thing you notice are the two steaming cups, filled to the brim. It’s so faint but, you swear it smells like honey — “Sweetheart I don’t know how you do it!” And suddenly all the thoughts buzzing around your head just stop. A total short-circuit. He just called you Sweetheart. And the bastard doesn’t even bat an eyelash, he just lets it slip past his teeth without any repercussions. Though, if you’re being honest — You’re not even sure Mirio realizes he’s said it. It’s fine, really, it’s not that big of a deal. There are plenty of people around the world that use nicknames. Something as simple as a title of endearment shouldn’t have your heart doing backflips and cartwheels. But it does. You’re absolutely screwed. “There’s barely enough room in here for one person!” His words have you more than a little confused. To demonstrate what exactly he means he lifts his arms in the air. From one hand to the other he practically touches the walls that represent the beginning and end of the kitchen. “See, it’s no good!” Huh. You suppose Mirio’s right in some sense of the word. But it’s him that makes the space feel small. “Well...” You can’t help but chuckle between words at the man T posing in your kitchen. “I guess for you it might be a bit much.” “Nah I think I’m onto something. You’ll just have to move in with me!” It’s hard to tell sometimes when Mirios joking because he always wears a wide grin. But there’s no way it’s a serious offer. Maybe your missing the point, but you don’t see the problem at hand. Sure your dorm might not be as uh — spacious — as the ones meant for rising star heros. But you’re nothing if not appreciative, the space had came with all the basic necessities and for that you couldn’t be more grateful. You’re lucky enough to even have the opportunity of sleeping under the roof of your dream school. “Now you’re pushing it.” Your tone is lighthearted. “My place isn’t that bad.” Though your smile brings warmth to his little heart the moment is soured. He cannot help but stare at the puffiness just under your eyes, from where tears had fallen and stained. A reminder that has the blond to biting into the meat of his cheek. Mirio would be lying if he said felt comfortable with your living situation. It’s far too small — Let alone for the both of you. But most importantly, he couldn’t help but notice the lack of heavy bolts on the front door. He doesn’t like it one bit. Maybe it’s just the itch of anxiety from what happened but he’d much rather see you someplace safer. Somewhere you weren’t forced to be alone, preferably someplace he could stay by your side. Like his dorm. “What’d you make?” Freed from his thoughts it takes Mirio a second to process the question, his eyes follow your stare — The two cups cooling on the counter, the steam vanishing as it rises. He’d almost forgotten! “Oh! It’s honey milk.” Suddenly one of the cups is pushed across the smooth counter surface, till it sits within your reach. “My dad used to make it for me when I was a kid, usually when I was upset or had a bad day.” His smiles softens when he ends with. “I thought you might like it.” What he can’t tell you is that he made it in desperation. A distraction from what he’d done. “Thank you.” Blue eyes watch your fingers wrap around the heated smooth surface of the ceramic. “Really, it means a lot.” He can’t help but stare as your lips part to take the first sip. “Anything for you.” Those words are your wake up call. You’d got caught up in his antics... Are you really that weak around him? Because, now you understand there’s a deeper promise there. One you almost wish had remained in the dark. Almost. “If you want we can watch a movie, or —“ “I think.” You stare into the swirl of milk and honey before continuing. “Maybe we should sit and... Talk about what happened.” Your words always seem to have an effect on him because his pulse begins to race. It’s fear. “Yeah.” ∘◦ ✿ ◦∘ You’re in trouble. Even with the suppressants dulling your senses they’re not strong enough to block the scent of seashore and sandalwood now permeating the walls. Not strong enough to hide the fact that your dorm is already starting to smell like Mirio. If people knew you allowed an Alpha into your home, let alone an unmated one, you’re reputation would tarnished. You know this, it’s been drilled into your head since presenting as an Omega, but... It’s Mirio Togata that’s seated next to you in your kitchen. The one exception — Or at least that’s what you hope. The cheap material of the barstool digs into your back and there’s a constant drumming of fingers against the laminate countertop, a harmony of tension. The thing that held you captive in the bathroom is back and whispering in your ear. It doesn’t use words, no, instead you’re haunted by awful unintelligible garble. Of blood filled lungs struggling for air. This is a bad idea. You can already feel your mouth becoming dry, but there’s no going back — “What happened during the fight?” It’s the one question that could’ve caught Mirio off guard, and his smile falters, if only for a split second. “Oh you mean —“ A hand rubs the skin of his neck sheepishly, as if you caught him redhanded in the cookie jar. “I guess I did go a little overboard on that guy, didn’t I?” He says half jokingly, he wants so badly to be able to sweep the whole thing under the rug. A little overboard? “But don’t worry! From here on out I’ll make sure no one ever hurts you.” Even without his quirk, he’ll manage. “I promise.” Even if it means he has to get his hands dirty. He reaches an arm to wrap around your shoulder, so you know your hero will always be there for you and — You flinch at the touch. ... Mirio blinks a few times because he’s not sure what happened. You hadn’t meant to flinch. You really hadn’t meant it. But it’s too late. It’s clear as day, he sees it in your eyes. And you know it when his smile begins to fall, it’s plummeting. There’s fear in your eyes. Somewhere in your subconscious you must’ve been praying. Stupid, so incredibly stupid. Praying that you were strong enough to hide it from him. And it makes what comes next all the worse. “Wait you’re —“ Blond brows knit together, still grasping the change in atmosphere. “You’re not afraid of me... Are you?” There it is. The air is suddenly tens times heavier, like breathing through a straw. Your throats so dry you’re not even sure you have the ability to speak. When Mirios only answer is deafening silence does he become hyper aware of the situation. You literally see the moment it clicks. It’s in the way his mouth opens and closes in disbelief, in the way his blue eyes widen in realization. It’s like watching an incoming car crash in slow motion , you know it’s going to be horrible but there’s nothing to stop it. You have to tear your eyes away before the inevitable collision and when you do... Mirios panic truly sets in. He had been afraid of you to thinking less of him. But never in a million years did he think that you might see him as a potential threat. This is a nightmare. He’s sweating bullets. “Sunshine I know — I know I messed up.” Another nickname. “I never meant to scare you. I’m sorry — I don’t know what took over, you know I never would have let it go that far but the guy, he —“ Each word more unsteady than the last, more desperate, because you won’t even look at him. And it’s killing him. He can’t take it anymore. Mirios scarred hands find your shoulders, slowly — Like you might crumble away from the touch but this time you don’t recoil from the fingers pressing into the material of your shirt. “Will you please look at me Darling?” Having averted your eyes you don’t bare witness to the pain carving his face but god, do you hear it. It’s absolutely heart wrenching. And despite it all, despite having watched him beat a man within an inch of his life, the last thing you want is to hurt Mirio. So you give in. And you look up to see a man on the edge. It’s worse than you imagined. You see the wild storm of blue, one that could easily ravage everything within its reach. “This is all some sort of misunderstanding right? I was just protecting you that’s all, you know I would never hurt you.” One of his hands has left your shoulder to snake its way to cup your face, thumb stroking languidly over the cherub of your cheek. Desperate for contact, for anything he can get from you. “Please just — Say that you’ll forgive me.” Everything.

From the way Mirios voices wobbles weakly to the way he looks at you with desperation. It’s enough to crush every last bit of reason within you.

You break. This is the man that little voice inside your head screamed and begged you to stay away from? The man who lost everything to save a little girl from some madman? The man who rescued you and is now pleading for forgiveness in your kitchen? That man? Life is cruel. You’re finally able to find your voice. “Mirio. What you did was horrible —“ His heart just about stops beating right there. It hurts. Having his name associated with something so terrible in your eyes, even if to him it was something he’d done out of devotion... It’s a stab to the gut. “And despite everything.” Is this how it ends? You’re going to break up with him. “I — I can’t find it in myself to be upset with you.” Those words leave your lips and Mirio can finally breath. The blond hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath till now, the lack of oxygen straining his lungs. But you’re not done yet — “I’ve never met a person quite like you. You are the sweetest, definitely a little dense.” By the end your lips have started to curl upwards, it just comes naturally. “What I’m trying to say is that — I still care about you, and this isn’t the end —“ It’s like the worlds gone silent, your words are going in one ear and out the other. All he knows is that. You’re here. You’re smiling. And you’re not leaving him. It’s all Mirio needs to understand. The swell of emotions is just too much for him. It just sort of bursts out. “Though, you’re —“ “I love you.” ... The last — What? Six hours of your life have been nothing but a rollercoaster, one you’d like to get off of now. You don’t need a mirror to know you’re wearing the most wide-eyed expression of your entire life. But you couldn’t care less, because you’re far too busy replaying those magic words over and over in your head. You’re not sure you heard right. Maybe your skull was smashed against the pavement at some point during the fight and this is all some weird fever dream. That’s right. You’re probably in some hospital with IVs hooked to you. “Mirio —“ Pinching your inner arm before continuing, it’s almost concerning when the tinge of pain feels real. Very real... And you’ll be damned if you can’t find the reason for the sudden lack of common sense in the room. “Did you hit your head?” “I — What no? Y/N I’m being completely serious here.” “Are you sure? M-maybe you should you lie down, just incase?” You’re starting to panic because — Dear god, what if he needs medical attention and he’s here because of your own problems? As if reading your mind he understands. His heart skips and stutters because it’s him you’re worried about. He hasn’t lost you yet. And as much as he would love to tease you about how cute you are — He’s having none of it, because he just admitted his true feelings and your too worried about a stupid concussion! Suddenly he’s no longer seated next to you but standing and... He’s taking a few steps back? Once far enough away he outstretches his arms forward so that his thumbs mirror each other. “Could someone with a concussion do this?” In one swift motion his hands are planted to the floor with both legs kicked to a point in the air. A handstand. “One, two, three —“ Of course, nothing can be easy when it comes to Mirio. Show off. “— Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen and twenty!” Twenty seconds. Your jaw would’ve hit the floor if it were physically possible. It’s impressive. More than that. “I can go longer if you want.” When he hops back to stand on his own two feet the floor trembles. “But, I’m not sure you want to watch me do a handstand all night.” He’s smiling and laughing. It makes you feel small and irrational, that you’ve been overthinking everything. That you’ve made something out of nothing. The panic starts to settle, like a layer of soot waiting for its next opportunity to suffocate. But you gotta ask one last time. For your own sanity. “So... You’re really okay?” If he’s fine then that would mean — “Never been better! Because — Here, let me say it again.“ He says stepping closer, like there’s a magnet between the two of you, he closes the gap. Before you know it large hands find yours, with the outmost care. You can only describe it as being bathed in sunlight, warm and glowing, your digits are dwarfed in Mirios own. It’s slower this time, softer. “I love you.” Has your heart ever flown this high before? “It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not but, you’re the only person that’s made me feel this way — The only one for me.” You know there’s no way for you to come down unscathed. “I was being serious earlier you know? That... We could move in together.” His thumb maps the tiny hills of your knuckles. “So, won’t you please consider moving in with me?” Really now, it’s got to be one of the most ridiculous things you’ve be asked in a while. Hadn’t you only just admitted your feelings a few hours ago? Doesn’t he care what others will think? Why are you even entertaining the idea? Even as the list continues to grow, reasons on it’s unrealistic, why — Sitting perched atop the stool your feet dangle, support-less. You’re helpless because those blue irises are looking down upon you like your the only one in the world. It’s too much. “I —“ Why won’t the butterflies stop swarming you? “I need to sleep on this Mirio — This. It’s just a lot.” You’re certain now, now more than ever before. You’re in far deeper than you ever could have bargained for. Because you still haven’t said no yet. “Of course!” Voice soft and lighthearted, Mirios hands give yours a squeeze. Whether in reassurance or in fear of letting go he doesn’t know anymore. “Take all the time you need.” ∘◦ ✿ ◦∘ The night ends with you helping bandage-up Mirios knuckles. Rubbing alcohol, cotton balls and Hello Kitty bandaids. The ugly futon you found at a garage sale and a few spare blankets are included in the five star Hotel experience. The springs groan back to life when Mirio unfolds the furniture. You don’t know how long you stand in the doorframe of your bedroom, there’s just so much — Why’d he have to pile everything on you at once! You just need time, that’s all. Time to think. Once you get your head out of the clouds you’ll be able to let him down gently, because it’s a childish idea after all. One you’d never agree too. Right? And maybe if you hadn’t succumbed to a night of stress you wouldn’t have failed to notice the bottle of pills missing from your nightstand. ∘◦ ✿ ◦∘ At some point sleep overtook you in your exhaustion, because your phone now reads 10:12AM. After laying in bed for an extra twenty minutes you finally sit up and only when your feet touch floor are you startled fully awake. Something touched your left foot, and it rattled at you. Your eyes adjust enough for you to see the culprit, it’s your bottle of suppressants. They must have rolled off your nightstand while you were out. It’s quiet. If you didn’t know any better you would say it felt like any other regular morning, besides the lingering fatigue. That’s why when you open your bedroom door it takes you by surprise, the lumpy, vaguely looking human shape on the futon. Mirios sleeping form barely fits the ancient pullout. One of his arms hangs off the side with his fingers resting against the floor. Only with the glow of the television are you able to make out his sleeping face. Whatever miraculous hair gel he buys no longer keeps the mess of blond together, bangs of gold hang over his soft features. A normal persons heart probably wouldn’t flutter at something so simple. From under the blanket peeks the same t-shirt he’s been wearing for at least a day now. The same one you cried into. In a few days the scent of calming sea waves and citrus will fade. And you’ll be all that’s left behind. It’s a realization that leaves you feeling, empty. You find the more time spent mulling over the situation the blurrier everything becomes. It doesn’t matter how hard you try to convince yourself, no matter how many hours you spend staring at your ceiling in the dark of your bedroom — It won’t change the way your heart beats wildly whenever you’re around him. You can’t help but wonder. Is it really such a bad idea?

And you know you’re a terrible person because the curve of your lips is real as you gently place your hand on his shoulder. There are roots that have already taken hold of you long ago.

#mirio x reader #yandere mirio #bnha mirio #yandere bnha #mywriting #remember when i said this would be ready by thursday????????#sorry im slow :'(#pls forgive me ya'll #hopefully u guys like it tho! I dont know how many chapters are left

72 notes · View notes