#be honest about what you think or what you want and tell someone beforehand you don’t want to upset them but you wanna still say something

[halfricanloveyou]

EXACTLY. the whole thought behind the “therapy speak” thing is that it was taught that “i feel that” statements come off as less accusatory than “you are” statements, and that it gives the other person you’re speaking to an opportunity to explain their intentions. it’s meant for people who aren’t trying to sound accusatory or like they’re trying to blame anybody when bringing up a concern or issue. it’s also supposed to help the other person you’re talking to to be less defensive.

the problem is that if you are being accusatory and blaming someone, how you start your sentence doesn’t matter. and to be honest, “i feel” statements have never really been all that effective. as someone who has always had communication difficulties i’ve been told this lots of times. it’s much much much more effective to just say “hey, i don’t wanna come off as sounding upset or like i’m blaming you, but it seems like…” that way if they DO feel your tone is accusatory they know you are not intentionally trying to make it sound that way.

the key is that you have to actually not want to upset or offend the other person and think something through before you talk to them, and then you have to genuinely want to care or listen to what they say in response. if you’re “feelings” won’t change than saying how you feel is just prioritizing yourself in any situation. and most people can tell when you aren’t going to listen to them.

my take on the whole “is therapy speak making us selfish” thing is no, it’s not. it’s just giving people who were already selfish some extremely annoying new vocabulary

[aayakashii]

For seven days (non-consecutive) I'll be posting Valentine's Day themed headcanons for each House in Tokyo Debunker!

All prompts come from this post here ♡

And dividers are from @saradika-graphics 🫶

Taglist: @wannaberecluse

Frostheim | Vagastrom | Jabberwock | Sinostra | Hotarubi | Obscuary | Mortkranken

Valentine's Day in Jabberwock

Haru

how does he show affection?

Through his touches and his words. Haru is extremely touchy, constantly squeezing you in a hug as soon as he sees you and always holding your hand. He likes to pinch your cheeks, boop your nose, and call you all sorts of cheesy nicknames. He's open with his affection and has no qualms with saying how much he's in love with you. Sunshine in human form.

does he like hugs? what are his hugs like?

LOVES hugs. Sometimes you need to remind him he spent hours under the sun, doing heavy work and he's SWEATY, because his base instinct when he sees you is to give the biggest bear hug. He even rubs his cheek against your hair while he talks about how much he wanted to see you and all the things he needs to show you.

is he good at flirting? how does he flirt?

He's good at that type of silly flirting where you can't help but be endeared by how goofy he is. He'll be saying things like "you know what's in the menu? 'Me n u' gyahaha!" while nudging you with his elbow. You may roll your eyes and slap your forehead, but you always give in to him in the end.

is he good at gift - giving or does he struggle to get it right?

He's kinda bad at it. It's best if you tell him what gifts you expect. Otherwise, he will give you some random home appliances that he wanted to buy all along and will use you as an excuse to get it. It's all in good heart, though, because he genuinely believes you'd like it as much as he does. Now, if you tell him what you'd like as a gift, he'll definitely get what you asked for.

is he quick or slow to give his heart away?

Quick. Haru thinks being in love is a great thing. Why make things difficult? He just walked up to you after he realized he was in love and let you know about it. If you don't feel the same, that's okay. He'd be sad for a little while, but life would go on. It's a good thing you feel exactly the same as him, huh?

does he find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

Very easy. He's very open with his emotions. When he's sad, he's openly sad. When he's angry, he's explicitly angry. When he's in love, he's gonna let you and the whole world know about it. There's no mystery to it.

does he get jealous in a relationship?

Not really. To be honest, Haru has a hard time noticing when someone might be taking a pass at you, so it usually flies over his head. And he feels very secure in his relationship with you because he trusts you the most. After all, you're his partner, so he's completely sure that you won't hurt him ever.

what is his ideal date?

Just spending the day with you without the burden of his whole House on his back. Jabberwock is constantly in Haru's mind, the animals, Towa, and Ren. He would love to have one day with you in which he didn't need to worry about anything. It doesn't matter what it is, he just wants to be fully present, with just you in his mind, for once in his life.

would he ask the big question or expect their partner to?

Haru will propose, but it's not due to him wanting to be the one who does it. It's just that he's impatient – if it depended on him, you two would be hitched from the very beginning. He just decided to wait a reasonable (not really) amount of time before popping the question so he wouldn't scare you

how does he feel about valentine’s day?

Great for creating a special Valentine's Day safari and getting some extra cash in Jabberwock’s empty vault. He tells you beforehand that he'll be busy due to the influx of people and apologize for not being able to spend all day with you. He'll give you special treatment if you visit him during the day though. (Offer yourself to help him with the tours and he'll basically cry out of happiness).

does he get protective easily?

Very much so, which is why you have a bunch of apps you've never seen before suddenly installed in your phone. Haru is busy, so he can't be constantly around you, but he makes up for it with the most obsessive surveillance known to man. If one of his apps beeps, alerting him that you might be in distress, he's immediately at your side (because he knows your location 24/7, obviously).

does he believe in true love?

Yes. He was always sure it existed all throughout the world, even if it never came to him. But once you two got together, he believes in it even more.

Towa

how does he show affection?

Through himself as a whole. Everything he does is a way to express his love for you. He's constantly hugging you, kissing you, giving you flowers, and looking into your eyes as if you're the prettiest human being he has ever seen. And during the night, he tells you exactly that.

does he like hugs? what are his hugs like?

Loves them. He always tackles you plenty of times per day, every day, in the tightest hugs known to man. He always leaves you breathless, with a few leaves stuck on your hair and clothes, and the earthy scent of wildflowers. He loves even more when you take the initiative and hug him first, though. It always ends up with him whining because you said that no, he can't just keep hugging you all day.

is he good at flirting? how does he flirt?

He's good, but it's not really intentional. Most times, when he wants something from you, he just explicitly says it, like saying he wants a kiss or attention. But then when you two are watching the stars and he looks at you and says you're cute, you can almost believe he knows exactly what he's doing.

is he good at gift - giving or does he struggle to get it right?

Well... Towa is just gonna give you flowers. He'll make offerings of all the prettiest flowers with the most romantic meanings, but it'll always be flowers. If you tell him you want something else, it probably won't work and he'll be pouting, thinking you don't like his offerings.

is he quick or slow to give his heart away?

Very quick. If he falls in love with you and decides you're his soulmate, he'll immediately let you know that you're his. There's no sense in dilly-dallying. Time apart from his soulmate is time wasted.

does he find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

Easy. Why would he think that he can't say 'I love you' to his partner? Isn't it the whole point? Avoiding his feelings is the last thing in his mind.

does he get jealous in a relationship?

He's jealousy personified, to the point that he might be an actual danger to your friends and colleagues. Towa hates when your attention isn't on him. He hates when someone tries to steal you away from him (aka a teacher required your presence while you were hanging out with Towa). It's a good thing that the stormy clouds are quickly dispelled just by having you back at his side.

what is his ideal date?

He has his ideal date with you every day. He just needs you, fully focused on him, laying down beside him under the starry sky. To make it even more perfect, maybe you two could be surrounded by his favorite flowers, but he's plenty satisfied with things as they are.

would he ask the big question or expect their partner to?

Surprisingly, he doesn't think too much about it. His fairytale-like dreams always stopped right when he found his destined partner and decided to live happily ever after. He never got to the wedding part of it all. You might be the one to ask first, and he's fine with it. If you want to make your bond even tighter, he's happy to oblige.

how does he feel about valentine’s day?

He knows about it. He thinks it's fun to see Kaito getting all flustered about being confessed to, but he genuinely thinks that's all that Valentine's Day is – a day to confess to crushes. Since you two are already together, he thinks it isn't important anymore. You have to explain to him that established couples also celebrate it, and as soon as he finds out, he'll be pouting. Why didn't you tell him beforehand?

does he get protective easily?

It comes with the awful jealousy. Everyone is a threat, everything could take you away from him. The only way to quell his worries is by letting him stay by your side 24/7. There's no other way around it.

does he believe in true love?

Of course. Otherwise, soulmates wouldn't exist. You two are proof of it.

Ren

how does he show affection?

Through his actions. He's bad with words and emotionally constipated, but he shows he cares for you through little actions he would never do with anyone else. He'd pick up medicine and food for you if you're sick; he'd quietly spend time with you if you need company; he'd try to make you play his games and watch his movies and do the same with yours. Textbook tsundere.

does he like hugs? what are his hugs like?

He acts and says that he hates them, but immediately sulks when you let him go and apologize for the sudden hug. He loves YOUR hugs, but no one else's. His hugs are awkward and stiff (he might even give you some pats on the back) but you make up for it with enthusiasm.

is he good at flirting? how does he flirt?

Terrible. Doesn't know what he's doing, can't flirt to save his life. Incapable of winking and would die before asking for a peck on the cheek. Most times, you're the one flustering him because even if you're bad at flirting, you're not as bad as he is.

is he good at gift - giving or does he struggle to get it right?

Kinda good, actually. He listens to you when you're talking about your hyperfixations, so he knows about your tastes. His gifts might not be very romantic, though, unless a Lego set or some rare doll you mentioned twice is romantic to you.

is he quick or slow to give his heart away?

SLOOOOOOWWW. Ren will deny his feelings for you until it is physically, mentally, spiritually, and metaphysically impossible to deny that he's madly in love. He'll be blushing, leaning towards you, looking at your lips with a hand over his racing heart, but he still has the gall to say that maybe he's just sick.

does he find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

Terribly hard. If he's that bad at admitting his feelings to himself, how would he admit his feelings for you? Again, he tries to compensate for all the times he can't voice his love openly through acts of service, but it's all very annoying and frustrating to him.

does he get jealous in a relationship?

It's a dangerous mix of jealousy and self-deprecation. He thinks you'd probably do better with someone who isn't a shut-in like him or someone actually in touch with their emotions. So, any little interaction between you and another person triggers his jealousy. He gets passive-aggressive and sulks until you finally get tired of his antics and slap his head to snap him out of it. Having a tsundere as a boyfriend isn't always cute after all.

what is his ideal date?

Just being able to spend time with you without Haru interrupting would be enough. He wants to have a date in which you two watch all your favorite movies together and eat the best snacks to your heart's content without being suddenly jumpscared by a red-headed man barging into the room.

would he ask the big question or expect their partner to?

He didn't even know he was going to date someone ever, so a wedding was out of question. Not that he minded, he always thought the ceremony sucked. However, now he feels like proposing to you first is a way to show you how much he cares and how much he genuinely loves you without using words. A ring to represent all the times words shouldn't have failed him.

how does he feel about valentine’s day?

Hates it. Ren thinks it's a capitalist holiday that wants to bleed couples dry of their money, not to mention that the atmosphere is awfully cringey and he would never be caught dead buying overpriced chocolate and ugly plushies. Well, that was until he started dating you (he still thinks all that but now he buys the things).

does he get protective easily?

Not really, because he usually feels like he needs protection as well, what with all the unfortunate events that tend to happen to him. He will try his best if you're in imminent danger, but during his day-to-day life, he just trusts in your capability to stay in one piece.

does he believe in true love?

CRINGE. he kinda does because of you

[kaciebello]

Too many voicemails

Masterlist Delivery Express ✿ Summary: The reader sees an opportunity to run an untapped market in Hogwarts.  Howlers are the worst thing that can be delivered. Warnings: disturbance in the library, one (1) use of horny joke, no use of y/n Authors note: English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes beforehand. I want to spread this into a one-shot series. They took away my yellow colouring of the text ┬─┬ノ(ಠ_ಠノ). I will riot. Proofread by me and me only (Ｔ▽Ｔ) • Previously: Wrong address, • Next part: Message cannot be sent word count: 1.1k

Notes to deliver: 679

A box with neatly placed envelopes slammed on the table making all the boys look up and then up to the familiar girl with a yellow bow in her hair. She received a few looks from the other kids in the library which she apologetically smiled at.

“What you got there?” Asked Lorenzo, leaning to see inside the box.

“Howlers.”

“Howlers?”

“Howlers.” A definitive nod from the girl. Leaning on the table over all the boys. They all look from their homework, waiting for her to continue but she does not.

“What are you doing with all of these?” Asks Draco, chewing on the end of his pencil. The girl just rolls her eyes.

“Delivering them, what else.” Her answer made Draco roll his eyes and pretends to return to his DADA homework. She just smiles. Lorenzo moves a bit so she can squeeze next to him.

“And you think bringing them to the library is a good idea?” Hissed Blasie, clearly not in the mood to get in trouble with the librarian. She just gives him a tight lip smile and titles her head to a side. 

“Where else?” She asks and puts her legs over Lorenzo's lap otherwise she risks falling from the bench. She just lifted her hand in stop motion before he could say anything else.

“I am just here to give Lorenzo Charms notes, I am not delivering anything to you,” She says and pulls out the said notes from her bag. Lorenzo's smile widens and grabs it from her. Theodor gives her a pointed look before trying to snatch the notes from Lorenzo, unsuccessfully. Lorenzo and the girl sway a bit but they manage to keep themself on the bench.

“Why does he get that privilege, hm?” He asks them. Pointing to the notes that are now lifted above Lorenzo's head. Draco tilted his head so he could read the visible portion before writing down whatever he could make out.

“ Because I like-�� “ Because Lorenzo helps her with broom riding.” Cuts her off Mattheo, who was now going through the many howlers sitting in the box. Although seems like he hasn't found anything interesting. Draco looks at her with a raised eyebrow. ‘ you can't ride the boom?’ leaves him amused. To her, it seemed like he was mocking her for not being able to ride the broom like the rest of them. Completely ignoring, in her mind, that they are all quidditch players. She just huffs and crosses her arms.

“Hey, you know what? If they all went off, we could easily sneak into the restricted section.” Says Mattheo completely oblivious to what he just revealed. The girl gets up and stands next to him, inching the box away from him slowly.

“How about we don't.” She says, not trusting the boy to not do without thinking. “ plus I think like 15 of these are from one girl, all to one boy. I'm gonna be honest I don't think I wanna hear that.” She finishes and pats Mattheo on the back

“I'm here for you if you need oral support- moral support, I mean moral support.” Says Mattheo, pulling her to a side hug.

“Just say you're horny and go.” Tells him Blasie with a disgusted face. Theodor just shakes his head at his antics. Mattheo just shrugs and lets go of the girl, unbored by their reactions. Going back to his seat. A book flies past them and they barely have time to dodge it.

“I swear, it's gonna kill someone one day.” Says Lorenzo looking at the books flying by.

“Like you haven't summoned like 5 books for the 3 hours we were here.” Argues Draco. Lorenzo did not even bother to react, instead talking to the girl.

“ What do you think it's in them?” He says and reaches for one of the envelopes. Snatching it before the girl could stop him. Opening it, it slipped from his hand and started floating above the table. The group watched like hawks. 

The envelope stayed silent for some time, terrible singing after that. A horrible attempt at the song ‘I Will Always Love You’ had the boys scrambling to shut the envelope up. Matheo managed to lay down on it and silenced it. Some people were looking at them, some with curiosity, some with annoyance. If looks could kill, there would be an empty table at the library right now.

Mattheo pulls it out from beneath him, thinking it is over. Once the envelope is free, it starts to sing again. Panic among all of them. Lorenzo almost knocked over the box but the girl luckily caught it. Blaise, seeming the one who was holding their shared brain cell, pulled out his wanted and set the envelope on fire. Again receiving some looks. Even the librarian was making her way up to stairs to check the commotion.

They all watched it burn, sinking into their seat in relief, before quickly spewing the ashes away. The girl quickly sat and squished herself next to Lorenzo and pretended to help him with his homework. The other followed her lead so that the librarian would not suspect it was them. None of them wanted to be kicked out of the library.

After some time, the air seemed less stuffed and they all felt like they could breathe again. Without much more time, the girl gets up and hurriedly takes the box in her hands.

“I'll go before you guys decide to cause trouble again.” She says giving them a judging look.

“ Hey don't blame all of us! We didn't collectively open the howler!” Defends Theodor. and points accusing Lorenzo, who looked shocked and offended his friend was throwing him under the bus.

“Yeah, but you didn't try to stop him either, did you.” 

“ Neither did you!” Draco chimes in. She could not argue with that, she didn't try at all. Shaking her head. She adjusted the box on her hands, as it was a bit heavy. Maybe she could have charmed it to just float behind her and follow her. It would certainly make the delivery much easier.

“It's better none of you are near these, ever.” She says making sure to point at the group with her finger.

The girl picked up her box, ready to be on her way. Accio was heard from somewhere in the library and a book flew right next to her head, startling her. She jumped up and the box flew out of her hands. With horror they all watched as it landed on the floor, realizing all the howlers inside. They all turned on. 50 howlers, going on in the library at the same time. She watched in horror as all eyes were on them. The boys knew what to do. They packed their bags with unwitnessed speed and book it. Lorenzo grabs her hand, making sure she follows them.

And honestly, they were right, it was an excellent distraction, and none of them made their way to the restricted sections.

Notes to deliver: 629

Tag list:

@daisiesformylove , @klimovatereza-blog , @lafrone , @enfppixie , @rafegfs , @frogtape , @lovelyygirl8 , @catiwinky, @anyam444 , @leeleecats , @ghostgardn , @reverse-soe , @ultramarinetovelvet , @jazz-berry @iwishigotswallowed

[sleepyangelkami]

Can you write a fic about ellie with a someone who just keeps talking and talking.. like maybe she talks fast and ellies trying to keep up but she can't..

YAP e.williams

 ☆ WORD COUNT - 1.6K

☆ SUMMARY - summary: ellie can usually handle your fast and consistent talking but tonight, after coming home from a long and late patrol, she tries her best and just... cant.

 ☆ WARNINGS - nothing really, sexual themes a little blink and it's gone, tinsey bit on insecurity not too much, tickling? reader is a yapper, petnames, fluff galoreee, intended lower case, nothing i write is ever proofread 🩷

todays patrol was painfully long. ellie was paired with some guy called max this evening so you sat inside you and ellie's shared home, feet warming up by the fire while you waited for her to finish. she was only supposed to be a couple of hours and if you were being honest, you think she actually came home early.

but you had so much to say that it felt like years before you saw your beautiful girlfriend walk in that front door.

when ellie walked in, she looked sort of tired but she still wore a grin sloppy and large. the sight of you, her pretty baby, sitting by the fire in your little shorts and a tank top along with your pink fluffy socks was enough to have her grinning from ear to ear.

the girl quickly set down her things, stating that she was going to change really fast and then she'd be out. you made sure to greet her with a big hug and a kiss beforehand so you had no problem with this, of course. while she was inside the bedroom you were fumbling with the loose string of your sock, wondering how much longer she was going to take.

"hi, angel." you heard causing you to look up from your sock, wide smile on display.

"hi, els." you waited for her to come closer. she was dressed in a black shirt that was loose on her along with a black pair of shorts with two white lines running down the sides. She moved to sit down next to you, placing you up on your lap. "have you talked to dina and jesse yet?"

ellie was too busy pressing little kisses to your neck. she placed her chin on your shoulder, looking up at you with furrowed brows. "not since this morning, why?" and you were secretly thankful for this. you wanted to tell her yourself, besides, you were always one for talking.

one of the many things ellie loved about you was how much you talked. when you first met ellie, you were like a gas bag that couldn't shut up. it was the nerves mixed with your already chatty personality that had words tumbling from your lips like wildfire. you weren't able to stop and being around her made it somehow more difficult. at first, it was the word vomit from your nervousness but now that you're so comfortable with ellie, you can't stop.

ellie didn't mind this, in fact, she loved it. she wasn't much of a talker herself sometimes. sometimes, all she wanted was to sit and be fucking quiet, you let her be that. you continued your little rambles and tangents while she listened with a sloppy grin on her face.

other times, you weren't so talkative.

like when she has her strap deep inside you and you're a babbling, incoherent mess. "c'mon, baby, tell me what you wanna say." she'd mumble against your ear knowing you can't. you'd be so fucked out that you couldn't even speak, just shaking your head and moaning out her name over and over, like a prayer sitting on your lips. She'd be so teasing too, smirk playing on her lips. "hm? can't hear you, angel."

now, though, there was a thousand words on your lips. "okay so―" suddenly you started babbling on, ellie's eyes widening slightly as her hands squished at the fat of your hips, craining her ears to listen.

"deep breaths, baby." she reminded once you got caught up on your words.

"thank you." you mumbled out, taking a breath before hastily moving on. "so then I was like, well i don't think he meant it that way―"

"wait, what did he do again?" ellie was tired, eyes sort of drooping but she wanted to hear your story even if she could barely understand you.

you stopped, mind trailing back to what she was asking you. there were so many words in your head that even you got caught up in the jumbles. "he put his hands on her hips, els." you reminded. "but i don't think he meant it in that way, there really was no room to get past!"

though the brunettes eyes were furrowed confusedly. "wait." stopping you again as you looked up at her with your big doe eyes. "whose hips did he grab again?" before asking. "we are talking about jesse still, arent we?"

"yes." you nodded. "and it was stephanie." taking note of her once again confused look. "you know stephanie, you did patrol with her a couple weeks ago."

she was so tired after patrol tonight, she was trying to stay alert, truly. "stephanie meadows?" because truly she didn't think she knew any other stephanie's.

"yes, els." you almost whined. "keep up." and she was trying, you knew she was trying.

you blabbered on again, mouth moving so fast that ellie could barely cling to certain words that slipped from it. she was trying to piece the story together as best she could. jesse had touched some girls hips, dina was angry, they were fighting and you were somehow pulled into the middle of this, somewhere along the story you were threatened with a spoon by dina who had asked you to pick a side, ellie thinks. weird though, because who threatens someone with a spoon?

though with dina's usual hot headedness and her anger just waiting to bubble over, ellie could believe it.

"but now they're okay again." you grinned, soft smile etched to your lips. ellie had to stammer back. "what's wrong?" somehow, the girl had been so wrapped up in thinking about if dina had truly threatened you with a spoon or if she had heard you wrong, she was sure she missed a good chunk of the story. which was odd seeing as she had merely let her mind wander for a couple of seconds before tuning back in. but by her face, you instantly knew what the problem was. you practically shrunk back from her face. "I was talking too much again, wasn't I?"

"no, no, not at all angel." she was quick to press a chaste kiss against your cheek, letting you know there was no reason to be insecure at all. "you know i'd listen to you talk forever if i could."

truth be told, you knew you talked a lot. you knew that once your mouth started moving, you never shut up. countless times you had sat next to ellie with tears streaming down your face as she held you close. you talked down on yourself, stating that you were like a gasbag waiting to explode to which ellie had to stifle a laugh at before kissing you softly. she'd push the hair from your face and make you look at her. she'd tell you that you talking was the equivalent of her peace. once your mouth started moving, her day officially started. and when it stopped, her day ended. you were her everything, she lived and breathed you and all of your talking.

"you know you don't have to." you mumbled, trying to ignore the way your face heated up at the feeling of her small kisses against your skin. "you can tell me when i'm too much."

too much, you've always felt like too much. you took up too much room, in friendships, relationships, family, anything really. you've always thought that there was too much of you, you wished you could just be quiet sometimes, allow other people to take up nearly as much room as you were. but tried as you must, you just couldn't. and that was because it wasn't you. you were always going to be too much.

"you're never too much f'me, sweet girl." she turned your head and pressed a kiss to your other cheek. "you're." pressing a kiss to your nose. "perfect." and finally, a kiss to the supple of your lips. "'m just a little tired, hard f'me to keep up." you nodded your head, taking in her words. "but i wanna hear you talk and i especially wanna know why dina was threatening you with spoons."

you giggled at that, lips turning upwards. "she didn't want me siding with jesse!" trying to defend your best friend. "she didn't mean it!"

"we'll see if she means it when i get my hands on her tomorrow." ellie's hands found your hips, scrunching her fingers to tickle you. you screeched, giggles falling from your lips as you pushed at her.

"ellie! stop! stop!" though there were laughs emitting your lips anyway as you fell backwards against the rug on your living room floor.

ellie didn't stop her attack on your poor innocent sides. "this'll teach her not to threaten my pretty baby with spoons again."

you were a laughing mess when ellie finally stopped her tickle attack, laying next to you on the carpet, ignoring the way her arms burned against the face of the fire. you couldn't contain the giggles that fell past your lips as you looked at the girl. "you're crazy!" you exclaimed.

her brows furrowed. "so, dina gets to threaten you with spoons which is just fine but i'm the crazy one?" you only giggled in response, ellie couldn't help the way her lips were permanently turned upwards. the sound of your laugh was the thing ellie was sure she'd die a happy woman to. the sight of your smile was completely and utterly captivating. she could stare at you forever. "tell me the story again, angel."

you couldn't say no to that offer. you sat up, hair bouncing as you did so. "okay, so―"

main masterlist/ellie's masterlist

[rebouks]

“What’re we doing here?”

Oscar shrugged casually, “Hanging out?”

Robin scoffed with what little joviality he could muster, “Yeah, right…”

Oscar paused and broke eye contact, staring at nothing in particular as Robin waited. It was usually fairly easy to ascertain the direction of a conversation before it even started, given that people tended to rehearse what they’d say beforehand, but not Oscar. His mind was simultaneously blank and fit to burst; he was making it up as he went along most of the time, but that was one of Robin’s favourite things about his father. It paved the way for genuine, on the fly honesty.

“Figured maybe you’d wanna talk-..” Oscar rubbed his temple, “Ask me whatever you want.”

“Really?”

“Yeah-.. within reason.”

“Why’d you do it?” Robin blurted out; his eyes full of unbridled curiosity, though his father wasn’t looking at him.

“Willpower is a finite resource, y’know? I had a shitty day and I caved-.. didn’t really think about it all that much, to be honest.”

“What do you mean?”

Oscar sighed, backtracking slightly as he realised that wasn’t exactly the honesty he was going for. “Well, it’s not that you don’t think about it-.. I thought about not doing it a bunch of times, but the second I decided otherwise, I went on autopilot and got it over with as soon as possible so I wouldn’t have to think about it anymore. Probably because thinking on it too hard is uncomfortable.”

“Where’d you go?”

Robin wouldn’t usually have to ask such a mundane question, but he’d struggled to fill in the blanks for himself. Oscar’s memories of the previous night were fuzzy and his thoughts sprawling.

“There.”

“The bar?”

Oscar nodded, still unable to meet his son’s gaze. “You remember it used to be a vet clinic, right? Your grandma ran it briefly, years ago-.. we lived in the flat above for a little while, when you were a baby.”

“I remember.”

Oscar sounded surprised. “You do?”

“Kinda-.. you’ve told me about it n’ stuff…”

Oscar shrugged a shoulder, supposing that’d make sense.

“You don’t have to feel so ashamed.” Robin ventured.

Oscar almost looked at Robin, though his gaze fell somewhere near his shoulder instead. How could a fourteen-year-old boy conjure such compassion? Such accuracy too. Shame.

Sometimes it felt as though he were talking to a man, not a boy. He was still a child, of course; arguing with his siblings over utter nonsense, playfighting, whinging about school and homework, leaving his dirty socks all over the place-.. but sometimes it felt like he understood much more than he should’ve. Oscar couldn’t imagine many people being so emotionally mature at thirty, never mind half as young.

“Dad…”

“I’m sure I’ll get over it-.. I always assumed I’d relapse at some point, but as the years went by, I guess I got complacent.”

“How’d it start? Like, did you just wake up one morning and realise it was an issue or..?”

Oscar shook his head slightly, running his thumb over his beard in thought. “Nah, it was slower, I just ignored it. I’d always been daft and over the top with stuff like that, partying n’ shit, y’know? It was like a crutch after a while though, and eventually, I needed it just to feel normal-.. went too far to feel nothing.”

Robin opened his mouth to speak, but Oscar wasn’t finished.

“You’ll probably get some stupid cop coming to your scout meetings or your school one day and they’ll stand there n’ tell you all about how drugs and alcohol are terrible or whatever, but it’s bollocks. Sure, they’re bad for you, but they feel good and that’s the problem. At least for me it was-.. is. It shouldn’t even be legal, really, not that it’d do much good if it wasn’t-.. it wouldn’t have stopped me, anyway.”

“I’d love to forbid you from going near it, but I’m sure you’ll all try it for yourselves one day. Maybe it’s just something to do, maybe it makes a boring night more fun, gives you the confidence to do something you’re scared of, talk to someone you’re shy around, I don’t know-.. you might hate it, you might not.”

“You hate that you still like it, don’t you?”

Oscar finally met Robin’s gaze as he nodded. “So much.” He wondered if he was making a mistake, being so open, but it was too late now and Robin had yet to balk or appear uncomfortable. If anything, he seemed concerned and intrigued, glad of the chance to ask whatever he wanted-.. not that he couldn’t usually, but the invitation was clearly welcome all the same.

“All your troubles just melt away, but they’re twice as bad when you wake up and doing it over again doesn’t solve much. It’s not the answer, Robin.”

“I know it’s not.”

Oscar’s frown softened as Robin slid beside him, threading an arm around his waist.

“You prefer being sober though, right?” he asked.

“Ah, that’s a loaded question…” Oscar sighed. “I prefer my life when I’m sober, but maybe a part of me will always crave that oblivion. It’s just something I have to live with.”

“Do you think you’ll do it again?”

“I don’t know, bud-..” Oscar admitted. “I’d like to say no but I don’t think I can make any promises, that’s not how it works.”

Robin nodded understandingly; he would’ve preferred it if his father could’ve made that promise, but a harsh truth was better than a hollow lie.

“They don’t mean much if you don’t keep em.” Oscar added.

“I get it-.. thanks for letting me ask you about it though, I know you’d rather keep it to yourself.”

“You’re still young but I know it’d drive you nuts otherwise. Besides, I don’t want it to feel like a dirty secret we can’t talk about, at least between us-.. might not wanna go telling all your friends your dad’s an alky though…”

Robin buried his face in the crook of Oscar’s shoulder and squeezed him tightly, desperate to convince his father that he didn’t think any less of him.

“Nah, they’re got enough ammunition.”

Oscar couldn’t help but snort at that. “I love you so much.”

“I know-.. I love you too.”

Robin said nothing a while as his father held him - or he held Oscar - only breaking the silence upon feeling his restless thoughts return.

“It’ll be the summer holiday’s soon, maybe we could go camping or something?”

Oscar smiled fondly. “Yeah, that’d be fun…”

Previous // Next

[temiizpalace]

☆┊I CAN KEEP A SECRET, CAN YOU?

SUMMARY: you were keeping a secret relationship with your lovely boyfriend. is he any good at it, and does the secret ever get revealed?

CHARACTERS: leona, floyd, jamil, kalim

GENRE: fluff

WARNINGS: none

reader gender is not mentioned, implied to be yuu

🦁┊LEONA KINGSCHOLAR

how good is he at hiding it? 6/10

leona is pretty okay at hiding this relationship.

he wasn’t one to flaunt off his relationship, so when you proposed to keep it a secret it wasn’t an issue to him.

however, there are some days where he needs to feel your touch.

and by that I mean just simply holding your hand through the hallway even after you protest.

one day someone hugged you in the middle of the hallway

with leona watching

and lions are very territorial.

he stomped over there, opened the boys arms, and took you away. bridal style.

he doesn’t think it’s such a big deal if people found out, so he thought it’d be fine if one or two people found out.

but then again.. you asked it to be a SECRET relationship for a reason.. so please excuse him as he gives a nice announcement to everybody in the room right now. he’ll be just a moment.

🦈┊FLOYD LEECH

how good is he at hiding it? 4/10

ehh? shrimpy wants to hide your relationship? whyyy?

he doesn’t really understand, but he’ll try his best.

to be honest, nobody can really tell. he’s squeezing you just like he’s squeezing everyone else.

it’s not exactly obvious, but not exactly hidden either.

he hangs out with you A LOT but others had just assumed you were his plaything til he got bored.

however, someone gave you a hug after you gave them notes for a class they missed. eel boy was pissed

he immediately yanked you out of the boys arms and into his instead. when you tried to push him off, he only tightened his grip.

rumors began to spread that you two were in a relationship, almost exposing it.

even threatening to squeeze everyone wasn’t enough.

he didn’t really get why he had to hide the relationship, but you did ask him to.. drastic measures must be done.

you both made a deal with azul (unfortunately), asking him to somehow keep everyone quiet about this.

he did it somehow. don’t ask how cause he won’t tell.

what was the trade off? congrats on your new temporary job for the next 5 months!

🐍┊JAMIL VIPER

how good is he at hiding it? 10/10

he’s on board with this idea. he doesn’t need to bring attention to himself

the overblot incident was already eye catching enough. he didnt need more people watching him.

he’s already hiding a lot of things, what’s one more? the relationship is not obvious at all.

nobody suspects a thing!

you both would talk in the halls at times, but most of the time he’s tending to kalim.

somebody hugged you after you showed them where the library was

jamil was in the library, WATCHING.

he wasn’t pleased with this. oh not at all. he didn’t want to cause a scene, but he didn’t like this one bit.

he walked over to where you were standing and tapped you on the shoulder.

he asked you if you could help him finish writing some notes he “forgot” to write.

he already finished everything, it was just an excuse to lead you away.

but just because he’s not showing any affection in the open, doesn’t mean he isn’t affectionate behind closed doors.

oh no, he makes up for that.

🦦┊KALIM AL ASIM

how good is he at hiding it? 3/10

another one who doesn’t understand why the relationship should stay hidden, but he’ll do the best he can.

like floyd, he acts like this to everybody so nobody really suspects a thing

until he accidentally gave you a kiss on the cheek in the middle of the hallway. it caused an uproar.

you both were bombarded with questions, trying to flee the scene but ultimately failing.

when you finally find a moment of peace, kalim apologized profusely.

he began to shower you in more gifts than he already did beforehand.

you’re practically drowning in expensive merchandise.

after some time, everyone had forgotten about it and you guys were able to stay on the down low.

someone hugged you after you found their missing notebook in one of the classrooms earlier that day.

he didn’t seem to mind it much. he’s happy you managed to help someone out!

however, kalim noticed you looked uncomfortable and shifted gears.

he ran over, smiling like he usually does, and pried you both apart. he cut himself into the conversation, leading the guy away so you could make your escape.

A/N: sorry sorry sorry for going missing!1!1! i had to write quite a number of essays lately

date written: 12/07/23

© temiizpalce — don’t steal or copy my work!

[justwinginglife]

More

25 Days of Simpmas: Day Four December 4th: Izumi Miyamura, Rank 22 Anime: Horimiya Event Masterlist

“Would you get a better hiding spot? You’re clearly not sick and this spot is mine.”

You’d come to the nurse’s office to avoid swimming in gym class, but unlike the clueless man beside you, you’d actually prepared a legitimate excuse. You had sprained your ankle on purpose -not enough to hinder your activities, but enough that the swelling would concern an adult- just hours beforehand and then spent the morning limping dramatically down the halls so that it would be someone else’s idea to send you to the nurse. 

When Miyamura showed up claiming a fever had overtaken him with nothing but a lame cough to back him up, you called bullshit immediately.

Miyamura, stunned you’d spoken to him, shyly peeked over at you on the neighboring bed. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” He mumbled meekly.

“Miyamura, right? Izumi Miyamura? That’s the name you gave the nurse- don’t tell me you also make up fake names as well as fake backstories.” 

Miyamura blushed. “That’s really my name.”

“Right. Well, Miyamura, you’re in a full tracksuit and it’s zipped up so high it’s practically cinching your throat; if you were really burning up, as you claim, wouldn’t you have taken off the jacket?”

Miyamura bit his lip and looked down, fidgeting with his thumbs so anxiously you almost felt bad for interrogating the guy.

“Are you… going to say something to the nurse?” He asked finally.

You sighed and laid back down on the bed. “No, of course not. If you’re here, laying low, it’s probably for a good reason and I won’t ask. But seriously, you need to get better at lying. And if someone comes in that’s actually injured, I’m not giving up my spot, so you better be ready to get kicked to the curb.”

A flicker of a smile appeared on his face. “Thanks. I… appreciate it.”

You sighed again, bothered by his mild demeanor. “You’re not even going to try and fight me for it?”

He shook his head. “It’s like you said. I’m not really sick. If someone comes in that needs the bed, I’ll leave. You’re hurt, you should stay.”

Even though you’d known he had been lying about his fever, you still hadn’t expected such a genuine and honest answer from him. It made your heart ache. Made you feel like you’d back up his lie to anyone. You cleared your throat, announcing loudly, “Nonsense, you’re clearly sick, anyone can see that.” Then you lowered your voice, “You can’t be saying stuff like that when we’re in the nurse’s office. If you’re gonna lie, stick to the lie.”

His eyes widened, surprised that you were helping him, but then he nodded understandingly. “Right. I’m sick. You’re right. I’m very very sick.”

You covered your mouth to muffle your giggles. Was this guy a stick in the mud? You’d never seen someone lie so horribly. 

He seemed to shrink further into the bed when he heard your stifled laughter. 

You sat up quickly to reassure him you had no ill intention. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, it’s just… we really have to work on your lying.” You couldn’t help but smile again, thinking about his awful acting. 

He blinked. “...we?”

“Yup. We. You’re stuck with me now, pal. I’ll cover your shitty lies any day.” You winked at him. 

He blushed and his eyes found the floor. “But why? Why would you help me?”

You shrugged. “I dunno. I guess you’re starting to grow on me or something.”

He seemed unsatisfied with that answer, his demeanor still rigid with caution as silence began to overtake the space between you two.

You contemplated how to get him to ease up. “I sprained my ankle on purpose,” You finally confessed, whispering your admission of guilt. 

His eyes widened. “You did what? Why?”

“Didn’t want to swim.” You said simply.

He looked like he wanted to press more but thought better of it.

Fuck it, I might as well tell him. I can practically hear the gears turning in his head, trying to figure it out. And the kid’s so shy, I highly doubt he’ll tell anyone. You started to strip off your jacket and he quickly averted his eyes, realizing what you were doing. God, he’s so cute, I wanna pinch his cheeks, you laughed to yourself. 

“Miyamura. You can look.” You revealed to him a series of tattoos marking up the length of your arm. “It’s my -well, now our- little secret.”

He stared at you stunned, and for a moment, you wondered if he even knew what tattoos were. Maybe he thought you took a sharpie to your arm and were just embarrassed of your art skills. You wanted to laugh again at the thought. Just how innocent was this boy?

Your thoughts ceased when he suddenly sat up and slowly stripped his jacket off, revealing his own tattoos.

Now it was your turn to be stunned. “You… know what tattoos are?”

His lips twitched, hinting at a smile. “Well yeah, I think I’m kinda showing proof that I know what tattoos are, don’t you think?” 

You shook your head. “I know, I know. You’re just… the last person I’d expect to have tattoos, wow.”

His eyes met yours and you were suddenly aware of just how blue they were. “And why’s that?”

“You just seem so… innocent.” You said, unable to come up with a better reason.

He stared at you silently and you thought you might’ve said the wrong thing. “I guess it depends on your definition.” He finally offered up. 

“Sorry, forget I said anything, I didn’t mean anything by it. I like them. They’re really cool.” You were eager to move on from your misstep.

He gave you a small smile and it made you wonder what a real smile would look like coming from him. “I like yours too.” He pulled his jacket back on and that was that. 

The nurse came by to check on you both, but by then, swimming had ended so Miyamura miraculously felt better. You knew better than to “heal” so quickly, so you feigned needing another period to rest, but Miyamura was already out the door before you could even properly say goodbye. 

You wondered if you’d scared him off. You hoped you hadn’t. It felt nice- sharing a secret with someone, and relating to them in a way only you could. And the more you thought about it, the more you wanted to get to know him. You wanted to ask why he’d chosen the design he’d chosen, what he was thinking when he got it. You wanted to ask if he would’ve liked swimming if it was anywhere else but at school. You wanted to ask if he’d have lunch with you.

You got your chance sooner than you thought you would.

When you finally limped back to class, you wondered how you never noticed that a certain dark-haired, blue-eyed boy sat in the back of your homeroom. But it was a fact you would not overlook again. You spun your tail of woe to the teacher about how you just couldn’t keep walking up to sit at the front of the class with your sprained ankle as bad as it was, and it would be so much more convenient for you to sit in the back of the class. Next to Miyamura. 

His seat partner did not fight you for it. 

In fact, now that you’d thought about it, it seemed like no one wanted to sit by him. Well, that would change today, because you wanted the seat and you wanted it desperately. 

“Hiya bestie.” You plopped down next to him eagerly. 

He coughed. “Bestie? Should… should you be saying that? I mean, people are looking at us.” He said warily. 

“And what’s wrong with that?” You questioned, nudging him with your elbow. 

He shrunk away from your touch (which only made you want to tease him more.) “They might… get the wrong idea about us.”

“What’s the wrong idea?” You leaned in, eager for his answer. 

He swallowed nervously. “I don’t know… that you’re… friends with me or something?”

You pouted. “And why can’t we be friends?”

His eyes widened. “You… want… to be friends?”

“I mean sure, for now,” You didn’t miss the way his shoulders sagged ever so slightly as you paused for dramatic effect, “But eventually, I want more. Maybe best friends.” You laughed, giving him a wink.

His heart stopped and he dropped his pencil. 

It rolled to the desk in front of him and the student sitting there wrinkled their nose, shifting their seat away from the fallen utensil. 

“Aren’t you gonna pick it up for him?” You demanded.

The student looked at you helplessly, expecting leniency, as though you should understand why they refused to touch his belongings. 

You leaned forward. “I don’t know if you heard, but I sprained my ankle this morning and it hurts pretty damn bad. Now, I will get up and pick up the pencil if I have to, but if I do, there will be hell to pay. So it’s your choice. Are you gonna get the goddamn pencil, or what?”

Miyamura started to get up out of his seat, “It’s fine, really, I can get it.” He spoke so softly it was almost a whisper and it damn near broke your heart.

You clamped a hand down on his arm and guided him back down to his chair. “Hey. No. It’s not fine. It’s common decency for someone to help you pick up something you dropped.” You glared at the student in front of him. “Right?” 

They nodded quickly and handed the pencil over. You hadn’t missed the fact that they chosen to hand the pencil to you instead of him, but you could pick your battles and poor Miyamura looked like he might shrivel up and die if this interaction continued so you took the pencil and returned it to Miyamura yourself.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. But I was serious earlier; I really would like for us to be close. Is that okay?” You hoped your voice was conveying as much sincerity as you felt. 

His fingers brushed yours as he took the pencil back from you. “Well… if you wouldn’t mind. Then sure. We can be… friends.” 

In that moment, Miyamura swore he’d never seen a bigger smile in his entire life and he wondered what on earth he did to deserve it, but he thought to himself that he wouldn’t mind seeing it a couple more times. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

He saw it every damn day. 

When you met him at the school gate, when you walked to your lockers together, when you studied together, when you shared lunch together, when you kept pace with him jogging around the school track because both of you had elected for running instead of swimming, you flashed that same warm smile at him every damn day and he was starting to think he couldn’t live without it anymore. 

“Ooh, my favorite!” Your eyes gleamed as you stole a meatball from his lunch. 

“Hey, what if that was my favorite?” He laughed, pinching your cheeks as you munched on his stolen goods. 

“Izumiiii-” You whined, batting his hand away, “You have, like, two other meatballs left; get your own.” 

He shook his head at you in mock disapproval, “You know, technically those were all ‘my own’ meatballs, right?”

“So what? I’m hungry, can’t help it.”

“And what if I’m hungry more?” He teased. Recently, he had taken it upon himself to start competing with you; every time you said you were something, he’d say he was more. If you said you were excited, he'd say he was excited more. If you said you were bored, he'd say he was bored more. If you said you were so famished that you could literally quit school right now, empty out your savings, buy a farm, raise a bunch of livestock in a matter of minutes, then roast them all over a spit and chow down on the entire lot of them because you were "Just. So. Starved," he'd say HE was going to quit school, empty out HIS savings, buy HIMSELF a farm, raise a bunch of livestock, roast them all over a spit, and chow down on them AND have room for seconds and thirds because he was starved MORE. And he would claim it was only because he liked to drive you crazy, but you knew he just liked to make you laugh, and boy did it work.

You let out a snort, lips curling into an amused grin. “Sharing is caring, Izumi.” Then you bat your eyelashes at him innocently, “Don’t you care about me?” You gave him your best, dramatic pout.

He chuckled. “You’re shameless, you know that?”

But that’s how you always were around him. Once you’d shared your secret with him, you didn’t know how to stop sharing parts of yourself with him. You’d share headphones and listen to music together, planning the next concert that you’d attend together. You’d share phone calls late into the night, giggling and whispering until the sun came up, and then complaining about who was tired and who was tired more. You’d share the walk home together and sometimes you’d even bike home together, riding on his handlebars regardless of the rules, and pointing out directions to him while he nestled his head atop your shoulder, trying to see over you. You even shared pain together, when you both decided to get matching tattoos, clutching each other’s hands for support like home was only found in the palm of the other. 

When you finally shared your feelings for each other, it was like the final piece of the puzzle fell into place; everything was just as it should be.  

“You still haven’t taught me how to lie yet.” Izumi teased.

“It’s a work-in progress! You don’t even know what a lie is, I’d have to start from the basics.”

“See, now that’s a lie because I do know what a lie is.”

You bowed dramatically. “Well then, O Great One, the floor is all yours. Please do enlighten me with what a lie sounds like.”

He took a step towards you, taking your hands in his.

“I-Izumi?” 

“Shh, hold on, I’m working on it.” He rested his forehead on yours. 

“Izumi??”

He took a deep breath. “Here’s my lie: I don’t love you, I don’t need you, I don’t utterly adore you, I don’t think about spending the rest of my life with you so much it consumes me.” He pulled back to find your gaze. “Well? How’d I do?”

Your gaze softened and you smiled at him, tears brimming in your eyes. “You still suck at it, I think maybe you should stick to telling the truth.”

He squeezed your hands. “I think maybe you’re right.” Then he pulled you closer to him, enveloping you in his arms. “I love you. So much.”

“Yeah? Well, I love you more.”

Taglist: @pixelcafe-network @minasfwoopyponytail @ouiouimochi @inkytypewriter

[l-in-the-light]

The most embarrassing series of posts about Lawlu you will ever read: edition post-Punk Hazard (part 4)

This one will definitely live up to it's title. The "love is a hurricane" tale continues~

Luffy again showing interest in what Torao is doing. This is already like third time he shows his unusual interest in him (and it will happen a couple more times in this post as well). He really wants to know more about him. Despite the fact he's usually sleeping through backstories of his own crewmates, like Nami. His unusual interest isn't because he doubts Law, we already know he deeply believes him to be a good person. No, this scene exists purely to show us how big and special interest Luffy has for Law. Luffy is also a bit concerned here, we saw the switch happen in Punk Hazard, from now on Luffy will also worry back for Law.

Someone's trolling Luffy here and it's not Usopp, lol. I wonder if this is how Law was as an older brother to Lammy, telling her fake tales just for amusement. He's a teasing older brother type, isn't he? And now all of that is directed towards Luffy. That's so sweet.

Luffy, you were supposed to tell them before, why are you telling them only now?! Take things a bit more seriously!

Law though is so displeased. Not only a hand was slammed into his arm (he secretly liked it despite everything), he was told to get along (he doesn't want to!), and Luffy disappointed him for not sharing about the alliance before.

But let's stop at the "get along" complaint for a bit. Luffy, you goofhead, you didn't introduce Law to your crew?? (and please, don't you know Luffy, ofc Luffy didn't do it "offscreen", this is Luffy we're talking about! He doesn't do introductions! At all!) Poor Law doesn't know their names! How is he supposed to get along with them?? You think Law would ask them about their names? Definitely not! Can you even imagine Law asking about anyone's name?? (yeah, I can't either lol) So to save up his face, he would have to utilize all that info he gathered beforehand (he already knew who they were all the way back at Sabaody after all!).

So he recognized Robin, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Chopper (and so is able to call them by their names, tho it's worth noting Sanji being a special case and referred to by his title), but he didn't apparently know about Brook, Franky or Usopp (because they got called Bone-ya, Robo-ya and Nose-ya instead of their names+ya). Brook got recruited in Thriller Bark so there wasn't any wanted poster for him back then in Sabaody, so that's understandable. There was one for Franky already, but before timeskip Franky looked completely different so Law didn't recognize him. And...

wait for it...

He didn't recognize Sniperking as Usopp that's why he became "Nose-ya". Yes, the joke lives on! LOL.

Oh Luffy, you really don't make Law's life easier for him, do you? And this way Law got exposed that he did research a bit about the Strawhats before, enough to memorize them. (I mean not like Bartolomeo, but... but! It kinda looks a bit like that here, doesn't it).

Law will get back at Luffy in Zou for that, no worries. Now you will never see the "Law didn't introduce his crew" in any other light from now on, haha. It was a payback. Luffy didn't care tho lol.

You don't have to believe me on that one, but you can't really deny it does sound suspiciously consistent, doesn't it? :3

Law: Why is everyone telling me that?

Also Sanji, we appreciate it, but you're a little bit late with that warning there lol.

To be honest, I think Law is actually perfectly aware of that, but at the same time he wouldn't mind to be called a friend anyway. He only minds it now because he wants to keep his distance and not form any attachments on his way. And doing poor job at it too.

Luffy looks so happy sitting there next to Law, he looks like he's having the best time in his life. He's probably having a lot of ideas of what to do together with Law now that they're friends in alliance. (many of which would not be met with Law's enthusiasm probably lol).

Luffy: Did you just say dinner will happen 5 times a day from now on??

Luffy's level of excitement here is absolutely stunning. And one more thing very important to note: remember how Luffy usually acts when someone yaps a lot? He might for example ask Nami about something difficult, but quickly loses interest with the answer. He often sleeps through explanations. But here? Law's got his full attention! The one who is actually napping through this is Brook, not Luffy. Luffy thinks Torao is cool and he *wants* to listen to him.

Law, where are you looking? Clearly at your favourite Mugiwara-ya grinning over there. His eyes are always tracking Luffy.

A moment later Luffy turns to see Kin and Zoro fight. Do you all think he noticed Law staring at him right there? You two need to stop being so cute. I can't even believe Oda actually drew a scene like that in shonen, even if he didn't make it obvious. I mean, look at it, Luffy's eyes are shining, I bet their eyes met. I told you all that One Piece is a story about love. Omg I'm disgusted with how this scene tugs on my heart right now. To be fair, I'm not even the first person to notice that Law is staring at Luffy there, I saw people pointing it out before.

Luffy: Hey look Law, we're famous!!

Law: But ofc we are, what do you mean?

Luffy is again trying to get any sort of reaction out of Law directed just for him (did he feel encouraged after he noticed Law staring at him the day before?). Luffy, please, stop, this is getting more and more embarrassing to watch you craving for Law's attention like this.

Law though always gives him that attention, curiously enough. There's not even one frame of Luffy calling out to him and Law just ignoring him. Which shouldn't be surprising, Law always seeks out Luffy as well, rarely with words, but at least with his stares.

In this regard, they're a really good match. Luffy wants to be pampered, and Law wants to pamper. I would usually say it's gross, but it's actually really heartwarming. They both get something out of it that they were both craving.

Law: Hey, am I not providing you with enough entertainment? Forget those boring fellas!

Someone's a bit jelly...

And Brook is again watching over them. God, I swear, it feels like he just *knows*.

Again, Luffy listening to Law talking. He would listen to him no matter what Law is saying, wouldn't he? Luffy is known for his terribly short attention span, but for Law he is capable of unusual feats.

(Also notice Law is always grabbing Caesar by his clothes, never in direct contact)

Time for the ransom call. I know that everyone is screaming there, but Law is suspiciously quiet, this is when he should be firm and confident, but instead he's just standing there. I think it means he was actually pretty anxious about this call, kinda taken aback (and it's not because of people screaming around, he had enough time to get used to that with the Strawhats, also usually it doesn't actually faze him). Luffy on the other hand is excited and thinks this is all super fun lol.

And then Luffy goes and takes over the call. Of course we all think he did it just because he's Luffy and that Law is displeased/angry here, but let's do uno reverse. I might turn your worldview upside down from this point on.

What if Luffy actually sensed Law's anxiety and decided he will help him? Luffy is after all really good at reading people's emotions, right? And of course he would want to help his beloved Torao.

Law looks displeased, but that's because of a sudden closeness. Those of you that followed my series on Law's fear of touch and closeness know what I mean. He can stand Luffy when he's close to him, but not out of a blue like that - he needs to brace himself first. That's why his first instinct here is to try to move away. Sure enough, right in the next moment we see Luffy holding the transponder, which means Law lets him do that actually. If he truly was so displeased and angry, he would have reacted faster to take it back or shouted at him.

Luffy's fuming here for no reason whatsover, Doflamingo didn't actually say anything bad to him yet (or at all really). Sure, Luffy got mad over Caesar, but the conversation already changed to something else, and Luffy is still showing an attitude. He's doing it for Law, isn't he.

Law meanwhile is just standing there, still not attempting to take the transponder back. He's not even trying or talking at all. This really doesn't support the idea of "he's so mad at Luffy for doing this", it actually seems to be the exact opposite: he's kinda overwhelmed here and was ever since Doflamingo picked up his call. Ofc he's also more and more distressed now, bracing himself mentally, because he knows he needs to do something and can't leave it all up to Luffy.

Law realized he needs to stop it, because Doflamingo is trying to bait Luffy, and everyone knows Luffy is weak to baits. In a way, stepping up just to prevent Luffy from getting into dangerous scenario, helped him overcome his own helplessness and anxiety. Luffy meanwhile indeed is losing it lol.

Let's look more closely to Law and Doflamingo's conversation here. Law is trying to make the talk very short, down to business and finish it off quickly. Doffy though stays confident and even tries to mock Law a little bit. It's almost like he's saying "Law, kid, you forgot to show me that my subordinate is fine, you need to step up your kidnapping game a little", he's kinda having this patronizing vibe here. "First step of a ransom call, remember? I taught you that myself".

Putting it all together can explain why Law is so anxious, he expected to hear Doflamingo all devastated, angry even after giving up warlord's title, instead Doflamingo is relaxed, mocking and confident, generally acting like he has the upper hand here. Law is worried, did he miss something, because this is not how it should look like, and he is right. Also he can't stand Doflamingo's confident tone, it's most likely making him feel weak, remembering the past. In their fight in Dressrosa Law will try his best to overcome this feeling by mocking Doflamingo back, but right here he was surprised and unprepared. He probably felt again like a kid, still part of Doflamingo's family, and Doffy's mocking tone like a mentor/parental figure scolding his clumsy subordinate truly added salt to the wound.

Law grits his teeth and continues, attempting to finish the call as soon as possible, full of bad feelings. And this is when Luffy snaps back to reality, gasping and reminding himself "I need to help Torao!" and so he does, by doing actually the best thing possible: cutting off the call.

This seems not-canon to you I bet, but I truly think Luffy tried to actually support Law here and it DID work in the end.

Of course Strawhats don't catch up to it and think Luffy just straightup ruined everything, but look at Law's reaction here. He's suddenly calm and does not blame Luffy for anything, in fact, he goes as far as to declare this is all fine. Would he really say something like that if he was truly angry? No, of course not, we have seen him angry everytime he truly believes his plan was just kicked out of the window by a Strawhat Luffy. This is simply not the case here.

Law is still looking pretty anxious there, probably thinking over multiple scenarios in his head. What did he miss? Why is Doflamingo so confident? This is crucial, after all it's not only about his own safety, but safety of Luffy and his crew.

Luffy meanwhile shows his interest in Law again, wanting to know about Law's adventures. He's probably trying to make Law think of something else instead of overworrying, put his mind off of it. Luffy really sticks with his resolve here of taking care of Law as well.

Also it's ultimately cute how Law is mechanically correcting Luffy on the name of the island (helpfully pointing out only the part he got wrong so it's a shorter word to remember for Luffy, awww), but he does it without even an exclamation mark there. He's not angry or irritated about it. In fact, it just shows he understands Luffy has problem with long and complicated words. He probably knows that's the reason he became "Torao" as well. He gets it, he accepts it, in fact he has no problem with it whatsoever.

Even when distressed and lost in his thoughts Law makes sure to still respond to Luffy when he asks something from him, and Luffy this time uses it to bring him out of his thoughts instead of just seeking attention.

Luffy: Yay, so if Torao has never before been to that island, it means we will have an adventure together! And not just one, there's no way I will let you leave me right afterwards. We're so gonna do more adventures! Dressrosa and Wano! Two adventures with Torao!

Law: This isn't an adventure, be serious!! Our lives are on the line!!

Luffy: Breakfast time!

Law: Breakfast time! *gasp* fuck!

Someone got caught up in someone else's pace. 1:0 for Luffy, he did manage to make Trafalgar Law take a break from his worrying.

Now to understand Law's exaggerated reaction here as something more than just a comedy moment we need to first elaborate a bit on the chapter's title that sets the tone between Doflamingo-Luffy-Law interactions and honestly spans through the whole of Dressrosa arc. This is chapter 700 titled "his pace", the next round chapter is 800 which wraps up Dressrosa. Chapters with round numbers tend to have a huge impact on the whole storyline happening (because Oda really loves his number games).

"Pace" from the title means someone dictating how fast the events are going or swaying things to move in their preferred fashion. Doflamingo does it in this snail talk by playing confident and trying to bait Luffy and undermine Law's confidence. Later he also showers his subordinates with compliments so they will do what he asks them to do - that's also setting pace by keeping everyone in line.

Law's pace in this chapter (and in whole of post-punk hazard transition) was him spiraling the things to move where he wants them, his first snail talk with Doffy was just Law having an overwhelming victory over him. Then through the span of one night things move very fast exactly towards the result Law wanted (Doflamingo resigning from warlord's position). Law usually doesn't use his power of controlling pace to make people do what he wants (unlike Doffy), that's not his style, they're just forced to stick for the ride, but he always leaves liberty in their own hands. For example, when he told Luffy to kidnap Caesar or assemble back Kinemon, he didn't tell them exactly step by step how they should do it: instead he left it to their judgement. In other words, he tells them what to do but not *how* to do stuff, he instead trusts in their ability to figure it out on their own.

And then we have Luffy, who selfishly chooses islands they visit and what enemies they're fighting, so he's also "setting the pace" for others. He controls it to a minimum as well like Law, he just makes sure to take care of the biggest danger himself and trusts the others to do whatever they want, he gives them freedom. His crew do their best out of their own free will to deserve Luffy's trust, every chess piece on the board moves according to what they believe is right, so Luffy's board isn't actually a game of one vs one, but instead of one versus many, because every player has as much liberty as Luffy has.

In this chapter Law lost to Doflamingo's pace, but restored himself, and lost to Luffy's pace and this time declared defeat. Doflamingo won against Law, almost won against Luffy, but then Luffy defeated him in one neat swipe. And why? Because Luffy actually wasn't playing alone, Law and Luffy supported each other there. So in the end Doflamingo lost to both of them.

You think Law didn't take a defeat against Luffy here? Then let's rewind back:

Remember this scene? Law was amused that Smoker would even think that Law can overpace Luffy (after all Luffy punched Caesar instead of kidnapping him and did a feast instead of leaving immediately), but he wasn't going to always allow Luffy to do that. Here he declares he's gonna set the pace and make Luffy follow his plan. He does it because it's neccessary or he won't be able to protect him, but also because of his petty pride or "saving up face", if you prefer that term here. He's not gonna just sit there and let Luffy do everything he wants and wait for him to finish off enemies. Law is throwing a challenge, he's gonna compete with Luffy in that regard.

But before they even reach Dressrosa Law already declares his defeat. Let me show you how: remember how he always loses his hat when he's losing?

Like here. Or in Dressrosa, or Winner Island.

Wait, where's his hat here? And this is the next frame after Law's big comical "gasp" moment, when he got dragged into Luffy's pace of "enough worrying, time for breakfast!". Yep, he knew he lost there, allowed himself to loosen up and took off his hat by himself as a sign of his defeat and Luffy's victory. But that's also because he's just a good mannered boy who knows you don't eat with your hat on.

It truly is a 1:0 for Luffy and Law is actually okay with that (losing to Luffy's pace is actually not a negative experience, because Luffy doesn't manipulate people with evil agenda in mind, like Doflamingo. He did it only because he wants Law to relax). And this sets up how the events went on in Dressrosa.

Also can I just point out that all it took for Luffy to sway him was to declare with a smile "Yay adventure with Law! Can't wait! And now breakfast!" and Law was already dragged into his pace? I mean... Law, Luffy didn't even do anything special. He was just basically himself there. Law's so smitten with him that it's all it took, honestly. Of course the support he got on that call from him also counted into that, but Law didn't declare defeat then yet, after all he also supported Luffy back in that call.

In later arcs Law will still attempt to be petty about this ongoing "competition", not wanting to leave it all up to Luffy, lol. He migth have lost once, but the war is ongoing! He's such a petty loser, I adore that flaw in him.

Luffy butting-in, making sure Kinemon doesn't just steal Law away for the Wano adventure. Hey, I'm gonna be part of that adventure as well!

Law's attempt to stop him there is really miserable. He can't bring himself up to deny Luffy when he sounds so happy, huh. My heart can't take it.

Law's already back to worrying again haha. His neverending journey of worrying when together with Luffy continues! Let it never end honestly.

He's also conflicted, because everytime Luffy acts so excited he thinks back to Lammy, as she was the exactly same energetic type of a person as Luffy haha.

i don't think Luffy gets it that this time around he's only making Law worry more and not less, awww.

That's all for now. Dressrosa will come up next (I might take a break from this series to answer some asks first :D). I hope you enjoyed seeing this chapter through different lens, it's fine if you still prefer it as just a comedy moment of Luffy acting like a complete menace and Law regretting his life choices. I think it's neat that the manga supports actually both interpretations, one on more casual level and the other more in-depth.

There is something I want to share about World Seeker Law's dlc, it's not really a spoiler, just one line that Law says that relates to the previous part of this series of posts (if you want to skip it then just don't read from now on! There's nothing more to this post afterwards).

This is what Law says in the game. I know that games are not considered 100% canon, but Oda DID work on both World Seeker and Odyssey, and honestly many lines and overall feeling of the game goes along with the canon. Law's complicated relation to closeness is definitely a part of this DLC, for example.

And here he says he doesn't mind what people actually call him! He never complained about "Torao" when Luffy called him this way, not even once. But he does make this one sour face when Nami does that as well. Makes one really think why is this such a special case for him, doesn't it? :D Again, he wants it to be a special name only from Luffy, doesn't he.

[aishangotome]

[Ring Schwartz] I Can't Return to a Time Before You Part 2

(Now...what should I talk about with Ring?)

(...Huh?)

While I was thinking about what to say, Ring had gone on ahead.

Kate: Ring! Wait for me!

Ring: !?!? Why are you so far behind...?

I hurriedly chased after Ring, and he quickly turned back. We ended up side-by-side again, halfway between the distance that had opened up.

Kate: Our strides are different, so I seem to fall behind. I'll be careful.

Ring: No, I should have adjusted to yours. ...My bad.

Ring: A-anyway, hold onto my arm.

Kate: Thank you.

Ring: Actually...I was hoping you would hold my arm when we met up.

Kate: Is that what the sudden warm-up exercise was about?

Ring: Yeah. ...If it meant leaving you behind, I should have just had you grab my arm sooner.

Ring: I'm not acting like a lover at all. Even though Dari ordered me to...

Kate: We're both failing at acting like lovers, so don't worry about it.

Kate: Is there anything else you wanted to say but couldn't?

Ring: Yes. About your...clothes.

Ring: "Your outfit today is really nice. It suits you, little Robin."

Ring: "Where did you find that bracelet? I want to get a matching one."

Kate: Huh...?

Ring: "The design of your collar is playful and nice. It really shows your personality. And..."...

Kate: Um...are those your own words, Ring?

Ring had started complimenting me so fluently, it was like his previous awkwardness was a lie. I couldn't help but interrupt.

Ring: ...Y-you're sharp. As expected of a member of Crown...I can't let my guard down.

(It's not that I'm sharp, it's more like Ring is being too unnatural...)

Ring: Actually...Nica taught me some compliments so I could act more like a lover.

Kate: Oh, I see...! I'm happy you prepared beforehand. But...

Ring: "But?"

Kate: I want to hear your own words, Ring.

Kate: Would you really compliment your lover with someone else's words?

Ring: I-I wouldn't do that...I think.

Ring: A-anyway, I'll think of some compliments now, so wait for me.

Kate: ...If you can't think of anything, you don't have to force yourself to compliment me, okay?

Ring: No, I really do think your clothes are nice... uh, well...

He earnestly took my opinion to heart and tried to respond. It was impossible to dislike him...

(You can do it...!)

I silently cheered Ring on in my heart.

Ring: Your clothes today are...fluttery and fluffy... and I think they're c-cute.

Ring: Like the purple Hardenbergia flower...the calm color is...reassuring to look at.

The compliments he squeezed out after taking his time were halting.

But they struck me much harder than any borrowed words could.

Kate: I never would have thought to compare the color of my clothes to a Hardenbergia flower! I'm happy.

Ring: ...! I-is that so... That's good.

Kate: You're quite knowledgeable about flowers, Ring?

Ring: Ah, yes... I should be more knowledgeable about them than other things.

Kate: There are a few flower beds along the way to the Scala Theater.

Kate: If you'd like, could you tell me what kind of flowers are planted there?

Ring: ...If it's something I can answer.

-

From then on, Ring taught me about the flowers blooming along the way...

Perhaps thanks to that, by the time we arrived at Piccadilly, Ring's nervousness had lessened considerably.

Ring: ...It's almost showtime. We arrived at just the right time.

Kate: Yes, we did! The Scala Theater is just up ahead. Let's go.

(...He's still a bit awkward, but I feel like we can at least talk more naturally than this morning.)

Ring is wary of me and sometimes says alarming things...

But he's an honest person who can't lie and listens sincerely to what I have to say.

That's probably why I can interact with him naturally without feeling tense.

(I'm looking forward to seeing the play too. I wonder how Ring will react?)

(...Huh?)

Ring: ...Wh-why did you suddenly stop?

Kate: E-excuse me. There's something I want to check... Come with me, Ring!

I pulled Ring's arm and headed towards an alley in the opposite direction of the Scala Theater.

-

Ring: ...What business do you have in an alley like this?

Kate: Lately, there have been child abduction cases, and I saw someone who looked like the suspect who's on the run...

Kate: Ah... That's him!

I lowered my voice and pointed to the man lurking in the shadows of the alley.

Kate: It might be a case of mistaken identity, so I want to talk to him discreetly, but––

It was right in the middle of explaining the situation to Ring.

Perhaps she wandered in by mistake, but a little girl came into the alley... And at that moment, the man moved.

(Oh...!)

The man crept up to the girl and pressed a cloth he was holding to her mouth. It seemed like he made her smell some kind of chemical.

He expertly stuffed the limp girl into a bag and tried to leave.

Kate: Ring, let's go after him!

Ring: ...No, we need to get Dari's judgment before we pursue him.

Kate: What...? But, a kidnapping is happening right in front of us!? We have to help her now!

Ring: I've been ordered to bring you back safely today. I'm not allowed to take any other action without permission.

Ring: If we get involved in some strange incident, it would mean defying Dari's orders.

Ring: I understand you want to help, but we have to report to Dari first.

(A crime is happening right before our eyes, what is Ring saying...?)

Just a moment ago, I judged Ring to be an honest person who couldn't lie.

That's precisely why I know his words now are also true.

In other words... Ring has no intention of stopping the crime.

The person named Ring Schwartz, whom I thought I was beginning to understand, is becoming a stranger to me.

Kate: ...U-understood. In that case, I'll chase after the criminal myself!

Ring: H-hey...!

.

.

.

Premium Ending

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[writingseaslugs]

Octavinelle: When They're Sick

To all my Emetophobes out there...this does reference the thing but isn't described. They got food poisoning, but as someone with emetophobia it won't be heavily in this...at all. This is your warning though that if even slight mentions trigger you, go away. Floyd is probably the worst one of the bunch, so my apologies. I stan the man but we all know he can’t take care of himself.

Disclaimer: All characters in this series are aged up. For more information about my version of this world and the type of reader you can expect, please click the “Au Information” below!

Request Information | Masterlist | Au Information

Octavinelle: When They’re Sick

You’d think that by now the members of Octavinelle would’ve learned that when Jade brought back a new mushroom to cook with, they should let him try it first. Of course Jade knew this, and oftentimes wouldn’t mention it was something new he found. This caused the two people closest to him to get that beautiful thing known as food poisoning. Not the most glamorous of sicknesses, but it was what they got for eating something that Jade made without questioning him more. Misery does love company it would seem.

Azul Ashengrotto

Azul is honestly mortified at the thought that he’s sick, especially with something like food poisoning. He refuses to accept it even though he clearly has it. He tells himself it’s just a bit of nausea and that’s all. That is until later when he’s chilling in the bathroom and he realizes maybe it wasn’t just nausea. This isn’t going to stop him though, he has too much work to do at the lounge so he’ll put up with it in order to get things done.

Initially he will be refusing any form of help. He is at his most vulnerable and disgusting moment in life and doesn’t want to be seen. He can delete photos of his past, but he can’t delete your memories of what you’ll witness. You’re going to have to force him to let you help him out one way or another because let’s be honest, something like food poisoning is going to put our poor, dear Azul out of commission for a while.

The moment you shine that beautiful bottle of twisted wonderland’s version of pepto in his face he’s grabbing it and hoarding it away. He’s not even going to question it as he pours the serving size into the little cup they give and downs it in one go. He might turn a bit green at the taste but he’ll keep it down in front of you.

Azul will originally be kindly denying any and all food until he’s confident he can keep something down. Even then, it can only be something bland. Unseasoned fish with rice will be his go to in this situation and he’ll thank you for making it. He will be questioning if Jade got to the dish beforehand, so reassure him that the culprit of his downfall didn’t touch it. He’s going to eat super slow and stop a few times to make sure it’s settling in his stomach, but once he knows he can eat he’ll actually eat.

He will be asking to form a contract with you. Something simple, you get whatever you want and in return, you can’t physically speak of what you witnessed. He’s desperate after having you see him that sick and he will be stressing about you possibly making fun of him. He’ll be playing it off cool, but inside he is absolutely dying. Just sign the contract and ask for something simple, like a free soda on Mondays at the lounge. It’ll be less stressful on him even though he has nothing to worry about with you.

Jade Leech

Jade knows he screwed up the moment he felt his stomach protesting. Honestly it’s not the worst he’s done when experimenting with mushrooms. He’s not hallucinating this time, so that’s a bonus. Still, he hates that disgusting feeling of nausea settling in him and he might become significantly more grouchy and ask to be alone. He’ll find a room away from Floyd while he’s sick just so nobody can interact with him. He’s more moody due to his own failings, and his normal cool demeanor goes away a little bit.

He’s going to try and be nice about it in his own way, mainly when he’s telling you to leave him alone. He won’t out right snap at you, that’s not what he does, but the frown on his face as he tells you that he doesn’t want to have any visitors is enough of a hint. If you nudge him some more and let him know you just want to help by getting him a few things he’ll need, he might let up due to not having the energy to argue back. As long as you make yourself sparse, he’ll allow it. 

Jade has no issues with the medicines you bring him, but he will be reading the bottles thoroughly to make sure it isn’t something that might kill him. He doesn’t often get sick and this is the first time dealing with something like this while on land, so the medication they use is different. You might have to just pour him a shot and hand it to him or else he’ll be spending too long checking over things instead of just taking it. He’ll thank you though, so that’s a bonus.

He’s going to wait until his stomach stops flipping before he eats anything. He’s a firm believer in the BRAT diet after researching it and will only eat the things listed on it. Get him some apple sauce and a cut up banana to start things off. If he’s well enough to eat that means he’s finally getting back to normal. He’ll carry out a conversation with you at this point and not be forcing you out of the room. He might even thank you for helping him out despite his…testy attitude.

Once he’s better he’ll be fully back to normal and probably not discuss the incident too much. He’ll thank you of course, but after that he’ll act like it never happened. It’s probably for the best, he’d rather not have anyone around him when vulnerable like that, so having you take care of him was already something that was hard for him to accept. Easier to forget about it…if not for Floyd always bringing it up.

Floyd Leech

He is one of the most dramatic people when he’s sick, which is saying something. Unlike the others, he really doesn’t want to be alone. The moment he realizes what Jade did, he’s going to be overly emotional. He’s also not going to be listening to his body until it’s too late, which normally leads him to clinging onto a trash can on his bed with tears in his eyes because he didn’t realize he was about to be sick until five seconds before it happened. It’s also violent…very violent. It’s better to not be in the room and clear out.

If you’re brave enough to help him, you need to have a strong stomach and not have emetophobia. He’s not the one to run to the toilet so you’ll be having to take out a lot of trash bags while he’s sick. He also, for some ungodly reason, wants to cuddle while he’s sick. It’s not suggested, not just for his breath but there’s a chance if he’s curled up with you then he won’t have enough reaction time. So simply tell him to lay down and not get sick everywhere. Plus side is if you do have emetophobia, you can probably string Jade into cleaning up for his brother as long as he’s not sick as well.

He hates medicine, and he’s worse than a child. He wants to feel better, sure, but he doesn’t want to take gross medicine. You’re going to have to pop the medicine into a fridge to make it not taste as bad and then try and convince him that it’ll taste fine. If you lie to him he promises he’ll get you back once he’s better. Really he should be fine with taking medicine if he takes the potion to have legs, but he swears it’s only because he’s used to the other one’s bad taste. Plug his nose and force it down his throat if you have to.

Floyd only has two moods when he has food poisoning: he’s either going to eat whatever he wants and his body will force eject it ten minutes later, or he simply refuses to touch anything. Give him bland foods and monitor how fast he’s eating it. Best to just bring really small plates out for him so he doesn’t try to down it all in one go, if he’s even willing to eat. He’s a difficult patient to please.

Once he’s better, expect the world’s clingiest eel to ever exist. He’ll be wanting to go everywhere with you and thanking you for being such a good nurse. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t sleep for two days because you were making sure he was fine, he’s going to be wanting to spend every minute he has with you now. If you’re really that tired then he will just take a nap with you. Just…good luck getting away from him after he’s recovered. He likes to be taken care of and spoiled; he’ll almost be disappointed he’s better which is probably why he’s hanging around you right after. Anytime you turn and ask him how he’s feeling he gets all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

[galaxy-fleur]

Based on this ask about Dad!Leon being protective of his daughter dating, you've also mentioned bad company. If possible, could you elaborate or make a hc on it?

Also expanding more on it, imagine if his daughter lost their v card while being out w her friends/collegues/classmates and was staying out overnight (she already told him she'll be out w friends for quite a while) and just came back home and acted as if nothing happened

Thx 😊

No problem! So, as I've said before, I personally don't see Leon having all that many anxieties over the prospect of his kid starting a dating life by itself. Including his daughter. He'd be happy to learn that she found someone who makes her happy! Getting controlling and restricting her from pursuing anyone just isn't something he would do. He does have anxiety over her getting involved with bad people, though.

He won't get angry, nor would he be super imposing with his kid's partner. But he will be cautious and itching to get to know them as a person. To make sure they're a good kid. In an ideal world where he has a close and trusting relationship with his daughter, they'll just share a conversation on that. It's important to him to know that she is fully honest with him on these types of things, that she won't hide anything from him if she needs help or feels stuck on something.

He needs to know that she'll trust him to protect her if she ever needs it.

Young love can be tumultuous, to say the least. And yet, it's an experience he wouldn't wish to rob her of, even if it brings strong emotions, including the not so happy ones. He just doesn't want her to get hurt. Or, worse yet, taken advantage of.

Leon is not scared of his child starting a dating life, he's scared of them getting hurt and not telling him about it. Or getting in danger without his knowledge.

And as for the second half of your ask, I don't think he'd have any issues if he got notified beforehand? I do see him as a type of parent to call his kid once or twice while they are out, just to make sure they're ok, but nothing more than that. (Even if he does have the itch to call every hour sometimes) He'd be eager to hear all about it when she's back home, asking if she had fun, what did she do, who was there with her, ect. It'll be out of genuine interest, not paranoia. Even if he can be annoying with his nosiness.

That said, if his daughter decides to bring up her first time with him for whatever reason, he might fumble a bit. Mostly because he gets sort of... awkward on these topics and has no idea what to hell to say. Slow blinks, mouth opening and closing, palms rubbing together - the whole package. He's clumsy with it, but he will get his shit together once he sees that his reaction made her feel embarassed. He does want her to trust him, and he wants to be of help with whatever she needs, even if he doesn't really know how to go about it. He'll get there.

However her first time went, I don't see him being judgemental or upset about it. He was young once, too. If it wasn't that great of an experience for whatever reason, he's there to offer comfort and reassure that that's completely normal and she shouldn't feel bad about that. You don't cook your first perfect omelet at first try, do you? And, heck, his first time wasn't anything to write home about, either. He might even tell a funny story on that to make her laugh and cheer her up a bit.

If she feels scared or uncomfortable for whatever reason, he's there for her, too. A warm hug, a cup of hot cocoa and an emergency trip for a plan B pill - he'll cover it all, no questions asked if she's not willing to open up. He just wants to make his girl feel safe and okay. That's the most important thing of all. The questions will come later when she's feeling ready for them.

That said, a lecture on using protection is definitely in store, and I'm afraid it's going to be a bad one. But hey, he means well.

He might be somewhat clumsy, but he does come through when he needs to.

[juvenillia]

hey hi Jules! i love ur writing... dopom is simply amazing and i cant wait to see where the story is going now ❤️❤️

so i saw that ur kinda taking reqs so i wanted to ask what do u think how the 141 (+ Konig) would react to a reader who moved on from them? maybe a bit hurt/comfort yk

i hope ur fine with such a request, love ya ❤️

Hey there anon and sorry for coming back to your request that late, but tbh you request fitted my one shot for Ghost so damn perfectly that I wanted to finish that one beforehand so I could shamelessly promote it with your request another time, so thanks for your request and your love for DoPoM!! I love you!!! (that fic is my baby and I literally can’t wait to show you where the story will lead soon, atm I’m writing the big plot twist for the story but pssst)

Moving On [headcanon]

a/n: Maybe I got carried away, but I hope you still like it. Still I think it's not my best work. No matter what the reason of your breakup was, the man you love/d wasn’t happy about it. Still those men have really different ways to deal with the breakup and aftermath. In my head the obvious reason for the breakup would be that they want you to be happy, that they can’t bear the thought of the continuous angst and worry you must live through because of them. Maybe also a bit of jealousy, or maybe you decided to go because you couldn’t keep up with the longing and lonely nights anymore. Let’s be honest, dating one of those men would be heartbreaking and thrilling at the same time, you’d need nerves and patience like the soldier they are. It’s not for the weak.

tw/cw: slight mentions of suggestive content, toxic behavior, depression, guilt and more

Characters: Soap, Price, Ghost, Gaz, König

》Master Post《

Johnny – Patience/Eagerness – Would simply not stop being your partner. Yes, you broke up, but why should he leave your side? He denies the thought that you don’t need him because he knows you do. He’ll make sure to show you that you are indeed in no need of any other man than him in your life. Will keep referring to you as his significant other anywhere he goes. Will keep the cute polaroid of you in the pocket of his tactical vest. You need someone to help set up your new ikea bed in your new flat? He’ll be there in no time to lend a helping hand. You try to turn his favors down, but he reminds you anytime: “We’re still friends bonnie, aren’t we?” and he’s right. You couldn’t just shove him out of your life, he means too much to you after the years spent with him. And don’t let me get started of the idea that you’d go out with a new man and the date went horribly wrong. Johnny would make sure to lend you a shoulder for you to cry on. Stroking your hair, reassuring you that no matter what he would never leave your side. Not pushing you to far out of your comfort zone. Maybe he starts to accept that you both are simply friends now, very close friends. But anytime he asks you about your latest attempt to date someone new and you tell him how bad that guy treated you, a new glimpse of hope is added to his heart that still is beating only for you. He would love to scream at you that if you’re willing to try he would be the man carrying you to the altar in no time. But he knows you need to see it for yourself that he still is the right choice for you and he’s willing to wait for you to open your eyes.

Price – Jealousy/Possessiveness – But not in the bad-bad way, only a so much that it’s still kinda attractive you know? This man will let you go because he knows it’s for the best, but he won’t leave your life. He is confident enough to think that you won’t find anything better than him. He shared everything with you, and he knows everything about you. You’re going out with your girls, he will be at the same bar, scaring away any man that only dares to look at you for too long. You will once a week get a bouquet of your favorite flowers with a little handwritten note. Nothing more than a little compliment like “Pretty flowers for the pretty Mrs.” and you know that handwriting too well. Anytime you manage to hook up with someone new, he would be there too. Catching your glance, walking past you with a little “That’s my replacement, love? You can do better than that…” Only mumbled so you’re the only one to hear it. He won’t force you into anything back but makes sure that whenever you try to forget about him, he’s right there to shove his presence back into your head and heart. He doesn’t ask you out, he wants you to come back to him. And after a long time, and many bad dates you eventually realize that you won’t get happy with a different man. So, when you get weak and crawl back to him, he’s going to make sure to show you how much he missed you, and that no man would make you feel like he��s able to. And believe me, he’s making sure you won’t leave another time.

Ghost – Anger/Guilt – He does understand why you left, always tells himself that you’re better off without him, still he feels so much anger inside of him. Anger aimed towards himself. He is angry that he couldn’t be the best version of himself around him. Angry that he couldn’t be the man you needed; you deserved, what sends him into a downward spiral of guilt. Guilty of everything you gave up for being with him, guilty about everything you invested into that relationship, just to break every string off. Just to discard you out of his life, because he knows better than anyone that you deserve better than him. Still, he feels the pure selfishness in wanting you back in his arms. He would straight forward tell you how he feels at this point. Knowing that he isn’t the best to talk about his feelings but knowing that he has to try his best to get you back. So expect something like “I would do anything to get ya back.”  You were the only thing giving him a place looking forward to return to and finally rest, how could he give up to that? The only thing that convinces him to keep out of your life would be the realization that you really are happier with another person. And if you’re interested in that even more I recommend reading 》 happier 《 my one-shot about that exact storyline.

Kyle – Grief/Shock – Can’t handle the breakup and is devasted. He locks himself up, doesn’t talk with anyone about it. He wouldn’t try to talk you into staying with him, because he loves you too much to try to force something on you. His mind is always circling around all the things that might have prevented that outcome. Everything eats him up. He leaves your life without a trace for you to take. Not wanting to get in your way. Still, he makes a private fake Instagram account to still be able to have an insight of your life. When he notices that you started dating a new man his heart breaks again. The last bits of hope for a shared future shattered into million pieces. You were his person, there won’t be anything he could do about it. Nothing could convince him otherwise, but he sees that you seem happy with the new guy, so he learns to live with the pain in his chest. Is laying between the memories you shared and will always hold onto them. Maybe at some point found the courage to tell you, that he’s happy for you new relationship and that he is still grateful for everything you went through with him. But he really didn’t expect an invitation for your wedding to land in his mail. Still, he goes, because he knows it makes you happy. Seeing you in the white dress, kissing your now husband, it really makes him tear up, still he’s forcing a smile onto his lips as he tells you, that he can’t stay long because of duty. You gave him a quick hug, thank him for his coming with the same sweet smile he fell in love back then. “I missed that smile a lot.” He admits and leaves your life completely afterwards. Still, the sight of you in that dress haunts him at night, knowing that you’ll never be his.

König – Denial/Pity – Hear me out, I do believe he would straight up say no. Like you tell him you want to break up with him and he is just like. “Aber nein, mein Mäuschen [Well, no, my little mouse] You don’t want that.” You are not allowed to leave him, sure he is reasonable and will talk things out with you, but you won’t be able to leave him so easily. Promising that he’ll do better, that he’ll change. He knows you better than anyone and will try everything to keep you in his life. You’d need to leave him when he’s deployed, the only time he couldn’t hold you back. So, when at someday you’re out with a new guy he finally steps in. Wrapping his arm around your waist, glaring at the man in front of you. “Do you really thought I’d let you go?” he mocks and strokes your side gentle. He sees how you still melt under his touch, because he knows that he had ruined you for any other man. He knows that you only wanted him, so he openly shows his pity for that poor guy that never really had a chance in the first place. But also, the pity he feels when he sees how hard you try to move on from him. He would never deny your desire, so he takes you back and reassures you once more, that he loves you and that you don’t need to leave him. That he will always come back to you, no matter what. You’re his reason he fights and survive.

[jeonscatalyst]

I keep thinking about the billboard eyes debate about who's eyes it could be & the theories, if it could be him really revealing his future partner like Taeyang did, who he seems to have taken a lot of inspiration from on Muse. The more I think about it, I'm leaning toward the eyes being someone "WE" the fans are familiar with, that he has some kind of public relationship with already, because putting some random girl or guys eyes he's dating behind the scenes, that we aren't familiar with, never seen him with, wouldn't make sense to reveal it this way, like I'm with this person you have never seen with me, here are their eyeballs, so you can stop shipping me with so and so, when all it does is add more confusion. You know what I mean. I don't think he would go through that trouble to publicly announce on a billboard in a video seen by millions to introduce his real "stranger" partner that way, UNLESS there was already some familiarity there already that he knew fans would pick up on and recognize. It would be basically introducing a complete stranger to the world as your partner in a very cryptic way since its just their eyeballs. You would probably just go the natural way first before doing something big like that, like start going out with them publicly or publicly linking yourself to them, to ease people in like the way Tae did and was dropping hints about him and jennie even before the hacker exposed him. Like testing waters Following jennie and then going out with her in public to Jeju and being spotted with her even before the leaks happened and then after the leaks both wearing the same clothes and couple jewelry from the picture, before eventually going public together in paris. This is why I think if jimin was trying to announce who his heart belongs too this way, then most likely it makes sense for it to be someone people are already familiar with. Someone he knows people are familiar with, someone he had been dropping hints with beforehand. And well I can name someone who fits that role right now, because we seen it for years, but esp this past year. Does this make sense to anyone else, cause I don't see Jimin waking up and saying "my GF or BF" no one has ever seen with me, I think I'm just gonna add their eyes on a billboard, they won't be confused at all. Probably not the best plan since the majority of people think its Jk's eyes, even non believers. And def not the brightest plan, esp going from billboard eyes dropping, straight into AYS cause that only convinced people more its Jk's eyes with all that flirting and tension we saw. And if those ain't JK's eyes. Well you gotta feel sorry for that person after AYS, cause that ain't your man. Sorry. Just saying.

Hey anon,

I think we are putting a lot of thought into those billboards eyes to be honest. Is it possible that those eyes meant something? Sure but it is also possible that they were just some random person’s eyes…..or maybe even someone we do know but that doesn’t necessarily mean there is more to it.

Just like you, I too had obsessed over those eyes especially when I found out that Taeyang had his wife’s face on a billboard in one of his songs and Jimin has always admired Taeyang and wanted to somewhat follow his footsteps so the math is mathing and it isn’t exactly delusional to think that he might do something like that since it’s not impossible but I also realized that sometimes, somethings really don’t mean anything more.

I would admit that sometimes those eyes look a lot like Jk’s that I get shook and start to think there is no way those aren’t Jk’s eyes but other times I tell myself that maybe they are not and we are just seeing what we want to see or what we wish is the truth lol. I am at a point where that is a Jikook maybe to me. I am completely 50/50 on the possibility that it is or not.

As for whether Jimin would choose to put a complet stranger, I don’t see why not. I mean before Taeyang put his wife on that billboard I don’t think people knew about her no? So it is possible that it might be someone who we don’t know and haven’t seen around Jimin……but as I said, the eyes on the billboard might just be for effect and not mean anything more.

For now, I keep my thoughts on it at 50/50 and if someday we get to confirm that it was indeed someone we know and suspect, then……..

[daisyjonesgf]

Just imagine…Finnick and his sweet girls first time together, Finnick taking her virginity, wasn’t something that was created from a loving moment. It was created from the fear that Snow would take every single part of her, including something that many find important. It was a moment created from urgency, not pure passion. Of course passion and love was there…but…Finnick didn’t want her first time to be like his, no, he refused.

It’s one of the many thing he regrets…

-🌾anon

no, literally

triggers for trafficking mentions and nsfw

finnick regrets so much of what he did and how he acted after reader won her games. because he went into mentor mode, into trying to help her survive being a victor, a lifetime performer. and he didn't want her virginity to be stripped away from her by someone who would sexualize it as another perverted idea of her "innocent" allure.

and it's not something that just naturally fell in place or felt right, he asked because he wanted it to not be something traumatic to look back on, to protect you her as much as he could. but he looks back and wonders if that worked because she must looks back on it and think of it as something she felt like she had to do or have that moment with someone who didn't care at all.

i feel like finnick is very introspective and will look back on things in retrospect because he doesn't want to repest what he did if it hurt his sweet girl in any way.

"I'm sorry I didn't give you the first time you deserved."

"what?"

"I'm really sorry, angel, you deserved so much better."

"Finn, it's okay, you don't have to worry about me or that, it was fine."

"I do have to worry about you, sweet girl. That's what we do, worry about each other. And exactly, it was fine and I'm sorry for it."

"you don't have to be sorry about it."

"I do, I got you in this mess and you couldn't just have something organic, it was urgent, not just how you felt."

"if you're feeling a little down today we can go do something to make you feel better. I don't want you to be upset, Finn, I'm fine."

"don't do that!"

"do what?"

"deflect. I wanna know how really felt, how you really feel and you're trying not to hurt my feelings. like did I make you feel loved?"

"you did it so I wouldn't have to go through it with someone who didn't care about me like you do, of course I felt loved enough. I love you."

"I love you, angel. and feeling loved enough is different, which is okay, I just wish you'd be honest about things like that. I'm not gonna be upset with you if it you say it upset you, I could never, I just want the truth. was I soft enough? was the way I brought it up to crass?"

he always regrets bringing it all up again when his sweet girl is obviously hiding back tears and trying to stay composed. "finnick, it's okay, I don't want to talk about it right now." and he knew his sweet, sweet girl would never want to talk about it because it probably did hurt in some way and she'd never want to make him feel guiltier then he already did.

I think when he had brought it up though it was very straightforward after snow had announced the elite had the ability to buy your time and body.

"angel, are you still a virgin?"

"yeah." you'd croak out trying to be okay.

"do you want me with you first, before they use it against you? we don't have to angel, but I want you to know they don't have to take that from you too." but in a sense they did when you had to rush everything.

of course he was sweet and loving, but there was no heavy make out session leading into it, or going out together beforehand. he'd kiss you, tell you how much he loved you, but there was just a sense of melancholy in the air. and you'd been so quiet for a chunk of the time.

yes it had been out of love, but it would eat Finnick alive forever because his sweet girl deserved better, so much better then the hand dealt.

[jimpagne]

the worst thing v gets is being called a leech and attention seeker which is what tkkers had been calling jm FOR YEARS. while disliking v because of shippers is petty it’s incredibly interesting how many jikookers had been defending v in the last few weeks while it’s complete silence within tkkers, youll never catch any of them defend jm

That's because a lot of Jikookers don't need to falsify reality in order to represent a certain agenda. Jikookers can be the bigger person if they need to be.

As someone who is truthfully OT7, I don't sit here hoping that hate trains form around someone that I see to be a "threat" to my ship. If I'm being completely honest, I think trying to consume Are You Sure?! from purely a shipping point of view is entirely counterproductive and not a good way to enjoy content. I think it's fun to gush over certain moments, but if you're only parked outside Disney+ or whatever streaming you're allegedly pirating it from just to see your ship in action... you're opening yourself to form biases and bitter feelings toward things that might not be directly encompassed within your ship's boundaries.

This is why I made a call out post whenever certain jikookers resorted to bullying Taehyung whenever they saw that he was going to be a guest on the show. Though I already hear people coming, saying "Oh, but taekookers are bullying Jimin to hell and back, so why can't we?"

Well maybe you shouldn't because it shows that you have the representative IQ of a toad. So let me get this straight, people who are NOT Taehyung bully Jimin... your first course of action is to... bully Taehyung? I think reciprocal hate is incredibly stupid and unwarranted. If I'm going to shit on the behavior of taekookers, guess who I'm gonna take it out on? That's right, I'm going to take it out on taekookers -- not Kim Taehyung.

Taehyung is currently serving in the military, so I doubt he's logging onto Twitter or Tumblr or whatever to say nasty things about his BEST FRIEND. I think people tend to forget that Jimin and Taehyung are tied at the hip and have an entire song where they wax poetry about how much they care about one another...

Anyways.

A lot of Taekookers live in another facet of reality, so in order to make half of their agenda true, Jungkook has to dislike Jimin, the company has to be forcing their fanservice, Jungkook's mother had to have been sent a script beforehand to ask about Jimin, Taehyung was lying about only seeing the trip details a few days before departure, Jungkook was holding Taehyung's waist in this screenshot (but don't look at the footage where it shows otherwise!), Jungkook only acts "cold" (if being humorously bratty is considered cold) toward him in certain scenes because the producers want Jikook to appear more real, HYBE has some joint contract with the South Korean military to put Jimin and Jungkook together in order to hide the real gay couple that is Taekook--

The more you dive into their rhetoric, the less it makes sense. Taekookers also argue with LITERAL KOREAN PEOPLE about translations in the show. Also it's super funny to see them shift from the narrative that she show is scripted to suddenly saying -- no, it's not scripted, to then saying this part is scripted, to then saying, no the whole thing is scripted again, to then saying, actually at this time stamp they went off the script and--

Fucking crazy.

I think what I noticed the most about a lot of taekooker's rhetoric is that in order for something to be true, they need to create a lie or insult the intelligence of both Taehyung and Jungkook.

So you're telling me that two grown men have to lie about who they're with and what they're doing in order to make your ship real? You're telling me that Jungkook and Taehyung are not intelligent enough to negotiate their contracts or what type of "fanservice" they have to engage with on the regular? You're telling me that Jungkook lied about who he saw on his birthday in order to protect Taehyung? You're telling me that after ten years of being in the same group, Jungkook is actually uncomfortable with Jimin but still decided to get a matching tattoo with him and all the other members? You're telling me that the homophobic country of South Korea is willing to hide a gay couple by endorsing a manufactured gay couple? In the military? Where gay people are famously treated well?

That's sarcasm, for anyone who might lack reading comprehension.

Taekookers are the literal embodiment of that one post where the person is like "source(s): trust me bro" because half of what they spit out makes no fucking sense and is actually insulting to Taehyung and Jungkook. Like y'all constantly insult their intelligence and their free will and make it seem like they're trapped behind bars and don't have enough money or power to negotiate what THEY want. I've even seen certain taekookers become Jungkook antis after Are You Sure?! came out because they think he's being mean to or bullying Taehyung.

God, the lights are on but nobody is home.

[basu-shokikita]

Kloktober 2024 Day 17

Use the ghost of a dead character

This was actually the first entry I wrote for the event. It was like I got possessed by something. You could even say I was possessed by the ghost of someone. Just kidding.

Anyway, for day 17 you get more Toki trauma. Can be sort of read as a follow-up of yesterday's entry though it's not necessary to read that one beforehand.

Toki opened his eyes and he was in that goddamn basement again. He couldn’t count the days he had been stuck in there. At some point, they had started merging into each other. It was like it was one, huge, never-ending day. 

And he was chained, and he was bleeding. And his whole body hurt so much but Magnus’ words hurt even more.

“Nobody is coming for you. Nobody cares about you, Toki.”

“Dat amsnt true!” Toki protested and the glint of Magnus’ eyes was so scary that he could only look down. 

“Dethklok isn’t coming because they don’t love you, they never did. They just used you because it was convenient. You’re just like me, Toki.”

“No, dey ams my brothers! Dey loves me!”

“That’s what you’ve been telling yourself this whole time. That’s what you wanted to believe. But they’re selfish assholes that only think about themselves.”

“Noes!”

“Accept it, Toki! Nobody has ever wanted you, not even your parents! You’re gonna die alone…” Suddenly, the skin of Magnus’ face melted away, revealing the bones of his rotting skull. “You’re gonna die like me!”

“Noes! Noes!” Toki shut his eyes…

And opened them in his room. “Noes!” He screamed again, struggling with a chain that wasn’t there anymore.

“Toki!” Skwisgaar’s voice came into his auditory field and he was wrapped between slim yet firm arms. “Ams you okeys?”

He was gasping for air and he could feel his heart pounding on his ear. “It ams…he says…”

“Shhh…” Skwisgaar rubbed the side of his face against the top of Toki’s head. “It amsn’t real. Just a dumb, dildoes, nights mairs.”

Toki’s eyes welled with tears, well-aware that was only half of the truth. “He says dats to me…all de times…” He sniffed softly. “Whens I…”

“...Ja?”

“He says dats…nobodies loves me…” As he talked, the sob was creeping up his throat. “Dats I…woulds dies alones…dats you didnts…”

The grasp Skwisgaar had on him suddenly released and Toki looked up in fear, only to be faced with Skwisgaar’s deep blue eyes. “You ams not deres anymores. You ams here.” After a pause, he added. “Wif mes.”

Toki’s breath hitched, fighting the urge not to sob, but when Skwisgaar’s arms wrapped around his waist, his soft golden mane nuzzling against Toki’s jaw so gently, the tears started to flow. He gazed at his warmly-lit room, the plane model that he had been teaching Skwisgaar to build earlier, the guitar resting against his night stand. And the sob inside him started to soothe.

Skwisgaar pulled back a little and watched his face. He had that severe look in his face, the same one he directed to him when he didn’t practice, but instead he leaned in and kissed Toki’s forehead. So sweetly, that Toki could’ve started crying again. 

Or, he could cup Skwisgaar’s face and kiss him on the lips. So, that’s what he did. And when Skwisgaar kissed him back, he couldn’t help shedding one last tear. 

Except this one was of happiness.

“Thank yous.” He whispered against Skwisgaar’s mouth. 

“Pfft, this amsn’t no charities.” Skwisgaar said, with his usual arrogant tone, though when their eyes met, he smiled. “Feels bettors now?”

Toki nodded and nestled against him on the bed. They just stared at each other for a really long time.

It was hard to believe sometimes. Even though it’s what he had always wanted. Growing up in a loveless family made him feel like maybe he didn’t deserve any type of love. That even though he had done nothing wrong, maybe he shouldn’t have been born. That he’d die as lonely as he felt every single day he spent in that cold and cruel house. And so many things that happened to him after he escaped did nothing but reconfirm that fear. 

If he were to be honest, Toki wasn’t even sure anymore if Magnus had actually told him those things, or if it was just his deepest fears talking back to him while he was on the brink of death.  

He stretched his hand to stroke Skwisgaar’s cheek. And Skwisgaar leaned into the touch, like a cat welcoming his owner back home. “Whats you thinkingks?” He asked.

Toki smiled. “Nothings.”

It was really hard to believe sometimes. 

That he wasn’t alone anymore.