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goldfish-afterhours · 1 year ago

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Genshin Characters as Fairy Tales

Characters: Diluc, Kaeya, Childe, Zhongli, Xiao x Gn!Reader

Type/Genre: Bulleted headcanons, angst/fluff

Warnings: Not all fairy tales have happy endings—major character death

Notes: Man why are fairy tales so sad

Diluc

Cinderella

On the night of your 18th birthday, your father holds a grand masquerade ball, inviting everyone in the kingdom

You, however, had little to no interest in such things. While the party was happening inside, you decided to take a stroll in the gardens

Who knew there would be monsters lurking in the dark that got past the guards?

Before it could devour you, someone sliced its head off with one fell swoop

Standing in front of you was a man with red hair, a black masquerade mask obscuring his eyes

You thanked him and offered him a reward, but he declined. Upon seeing your disappointed expression, he suggested just spending the night talking with him, since he didn’t know anyone at the ball

The two of you sit outside, talking about anything and everything as the night grows later and later

Just as the clock struck twelve, the masked man jumps to his feet, muttering something about how he has to get home

You try to persuade him to stay, or at least tell you his name, but he dashes off so fast you can’t catch up to him

All he left behind was your memory of his soft smile…and a black mask, dropped in the grass

You scour the entire kingdom for him, holding up the mask to every person you meet in hopes you find him, but to no avail

But a crazy idea pops in your head

Deep into the night, you stroll down the main street, unarmed. Just as you expected, a group of hoodlums threaten you, demanding money in exchange for your life

And just as you expected, the man with red hair returns to save you again

For saving your life twice, you insist on giving him a grand reward

You bring him, the son of a deceased and disgraced ex-government official, to the castle, and the two of you live happily ever after <3

“I was afraid you didn’t want to see me again. But putting yourself in danger was much too reckless.”

“That’s how much I wanted to see you again~”

Kaeya

The Little Mermaid

Kaeya, a merman, falls in love with you, a pirate

He’s always swimming beside your ship, listening to you sing with your shipmates of treasure, of good alcohol, of friendship, of love

Gives away his voice to have legs and be with you. He doesn’t want to just listen to your songs—he wants to be the one you sing them to

Cruelly, you fall in love with someone else

His brother, in an attempt to save Kaeya, presents him with a dagger, saying if he is able to kill you then he’ll be able to return to the sea as a merman

But how can Kaeya kill the one he gave up everything for?

How can he even dare imagine hurting the one he loved with his entire being, that he would be willing to walk on glass everyday for?

Throws the dagger into the water. As the sun rises, he watches you, laughing together with your lover, as he melts into seafoam

And as much as it pains him, at least he can see you happy one last time

You don’t see him as he is carried away by the wind

“No matter what…I hope you live happily.”

Childe

Little Red Riding Hood

He’s the Big Bad Wolf, and you’re an herbalist making your deliveries of medicine to your patient in the forest

At first, he’s too nervous to approach you, afraid he would scare you away

But one day, when he sees you shivering from the frosted air, he steels himself enough to offer you his red scarf

The smile you gave him as you wrapped the scarf around yourself was almost enough to heal the years of loneliness from his isolation in the woods

The two of you become friends: Childe shows you all the best spots to pick herbs, and you tell him stories of the outside world

The villagers fear him, a man-eating beast, so he never ventures out of the forest

Childe loves the sound of your voice, and he loved listening to your stories, especially this one story about how the Sun and Moon were lovers in a tragedy, separated in the sky

Protects you from the hostile wild animals in the forest

When the two of you realize you were in love with each other, you made no haste in moving into his cozy cottage

But when the villagers realized their beloved herbalist was in the clutches of the detested wolf, they all swore you had been tricked

They stormed the forest, armed

You come back to your cottage from picking herbs, just in time to see the villagers point a rifle at him

Even with your skills, there is nothing you can do but cradle him in your arms as his blood stains the grass red

“C-Can you finish the rest of the story? I want to know…if the Sun and the Moon ever meet again.”

Zhongli

Sleeping Beauty

In the wild overgrowth once known as the country Liyue, there exists a legend of an almighty god who had fallen into a deep slumber

To save your country, you set out to search for this missing god

The terrain is harsh, overrun with trees and thistles and bushes blocking your every way

But occasionally, you will stumble upon a statue, vines and moss adorning the structure, helping you to believe that perhaps there really was a civilization who lived here in the past

The wild guides you up the cliffs, into a cave where you find a dragon sleeping, his breath slow and shallow

There was something so lonely, so sad about this sleeping dragon, trapped deep in the country of a long-gone civilization, only able to wait for someone to come

You put your hands on the sides of his face, and, as if to reward him for all his years of waiting and to tell him he is no longer alone, you kiss his forehead

The moment you do, his scales scatter away like droplets in a summer rainstorm

You were no longer holding a dragon, but cupping the face of a man

His eyelids fluttered open, revealing amber eyes that glowed like the moon in the darkness of the cave, and you knew you had found your missing god

“Oh…you have found me. How long I’ve been waiting for you.”

Xiao

Beauty and the Beast

With each passing day, Xiao can feel himself transforming more into a monster

The weight of his sins grew heavier and heavier, covering him with ashes and feathers

Soon, there were rumours of a half bird beast flying over the village at night, searching for its next meal

You, an orphan that had been treated as an outcast since birth, was chosen by the villagers to be the sacrifice to quell the beast’s anger and hunger

But after being brought to his decaying castle, Xiao makes it clear he has no interest in eating you

In fact, he gives you free reign in his home, allowing you to go wherever you pleased

At first, he tries to scare you, tries to get you to stay away from him

But when you see him feeding the chipmunks outside, and the songbirds feel safe enough around him to perch on his shoulders, you no longer feel afraid

The two of you slowly warm up to each other. Xiao’s favourite thing to do is listen to you read

When he can’t fall asleep at night from the pain, he asks you to read him stories so he can fall asleep to the sound of your soft voice

You come to realize he’s not a monster but a hurt, scared boy who only wants to wake up from this nightmare he’s been trapped in

The two of you enjoyed your peaceful life together, until one day a hero from your village stormed Xiao’s castle, determined to either save or take vengeance for you

Xiao, who flew over the village every night to make sure no danger came to the villagers, could not bring himself to defend himself from this naive boy

As you hold his still body, you kiss him goodbye

To both you and the hero’s shock, the feathers stabbed into Xiao’s body dispersed, swirling into the sky

The feathers kept flying away until the beast you were holding in your arms became human again

“You’ve awoken me from a terrifying dream. Thank you.”

please comment/reblog if you’ve enjoyed! <3

#listen I did not expect it to get this dark #my writing #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin au #genshin headcanons #genshin angst #Diluc #Kaeya #Childe #Xiao #Zhongli #Diluc x reader #Kaeya x reader #Childe x reader #Xiao x reader #zhongli x reader #genshin imagines #genshin scenarios

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star-girl69 · 1 year ago

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imagine the little family but reader gets hit on by one of the new campers and the rest of the camp is waiting to see ivy and clarisse reaction 🌚

I LOVE THIS OMMGGGGGG

no bc this is specifically so funny and dear to me bc imagine

you’re like sitting with ivy and playing in the sand on the beach having a fun time

and then hi harry from better than revenge in an alternate universe

clarisse has been so busy lately bc it’s the start of summer and there’s all these new campers and things

so you haven’t been around each other as much 💔

dumbass harry walks over to you and is like “it’s so sweet how you treat your younger sibling like your own”

and ivy is preening at the attention of this nice boy who quickly realizes the way to your heart is through ivy

you just think he’s nice and playing with ivy in the sand and making a killer sand castle tbh….

then he says smth a little flirty like a compliment but neither you or ivy think much of it at first

then he’s like “oh hey here you have some sand on your face” and leans so close to you to brush your cheek with his thumb

woah buddy 😟😟😟😟😟

ivy is like ok what the freak (she’s not supposed to swear) (let’s be real she still does)

bc like she’s not dumb….. she knows the only person who touches you like this is clarisse and yeah this guy is nice but she doesn’t like him THAT much

he doesn’t look that strong he can’t be her jungle gym she’s not liking it

you’re sitting there in shock and ivy is getting mad bc HE SHUFFLES CLOSER TO YOU

she climbs into your lap and starts SCREAMING bloody murder and kicking out wildly at harry

“Y/N I WANT TO GO Y/N I WANT TO GO I WANT TO GO I WANT TO GO”

so you pick her up and rush your little butts out of there and harry is trying to follow you bc THIS BITCH WILL NOT GIVE UP DAMN

and you’re looking over your shoulder like GO AWAY

after another second you think he’s gone so you set ivy down

you crouch down and you’re pretty sure she just didn’t like harry flirting w you but you just wanna make sure smth wasn’t actually wrong

“hey are you guys okay?”

“RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” is ivy’s war cry as she jumps on top of harry and starts screaming and kicking and hitting him

AND YOURE SCREAMING TOO BC WTF??????

“IVY YOU GET DOWN RIGHT NOW NO DESSERT FOR THREE DAYS I SWEAR”

eventually everyone kinda heads towards the commotion of this 10 year old screaming and attacking harry and you desperately trying to pull ivy off of him

that is when clarisse walks over

she just stares at the scene for a second in absolute shock

then harry finally pushes ivy off of him and she FLIES into you like he pushed her HARD bc he’s a BITCH

and you weren’t expecting it so you fall back w ivy in your arms

CLARISSE IS ABOUT TO GO INSANE

she runs over but harry is like NO NO NO MY CHANCES ARE RUINED

so he’s desperately trying to help you up and you’re like oh my god i think i’m gonna die

ivy starts attacking him like a feral dog again

“YOU- HURT- MY- Y/N- STUPID HEAD!!!!!!!”

you need a leash for her atp

but by the time clarisse makes it over to you she realizes what’s going on

she crouches down next to you and says ivy’s name really intimidatingly and ivy is like

“OMG HI CLARISSE I LITERALLY SAVED Y/N’S LIFE ARENT YOU PROUD OF ME”

and after she looks over you and sees that your find just a little shocked and very tired (motherhood is hard) she decides to glare at harry

“okay and what does that mean?”

“ok so we were playing in the sand and then harry comes over and he’s nice and he’s helping me build my sandcastle and then he starts TOUCHING Y/N and getting all CLOSE TO HER and i was like woah wait hold on what the freak so then i threw a tantrum so we would leave BUT HE KEPT FOLLOWING!!!!!!! I JUST WANTED HIM TO GO AWAY BC YOURE THE ONLY ONE WHO TOUCHES Y/N LIKE THAT SO I ATTACKED HIM AND THEN HE PUSHED ME SO I ATTACKED HIM MORE BUT NOW YOURE HERE!!!!!!”

harry is just horrified bc that’s exactly what happened this child was just throwing a tantrum 5 minutes ago how is she so articulated

she’s just smart like that tho

clarisse is like “oh so you’re flirting with my girlfriend? are you dumb? literally everyone knows.”

harry just accepts defeat and mutters a few choice words under his breath and walks away

clarisse debates about punching him but decides that ivy has already done all of the work for her

ivy hugs clarisse so tight

“you are so amazing my little warrior you did such a great job protecting y/n i am so proud”

then you join the hug “yes you’re my little knight in shining armor but please remember violence is not always the answer”

ivy and clarisse share a look like “this crazy lady just be saying stuff”

“EXCUSE ME???? BC I KNOW YOU TWO DIDNT JUST LOOK AT EACH OTHER LIKE THAT-”

you try to actually make ivy skip dessert for a few days but she’s so adorable so you give it to her anyways

clarisse teaches her how to properly throw a punch and kick someone

you are not pleased

ivy is ecstatic her new passion is fighting

harry stays far away from you

also percy is now campaigning to bring awareness to the clarisse and mini clarisse epidemic

he is very concerned.

—-

taglist:

@lvrue @t-wylia @laughingcheese037 @kroumi @urdeadpoet @colezb @rey26 @harmzilla @elliewilliamsbae @amberfreemansburntface @kyuupidwrites @neverwaakeme-up @shark1008 @liballer @heyimadison @nvirskies @pnsteblnme @mar2ss @restellsss @ravisinghs-wife @marsconer @evangelinexo @randomhoex

#clarisse la rue #clarisse la rue x reader #clarisse la rue x y/n #clarisse la rue x you #pjo tv show #pjo x reader #clarisse and ivy and y/n: the perfect family

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scioscribe · 2 months ago

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The Great American Memoir

post-canon, Hawkeye & BJ

“I was walking past the bookstore, and I saw it in the window. I had to make the owner open up early so I could touch it and be sure it was real. I had to double-check the copyright page.”

BJ rubbed his eyes. “Hawk, it’s six AM here, and Erin had a sleepover last night. She and her friends decided to teach themselves how to play the piano with, of course, the corollary that practice would make perfect even at two in the morning. I’m tired, you woke me up, you woke Peg up, and I have no idea what you’re talking about. Call back later.”

“I shouldn’t have added to his royalties, but I couldn’t resist. To Serve Was Heaven: A Surgeon’s Story of Life at the Front Lines: A Memoir. Two colons. You know what that means it’s twice as full of.”

“Someone wrote a memoir.”

“Someone! Someone! Frank Burns, Beej, Ferret Face himself.”

Three girls banging away at “Chopsticks” in the small hours of the morning took an abrupt backseat in terms of importance. “Frank wrote a memoir? You’re sure?”

“I’m telling you, I’m holding it right here in my hands.”

“Okay. You were right to wake me up.”

Hawkeye crowed with laughter, and it was the kind of delight that BJ felt younger just listening to. He smiled, and there was a beat of silence where he felt like Hawkeye knew that—sometimes the world just lined up that way, at least for them, and it didn’t matter how many miles were between them.

“You’ll have to read it to me,” BJ said. “It’s bad enough that you put money in Frank’s pocket, I’m not giving him mine.”

“You think you could stop me from reading it to you? You’re destined to my dulcet tones in nightly phone calls until we get through all three hundred sixty-eight pages. Not counting footnotes.”

“Pictures?”

“No, no, nothing but maps.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

“Right. Everyone knows Frank can’t be photographed.”

“Like Dracula,” BJ agreed. “You know, never mind reading it to me. Bring it here. Maybe we could get a couple people together. Can you find someone to look after your practice for a week or two?”

“For this kind of reunion? I’ll bribe every doctor on the Eastern Seaboard. Well, except Charles. I’ll have to bring him with me.”

“You sure he’ll come? For a 4077 book club that didn’t exist until this morning? He never even met Frank.”

“Oh, he’ll come,” Hawkeye said.

“You know what that is, don’t you,” BJ said. “The confidence of an only child, someone who’s always been used to wrapping other people around their little finger.”

“That’s a horrible way to think about it. I don’t have the confidence of an only child, I have the confidence of a man with long eyelashes. I bat them and I get what I want because I’m so adorable.”

“A little ineffective over the phone.”

“Then I’ll see him in person! I’m telling you, he’ll say yes. And if he doesn’t, I’ll bring him in the trunk of my car.”

“You’re not flying?”

“Well, not if I have to kidnap Charles. He wouldn’t fit in my carry-on. Besides, we can’t do this without Margaret, and if I drive, I can pick her up on the way and save her the cost of a plane ticket.”

“And by that point, if they’re looking for whoever took Charles, they won’t be looking for a man and a woman. You’ll get through all the roadblocks. What about Trapper? We should at least get the whole Swamp complement—Frank by proxy—along with Margaret. Can’t really throw together a full reunion at such short notice, but at least with a smaller one I can offer up some spare bedrooms.”

“I’ll talk to Trapper.”

“You’ll bat your eyelashes.” BJ paused. He was running one finger along the telephone cord, in and out of the loops. “It’ll be good to see you.”

“Yeah.” Hawkeye’s voice was a little rougher now. “You too. Give my love to Peg and Erin, but hold a little of it back for yourself, okay?”

“I think I can do that.”

He went back to bed after that, spooning up against Peg’s back. She shifted a little, enough so she wouldn’t be talking into the pillow, and said, “Is everything all right with Hawkeye?”

“Fine. He sends his love. I’m sorry the phone woke you.” He stroked her shoulder. “What would you think about us hosting, say, Hawk and Margaret and Charles and Trapper? On the grounds that Frank wrote a book, so it’s a very special occasion.”

Peg rolled over. BJ stole Hawkeye’s tactic and batted his eyelashes at her.

“Frank Burns wrote a book,” she said.

“A memoir of his wartime experience.”

“Are you in it?”

“We can only hope.”

“My God,” Peg said. “I’ll make up the spare rooms.”

#mash #mash 4077 #ficlet #m*a*s*h

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kikyoupdates · 1 month ago

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For Tomorrow's Sake ⭑˚💫⭑ 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒

various!jjk x f!reader

reverse harem, isekai, jujutsu kaisen x fem!reader, slowburn

You never believed reincarnation was possible, least of all in the fictional world of Jujutsu Kaisen. However, from the moment you meet Gojo Satoru, it’s impossible to deny. Whether it’s a miracle or some kind of curse, you find yourself growing up alongside the strongest jujutsu sorcerer. Unfortunately, you know what the future holds in store. You know exactly what kind of tragedies await. Perhaps that’s why you were brought into this world. If it means saving people from a gruesome fate, you’ll gladly suffer in their place. You’ll do whatever it takes.All for the sake of a better tomorrow.

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“I didn’t think he was actually serious about watching us train.”

Toji glances next to him, brows furrowed. You’re holding onto his hand as you walk side-by-side, and every so often, you beam at him, giving him a front row view to your adorable little face. On the opposite side of you, however, also holding your hand, is Satoru. You’re in the middle of both of them, as happy as can be. It’d be nice if you could say the same for Satoru, but you’ve come to learn that he can be awfully grumpy whenever Toji is involved. He’s not used to having to share your affection.

Satoru squeezes your hand and scowls. “I already told you before that I’m not letting you train [Name] unless I can see it happen with my own eyes. You’re not allowed to hurt her. That was the condition.”

“Having to get permission from a child…” Toji shakes his head disappointedly. “I wonder how I’ve fallen so low.”

“I heard that, asshole!”

“Satoru, please be nice to Toji,” you say—much to Satoru’s immense frustration. You glance up at Toji yet again, and the moment you smile at him, he instinctively does the same. “He agreed to train me. For free . Isn’t that amazing? Especially since something tells me he really likes money.”

“You’re right,” Toji chuckles. “I love money.”

“Everyone loves money,” Satoru mutters. “You’re not special.”

“[Name], I get the feeling he doesn’t like me.”

“That’s because I don’t .”

You never thought you’d see the day where Satoru and Toji would bicker childishly back and forth. After all, the only other meeting they were supposed to have was many years from now, in a literal fight to the death. You know it’s too soon to get your hopes up, but already, the story has changed. And you intend to keep it that way.

Eventually, you arrive at your designated training spot for the day. It’s a clearing in the middle of the woods. You’ve got plenty of space here, and if Toji really wanted to, he could easily knock a few trees down and make even more room.

“I’m a little nervous,” you admit. “But also excited, because I really want to get stronger. I know it’s important to manage my expectations, though. I’ll never be anywhere near as strong as you, Toji. How did you get to be so strong, without any cursed energy?”

You already know the answer to that question, of course, but you figure it’s about time he explains it himself so that you don’t have to keep pretending to be unaware.

“Ah, right. I never told you. It’s a Heavenly Restriction,” Toji says. “That’s the trade-off. I lost all of my cursed energy in exchange for my body becoming stronger, and all of my senses being sharpened. Because of this, I can still see and interact with curses, despite not having any actual cursed energy. I need to use cursed tools in order to exorcize them, since curses can’t be killed without cursed energy, but it’s never been a problem.”

Of course it hasn’t been. Look at you. You’re basically the Arnold Schwarzenegger of this universe.

“Wow,” you marvel. “No wonder you’re so cool! I could tell right away that you were super strong. Why would your clan members be so rude to you? You don’t even need cursed energy when you’re already this powerful. I’ve never met any of them, but they sound stupid.”

Toji cracks another smile. “ Very stupid. Like I said before, they’re a bunch of fools who can’t even tell the difference between a head and an ass.”

“He’s talking about asses again,” Satoru grimaces. “[Name], does it really have to be this guy who trains you? I’m seriously worried he’s a pervert. I can already tell he’s going to be a bad influence.”

“Toji is the best mentor I’ll ever have,” you state firmly, and you make sure to wrap your little arms around him, adamant.

Satoru lets out a heavy sigh. It’s okay. He’ll come around to Toji eventually. It’ll just take a while for him to get used to things. Also, Toji won’t be a bad influence for you, but rather, you plan on being a good influence for him. Maybe, depending on how things go, he won’t abandon Megumi this time around. Maybe he’ll actually try to be a good dad.

You’ll be overjoyed if you can make that happen.

Toji pats your head a few times. A bit roughly, but the sentiment is there. You may not realize it, but you’re already starting to grow on him quite a bit. He’s never met a kid like you before. Or anyone, really. Someone he has so much in common with, but in spite of the unfortunate circumstances you’ve been born into, you manage not to give in to your bitterness and hate, unlike him.

And so, Toji will train you. He’ll teach you how to fight, how to use cursed tools properly, and how to hone your body in order to surpass your limits. But along the way, he may very well end up learning a thing or two from you as well.

He will be your teacher, and you will be his.

“Actually, I have something sort of similar to a Heavenly Restriction,” you say.

Toji blinks, visibly surprised. “Oh. Really?”

“Yeah. Well, technically, it’s a restriction I imposed upon myself. A Binding Vow. I decided to make one a while back to try and become stronger.”

“What kind of vow is it?” Toji asks, and already, you can hear Satoru groaning as he buries his face in his hands. Even just the mention of your vow seems to bring him immense agony. Poor guy.

“Like you, I can’t use cursed energy. Not because I don’t have any, but because the second I use it to hurt someone, I’ll die.”

You beam, brighter than the sun itself, and of course, Toji can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“Every time!” Satoru fumes. “Every time, you talk about the conditions of your vow with a smile on your face! What’s wrong with you? It’s not something to be taken lightly!”

“I’m not taking it lightly. I just think it’s cool that Toji and I have so much in common. We were fated to meet!”

“You barely have anything in common! He’s allowed to fight without the risk of constantly dying, unlike you! Stupid! Moron! Dumbass!”

You glance over at Toji with a frown. “Do you see how he talks to me? I’m starting to think this is an abusive friendship.”

“A Binding Vow where your life is on the line?” Toji blinks repeatedly. “Why would you do something like that? What… did you gain from it?”

“Well, I’m really weak and I don’t have much cursed energy to begin with, and I still haven’t shown signs of manifesting a cursed technique of my own. So, in exchange for risking my life with this vow, I gained the ability to convert cursed energy into positive energy. So that I can heal people. Isn’t that awesome? I’m so smart.” You pause for a moment, then grin. “Do you have a knife on you? If you want, I can give you a demonstration—”

“No knives!” Satoru cries out. He’s already traumatized enough from the last time it happened, and he certainly doesn’t need to see it again.

Seriously. Poor guy.

Toji didn’t think you could possibly surprise him any more, but time and time again, you outdo yourself. Like Satoru, he never knows what to expect. And Toji has always prided himself on his cool-headedness and ability to make rational decisions. He hates the world of jujutsu sorcerers, true enough, but even so, he’s kept his anger at bay all this time. If he really wanted to, he probably could have slaughtered the entire Zen’in Clan by now.

“You’ve drastically increased the odds of you dying, in order to help other people?” Toji can’t help but marvel. “You really are selfless. What would possess you to put someone else’s needs above your own, when people have only ever treated you cruelly?”

“I don’t really think of it that way,” you frown. “It’s not like people have to be nice to me in order for me to do the right thing. People can be strong in lots of different ways, but jujutsu sorcerers kill curses in order to save lives, right? So, that’s what I decided I wanted to do. It seemed like the most important thing. Using my strength to make the world a better place.”

On this point, you and Toji differ. He’s nowhere near as kind or self-sacrificial as you are. Admittedly, he’s never even bothered to think about saving anyone’s life. All he ever wanted was to be acknowledged for being strong. But the Zen’in Clan immediately shunned him, because he was born without cursed energy.

Still, it’s impressive. The fact that you don’t let yourself be discouraged, no matter how others treat you. No matter how often they dismiss you and treat you like dirt. If you’re able to stomach all of the abuse thrown your way and still have such selfless goals, then at the very least, mentally… you’re already stronger than he is.

“You really are the strangest little girl I’ve ever met,” Toji chuckles fondly.

“Thanks,” you grin, and once again, you wrap your arms around him and give him the biggest hug you can manage.

Satoru rolls his eyes. “I’m pretty sure that wasn’t supposed to be a compliment, but whatever.”

Toji lets you hug him for a while. He’s already gotten used to how affectionate you are, and he’s surprised that he doesn’t seem to mind it. But as easy as it would be just to stand around and chat, you’re here for a reason.

You’re here to get stronger.

“Now,” Toji says, lips pulled into a smirk, “shall we begin?”

It was bound to happen eventually. Toji has been training you for a little while now, and it was only a matter of time until the Zen’in Clan found out.

Needless to say, they’re not happy about it.

They already don’t think highly of Toji to begin with. In their eyes, he’s a failure. Someone unfit to be a sorcerer. But now they know that he’s training you, another failure. At least, on paper. These elitist dickheads seriously only care about one thing, and it’s power. But only the kind of power that they deem acceptable. Which is ridiculous, because Toji could easily break all of their skulls if he really wanted to. They’re seriously playing with fire.

Long story short, you’ve been summoned. By the Zen’in Clan. The Gojo Clan of course heard about this and essentially told them to fuck off and mind their own business, but then the Zen’in Clan was all like, “You’re telling us to fuck off? No, no—you don’t get to do that. We’re the ones who tell you to fuck off. Who do you think you are to boss us around? You’re all a bunch of dipshits. Don’t make us go Super Saiyan on your asses.”

…okay, fine, that’s not exactly what they said. You’re paraphrasing. But the situation kept escalating, and it was getting really tense, so you decided the best thing to do would be to just get the meeting over and done with.

Which brings you to the present.

Toji scowls irritably. “You didn’t have to come. All this does is make these rotten assholes feel like they can order everyone around and get away with it.”

The Zen’in Clan estate stands before you. It’s even bigger than the Gojo Clan estate. Which makes sense, because Satoru is essentially a one-man army. The Gojo Clan still has many skilled sorcerers among their ranks, but as a whole, the Zen’in Clan is most likely stronger.

Not that it really matters, because Satoru could easily take on all of them at once, and win .

“It’s okay. I don’t really mind,” you shrug. “They can be as grumpy as they want. You’re still going to train me no matter what, right?”

“Of course. I refuse to ever bow to them.”

Toji grits his teeth, visibly seething, and meanwhile, Satoru crosses his arms. He came with you, of course. He outright refused to let you go on your own. Even though you reassured him that Toji would be by your side, but still. As always, he’s overprotective to a fault. He probably fears the Zen’in Clan might mistreat you, the way your own clan did.

“If they say something to get on my nerves, we’re leaving,” Satoru mutters.

“You should,” Toji nods. “Everyone here is disgusting trash, dragged up from the deepest, murkiest recesses of hell —”

“Alright, alright, let’s just go!” you exclaim, grabbing both of them by the hands and pulling them along.

It’s strange, being in a place that you know so much about, and yet, it still feels so foreign. You already know that in the future, all of these people will be slaughtered. By Maki. You’re not quite sure what it’ll take to prevent that. Maybe if you’re able to keep Mai safe. But then again, this place is home to parents such as Maki’s father, who would go so far as to try and kill his own daughters, so you’re not even sure if you want to save them.

You suppose you’ve got plenty of time to think about it. A lot will happen before then. You need to focus on saving everyone else first.

You and Toji are both used to being looked down upon. You’re no stranger to cruel, scornful looks, and neither is he. Evidently, though, the Zen’in Clan members weren’t expecting Gojo Satoru to show up as well. Because he’s here, no one dares to so much as even frown at you. Some stop and stare for a few moments, having never laid eyes upon him before, some instinctively cast their heads down, and others opt to avoid looking at him altogether, out of jealousy, inferiority, and resentment.

You have to admit, having Satoru here helps. Anyone with half a brain knows better than to try anything funny.

You’re brought to one of the rooms and told to wait for the head of the clan to arrive. Snacks and tea have been laid out for you, and you happily gorge yourself, seemingly without a care in the world.

Toji sighs. “You’re making yourself right at home, aren’t you?”

“I’m just trying to get comfortable,” you reply, cheeks stuffed. “They put out these snacks for us, so it’s okay if I eat all of them, right? They won’t get mad?”

“I doubt it, but it’d be funny if they did.”

Ironically, you, the weakest of the bunch, are the least concerned out of everyone. Toji is in a shit mood because he hates everything and anything to do with the Zen’in Clan, and Satoru is stressed out because he’s constantly worrying about you, and meanwhile you’re just… chilling. Also, the snacks are pretty good. You might seriously finish them all at this rate.

Time passes. It seems the clan leader is determined to make you wait as long as humanly possible. Honestly, you’re starting to wonder if he brought you here just to laugh at how he’s wasting your time. You feel like you’re being trolled.

Eventually, though, the door to the room slides open.

But it’s not at all who you were expecting to see.

It’s a boy. He’s small, most likely around your age, and peering into the room inquisitively. His eyes widen when he takes note of Satoru, of course, but for some reason, he seems to be paying Toji the most attention of all.

Ah.

It takes a little while for you to realize who he is, because he’s still young and hasn’t yet dyed his hair in that distinct blond shade, and also, he’s missing his ear piercings. But you recognize those sharp, upturned brown eyes, and his childlike appearance becomes more and more familiar, the longer you think about it.

This boy is none other than Zen’in Naoya.

There he is. There’s the little misogynist.

Naoya hesitates for a moment before stepping into the room. He’s alone, by the looks of it. The clan leader isn’t with him. You suppose he must have stopped by out of pure intrigue.

Naoya eagerly slides the door closed, then bounds over to Satoru. “You’re him, right?” he asks, eyes all but sparkling. “You’re Gojo Satoru, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Satoru replies, visibly disinterested.

“Wow, cool! I never thought I’d actually get to meet you. I’m Naoya. My dad’s the leader of the clan, and he says that one day, I’ll take over as the new leader! Everyone tells me I’m a genius. I even manifested my cursed technique early.”

Naoya puffs out his chest, looking proud as can be. He��s supposed to be a year younger than you, so he’s not even seven years old yet, but it seems like that ego of his is already going strong. Not that you’re surprised. That’s what happens when you spoil a kid and fill their head with arrogance and conceit. Kids are the product of their environment, after all.

“That’s nice,” Satoru comments insincerely, and you almost feel bad for Naoya, because he grins widely, not realizing that it wasn’t a genuine compliment.

Naoya then turns towards Toji, and his smile gets even brighter. “Toji, is it true? I heard that you’re training someone. He must be super strong, then. Since you agreed to help him. What’s he like? Wasn’t he supposed to come today? Or is he not coming until later?”

“What do you mean?” Toji frowns. “She’s right here.”

“ She ?”

“Yes, she. As in, her. The girl sitting next to me. [Name].”

Naoya slowly turns his head towards you, eyes gradually filling with horror. He can’t seem to believe what he’s hearing. Also, it probably doesn’t help that you’ve been stuffing your face with crackers this whole time.

You hurry to swallow what’s in your mouth, then smile. “Hi, Naoya. I’m [Name]. It’s nice to meet you.”

“What?” Naoya gapes. “Toji, this… is who you’re training? You’re training a girl ?”

Oh boy. Here it comes.

“... but girls are weak!”

As expected, Naoya wastes no time in spewing his flawed ideology. He seems outright offended by you. In fact, up until now, you may as well have been invisible to him.

“Especially this girl,” Naoya continues, pointing an accusing finger your way. “She barely has any cursed energy. I can tell. And she definitely doesn’t have a Heavenly Restriction like you do, Toji. Right? She’s a weakling. Why would you train a girl? It’s a waste of time. She doesn’t deserve it.”

Toji narrows his eyes. “Is it really any business of yours who I decide to train?”

Naoya takes a step back, faltering for a moment. You know that he looks up to Toji. Their relationship wasn’t really expanded upon much, but even though they’re cousins, they’re not very close. Naoya’s admiration for Toji is a one-way street. He might even be jealous of you because you get to train with his idol.

“Why do you assume girls are weak?” you ask.

“It’s not an assumption,” Naoya glares. “Girls are supposed to grow up and become wives, then give birth to powerful sorcerers. They’re not strong enough to fight. They should leave all of the serious stuff to men, and focus on cooking, taking care of children, and making their husbands happy.”

“Hm. I see.”

You stare at him long and hard, watching as he clenches his fists and grows more frustrated by the second.

Then, you smile.

“I think you’re kind of stupid.”

Naoya blinks repeatedly. It actually looks like his brain short-circuits for a few moments. Once again, he can’t help but feel like his ears are deceiving him. He’s a genius. That’s what everyone always says.

No one has ever, ever called him stupid.

“Take that back!” Naoya childishly exclaims. “Who do you think you are to talk to me that way? I’m not stupid! I’m a hundred percent smarter than you are! You’re just a dumb, weak little girl, and you must have tricked Toji into training you!”

Satoru’s expression darkens. “Hey. You don’t get to say that to her. I’m the only one who’s allowed to call [Name] dumb.”

Even though the strongest sorcerer in the world is addressing him, right now, Naoya is so focused on his hatred of you that he doesn’t even pay him any mind. You’re not invisible anymore. Suddenly, you’re the only person he can see.

And it pisses him off.

“I just think what you’re saying doesn’t make any sense,” you shrug. “How could all women be weak? I’m sure some are weak. But there are men who are weak, too. Anyone can be weak. Or strong. Nothing is set in stone. And if you put in enough effort, then it’s even possible for someone who used to be weak to become strong. That’s how I see it, at least.”

Naoya grits his teeth. He’s so angry that he’s shaking. Clearly, his ego took a massive hit when you called him stupid. But if he’s going to say stupid things, then you feel compelled to point out just how stupid they are.

“[Name] is easily smarter than you,” Satoru sighs. “She’s even smarter than me . She likes to act dumb, but she’s actually gifted. She’s only seven years old, but academically, she’s as smart as a high-schooler. Between the two of you, she’s the real genius.”

“...what?”

Naoya looks taken aback. Since Gojo Satoru said it, it must be true. Once again, his brain can’t compute. He’s supposed to believe that a girl is superior to him? No… even if it’s true, it doesn’t matter. What matters is strength , and that’s something you don’t have.

“S-So what if you’re good at school?” Naoya huffs. “Studying and getting good grades doesn’t mean anything. You’re still weak . We’re jujutsu sorcerers. Are you going to pull out a textbook while you’re fighting a curse and expect to win? Ha! Don’t make me laugh. You’re just a girl, and you need to take back what you said about me being stupid, or else I’ll get really angry!”

He proceeds to slam his little fists down onto the table, and in doing so, he accidentally breaks one of the small plates in half. You watch as he winces, and a cut appears on his hand. It’s a relatively shallow wound, but blood flows from it nevertheless.

Naoya bites down on his lip, tears pricking his eyes. He’s clearly resisting the urge to cry. He’s probably been taught never to show weakness, or to complain. Still, he’s only a kid, and it must hurt. Plus, he’s probably pretty embarrassed right now. You’d feel bad for him if he started wailing in front of his beloved Toji.

You offer a gentle smile, and without saying anything, you reach out and grab Naoya’s hand in yours. He flinches, and he’s probably just about to slap your hand away, but before he manages to, you take a deep breath and concentrate.

It only takes a few seconds. One moment, Naoya is cradling his bleeding cut, and the next, you’re wiping his blood off with a napkin and revealing clear, unblemished skin.

“There you go,” you beam. “All better now. You’re okay, right? It doesn’t hurt anymore?”

“Huh…?”

Naoya stares down at his hand in disbelief. He swears there was a cut there, just a second ago. But now, it’s… gone? And so is the pain. It’s already a thing of the past, and it leaves him wondering whether he just imagined the whole thing.

…no, that can’t be. After all, the broken plate is still there. The broken plate he cut himself with just a few moments ago. Which can only mean that you healed him. You healed him? Seriously? Someone like you knows reverse cursed technique, which is something even the most elite sorcerers struggle to grasp?

All of a sudden, it feels like the entire room is spinning. Naoya swears he’s seeing stars. Everything is so backwards. Nothing makes any sense. The fact that you know how to use positive energy, the fact that Toji is training you… just, none of it.

And to make matters even worse, you’re still smiling.

“Like I said,” you hum. “Anyone can be strong. You never know what to expect, so maybe you should try to give people a chance.”

Naoya doesn’t respond. He can’t come up with what to say, and even if he tried to speak, he doubts the words would form.

From this moment onward, he won’t be able to get you off his mind.

More chapters are available on Quotev and Ao3!

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anonymousewrites · 3 months ago

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Apple of My Eye Chapter Three

Eventual! Harry Hook x Child of Snow White! Reader

Descendants x Reader

Summary: Just as friendship develops, love does, too, with the VKs.

“She did Jane’s hair, too, and Fairy Godmother’s not happy about it,” complained Audrey, crossing her arms. “I can’t believe she’s giving everyone makeovers whenever they want! And Ben doesn’t see the harm!”

“I think people are trying to get quick fixes to insecurities instead of working through them,” said (Y/N), frowning. “That’s never good for self-image.”

“Exactly,” said Audrey. “It’s gateway magic, and soon it’ll be the lips and the legs and the clothes and then everyone looks good and where will I be?”

“That’s what you care about?” said (Y/N), raising an eyebrow. “How you look compared to everyone else?”

“Obviously,” said Audrey. “That’s what matters.”

(Y/N) turned and walked away from Audrey. Unbelievable. Everyone was either hating the VKs for existing or using them to solve the problems they didn’t want to face themselves.

“This is a nail-biter, folks!” said the announcer as the tourney game raged before them. “There’s forty-seven seconds left on the clock. We’re all tied up. The Sherwood Falcons, two. The Fighting Knights, two. What a game between Auradon’s fiercest rivals.”

(Y/N) cheered with the rest of the crowd for the Knights and their friends. Mal was surprised by the energy and clamor around her. Evie was bouncing on the balls of her feet, hollering with (Y/N).

“As the teams get into their huddles and take up positions along the Kill Zone,” said the announcer. “The dragoneers have been laying down a withering hail of fire. And now a substitution by Coach Jenkins. He’s bringing that hothead Jay in from the Isle of the Lost and that little guy Carlos who can barely hold a shield.”

(Y/N), Mal, and Evie cheered for Carlos and Jay as they took the field.

“Knights!” cheered the team as they readied themselves.

“When they break from their huddles, there’s going to be a big moment here,” said the announcer. “And the tipoff is ready.”

“Come on, come on,” said (Y/N), bouncing on their toes.

“I thought you weren’t competitive,” teased Mal.

“About looks? No. This? I want to kick their butt,” said (Y/N), grinning.

Mal laughed, and Evie grinned.

The whistle went off. “Here we go!” said the announcer.

“Long pass goes to jay.”

Jay grabbed it and took the ball down the field before pitching it.

“Jay dishes off to Prince Ben.”

Ben hit it farther down, and an interceptor ran in. Carlos blocked him.

“Nice little block by Carlos.”

Carlos jeered and danced around the fallen opponent’s body. Evie, Mal, and (Y/N) laughed at his proud antics.

“He does a little dancing jig in the opponent’s face. And now Jay gets the ball back. Here comes Jay.”

Everyone grabbed each other and watched anxiously. A dragoneer fired, and people tensed. Jay jumped and easily evaded it.

“Jay, hurdling maneuver at midfield.”

“I’m open!” shouted Ben.

“Jay makes a nice pass to Prince Ben through the Kill Zone.”

“Jay!” Chad barreled into an opponent.

“A big block by Chad! Prince Ben moves over wide, gives it back to Jay. He’s in the clear!”

Jay swung.

“A shot!”

Everyone groaned as it was blocked.

“Oh! What a save by Philip, the Falcons’ goalkeeper.”

The Falcons took the ball back down the field towards the Knights’ goal.

“Let’s go, guys!” shouted (Y/N). “Come on, Ben! Let’s go, Jay, Carlos!”

“Come on!” shouted Evie.

“Twenty-three seconds. You could cut the tension with a sword,” announced the commentator. “The long ball is played to Jay. Jay, great time, great leap. And a great interception by Jay.” They were moving back towards the Falcons’ goal. “Big block from Chad. Jay dishes off to Prince Ben. And then Carlos with a big block, goes down.”

“Ooh,” Evie and (Y/N) winced. Mal glanced at them, amused.

“Jay through the Kill Zone, picks up Carlos. He’s being hammered by dragon fire.”

Jay was using Carlos as a prop to dodge.

“Jay, hurdling maneuver at midfield. He’s in the clear. The ball goes back to Jay. He passes to Prince Ben with an assist from Carlos. He shoots! He scores!”

Cheers went up from the team. (Y/N) clapped and whooped. Mal covered her ears as Evie joined them while everyone grinned and shouted.

“Prince Ben has won it! What an unselfish play by Jay! What a team! Incredible! And it’s the new guys, Jay and Carlos, who set up the prince for the winner! What a victory! An absolutely wonderful end to one of the best games ever!”

The players came off the crowd and were greeted excitedly by their friends.

“The winners of the—”

“Excuse me.” Ben took the microphone. “Excuse me. Can I have your attention, please?” Everyone quieted and looked at their prince as he got up on a podium. “There’s something I’d like to say.” He cleared his throat. “Give me an ‘M.’ ” He made an “M” with his arms.

“M!” said everyone, copying him.

“Give me an ‘A.’ ” He put his arms at his sides.

“A!” Everyone followed his lead.

“Give me an ‘L!’ ”

Everyone did an “L.” Mal’s jaw dropped open, and Evie and (Y/N) looked at her, Evie with excitement and (Y/N) with surprise.

“What does that spell?” said Ben, a giant grin on his face.

“Mal!” said everyone. Mal looked mortified. Audrey looked horrified.

“Come on, I can’t hear you!” said Ben.

“Mal!” shouted everyone.

“I love you, Mal!” said Ben. “Did I mention that?”

(Y/N) let out a laugh of surprise as they smiled. Ben was definitely feeling bold.

Audrey’s jaw dropped open, and she stalked away from the celebration.

“Give me a beat!” said Ben.

Doug started up the band, and everyone began to nod their heads and tap their feet with the beat.

“Oh my god,” said Evie, grinning ear-to-ear.

“What is up with him?” laughed (Y/N). “I never knew he could be so head-over-heels.”

“Right?” said Mal, clearing her throat.

(Ben) “Did I mention that I’m in love with you? And did I mention there’s nothing I can do? And did I happen to say, I dream of you every day, Well, let me—” (All) “Shout it out loud!” (Ben) “If that’s okay, hey, hey!” (All) “Hey!”

Evie and (Y/N) teased and grinned at Mal, whose cheeks were red with embarrassment.

(Ben) “If that’s okay.” (All) “Hey!”

Ben jumped down from the podium and began to lead the cheerleaders and players in a dance.

(Ben) “I met this girl who rocked my world like it’s never been rocked, So now I’m living just for her, and I won’t ever stop, I never thought that it could happen to a guy like me.”

He winked and fell down.

(Ben) “But now look at what you’ve done, You got me down on my knees!”

The other players fell down dramatically, and Ben bounced up.

(Ben) “Because my love for you is ridiculous! I never knew!”

Carlos and Jay jumped up.

(Carlos and Jay) “Who knew?” (Ben) “That it could be like this! My love for you is ridiculous!”

He danced around a microphone as everyone cheered and danced along with him.

(Ben) “My love is r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s!”

(Y/N) and Evie grabbed each other’s hands and spun around as people mimicked the letters.

(All) “R-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s!” (Ben) “It’s—” (All) “Ridiculous!” (Ben) “Just—” (All) “Ridiculous!” (Ben) “And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss!”

He blew a kiss, and Mal’s eyes widened, and she let out a surprised laugh. (Y/N) and Evie mimicked kisses playfully, and Mal rolled her eyes.

(Ben) “Well, did I mention I’m in love with you? And did I mention there’s nothing I can do? And did I happen to say I dream of you every day? Well, let me—” (All) “Shout it out loud!” (Ben) “—if that’s okay, hey, hey, Yeah! If that’s okay! (All) “Hey!”

Ben spun with the microphone and a large grin.

(Ben) “I gotta know which way to go, come on, give me a sign, You gotta show me that you’re only ever gonna be mine, Don’t wanna go another minute livin’ without you, ‘Cause if your heart just isn’t in it, I don’t know what I’d do.”

He fell back into his team, and they threw him back up.

(Ben) “Because my love for you is—” (All) “Ridiculous!” (Ben) “I never knew!” (All) “Who knew?” (Ben) “That it could be like this! My love for you is—” (All) “Ridiculous!” (Ben) “My love is r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s!” (All) “R-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s!”

(Y/N) and Evie made the letters with laughs.

(Ben) “It’s—” (All) “Ridiculous!” (Ben) “Just—” (All) “Ridiculous!” (Ben) “And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss! Come on, now! Ho! Oh, yeah!”

Everyone danced and clapped to the beat.

(Ben) “Yow!”

He took off his jersey to leave just his protective gear.

(Ben) “Alright!”

He balled it up.

(All) “Hey!”

Ben threw it at Mal, and she caught it. A smile spread across her face.

(Ben) “Because my love for you is ridiculous!” (All) “Ridiculous!”

Ben got onto the shoulders of the mascot to pretend to ride a horse like a valiant knight. Mal laughed at the ridiculous (haha) sight.

(Ben) “I never knew!” (Carlos, Jay, Evie, and (Y/N)) “Who knew?!” (Ben) “That it could be like this! My love for you is—!” (All) “Ridiculous!” (Ben) “My love for you is r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s!!”

He got onto some cheerleaders’ shoulders, and they threw him into the crowd. They caught him and put him on his feet.

(All) “R-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s!”

Ben bodysurfed towards Mal, who rolled her eyes with a giant smile.

(Ben) “It’s—” (All) “Ridiculous!” (Ben) “Just—” (All) “Ridiculous!”

Ben landed in front of Mal and grinned.

(Ben) “And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss! Come on, now!”

The song ended, and everyone clapped. Ben leaned in for a real kiss, and Mal nervously put the jersey between him and her. Still, she had a blush on her cheeks from surprise, embarrassment, and, understandable, nerves. A confession like that would get such a reaction.

“I love you, Mal,” said Ben. “Did I mention that?” He smiled softly and put a hand around her shoulders. Mal smiled slightly at the motion.

Audrey ran up the steps of the bleachers, grabbed the microphone, and interrupted the moment (as per usual). “Chad’s my boyfriend now!” Chad grinned, and Audrey tried to look smug despite her anger as she looked at Ben and Mal. “And I’m going to the coronation with him. So I don’t need your pity date.” She kissed Chad.

Evie narrowed her eyes, and (Y/N) sighed. Audrey was so obsessed with her reputation. And people got hurt because of it. They touched Evie’s shoulder, and Evie relaxed slightly.

“Mal!” Ben wasn’t even distracted. “Will you go to the coronation with me?”

“Yes,” said Mal, smiling.

“She said yes!” shouted Ben, and everyone cheered.

“Let’s go, Ben,” said Jay, saving Mal from more attention. “The team’s waiting for you.”

“Yeah,” said Ben, staring at Mal.

Jay pulled Ben away.

“Bye,” said Mal.

“What a victory,” said the announcer, recovering his microphone. “Finally winning the trophy back after so many years.”

(Y/N) and Mal exchanged looks as Evie, upset, folded her arms.

“I feel really sorry for Audrey,” said Mal.

“You do?” said Evie.

“Yeah,” said Mal. “I feel like if she were talented like you, and she knew to how sew and knew beauty tips, that she wouldn’t need a prince to make her feel better about herself.” Evie smiled slightly.

“Especially not one who can’t keep up a conversation,” said (Y/N). “If she were like you, she’d have interesting people around her because they actually like her.” Evie smiled a little wider.

“I guess I am kind of cool,” said Evie, putting her hands on her hips. “Thanks, you guys.”

“And there he is!” said the announcer as a player was lifted up with the trophy. “Jay, the most valuable player!”

(Y/N), Evie, and Mal cheered.

Taglist:

@neenieweenie

@hampterfae

@american-idiot-jpg

@lunalixya

@roo024

@unholycheesesnack

@paastaboi

@lbee13

#apple of my eye #x reader #gn reader #nb reader #x gn reader #x nb reader #child of snow white #evie descendants #descendants 1 #descendants #disney descendants #carlos descendants #descendants x reader #descendants harry #harry hook #harry hook x reader

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ririsasaki · 3 months ago

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It’s Nice to Have a Friend

Loki x Reader Slight Angst + Fluff

Summary: Loki is imprisoned for life, and you, his childhood friend, decide to visit him.

Inspired by the song It’s Nice to Have a Friend by Taylor Swift.

Note: It’s written in third person, and the pronouns at the beginning are she/her. It switches to the pronoun you after a while.

Word Count: 1.6k

Pacing around in his small cell, Loki was seething. His head still couldn’t get around what had happened to him. Imprisoned for life. How? How could Odin dare? Well, he thought miserably, staring into the opposite cell, I suppose he did always favor Thor. The thought stabbed him deep in the heart. He was always shoved aside. Always second. Always alone.

The thought of staying in this small, public yet private area for the rest of his four thousand years of living was painful. He didn’t want to stay here. Why didn’t his mother do anything? Bringing him books was nice, he supposed, but wouldn’t she try to save him, at the very least? Because she’s not… his thought trailed off. He couldn’t bring himself to think that. He loved her. He truly did.

It was the middle of the night, he could sense it, even if the dungeon was underground and had no windows. A distant patter of someone scurrying across the landing caught his attention. Man, it was hard, trying to fall asleep under these blazing lights. He swung his legs off the bed with little enthusiasm, sighed deeply, and walked towards the large window that exposed him to everyone who looked.

He wasn’t surprised when he saw the veiled shadow walk hurriedly, as if wanting to get something over with. What totally normal was, because no one liked to be here anyways, prisoner or not. What did surprise him was the flash of [h/c] hair that flew behind them, her steps marching toward his cell. His cell. A flash of memory flew past in his head, remembering. No, it can’t be. She wouldn’t… not after this…

Once she came to a halt in front of his giant window, he put on a tragic version of his signature smirk. But of course. He should’ve known. It was just another person about to rant how bad of a person he was. Just another being, about to tell him just now terrible and unworthy he’d been. But the person in front of his cell did neither. After a while of silent staring, she took her cloak off, revealing the one person he’d wished not to see: you.

You looked at him with tragedy glowing in your eyes. You’d never wanted to see him there, never. You knew of his familial troubles, but never knew he’d take it this far. It hurt, to see him like this. Imprisoned and lost. With no one’s support.

His heart also skipped a beat. How long had it been since he’d seen you? He couldn’t remember. He only knew that it was a lot longer than he wanted it to be. He doesn’t enjoy hurting people, especially not you. You were the only friend he had as a child, and never turned away from him, even after knowing he was a Frost Giant. You didn’t care about what being he was. You cared only about him. You were his sole glimmer of light in his realm of darkness. You led him out of sadness and misery. But he betrayed you. He left you, without thinking twice. Or maybe he didn’t think at all.

‘Why are you here,’ he asked, his voice determined but with a slight hint of longing, ‘Have you come to gloat? To mock? You’re just like the others, aren’t you? Just here to see me break, to see me fall.’

You stared back into his blue eyes but doesn’t say anything. This certainly wasn’t what she expected him to say when she decided to visit him.

‘Well?’ he hissed, his voice laced with venom and a sliver of guilt, ‘Say something!’ His voice raised.

You merely looked back at him, looking away when he half yelled at her. Guilt filled his entire being. He couldn’t- Why was he-

When you glanced back, your eyes were shining with unshed tears. You opened your mouth, your voice about to break. ‘I came,’ you whispered hoarsely, ‘because I missed you.’

These words hit Loki with a pang. I missed you. They echoed in his head, awakening every nerve and bringing out all the guilt that he hid away. His breathing became ragged, shallow. Before he could properly react, however, you pressed on.

‘You were gone for a year, I thought… I thought… I thought I lost you,’ you said, tears falling freely from your eyes. Every bat of your eyelids poured more down, until they collected at your chin and dripped onto the dungeon floor. Shakily, she steps through the barrier and leaves very little space between them. She stared up at him with her [e/c] eyes.

‘I was so worried,’ she said, taking his hand in her own and pressing her forehead against his chest. ‘I missed you,’ she repeated, fully leaning into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Oh, how you missed his scent, his clothes, everything. He had meant so much to you. How many nights you’d curl up in his old room and cry. How many times hearing his name brought you new tears.

Slowly, his head came around. Tears were welling up in his eyes, too. He loved you too… But would he ever be able to love you like he did before? Before… a feeling of regret washed over him. If only he didn’t let go. If only he didn’t fling himself off the Bifrost… then maybe everything would’ve been alright…

His arms crawled up your back, holding you close. The emotions flying around his head was making him dizzy, unsure of what to do. Only two words made it past his mouth: ‘Don’t go.’

It wasn’t just an order. It was a plea, only found in the most desperate people in the world. Now he understood what people meant when they said that the most hurt people smile the brightest. Because they know. They know that everything is over. That everything will finally be alright.

You hugged him tighter. ‘I won’t,’ you told him quietly, your words slightly muffled by his clothes, ‘I won’t leave you. Not ever. I’ll stay with you, even after you go to Valhalla.’

Loki’s tears fell down his cheeks, his heart swelling. How he’d missed this. How he’d missed your voice, your soft body pressed to his. The gratefulness he had in himself was barely describable through words. In that moment, he felt like the happiest man alive. He was so damn glad you were there. Always there.

‘I never meant to hurt you, or any of them,’ he said softly, one of his hands coming up to pat your head. You nodded, showing your agreement. ‘Why,’ he gulped as he pressed on, ‘why don’t you… hate me like the others?’ Your answer didn’t come late.

‘Because I know you better than they do. I know you didn’t mean it.’ Your voice was soothing, like the fireplace in winter. ‘I know you’d never do something like that. Never. I know that it was him that forced you.’

His heard clenched when you mentioned Thanos. ‘That madman…’ his voice quivered, ‘He tortured me to the brink of insanity. Took pleasure in watching me break.’ You pressed further into him. ‘I know,’ you repeated, ‘I know. And therefore I love you.’

His heart skipped a beat again. Looking down at you, he asked, his voice barely a whisper: ‘Do you know, or even have the slightest idea, what I’ve become?’

‘You’re the exact same as before, just… you know. Tortured and broken.’ You were uncertain when you said this. You knew he was sensitive on this topic. You knew him so well.

‘Do you know what I’ve done?’ he asked, his tone sinking drastically, as if he didn’t want to know the answer.

‘Well, yes.’ You replied again, trying to sound as reassuring as possible.

‘Do you know,’ he was fully shaking by now, ‘what monster lives inside me…?’

You lifted your head, staring into the depths of his eyes. The only things you found were sorrow, fear, and guilt. Choosing your words, you said:

‘Yes, and it’s a monster that was born out of darkness. And before that empty darkness, there was a heart, a source of light and warmth that lit up the whole place. You see, hearts need to be fed with love, otherwise they die away. That’s exactly what happened to yours.’ You traced your index finger over where his heart was, drawing a shaky breath out of him.

‘Without the heart, the place was submerged in darkness, and out of that darkness grew a monster. Something people despise. But all that it’s trying to do…’ you trailed off, bringing your hands off his waist to hold his, ‘is to not let anyone else grow a new heart in that blank, because it’s afraid that if it ever happens, it’ll be broken again.’ A second of silence reigned between you, your breathings heavy. Finally, he spoke.

‘Will you… grow me a new heart…?’ he asked, his eyes filled with plea, ‘Will you fill that unbearable blank?’

You answered without hesitation. ‘Yes, of course. And I’ll make sure it’ll never be broken ever again.’

Loki’s eyes glowed as you said this. It was as if someone had taken off the invisible weight weighing him down. He sighed in both relief and gratitude, bending down to kiss you. You returned his kiss, hungry for him.

‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered against your lips, his breath mixing with your own. ‘The pressure killed me. I couldn’t bear-‘ you shushed him, closing the distance between your lips once more. His heart lifted, rising up into his chest. It was just as you described. Your love and care made a new heart bloom in his chest.

‘I’m so damn glad I have you,’ he whispered again, his eyes closing, feeling you. ‘I must thank you. For everything. You made me feel… alive.’

You smiled. ‘But of course. It’s nice to have a friend, isn’t it?’

Hope you enjoyed it!

Tags: @vbecker10 @simplyholl @mischiefmaker615 @lokisgoodgirl

Tell me if you want to be in my taglist!

#loki #loki fanfiction #god of mischief #loki x reader #loki x reader angst #loki x you #loki marvel

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shuggymaniac · 9 days ago

Text

A continuation from this Imagine story AU

((Warning: this continuation has dark and disturbing themes to some please read with caution))

{Buggy’s POV}

He was scared, no… that’s putting it lightly. when Buggy found himself in a cage surrounded by other strangers who were in the same situation as him, he was terrified sh*tless.

He wanted to go back home, he wanted to cry and scream, but he stopped himself, well as best as a child can do when they are imprisoned, because he was sure that his Captain and the rest of the crew will find him and take him far away and back on the ship.

So imagine his growing fear when he was placed on the staged with many nobles looking at him as if he was one of the wonders of the world. But he didn’t let it get to him, he showed them all that he is not to be taken lightly, and that was by fighting the announcer and biting him, which made some nobles laugh others were afraid. But what made the room grow silence is when the announcer introduced Buggy as part of the Roger pirate, and Buggy screaming….

“Of course I am! And when my captain comes to save me he will burn this place to the ground with all of you in it!”

The announcer called a few workers to hold Buggy down and muzzle him because his deceleration scared the nobles. Except for one who found the boy really entertaining. When they started the auction only one noble raised the bet and to everyone’s surprise it the the Figarland’s only heir.

Shamrock Figarland.

The reason why he bought Buggy was because he was bored of children his age, they didn’t want to play fun games only order the servants to act the games for them, and he couldn’t hurt the other kids when they disrespected him, because in the end they were still nobles too. So when he saw Buggy, a boy his age, who claims to be part of one of the strongest pirates crew, and he isn’t scared to speak his mind and act his impulses, he decided then and there that Buggy shall be his new person toy Playmate.

The branding was hell Buggy got shot and slashed before but burned with an hot iron and not given any medicine to ease the pain was hell. He cried and screamed by the handlers told him to be quiet or his new masters would kill him. So Buggy swallowed his tears.

Buggy wasn’t a stupid kid, he was smart and he new that right now he was in a very dangerous situation that could lead him to be killed, according to the stories Gaban told him about celestial dragons is that they don’t care about anyone but themselves, that if they walked the street and heard someone cough they have the right to kill that person with the excuse that they cough offended them. So imagine what would happen to Buggy if he cursed that this red haired boy. Buggy would die the worst death possible.

But it was difficult for Buggy to hold his tongue because this spoiled brat seems to have it in him to push all of buggy’s buttons.

He would ask about Buggy’s pirate life as if he was no longer a pirate, or demand him to tell stories of his adventures and the islands he saw and finally he would tease Buggy the most by talk about his red nose. There were few times where he would slip and curse the boy out loud but thankfully he has bad hearing so Buggy would pretend that he said nothing.

Shamrock didn’t have bad hearing, he could hear every muttered insult that Buggy threw at him but he wasn’t offended that much to punish his new slave, at least not yet. Because from what his father told him if he doesn’t remind them of their place they would retaliate. But the red haired boy wasn’t ready to force Buggy to hide this part of him and make him act like all the mindless servants around here who’d comply to every order.

They were boring but Buggy wasn’t.

He still made Buggy serve him by ordering him to clean up his room or organize his study, which surprised Shamrock of how organized and tidy Buggy was, which only gave him the excuse to tease him further by saying how he can’t be a pirate with such manners. And that would trigger Buggy to brag about how he was raised by this man called Rayleigh who taught him how to clean and that cleanliness was important.

With time Shamrock realized he liked when Buggy bragged about himself, but not when he bragged about other people. He didn’t like how Buggy still spoke about how his captain Roger would find him and take him away. He can’t do that because Shamrock bought Buggy fair and square he has the papers to prove it but who is he kidding they were pirate they don’t care about the legal things they only care about stealing and he will make sure that Roger won’t steal Buggy away.

Shamrock realized that not only did he not like it when buggy talked about other people proudly but also when other people looked at him. During the play date which his father forces him to go to to make connections with young heirs like himself, they would have one look at Buggy show excitement about his unique appearance and then offer to by him from him.

He didn’t like that one bit Buggy was his. So he forced Buggy to wear clothes that showed the branding on his back that showed the family symbol. Forcing Buggy to remove his beanie and that is when Shamrock realized that he never saw Buggy’s hair. It was pretty, he would find himself thinking and then add it to the list of things he can use to tease Buggy with to gain a reaction.

Buggy would sleep in his room because he is tired of waiting for him to come from the slaves room, Buggy would shower regularly because he will not have his favorite toy playmate stink up the room especially while they are playing one of those games of the people like “wrestling” or “hide and seek”. Buggy would be wearing clothes that not only showed the family symbol but also clothes that matched Shamrock to show that Buggy belonged to him even further.

But doing all that was not enough he need to have Buggy more to himself. He cut him off from any other slave that tried to make friends with him, he looked him up in his personal chamber when he would go to family or personal meetings, to ensure Buggy doesn’t wander off.

And during one night, where Buggy yet again was forced to tell a story of his life as a pirate, did he realized it was the spark in Buggy’s that bothered him, that spark that shown every time Buggy spoke of Roger or any other pirate of his ship. The spark of hope of escaping him. It angered Shamrock and he decided that he needed to get rid of two things, Buggy’s hope of escaping and Buggy’s love for the sea.

The first thing was Buggy love for the sea, he needed Buggy to forget ever sailing again. And so when he learned about devil fruits and their ability to take away a person’s ability to swim he immediately needed one. That when he goes to another auction house and find it half destroyed when asked who did it the owner told his father that it was the Roger pirates and Shamrocks blood ran cold. Because at that moment he realized that Buggy was right, that he was indeed part of the Roger pirates and they are looking for him. But he will never give him buggy because again he was His.

((Reminder, they are still children in this part, so imagine Shamrock being the “mine” type of kid))

He buys a fruit not caring what it does and finds away to trick Buggy to eat it and then blame Buggy by saying how it was his own fault for eating it never revealing that it was his plan all along. And then emphasizes how Buggy can’t be a pirate anymore because he can’t swim, that the sea will rejects him and hate him, and Buggy being a young kid he believes it because he never met a pirate with a devil fruit power and none of the Roger pirates had devil fruits, which leads him to crying, and that awakens something in Shamrock.

He never saw Buggy cry, he was always this energetic and impulsive boy he shouldn’t cry, he should have fought back telling Shamrock that he was a liar that it doesn’t matter and he was still a pirate but Buggy didn’t do any of that, he just cried. And Shamrock didn’t know what to do, he just decided to sit beside Buggy and watch him as he covered his face and cried. It bothered him to see the blue haired boy cry but the thought that those tears were caused by the realization that he can’t sail away anymore brought him satisfaction.

Now to deal with the Roger pirates, it was been a years since Buggy became Shamrock’s slave and he can’t imagine a life without him anymore.

So using Buggy’s stories and the only piece of clothes that Buggy refused to give away, even protected it with his own body Shamrock made a plan but he needed his father’s help. He disguised his intentions by telling his father that this plan would stop the pirates from wrecking havoc and they would deemed heros in the eyes of the nobles. So the plan was to plant the beanie somewhere obvious in anew slave market that are sure would catch the pirates attention and make it seem that the boy is no more. That way they would stop attacking the nobles slave market and the marines would have a chance to catch in such vulnerable state.

But the problem is Buggy refused to let go of the beanie he guarded it like a hawk and when Shamrock tried snatch it away from Buggy the look of pure hate he got made him let go of the beanie followed by an unconscious apology. He didn’t like that, no he didn’t like that look at all, buggy looked at him angrily before but never with such pure hate. He didn’t like that look. So change of plan.

Buggy will come with them to the slave market and when the plan is in motion he would make it seem that Buggy dropped his hat and then drag him away with the excuse that there was no time. But it was as if fate itself is agreeing with Shamrock’s right to keep Buggy as his own because something happened.

Whole he and Buggy were exploring the market him and Buggy got separated temporarily and when he realized that Buggy was gone he found him in a cell being whipped by some celestial dragon. And that made Shamrock see red. How dare he hurt was was his! How dare this person whose family was below the fingarland touch what was obviously their property since the family symbol was in display, how dare he hurt His Buggy.

If he had his sword he would probably kill the man as he stands but he only could yell at him as he berates the noble of how dare he damage their family’s property. He was still a child so the celestial dragon didn’t take him seriously until his father, Saint Figarland Garling, showed himself and decided to have a proper talk about respect among ranks.

Shamrock didn’t care about that he wanted to see Buggy and it took him a while to realize that his beanie was not with him when asked about it Buggy told him how the celestial dragon tried to buy a little girl from her mother but Buggy stepped in and stopped him by making him fall and help the mother and daughter escape but he knew they couldn’t escape long so he decided to give the little girl his beanie because it reminded him of himself when he first came in as a slave and told them to escape before the guards caught him and took him away.

“I really loved that hat… but…I it was made for a pirate… and I’m… I”

Buggy fought back tears and he grew speechless only to be startled when Shamrock hugged him. Buggy was surprised and tried to fight Back but feeling his hold tighten buggy hesitantly hugged back thinking that they boy tried comforting him, but if Buggy could see the sinister smile that blasted on the red haired boy’s face he would think that, because the reason why Shamrock hugged Buggy was out of joy since his second step was almost done to make Buggy his.

The final blow to Buggy’s fragile hope of being saved by His captain came when Buggy was 15 years old. Unlike the other slaves Buggy had many privileges of being the favorite some of them in access to food and water, access to the library and he can wear fine clothes. And the other servants knew that and they never cross Buggy because the last person did died horribly for defying Shamrock’s favorite slave. There are some servants that Buggy won over with his Charm and kindness since he would share his privileges with some of them when he can.

And Shamrock didn’t mind as much, because at least Buggy had company when the red hair has to leave his home for days because his responsibilities grew with him, he needed to meet nobles, make a good reputation for himself and practice swordsmenship with his father so he barely had time to meet Buggy but when he did he would drag him to his room where he would demand him talk of every detail of what he did when Shamrock wasn’t around before he would fall asleep cuddling Buggy as if he was his favorite teddy bear.

That wasn’t the only thing that Changed, because of Buggy’s devil fruit ability he gave him an upgraded collar that marked his location at any time or place, had some small shocks that punish Buggy if he did or said something wrong, mostly to please his father and show that he isn’t too kind. And lastly Buggy collar has special sea stone that is activated at the push of a button to stop Buggy’s abilities, which Shamrock would leave it on when he is far away because he was still afraid that Buggy would still try to escape.

((Trigger warning: SH))

So imagine his shock when one day he got the news that Buggy went insane and locked himself in the bathroom and when opened it that found him covered in blood and half dead. Shamrock ran so fast to the infirmary where he found the doctors that are assigned for slaves appointing on Buggy and he screamed at them demanding the family personal doctor to do it instead. And the sight of Buggy scared him, he was pale, the cut on his forearms were deep and groesome and judging from the small cut around his neck he probably tried to slit his throat but was too weak to do so.

When Buggy became stable Shamrock demanded answers and the servants had none, only that Buggy was reading the newspaper and the suddenly started screaming and cursing before running away, when he saw the paper he read it. Roger was declared the king of the pirates and then retired from pirating and how the marines are looking for him. Shamrock was relived that he doesn’t have to worry about Roger anymore but why was Buggy so upset that he would try to take his own life.

When Buggy woke up he was disoriented and was babbling incoherent things, but then Shamrock understood that Buggy felt betrayed.

“He sailed the sea….. he sailed the entire grand line without me… h… He told me that we would do it together…. That I will draw the maps and discover and new world..he.. hehehehe… HAHAHAHAHA!!! F*CKING LIAR!!! He let me to rot here!! A fucking slave to some spoiled brat!! Hehehe! He never cared about me, everything he told me was bullshit, every promise, every speech, was all lies!!”

Again Shamrock held Buggy close, he hugged him as Buggy continued hitting him focusing the blame on him. But Shamrock wasn’t smiling he had a look of pure fear, because he almost lost Buggy, Buggy was almost no more. He was so broken from his captain and crew’s betrayal, the people he saw as family, that he wanted to end his life. And as Buggy fell asleep in his arms after tiring himself and from the medication he took. Shamrock swore to himself that he will never let Buggy take his life again even if he had to tie his hands and break his feet as long as buggy will continue to love by his side Shamrock will be content.

That is when the young red hair realized that this obsession for Buggy ran deeper than that of master and servants, he wanted Buggy to be close to him, like how a married couple do.

After Buggy had came to terms with his new conditions fully, that he will never go back to the sea, how he is now stuck as a slave forever he decided to use his title as a favorite and demand materials from Shamrock in order to make new clothes for his vision, he could have told Buggy that he can employ people for that but he looked to watch Buggy measure his own body and try in finished pieces of clothing but he was most enchanted when Buggy would try to put make up, the red color on his lips or the dark liner on his eyes made the young master experience new things…adult things.

When Buggy finally revealed his new goal he reveled himself as the court jester. How he will use his devil fruit ability and already talent with weapons to make shows to entertain people. Buggy knows that he doesn’t need to show his worth to stay because his master was to “attached” to let him go. But Buggy refused as he doesn’t want to set back and watch people come and go, especially at parties where his only job was to refill Shamrock’s cup or bring him food, which the red hair would get an earful of how he shouldn’t ask him personally that he had other servants but Shamrock insists that his drink and food taste better when Buggy gives it to him. Further teasing him.

The Buggy was a hit, the nobles adored the famous jester of the Figarland family, they would even ask Garling to host parties where Buggy was the center of attention. Which Shamrock hated so much.

Yes he loves to see Buggy preform, he loves to see his proud smile when he succeeds in a trick, but he doesn’t like the sounds of cheers that followed. He doesn’t like how the room felt crowded with everyone around. These tricks and acts were shown to him before anyone else! They were supposed to be for his eyes only! What drove him over the edge is when he overheard several noble family compliment Buggy’s beauty and saying suggestive things.

On that night not only did Shamrock decide that Buggy shall no longer preform in front of of anyone but himself but also decided that Buggy will be his lover. Which Buggy opposed too, all this time he thought what they had was simple friendship. But Shamrock manipulated Buggy’s thoughts and insecurities telling him how no one could care for him like he does how it was his love that allowed him to live such a lavish life and how he will make sure that Buggy will continue to live happily if he gave himself and his love to Shamrock…..

Or else he would have to look elsewhere….

The last part terrified Buggy as he doesn’t want to be abandoned again. So he reluctantly accepts to be Shamrock’s lover.

Everyone who knew the heir of the Figarland family personally would tell you how you should never disrespect his favorite jester. Don’t look at the jester for too long, or you’ll have your eyes plugged out. Don’t talk to the jester directly and if you did make sure you’re being respectful, because if you didn’t your tongue will be burned before they cut it out. Don’t compliment the jester too much because the the heir will be driven by jealousy and just kill you in the spot. All in all if the jester was in the same room as you make sure that you don’t upset him in anyway possible because it will be not only you but also everyone else you love life on the line.

Shamrock would take Buggy everywhere he goes. Meetings, training, eating, sleeping. Buggy would never leave his side and in the rare occasion where he has to leave Buggy he would appoint guard to watch over him so that Buggy can roam the palace freely without fear of anyone harming him or himself.

And he was content, well, if you made his father stop nagging him about taking a wife already, he would be content.

He did offer to marry Buggy but his father not only was pissed at his suggestion but also pointed out that he needs an heir that is connected by blood. Shamrock did some research and he found a devil user that could change a person’s gender, even if they were a pirate he could pay them to change Buggy’s gender so he can be able to bear him a family heir. Or he could just kill the devil fruit user search for the respawned fruit and force a servant to eat it so he can turn buggy from female to male on command.

Of course Buggy got pissed at him and threatened him to make his life a living hell if he tried to do such thing with him. But Sahmrock already decided, it would be best to keep Buggy by his side.

But he didn’t push it.

Like before he will take his time, find a way to manipulate Buggy’s thoughts so that in the end it would be his blue haired lover would come to him offering him as a spouse and future parent of their child.

And so he decided to travel and try gather informations about the pirate with the devil fruit and who better to ask than other high nobles and marines. Whom he can find them mostly in slave markets.

Life was perfect….

Until him and Buggy come a cross a person who had the same face as him but with a scare ordering him to release Buggy.

No, this was unacceptable

#shuggy #buggy the clown #red haired shanks #shamrock figarland

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sith-shenanigans · 8 months ago

Text

The thing about the Omelas story is that I don’t hate it, actually.

Don’t get me wrong. Usually, when I think about it, it drives me up a wall. I also—on the subject of responses to it—didn’t really like The Ones Who Stay And Fight. (Most of my reasons are said, better, in this article. Not the part about the tone, but that it shot for ambiguity and ended up in “somehow, the clearly magical power of child suffering made more sense than intolerance being a memetic virus that can only be solved through police murder.”) I’m fond of responding to trolley problems by asking who’s tying people to trolleys, and then insisting that it is morally relevant that someone tied those people to the tracks, because you wouldn’t be deciding who lives and who dies if someone hadn’t made the deliberate choice to put those people in mortal peril for no pressing reason.

(I like to think I’d save the five people. I think a lot of us would most likely panic and do something entirely unhelpful, and in practice, I have no idea if I’m one of them, because no one has ever tied anybody to a trolley track in front of me. It just hasn’t come up. But the ideal would be to save the five people. That’s not my answer in the organ-harvesting version, though, because it’s bad for everyone to live in a place where a surgeon can decide to kill you for your organs, no matter how many people doing it just this once would save.)

But I don’t dislike the story that Omelas came from. I don’t even dislike trolley problems, unless people are trying to insist that the context doesn’t matter. (The context always matters.) The problem is that everyone treats Omelas as a trolley problem. “Here’s a utopia where one innocent person has to suffer horribly. Is it worth it, to keep so many other people from suffering? Would you stay and be complicit, or would you walk out to go anywhere else?” The child is the central feature of Omelas, the only thing that matters. The child is nonnegotiable. You can’t rescue them, you can only walk away.

But the narrator did give us the chance to believe, before adding the child in.

Omelas is described to us as half place and half thought experiment, by a narrator that adds things as they go, a narrator that says this at close to the opening:

As they did without monarchy and slavery, so they also got on without the stock exchange, the advertisement, the secret police, and the bomb. Yet I repeat that these were not simple folk, not dulcet shepherds, noble savages, bland utopians. They were not less complex than us. The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist: a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain. If you can't lick 'em, join 'em. If it hurts, repeat it. But to praise despair is to condemn delight, to embrace violence is to lose hold of everything else. We have almost lost hold; we can no longer describe a happy man, nor make any celebration of joy.

And goes on, in the narrative, to consider the reader’s opinion, to ask what they’ll believe.

I wish I could convince you. Omelas sounds in my words like a city in a fairy tale, long ago and far away, once upon a time. Perhaps it would be best if you imagined it as your own fancy bids, assuming it will rise to the occasion, for certainly I cannot suit you all. For instance, how about technology? I think that there would be no cars or helicopters in and above the streets; this follows from the fact that the people of Omelas are happy people. Happiness is based on a just discrimination of what is necessary, what is neither necessary nor destructive, and what is destructive. In the middle category, however – that of the unnecessary but undestructive, that of comfort, luxury, exuberance, etc. – they could perfectly well have central heating, subway trains, washing machines, and all kinds of marvelous devices not yet invented here, floating light-sources, fuelless power, a cure for the common cold. Or they could have none of that: it doesn't matter. As you like it.

[…]

But even granted trains, I fear that Omelas so far strikes some of you as goody-goody. Smiles, bells, parades, horses, bleh. If so, please add an orgy. If an orgy would help, don't hesitate. […] Surely the beautiful nudes can just wander about, offering themselves like divine souffles to the hunger of the needy and the rapture of the flesh. Let them join the processions. Let tambourines be struck above the copulations, and the glory of desire be proclaimed upon the gongs, and (a not unimportant point) let the offspring of these delightful rituals be beloved and looked after by all. One thing I know there is none of in Omelas is guilt. But what else should there be?

Omelas is a story being told to a listener, a utopia being described; the reader is an implied participant in a conversation, the narrator reacting to what they said where the page couldn’t hear. And so, after all of that, the narrator says:

Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No? Then let me describe one more thing.

And the narrator goes on to describe the child, the terrible price, the self-justifications that people employ. Because the listener doesn’t accept the festival, the city, the joy—only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. So the narrator engages in “the treason of the artist” (if you can't lick 'em, join 'em) and regales us with the child’s sorry state.

[…] They know that they, like the child, are not free. They know compassion. It is the existence of the child, and their knowledge of its existence, that makes possible the nobility of their architecture, the poignancy of their music, the profundity of their science. It is because of the child that they are so gentle with children. They know that if the wretched one were not there snivelling in the dark, the other one, the flute-player, could make no joyful music as the young riders line up in their beauty for the race in the sunlight of the first morning of summer.

Now do you believe in them? Are they not more credible?

I don’t think we’re being asked, as readers, to consider whether it’s worth it, though it’s certainly something we can consider if we want. But the narrative seems quite clear that it isn’t: to praise despair is to condemn delight, to embrace violence is to lose hold of everything else. A description of Omelas, of why Omelas should be believed in, but how could that be anything but a condemnation of a city powered by a forsaken child?

And, of course, everyone wants to ask—why don’t we free the child, why don’t we comfort the child, why don’t we change things and take the risk of making everything worse? Why is the best thing we can do to walk away?

Because we needed the utopia to have suffering in it, to believe it. Because it couldn’t be real until there was a cost, a price, something cruel and unfair to balance out the scales. Something had to be wrong with Omelas, as the narrator spun it up before us. Yes, perhaps we could save the child, perhaps we could ruin everything, perhaps we could be heroes—wouldn’t that be nice? Wouldn’t that be the story we want, here, where someone is suffering and only we (who are of course more compassionate than everyone else) can fix it? That would make it a real utopia, if we could kick down the doors and fix everything ourselves.

But it would have been better to believe that Omelas could exist without someone suffering for it, when we were asked.

#'the suffering exists because we insist it has to happen' remains very relevant to the workings of our society.#io's rambling

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marlsswrites · 6 months ago

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Books and Red Hair

Ice skating AU, part 6!!

August 6th - words: 1109

First part Previous part

James would quite like to think he was extra welcome at a library, but that’s just not true. He’s clumsy, he knocks books over and can’t whisper to save his life. He’s always either too quiet or loud enough to get himself kicked out. Last time he came to this specific library, the local one to his university, he played full volume music on his AirPods - blissfully unaware that everyone around him could hear.

So how someone managed to get him back in here was a mystery, but here he is anyway.

He trailed behind Lily like a lost puppy, keeping his hands firmly to himself and not the bookshelves.

“James you look petrified.” Lily laughed out in a hushed tone.

“I’ve been told multiple times that I am severely not wanted here.” He hissed.

Lily blinked at him a few times, raising an eyebrow and flashed him an awfully unimpressed look. “What did you do?”

“Me, Rem, pads and Pete might have started a small fire in here last year.” He bit his lip to stop the smug smile from forming on his face, clearly the look still flamed alight in his eyes.

“Don’t look so proud.” She swatted his arm. “I only brought you here because you promised me a coffee after work.”

He and Lily worked in the same little record store down the street, well it used to be just records, now there’s comics, posters, collectables, CDs, everything like that honey. They’ll normally pop into a cafe after, treating themselves to a coffee before going home, but today Lily needed to grab some studying materials from the library.

“Stay here.” She said as she started to walk away.

“I’m not a child!” James protested.

“Sure!” She flashed a sarcastic smile over her shoulder as he went, leaving James with a frown on his face as he wandered through the tables of people studying, taking a seat at one of them without paying attention to anyone around him.

After about five minutes, he started to pick up some of the hushed whispering around him as the sound of a few people sitting in front of him hit his ears. Now he fiddled with the pages of the random book he’d swiped from the shelf and - innocently - eavesdropped after he swore he heard a voice he knew.

“Reg can you help?” A hushed female voice sounded after a few flicks of a page.

“Yeah.” A familiar voice responded. “One second Cas.”

His head slowly lifted, a smirk appearing on his face as he realised who had sat next to him.

“Hi.” He propped his head on his hands and drummed his fingers against his cheek.

The girl only gave him a confused look, she had dark shining skin, adorned with a couple of dainty tattoos and stacked jewellery that reminded him of the stuff that Lily likes to wear. But she wasn’t the one James was looking at.

“What are you doing in a library?” Regulus gave a raise of his eyebrow.

“Okay ouch, and actually I’m just waiting for my friend to finish finding - uh - whatever she needs.” He shrugged.

“So that’s why you’re reading The Great Gatsby - but specifically the blank page at the front?”

His eyes flicked down to the book, where the only words written were ‘The Great Gatsby.’

“It has some writing on it.” He proclaimed.

Regulus just hummed, no sign of emotion on his pale, blank face, yet it seemed to hold the world. His eyes like once grey clouds drowning in water, his skin as milky and smooth as a white silk pillowcase, his hair curled perfectly and dark as it hung around his face like Medusas snakes danced.

“I’m sorry, how do you two know each other?” The girl - Cas he thinks - interrupted. “Because I could swear that Regulus here doesn’t talk to anyone.”

“I talk to you!” Regulus bickered. “And Barty, Evan and Pandora.” He counted on his fingers.

“Four whole people.” Cas gasped.

Stifling a laugh, James simply watched as the two went back and fourth, clearly playfully as they argued. Still, Regulus looked beautiful with a scowl, even better with a smile though. Even better while he skated, face stoic and wondrous, face on full display and body moving like a puppet controlled by the god of love herself.

“And me.” James smiled and battered his eyelashes, Regulus pointed and nodded.

“You never answered my question.” Cas pondered, looking between the two boys suspiciously.

Stuttering out an answer, James realises he didn’t actually have just one.

“Tried to buy a book, stalked me, stalked me again, and is apparently friends with my brother and my coach’s son.”

“Hey now, I didn’t stalk you. I-“ But he cut himself off when he saw the slightly smiling face of Regulus Black - covered slightly by his baggy sleeve - but still there. The end of his pen was placed between his teeth and a silver glint on his tongue catching the sun and shining like the star the paler boy is.

“I know.” He shook his head, still smirking slightly as he moved the pen to his page, scribbling slightly and leaving James to stare at the way a ring was slid onto every single pale finger, shining bright and jewelled - as he said - like the star he is.

Stretches of comfortable quiet later, he felt a hand tap his arm as the silence surrounded him. “I’m done.” Lily smiled and held up the books and couple of bookmarks up with a squeal. “You owe me a coffee, let’s go.”

“Right.” He looked between the redhead and the other two, Regulus’ head still in his book but the once cal, expression had been covered by one of tension and thorns sharp as daggers. “Bye!” He waved as he and Lily left.

“Yeah, bye.” He heard dully before he walked away, the sunlight splashing in on him as soon as he stepped outside, blinding his eyes and burning into his skin.

“I bought my girlfriend this,” Lily waved up a little flowery pin that she’d picked up from the library store she’d insisted on looking in seconds beforehand. “Isn’t it adorable.”

“The cutest.” James winked with a smile.

Yet he still couldn’t get the anguished expression of a star from his mind, burning holes into the once bright irises of his eyes, stabbing into his once radiating heart. Oh what he would do to wipe it away with one quick swipe of love, leave that smile on his face that he seems to feel the need to hide.

Someone like Regulus Black shouldn’t be hidden, he’s much too special for that.

Next part

#I want to clarify that there will be no Lily Evans bashing!#it’s so bad that I have to say that.#Shes simply there to be one of james’ best friends and an icon #the gf is Mary btw!#also AHHH HIS STAR #marauders #jegulus #james potter #regulus black #james x regulus #jegulus microfic #sunseeker #regulus x james #starchaser #jegulus fic

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starlightshadowsworld · 5 months ago

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Bungou stray dogs except it’s not a bounty that’s placed on the tigers head. It’s a missing persons alert on Atsushi’s.

The story goes that a teenager was newly adopted that had either run away or been taken. A poor scared child who had an ability that he couldn’t control, please someone help him.

The kind, generous (and rich) Francis Fitzgerald who had previously lost a child now going out of his way to help another lost soul. Who wouldn’t eat up such a story, especially when they have no idea what he wants said child for.

The Agency takes the case because despite Fitzgerald being American, the teen and was adopted from an orphanage in Japan. Apparently he met the now Headmaster of the place many years ago on one of his adventures.

They’d stayed in touch and Fitzgerald had visited the place to meet up with his old friend. Which is where he met his now missing ward.

It all seems above board and yet Ranpo and Dazai sense something off.

Atsushi running away from visions of a tiger and seeing missing posters for himself. He doesn’t get it, he was kicked out he knows he was kicked out. Why are people looking for him?

He’s not sure who this man it says to return him too is. But Atsushi knows immediately that he’s dangerous. He starts to avoid the police along with what he believes is the tiger.

It’s part of why he doesn’t try to steal from anyone. Because he can’t and because if he does and he’s caught they’ll take him away. And Atsushi would rather be dead and free than alive in captivity.

But then he gives in and saves a man to rob him, who turns out to be a detective.

Dazai wordlessly convinces Kunikida to play dumb and though both tell Atsushi their profession they act like they know nothing about his case. Or that they’re the ones on it.

They convince Atsushi to stick around and get to know him. Dazai nullifies his ability so he doesn’t transform that night. Atsushi is subtly questioned and eventually he tells them everything.

That he doesn’t know who this man is. That he’s not adopted and he never was, he was kicked out. And it doesn’t take a Ranpo to know Atsushi’s telling the truth.

He still joins the Agency and Dazai goes off to the Port Mafia to do some digging. They are still after Atsushi, let’s say Fitzgerald still pays a large sum for the safety return of his ‘son.’

It’s not the Port Mafia’s usual job but money is money.

Everything goes semi smoothly until the man himself shows up at the Agency and is overjoyed to see Atsushi safe and sound. And demands he return with him, and lo and behold he has official adoption papers naming him Atsushi’s guardian.

And Atsushi’s signature is on them, it’s identical and doesn’t look to be forged. Legally there’s nothing the Agency can do and Atsushi is taken away.

Before he’s taken, Dazai promises him that they’ll figure this out. That Atsushi’s home is the Agency and it always will be. It hurts all of them to watch Atsushi, clearly terrified leave with this man.

And it’s only after he leaves that Dazai and Ranpo put it together that Fitzgerald is part of the Guild. A mysterious criminal organisation that doesn’t exist to the outside world.

So that’s why they wanted the Agencies special ability license, to make them legitimate and legal ti uphold this charade.

And they just let him walk out with Atsushi.

Atsushi who glares daggers at the man before him who smiles cruelly “oh don’t look at me like that boy you’ll break your father’s heart.” Fitzgerald says sarcastically and Atsushi only glares more, trying to free himself from his shackles.

“Shut up! You might have everyone fooled but you aren’t my dad!”

Fitzgerald chuckles “no but I’m probably a step up from him, aren’t I? After all, he abandoned you and I came back for you.”

“How do you….?”

“I know you. I know you were treated horribly by your parents. That the headmaster tried to kill you and how he did it. And I know you’ve got a powerful ability that will find the book I need.”

“You couldn’t just ask a librarian?” Scoffs Atsushi trying to hide his panic. Fitzgerald scoffs “again with the snark, you must get it from your mother.” His eyes glint dangerously as he walks up to the bars separating him and Atsushi.

“And no, you are the key to finding this particular book. Tell me or don’t, I’ll get you to show me where it if it’s the last thing I do.” It’s so casual it’s almost friendly and yet Atsushi knows he’s in trouble. He has no idea what Fitzgerald is talking about.

Fitzgerald grins, cold and amused and his next words could’ve made Atsushi’s heart stop.

“I hope you said goodbye to those friends of yours, because unless they’re fireproof it’ll be the last time you ever see them. And know that it’ll all be your fault.”

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd atsushi #bsd dazai #bsd ada #bsd armed detective agency #bsd fitzgerald

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carolperkinsexgirlfriend · 1 year ago

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Steddie Upside-Down AU Part 82

Part 1 Part 81

All Eddie wants to do is cling to his people and not let go. He wants to latch onto Steve, to Uncle Wayne, to Will, but Steve’s not Steve, and Wayne’s off with Mama Byers trying to get Owens to tell them what’s going on. So he sits, holding Will’s hand and does the thing he’s worst at: he waits.

He’s been pulling both their tethers to himself rhythmically, can’t help but make sure they’re both still there, even with the visual cues right in front of him. Will pulls back, each time with the same desperation. Steve doesn’t react at all.

He’s been staring at the door everyone walked through since it clicked shut and locked.

There’s still no fucking clock, but he could count the minutes by the blinking of Steve’s eyes, if only he could look at him.

Will’s curling further and further into Eddie, almost in his lap save for the bar separating their conjoined hospital chairs. It’s a move reminiscent of a much smaller child, but Eddie can’t blame him. There’s not much less to cling to.

His Mom’s off kicking ass, friends MIA out still living in the Right-Side-Up, and Steve’s staring at the door.

Eddie’s it, the last man standing.

So he sits, and waits, and clings right back.

Steve’s voice breaks up the quiet like a shot to the head.

“Something’s wrong.”

The last time Steve had said that, Hopper was buried six feet deep. The words hit with a jolt. Eddie and Will both sit, bolt-upright, finally looking Steve’s way.

“What?” Eddie demands, reaching out his hand toward Steve before settling it back down on his own knee and clenching down.

“I saw something.”

“You mean like with Chief Hopper?” Will asks.

Steve’s not looking at them, he’s still staring at the fucking door like neither of them had spoken at all. What if it is like Hop, and someone else has found themselves in a deep grave, unable to dig their way out?

“The shadows,” Steve says absently. “I think I know how to stop him.”

Unable to sit still anymore, Eddie drops from his chair, knees rioting against him as they smack into the linoleum. He knee-walks over to Steve, dignity lost somewhere in a hole in the dirt, and grabs Steve’s hand.

The skin turns pink immediately, painful and inflamed. Eddie doesn’t let go, reaches up up up to turn Steve’s cheek with his free hand, forcing Steve to finally look at him.

His cheek looks pink, like he’d been slapped when Eddie drops his hand, but his gaze burns hotter still. The thing that isn’t Steve looks down at Eddie like he’s nothing at all.

“How, Stevie?” Eddie begs, shuffling forward to get closer. “How do we stop him?”

Steve just watches.

“Sweetheart, please.”

Will gasps. Steve stares. Eddie’s crumbling in his foundation, made dust when Steve turns away to peer at the door.

It’s silent again.

Eddie can’t get up, can’t turn away, can’t look at whatever face Will’s making as he gets up from his chair to put his palm on the back of Eddie’s shoulder, gentle like he’s fragile.

Steve’s still staring at the door when it opens. Eddie doesn’t turn at its click, doesn’t do anything at all until Uncle Wayne calls, “kid?” quietly.

He doesn’t realize he’s crying until he turns his face up to Uncle Wayne’s call like a sunflower to the last bits of dying light and Wayne brushes the tears off his cheeks. “What happened?”

Eddie’s eyes drift back to Steve, who’s staring fixedly at Dr. Owens. “Stevie, he…” Eddie realizes he doesn’t know what to say, how to explain the way Steve’s vacant, flickering, empty.

He doesn’t have to. Even like this, Steve’s drawing attention away from Eddie’s weakness, sheltering him from words he doesn’t know how to say.

“The shadows,” Steve says, same words, same cadence, same vacancy, “I think I know how to stop him.” He’s like a stock character with a limited amount of dialogue options, stuck repeating the same lines over and over until someone engages in the right way.

A pit sinks into Eddie’s stomach as he watches not-Steve act like he wanted to help. But all he could feel from their bond is cold, cold, cold.

Part 83

Taglist: @deany-baby @estrellami-1 @altocumulustranslucidus @evillittleguy @carlprocastinator1000 @1-8oo-wtfbro @hallucinatedjosten @goodolefashionedloverboi @newtstabber @lunabyrd @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @manda-panda-monium @disrespectedgoatman @finntheehumaneater @ive-been-bamboozled @harringrieve @grimmfitzz @is-emily-real @dontstealmycake @angeldreamsoffanfic @a-couchpotato @5ammi90 @mac-attack19 @genderless-spoon @kas-eddie-munson @louismeds @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme @pansexuality-activated @ellietheasexylibrarian @nebulainajar @mightbeasleep @neonfruitbowl @beth--b @silenzioperso @best-selling-show @v3lv3tf0x @bookworm0690 @paintsplatteredandimperfect @wonderland-girl143-blog @nerdsconquerall @sharingisntkaren @canmargesimpson @bananahoneycomb

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #my fic #steddie upsidedown au #will byers

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