#being alone on an island hits different as hell

[glynjohnsfurcoat]

⬇️ i spent a night as one of THREE living human beings on one of those islands it was so fucking magical. and i met two wild donkeys OUHGGHH... that sounds fancy but it was a hostel

[mrs-dr-reid]

Scary Dog Privilege

(A Wolverine Fic)

Pairing: Logan Howlett x Mutant!Fem!Reader

Summary: The reader practically begs Logan to be her fake boyfriend at a gala, but ends up getting more than she bargained for

Genre: Fluffy throughout, a teensy bit angsty near the end, and a dash of "oh my god, just KISS ALREADY!!!" sprinkled in pretty much everywhere

Warnings: Swearing, suggestive language, fake boyfriend trope, friends to lovers, oblivious idiots in love, more than platonic touches, tw food/alcohol, crying, protective!Logan, the image of Logan in a tux (yes, that's a warning), Tony Stark being... himself, a Hugh Jackman-sized Wolverine and an average/small reader (size difference, yaaaaay)

A/N: Big thanks to @snixkers for being my designated Wolvie Beta Reader, as well as a handful of buddies in my writers discord for helping me turn the head words into page words (you know who you are).

Word Count: 4419

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This is going to be a disaster, Y/N thought as she stared hopelessly at the event notification on her phone: Superhero Gala tonight!!!

It was her least favorite day of the year, even though on paper it was a good thing. All of the Avengers and all the X-Men getting together and hosting a gala fundraiser to raise money for a different cause every year, as well as “celebrate the spirit of collaboration among heroes” or whatever preachy bullshit Charles is always on about.

She just knew that she’d inevitably be stuck getting hit on by drunken aristocratic strangers in a dress she didn’t want to be wearing, just like every other year. She’d much rather be honing her abilities or reading a book, but attendance was mandatory for every adult living at the mansion, much to her chagrin.

Y/N paced the length of her bedroom, worrying about her certain doom, when she got an idea. It wasn’t a very good idea, but it was better than no idea at all. She stuffed her phone in her back pocket, then ventured down to the kitchen where she was hoping she’d find who she was looking for, and she was right.

Logan was sitting at the island munching on a piece of toast and nursing a flask of what she assumed was whiskey, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it. She said, “Howlett, I need to talk to you in private.”

Logan looked up from his breakfast and said, “Good morning to you too, L/N,” mostly unbothered by her request.

Y/N rolled her eyes and said, “NOW, please.”

He raised a hand in surrender and said, “Alright, Bossy Pants,” before following her into the other room away from the prying ears of Jean, Scott, and Ororo.

Once they were out of earshot, Y/N said, “Okay, I’m gonna ask you to do something kinda weird, but I promise if you do it, I’ll never ask you for anything else ever again.”

Logan raised a questioning eyebrow at her. “Okay?”

She took a deep breath. “I need you to be my scary dog privilege tonight at the gala.”

The request hung in the air between them as Logan tried to process what the hell she just said to him. “You need me to be your what?”

Y/N sighed exasperatedly, then elaborated. “I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend so the sleazy rich assholes leave me alone!” before steepling her hands and giving him her best puppy dog pout.

Logan wasn’t swayed, and he crossed his arms. “Why me? Couldn’t you ask McCoy?” Y/N glared at him, annoyed that he was being so difficult.

“Yes, I could ask Hank, but Hank is a teddy bear! You’re tall, you’re intimidating, it’s somewhat believable that we’d be together, and you have claws. And if you don’t do this, I promise you that if even one slimeball approaches me, I will use the ‘what not to do’ section of the Geneva Convention as a to-do list! So will you be my fake boyfriend or not?!”

Both of Logan’s eyebrows went up at this, and he said, “As entertainin’ as that would be, Chuck would probably ground you for committin’ war crimes against a civilian,” before starting to walk back to the kitchen.

In a panic, Y/N blabbed, “I’ll smuggle in cigars and booze for you for a month!” which stopped him in his tracks. Gotcha, Wolvie.

He turned back around, let out a groan in the back of his throat at the hopeful smile on Y/N’s face, then said, “Fine. But just this once,” before sticking out a hand to shake. She grinned, then shook his hand, trying her best to not think about how his hand completely engulfed hers or how warm and rough it was.

That evening, Logan was waiting at the bottom of the stairs alongside Scott for Jean and Y/N to come down, both men in sharp black tuxedos.

Scott said, “So, you’re L/N’s date tonight, huh?” with a shit-eating grin on his face, so Logan rolled his eyes, tugging at the collar of her dress clothes slightly. “She made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Literally. If I refused, she was gonna kill the first stranger who told her she was pretty.”

Scott chuckled. “Yeah, sounds about right.” Then he fell silent, so Logan followed his gaze and tried to ignore the weird tug in the pit of his stomach when he saw Y/N trailing behind Jean. She looked like a completely different person than the woman he bantered with every day.

Her hair fell in a halo of perfect waves around her shoulders, her makeup was done to perfection, diamond studs decorated her ears, and her dress… oh, that dress.

While its rhinestone-encrusted fabric covered every inch of her body except her collarbone and her hands, it hugged every curve like it was made especially for her (and it probably was). The slight padding of the shoulders and the emerald green hue made her look almost ethereal, and the matching shoes he could see peeking out from under the hem with every step she took added to the effect, though he wasn’t sure why.

Y/N stopped in front of him. “Well, you clean up nice, Howlett,” and adjusted his tie (which just so happened to match her dress). That snapped him out of his reverie before he cleared his throat. “You too, L/N. Shall we?”

He offered her his arm, and she took it. “Let’s get this over with,” before letting him lead her into the ballroom.

After he had initially agreed to this admittedly crazy scheme, Logan and Y/N had gone over different forms of PDA that they were each comfortable with. Y/N had told Logan that he could do whatever he needed to do to sell it, whereas he was more hesitant to give her carte blanche, only allowing lingering arm and shoulder touches or a kiss on the cheek if the situation desperately called for it.

Logan instantly clocked the bar the second they stepped foot inside, and before he could say anything, Y/N quipped, “I need to be drunk half an hour ago, let’s move,” and started pulling him towards the bar, causing him to let out a snort as he allowed her to drag him along.

He ordered a whiskey on the rocks while she stuck with a vodka soda, and after they were given their drinks, Logan said, “Say what you want about Stark. At least he has the decency to spring for an open bar, and it’s the good shit,” while swirling the liquid in his glass.

Y/N snickered and said, “I’ll drink to that.” She held her glass up for cheers, and Logan clinked his glass against hers, then downed about half of his whiskey in one swig.

Y/N had to blink to rid the image of his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed from her mind, then she downed her drink as well. “Well, we better go find Charles and the others.”

He nodded in agreement, then put a hand at the small of her back as they ventured into the center of the room. Y/N spotted Charles amongst a circle of Avengers and X-Men including Captain America, Black Widow, and Iron Man as well as Hank, Scott, Jean, and Rogue. The two of them approached the circle, and Y/N said, “Partying hard or hardly partying?”

Charles looked away from the tall, blond man Y/N recognized from last year as Steve Rogers at the sound of her voice, then said, “Ah! There you two are! Logan, Y/N, I’m sure you remember Captain Rogers, Miss Romanoff, and Mr. Stark from last year’s benefit,” and gestured between them.

Y/N smiled and said, “Of course. It’s great to see you again,” while shaking each of their hands, earning a “Likewise” from Steve, a nod from Natasha, and a smirk from Tony. He was surely about to say something lewd, but Logan stuck his hand out to shake just in time. “Mighty nice of ya to foot the bill on some decent booze, Stark,” his arm snaking protectively around Y/N’s waist.

If Charles and the other X-Men didn’t clock it, which was highly unlikely, they thankfully said nothing about it, but Tony recovered quickly enough that it wasn’t necessary anyway. He shook Logan’s hand and said, “Of course. Only the best for the best, amiright?” before shooting a wink in Y/N’s direction.

Logan bristled slightly, so Y/N took that as an opportunity to place a hand on his chest and say, “Lo, I believe I was promised a dance?” raising her eyebrows pointedly at him.

He said, “Right, yeah, absolutely, Doll Face. Nice seeing you again, but duty calls. Boyfriend duty, that is,” nodded at Steve and Natasha, then shot an almost gloating wink in Tony’s direction before giving Y/N his arm and whisking her off to the dance floor.

As they left, Y/N swore she heard Scott whisper incredulously, “‘Boyfriend’’?!” and Jean smack him in the chest, which made her stomach flip slightly at the thought that only Scott questioned the arrangement.

As they reached the dance floor, Y/N took note of the string quartet a few paces from the floor. “Open bar, and live entertainment? That Stark sure knows how to throw a party.”

Logan rolled his eyes and huffed, “If he took hints as good as he threw parties, then we’d be in business,” before he remembered that he wasn’t actually Y/N’s boyfriend, and there was no reason for him to be that pissed. So why was he?

Y/N said, “He’s the outlier in this situation. I’ve clocked at least eight different guys that have made to come talk to me, but immediately backtracked once they noticed you standing right next to me. I should bribe you to be my scary dog privilege more often!”

He just scoffed. “Yeah, yeah, don’t hold your breath,” but there was still a hint of a smile on his face as they joined the other couples waiting for the next song.

The musicians took up their instruments and began playing again, so Logan extended a hand to Y/N and said, “May I have this dance?” while raising a teasing eyebrow at her. She smiled, then took it and replied, “You may.”

He grinned before spinning her into his arms, a peal of laughter escaping her as she collided with his solid chest in a very ungraceful manner.

She giggled, “Logan!” He shrugged and said, “Gotta keep you on your toes somehow, don’t I?” neither of them acknowledging that she used his first name.

They kept dancing, Logan periodically making comments about the people around them just to hear her melodic laughter, and to any outsider, they looked just like any other couple; young (or seemingly young in Logan’s case) and in love, even though that wasn’t the case.

When the song ended, Y/N let out a breathless sigh and said, “I’m gonna go get a drink. Do you want anything?”

Logan held up a hand and said, “Nah, I’ve got all night to drink Stark outta house and home. Thank you, though.” Y/N nodded with a smile, then went to head for the bar, but Logan stopped her with a hand on her waist.

He said, “Hang on a sec, Doll,” then held her chin in place with his first two fingers and brushed some rogue strands of hair away from her face before murmuring, “There we go. Perfect.”

Y/N fought to keep a blush from staining her cheeks as she thanked him, then she scampered away to the bar after telling him she’d be back soon, hoping to god he didn’t notice the spike in her heart rate.

She reached the bar and ordered another vodka soda, somewhat breathlessly. As she waited, she ended up overanalyzing all that had transpired thus far, and she couldn’t make sense of any of it. Logan’s protectiveness around someone he knew wasn’t a threat? Going out of his way to play the Boyfriend Card in front of their teammates and collaborators? The pet names? The way he’s been looking at her since they stepped foot inside the ballroom?

As she was going through all of this, an unfamiliar man sidled up next to her at the bar and tried to strike up a conversation, much to Y/N’s dismay.

“Hey there, I’m Jeffrey. Did they give you a name to go with that pretty face?” and she just barely contained a gag/cringe combo before telling him her name. He smiled a bit too wide to be genuine, then said, “Can I order you a drink?” so she said, “I already ordered. And I promised my boyfriend I’d come find him as soon as I got it, so…,” and craned her neck to search for the bartender.

Jeffrey scoffed.“Some boyfriend he is, letting a lady like you wander off by herself.” That made Y/N inhale sharply. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and he’s well aware of that,” she said curtly, silently daring him to say one more stupid thing so she could knock him into next month.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak again, his voice faltered and his eyes trailed up to someone much taller than her. She didn’t have the chance to turn around before the familiar scent of pine, whiskey, and tobacco filled her nostrils and a pair of lips pressed a kiss to her jaw.

Logan husked out right next to her ear, “Hey, Baby. Thought you were gonna come find me once you got your drink. Dinner’s about to start.” One of his hands slid around to rest against her stomach protectively, so she placed a hand on his arm and said, “I was! It just got busy, I guess. We had the home-front advantage earlier,” trying to pretend like she wasn’t silently losing her mind over what he’d just done and praying to whatever deity existed that he couldn’t smell her body’s reaction to what had just occurred.

She turned her head to look at him, and he smiled at her before nodding his head in Jeffrey’s direction and saying, “Who’s this punk?”

She shot a quick glare at the man in question, then looked back up at Logan. “Just someone who is very lucky you showed up when you did,” she said with a smile before going up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

The bartender arrived with her drink not a moment too soon, and as she grabbed it, said, “It was nice to meet you, Jeffrey,” and then let Logan lead her back to their designated table, choosing to ignore how Logan looked over his shoulder and snarled at the man as they walked away.

Dinner thankfully went off without any hitches, but since Y/N and Logan were seated next to each other, the constant whiffs she got of Logan's unique (and intoxicating) musk whenever he so much as shifted in his chair were driving her insane. Not to mention the absentminded circles he was drawing on her leg under the table, which he didn’t need to do since nobody could see.

Just as she thought she’d be able to beeline it to somebody’s office or the bathroom or anywhere else to hide, Jean pulled her aside while asking to talk to her in private, making her think a string of expletives that she was well aware Jean could still hear as she allowed herself to be dragged to an unoccupied corner of the ballroom.

Once they were away from listening ears, Jean said, “Okay, what is going on between you and Logan? Yesterday you were threatening to shove him off the roof, and now you two are all over each other! And don’t even try to lie,” while raising a questioning eyebrow. Y/N let out a petulant whine, but Jean shot her a look that Y/N liked to call “The Mom Glare”, so she let out a loud sigh and explained everything, her voice growing more hysterical with every word:

“Okay, I bribed Logan into being my fake boyfriend for the night to keep the creeps away, and I told him to do whatever he needed to do so people would believe it, but I realized that I like what he’s been doing way too much for us to be just friends, and I’m losing my goddamn mind, Jean!”

Jean put her hands on Y/N’s arms to ground her and said, “Whoa, calm down. What exactly has he done that’s got you so worked up?” Y/N let out a mildly panicked laugh, then said, “For starters, if he was within arms reach of me, his hands were on me. He was being super protective of me in front of Tony even though we all know he could snap the Tin Man like a toothpick if he wanted to. He kissed me on the jaw earlier when some sleazeball was hitting on me by the bar, then snarled at him as we walked away. And to top it off, he was drawing circles on my leg under the table at dinner, and I’m not convinced he realized he was doing it, because I did nothing to stop him. Ugh, this is so complicated!”

Jean made a confused face at this. “Why does it have to be complicated? You two clearly have feelings for each other that are more than platonic. And if I may, he agreed to this crazy scheme of yours, didn’t he? At least some part of him feels the same way about you.” This earned another whine from Y/N.

She started rambling, “I don’t want this to change our relationship! I mean, yeah, I’ve had a crush on him for years because I’m not blind, but we’re just friends! And we’ve always been just friends! We bust each other's chops, we affectionately threaten each other with violence, we smuggle contraband into the school for each other even though Charles absolutely knows we’re doing it, so there’s literally no reason for us to be so secretive about it. I can’t just throw that away because I’m in love with him!”

Unfortunately, she didn’t notice Jean’s face pale or her attempts to get her to stop talking until a familiar deep voice said, “You’re in love with me?”

Y/N’s blood ran cold, and she turned around to see Logan standing there with a confused expression on his face. Her stomach clenched, and she said meekly, “How much of that did you hear?” hoping he wouldn’t say what she thought he was going to say, and bracing herself for the worst.

“Everything after ‘complicated’.” Fuck.

A whimper escaped her throat, and she heard Jean scamper off behind her. She sighed and whispered, “Shit,” squeezing her eyes shut in embarrassment. Logan made to move towards her, but Y/N recoiled from him and said, “Don’t!”, before side-stepping him and sprinting out of the ballroom as fast as her wildly impractical attire would allow her, ignoring the concerned calls of her name from her fellow X-Men.

Y/N knew Logan would catch up to her eventually, but for the moment, the only thing on her mind was getting as far away from the ballroom and him as possible. She ended up in the hedge maze, and she fell onto a stone bench to catch her breath, but all too soon she heard Logan yelling her name.

She ignored him, then proceeded to bury her face in her hands and cry due to the sheer irony of the situation: She was hiding in a stupid hedge maze from the only man she’s ever wanted because she can’t bring herself to face him.

Logan rounded the corner a few moments later, and the second he saw her on the bench and heard her sniffling, he knelt before her. “Hey, don’t cry, Sweetheart.” He gently pulled her hands away from her face.

Y/N just shook her head and whispered, “I can’t do this, Logan,” through her tears, making Logan’s eyebrows furrow before he said, “Can’t do what, Darlin’?” and went to wipe her cheek with his thumb, but it was too much for her to take.

Y/N flinched away from his touch and sobbed out, “This! The pet names, the tender touches, you looking at me like that! I can’t go back to just friends after everything that’s happened tonight, I can’t! If you’re gonna let me down, please just let me down gently because it’s the only way I can bear losing you!”

A fresh flood of tears blurred her vision enough that she couldn’t see his face, and she tried to get up to run back to her room or anywhere else where she could lock the door and try to pretend like this whole night was just a bad dream, but Logan’s hands shot out to hold her in place. “Y/N, who said anything about letting anybody down or losing me?”

Y/N startled at the sound of her first name coming out of his mouth, and she blinked back her tears to find him looking at her so tenderly she thought she was going to melt into the grass below her. Logan cupped her face in his hand and said,

“From the day that I met you, I knew I needed to find a way to keep you in my life. For a while, that was by being your friend. But only being your friend isn’t enough for me anymore. I need you more than I’ve ever needed anyone in my entire life.” His thumb stroked her cheek comfortingly as he spoke.

Y/N giggled through her tears, and she said, “That’s a long ass time, Wolvie.”

He chuckled back and said, “My point exactly, Doll,” squeezing her knee for emphasis. Y/N looked down at the ground and said, “You’re gonna get grass stains on your pants.”

Logan raised an eyebrow challengingly before bracing his hands on the bench on either side of her and purposely grinding his knees into the grass, pulling a shocked laugh from her. “Logan Howlett!”

He chuckled at her admonishing tone, then leaned in to press his forehead against hers and murmured, “It stopped being pretend for me the moment you came downstairs in this dress,” as he ran a hand down her leg to fiddle with the hem of her dress.

Y/N’s breath caught in her throat, and she whispered, “You had me at ‘hey, baby’.” For a moment they just stared at each other, but Logan’s resolve broke when she breathed his name, and he surged forward to capture her lips in a desperate kiss that said everything words couldn’t then.

His tongue ran along the seam of her lips, and she let him in without hesitation as she gripped the back of his jacket and he held her against his chest like she’d disappear if he let go. Y/N could have stayed in his embrace forever, and Logan could have kept her like that indefinitely.

Unfortunately, humans need oxygen to live, so Y/n pulled her lips away to at least attempt to catch her breath, but Logan had other plans.

He trailed his kisses down her jaw to her neck, and his hand started roaming around her back to find the zipper of her dress, but Y/N put a hand to his chest to stop him and said, “You better take me on a real date before you try something like that, Howlett.” He buried his face in her shoulder and groaned disappointedly.

Y/N giggled, then said, “As far as I know, the gala doesn’t end for another few hours,” to which Logan leaned back so he was sitting on his heels.

“I think I like where your head's at, Princess,” a smirk crossing his face before he jumped to his feet, scooped her up bridal style, and started jogging back to the mansion, his heart swelling at her squeal of laughter and how her arms tightened around his neck.

Logan set Y/N down outside of the ballroom, then held out his hand and said, “Ready, Darlin’?”

She smiled and said, “Always, Big Guy,” before lacing her fingers with his and walking into the room, where seemingly every Avenger and X-Man was standing and waiting with bated breath.

Y/N bit her lip and looked up at Logan, who let out a resigned sigh and said, “Ahhhh, fuck it,” before sweeping her into a dip and kissing the life out of her, an eruption of shocked laughter, wolf whistles, and applause coming from the gathering of heroes, making Y/N smile against his lips and cup his face in her hand.

When he pulled his lips away, Logan murmured, “I’m in love with you, too. Didn’t get to say it earlier,” making Y/N snark, “Oh, really? I never would have guessed,” before giggling and reconnecting their lips, Logan chuckling as he held her even closer.

Scott hollered teasingly, “Hey, lovebirds! Mind wrapping it up?! We’ve got places to be!”

Both Logan and Y/N simultaneously flipped him off while they stayed engrossed in each other.

“Yeah, fair enough,” Scott said, making Jean laugh at him. Logan eventually stood Y/N up again, then said, “Hey, Stark, is there any good shit left? I don’t know about you, but I finally got the girl, and I feel like celebrating.” As he spoke, he shot a wink at Y/N solely to make her blush.

Tony said, “Absolutely!” A waiter came over with two glasses of champagne, and even Y/N could tell that it was high-quality stuff just from the smell.

Logan held his glass towards her, then said, “To you and me, Darlin’.” Y/N clinked her glass against his in cheers and said, “You and me, Bubba,” everyone cheering as Logan kissed her temple.

As an avid romance novel reader, she probably should have seen this coming, but she couldn’t really bring herself to care about anything else besides the comforting feeling of Logan’s arm around her waist and the knowledge that he was all hers for as long as she wanted him, which was forever.

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MCU Taglist: @libraryofloveletters

Let me know in the comments if you want to be added

[countryclubkook]

Him or Me

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x fem!Thornton!Reader

Warnings: language, topper being a slight asshole, small mention of parent death and absent parent, not proof read so potential grammatical errors, slightly ooc/fanon Rafe I think that’s all but please let me know if there’s anymore I should add

Summary: when Topper finds out his best friend Rafe is secretly dating his sister behind his back, all hell breaks loose. Will they be able fix their relationship? Or will the betrayal be too much to recover from?

A/N: This is the first story i’ve written in months so i’m still a little rusty. I wanted to get something out though to get back into the groove of things. Italicized means flashback, this also is meant to take place in season 1 after Sarah and John B are together so I hope you all enjoy🤍 I left the ending of this slightly open for a potential part two if people want it/I decide to write one (Topper is 19 and reader is 18 for the sake of this story, Rafe is his canon age in the show)

“You know I’ll take care of you right?” he spoke with such certainty. How could you not believe him?

It was never supposed to be this way, you and your brother's best friend being together, but when he gave you those bedroom eyes and whispered those sweet nothings in your ear how could you resist? The both of you kept it a secret from Topper as long as you could knowing his overprotective nature when it came to you. He had found out when he saw the two of you kissing at the country club, that was a bad night for the three of you.

“My fucking sister dude? Are you kidding me? You could have any girl on this island but you go after my sister?” the vein on his neck popping out as he screamed at Rafe. Neither of you had expected him to be home, let alone for him to be waiting in the living room for you two to come back. As soon as Rafe stepped into the door he was thrown against the wall by his neck, a very angry Topper staring at him with pure hatred.

“Topper stop, let him go. Please.” you pleaded with him but it was no use, his grip stayed the same and he acted as if you weren't there. They were in their own world at that moment.

“Fucking relax man, I chose her for a reason. I love her, and you're not going to stop me from seeing her. So if you're going to hit me and tell me to stay away from her, do it so we can get this over with.” he was visibly annoyed by this as his tone confirmed it. Sure they were friends, but you meant more to Rafe than anyone else so your big brother trying to prevent your relationship was simply just an inconvenience that had no real effect at all.

The two men stared at each other for a moment, nostrils flaring and veins so visible you were getting concerned about their health. It wasn't until Topper let go of Rafe with a small scoff that you felt you could breathe again. You've never felt more shitty in your whole life than you did when Topper looked at you with such betrayal and hurt. He just shook his head and stormed out of the house, the front door slamming behind him.

“Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't know he would be here” you say as you rush over to him and examine his neck that was now red (and would inevitably bruise) from the grip Topper had on it. He watched as you examined him with such worry and such a gentle touch that it reminded him yet again why he was with you, that you were worth whatever argument ensued because you showed him love nobody else would.

“Baby, I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you being okay than my neck.” grabbing the sides of your face and forcing you to look at him. Your eyes were glossy with tears and your breathing slightly uneven. Your relationship with Topper was different than the one Rafe had with his sisters, it had always just been the two of you since you were growing up. Your dad had died when you were babies and your mom was a piece of shit who was never around so that left the two of you to protect and raise each other. Hurting him felt like the biggest stab in the chest and you felt terrible.

“I-” your sobs overpowered your voice before you could finish as you broke down in your lover's arms. His shushed comfort helped bring you some peace but not nearly enough to stop the feeling in your chest from growing. He had moved you over to the couch and held you in his lap until your cries eventually stopped and your breathing remained calm.

“Baby?” he asked quietly in case you had fallen asleep. When he got no response, he gently laid you on the couch and covered you with a blanket before kissing your cheek and heading out to find your brother. Rafe was probably the last person he wanted to see but he would try to talk to him for you.

That “talk” didn't go very well. You didn't know what was said, all you know is that Topper came home bloodied and bruised and didn't say a word to you. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together when you saw Rafes bruised knuckles the next day and his excuse was that he “wanted to try boxing without his gloves”. But a few weeks had passed since then and you thought it would be fine, you and Top would go back to normal and eventually he and Rafe would reconcile like nothing ever happened. If only it was that easy.

Topper had grown increasingly hostile toward you when he decided to acknowledge your existence. His responses were always short and snappy like you were the most horrible person to be speaking with. You knew the only way of fixing this was breaking up with Rafe but there was no way in hell you were doing that so you instead just tried to give him space when you could. But one day he decided that ignoring each other wasn't enough, he needed you to know your options.

‘We need to talk’ one text that always has the ability to make your heart race. You stare at it for 10 minutes trying to figure out the right response before you type back a simple ‘Okay’, his next text telling you he’d meet you at the house in ten minutes. You felt like throwing up and your anxiety was through the roof. You knew what he wanted to talk about, that's what made you nervous. It felt like hours had passed when you finally heard the front door open and heavy footsteps approach the kitchen. Your heartbeat had become very quick when he came into your peripheral vision.

“Hi” a simple word used to greet people now had a more hostile meaning behind it. You finally looked up to see him but he was already looking at you. He still had that same look in his eyes he had that day. Betrayal, disgust, anger, every emotion you had hoped you'd never see him have towards you.

“Hi” your voice much smaller as you tried to avoid his hard gaze. An awkward silence passed for a few moments before he finally spoke again. There was clearly no small talk to be made so it was now or never.

“I'm giving you two options, and I never thought I'd have to say this to you of all people but I guess you really can't trust everyone. I understand you think you love Rafe and that he loves you, but you don't know him like me. Rafe Cameron doesn't ever love someone, he uses them to his advantage until he no longer needs them around and then he leaves them in the dirt. I'm not staying around to watch that happen to you so it's him or me.” his voice was stern, there was no hesitation in his words. He meant every last thing he had just told you.

You stared at him for a moment trying to process what you just heard, did he really just give you an ultimatum? You half expected him to laugh and tell you he was just fucking with you, that he was still upset you hadn't told him but as long as you were happy so was he, but that moment never came. Instead, he continued to stare at you with a pierced gaze waiting for your response.

“Are you serious right now Top?” you chuckled in disbelief. There was no way this was happening right now.

“As serious as a heart attack” no hint of amusement in his voice. Your emotion quickly changed from guilt to anger as his words finally registered.

“You have no right to do that. None. Rafe and I do love each other, we don't think that. You don't know our relationship and this was exactly why we didn't want you finding out. I'm not a baby anymore Topper. I'm a big girl and I can make my own decisions about things, including who I date. If that backfires that's on me and I learn from it. You don't get to decide that for me.” your face had turned red and you felt hot. How dare he make you choose between them.

“Y/N you don't understand okay? I know how he works, I've seen it happen. He's only going to hurt you when-” he tried to argue but you cut him off.

“No. You don't understand. He treats me better than anyone else ever has, he makes me feel loved. You don't know anything about love, that's why your girlfriend cheated on you with a fucking pogue.” his face fell at the comment. You knew it was harsh and uncalled for but you were too upset to care.

“Fuck you Y/N. I'm giving you one last chance to make the right choice” you knew he meant that.

“Fine. You want me to choose so badly? I choose him, I'll always choose him.” your breathing was heavy as you yelled at him. There was no taking it back now so you could only hope it didn't end badly for you.

“Okay” he scoffed “just don't come crying to me when he breaks your heart. You mean nothing to me anymore” he spoke with such disgust that it took everything in you not to cry.

“I won't. He's never going to do that to me” you spoke to him with the same voice he had spoken to you. The two of you staring at each other with anger and a look of disbelief that this had happened to you. Topper gave one last shake of his head before going up the stairs to what you thought was his room. It wasn't until you heard a loud thud a few minutes later that you realized he was in yours.

One by one, bags and boxes of your things came flying down the stairs. Topper was standing at the top with his arms crossed and a satisfied look on his face.

“You want to be with him so bad you can go stay with him. I don't want a lying whore living with me.” his words hurt you more than would ever admit but you swallowed your tears and began packing your car with your things, getting in and starting the car to drive to Rafes once the last thing was thrown in.

He hadn't expected to see your text but all he could do was worry when you’d told him you were on your way to him. The only thing comforting him was pacing around the room and thinking of all the ways he could try and help you. He heard your call pull up and almost broke the door getting to you and his heart shattered when he saw you. Tears streamed down your face, eyes red and puffy, you looked destroyed.

As soon as you were in his arms you broke down, the both of you falling to the ground as your sobs echoed in the warm air. The familiar smell of Rafe's cologne made you feel safe, a feeling you hadn't fully felt since Rafe and Topper's fight. It felt like you were finally home and could relax, the war was over and you could just live again.

“Shh baby it's okay, you're safe now. I've got you” he said as he rested his head on top of yours and wrapped his arms around you tightly. There wasn't much that could be said to help you feel better about the situation but knowing you weren't alone did help to make you feel good. Topper was just jealous he didn't have this type of love with Sarah.

You'd finally calmed down enough to unload your things into Rafe's room. Ward adored you so letting you stay with them was absolutely no issue which you were so thankful for.

Hours had passed and your tears had long stopped. You had taken a nice long shower and now you were in bed with Rafe, it felt natural to you. He gave you a small nudge to get your attention and your eyes met his. He had a slight smirk on his face.

“What? Do I have something on my face” your eyes widening slightly worried you had forgotten to wipe some makeup off your face.

“No no it's not that, it's just… I could get used to this you know? It feels right” his voice was much softer now.

“It does, doesn't it? Maybe this whole situation isn't so bad after all” it was very bad, but maybe you could convince yourself otherwise if you said it enough.

Rafe could see you thinking about the situation again despite what you'd just said so he grabbed your face to hold it in place. His eyes never leaving yours for a second.

“You know I'll take care of you right?” and you had no doubt he would, fuck Topper. You just needed Rafe. He would never betray you like Topper, he would never hurt you the way your brother did. He loved you.

“I know” you smiled sweetly at him before giving him a soft kiss, both of you enjoying the moment of peace before pulling away to turn the lights off. Sleep slowly engulfing you as you relaxed into the others touch. This is how it was meant to be.

If only you knew exactly what getting involved with Rafe Cameron would turn into.

[highonmarvel]

Tempest

Bucky Barnes: The storm brewing outside is nothing compared to the one in here.

An entry for day nine of the exciting @sintember challenge!

Prompt: Tempest, ft Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Warnings: severe anxiety; hints and mentions of claustrophobia (and it’s a bit of a theme that carries throughout); chasing; physical abuse. 18+!

The house rocks as you slam the door shut behind you, half the force coming from your worry and the other half by nature’s ire. You had really cut it close getting last minute supplies, and on the short drive back from the mall, you actually worried you’d cut it too close as your car was nearly thrown off the road. A hurricane was starting, bad, but not severe enough to warrant any measures too drastic. Still, you decided to play it safe—though one could argue that rule was broken when you were driving in the beginning of a storm.

You drop the shopping bag on the kitchen counter, no sign on Bucky. Usually he sits on one of the stools at the island waiting to rummage through whatever you had picked up for plums. Of course, you had.

“Bucky?” you call as you pop the fruit into the fridge. The rest was either canned or packets of goodies, which you stuffed into the kitchen cupboard before heading to the living room.

“Bucky?” you call again as the house rocks again, and maybe he didn’t hear you over the noise.

Maybe he was in the basement. You quickly jog back to the kitchen to grab a bag of chips and start your decent to the basement. A basement was really unnecessary for the life you and Bucky live, but this house, you had both fallen in love with at first sight (much like how you two first met) and purchased it together. It was practically empty; you thought it could at least be useful for storage, but you two didn’t have anything unneeded; it was either useful, and therefore in use, or not in the house. It was at least a safe place were something like a tornado to hit. You hadn’t been down in years, not since you first bought the place. Bucky went down there every two or three months to stop it being overrun by dust bunnies, but that was it.

Lately, Bucky had been having nightmares, more often than usual, and you always got the feeling he was trapped; trapped in his body that had done so much against his will, and it worried you when the storm warning was issued: he was trapped once again.

“Bucky?” you call as you open the door to the basement. It’s pitch black, so you assume he’s not down here, but to be sure, you flick on the lights. Staring back at you is your husband, seated perfectly still, facial expression stone, legs positioned and back straight in a way one is taught is perfect posture, with his palms resting on his knees.

“Hi, Buck,” you greet, smiling as you make your way down. He doesn’t smile back, doesn’t greet back, he remains a statue, only bright blue eyes following your movement. They’re not bright, they’re dark.

“You’re scaring me a bit,” you admit with a nervous laugh when you hold out the bag of chips to him and he makes no move to take them, doesn’t even look at them, gaze still boring straight into your soul. He’s always seen right through you, but now, it’s not an understanding he’s attempting to achieve, you can’t tell what it is. Intimidation?

“Bucky?”

“Who the hell is Bucky?”

You take a step back, physically unable to gasp despite your desire to as you feel your air flow cut off by his words, only able to throw a hand over your mouth. But… why would he? What happened? He can’t slip back unless someone says so, can he? This isn’t your husband. This is…

“Soldat?” you whisper, lowering your cupped hand from your mouth slightly so he can hear you. You think he missed it for a second due to your small voice, but he stands.

Of course Bucky is taller than you, but even if he wasn’t, this isn’t just a height different, he towers over you like the dark clouds tower over your home outside; he towers over you in demeanour alone; he could be kneeling right now but still, that stare would let you know your place immediately.

What do you do? Of course you want to help him, but this isn’t Bucky; what can you do? Even if by the Lord’s greatest miracle, there was not even a wisp of a chance you stood against the world’s deadliest assassin.

But why would he hurt you? You were absolutely no one special, no powers or access to anything to do with the Avengers, intel or otherwise. It didn’t make sense for him to attack you. But that absolutely was not a risk you were willing to take.

You’re trembling, shaking harsher than the winds were rocking the trees, you felt like one of them, maybe; just a part of nature, pretty much inconspicuous, caught in a harsh tempest.

You throw the bag at him, turn, and run; there was no way in hell you could go outside, but maybe you could lock him in the basement. You practically fly up the stairs, and you swear he’s taunting you as he takes each step up slowly, but hitting the stairs with his steps more harshly than he otherwise would.

You slam the door shut, but despite his calm pace, he’s somehow made it to the top, and slams the door open, throwing you back. You groan as you scramble to stand and dash to the kitchen. What could you do? Get a knife? You would never hurt him, of course, never, but maybe you could scare him off? That was such a ridiculous thought you nearly rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t; you needed vision. And just as you have that thought.

The lights trip.

The winds beat against the window, but nowhere near as fast as your beating heart. You try to calm down as you duck into the cupboards under the sink, hoping you could hear him coming. His footsteps had stopped, but you knew that by no means meant he had; he could be deadly silent, you know this. You strain to hear for the faintest sound of him, but you can barely hear the storm outside over your heavy breathing and blood thumping through your ears. You cup your hand over your mouth, and as much as you want to rock yourself back and forth as you hug your knees, you don’t dare risk any movement, already stressed out of your mind as your body works as always; every blood cell rushing through your veins is way too loud; he’ll hear it, he’ll hear you.

The storm rages, but the house remains dead, not even the regular creak of the pipes, it’s like your home is just as terrified of him and is hiding, making you feel exposed despite your claustrophobic situation.

How long can you wait here? It’s not safe, but neither is leaving. Maybe you can lock yourself in the basement instead, but you don’t know where the key is. Does the basement even lock from inside? There were no locks on any other door in the house considering it was just the two of you.

Either way, you’re fucked. You are so fucked. Beyond fucked.

You count to a hundred, but even time doesn’t calm your nerves, doesn’t do anything to stop your body from acting as if you’re in danger. And why should she?—you are.

One hundred, and you open the cupboard door quickly because you know it creaks. You can’t even consider your luck it stays quiet at the sight you’re met with: The Winter Soldier, crouched in front of your hiding place, dead gaze locked on you. It’s dark, and in any other circumstance, it would be too dark to make out such detail, but you see his face very clearly.

You briefly consider just closing the door again—maybe he’ll stay there—but you don’t have time to consider a next course of action when you’re suddenly roughly grasped by the elbow and yanked out of the cabinet. You shriek as your thrown onto the ground. Once again, you inelegantly manage to get yourself back to your feet, and you run again. He’s fucking with you at this point, because he could effortlessly have crushed you under his shoe right then and there. You don’t even think you’ll die directly by his hands; he’ll cause you a heart attack and that’s how he’ll kill you.

You know the Winter Soldier is the deadliest human force there is, but his ability to appear seemingly out of thin air when you have the hint of a hopeful thought to taunt you once again is borderline magic, it has to be. Your subconscious mind—let alone your conscious mind—can’t even get the thought of saving yourself going, stopped a few words, a few letters in, when you spin around to face him.

Lightning strikes and, right out of a horror film, illuminates him at the end of the corridor.

You stumble backwards into the basement and fumble around for a latch or something? You don’t even know this place well enough to know the basic things like how it locks, and if it does lock from the inside. Unfortunately, you don’t have the time to figure that out as once again the door is blown open and sends you tumbling down the stairs that feel like they’ll never end as you roll and bounce violently. You’re at least lucky the force didn’t send you literally flying into the opposite wall and break your spine, but you’re certain you’ve at least egregiously bruised a rib at the end of your fall—you refuse to believe it’s broken—dropping onto the bag of chips.

“Bucky,” you try, as you grasp at your ribs and watch him as he slowly and rhythmically descends the stairs, “Bucky, please.”

He’s here, at the bottom of the steps, looking down on you with a face so still you half expect it to remain that way forever, but it doesn’t; his expression adjusts ever so slightly; the corner of his lip barely, barely, twitches up, but you see it, he does it.

This isn’t The Winter Soldier, this is Bucky. This your husband.

He kicks you in the ribs, and if they weren’t broken before, they definitely are now, and there’s no way you can deny it. You want to pass out, you wish so badly to be knocked unconscious, have that heart attack you were anticipating, even die, just anything to end this sight: the sight of you husband consciously harming you.

✪

[tatsumessy]

~ Unwanted ~

Ft: Trafalgar Law

Genre: Angst, desperation, Tooth rotting fluff.

Duration:

Description: Your husband hadn’t seen you for months and when you two finally reunite he just can’t keep himself off of you.

——————————————-

“Y/n you have to eat something.” Nami spoke as she entered the room with a tray of food that Sanji prepared for you. You didn’t feel like eating anything, nor did you want to see anybody. For months you had been away from your husband, your crew.

An accident occurred that you’re pretty sure no one even noticed, hell you were never really noticed on the ship in the first place. Trafalgar was always so busy with work or doing something with/for the straw hats. Look how lucky you ended up to be on their ship, saddening. How low could you get?

Maybe they didn’t even care about you, did they? If they did they would’ve found you by now. The accident itself was before the ship went under the water something hit it causing you to be thrown overboard into the water. By the time you came back up the ship was gone, you were out in the water alone in the ocean for atleast a week before the straw hats happened to be passing by.

More tears fell down your face thinking back to everything that happened. You were missing and no one cared, no one even knew you and Trafalgar were married except for the heart pirates. They say it’s for safety reasons but now you don’t even know anymore, maybe you were just a means to an end.

“Is she still not talking?” Robin asked walking into the room behind Nami, she shook her head no and set the tray down on a nearby table. They both sat down on opposing sides of the bed scooting closer to you. Looking up from under your arms your teary eyes glanced at both of them, they both gave you heartwarming smiles noticing how you were about to start crying again.

“They…left me.” Was all you said before breaking down in Robins arms. They looked at each other then back down at you, you had no idea how long you were supposed to get back to them. To him. They let you cry your heart out until you calmed down an hour later.

“Hey, we just docked at an island and we’re going to go into town for some shopping. Would you like to come with us?” “Sure.” Was all you said.

~

You were walking in between Robin and Nami as they talked about all kinds of things, each topic becoming more interesting with each store that you visited. After a couple of days of being on the island the log pose was supposed to set in the next couple of days and that feeling of missing something.

Apparently something was happening on the island and a bunch of new generation pirates were there everywhere which led to a big fight. The straw hats were fighting many different pirates from everywhere, you were stuck in the middle being protected by Luffy, Zoro and Sanji.

They weren’t going to let anything happen to you standing in the middle of the town trying to stay safe. You had almost got hit by a pirate swinging a sword at you but Zoro blocked it. You thanked him but not before something teleported you into an alleyway being held by something.

You tried to get away but the person was holding on tight causing you to scream to which he just covered your mouth to shut you up. “Y/n- ya.” He whispered and a chill ran down your spine, he tried to turn you around to look at him but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.

Tears were forming in the corner of your eyes as you covered your mouth trying to stop yourself from crying. Ignoring his call you pushed him away from you and started walking away back away from all the fighting and away from Trafalgar. Like always he didn’t follow you and let you go figuring he’d find you sooner or later.

“Y/n! I’m so glad we found you!” Chopper yelled from behind with Brook alongside him. You have him a soft smile sitting back down on the grass, “You got scratched.” He said holding your arms softly, he patched you up putting on a healing patch for you.

“Hello Traffy.” Brooks said taking his hat off in respect then putting it back on. You stiffened hearing that nickname that you’ve heard way too many times, “Y/n-ya let’s go. We need to leave.” You stayed where you were sitting as Chopper and Brook looked between you and Trafalgar.

“There’s no time for you to be in your feelings! LETS GO!” He yelled and you flinched but held your ground, you were not moving. He walked over and grabbed your arm forcing you off the ground, his grip on your arm was hurting you so bad that you ended up slapping him.

The people who were in the area gasped at what you did, now everyone’s eyes were on you and they were watching the interaction. They were whispering and watching what Trafalgar Law, captain of the Heart pirates and warlord would do to some lowly girl. His wife.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” He whispered close to your ear, “You left me.” You responded snatching your arm away from him, “I did not leave you Y/n. I’ve been searching for you this whole time.” He said crossing his arms over his chest letting out and annoyed sigh. “Oh please. I fell off the ship six months ago Law! You don’t care about me.” You backed away from him ready to walk away when many sets of eyes were staring at you.

You turned back around with your back to him to catch you breath. “Why wouldn’t I care about you, you’re my wife.” “You don’t act like it.” He threw his sword down on the ground and pulled you close to him, he interlocked his right hand with yours while his left guided your chin closer to him.

His lips connected with yours pulling you into a passionate kiss infront of everybody. He didn’t care who was watching which he should have, there were video transponder snails everywhere, pirates, the Marines, everyone was watching him kiss you. You wanted to pull away but he wasn’t going to let you go just so that he could prove a point to you.

His hands held the side of your face as his tongue fought and won over yours for dominance. He finally pulled away pecking your lips with a lingering feeling and touch for more, “I love you more than anything Y/n. You’re my wife and that’s never going to change.” His words seeped into your skin all the way to your heart, he’s never said such things to you before which made the situation all too real.

“But you left me. How could you not see that I fell off the ship. I was alone in the water for a week, I was scared and alone…” more tears started to fall and he didn’t want everyone to see you break down so he used his devil fruit powers to teleport the both of you onto the ship.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve been quicker.” “When did you notice I was missing?” You asked out of curiosity, “After a week. We had a fight and I knew you were upset with me and didn’t want to talk. So I tried to give you the space I knew you wanted.” Sitting down on the bed you kept staring at the ground fidgeting with your fingers.

Trafalgar had fallen to his knees infront of you with his hands on your lap, “Please forgive me, I thought I was losing my mind each day that passed and we couldn’t find you. If you were with the straw hats the whole time why didn’t you tell them that you were apart of my crew?”

“Because you wanted to keep our marriage a secret…and because I didn’t think you wanted me back.” You whispered the last part looking off to the side but he still heard what you said. “Of course I wanted you back. You are apart of this crew. We were all so worried about you and if you were okay. Then Bepo put this stupid though in my head.” He looked down like he was about to cry about something, “What thought?” He scoffed before answering.

“He said that you might be dead.” You couldn’t help but laugh at that statement, he looked at you with confusion waiting for you to explain yourself. “Come on now Law, I’m married to a Warlord. Do you really think I don’t know how to take care of myself?” He smiled leaning closer placing an unhealthy amount of kisses on your lips basking in the glory of having you back.

“Oh I missed you so much.” A small blush crept on his cheeks the more he expressed his affection for you, “I missed you too.”

[beanghostprincess]

Zolu as Taylor Swift lyrics

"All these people think love's for show, but I would die for you in secret." — peace

This is literally Zoro in Thriller Bark willing to die and keeping it a secret from everybody. I want to throw up. They make me mentally ill.

"Your love is a secret I'm hoping, dreaming, dying to keep. Change my priorities. The taste of your lips is my idea of luxury. [...] Is this the end of all the endings? My broken bones are mending with all these nights we're spending. Up on the roof with a schoolgirl crush, drinking beer out of plastic cups. Say you fancy me, not fancy stuff. Baby, all at once, this is enough. And all at once, you are the one I have been waiting for. King of my heart, body and soul." — King Of My Heart

King Of My Heart is so Zolu coded, not only because of, y'know, Luffy being literally the King of Zoro's heart, but because of the devotion and the feeling that nobody else compares to Luffy. Also, the feeling of young love and possessiveness between them is so good with this song.

"And I'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you. I've loved you three summers now, honey, but I want 'em all." — Lover

Zoro is in love with the future king of the pirates. Everybody wants Luffy. Of course Zoro is going to be jealous.

"Wherever you stray I follow. I'm begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans, that's my man. You know that my train could take you home, anywhere else is hollow. [...] Wait for the signal and I'll meet you after dark. Show me the places where the others gave you scars." — willow

The devotion. Zoro willing to follow Luffy to hell. Luffy wanting to know Zoro better, deeper. Knowing every detail about his scars and dreams. I'm going insane.

"And if I'm gonna be drunk, might as well be drunk in love. [...] Everyone wants him, that was my crime." — Slut!

Ah yes, being possessive and an alcoholic. Zoro's best character traits.

"'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this. You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless." — Fearless

This is very early Zolu but honestly could just be them being silly and Zoro following Luffy's silly and impulsive shenanigans.

"My thoughts will echo your name, until I see you again. These are the words I held back, as I was leaving too soon: I was enchanted to meet you... Please don't be in love with someone else... Please don't have somebody waiting on you." — Enchanted

Sabaody angst haunts me at night.

"You made a mess of me. I pictured you with other girls in love, then threw up on the street. [...] Oh my, love is a lie, shit my friends say to get me by. It hits different. It hits different this time." — Hits Different

They're so... The one for each other. Their love hits different. For both of them.

"So you were never a saint, and I've loved in shades of wrong. We learn to live with the pain, mosaic broken hearts. But this love is brave and wild. [...] These are the hands of fate, you're my Achilles heel. This is the golden age of something good and right and real." — State of Grace

They're each other's Achilles heel. I'm gonna cry.

"Time, mystical time, cuttin' me open, then healin' me fine. Were there clues I didn't see? And isn't it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me? [...] Chains around my demons, wool to brave the seasons. One single thread of gold tied me to you." — invisible string

Thinking that they were destined to be together is cheesy af but I don't care <3

"I see how this is gon' go, touch me and you'll never be alone. Island breeze and lights down low. No one has to know. [...] Every lover known in comparison is a failure. I forget their names now, I'm so very tame now. Never be the same now." — ...Ready For It?

Once again saying that they're the one for each other. And also this song is just the vibes. They have these vibes. I don't want to explain it because I got tired of writing this halfway.

"Kiss me once 'cause you know I had a long night. Kiss me twice 'cause it's gonna be alright. Three times 'cause I've waited my whole life. I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings." — Paper Rings

They're so clingy so sappy so cheesy I don't care what dudebros think.

"You were so magnetic, it was almost obnoxious. [...] I didn't come here to make friends, we were born to be suburban legends. When you hold me, it holds me together. And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever." — Suburban Legends

Luffy has always been, ever since they met, magnetic to Zoro. And it kind of bothered him at first, but now Luffy has changed his life forever and he will never love somebody else the way he loves Luffy.

"And, somehow, I know that you and I would've found each other. In another life, you still would've turned my head even if we'd met... [...] 'Cause I believe that we were supposed to find this. So, even in a different life, you still would've been mine... We would've been timeless." — Timeless

Once again saying that I love thinking they're soulmates. Because they are. Argue with the wall.

"I'm yours to keep, and I'm yours to lose." — So It Goes...

I love codependency.

"But we might just get away with it. Religion's in your lips. Even if it's a false god. We'd still worship. We might just get away with it. The altar is my hips. Even if it's a false god. We'd still worship this love. I know heaven's a thing. I go there when you touch me. Honey hell is when I fight with you." — False God

Zoro worshipping Luffy like a God will never not be extremely romantic and passionate. Luffy also sees their relationship like this, kind of. They're each other's world!!! Going crazy!!!

"Put your lips close to mine as long as they don't touch. Out of focus, eye to eye, 'til the gravity's too much. And I'll do anything you say if you say it with your hands." — Treacherous

This is just them pining over each other and being extremely intimate and willing to do anything the other says. I love exaggerating everything.

"They said the end is coming. Everyone's up to something. I find myself running home to your sweet nothings. [...] And the voices that implore, "You should be doing more". To you, I can admit that I'm just too soft for all of it." — Sweet Nothing

I honestly always think about Sanuso with this song because it's way more Sanuso coded- HOWEVER!! I do think Zolu has this domestic and genuine energy whenever they're clingy and don't really ask anything from the other except just being together.

"Big reputation, big reputation. You and me, we got big reputations. And you heard about me. I got some big enemies. [...] I swear I don't love the drama, it loves me. And I can't let you go, your handprint's on my soul. It's like your eyes are liquor, it's like your body is gold." — End Game

Do I really need to explain this one when everybody knows they're literally dramatic pirates wanted by the law? And they're very very in love?

"All I know is this could either break my heart or bring it back to life. Got a feelin' your electric touch could fill this ghost town up with life. And I want you now, wanna need you forever. In the heat of your electric touch." — Electric Touch

When OPLA!Zoro said that Luffy had changed his life. That changed me.

"We blocked the noise with the sound of 'I need you', and for the first time I had something to lose." — Holy Ground

Once again this is about OPLA!Zoro but obviously works with our regular Zolu. Zoro was so lost without Luffy I'm gonna cry.

"One night he wakes, strange look on his face. Pauses, then says: You're my best friend. And you knew what it was. He is in love." — You Are In Love

This is the perfect way to describe a relationship between aroaspec people. Also, this is giving Sanuso too but this is not a Sanuso post I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so-

"Don't blame me, love made me crazy. If it doesn't, you ain't doin' it right. Lord, save me, my drug is my baby, I'll be usin' for the rest of my life. My name is whatever you decide, and I'm just gonna call you mine." — Don't Blame Me

I don't need to explain this one.

"My hand was the one you reached for all throughout the Great War." — The Great War

I always think about ASL and Marineford with this one but tbh it is very Zolu too.

[trainalt22]

NEW AND IMPROVED ✨️CHARACTER PROFILES✨️ GET THE LORE WHILE ITS HOT PEOPLE

Name: Jamie Alrick

Age: 23

Occupation: NWR#1 Fireman

Likes: The cold, chocolate, photography and RPG games

Dislikes: being hot, narcissists, tight clothes and being late

Bio: Born on Sodor to Richard and Alice Alrick in March of 2000. Unfortunately, Rick's wife Alice was infertile so a surrogate was needed. Even more unfortunate is that the surrogate (that was randomly chosen) was the rich CEO of a British-American business empire, Janice Weddle. When her only son died in 2007, she took the Alricks to court over custody for Jamie. She won in 2008 due to less than ethical means, taking Jamie from the loving family he had grown up in and placing him into a cold and calculated corporation where his every move was judged. He was put under severe stress. All he wanted was to go home, but he was alone in a different country, so he could only revel in the small comforts, like the gifts his family on Sodor would send him for Christmas and his birthday, which were irreplaceable.

He ran away from home in 2016, living on the streets for 2 years before he scrounged up enough money for a plane ticket to England, where he showed up at the Alrick household back on Sodor. He was welcomed with open arms, but the trauma from his childhood made it hard for him to acclimate to a more relaxed environment.

He moved to the mainland in 2019 for studies and work, enjoying being on his own greatly, until he received a call from his mother in early 2023 urgently sending for him to return to Sodor due to his father's untimely passing.

Name: Amilea Lilian Collins

Age:21

Occupation: NWR #12 fireman

Likes: sweets, the fall season, steam locomotives, knifes

Dislikes: Bigotry, the summer, Spicy food, being bossed around

Personality: she's sly sarcastic but never rude she tries her best to be as open minded and friendly as possible

Bio: Born in September of 2003 to her family her mother, Lidia Collins, her father, Maxwell Collins, and her brother, Ashton Collins. Most of her early childhood, Amilea naturally gravitated to her female classmates, which Maxwell found especially concerning because Amilea was AMAB.

During her later years, she discovered herself and transitioned with the support of her mother and brother.

However, her father kicked her out, devastating her. Luckily, her brother took her in while he worked at the NRM. It was then that she developed her love for locomotives of all types.

In her spare time, she worked on heritage railways all over the UK. It helped that her brother was recently promoted to lead mechologist for the NRM, and she used him as a reference to get on the footplate of some of the most famous preserved engines in the UK.

She applied to the NWR as soon as she hit 21 for an engine crew position. She got an interview, so she traveled to the small island of Sodor by rail, where she met someone who she thought could use a hand.

She was never extroverted, but if she got the job, it could be worth it if she tried to present herself as she always wanted to. So, she went up to him, offering her help.

When they went their separate ways, he seemed in higher spirits, and Ami felt glad that she could help someone in need.

Unfortunately, her interview had to be postponed to a few days later due to an emergency. But when she finally did get her interview, she was hired.

She found a studio apartment near Arlesburgh. It wasn't cheap, but it was leagues cheaper than an apartment in Tidmouth. Her brother helped her move everything in, wishing her the best in starting this new chapter of her life.

Name: Riley Mcdoon

Age: 26

Occupation: NWR#6 fireman

Likes: older woman, programming, hanging out with his drinking buddies and musicals

Dislikes: keith, rain, and snow

Personality: burtaly honest but rude hell tell you when your outta line or have to shape up but when your on his good side he's funny and charming

Bio: Born in Wales in August of 1997 to Michael and Ashley McDoon, he inherited his Irish accent from.

During his early childhood to late teens, he was a troublemaker and was on a first-name basis with almost every officer in Cardiff. However, by the time he went to college, he mellowed out while volunteering on the Talyllyn Railway.

He inherited a house in Ffarquhar from his great aunt and moved there. Originally hired as a signalman on the North Western, after he completed his training, he became a fireman and has been doing it ever since.

Name: Phi Montley

Age: 23

Occupation: NWR#7 Fireman

Likes: being left alone, the sounds of steam engines, Toby, walks in the forest

Dislikes:loud noises, people, crowed spaces, tomatoes

Personality: quite and rarely speaks but if you piss them off you will wish you Hadn't

Bio: Born in January of 2000, Phi had a good early life. They and their mother, Melissa Montley, lived in Ffarquhar until 2008, when a car accident claimed her life.

Unfortunately, the accident had a lasting effect on Phi. They didn't speak for almost a year afterward, and when they finally did, it was only to warn her grandfather, Wilfred (who was now their guardian), about a plank of wood that was going to hit him in the head.

Phi still lived in Ffarquhar for most of their life after their mother's accident. They tried moving away a few times, but it never worked out.

Wilfred was just happy to have someone around after the death of his wife and child. Years later, he did everything he possibly could to look after Phi.

Phi came out as non-binary shortly before working with their grandfather on the North Western Railway. They had their name changed right before applying.

They deal with anger issues often, almost resulting in violence. But with both Toby and Wilfred, they managed to stay grounded and not lose their cool often.

Their hot-headedness earned them the nickname "the phoenix of Ffarquhar" for their temper and good looks.

Name: Wilfred Montley

Age:63

Occupation: NWR#7 Driver

Likes: tea, hiking, kayaking, cooking

Dislikes: being lied too, bland food, being used, Loud music

Personality: as kind and loyal as they come Wilfred and his engine are the best to come too if you need advice he's always willing to lend a hand

Bio: Born in June of 1960, Wilfred was abandoned on the steps of St. Tibba's Nunnery in Welsworth, where he was raised. When he was 16, he got a job as a cleaner for the NWR on the Suddery Branchline.

By the time he turned 18, he was a fireman, moving from place to place and never being stuck to one engine for long before being transferred to Ffarquhar in 1980 as a fireman for Toby.

That same year, he fell in love with a local shopkeeper's daughter named Roselyn, whose father owned the tramway. By 1982, they got married and bought a home in Ffarquhar. In 1983, his daughter Melissa was born. Unfortunately, Roselyn died in childbirth.

Raising a daughter on his own was hard work. By 1985, he became Toby's driver. Some semblance of normalcy returned to their lives as Melissa grew. Wilfred would often sneak Melissa onto the footplate on her days off from school.

By 1999, Melissa found love of her own in a high-school love story in the making. Unfortunately, carelessness led to Melissa getting pregnant that same year, but her father helped and supported her, even when her "partner" ran off.

All was well; the little one was born with no serious problems, and his daughter survived the ordeal. Unfortunately, in 2008, Melissa passed away in a car accident in Tidmouth. The accident permanently affected Wilfred, with the only thing keeping him going during the next few years being his grandchild.

However, Phi took the accident hard. They screamed for their mother to return home so much that they started coughing up blood, damaging their vocal cords.

After that, they didn't speak for a year, only finally speaking when Wilfred was doing some housework and a plank of wood he had propped against a wall started falling toward him (which still hit him because he was in shock of hearing his grandchild's voice for the first time in a year).

After that, they started talking more, little by little. Eventually, the years passed them both by, and "Phi," as they started to call themselves, was 18. They tried moving away, but no one understood Phi like their grandfather, so in Ffarquhar they stayed.

When Phi turned 20, they applied to work for the NWR on the Ffarquhar Branchline and passed both the interview and training with flying colors.

When Phi approached Wilfred about wanting Phi to be their legal name, he took them the same day to get it changed. In that same conversation, they came out as non-binary. Wilfred didn't care; he loved his grandchild all the same.

They have worked together since, helping Toby and Henrietta work the Ffarquhar tramway.

Name: Adalyn Aberdeen

Age:53

Occupation: NWR D#3 Driver

Likes: warm weather, fancy clothes, wine, railway Galas

Dislikes: rain, snow, children, slobs

Personality: posh but not insufferable she acts more like the mother figure of the Ffarquhar crews and she loves to gossip over wine with Wilfred after a day's work

Bio: Born in 1970 in Manchester, her father was a railwayman through and through. She would often spend her early childhood watching the locomotives of the London Midland Region thunder by her childhood home.

When she was 16, her father would bring her along to help start up the locomotives. She took a liking to the engines, and slowly but surely, they took a liking to her, blossoming her love for diesel engines.

She would help out cleaning the sheds or cabs of the brand new diesels. After she graduated high school, she wanted a job working with her father, but she was denied. Even after many attempts, still nothing. She tried for any position they had open, and every one was denied (which she suspected was because of her gender).

Fed up, she tried one last time, but she made a mistake on the address of the letter, and it was sent to Sodor, where she was hired as an engine driver immediately.

Sodor was in a shortage for anyone with experience working with diesel locomotives, or anyone who wanted to. The interest was in the older steam engines, so when they got a resume from the Midlands, they hired her on the spot.

When she realized her mistake, it was too late, but she figured she would be turned away regardless.

Much to her surprise, a letter showed up a week later asking if she could do an in-person interview on the island of Sodor.

Her surprise only grew when she got to the small island and got the job. With what little savings she had, she rented an apartment in Knapford and started work. She was the first female diesel driver in the island's history.

It didn't take long for her and her engine, Daisy, to warm up to one another, and she works the same service to this day. Some would say doing the same job for so long would get boring, but Adalyn and Daisy know that on Sodor, there's never a dull moment.

Name: Keith Williams

Age:20

Occupation: NWR #6 Diver

Likes:wealth, praise,being in charge, men

Dislikes: being told he's wrong, not being in control, alcohol,

Personality: rude stuck up and arrogant it'd hard to imagine how he got a job on the NWR

Bio: Born in 2003, he was adopted by two very wealthy people who always wanted an heir to their business empire. He was raised with a golden spoon in his mouth; as a child, he was never told no. He naturally developed a love for locomotives from watching Thomas and Friends.

As he grew older, so did his passion, until he went to see The Flying Scotsman when he was 13. Ever since that moment, he wanted to be an engine driver. His parents didn't understand why he wanted to do such dirty and filthy work, but as he was their only child, they humored him.

When he turned 20, they pulled some strings with the branchline manager for the Ffarquhar Branchline to have him hired as an engine driver, even though he flunked out of his engine driving test on Sodor.

He was still experienced, and it wasn't his fault that the rugged, scruffy fireman he was paired with was kinda cute but rude to him. He would have aced that training if it wasn't for him.

He got the job regardless, and they assigned him to Percy. He was upset that he wasn't assigned to a more important engine, but he took it, hoping to one day move up the ranks.

[queencherryberry]

All I’ll say about this chapter is chapter 5 will be a continuation of this.

Gif made by @toe-bro

Warnings: dom!reader, sub!cody, breeding kink, marking kink, mentions of a different character being pregnant, dick sucking, plan b mentions

Chapter 4 of Brothers Best Friend

Cody went to the store while you stayed home and slept. He browsed through the isles looking for the condoms and plan b. Suddenly he spotted someone familiar. Your brother. Randy was in the same isle Cody was looking for. Cody swallowed harshly and quickly thought of a cover story. He pulled out his phone to make it believable. He quietly walked up next to Randy and cautiously grabbed the plan b and began looking for the type of condoms he usually uses. “Rhodes, What, and I can’t stress this enough, the fuck are you doing here?” Randy nearly screamed seeing Cody out of the corner of his eye. Randy nearly dropped the pregnancy test he was reading. “Tinder date. I told your sister I’d be gone for a couple of hours. Some new college freshmen overheard where to get her back blown out so someone gave her my number.” Cody hoped Randy would believe his lie. Randy sighed and looked around. “Bet it’s just some whore who wants her guts rearranged and is going to dip faster than you can or she’ll get emotionally attached and won’t leave you alone or worse…she’ll force you to knock her up…” Randy said in a snarky tone. He said it almost as if he was talking about himself. “What? Kim is pregnant or something?” Cody joked.

“I’m not sure…she went to give me head and started throwing up everywhere. She’s never done that. And she swears up and down that she’s on the pill. I swear to god if she’s been lying. God I’d be so pissed if y/n pulled a stunt like Kim did. Hell I’d chop off that damn Samoan kids balls if he even dared to pull some shit like that to her.” He paused. “I’d be even more pissed if he just dumped a load into her and dipped. Fucking dudes not worth shit to her. He treats her like shit and constantly cheats on her. She’s just too blind to see it.” Randy snarked. Cody gulped at Randy’s words. “Right…um it was nice talking but I can’t make my date wait any longer than she already is. Bye Randy.” Cody quickly ran off to check out and head back home. He thought for sure he’d be a dead man if Randy learned what he and you did.

Once home he went back up his room where he found you sleeping. He set the stuff in his bedside drawer and covered you with your blanket. He laid down and pulled you close. He kissed the back of your head and then went to sleep himself.

In the morning you woke to sound of your alarm going off at 7:30 am. You hit snooze. Not even two minutes later you were woken by the smell of breakfast. You got up and shuffled towards the smell. You stopped at the kitchen island where your plate was already waiting. Cody handed you a cup of coffee to drink with your food. He looked like he had been up for a while. He was in his gym clothes and you couldn’t help but wonder what he looked like lifting weights. Maybe he went for a run? “Eat up princess, we still have to swing by your place so you can grab your books and stuff.” He said drinking his own coffee. “Also, despite that I’ve known your brother for years, he scares me. I ran into him at the store last night…” He started. “He may or may not have gotten Kim knocked up. I saw him buying her a pregnancy test kit. I said I was there buying for a tinder date. He then started rambling about how he was going to castrate Jey if Jey ever knocked you up. He then said he’d take Jey’s balls and shove them down his throat if Jey ever just dumped into you and dipped. Frankly, your brother is not one to fucked with. How you manage to stand toe to toe with him in a screaming match is actually pretty hot.” He basically rambled on. He paused to take a drink of his coffee avoiding eye contact with you after admitting that last part.

“Hey, momma may have raised a bitch, but she didn’t raise a bitch. Sometimes I scream at Randal to assert dominance before he puts me in a headlock.” You retorted. You finished eating and drinking your coffee. You looked over at Cody and noticed his face a light shade of red. “You good? Your face is a little red?” You asked him. Cody snapped from his thoughts and nodded. “Yeah…uh…I-is this coffee too hot or something?” He tried looking her in the face without picturing her naked. He tried subtly pushing his raging boner down in his shorts. It was too early in the morning to be this horny. As she talked to him his boner got worse and he started losing focus. “Hey, Codes, are you sure you’re okay? Your face is completely red?” You asked getting up to put your cup and plate in the sink. You walked over to him to give him a hug but he stopped you from coming any closer. He kept his back to you so you wouldn’t see his boner. Although he wished you could help him relieve it before you went to school. You fought to hug him anyway. You were just being playful by being handsy until you realized his situation was real. “Oh? Oh? Oh! What’s got you so riled up this morning? That looks painful and like you need help.” You said into his ear reaching up on your tippy toes. One of your hands made their way into his shorts and stroked him slowly. He moaned at your touch. He hoped this was just his mind wandering off but he also hoped it was real. Mentally he has his fingers crossed that you’d get on your knees and blow him.

So now you found yourself on your knees in the kitchen helping Cody with his problem. The sounds he made each time you ran your tongue up his shaft made you smile. You attacked his head with your tongue skillfully and gave it a couple bobs before going back to deep throating him. Your nails dug into his thighs and his head started spinning. He grabbed a fistful of hair and started fucking your mouth. You gagged at first but eventually you took his whole length in your mouth. You liked the way he was grabbing your hair and moaned on his dick. He picked up his pace and pulled your hair more. Cody about came right then and there as you massaged his balls. Cody let out the most pathetic whimper you have ever heard and it made you wet. You saw your opportunity and took it. You grabbed his hands from your hair and slowly pulled your mouth off his dick. A trail of precum and spit hung from his head to your bottom lip. You gave it one last lick before standing up. Cody was a panting mess as he looked at you confused and then understood where this was headed. She grabbed his wrist and practically dragged him to the bedroom.

Once there you pushed him onto the bed and started to strip. He stripped as well. You grabbed his face and started kissing him furiously. He moaned under your touch and wrapped his arms around your back and waist practically pulling you on top. “1. I’m skipping school today. 2. Who said you can touch me? Last I checked I’m the one in control today. If I would’ve known that you can make sounds like that, I would’ve left jey a long time ago.” You said after pulling back from the kiss. You grabbed his face with one hand and stared into his eyes. She shoved him back into the mattress. “Go grab your handcuffs and put on a condom. And if you’re a good boy, later, I just might let you do it raw again.” You commanded and ended with a treat. Cody got up and did as he was told. By now his dick was throbbing harshly wanting to be emptied. He gave you his cuffs and opened the box he bought last night. He laid on his back for you to do whatever to him. You cuffed his hands above his head to the headboard where he had yours yesterday. You sat back and smiled. You then sank down onto his dick and began riding him. To make him squirm you spelled his name with your hips. Cody threw his head back into his pillows, moaning. With each bouncing motion you made he let out a corresponding sound of pleasure. You wrapped a hand around his throat and started whispering all the dirty things you were going to do to him. As a reaction he bucked his hips up into you hitting your cervix. You moaned in response. You started riding him faster. You bent down and bit his neck leaving a huge hickey. You moved over to the other side of his neck and bit down on his neck tattoo. He groaned with his eyes nearly rolling back. Your pace got harsh and you could feel both your orgasms getting closer. You quickly pulled off him only to sink back down in reverse cowgirl and began picking your pace back up. You were moaning too cause Cody was hitting your g spot at this angle every time you rocked back and forth. You came first and hard. Your walls clenched around his dick and your back arched. Cody made the most pathetic sound you heard as he came hard hitting his orgasm. His legs went straight and then his toes curled as he saw white and stars. He just hoped the condom didn’t break with the force of his orgasm.

Tags: @alyyaanna @alyanamrossi @mylittlepartofthegalaxy @theswitchbladessweetheart and anyone else who wants to be tagged

[balanceoflightanddark]

Read your fic and I have to say you make a pretty good morally gray Godzilla, like it's a tough concept to nail down and you managed to hit it right on the head

Thanks for enjoying my fic. And sorry if updates have been a little slow. I was just on vacation in Michigan and I've been busy with work. Hopefully I can get back in the flow of things in the days to come.

Anyways, when it comes to a morally grey Godzilla, you have to understand that he's been around for decades. Naturally that means that as different writers and directors come and go, naturally they're going to have different interpretations of the character. That includes morality. Hell, just this year we've had one of the most malevolent Godzillas in Godzilla: Minus One, and the more heroic character from Godzilla X Kong: A New Empire. Trying to write a version of Godzilla that pays tribute to all his outings AND fits within the narrative of Avatar: The Last Airbender is naturally going to be a daunting challenge.

What made it a bit easier for me is that Godzilla, at his core, isn't exactly a character you can hate. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's still a destructive monster that can kill millions. But he didn't exactly ask to be a giant radioactive monster to begin with. Hell, it's right there in the first movie. While Godzilla goes on deliberate rampages, we also see him resting peacefully in Tokyo Bay. And his death isn't exactly treated as triumphant either. I think even the cast cried a little at his death scene if I remember correctly.

It helps that even at his worst, it's still kind of difficult to hate Godzilla. It's implied in GMK that he's being possessed by a million souls who are rightfully angry at being forgotten by the Japanese who killed them in World War II. Shin Godzilla was essentially one big walking cancer who's whole existence was hell. Even Godzilla from Minus One was a territorial dinosaur initially, and we do see a brief shot of his very painful transformation into the kaiju we all know.

At the same time though, he's still a giant monster that repeatedly attacks people. Like it or not, there has to be some kind of response lest he continues to go on a rampage. So at his core, we do have that grey morality going on. Which is highlighted in later films that I'll discuss in a minute.

For my portrayal of Godzilla, I wanted to find that sweet spot between heroic and villainous. Not entirely evil, but not entirely good either. More like a force of nature who'd rather be left alone than anything else. While I am aiming for a more heroic take on him as the story goes on, I don't want to stray away from this either.

Besides, I felt a morally gray Godzilla would work for a post-war canon like I have here. Basically one big consequence of the Fire Nation's rampant warmongering that's going to cause problems for them again and again if they continue to be imperialistic. He works as a foil for Aang in that way. Aang advocates for peace and understanding, working on reforming the Fire Nation. Godzilla works as a big reminder for why the Fire Nation must give up their ways lest they basically self-destruct. Considering that one of Godzilla's core themes is the unintended consequence of rampant warfare and disregard for life, this does fit in nicely with the anti-war and anti-imperialistic tones of ATLA.

There's two films in this regard I want to highlight. The first being Godzilla vs King Ghidorah, which is essentially Godzilla's origin story for the Hesei series. The film makes it clear under no uncertain terms that Godzilla was initially peaceful and merely territorial before Imperial Japan brought war to his island and left him mortally wounded. Not only that, but the local Japanese Commander left him for dead (not out of malice mind you) and he later got mutated by nuclear weapon usage. Leaving him a hate filled monster. Even still, there is a moment of poignance where Godzilla encounters the Japanese Commander again in the present day (who is now a successful businessman) where he remembers that painful day and roars in agony right before killing the one who turned him into what he is. Even if he's the bad guy, it's really difficult to blame him for being what he is since he didn't have a choice in the matter.

The other film is Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla II. Again, Godzilla is an antagonistic force who goes on a rampage. This time though, it's because humans had unknowingly taken a young member of his species. And interestingly, he backs off when he senses his "son" is in danger from his rampage. The problem comes more from the humans in the second half, when they intentionally use the infant as bait for them to lure Godzilla into a trap. Aside from being reckless enough to risk another rampaging Godzilla just to get a shot at him (even though the chosen area is an uninhabited island), they're trying to kill him even when he's not an immediate threat. He wasn't even making his way towards Japan BEFORE they risked his "son's" life. So again, hard to blame him for wrecking Super MechaGodzilla.

These are the films I based a lot of Godzilla's morality on for my fic. He's certainly a threat, but often it's because of a consequence of somebody else's machinations. And while he's going to be in a more "heroic" light in the coming arcs, the damage and danger he causes just by showing up isn't going to go away.

[kintatsujo]

LoZ AU- The Courage of Running Away LABRYNNA EXPANDED (long post alert)

Let's start with a link to the original masterpost since this is plunked in the midst of Part Five of the OG plotting posts.

Labrynna was practically a footnote in the original CoRA plotting posts, it and Holodrum basically getting covered in one post.

But as I've noted since, it turned into its own storyline, and I got wrapped up in Politics, and fantasy politics are my fucking catnip so I have at this point gotten through two whole ass NaNos with it oh god.

Image descriptions will be in ALT this time around so theoretically the seventeen to twenty pictures in this post won't be quite so bad???

So where things pick up, Link has just left Windfish Isle on Uncle Torik's ferry with Marla and Tonbo and they're headed to Labrynna.

...I was going to post the map of Western Aurule here but that. I'm gonna put that in its own post. Here's a link to the map of Aurule proper as it currently stands.

And the first thing Link does, before they even get all the way to Labrynna, is piss off a pirate:

A lot of you are not going to look at the alt text so I'm going to say that he's based on a thorny devil and I did not mean for him to turn out so adorable. (But also I love lizards so maybe it was inevitable that my fondness would show through.)

Link was MOSTLY trying to get him to leave Crescent Island alone so he blows up the figurehead of Kragg's ship.

Which was of Kragg's wife.

Kragg is gonna show back up.

Link and Marla and Tonbo manage to escape to Jabu City, which is based on the fact that there's an OoT-style-Zora Village underwater off the coast in Oracle of Ages because this fic is nothing if not wild extrapolation.

Jabu City is a mixed-peoples city, with Zora, humans, Rito and some Gorons, but it's largely Zora.

Note on mister "Oh I'm in DANGER:" A running gag is that Marla is considered a very attractive Zora and Tonbo is having absolutely none of people hitting on her. Marla takes a lot of delight in this.

Have some more Jabu City fashion because I got carried away:

The trouble is, Jabu City is a beautiful place but the Zora there are generally kind of... hoity toidy high on themselves. There's a few crass comments made about Marla being from Windfish Isle, for example.

So Link, Marla and Tonbo don't spend especially long there and instead head north to the town of Brynna, where Link finds himself instead running into his mother's past-- stories of her adventures, but even more importantly into a traveling story collector who has a bit of a connection to Catena.

I want you all to know that hitting on the idea that the Graceful Gorons are called that because they're all Victorian era-style boxers was the single most inspired moment I've had in this AU setting's worldbuilding, my brain is enormous and I am sexy as hell XD

Anyways Allemande and Courante were Catena's friends for years, and then Catena died so Allemande started taking journeys around Aurule every few years so that he could collect stories about her and about adventurers like her. Think of him as being a bit like an earthier Kass without an accordion.

Allemande suggests that they go to Lynna City, Labrynna's capitol, partly because another one of Catena's old friends lives there now.

But on the way they run into Politics again (they've already run into these politics in Jabu but now it's even more in their face), because they have to cross the Kappakon River to get to Lynna City, and that means interacting with the Kappakon River Zora, who are quite a different deal from the coastal Zora:

What Enhir means when she says "what they're doing to us" is that the mayor of Symmetry City next to Dimitri Bridge is dumping garbage upstream of the nearest Domain, Nuun Domain, trying to get rid of them and mostly making their Patriarch and their tadpoles desperately ill. (I didn't include a sketch of the Nuun Domain Patriarch even though he does have a design because at the point I drew this I already knew this post was longer than most of the original posts for the AU, waagh)

Symmetry City is also where Link, Marla and Tonbo first meet Sturmaz, who essentially joins the party for pretty much the rest of the storyline because I love him and he's a good boy.

I made a post about Sturmaz before and it features a little more art that is absolutely him yelling at Symmetry City's mayor about this mess.

So it takes some yelling at the right people but eventually Link gets the Nuun Domain sorted out and they head to Lynna City to meet his mom's best friend, Githa, who actually lives here because she got banished from Hyrule for reasons that might be clear after the picture:

Notes on Githa: She was originally inspired by Agitha from TP as she appears in Hyrule Warriors with a bit of influence from Purah; for some reason when Invid and I were playing through HW Agitha being a secret criminal or mob boss turned into a running joke along with her NPC mode constantly clinging to giant bosses whenever it was absolutely inconvenient. That turned into Githa.

Also, she doesn't know Catena thought of her as her best friend, which is the real reason Link decides she's a disaster person.

The problem is, now they're in the Capitol and naturally there's more Politics there. For example, Sturmaz's uncle:

(Marla and Tonbo don't want to let Sturmaz or Link think that having shitty father figures is normal.)

And indeed, the stupid hat does come with the job, as Link discovers when he goes with Sturmaz and Nimbas to the Labrynna Senate:

So the idea behind Labrynna's government is that in CoRA's version of events, Labrynna abolished the monarchy after Queen Ambi because they weren't putting up with that shit again (the official line is that so much power is considered too much strain on one person.)

As is evidenced by the Presiding Lady still being a member of Ambi's bloodline and the senator of Brynna being her sister, however, nepotism is still alive and well in Labrynna.

Also Link gets a cute outfit so that he doesn't stand out so much in this crowd:

(It was an emergency situation I swear.)

To be clear this is a man's dress and Link's entire reaction to it is "I don't know how my father puts up with a floor length skirt." Fuck your gender roles.

Nimbas turns out to be more than a bit of a professional jerkass.

(By "river monsters," Nimbas means the Kappakon Zora. Just to be clear.)

Link also visits the Maku Tree, because you don't go to the capitol of either Labrynna or Holodrum and just not visit the Maku Tree.

I wanted the Maku Tree to have an equivalent to the Kokiri for a number of reasons but one of them is that over on the Ghirahim side of the story he's having a silent existential crisis about his backstory and I like narrative mirrors. *thumbs up*

Credit goes to Invid for the idea that the Koroks and Kokiri are actually just the same thing entirely and that the Kokiri put on the Korok masks in order to leave Korok Woods safely.

Also Kula is actually a canon Breath of the Wild character. I made a sound like I was greeting a cat when I found her in TotK. XD

Link finds out, among other things, that the Golden Kragg seems to still be pushing his way up the Kappakon despite that he has to fight every single river Zora on the way. It turns out that Kragg is upset about more than Link blowing up his ship's figurehead:

At some point several years before in Yoll Province, the local dragon went missing, the local lizalfos started acting up, and then the Labrynna Senate, partially spurred on by Senator Nimbas's arguments on behalf of Senator Aldo from Yollton, well, absolutely exterminated the Lizal presence in Yoll Province, and executed the lizalfos leader in Lynna City Square.

Leaving behind her husband, the Golden Kragg, and his lizalfos pirate crew.

So THAT'S not great.

Have a chonky dragon.

Obviously that means that Link has to investigate this shit.

Kragg is heading straight for Lynna City with full intent to carve a new statue of his wife out of the Maku Tree herself, and while the River King Izemaz, living in the Maku Domain, is absolutely going to step in if Kragg tries it, the main bridge Kragg would have to come through is a major marketplace in Lynna and Link can't stand idly by even if it means his destiny as a Called Hero is sort of chasing him around a little at this point.

Which means that Link and party take an express glider to Yoll because time is now of the essence (it is terrible that I didn't draw this. Imagine them sitting in one of those steampunk engine-less plane contraptions and getting launched from a catapult. Also Marla doing lots of screaming.)

Well, shit.

(Link can hear Gabbrosald's sickened godsong because of the pointed ears while Zora are just really sensitive to Things Being Wrong in the Environment. LORE.)

Anyways shit goes DOWN. They have to do a dungeon and everything. And finally, at the end of it, once they've freed the dragon in distress, Gabbrosald gives them a ride back up to Lynna City so they can stop the Golden Kragg from burning Maku Park and using the Maku Tree as carving base, because actually Lord Gabbrosald was rather fond of those lizalfos and would prefer that the Golden Kragg not get himself killed.

Now Link just needs to convince Senator Nimbas that killing the lizalfos that the furious local dragon god is fond of is maybe not the best idea.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 14/09/2023

Green Panty Zone (Sequenced Ver​.​)

Season 5 Featured on: STUDIO TRIGGER QUALITY MUSIC WORKS

Ripped by SonicHeroesFan1

I've talked about it before, but man - its SO cool how I've been able to get attached to certain rips without knowing anything about what its aiming to convey. This isn't just about not getting the joke - there are a surprising number of rips made as tributes or inofficial follow-ups of sorts to other well-loved pieces from other communities. An example I've covered on this blog would be Big Sus Chocobo, an Among Us-themed YTPMV of Electric de Chocobo directly paying tribute to The First AVGN YTPMV of 2022, which released earlier that year (which in turn took direct inspiration from Big Ass Chocobo from 2017 - thank you, anonymous Ask for the correction!). Its heartwarming, in a way, to remember that SiIvaGunner is at its core part of a community, and that the channel is a community of creators in of itself.

The part in parenthesis in Green Panty Zone (Sequenced Ver.)'s name isn't just for flavor - it openly tells you from what source SonicHeroesFan1 chose to pay tribute to with this rip. Green Panty Zone is a 10-year old mashup between Champion from the anime series Panty & Stocking and various pieces of Sonic the Hedgehog music - made by none other than the infamous Triple-Q. You remember Triple-Q, right? - I've talked about him on the blog before in Planet Wisp Mashup Medley, and even outside of SiIvaGunner he's one of the most long-enduring personalities in the space of audio shitposting. Green Panty Zone, despite its age, is a pretty fun listen and displays the sheer creativity and work Triple-Q so consistently puts into his work, even as long ago as 2012.

With all that said, it *is* still a mashup - a rather simple joke in execution that works tremendously well. Green Panty Zone (Sequenced Ver.) pushes Triple-Q's original idea to the natural end point - what if the melody of Champion were to be directly implemented into the Sonic music used? The outcome is nothing short of beautiful, and it runs the full list of Sonic music featured in the original - Green Hill Zone, Angel Island Zone, Emerald Hill Zone, Palmtree Panic Present, Green Hill Zone's 8-bit rendition from the Game Gear, and even the oft-forgotten Sunset Hill from Sonic Advance 3. Each segment is given utmost care in their sound and authenticity, to where its almost hard to notice just how much the rip escalates and changes as it goes from Sonic game to Sonic game. Its easy to infer by his username, but SonicHeroesFan1 displays such infectious love for the Sonic series in all the Sonic rips he works on, its as if that love directly translates into quality and authenticity.

Each segment is done incredibly in its own right, and are topped off with a bunch of personal flourishes binding them together. The most striking one is the transition into Sunset Hill from Sonic Advance 3, using Sonic CD's time-travel sounds and a voice clip from Sonic's early-2000s voice actor to signify the change to a more "modern" Sonic game track, but that's only really scratching the surface! There's spring sounds, spike sounds, a snare sound almost exclusive to Sonic 2's soundtrack that opens the way for the Emerald Hill Zone segment - hell, the entire segment representing Sonic CD actually uses another SiIvaGunner rip as its baseline, yet it fits the mix so perfectly as to almost go unnoticed despite how noticably different it sounds. (Read Collision Chaos Good Future JP [CD Beta Mix] to learn more!)

This is one of those rips that I swear I could gush about endlessly, and the strangest part is that...I've never watched Panty & Stocking. I have no idea what emotional ties this'll have to someone who did - I'm speaking solely as a SiIvaGunner and a Sonic the Hedgehog fan, and that alone was enough to make this rip hit home. The amount of love poured into rips like these, despite being so directly tied to jokes for such a specific audience - tied to a mashup made 10 years ago by someone who, as a reminder, doesn't even associate much with the SiIvaGunner team anymore - is absolutely insane. Its a true testament to where SiIvaGunner's priorities lie: It's never about broad reach, about fame, about attention, but about quality and love for the fellow man.

[melishade]

porco and pick arrive at padadis

Previous Episode of the War Timeline

And this is where shit starts to hit the fan.

So Bumblebee and a few Scouts, including Armin, are investigating the edges of the island when they come across the ship that Pieck, Porco, and the remaining Eldian Restorationists are using. The ship has crashed along the shore, and Bumblebee immediately gets to work. He climbs down to help the humans out, but they are understandably scared of him, screaming at the sight of him. Bumblebee tries to communicate, but forgets about the language barrier and it only makes things worse. Armin hears Porco hissing at Pieck about the fact that they sailed to their deaths to these island devils, and quickly intervenes and tries to explain that Bumblebee is an ally. Everyone is tense and no one wants to listen, but Pieck is willing to hear him out for a moment. Armin explains that Bumblebee protects humans and that he's part of a group called the Autobots. Bumblebee even shows the Autobot symbol on his arm. Pieck is starting to notice the differences between this titan and Megatron, and she sees that he's kinder...and younger. She doesn't want to go over the negative implications of that, and just asks for their help, since they need to find the other warriors and possibly the Founding Titan.

She explains everything that's happened, but omits the fact that she's a titan shifter for her protection in case things go wrong. The Scouts take pity and aid the humans off of the boat and help them get to the Walls, missing the fact that Lazerbeak was following them. They are taken to the hospital to get looked at, and just in case, Ratchet scans them all for any abnormalities and injuries, but not before explaining. This ultimately gets him to find out that Pieck is a titan shifter, because he notices the same energy signature coming from her matches Eren. He keeps quiet about it, but he does tell Optimus and Erwin about it.

Porco wonders what the two of them are going to do now, especially since they were in enemy territory. He doubts that an island of devils would be willing to help them out. They were abandoned in the first place. Pieck explains that something feels off about this place, and that there is a possibility that Marley's propaganda is a lie. They've been treated with civility thus far. Hell, they were even granted a meeting with the military. Porco says that he still doesn't trust it, but Pieck reminds them that they have few opens and they need to divide their resources and stop the Decepticons.

So when they are given an audience with the military, and Pieck explains everything and how they need the help of the other titan shifters, they are not really jumping at the chance to help out, especially handing over the three titan shifters. Their actions were responsible for the deaths of over 300,000 of their people in Shinganshina alone. Why the hell would they even let them walk free? Pieck tries to plead with them, but they are extremely adamant about it. Porco makes a comment about these island devils not being willing to help, and it turns into a rather aggressive argument. However, during that argument, Lazerbeak manages to hear about a possible location that the titan shifters are being held at, and immediately starts investigating underground structures and locations for the titan trio, and finds three signatures that are lying underground. The minicon immediately books it and returns to the Nemesis to report.

Optimus does tell the Eldian Restorationists that the island will provide to them, but they cannot allow the titan trio out at the moment. It infuriates Porco because they are holding his brother hostage. All four of them should be released! Hanji makes a comment that they only have three: Reiner Braun, Bertholdt Hoover, and Annie Leonhart. Who was he talking about? Porco demands to know where his brother is but they just don't know. Porco accuses them of lying and Pieck immediately has to reign him in and apologize because she doesn't want to lose allies.

But a few days later, as everything is still trying to be sorted out, the Decepticons attack and go to the underground location where the titan trio are being held. Knockout and Breakdown are leading this task force, and there are civilian causalities. The Autobots and Survey Corps are scattered at this moment, and only Bulkhead and a few other Survey Corp members are in the area: Mikasa, Historia, Ymir, Mike, and Jean. The Survey Corps are doing their best to stop the vehicons in the area and evacuating the citizens while Bulkhead is dealing with Breakdown. Mikasa does manage to kill one of them with a thunder spear, which definitely gets some of their attention. However, due to the amount of civilians in the area, Bulkhead gets too distracted and Breakdown knocks him out. The Survey Corps there aren't able to stop the digging process in time and Knockout manages to get his claws on both Annie, who is still sealed away, and Bertholdt. Before Knockout can get Reiner, Breakdown tells him that more Autobots are coming, along with a few Survey Corps members. Knockout calls a 'bridge and makes a taunting goodbye before he and Breakdown go through with their prize. But Mikasa reacts by quickly hooking onto one of the fleeing vehicons and getting pulled through the bridge. Jean quickly runs in after her, while Mike jumps for them both. Historia ends up following out of concern, forcing Ymir to jump after her. Bulkhead tries to grab them all as reinforcements arrive, but the groundbridge closes before they can be reached. The Survey Corps and the Autobots are devastated, because some of their own were now stranded on the Decepticon warship.

Few things:

-Our tiny crew doesn't get spotted when they jump through the groundbridge. Once they go through, they quickly hide from the Decepticons. They try to go through the same portal, but it closes behind them, devastating them all, because they had no idea how to get back. They end up following KO and BD as they show what they've managed to acquire, and they get their first look at Megatron. Needless to say, they are all fucking terrified.

-Meanwhile, Reiner is in despair while Porco and Pieck are angry! If they had just let them out, none of this would have happened! And now you suddenly care about helping because one of your own is actually in danger! They are now forced to make an alliance with the people from the mainland. The Survey Corps have to agree to let Reiner out, but he is kept under heavy watch and surveillance.

-Porco demands to know what happened to Marcel, and Reiner ends up confessing, which causes Porco to punch Reiner in the face in anger. Now there's another problem: the Jaws Titan is out there and no one knows who it is.

-Ratchet is doing his best to try and create a working groundbridge, but the lack of resources is making it quite difficult. Going to the mainland for the Autobots, even if they wanted to would no doubt take an extensive portion of time.

-Meanwhile, Eren and Armin are terrified because there is a possibility that Mikasa could be killed. Marco is mortified because he may have just dragged Jean to his death by trying to convince him to join the Survey Corps. Erwin reassures them that if Mike went with them, he would do everything in his power to protect them.

-Our mini Survey Corps crew is trying to find a way to get off the ship without getting caught, and it is difficult when Soundwave is in the area.

-Knockout does bring up the fact that one of the humans managed to kill a vehicon with a weird flying contraption tied to their waist, and Megatron's like what?! Breakdown comments that it reminds him of Spiderman.

-Megatron gets informed that the Autobots are here, including Optimus, and he starts laughing like a maniac, unnerving everyone except for Soundwave.

(That's it for now. I'm certain I'm missing stuff, but I'm too tired to think of it.)

[everygame]

Dead Island: Definitive Edition (PS4)

Developed/Published by: Techland / Deep Silver Released: 31/05/2016 Completed: 10/11/2023 Completion: Finished It. Trophies / Achievements: 41%

After playing through Until Dawn and Dead Space I wanted to keep the Halloween theme going, and so, somewhat randomly (cough saw it was installed cough) chose to play this, and didn’t actually realize until I sat down that I went from Dead Space to Dead Island like I’m about to play a Dead Rising next or something (I’m not.)

This was a daft choice for the Halloween theme; When I think Halloween I think ghosts, witches, Draculas and that, probably in a spooky house, maybe doing the monster mash. Zombies on a tropical island? It just feels… unseasonal.

Of course, and to this game’s detriment, you only really enjoy the island resort vibes for really a couple of hours of this game, before you’re shunted into a pretty generic town with (boo!) lengthy sewers. (I suppose you do go to a jungle after that for a bit.) It’s all a bit emblematic of the game, which has a fairly enjoyable loot shooter-adjacent design (you don’t do a lot of shooting, mostly hitting zombies in the head with blunt objects)  but seems to suffer unforced errors all over the shop, some of which are, at best, very problematic???

I’ll start with that, actually. Developed by Techland, a Polish company, the game has incredible “I’ve never met a Black person” energy. I played through it as the rapper Sam B and he’s an absolutely brutal stereotype that makes Barrett in Final Fantasy VII look like a nuanced portrayal. It gets worse, however, as once you get to the jungle you start to deal with the local indigenous population, who are portrayed… just imagine all the stereotypes. Yeah, all of ‘em.

The narrative, overall, is a pretty unpleasant mess, with the male characters hideously unsympathetic (some really dark stuff is implied to have happened to one of the female characters, and the male characters’ response is actively hateful.) It makes the game literally impossible to recommend, and being originally developed in 2011 doesn’t feel like much of an excuse.

(Interestingly, the developers of Dead Island 2 worked with a diversity council to try and avoid these kind of problems, which would make me think “good on Techland” but Dead Island 2 was developed by entirely different developers and went through development hell for eight years. So that’s, uh, that.)

It’s all so… unnecessary, as well. As a loot shooter-like (is that a genre?) it’s not exactly like you’re there for any sort of story other than “survive” with most of the pleasure in getting bigger and better blunt objects to hit zombies in the head with. Even here, taken alone, it’s a bit hard to recommend. Combat is clumsy (I never felt satisfied in my understanding of either my or enemy attack distances) the loot is often insanely underwhelming, and the upgrade trees are a mess (there’s an entire tree for your “fury” power that I doubt any player of this game ever upgrades ever.) It almost feels like a shame losing interest in this before you’re halfway done (before the story starts getting really stupid) because the first hours are oddly well paced; the introduce human enemies with guns what felt like right at the point where you’d be getting bored with just hitting zombies, and it’s sad that it’s not long after that you find yourself stuck in boring, samey sewers for what feels like forever, and then you’re just stuck chewing through this until you finish it by defeating a hilariously underwhelming final boss.

Anyway. I played this so you don’t have to.

Will I ever play it again? I think the concept is strong, actually, zombie loot shooter-like, so part of me is like “Maybe Dead Island 2 is ok? I mean… different team! Diversity council!” but this was just so underwhelming I’m sure if I want a loot shooter-like I can do better somewhere else. And I’m definitely not interested in Techland’s own follow up, Dying Light.

Final Thought: Oh hang on, I just noticed I own Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, and that’s a Techland joint. But I own it, so I’ll have to play it. A game set in the old west? That can’t be problematic at all! I’m sure it’ll be fine!

Support Every Game I’ve Finished on ko-fi! You can pick up a digital copy of exp. 2600, a zine featuring all-exclusive writing at my shop, or join as a supporter at just $1 a month and get articles like this a week early.

[dougydoug8797]

Ace and Erza brother and sister Pt. 2

Once separated and on different paths Ace and Erza are together and strong in Fairy Tail; Ace grew up in East Blue with his sworn brothers Sabo & Luffy, Ace was demonized & dehumanized by many saying that he was a bad seed due to being Rogers son. Due to being Rogers son Ace questioned his existence whether it was a good thing to be born or not, One day when he was ten, Ace returned home after hunting a buffalo when Garp brought his grandson Monkey D. Luffy to live with Dadan. When he saw Luffy, Ace spat on him. After the family ate the buffalo he caught, Ace ran off and Luffy chased after him, wanting to be friends. However, Ace sent a tree rolling at Luffy, and when Luffy continued chasing him, Ace hit him and sent him plummeting into a chasm. It took a week for Luffy to return home, but he continued chasing after Ace for the next three months, not giving up despite everything Ace threw at him. Later, Ace became a pirate until the war of the best, later resurrected by the Spirit of Mavis Vermilion seeing his potential giving him a second chance and a new life as mage and a wizard saint, making him the first youngest wizard saint in return Ace is bound by the magic of Fiore unable to leave the island. Despite being tethered to Fiore Ace has grown to love Fairy Tail and accept them as his new family. Erza lived her childhood at Rosemary Village where she grew up in. That is until a certain cult. Erza's time at Rosemary Village did not last long. At a very young age, an insane cult that wanted to build the Tower of Heaven attacked the village. Any adults Erza might have respected or saw as parental figures were killed. All of Erza's friends were kidnapped. The homes burnt down. The only one Erza managed to save was Kagura. But soon she was captured too along with Simon and others. Almost everything Erza cherished was either destroyed, or dragged to the same hell she was about to live in. Erza was forced to serve the cult and construct the Tower of Heaven. Although she had no idea of what this meant at the time. She lived in a cell with only the dirt to sleep on and ragged clothes to keep her warm. You are worked for your entire life as seen by Grandpa Rob who did his best to nurture the children. These children bore heavy loads and took whips if they did not work at the preferred speed. And if you dared to go against the cult, you are lucky if all they do is maim you in their torture chambers. Slaves who return from that place are not the same. Erza loses an eye in such a chamber. The place was hell on earth. Eventually the pain is too much and a charge against the cult began. Erza discovers her magic and with the slaves revolt against their captors. In the chaos Jellal gets captured and put in a torture chamber. Which leaves him open for Ultear to warp his mind. Erza manages to free Jellal, but it is too late. Erza only wants to leave, but Jellal plans to keep the captives and more peacefully continue the construction of the tower. He sends Erza away alone. Erza tracks down the guild Granpa Rob told her about. She enters Fairy Tail with only her dirty rags and whatever she could grab. Makarov nurses her back to health and welcomes her into the guild. At first she does everything alone and always fights Gray, but she soon integrates and becomes a member of the family. She becomes the youngest person to reach S-Class and gains a name for herself as Titania. For once in her life she belongs somewhere and nothing can take it from her.

[quietplace26]

(Warning. Dead Naga hatchlings are mention in this part.)

Naga!KK au (5)

A cry of pain leaves Akito as he thrown rather roughly into a cramp, dark cell. The cell door slams shut behind him, and the cell becomes even darker, leaving barely any light for Akito to see.

Mocking laughter and sneers could be heard outside, saying they'll be back later on to deal with him. The sounds of these people faded away as they walked off, leaving Akito alone in the darkness.

Oh gods... What was he going to do now?!

Not even a few hours ago was he waking up happily in KK's arms, letting his Naga mate hold him close as he nuzzled his face against Akito's, making happy rumbling sounds.

After that, KK took him out their cave and straight over to Erika/Rinko's cave, where both Naga's left their human's alone so they go hunt for food.

This was a normal thing. Every few days, Akito and Erika would spend time with one another while their Naga's hunt, and then at the end of the day, KK would take Akito home.

But today was different. Today was... bad.

Akito was just reading one of his books with Erika when he heard it. Loud voices yelling right outside the cave. "She's hiding in this cave! Find her and bring her back to camp!"

Erika's face became a sickly pale color and she began shaking. "N-no! They-they can't be here!" She whispers franically as she tugs Akito to his feet, pushing him toward a different cave entrance. "We need to run!"

The voices turned out to belong to men that were from the same camp Erika used to lived at. They were basically her father's lackeys, the muscle that Hannya used to keep his camp in order.

"If they catch us, they'll kill us or worse!" Erika was crying at this point as she and Akito scrambled out the cave andinto the forest.

Akito really didn't want to find out what's worse than being murdered, but as the voices started catchng up to them, Akito knew he had to make a choice.

"Run Erika! Don't stop till you find KK and Rinko!" Akito ends up sacrificing himself, giving Erika time to run into the forest and disappear from sight.

Akito is then roughly dragged back to the human settlement where he is shocked to see many familiar faces.

"Akito?!" Standing there was Takumi and many of his old classmates! He thought they all drowned after the boat party disaster!

The happiness of seeing familiar faces is dimmed when he found out that Takumi was willingly working with Hannya, acting as the older man's second in command and future 'heir' to the settlement.

When Takumi questioned Akito about Erika's whereabouts, Akito refused to say anything. This angers Takumi and he hits Akito, knocking him to the ground. "Why the hell are you protecting her?! Are you like her! An ally to those monsters?!"

"It seems he is young Takumi." A chilling voice comes from the fuming Takumi. It was a man in a mask. This, was Hannya.

Hannya violently yanks off Akito's choker. "This-" Hannya holds the choker up, plucking one of the gemstones off of it to hand to Takumi. "is only worned by those things." Hannya turns back to Akito. "It seems like my foolish daughter isn't the only traitor to humanity on this island... Throw him in the cells. I'll deal with him later."

Now here Akito was. Hurt, his gift's from KK taken from him, and absolutely scared for his life.

He lets out a shuddering breath as he leans back against the wall behind him. At the very least, he helped Erika escaped. Hopefully she found KK and Rinko by now...

"KK..." Akito sniffles as he thought about his Naga mate, praying that KK would somehow be able to get him out this hell...

With another shaky breath, Akito slowly got to his feet. Maybe there was something in this cell that could help him?

There wasn't much in the cell. A few empty boxes, trash scattered everywhere... and a unholy smell coming from the far corner.

With the little light he had, Akito makes a horrifying discovery. The smell he was smelling was that of a rotten corpse. It was small in size, the size of a small child and... it had a snake tail.

Akito scrambles back in shock, slapping a hand over his mouth in horror. That was a dead Naga child, a hatchling! He's never seen one before, but KK's told him how hatchlings were considered to be a blessing, as Naga's don't get the chance to have children very often.

And there was several dead hatchlings piled up in the corner, all looking so very small and young. It almost made Akito want to vomit.

A sound of something moving thankfully distracts Akito from the horrifying view in front of him.

"H-hello?" Something moves again, darting behind a box. "Is-is someone there?" The thing behind the box peeks out, and Akito is blindsided by the reptilian eyes staring back at him fearfully.

It was a Naga hatchling! And one that was alive!

The hatchling, Akito wasn't sure what gender it was, hisses at the human, baring it's tiny fangs at him when he moved closer. It was so, so very small...

Akito wanted to help it, take it out this horrible place, but he couldn't. He was trapped just like this hatchling was!

A whimper of defeat claws out Akito's throat as he curls up in a ball, crying heavily. He wanted to go back to his cave! Where it was safe and KK would be there to hold him, prtoect him!

A small clawed hand patting his wet cheek brings him back to reality. Akito blinks open his wet eyes to see the hatchling was sitting right beside him, looking unsure, but not as scared as before.

Akito slowly sits up, carefully making sure he didn't scare the hatchling with sudden movements, and gives it what he hoped was a friendly smile. "H-hello there."

The hatchling stares at him warily for a moment before shocking Akito by slithering onto his lap, where it then reaches out to touch a tattooed 'scale' on his shoulder.

A happy cooing sound comes from the hatchling and it begins wiggling around in excitement. The sudden happiness surprises Akito, but then he saw the hatchling's tail.

While dirt and grime covered the small snake tail, there was no mistaking what color the hatchling's scales were. They were bright blue. The same exact shade of blue Akito's tattooed 'scales' were!

Oh dear... Did-did it think Akito was there parent?!

Actually where was this hatchling's parents?! Were they dead?! They had to be cause Akito just couldn't see a Naga willingly giving their hatchling's too these vile humans!

He eyed the far corner warily. Just how many adult Nagas have been killed? And how many hatchlings suffered afterwards...

Akito shook his head, banishing the dark thoughts as he turned his attention back to the happy hatchling wigglying on his lap.

Ahhh! Was he even ready to be a parent?! Especially to a Naga hatchling?! Oh, and what would KK say about this?! Would he even accept the hatchling as his own?!

A sleepy coo breaks Akito out his freak out session and he glances down to see the hatchling was almost fully asleep on his lap. It was coiled up in a ball and one of it's little clawed hands had latched onto Akito's fingers, gripping it lightly as it dozed off to sleep.

Akito stares at it for a moment. "...Looks like I'm a dad now." He sighs out, and for the first time since he was thrown in here, he smiles a real smile.

"Help is coming soon little one..." Akito ruffles the sleeping hatchling's hair gently. "KK... Your papa, will gets us out of here! I just know it!"

KK would come to save him! Akito knew that for a fact!

...He just hoped when his Naga mate arrived, it wouldn't be to late for him and the hatchling...

[femmmie]

THE ISLAND

Read the entire fic on AO3

Chapter 11: On board

Ian and Anthony meet a boatload of sillies <3 Ian and Amanda meet again, Ian and Anthony reconnect, and they meet everyone on the boat (Lonely Island playing in the bg lmao)

Chapter word count: 1.580

Rating: general

“Whoa!”

The engine of the speedboat screeched to a halt as Anthony steered around just in time not to hit the oncoming boat. He did, however, splash green water all over it, dousing a tall woman who stood on deck.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!”

“Amanda?”

“Mister president?!”

“Do you know her?”

A couple more people appeared on deck of the trawler, all excited and surprised at the presidential encounter.

“Yeah, she interviewed me a couple times.” Ian scowled at her. “And then she sold out to all those big companies she said she wanted to fight against!”

“No, Ian! Please, I didn’t! My editor ruined that entire piece!”

Damnit, even with her hair in a simple bun and wearing casual clothes – which were now soaked – Amanda was still a smoke show.

Anthony instantly joined in the argument on Ian’s side. “And you just let them write a false story in your name?”

“No I didn’t! I quit! Why do you think I’m on a boat now! Wait. Who are you? Anyway, Ian, why are you on a boat? Why has the sea turned green?”

“Well...”

“Anthony!”

“Nicole?”

As Ian and Anthony climbed on board, everyone but Amanda was ‘mister president’-ing Ian, and Anthony got why he didn’t like it.

Nicole pushed her way through the crowd, though, and pressed him into a hug.

“I thought you were dead, bro.”

“Hey. It’s okay, I’m here. I’m sorry I left without notice.”

Anthony addressed the rest of the group.

“So… I miiight… have turned the sea green?” Anthony tried to look his prettiest so this bunch of silly looking people wouldn’t kill him.

“And why would you do that?” Damien asked.

“Uhh, to, you know, save the world and stuff…”

“Why is it green?! It’s greener than Noah’s hair!” Olivia demanded.

“It’s algae, they are gonna clear up all the world’s CO2 and lower the temperatures,” Ian said knowledgeably.

“Not all the CO2, but enough to reverse the climate disaster, hopefully?” Anthony was already doubting himself, and whether it had been a good idea or not.

“And why is the president here?” Angela looked genuinely confused.

“Oh, there was a coup attempt, my plane crashed and my best friends are probably dead,” Ian replied. Only now did Anthony understand what Ian must be going through right now. He was apparently very good at hiding his feelings. And it had all gone so fast. Ian was out here at sea, alone. Anthony felt very protective of his new president friend.

“Should we call someone?”

“Nah, I don’t really feel like being president at the moment.”

A breeze picked up. Everyone breathed in.

“Wow, is that a FRESH gust of wind?!”

“It’s working, Anthony,” Amanda stage-whispered, in awe.

“So maybe we don’t have to brainstorm anymore, it’s all fixed now?” Angela looked a bit disappointed at the thought.

“We can still party at the island though,” Chanse winked at Angela.

“Haha, hell yeah! Let’s go to the island!”

“What island?” Ian and Anthony asked, puzzled.

~

It was a few days later. They were well on their way to the island. Ian and Anthony sat on the back of the deck. They were smoking. Both had a stubble and they wore loaned t-shirts and shorts. Anthony’s curls were blown all in one direction, and Ian’s hair fell over his eyes, a very different look than the carefully coiffed wave he had made his signature.

“NO way dude, she was your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, until we bumped teeth and the romance kinda died.”

They laughed.

“So yeah, I follow a vegan diet and I do yoga to stay in shape…” Anthony did a few yoga poses, almost toppling over as the trawler hobbled over a big wave.

“That’s hella impressive,” Ian complimented. “I can’t do any shit like that.

“You don’t need to, you’re fit already.”

“Like hell I am. Anyway. I wish I had my phone, I have so many memes to show you,” Ian lamented.

Anthony was studying the middle tress of hair on Ian’s forehead. Its waywardness intrigued him.

“So, what’s the deal between you and Amanda? She’s pretty hot.” Anthony was gauging how Ian responded. Was he into her?

“Yeah, I mean I guess I thought we had a thing, but it’s kinda dead now. Very dead.”

“But she didn’t write that article though.”

“True, but the damage has already been done you know. Ugh. I have such bad luck at romance.”

“Maybe you’re not looking in the right places,” Anthony said while moving closer to Ian. He wiggled his brows like a giant dork.

“Are you trying to get a presidential pardon for committing ecocide?”

“Yeah, obviously!” Anthony laughed. But he moved closer still and licked his lips while reaching for the strand of hair. It was ever so slightly in the way of Anthony’s first class view of Ian’s ocean blue eyes. Was ‘ocean blue’ even still a thing?

Ian wasn’t fazed by Anthony’s flirting, though. And that excited Anthony more than he liked to admit.

“What are you willing to do for it?”

“Anything.”

“Isn’t that kinda slutty though, like, have some standards, man.”

“No. I’m a slut and proud of it.” A wide grin formed on Anthony’s face. He raised his eyebrow while squinting his eyes. He yawned, leaned backward and spread his legs as wide as humanly possible.

Ian sighed. “Why are we stuck on this boat full of crazies, I want us to get out of here.”

Anthony raised his head. “Us?”

“Yeah, I want to see what kind of slutty things you have in store for me!”

“I’m afraid we will have to go and live on that island if you want to stay hidden from the world.”

A cloud obscured Ian’s eyes for just a second. But then he smirked. “Imagine we were on a dating show and these people were our only options.”

“Ew! Ew, and we had to go on dates with them and shit.” Anthony laughed. It was such a wonderful sound to Ian, it was almost exactly like he remembered. He wanted it to go just a little higher, a little louder, all-out…

“Who would you smash and who would you pass?”

“Hmmm,” Anthony thought about it. He was having more fun than he’d ever had in his life. Ian was matching his freak to a degree he didn’t know was even possible.

“I mean, Olivia is kinda pretty I guess?”

“Shut up! You’re not into her. I saw you checking out Amanda though.”

“Nooo, dude, you’re projecting! I think there’s still something going on between you guys!”

“I don’t know… maybe… What’s going on between you and Nicole, though? You haven’t talked about that story yet.”

“Listen, I love Nicole. But we’re colleagues, that would be weird!”

Anthony was trying to remember everyone’s names. “What about… Arasha though?”

“Ew, too young!”

“Okay. What about Keith?”

“Now we’re talking. I’d smash Keith. What about you?”

“I’d pass. I’d smash… Okay okay! I’d smash Amanda. She is kinda scary though.”

“True, isn’t that the exciting part about her, though?

“Absolutely. She could probably dominate us both at the same time.” Why did Anthony say that? He was really walking the line now.

“She totally could! She’d make us do some butt stuff probably, to each other.” Wow. Ian was still one-upping him. Anthony couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably.

“There it is! I remember that laugh! Dude, you would always laugh the hardest at my jokes.

“I thought you found it mega-annoying.”

“Only when you’re being cocky. Actually, it was what I lived for in high school.”

“You would always make the best jokes,” Anthony said, tears in his eyes from laughing.

“I’d try my best to be funnier than my friend group.”

“I wasn’t really happy in mine,” Anthony admitted, the bitterness of the memory clearly showing on his face.

“No, what was up with that anyway? I heard there was some drama.”

“Yeah. It was basically a bunch of gothic kids who tried to out-emo each other. It was a hierarchy thing. I tried to stay out of it.”

“You should have totally hung out with us, I mean, you’re pretty funny yourself.”

“And be a school clown and put tables on roofs and shit?”

“Why not? What’s wrong with that?”

“Fair.”

“Would you smash me?” Ian looked at Anthony seriously, adding to the moment. Anthony fell back into hysterical laughter.

“I mean,” he finally recollected himself, “if it was you or Chanse, I would definitely pick you.”

“Valid. Chanse has really intense, pretty eyes though.”

“Yeah, but yours are even better…”

“Are they?” Ian batted his eyes at Anthony, who laughed again.

“Wait, we should totally be like, moles on the show though,” Ian said. He was very much in his element, coming up with crazy scenarios. “So we could sabotage everyone else’s relationships for prize money.”

“We would work together as a team.”

“Yeah totally. I would be the mastermind, and you’d go and seduce them with your slutty yoga poses or some shit…”

“Yes! That way I could fulfill my slutty needs and fuck everyone on the island.”

“Including me of course.”

“Oh absolutely, every day.”

“As a treat.”

“As a motherfucking TREAT.”

“Anthony? Mister President?” Angela walked up to them.

“Please just call me Ian,” Ian repeated in vain.

“We’re almost there! See? The island is right there!”

A beautiful green island with white beaches had appeared amidst the green sea.