#but his monkey is still alive for some reason?

[raining13]

oh yeah. i dont know if i ever released my Jungle Cruise Skipper OC out into the wild. anyhow. this is Josephine "Jo" Mystic and they brought this monkey with them on the boat. nothing could go wrong

[kyri45]

HIIIIII!!! Read through your entire shadowpeach parents au in a day and I'm OBSESSED!!! The latest comics with Red Son and MK were gorgeous, tbh I think the song Fantastic by King Princess is a perfect match for those scenes!

I had a kinda (actually make that very) stressful day so would you have any cute/fluffy headcanons about spicynoodles? Or hints about what to expect in the future? If not no worries I'll read the comic for the tenth time lol

Thx! <3

I was born for this moment *clear throat*, I can't say too much but since this comic wont divulge too much on spicynoodle after the end I might as well.

MK will climb that man whenever he can, even when he's working on a project you can bet your ass he will be clinging on his back like his life depends on him.

Red Son still has some self awareness over his true form and MK is just there everytime to remind him he's beautiful.

Red Son is typically the one who would go on to even write poetries for MK, or start an absurdly long list of complex compliments for him to get flustered and embarassed for. In the meantime MK just needs to call him "cute" and Red Son.exe will stop working.

Red Son tends to work all night someday but you better bet his monkey bf will force him to bed (MK lifting a 6 feet bull boy like he's a bag of chips is an image that have been haunted me for weeks)

The entire fortress knows these two bitches are together, everyone would open the door for MK and guide him to Red Son door, but the fucker will always, ALWAYS, just sneak inside to Red Son room just to give him surprises kissed while he almost burn him alive from the jumpscare.

During winter MK is even MORE clingly bc the man is just a fucking living furnace

N°1 reason why Mamacaque approved him was bc he knew his son would never be cold again

N°1 reason why Wukong DIDN'T approve of him at first was because he was afraid he would accidentally burn MK.

[cozage]

May i ask a headcanon list for Luffy, Sanji and Zoro reaction to their s/o being a cp0 agent?

A/N: I am just now noticing as I finish up this work that you asked for a headcanon LIST. Forgive me for the mix-up!

Characters: female reader x Luffy, Sanji, Zoro Cw: betrayal, angst with no happy ending  Total word count: 1.6k

Double Agent

Luffy

“It can’t be,” Luffy muttered from the doorway.  

Shit. You had been compromised. Luffy was supposed to be off in the jungle. How had he tracked you to this abandoned building?

“Luffy!” you hissed, stepping in front of the other agent. “What are you doing here?”

“I left that emergency steak with you,” he said, his eyes wide. You had promised him your lunch and forgotten to give it to him. Of course he followed the scent here. 

“We have to get rid of him,” the agent behind you said, reaching for his weapon. You didn’t even know his name, but you couldn’t let him kill the captain of the Stawhats. 

“Absolutely not!” you reached for your own weapon, glaring at him. “You know our orders.”

“If you’re position is compromised-”

“Then killing the captain isn’t going to help much!”

The other agent raised his brow. “Getting soft? They’re pirates. It’s reckless to let him live.”

You scoffed. “You’re the one being reckless. Leave him be. We can still watch from afar.”

“This is a joke, right?” Luffy’s shaky voice came from the doorway again, full of uncertainty. 

You steeled yourself and faced him, putting on a bored face. “It is no joke. I’m afraid I’ve just been sloppy in covering my tracks.”

“You can’t be CP-0.” His face slowly turned to rage. “You would never-”

“Apparently you’ve sparked the interest of some very important people.”

The man behind you clicked his tongue in disapproval. You were saying too much. But you needed Luffy to leave here. He had to leave alive. 

Luffy stared into your eyes, and you swore he was staring into your soul. “I refuse to believe this is the real you. I know you. I love you. This isn’t you.”

“You don’t know me at all, Monkey D. Luffy.” You put an extra taunt in his full name. “You have no idea who I am or what I am capable of.” You gave him a wicked grin, letting the worst parts of yourself out into the open for him to see. 

“Come back to the Sunny,” he begged, unphased by the wickedness on your face. “We can figure it out together.”

“I have no reason to return there. Besides, you would just make me a prisoner when I set foot on deck.”

Luffy’s brow furrowed. “I would never restrain you-”

“Leave, Luffy.” You tried your hardest to keep the desperation out of your voice. “Leave now, or don’t leave at all.”

“Permission to terminate, then?” The Agent took a step towards Luffy, and it took everything in you to remain where you stood. 

You pulled out your weapon and threw all of your hate into the stare you gave Luffy. “Leave.”

“This isn’t over until we talk-”

You fired a warning shot, missing his head by a centimeter. “Leave.”

“I’ll get you back. This isn’t over,” Luffy promised, and then he walked out the door. 

Sanji

“This is an interesting place for a picnic, my love!” Sanji’s kind voice rang out amongst the trees. “Where are you hiding?”

The other agent’s eyes widened. “You left a trail?” she hissed.

“Never,” you whispered back. “I-”

“There you are!” Sanji launched himself toward you, wrapping you in a hug. “And who is this fine young woman with you? Did you bring company?”

The agent’s hand moved to her gun, and you gave one quick shake, trying to prevent her from blowing your cover.

“Just a friend,” you said between gritted teeth. “We were just saying goodbye. Could you give us a moment, Sanji?”

“The lady can stay if she’d like!” Sanji quickly said. “I have plenty-”

“I would never sully myself with such company,” the woman snapped. She looked at you. “You’re being called back in.”

“No,” you shook your head. “No, that’s impossible.”

“Come on,” the woman said. “No more use for appearance. We’ll leave him alive for now.”

Sanji, somehow, kept up a smile. He had no idea what was occurring, but you could tell that he was nervous. 

“My love?” He asked, looking at you with a forced smile and worry in his eyes.

“I have to go, Sanji.” You shouldered your backpack with everything you had collected. 

“No,” he said softly. “You can stay. I don’t know who this woman is but-”

“This woman is your lover’s superior,” the woman said. “And she never loved you. She was just using you for intel.”

“No. Tell them, my love. Tell them what a mistake they have made.”

It wasn’t supposed to hurt this much. He was a pirate. You were a government agent. It was supposed to be easier than this. You were used to betraying people, and yet this created a strange ache in your chest. 

“I work for CP-0,” you said, trying to keep your voice steady. “I was tasked to infiltrate your crew and obtain records. Watch you all from the inside.”

“Impossible-” Sanji said

But you had to keep going. You had to break him so he would never come looking for you. “I chose you because it was the easiest. You had access to everything. And when I needed to look for specific things, I added sleeping medicine to the tea you served everyone. It was too easy. 

“I don’t believe you.” Sanji had tears in his eyes now. “It wasn’t all fake.”

You sneered at him. “You were so desperate for love, you accepted the bare minimum of affection without a second thought.”

He slumped to his knees, his eyes getting a far-away look in them. Your heart cracked, but your face showed no emotion as you looked down at him. “I’m only letting you live now so you have to live with this failure. But I will come for you one day. And I will kill you.”

He gave a single nod of acknowledgement, as if he had expected this; as if he deserved it. 

He didn’t deserve it. You didn’t deserve him. But if you showed an ounce of weakness, you knew the agent next to you would kill him. So you turned and left, knowing that his empty stare would haunt your dreams forever. 

Zoro

“You wanna tell me what the hell is going on?” Zoro shouted. “Who the hell is that guy?”

The agent next to you fired a bullet before you could react, and you cried out in warning. But the bullet only met steel. Zoro had sliced right through it. 

“I knew you were getting weak. No wonder they wanted to pull you from this mission,” the agent chuckled. He kept his gun aimed at Zoro, but was watching you carefully. 

No. No. How had Zoro found you? He was the last person who should be here right now. He always got lost. How on earth had he found you?

Zoro was still staring at you, waiting for an answer. He didn’t even bother to acknowledge the man or the weapons he had. 

“Stand down,” you growled between clenched teeth. 

“I do not take orders from you,” the agent snarled back. 

Zoro was still watching. Hell, how could you play this to get him out alive? You couldn’t have him getting hurt. You had already said your goodbyes in letters to the crew. You had made up some reason to leave. But Zoro, of all people, had managed to find you. 

“I’m leaving the crew!” you shouted to him. 

A trace of hurt passed over Zoro’s face. “You’re taking some government recruitment position over us? You can’t be serious.”

“Not recruitment,” the agent next to you purred, and you froze. “Have you ever heard of CP-0, Roronoa Zoro? Of course you have. You were at Enies Lobby, weren’t you?”

You stiffened at his words. You could see Zoro trying to figure out the secret meaning the man was taunting home with. 

Just leave, you begged silently. Please leave. 

But the agent sent to retrieve you was not finished burning bridges for you. “Your “crewmate” here isn’t a new recruit. No, they’re a seasoned veteran of the organization.”

Zoro stilled. Only his fingers twitched, itching to reach for his blade as he watched you with predator-like senses. 

“Zoro,” you whispered. You weren’t sure what to say, but you had to say something to him.

“Go. Get out of my sight.” You could see him shaking. From rage, most likely. From betrayal. 

The agent next to you gave a humorous laugh. “Do you think we are going to let you live?”

“We are letting him live,” you said, too quiet for Zoro to hear. “That was the agreement.”

The agent gave you a wicked smile. “He brought this upon himself, following you out here.”

“Let him go,” you snarled softly. “Or you will not leave this island.”

You had been baited. You knew it the moment his eyes lit up. Proof that your allegiance was to the Strawhats over CP-0. Proof that you needed to be reprogrammed in some capacity. 

He waved a hand lazily at Zoro. “You may go. We have to go as well. We have some work to do.”

You gave Zoro one last look, trying to convey how sorry you were about everything. He should’ve just stayed on the ship, read the damn letter, and accepted that you had left the crew.  

Your eyes met Zoro’s just for a moment, and then you turned away and followed the agent down the path. And as much as you wanted to, you didn’t look back. 

[artbyblastweave]

Heroify: Kingpin

Compared to some of the other characters people have sent in today this is like shooting monkeys in a barrel!

Part of the reason Fisk is such a good Daredevil villain is that he's already got a lot of the basic elements you need to make a street-level hero work- the will, the drive, the protectiveness, the territoriality, and the quote-unquote "badass normal" peak human fighting ability that, let's not fuck around here, is absolutely a superpower even if the chickenshit writers won't directly admit to that. It's just that he uses those abilities to be a crime boss rather than to fight crime bosses. To put himself in charge of his childhood bullies instead of fighting his bullies. A classic case of "If only he'd used his immense capacity for interpersonal violence for good." What would make him stand out from all the other heroes in his niche is his propensity for Empire-building, his complete inability not to build up some kind of organization from scratch, and what that impulse might look like in a superheroic context.

I'm imagining that his initial schtick is that of a Bully Hunter. After getting ripped and wiping the floor with his childhood bullies-or maybe this is one of the versions who offed his own father for beating on his Mother- he embraces the specific high of the "pick on someone your own size" routine, and he becomes The Big Man, the guy you go to when you need somebody who's been getting away with something for a while cut down to size. Upstairs neighbor is beating his wife and kid senseless, and nobody does anything because his brother's a cop? Call The Big Man. Real Estate Baron's using his connections to try to muscle out the residents of a tenement? The Big Man's gonna pay them a visit. Boss at the diner's withholding your paychecks and getting away with it because you're undocumented? You get where this is going. He usually doesn't kill people- not out of any particular code, but out of a combination of pragmatism and sadism. He's smart enough to engineer situations in a way that he can claim self-defense or frame someone's tumble down the stairs as an unfortunate accident or rely on the unexamined illegality of whatever his target was doing to prevent them from getting the police involved. He's got a bit of a financial cushion, as well, because all of this is actually his side gig- he's still a very successful, if not as cutthroat, local businessman, because hospitalizing domestic abusers doesn't pay the bills. As a power move, he does most of this under his own name- he's got a "costume" in the form of the distinct suit, and a nominal codename, but part of the bit, part of the point he's making, is that he's slightly better at weaseling out of the consequences of his actions than the people he targets. Always a bigger fish, after all. Power is relative. His thematic niche is distinct from Daredevil's abstract sense of idealized justice. It's not Frank Castles mechanical eye-for-an-eye approach. It's about the satisfaction of leaving a certain category of wrongdoer alive, so that they can remain very, very afraid.

Of course, since his entire bit is that he keeps putting untouchable assholes in fullbody casts, the attempts on his life start stacking up- First it's Ed the domestic abuser and his buddies from the bar coming around for a rematch, and then goon squads, then hand ninjas, then low-rent supervillains- and because The Big Man toes the line of being an actual superhuman, he's usually winning these things, and coming out ahead in the PR game for beating down a bunch of costumed thugs attacking his Perfectly Legitimate Art Gallery- but it's a pain that his office keeps getting firebombed. And this is where you start to reap the benefits of having done under-the-table favors for hundreds of people all over New York- The Big Man has a network now. The Big Man knows guys who knows guys, some of whom owe him favors, some of whom are just really afraid of him coming back for round two. The Big Man can pull together a hundred guys with crowbars and hammers on a day's notice, if he happens to need something like that. If he doesn't know someone with a backdoor into Tombstone's fortified penthouse or Hammerhead's mansion, if he doesn't know someone with incriminating information on Silvermane or Norman Osborn, well. He knows their cousin. And once he thinks to begin leveraging this? If the people escalating things have specific addresses, by the end of the week they very likely don't.

It's not as if he eliminates all criminal activity. He's not even interested in doing so. Like half the painting's he's selling are really convincing forgeries. But things hit a point where there's simply a hard practical limit on how imperial a supercriminal's ambitions in New York can become, how domineering, how visible to the man on the street, before The Big Man decides it's time to make a point and starts calling people, who in turn start calling people.

[wukong-s-only-wife5000]

Hi are your requests still open? If they are can I request the jealous and he’s mad , prompts on the Macaque master list??? Please and thank you 🙏🏻!!!

LMK Macaque: Jealousy.

Word Count: 1915.

Content/Trigger Warnings: pushy guy that can't take a hint.

Authors Notes: Here's the He's Mad request too ^^. (wip)

<---Previous | Masterlist | Next--->

There were a lot of things Macaque learned since his reincarnation, especially about himself. One thing he never thought would have to be that seeing men around you made his skin crawl. In the few months you've known each other, seeing you smile with someone that wasn't him made his skin crawl. Seeing you laugh and smile with someone else made his skin crawl, and seeing someone make physical contact with you made his fur stand on end, and he often found himself snarling with his tail twitching uncontrollably. 

Unfortunately for Macaque, a certain Monkey King had witnessed the snarling this time. Wukong smirked mischievously when he saw what had made his beloved friend so… primal. He studied Macaque closely as the male, he forgot his name, constantly flirted with you. Now, usually Wukong would have put the guy in his place for bugging you… BUT SEEING MACAQUE LIKE THIS WAS SO FUCKING HILARIOUS! 

The male in question was the one you went on a double date with, from what you had told Wukong, it was when you saw Macaque again. Did he get past his jealousy at how close you got to the other demon? Course not, but he eventually learned to get over himself since you seemed happy when you told him about what happened that day, and how your date went. 

Since then, Wukong and basically everyone else, but you noticed how possessive Macaque was where you were concerned, especially if you get hit on. 

Sooo… like right now. As you promised, you visited the noodle shop the first chance you got. You ‘just so happened’ to run into Macaque on the way there so you invited him to tag along and enjoyed small talk on the way there. What you didn't expect though was to see a familiar face, well, faces. One of them being Wukong, who was enjoying noodles and talking with MK, the other being your friend Sofia and her boyfriend Jeremy.

At first, you didn't acknowledge Sofia and her company sitting at a table, only focused on your belly as you ordered a nice big bowl of noodles that Pigsy was eager to get. Sofia was the one to acknowledge you first, waving you over, but you motioned for her to give you a minute.

Why is this tool here? Macaque thought to himself in annoyance, Wukong snickering silently when he noticed his old friend’s pout.

“Aren't you hungry?” you turned your attention to Macaque with a smile, taking account of his sour mood. “You okay, Mac?”

The nickname made his heart race for some reason, and he had to look away from you. After a few seconds, he offered you a simple nod before he too ordered a bowl of noodles.

“(Y/n)!” Sofia yelled at you over.

“I said wait!” you snapped at your impatient friend before carefully taking the delicious bowl of noodles. “I'll be right back,” you looked at Wukong and MK.

“Take your time,” Wukong grinned as MK too waved you off with a reassuring smile.

“Sorry,” you smiled at Macaque, “you can join us if you want.”

“You go, I'll be here,” he assured, not trusting himself to be close to the male and risk hurting him.

“Suit yourself,” you shrugged and walked over to Sofia’s table with your bowl.

He was being so obvious about it, but you were oblivious to it… or maybe you just didn't care? Who knows. With Macaque falling more into his animalistic side as the time went on, Wukong had entertainment to last him years. Growling and hissing quietly, everyone was expecting the guy to disappear when this was all over, if he was lucky enough to stay alive that long. 

The group all watched as you greeted Sofia, then looked at Macaque who glared daggers at the male who tried talking to you, then back to you. You weren't looking forward to talking to him again, so you tried to collect yourself the closer you got to the table, having no choice but to sit next to him and talk to Sofia who sat in front of you.

“What’s wrong, bud?” Wukong’s voice never failed to irk him. “Jealous that your pretty girl’s getting hit on?”

Something about you being called his girl made his heart race again, hearing it from Wukong felt like an acceptance he didn't know he craved. His eyes lingered on you for a while before Wukong leaned in front of him to see his face.

“You really gonna sit here and brood?”

“I'm not brooding, I don't brood,”

“Sure you don't, bud,” he patted Macaque’s shoulder and sat beside him again. “You better not disappoint me, ya know.”

“What are you talking about?” Macaque looked at Wukong with a raised brow.

“I've decided to give you a chance to be with (Y/n),” he stated as if it were obvious. “Don't make me regret it~” he glanced at you and the male who sat beside you. “You aren't gonna let some human guy take her from you… are you?”

“She doesn't want him,” Macaque brushed him off and turned to eat his noodles. 

“Oh yeah? And how would you know that, tough guy?” he raised a brow, curious about Macaque’s confident posture.

“You didn't see how annoyed she was with him that day,” he glanced at Wukong.

“People change,” Wukong sang teasingly as he got up in Macaque’s face. “Case in point, you're all in love~”

“Shut up, moron,” he shoved Wukong’s face away from him. “She's facing away from him, focused on her friend and not making eye contact with the guy.”

“Oh~” Wukong smirked teasingly, “you're really studying her while acting all cool and collecting,” he leaned into his ear. “But we both know that seeing her close to that guy is making your blood boil,.” his grin grew when he noticed the shadow under Macaque seemed to grow. “I'm proud though, way to work on your self-control, man.”

“Hey, did you get to see that new movie showing? I heard it’s really good,” the voice got their attention and they both focused on you. 

“No, I didn't get the chance to see it yet,” you said boredly before slurping your noodles. This would have to be the first time you acknowledged him since you sat down.

“We should go see it sometime, while it’s still showing,” Lin Shi, desperate determined to get a second date out of you, suggested with a smile. 

“No, thanks, I'm good,”

“Why not?” he tilted his head and leaned in close to see your face. “Didn't you like our last date?”

It was infuriating. You thought to yourself, but chose not to respond.

“C'mon, lay off man, she's not interested,” Jeremy said, but was ignored.

“One chance,” he said softly with a smile he thought was charming.

“Don't want to,” you glanced at him. “Like ever,” you added, but it was clear he didn't know when he was beaten.

“C'mon, one night won't hurt anyone,” he chuckled softly, attempting to touch you but he couldn't move.

“You'd be surprised,” Macaque snarled, finally cutting in, using his ability to secure Lin Shi by his shadow. “She said she doesn't want to go with you,” Lin Shi looked at Macaque with a raised brow.

“I wasn't talking to you, monkey boy,” he said and motioned for him to beat it. “Now move before I make you.”

“Are you challenging me?” Macaque chuckled in amusement. 

“Macaque, don't,” you warned, trying to avoid a fight.

“Better listen to her, wouldn't want to hurt you too bad,” he glared at the dark themed primate.

“Lin, cool it, man. Don't go picking a fight,” his friend, Sofia’s new boyfriend, tried to calm things down before they escalated.

“Trust me, you don't want to pick a fight with him,” you warned, looking at Wukong with a ‘help me’ look, but he only smiled at you and gave an ‘oh well’ shrug. 

This damn bastard is just enjoying the show! You thought to yourself in annoyance. I'm gonna thump him when this is over!

“You think I'm afraid of some monkey demon?” He laughed a bit, his red eyes making an appearance and took you both by surprise. The lack of shock from Jeremy and Sofia made it clear they already knew he was a demon. 

Seeing someone’s true colours really is something to behold… you thought to yourself as you watched Shin. 

“Oh ho, so you're a demon too, huh?” Macaque tilted his head a bit, clearly amused. 

“What of it, emo boy?” Lin Shi glared.

“Oh boy,” you mumbled.

Before Macaque could react, you did something that shocked everyone, Wukong and MK’s jaw dropped as you grabbed him and kissed him like your life depended on it. It was rash, but it calmed him down real quick. You slowly pulled back, looking at him as his face flushed darker.

“Not how I thought our first kiss would happen, but I’ll take it,” he winked and grinned one of his infamous cocky grins when he collected himself. Now it was your turn to blush, you were quick to look away from him and look at the shocked group in front of you. 

“You're actually with that freak?” he asked in disgust, you were about to give him a piece of your mind for calling Macaque a freak, but the six eared Macaque rested a hand on your shoulder.

“Yes she is,” he said with confidence that made you blush. The aura that surrounded him darkened, his gaze turned sinister and made the guy stumble back, tripping over himself. “So beat it and leave her alone before I make you regret it.” he glared at Shin before he stiffly smiled. “Are we clear?”

“Yeah, we’re clear” he nodded vigorously, lips quivering.

“Beat it,” he ordered, “before I show you what I can really do.”

You all watched the terrified demon bolt out of the noodle shop, tripping over himself to get away. You've never seen someone run as fast as Shin did.

That was kinda hot… you thought to yourself as you looked up at Macaque from the corner of your eye.

I'm never going to be able to live this down… he thought to himself when he got a glimpse of Wukong’s mischievous, shit eating grin, but then focused on Sofia and her boyfriend.

“You're that puppet guy, aren't you,” Sofia asked knowingly. 

She's a sharp one. He thought to himself as he folded his arms.

“Yeah,” Macaque nodded.

“And the date you went on…?” she trailed off as she looked at you.

“Yep…” you said awkwardly. “With him.”

“You had a boyfriend… AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!” she snapped, making you flinch even though you thought you were prepared for it.

“We’re not really… dating yet…” you rubbed your fingers together sheepishly.

“Yet, huh?” Macaque smirked at you, making you glanced at him once more, but quickly looked away.

“Well…” you blushed and refused to look at him. “I didn't go out with you for nothing…”

“Well then,” he looked down at you with a grin, “wanna go see that new movie that started showing?” 

“Yeah,” you managed a smile when you finally looked at him. “I'd like that…”

“Finally!” Sofia’s loud voice made you jump a bit as she grinned that grin you didn't trust. “I finally have someone to embarrass (Y/n)!”

“Oh gods no…” you mumbled, blushing as Macaque simply grinned and enjoyed it fully.

[suguru-getos]

//fractures// geto suguru x f!reader // chapter 3

links 🔗: part one // part two

story summary: being a monkey is the norm except when you're captured by geto sama because he needs money from your parents. however, you may just have to suffer a little extra because of the forced thinking about the right and wrongs... you're putting him through. the affection you’re forcing him through…

chapter summary: after getting a fever from the injury, geto calls shoko to treat you — however, he ends up being conflicted and bruising your psyche again with his words & actions. you, (sorta?) fight back this time though.

warnings: signs of abu$e, heavy degradation, mean mean mean MEAN geto, reader also gets mean by the end of it. fluff if you squint-,-

a/n: i'm just writing off this chapter for my funsies :3 but please it is such a 'dead dove do not eat' story so i'd suggest people PLEASE read it after heeding through the warnings ;) also, not beta’d 🤺✨

"its 100 degrees." manami sighs, taking the thermometer out of your mouth. a soft pout on your lips, "then do something to get rid of it, where is the anti-fever medication?" suguru raised a brow. after having your hand carved, it was obvious you would get a high fever. it was too much toll on your body. ever so evident anyway. "and some painkillers." you added, frankly you were still sweating in pain, it hurt. everywhere hurts. "the doctor will be here soon." suguru huffs, looking at manami dismissively, he can't really show that his heart is breaking apart for a good for nothing monkey after all. manami leaves with an eye roll. she felt conflicted too, geto's feelings were enabling everyone to think a little about their actions.

soon, shoko was here to heal you. she glanced at your form, you were beaten and bruised. eyes mingling with suguru, "she is a non-sorcerer." she commented, and raised a brow. "geto, I am surprised she is alive here" she hums, no expression on her face whatsoever. suguru doesn't respond, and neither do you. it did not help at all that she was amazed at something like that. after a second or two, you hummed, "cus he wouldn't get the money from my parents."

suguru's eyes widen, it- is it? is it the money that's making him act this way? no, money is never above his moral compass. the whole reason you're so tattered is because money doesn't matter. his resolve is just being tested, that's all. "shoko, don't heal her." suguru's jaw twitches, he doesn't want to do this but seems like he has to. "I want her worthless self to remember who she is even after she leaves, I want that shit to scar." he crosses his arms, looking at you with predominant hatred.

your heart sinks, you hadn't even thought about how it would feel… to see the grotesque mark looking in your hand for the rest of your life. monster, geto suguru is a monster.

tears well up in your eyes, shaking your head no rapidly. "please don't- please s' hurting too much-" you begged, hands reflexively gripping at his gojo-gesa. "no- no- g-geto? geto- sama" you answered again, while suguru notices how your body shivers in pain and drenched in sweat. "did I say you could touch me? you piece of shit?" a snarl echoed through the room, geto's hand raised to hit you but stopping, you were cowering, all small and flinching. just like his girls. hot and cold, his behavior has been hot and cold. one moment he was hugging you to calm you down, now, he's ordering shoko to let you suffer in pain. "if you touch me again, you filthy monkey, I will make sure to break every bone in your body and leave you handicapped in the basement to rot and starve." his jaw clenched, while you couldn't do anything but listen. you don't want to die anyway. "I'm sorry." you mumbled, heartbroken. six more days with him. your broken voice shoves him back into his senses, he is trying so hard to ensure that it doesn't happen - that he doesn't feel like killing himself, so he is uttering shit, whatever helps to balm his own brimming rebellion against his own thoughts. your eyes are still kind, its just the way they are, you still can't look at him with anything except a silent plea for mercy.

"I think I should heal her, else she would die of an infection." she holds your wrist, a drastic change in your body immediately felt when she began to heal you. your internal injuries, popped lip, the carving, the cumulative blinding pain of it all fading away into nothing. geto only stands still, watching the way your creased brows turn softer, how your pained face turns neutral.

"thank you." you mumbled at shoko, and she smiles. "I don't know why he's got you kidnapped like some third grade movie's villain, but we have another certain someone who can save you perhaps." suguru raises a brow at shoko, the audacity was impressive. she leans back, watching the glimmer of hope in your face. her hand lands onto geto's shoulder, squeezing it firmly. "she's a human, didn't you say picking on the weak was not a good thing geto?" suguru rolls his eyes, gently pushing her away. "leave." he commands instantly, while shoko smiles at you, "see you, ne? y/n san!"

you were curious, who was this other person that she could send to help? then again, you're not sure if anyone could help you against this monster in front of you. suguru sighs, the way he speaks to you torments him more than it could ever torment you. which in-turn, makes him try harder to reach a state where he DOES NOT, feel this pathetic after abusing you. so? he mumbles again. "I wonder if you worked like a stripper mm?" you blinked, unsure where this was coming from. no, you weren't a stripper. you waited for him to continue whatever he meant to say. "I mean you certainly look the part, perky boobs, are they fake or real?" your face pales, so far geto has harmed you but nothing was remotely sexual, this turn makes you want to throw up. the expression of sheer panic on your face isn't gone unnoticed by him. he wants to stop, he wants to make sure he never says something like this ever again. then again, he just needs to 'kill' this kind, and caring part of him anyway. "maybe next time I can carve your insides up with the knife, leave you bleeding if you ever try to touch me again. since you want me so bad anyway?" you shake your head no, like a forced obedient pup in training. he was horrifying, absolutely fucking disgusting and every part of you wished he was dead.

to suguru… though, these were all just words. maybe now you will stop looking at him with hidden expectations that he would be kinder, nicer. more tolerable… you don't deserve that, monkeys don't deserve that!

"you will get your lunch and dinner here, don't move or I will chain you with your hands tied up and let my girls practise boxing on your pathetic rag of a body." christ, he was fucking insane. your mouth couldn't help it-

"you utter so much shit just because you're capable of killing me? maybe you're a frustrated eunuch, clearly looks from that disgusting, vomit inducing face. I hope you're killed like the dog that you are, impaled on something sharp since that's all you could ever think of, bastard." you widened your eyes after these words left your mouth. dead. you are to be dead.

suguru is stunned. "this is what happens when pets like you aren't trained well. as soon as the pain is gone, your mouth is on again hmm?" he's amused, you clearly can't do anything to him. still… your words… hurt. why do they fucking hurt? are you important to him? certainly not-

"mutts sleep on the floor." he yanks you outside the bed, throwing you on the marble floor and leaving.

six more days… and he will have you gone.

six more days, and you will never see the fucking bastard.

[recuira]

after hours

after hours : a live action buggy x fem!reader fanfiction

for some odd reason, you have no idea who he is. and he fucking loved that.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

chapter one chapter two chapter three

chapter four | suede. stalking. silly.

his pov;

"Your wanted poster."

Those three words settled in my mind as I stared at the distraught girl in front of me, watching as she fumbled with her hands, a nervous exterior brushing over her. She seemed to be so horrified with the fact that I was once a pirate sought after by thousands- wanted dead or alive, though much preferred dead. Many still wanted me dead but due to my brilliant idea of hiding out here, the chance of anyone getting my bounty was thin. I, however, didn't see it being as much of a big deal as she deemed it so. The real issue I found was tucked away in one of the books within the nightstand which I was so fucking thankful she didn't find. I'd rather her not have been looking around but if she were to find one of the two? I was glad she found the poster.

I tossed another slice of apple into my mouth then set the knife down on the cutting board. I approached Y/N but instantly halted when I noticed how nervous and uneasy she was. "What's wrong?"

"H-How many people did you kill?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"Does that really matter?" I asked, waving my hands up in the air to hopefully exaggerate my point. "It was almost a year ago."

"That doesn't change the fact that it happened!"

"I know, I know." Despite her discomfort, I took a seat next to her anyway. She tightened her arms around herself, almost to make sure there was as much distance between us without her actually moving. Clenching my jaw, I patted my hands upon my thighs. "I know it's a terrible thing, and there's nothing I can do to change that. It's in the past and if I could go back and alter things, I would. Being a pirate was all I knew. My old friend was one, too. Then we separated onto different things and-"

"Did he kill people?"

"Lots of pirates kill people. It's part of the hype, ya know? It's very unlikely to raid another ship without there being any casualties. But I stopped because I got tired of it. I wanted something more."

"It's a pretty big bounty. I mean- come on, fifteen million berries?"

"Don't think about turning me in now," I chuckled, wanting to add a bit of lightheartedness to this unfortunate predicament.

"I'm not like that. I know I'm in need of money but-"

"I didn't mean it like that, Y/N, come on. Give me some slack."

"Well, why exactly did you stop? Did you lose the thrill of stealing from others? O-Or did you get bored of killing innocent people?"

I rolled my eyes, scoffing. "We've all done some shit we're ashamed of. We're humans. I did a lot of fucked up shit," I said as I pointed at myself. "But I changed that. I moved and let all that go. I left my crew, made someone else the captain, and abandoned ship. I left all of that shit behind and came here."

"But why?"

"If I say this, I'll probably make things worse but I don't want to lie anymore," I said as I laid back, folding my hands over my chest. I stared up at the ceiling. "You've obviously heard of the One Piece, right?"

"Of course."

"Well, I was one of those pirates absolutely obsessed with finding it. Fuck, I even dreamt about it. It was the only thing I truly desired in life. It was the only thing I thought about. Not riches, women, alcohol- just the One Piece. I was making somewhat decent progress but then I heard that a group of Straw Hats-" I grimaced at the thought. "-made off with the map which they stole from one of the Marine bases. I happened to track them down and I managed to steal the map from some kid named Monkey D. Luffy. But all good things must come to an end and I lost it. I was back to square one. And then I discovered his bounty was thirty million berries." I frowned then sat up, turning to face Y/N. "Can you believe that? Some newby pirate-wannabe received a bounty double my own! Seeing that brought me back to reality. So I dropped everything then came here."

"All because of him?"

I nodded my head. Just the thought of that kid irked me. There was no one, other than Shanks, who I despised more than my own self.

"So, yeah, I know what I did was fucked up. But there's a reason I'm here now. There's a reason I've given you so much. It's because I want to be a better person, maybe redeem myself for what I've done. And I can do that by helping you, by making your life a little less miserable."

"Do you pity me?" The girl asked, finally meeting my gaze.

"What?" I laughed, almost obnoxiously. "Of course not. If anything, I envy you."

"Me?" Y/N pointed at herself. "You envy me?"

"You have no bad conscience. You've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to make up for. You have a clean slate."

She shrugged, a small smile creeping onto her lips. "Thank you."

"So, uh, do you hate me now?" I asked, forcing a frown to mimic a pouting child. She giggled at this and shook her head. I sighed in relief, wiping 'sweat' from my forehead. "Thank god. I don't know what I'd do with myself if you hated me."

"I knew you were a pirate but it's still shocking to learn about your past. It'll take me a bit to get used to it but I don't hate you."

"So, we're good?" I extended my hand.

"We're good." She shook it.

I felt as if a huge relief was lifted off my shoulders. And as long as she stayed out of the nightstand, there would be no more issues. But if I hid the book, then I would be even more safe. I pondered the possibilities before I watched as she rose from the confines of the bed and approached the counter. My eyes trailed down. The backs of her thighs were exposed and the shorts clung to her ass so divinely. I bit my lip and crossed my leg over my lap.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me," She mumbled as she started to chew on an apple, then began to cut into an orange. "I do have a question for you, though."

"Go ahead, shoot." As soon as she turned around, my eyes met hers and I smiled.

"Are devil fruits real? Or is that just an old tale? I've never seen one up close and I heard they cost a fortune, even for just one alone."

"They're real," I said with a small laugh. "I would know, I've eaten one."

Y/N nearly jumped before she darted over toward me, her hands grabbing at my shoulders. She still had a slice of half-chewed apple in her mouth which made her struggle to properly speak. "WHAT? You- NO! You didn't?!" She let go of my arms and instead planted her hands on my chest, shoving me back. I collapsed back against the bed, laughing. "You ate one?!"

"Years ago, when I was fifteen."

"You're lying!"

"I'm not. It was a mistake actually."

"What happened?"

I chuckled and pushed myself back up. "Give me an orange and I'll tell you."

If my reflexes weren't so quick, the fruit would've hit me in the face with how quick she threw it. But I caught it and began to pick apart the peel. "Easy, next time," I smirked and took a bite from it. "Well, when I was younger and was a pirate-in-training, the crew I was in raided this ginormous ship and hit the motherload. Not only gold and jewels and anything you could think of, but there was also a devil fruit. I found out how much they were worth and tried to steal it but I was caught in a predicament and I tried to hide it in my mouth."

"And?"

"I swallowed it whole."

She gasped, "And you're alive?"

"It doesn't kill you. It just takes your ability to swim when you're in the ocean, in salt water. It's like the sea turned its back on you."

"Did you get a power from it?"

I shrugged and winked at her, taking another bite. I licked the juices from my hand. "Guess."

"You can fly?"

"Ha! Nope."

"Read minds?"

"It's body-altering."

"Wait," The lovely maiden smirked, taking a seat on the bed. "Did it give you that red nose?" She snickered.

"Guess again," I said flatly, my expression turning cold as I stared at her. She gulped, clenching her jaw. I laughed and looked down at my lap, now using one hand to hold the orange. I continued to chew on it. But while she was distracted with her numerous attempts to guess what kind of body-altering power I had, I detached my left hand at the wrist. It floated behind the both of us and tapped on her right shoulder. Y/N jumped up, her head shooting to look at her side. Her eyes widened and her eyebrows furrowed together before she spotted my floating hand waving at her. She gasped and slapped it away. I broke out into a fit of laughter, my hand reconnecting to my wrist. "Impressive, huh?"

"You- what?" She was still flabbergasted.

"I ate the chop-chop fruit. It allows me to pretty much chop any part of my body. Like I can-" To avoid grossing her out, I chopped my left leg from my thigh instead of my head from my neck. She watched in amazement. I smiled at this. "I can disconnect anything from my body from my toes to my ears to my-"

"Even... ya know?"

I winked. "Oh, yeah. That, too."

"That's so cool. How come you haven't done it before around me?"

"I don't know. I just never found a reason to." Shrugging my shoulders, I allowed my leg to snap back. I continued to chew on the orange before finishing it and tossing the peel into a small bin to the left of the bedside table. Y/N finished hers as well. She wiped her hands down on her shirt.

"So, uh," I chewed on my bottom lip. "Do you think you and your mother will be okay?"

"Yeah. We fight all the time. Her drinking doesn't help."

I cringed. "Really?"

"Yeah, she's one of the reasons I hate it so much."

I pursed my lips and nodded my head. I knew I needed to cut back on it but it was something I've done for well over more than half my life. Though, I was destined to do it. Not only for myself, but for her, too. I'd do anything for Y/N. "So," I began, "what do you want to do today?"

"I need to go make up with my mother. That's a big to-do. I can't stand her ever being upset with me." The girl said as she stood up, slipping her shoes back onto her feet. "We can have dinner tonight if you want. Maybe you could meet her."

"Meet your mom?"

"Yeah, why not? She was wondering where all that money came from. She thought I stole it."

"Hell, I don't know. I'm not good with meeting new people."

"Will you, at least, consider it?"

"Sure," I smirked.

"Thank you." Y/N reached for the doorknob, giving it a strong and firm tug before it yanked open. A gush of cold wind washed over her, almost knocking her back. I tossed her my coat to which she whispered another 'thank you' then slipped it on. "I'll see you, Buggy."

"Bye," I murmured with a smile.

As soon as the door shut, I jumped down from the bed and pulled the drawer out from the nightstand, dropping it on the stone floor. I sorted through the numerous books and grabbed the novel I was so fucking thankful she didn't look through. As I opened the cover, the hollowed book had contents that almost spilled out. Papers among papers, among sketches fell out, wafting along the floor. Several notes about Y/N puddled on the floor. One, which was my favorite, was a letter I wrote to her- well, I refused to send it. If I sent it, any last fiber of my confidence would be crushed like a scrambled egg. My fingers lined the rigid edges as I unfolded it.

Messy paragraphs lined both the front and back of the page.

I smiled. How long ago did I write this? I haven't looked at it in so long. I usually added a sentence to it each time I saw Y/N, which is why it was so long. But I stopped pouring my thoughts and desires into it when I actually had the pleasure of speaking to her.

If she saw this, I would kill myself.

I'd purposely jump into the ocean with two anchors attached to my feet.

I looked over the first paragraph,

'I've never wanted something so badly in my life. To say I yearned for her would be a complete understatement. I longed for her, I yearned, I desired- In simple terms, I wanted her. I mean, how could I not? She was an angel. She was a siren. I would purposely listen to her enchanting song, allowing my boat to crash, just if it meant I could be graced by her presence, by her beauty. I was obsessed with her. If she found out my thoughts, my desires, she would never let herself be seen with me. I wouldn't blame her, though. I was obsessive. It was unhealthy, I knew that. But I didn't care. I wouldn't say I loved her because I didn't know what that felt like. I've never experienced it. But perhaps I did love her. I didn't know, I couldn't tell. All I knew was that she was the only treasure I wanted. Not the One Piece, no. Not even that could match up to her alluring person. If I had to travel every sea in order to find her, battle every sea snake in order to touch her, I would. I would in a heartbeat.'

I grimaced, cringing at what I was reading. Thank god, she didn't see this. I didn't even want to see this.

I tucked the papers back into the hollowed-out book, closing it. I slipped the other novels into the drawer then slid it into the nightstand. With the book of secrets, I needed to hide it somewhere she could never find it- where even I struggled to find it. I didn't want to throw it out for I would be completely discarding all of those moments we had together, although she couldn't reconcile them with me because at that time, I was nonexistent to her.

Maybe I could follow my own idea and form my own message in a bottle. I never mentioned her name, nor my own. To an outsider's perspective, it was anonymous.

I shook my head and slipped the book back into the bedside table. She wouldn't be back anytime soon so I had enough time to properly execute a fool-proof plan.

But right now?

I needed to go get another coat.

-=-

her pov;

My mother and I resolved things, just like always. And when she caught wind of a pirate suddenly becoming very fond of me, she begged me to invite him over for dinner. I didn’t think that was the best of ideas. Going out to dinner? Sure! But to have him over? At our house? I cringed at the idea.

She fell ill months ago. Nothing too major, but ever since she’s gotten better, she despises leaving the house and even made me bring her bed downstairs so she could sleep next to the kitchen just in case she had a hankering for something to eat. It was ridiculous, I knew that. But I couldn’t just tell her no. She was my own mother. While I was old enough, I definitely wasn't going to willingly disobey her.

She persisted that I go and grab Buggy so we could have him over for dinner, while I insisted we all go out to eat. She hated the idea and told me that it was her house, her rules.

I grimaced at the thought.

Now, I was just outside Buggy's home, knocking on the stone door. I hoped he was home, though there was no possibility of me being able to ask him prior to my arrival. I knew he was busy. He was a very busy man. I was surprised he made time for me.

With another knock, another silence fell. I groaned and backed up.

My eyes trailing down, I stared at the doorknob and chewed on my bottom lip. He wouldn't care if I waited inside, right? We trusted each other. He knew where I lived and I knew where he lived. As far as I knew, he never crossed any of my boundaries and I definitely didn't cross any of his- well, except for maybe 'snooping' through his nightstand.

Without thinking too much more about it, I grabbed the rusted doorknob, gave it a firm twist, then shoved it open. I almost fell through the doorway.

I caught my balance and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Without the lantern being lit, it was rather dark, but the bright blue sky helped to illuminate the small room. He must've not been home since I left.

I looked around, admiring everything.

As I took a seat on the edge of the bed, I noticed a piece of paper laying on the floor. It wasn't there before.

I raised an eyebrow and reached to grab it but before I could, the door flung open, a certain blue-haired pirate standing in the entrance. When he noticed me, he smirked. I gulped.

"So, we're breaking and entering, are we?" The man grinned as he took a few paces forward.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, scratching the back of my neck. "I came over to ask you about dinner but you weren't here so I figured I would wait."

"No worries, I'm only teasing."

"So?" I folded my arms, leaning forwards.

"So what?" Buggy questioned as he slipped his coat off. Since when did he get a new coat? And why? I was only borrowing the one he lent me. I didn't plan on keeping it. But I guess now it was okay if I did.

"Dinner? Are you available?"

"Hmm, it depends. What time?"

"I don't know, sometime tonight? Only for two hours or so. My mother wanted to meet you. I told her about you."

"What did you tell her?"

"That you've been a friend of mine for a few weeks now and you've been fortunate enough to treat me and help me out," I said with a smile. "She thought you were my boyfriend." I chuckled.

"Heh, that's rich," Buggy said as he turned around to close the door.

"So? Can you?"

"I guess so. Just don't leave me alone with her. I really don't want to be bombarded with questions." The man said as he folded the jacket over his arm then slung it on the countertop. "Did you tell her about my nose?"

I laughed, confused. "No? Why would I?"

"It's my defining feature. It's hard not to notice it when you see me."

"I didn't tell her. I didn't think it was important. I even forget it's there."

The clown burst out in laughter, his eyes closing as he clutched his stomach and nearly fell back with his fit of giggles. I pursed my lips. "What's so funny?" I asked as I crossed my arms.

"It's cute how you're trying to be nice to me. With a nose like mine, how can you forget it's there?" He replied while wiping a tear from his eye.

I felt flustered with the first part of his monologue but I ignored it and shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, I just do. It's not all I see whenever I look at you, ya know. It's not my main focus point when we speak. I look at your eyes, not your nose."

"And yet again, you prove to me that you're different than others."

I smiled. "Hope that's a good thing."

Buggy smirked, winking his left eye. "Of course it is."

The pirated approached me before he knelt down and picked up the piece of paper. He examined it for a moment then laughed to himself. "Grocery list," He explained as he shoved the paper into his pocket.

I paid no attention to the paper. It wasn't any of my business. "Speaking of groceries, want to go help me get food for dinner?"

"What's on the menu?"

"No idea, but let's just grab something so she won't be bitching later."

"Guess I'll be needing this again," The blue-haired man said as he reached to grab his jacket. He slipped his arms through and adjusted the collar. "We match now."

"Mine's more vintage than yours." I winked.

"Oh, so it's yours now?"

"No?" I gulped.

Buggy giggled. "It is. I got my own now so no worries about giving it back. Unless you'd like to trade from time to time."

"No, I like this one."

The man looked at me, an eyebrow cocked upward.

I paid his look no attention and instead looked down at the tattered suede coat I wore. I inhaled softly. It smelled like him.

A soft odor mixed with whiskey, coconut, and cinnamon. And while I hated the stench of alcohol, it worked for him.

I couldn't imagine him without it.

[princesskenny1998]

One Piece | Monkey D. Luffy x waitress!f!Reader ~ One Night Stand?, PT.1 (Smut)

It had been a busy night at the little seaside tavern where you worked—a place that was usually quiet save for the occasional rush of sailors or travelers looking for a good meal and some laughter. Tonight, though, the atmosphere was electric, buzzing with the excitement that had rippled through the whole island since the Thousand Sunny docked just beyond the cove. Everyone knew who they were: the infamous Straw Hat Pirates, their legendary adventures and wild exploits whispered about in every corner of the Grand Line.

The tavern was packed, the crew taking up a large table in the corner, and you had watched them all night—watched them laugh and eat and drink, filling the room with their boisterous energy. But no matter how many times you told yourself to focus, your eyes kept drifting back to him—to Monkey D. Luffy, the Straw Hat Captain, who sat at the center of the table like he was the sun and everyone else revolved around him.

You didn’t know why you found him so fascinating. He was different from the other men you had known—goofier, louder, with that devil-may-care smile that seemed to promise adventure and trouble in equal measure. He wasn’t traditionally handsome, not in the way your friends usually described the men they dated, but there was something magnetic about him. Something that drew your gaze every time you caught a glimpse of his easy grin or the way he laughed without a care in the world. He seemed so alive, like he was bursting with energy that couldn’t be contained, and for reasons you didn’t fully understand, you couldn’t look away.

You tried to focus on your work, taking orders and clearing plates, but it was impossible when Luffy’s laughter echoed across the room, when he smiled at you with that wide, boyish grin that made your cheeks warm. You found yourself lingering by their table every chance you got, making small talk, dropping hints that you hoped he’d pick up on—a playful smile here, a lingering touch there. It felt a little reckless, a little foolish, but you couldn’t help yourself. There was just something about him.

The rest of the crew noticed, of course—how could they not? Nami gave you an amused, knowing smile when you refilled their drinks for the third time, and Usopp winked and wished you good luck. But you ignored them, focusing all your attention on Luffy, who seemed more than happy to soak it all in, grinning at you like you were the most interesting person in the room. Maybe you were crazy, maybe your friends would tease you mercilessly if they knew, but you didn’t care. You wanted him to notice you, to see if the heat you felt whenever his gaze met yours was just in your imagination.

And then, finally, it was time to close. The rest of the customers had trickled out, leaving only the crew, still celebrating and swapping stories over half-empty mugs. You were finishing up your shift, your apron slung over your shoulder, when Luffy caught your eye across the room, his grin widening as if he’d been waiting for this moment.

“Hey,” he called out, waving you over with a casual confidence that made your stomach do a little flip. “You’re done for the night, right?”

You hesitated, your heart pounding, but you forced yourself to smile, tilting your head flirtatiously as you crossed the room. “I am,” you said, feeling a thrill run through you when he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Why? Got something in mind?”

His grin widened, and he shrugged in that carefree way of his. “I dunno,” he said, his voice lower now, almost teasing. “Maybe you could show me around? I like this island.”

You could have said no, like you usually did when men made advances on you. You could have laughed it off, gone home, and forgotten the whole thing. But there was something about the way he looked at you, something in his dark eyes that made you throw caution to the wind.

“I think I could do that,” you said, your voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “If you’re up for a little adventure.”

He laughed, a sound that sent a shiver down your spine, and before you knew it, you were leading him out of the tavern, away from the noise and the lights and the prying eyes of the rest of the crew, down the winding cobblestone streets toward your little apartment on the edge of town.

Your heart was racing, your hands trembling as you unlocked the door and led him inside, the air between you charged with an energy that made your skin prickle. It was crazy, you knew that—it was impulsive and reckless and everything you’d never done before. But when he stepped inside, filling the small space with his presence, all of your doubts disappeared. You wanted this. You wanted him.

The door clicked shut behind you, and you turned to face him, suddenly feeling shy and unsure now that you were alone. But Luffy didn’t give you time to think. He stepped forward, closing the distance between you in a heartbeat, his fingers brushing your cheek as he looked at you with a seriousness that stole the breath from your lungs.

“You’ve been staring at me all night,” he said, his voice low and almost curious, and it wasn’t a question—it was a statement, and it made your cheeks flush with embarrassment. “Why?”

“Because…” you hesitated, the words catching in your throat, and for a moment, you thought about brushing it off, playing it safe. But then you looked into his eyes, and something about the way he looked back at you—open and unguarded and utterly sincere—made you tell the truth. “Because there’s something about you,” you said, your voice barely more than a whisper. “Something I can’t ignore.”

For a second, he looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected you to say that. But then he grinned—a slow, lazy smile that made your heart skip—and leaned in, his breath warm against your lips. “Good,” he said, his voice a husky murmur that sent a rush of heat straight to your core. “Because I feel the same way.”

And then he kissed you.

It was like nothing you’d ever experienced—fast, intense, almost overwhelming. His lips were hot and demanding against yours, his hands sliding down to your waist, pulling you flush against him. You melted into the kiss, your fingers tangling in his hair as you pressed closer, wanting to feel every inch of him, to get lost in the heat and the desire that had been building between you all night.

His touch was electrifying, his hands exploring your body with a hunger that left you gasping for breath, and when he pulled back, his eyes dark with want, you didn’t hesitate. You grabbed his hand, leading him down the narrow hallway to your bedroom, the anticipation buzzing through you like a live wire.

He followed without question, and the moment the door closed behind you, you were on each other—clothes hitting the floor in a messy pile, kisses growing more urgent, more desperate. It was wild, chaotic, a blur of heat and sensation as he pushed you back onto the bed, his body pressing against yours, strong and solid and so very real.

There was no hesitation, no awkward fumbling—only a fierce, all-consuming passion that took you both by surprise. Luffy’s touch was rough but careful, his lips moving over your skin in a way that made you shiver, made you arch against him, made you forget everything but the feel of him, the heat of him, the way he moved like he knew exactly what you needed.

And you gave as good as you got—your hands exploring every inch of his body, your nails raking down his back, pulling him closer, urging him on. It was like nothing you’d ever felt before—intense and consuming, the kind of desire that made you feel like you were on fire from the inside out.

When he finally moved inside you, it was like the world stopped, everything narrowing down to that single, overwhelming point of connection. You gasped, your nails digging into his shoulders as he kissed you, his movements steady and sure, his breath ragged against your lips. Every thrust, every touch, every whispered word sent you spiraling higher and higher, until you were lost in the sensation, the pleasure, the sheer, raw intensity of it all.

It was fast and frantic and desperate, but it was perfect—like he was pouring everything he had into you, like he was trying to make up for all the time you’d spent watching him from across a crowded room, waiting for this moment.

And when it was over, when the storm of pleasure had finally passed, leaving you both breathless and tangled together in the sheets, you lay there with him, your body still humming with the aftershocks, feeling a kind of peace you hadn’t known you were missing.

Luffy lay beside you, his arm draped over your waist, his breath warm and steady against your shoulder. He looked at you, a lazy grin spreading across his face, and you couldn’t help but smile back, your heart swelling with something you couldn’t quite name.

“Wow,” he said, his voice hoarse with exhaustion and satisfaction, and you laughed, feeling a lightness in your chest that you hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Yeah,” you agreed, your fingers tracing the lines of his jaw, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath your touch. “Wow.”

He chuckled, his eyes drifting shut as he pulled you closer, holding you tight against him as if he had no intention of letting go. And you didn’t mind. You knew, deep down, that whatever this was—whatever it meant—it was real. It was something you wouldn’t forget, something that would stay with you long after the night ended and for years to come.

As the first hints of dawn filtered in, you lay there with Luffy, neither of you in any rush to move. The silence between you was comfortable, punctuated only by the soft rhythm of his breathing, his body solid and warm against yours. You traced idle patterns on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath your fingertips, and wondered how something that had started as a simple flirtation had turned into this—a night that had left you feeling raw, exposed, but strangely content.

Luffy’s eyes cracked open, and he caught your hand, pressing a quick kiss to your palm before tangling his fingers with yours. “You look happy,” he murmured, his voice still heavy with sleep but carrying that teasing lilt you’d come to recognize. His grin was softer now, not the usual wild and carefree expression, but something more genuine, almost tender.

“I am,” you admitted, smiling back at him. “More than I’ve been in a long time.”

He looked pleased with that, his gaze never leaving yours, and for a moment, you wondered if you were seeing a side of him that few people ever got to see—something quieter, something real. It was hard to imagine this was the same Luffy who had walked into the tavern last night with his usual, boundless energy. Now, lying beside you in the dim light of the morning, he seemed almost... grounded, tethered to you in a way that made your chest tighten with unexpected emotion.

The reality of what you’d done was starting to sink in. You had spent the night with Monkey D. Luffy, the pirate captain who was as infamous as he was reckless, whose very name carried stories of adventure and unlimited joy. But here, in the stillness of your room, he was just a boy—a boy who had made you feel alive in a way you’d never thought possible.

“I should probably get back soon,” he said after a while, his tone apologetic but not regretful. “The crew’s probably waiting, it was our last night on this island after all.”

You knew he was right. They would set sail soon, and he had a whole world out there waiting for him—places to see, battles to fight, dreams to chase. He was never going to be the kind of man who stayed in one place for long, and you had known that from the moment you’d seen him.

Still, a part of you ached at the thought of him leaving. You didn’t want to be just another island, another night in his endless journey. You took a deep breath, steeling yourself, and nodded. “I know. You have a ship to sail and a world to explore.” You tried to keep your tone light, playful, but he saw right through it.

His eyes softened, and he reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear with a gentleness that made your throat tighten. “Hey,” he said softly, his thumb brushing your cheek. “I’ll come back. I promise.” You knew that Luffy wasn’t the kind of person who made empty promises, and that whatever you had shared last night was real.

You smiled, blinking back the sudden sting of tears, and kissed him one last time—slow and sweet, pouring everything you couldn’t say into that single, lingering moment. He kissed you back, his hands cradling your face, and for just a second, the rest of the world fell away, leaving only the two of you and the quiet, undeniable connection you’d found in the dark.

When you finally pulled back, you were both a little breathless, and he grinned at you, his eyes bright and alive with that familiar spark that had drawn you to him in the first place. “I’ve gotta go,” he said, his tone almost regretful, and you nodded, even though it hurt.

You watched him dress, every movement deliberate and unhurried, as if he was memorizing the feel of your space, your presence, before he left. When he was fully clothed, he turned to you one last time, his hat perched crookedly on his head, and flashed you that carefree smile you knew you’d never forget.

“Thanks for the adventure,” he said, his voice warm and genuine. “I’ll see you around, yeah?”

“Yeah,” you managed to say, even though you had no idea if you’d ever see him again. “Take care of yourself, Luffy.”

He nodded, gave you one last, lingering look, and then he was gone, slipping out the door and into the early morning light. You stayed where you were, listening to the fading sound of his footsteps, the empty space he left behind feeling far too quiet and far too empty.

For a long time, you just sat there, staring at the door, your mind replaying the night in vivid, bittersweet flashes—the way he’d looked at you, the sound of his laughter, the warmth of his touch. It had been reckless, impulsive, and completely unexpected, but you knew you’d never regret it. Whatever came next, whatever his adventures brought him, you knew that you’d been part of his story, even if only for a brief, shining moment. And maybe, maybe, he would really come back for you someday.

And somehow that thought was enough.

You got up eventually, your legs still a little shaky, and started to clean up—gathering your clothes, straightening the bed, trying to distract yourself from the ache in your chest. You had a life here, friends, and a job, and you couldn’t afford to dwell on what might have been. But as you opened the windows, letting in the fresh sea breeze, you couldn’t help but smile.

Because, for one night, you’d been swept up in the world of the Straw Hat Pirates, caught in the orbit of a boy with a smile that could light up the darkest corners of the world. You had taken a chance, and it had been worth it. And who knew? Maybe, somewhere out there on the vast, endless sea, Luffy would remember you too.

Weeks later, long after the Straw Hats had sailed away and life had returned to its usual rhythm, save for the new life you carried under your heart, you found a small, folded piece of parchment tucked under your doormat—a note with messy, scrawled handwriting. It was short and to the point, but it made your heart swell with a fierce, unexpected joy.

“Thanks for the fun night. I really meant what I said. When I'm finished with my adventures, then I'll come back for you. Keep smiling. — Luffy”

You laughed, tears slipping down your cheeks as you pressed the note to your chest, one hand on your still flat belly, feeling lighter than you had in ages. He was out there, somewhere, chasing his dreams and causing all sorts of trouble, but a part of him had left something behind—a piece of the adventure, a reminder that even in the vast and unpredictable world, connections like the one you’d shared could exist, however fleeting they had started.

And in that moment, you knew that no matter what happened, you’d always be grateful for that night, for the boy with the straw hat who had walked into your life and made you believe, even if only for a little while, in magic and adventure and the kind of passion that could burn through the dark.

You folded the note carefully and tucked it away in a safe place, a secret memento of a wild, reckless night you’d never forget. Then you took a deep breath, squared your shoulders, and went back to your life, the memory of his smile warming you like a hidden flame you’d carry with you for a long, long time.

[ataraxiaspainting]

Banquet of Massacre.

Yan Geto x F Reader.

Synopsis: The days are blending into each other, and you just want some sort of change. But soon, you realize you have to be far more careful about what you wish for.

Warnings: Yandere themes, kidnapping, not SFW implications, takes place five or so years before JJK 0, and violence.

Continuation of Presentiment of Massacre.

Word Count: 800.

*~*~*~*

The green obi gently tightening with each passing second stops at your words, but after a chuckle resumes, the slight anger in Geto’s voice is smaller than the width of a hair.

He continues with the loose, wide red sodes. You focus so much on your anxiety, about what the rest of your life will be, that you don’t notice the small golden details of koi on the red sleeves. You don’t even pay attention to the silk that ties your wrists together, a consequence of you attempting to squirm your way out of dinner again. Not that dinner was anything special this evening.

“You know,” His voice rises and falls like the wind. “Perhaps there are some things you shouldn’t say to the only reason you are still alive.”

With that, he pulls, much harder than before, on the ends of the sash, causing you to gasp for air for a moment or two. 

“I could still feed you to one of my curses you know, or all of them at the same time, they would love to get a taste of you.”

At your desperate whines, as you attempt to claw at the ceiling with restrained hands, he lets go, and with his action, your vision blurs no longer.

He spins you around and he licks his lips.

“I-I’m sorry, Master Geto.” You might be uncertain if you mean your apology, but perhaps Geto has the answer.

Just as you are not sure if Geto forgives you, but he knows the answer for sure.

The woman sitting next to both of you on the floor holds a golden hairpin in her ragged, scarred hands. She holds the hairpin just like she held the underlayer, obi string, socks, obi, and sash. She held and currently holds them all so delicately because she did not want to lose her hands. She was your handmaiden, according to Geto, and although the two of you had never exchanged words, you knew her first name was Sookee, but her last name was of no relevance if it even existed. 

Even though she was around your age, Sookee looked much older than she was because of her premature wrinkles and little white hairs sticking out of her bangs, clear signs of all the stress Geto and the rest of the people here put her through. She was an indentured servant of sorts, from what you were told, and she, like you, is often tormented by the people who live here.

You feel bad for her, whenever you hear her screams and cries, whenever she trips and breaks a porcelain teapot and gets beaten for it, or when she is too late to dress you for supper, which always causes Geto to summon a curse that is so ugly and follows her for the rest of the day and makes crude comments toward her.

There was one time that it actually bit her, and after an hour’s worth of begging, Sookee earned the right to bandage herself up.

“Monkey,” The word is bitter on his tongue and lingers in the air for far longer than either Sookee or you would have liked. “Pin.”

Although you sympathize with Sookee, your instinct urges you to prioritize your well-being before her.

“Since you are so ungrateful for the life I have given you, maybe it would be better to make you like Sookee. Would you like that, princess? To be lesser than a pauper?”

You deeply repent for uttering a single word, which emerges from your lips with complete despair. Meanwhile, Geto wears a smile as he delicately places the luxurious golden hairpin, worth more than your two kidneys combined, into your hair. With a dismissive gesture and a piercing look, he sends Sookee away, and she quietly shuts the door behind her.

You don’t stop him from pushing you onto the bed, large enough for at least five people to rest on, because really is there anything you can do? “You’re so pretty. The loveliest one, the only one worthy of what I am about to do.”

You are trapped here, forever bound by him. The door is guarded by a terrifying curse that ensures your confinement, although Geto's power makes it unnecessary. You find yourself in this place, adorned in the kimono he compelled you to wear, lying in his bed, with the makeup Sookee was forced to apply on you. And here you are, hearing his whispered words of affection as he lies upon you.

“Since you are so ungrateful for what you already have, I will give you more and more, my love, until you regret ever wishing for a life outside of this one.”

[szynkaaa]

Hi, I just read your story on AO3 and I loved it a lot but it also left me with a lot of questions about Oz and his relationship with Sun Wukong, especially the part where you mentioned that Oz after recovering the relics couldn't return to his world but at the end it gives the impression that she is no longer with him and at the beginning you also mentioned that this isn't a fanfic as such but like a diary or letters that she left him and that's eating my head in a good way that I need answers 😆😆😆😆 By the way, I know this is a bit long but I really love your content, your art, and your writing 😆☺️😊🥰

would you believe me if I said I came up with the idea to add those paragraphs at the end of each stories to make it sound like they are not together anymore literally as I was uploading my fic to AO3 LMFAO

ok ok, since I'm not an eloquent writer and will enver write a fully fledged fic, I will just spoil the ending of my non-existing story.

Basically after Black Myth Wukong story line, Oz did not manage to go home like she thought she would after helping DO. I've also mentioned that her ancestor were part of the Celestial Court but got fucked over by the court, so "book 2" of my AU would be SWK and Oz dealing with the Celestial Court, trying to figure out what what the fuck happened.

Everyone is like trying to use Oz as a scapegoat for the shit her ancestors did. She's just like, I wanna live my life and idc what my ancestors did that was like over 1000 years go for me. but 1000 year in celestial court is like 83 years ago in celestial heaven time, so like not thaaaat long ago for them. WW2 is for us like 80 years ago. it's a long time ago but also not really. people who lived through the war are still alive. So anyway, court wants her to serve them again like her ancestor did, or die I guess. reason is tied to some power that flows in Oz because of her ancestor, which I do plan to explain in another post at some point.

something something happens, where either Oz has no choice but to return to her homeworld, oooor someone from the Celestial Court forcibly sends her back. If you watched Barbie the nutcracker, the same shit the rat king pulled on Clara. Or maybe even SWK pushed her through a portal to send her to safety.

also in my AU, time flows differently between the Oz's world and SWK world. A day can pass in her world, and it could be few weeks or months or even years in SWK world.

ALSO important thing is SWK at some point gives Oz a ring made from the birthstone, like he found rock pieces and asked Yin Tiger to make him a ring ("I'm not that kind of smith, monkey"). Traditional Chinese Wedding does not include an engagement ring, but SWK was there when Oz was explaining to monkey kids how wedding traditione worked in her world, and he loves her so he made the ring, gave it to her when confessing to her.

She still has the ring when she went back to her world, and there it's like not much time has passed, maybe a week at most. She still made it to her Taylor Swift concert.

Time pass, maybe like three years or so. She never stopped thinking about SWK, and tried to find way to get back but couldn't. maybe the portal got severed idk. and then something something happens (which I will need to think about), where one day the ring on her finger felt warm and she was able to return to Mount Huaguo, landing where the birthstone stood on the mountain.

I think like 100 years passed in that world, where SWK never stopped visiting the birthstone place, where Oz also went back to her world.

Here is a comic I made of their sweet sweet reunion:

She's wearing a fancy red dress because she was attending some fancy event before she was able to return to SWK. But also traditionally the bride and groom wore red in a Chinese wedding, so her wearing the red dress when she is reunited with SWK after all those years is a symbol for that they are finally able to be together and live their happily ever after. it's also symbolism for Oz.

Before that, depsite SWK confession and basically proposal, she has a bit of commitment / abandoment issues from her parents divorce, so yknow they didn't get married before that. but it is very clear to anyone that they both loved each other.

so yeah. Sorry for the long post LOL i get super excited talking about my problem children. there is angst and implication that Oz will be gone but ultimately it ends on a happy note.

[weirdsht]

My Beautiful Stranger, My Soulmate - Cale/Fem! Reader

notes: for some reason i have a thing for continued love, maybe the reason why i'm single is because my soulmate is in another timeline/dimension /hj ... anyways this was the fic that i've wanted to write for the longest time but had no time for hehe

tags: female reader, novel spoilers (KRS' past and some war stuff), angst? not sure, continued love-esc, told in Cale's pov, one-sided admiration, strangers, Cale is whipped, mentions of abuse

English isn’t my first language so there will be grammatical errors

Pls don't repost my work anywhere without my permission

Constructive criticisms and any kind of interaction are more than welcome

Requests are currently closed but my ask are still open (read pinned)

Buy Me Dessert

Navigation Masterlist

Everyone wants to have something constant in their life. Something that would keep them grounded. Something that would give them a sense of normalcy when everything else feels crazy. 

For most, a person will be their constant and their pillar. Choosing a loved one in their life that supports and cares for them. Just someone they can go through during the tough times in their life.

Kim Rok Soo’s case is the same… for the most part, that is.

The difference that sets him apart from the average person is the fact that his constant person is a stranger.

He knows what she looks like. Knows her mannerisms. Has seen her for almost his entire life.

Yet he doesn’t know her name. Doesn’t know what her speaking voice sounds like. Has never had a personal interaction with her. 

Is this considered to be a type of parasocial relationship? Maybe, but Rok Soo can’t be bothered to find out.

Kim Rok Soo’s first interaction with his constant was when he was a child. During the short while of his life where he was happy, complete. When his loving parents are still alive. That was the first time he saw her.

It was during daycare. The daycare is separated into morning and afternoon sessions. His parents had enrolled him for the morning sessions.

At first, he didn’t want to go. Even as a kid he had preferred the peace his house could offer compared to socializing with the outside world. But alas, it wasn’t like he had a choice, his parents had already enrolled him so he had to go. Plus either way, he has to attend school sooner or later.

That’s why he goes, albeit reluctantly. He participates in whatever antics the teachers/caretaker does even when all he wants to do is go back home. For him, daycare was extremely tiring.

However, all that tiredness was wiped away when dismissal arrived. And no, it wasn’t just because he was excited to see his parents and go back home.

It was actually because of the girl he saw. She was a cute kid, wearing a cute dress with her hair tied in those typical twin-tailed hairstyles girls her age would have. Rok Soo didn’t see her in daycare so she must be part of the afternoon session.

Since then, he looked forward to attending daycare just to catch a glimpse of her during dismissal.

Unfortunately, Kim Rok Soo’s life took a turn for the worse at such a young age. Tragedy had befallen upon him. His parents died and his uncle is a piece of shit that hits children. It was no surprise that he had forgotten about that pretty girl in daycare.

The universe seems to not want him to forget though.

Because then why else would he see her again in the playground he runs to whenever his uncle's house is too much? Why else she be there when they were far from the town where Rok Soo attended daycare?

‘It must be fate’

That’s what little Rok Soo thinks to himself as he watches her and her friends play on the monkey bars. He just watches them from inside the castle fortress thing that no one ever uses. The sand underneath him served as his cushion.

Sometimes he wants to join, he wants to befriend her too. But he isn’t really one for moving around, for playing such physically tiring games. Even if he was, his injuries from his beatings are stopping him from doing so. Hence why he was content with playing with the sand beneath his feet while watching her laugh as she tried to not get caught by her friend during a round of tag.

Despite what Rok Soo says, his constant isn’t as steady in his life as he wants her to be. There are long periods of his life where he wouldn’t see her.

Which was why he was internally overjoyed when he saw her not only taking the same bus as him but also going to the same library. They seem to have the same schedule, and the same free time allocated for reading books in the library. The library and the novels they held were already Rok Soo’s safe space, his constant’s presence only made it more heavenly.

Kim Rok Soo knows that his constant doesn’t know who he is. Even if he remembers seeing her almost every day, in her perspective he was just a random, faceless stranger.

However, sometimes there are incidents where he would think otherwise. Is he being delusional? Absolutely, but who would call him out? The voices in his head? His already used to blocking them out.

One incident was after the day she didn’t go to the library. Rok Soo was a bit concerned as this was the first time she skipped her usual library session. The next day after that, someone had left a canned drink on his desk. It’s the drink she usually buys from the vending machine. As a matter of fact, Rok Soo had never seen anyone else pick that drink except for her.

So sue him for being delusional, but that was definitely from his constant.

When the cataclysm started, Kim Rok Soo was sure he would never see her again.

But the universe had other plans.

No matter what happens, fate seems to be pulling them together. Intertwining their destinies.

Kim Rok Soo should be happy and should be overjoyed that he gets to see her.

However, he isn’t.

In fact, he wished he hadn’t seen her.

For maybe then he could’ve lived in ignorant bliss.

“Hurry and go! I’ll hold things down over here!”

Rok Soo’s constant commanded firmly. This is the first time he has heard her speak, and god does she sound heavenly. However, this isn’t the time for this. The eclipse is still happening, barrage after barrage of monsters is still coming after every shelter.

Still, he can’t help but admire her for a second. She’s so strong, so cool, so put together.

He just wishes she hadn’t been so selfless.

The skinny man couldn’t help but hold onto the hem of his clothes. Staring at her as if begging her to come with him using his eyes.

“I’ll be fine. You should go first, I’ll follow soon.”

Lies

Kim Rok Soo knows that she won’t be following them anytime soon. He is well-aware of the fact that after this the next time he would be reunited with her is in the afterlife.

That’s why he tries to convince her even though he knows he will ultimately fail.

Years passed after that and Kim Rok Soo never saw his constant again. How could he when she passed away? When she sacrificed herself for his sake and others.

Despite the accumulation of the time and people Rok Soo met, he never forgot her. He could never forget her. Sometimes he would just sit in silence, remembering how her voice sounded. Relishing the first and last words she spoke to him.

This did not change even after he became a team leader. As a matter of fact, the only change is that now he’s mourning for three people, instead of one.

His longing for her was strong. It did not disappear even after becoming Cale Henituse. He would still think of her despite turning over a new leaf, literally turning over a new life.

Cale longs to hold her again. This time not just the hem of her clothing but her hand. He wishes to have a proper conversation with her. Longs to ask her why she likes that canned drink that no one else drinks so much.

He longs to get to know her outside of the things he has observed. Wants to be the cause of her smile, and not merely watch others do it in his stead.

But alas, he couldn’t.

For not only is she dead, but his in another world.

Or at least that’s what he thought until he saw a familiar face standing up for him during the noble's meeting.

“Personally, I think we should just be grateful to Commander Cale Henituse. If it weren’t for him and his people then our kingdom would be in graver danger that we would not even be able to conduct such a meeting.”

She looked exactly how Cale remembered her. Her voice still has that same firmness in it, telling everyone in the room how she also wields power despite being younger than all of them.

“That’s correct young master. However, there are still some things that should be addressed. Such as that necromancer–”

“She has a name, it’s Mary. And she’s not a mere necromancer, she’s a revered hero of our kingdom. One of the people who had defended our kingdom from the Indomitable Alliance.”

Cale didn’t know he could fall deeper after all these years, but he just did.

“Due all respect my lady, but you are still young. I think your emotions are getting the best of you. Mind you that you are not even the heir of your household.”

The ugly noble tried to retaliate to which Cale’s constant only raised her eyebrows at.

“Oh my, how disgraceful… A noble pulling the age card just because his nearing his expiry age. Now forgive my disrespect, but you started it first… How dare you look down on me, the top 1% contributor to this Kingdom’s economy? I have built a name for myself outside of my family’s influence while all you have is your family’s standing. And emotional? Really? Of course, I’m emotional, the lives of our citizens are at stake and all you mongrels seem to care more about powerplay like the hungry bastards you all are. Is it because you’re not on the front lines? Is it because you think you can do what Commander Cale Henituse did? Then I dare you to do so at this very moment. Go to the frontlines and defend this kingdom you all claim to love very much!”

A deafening silence followed the young woman’s speech. Even Alberu had to take a double take. Everyone is tense, they don’t know what to say. Can’t refute what she said.

“I’m sorry for my outburst, Your Highness, Commander Cale. I simply cannot tolerate such disrespect when you are pulling most of the weight during these trying times. Please, let us proceed with our original agenda.”

Her poise never left her, even as she tore down every noble inside the room. Contrarily, the more she speaks, the more it looks as though she also possesses Dominating Aura.

At her insistence, the meeting got back on track. Most of the nobles were already silenced because of her, Alberu and Cale only had to deliver the finishing blow before wrapping everything up.

Once everything was done and settled Cale made plans to talk to his constant. Get to know her name, and finally interact with her. He knows that in her eyes his just a stranger. Someone who has no personal connections with her. But that doesn’t stop the redhead. He can always start forging their connection right here, right now.

He’ll do anything to not let her slip from his grasp once again.

And so the commander slithers his way towards where she is. He already had it all planned out; he’ll start the conversation by thanking her for standing up in Mary’s defence before asking for her name, and then he’ll let things flow naturally from there.

Despite running the simulations in his head, the only thing he could do once he was face to face with her was standing there. Face marred with shock and mouth unable to form words?

The cause?

Oh nothing much, it’s just because of her greeting.

“It’s nice to finally meet my beautiful stranger from Earth whose name I still don’t know. I’m [Name] [Lastname], may I know Commander Cale Henituse’s Earth name?”

[phoenixeclipse-lmkau]

what would the perfect day be like for the monkey duo for each big point pin their lives? like before they met reader, after they met reader, after reader disappears, after they find her again, post epilogue etc?

Macaque: A perfect day before I met Reader... let me think. Back then, I would have wanted peace and quiet. I would have wanted to stay home and simply be with my mate a simple day of grooming and rest within the Water Curtain Cave.

Wukong: Simple! Have a long day of battling, return home for festivities with my people before spending the night with my mate!

>>>

Macaque: After we met Reader? Well before the curse broke it would definitely be a nice peaceful day traveling towards Flower Fruit Mountian of course. With Reader going right where she needed to be. Afterwards? Well curled up with Reader one a nice sunny day, with baskets of fruit and the lovely grooming... though it took a while to get her to groom us again. She was quite mad about the courtnapping and all. Quite scared too, poor thing didn't know who to trust. Not that I can blame her.

Wukong: Before the curse broke it was when Reader would give us the sweetest fruit! And when she would give us nice grooming sessions!! Or a nice bath, she is just the sweetest isn’t she making sure we are always taken care of. A lovely combination of those would make the perfect day!

Now after the curse broke? Waking up to Reader and Macaque before getting a nice battle in, a feast towards the evening and as the day turns to dusk? A lovely walk with my wife and husband of course!! And cuddles that night if Reader chose to sleep in the nest instead of the hammock (Wukong is pouting during this) She would sleep in the hammock away from us when it’s too hot.

Author: Yes Wukong, because it’s too ‘hot’. Not like you did anything to piss her off.

Wukong: What? I’m innocent 😇

>>>

Macaque: After Reader disappeared?… For the longest time most days were quite dull. We truly thought she was dead, we spent a week carving out a stone and making a shrine for her funeral site. The perfect day was simply finding joy in something and not thinking of her because we thought she was… truly gone. You have no idea how happy I was to find out she was alive.

Wukong:… It was no different for me. It took decades to even find as much joy in fighting as I did. I left the mountain for months at a time to find some sort of feeling. A perfect day was feeling joy… which I could only find in Macaque for a while. Until… The Brotherhood interveaned.

>>>

Macaque: When we found her again… Ha! She was right under our nose for fucking years before we realized!! When I did? A perfect day was being able to see her smile, was to go a day without being attacked on that damned journey and for her to actually talk to me. There is one day that comes to mind, a peaceful day that she had a picnic with me and Wukong, the day after she made us realize we were fighting each other for no reason.

Wukong: A perfect day WOULD have been taking her back to Flower Fruit Mountain! But… I suppose a second perfect day would be seeing that beautiful smile, knowing that she was by my side once again. Giving her a courting gift or two and hanging at the BACK of the rest of the group. Wasn’t a fan of the Monk and his crew… I suppose they’re not so terrible now. Still don’t really LIKE them, but Mk likes them so what can I do?

>>>

Macaque: Post Epilogue? Do you mean after The Lady Bone Demon attacked the city? I’ll assume that’s what you mean. In that case it would be waking up with Reader and Wukong in the morning, a nice PRIVATE breakfast with my family and spending the day relaxing.

Wukong: Waking up with my mates! Training and spending time with my cubs, before doing my ‘kingly duties,’ and then spending the rest of my time with my mates. The cubs like to join until dusk. Reader says they should have their own rooms instead of sleeping as a family as most monkeys do… but I can’t complain when that means I get Reader and Macaque all to myself~

>>>

- I think you are asking for the QTC but not 100% sure so if not you can send the ask again 😅. A small note with this one, Reader disappears more than once in this au, so I am going to use just the first time for this.

I also realize that I might have skipped the time she disappeared in between before and after the curse broke… oops. This was longer than I originally planned anyways. I do hope you all enjoyed!! So correction I used the second time she disappeared, kinda glossed over the first.

I do hope you liked this my dear friends! I kinda added a few spoilers… Kind of, I think I’ve mentioned some of this throughout my asks. I have a hard time hiding stuff.

[recreationalfanfics]

Twisted Night At The Museum HCs/Thoughts/Concepts:

These are brain farts but ya'll are making me feel like I have the biggest brain so-

- If the Daley! Reader had a Unique Magic it'd be: "Alive for the Night" where basically any statues on display and stuff can come to life. Including the ones of the Great Seven but they can only do it at night. (Idk if you guys want them to have it or not, ya'll can fight about it in the notes)

- The Daley! Reader was also adopted by Larry after Nicky moved out and became a DJ, Larry is still a super protective father whose very anxious and is looking through various museum archives to figure out if something can be done about his child whose stuck in Twisted Wonderland. He requires you to check the mirror and talk to him at least 4 times a day to know you're alright and if you miss a time, YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXCUSE-

- No but parent teacher conferences and you have to hold the mirror so that your teachers can talk to Larry through it.

Larry Daley + His Relationship with the Staff:

- Crowley: No, he's been in this game long enough to know that Crowley isn't trustworthy and while you KNOW he isn't trust worthy, he is the reason that Larry wants you to check in 4 times a day. Crowley tries to paint it like everything is fine and Larry pretends to believe him. Crowley is just a bit off put by Larry because you're already such an odd and resourceful individual, that he can't imagine what your father (the man who raised you) must be like and while he laughs whenever Larry promises to bring you home, Crowley slowly starts to believe him. Like, bro, he deals with a magic tablet and brought a family of old Egyptian pharaohs together, Larry Daley is getting his child back.

- Crewel is the only man in this school that Larry trusts, along with Trein, but Larry does notice that Crewel seems a lot more concerned with your safety and has a soft spot for you. Crewel will also give Larry due respect and while he's not sure about his bland outfit choices, he's very much aware that your father loves and is worried for you and so, Crewel will make sure you are well behaved and taken care off until you're able to reunite. It's bittersweet for him because he does grow to get attatched to you but soon realizes that he's never gonna be your father back home. (SPLIT CUSTODY IS ALL I'M GONNA SAY).

- Vargas: Larry hates him so much. Like in the movies, he's always snarky and closed off from people he dislikes so their conversations are always so passive aggressive. Like, Vargas is all: "Ha, no wonder you look so wimpy! Look at your dad!" and Larry is all: "First of all, they're adopted (but still my kid) so neither of us can really say anything but second of all, I went face to face with a triceratops, so, yeah. Not sure if they have those in your world, but thats pretty impressive." and Vargas just brushes him off and he HATES IT.

- Next is Trein, who is like a strict grandpa to you and one of the other teachers who get along with Larry. As a father himself, he admires Larry trying to protect you as best as he can while he's in a different world, and he couldn't imagine what it would be like if his own children where stranded in a place he couldn't protect them in. So yeah, while your dad is awkward, Trein tries to help him out and ease both his and your anxieties. I also can totally see Dexter the Cappuchin Monkey and Lucius fighting across the mirror.

- Sam is one that Larry doesn't see to often aside from Larry trying to find old spells in old archives that require magical ingredients that he doesn't know about so he'll ask Sam about them or see if he can find any suitable substitutes and Sam will do it of course, for a fee. He really admires your dad's dedication but he also admires the relationship and bond you two have. Yeah, you might come into his shop to rant about how protective he is and some other flaws but you love him dearly. Sometimes he'll throw in a few freebies because at the end of the day, you two just want to be with each other again.

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME STUDENTS AND HOW I FEEL LIKE INTERACTIONS WITH THEM WOULD GO.

Now back to some general headcanons:

- Okay so have you guys seen the Stuart Little movies? Where he has a bunch of ladders and stuff around the room because he's small and can't get to places faster, thats kinda what you have to do for Jedediah and Octavius. They sleep on your nightstand after Deuce and Jack either made tiny beds for them or you made them in a wood work class or something.

- I can also totally see that after the first winter break, your first year friends bring back some old childhood toys that maybe Jedediah and Octavius can use to help or to help them travel faster around the campus.

- Deuce brought back an old remote controlled Magic Wheel (the motorcycle thing he likes) and gave it to them so not only can they ride around in style but they also have a tendency to drive recklessly and trip over poor unsuspecting students who are just trying to walk to their class. They'll do it especially if they mess with you.

- Ace brings them back like, tiny weapons from his old toy soldiers and stuff and while they might not do much, he just thinks its so funny how serious Octavius is when he's all: "Thank you, Child of Trappola, for I now have an arsenal to defend Fort Ramshackle!" and Jedediah rolling his eyes.

- You try to keep them on higher ground, especially due to the rats but I love the idea that when you're away on classes and you trust them not to do anything stupid, they're riding around on Grim and throwing toy spears at any rats running around and defending their home. Like to them, it's an intense battle where they could possibly die but to the ghosts, it looks like they're just annoying the rats that they eventually just give up and leave because they're so annoying and rambunctious.

- Out of all of your friends, they like to use Jack as a mode of transportation. After all, he's HUGE and when they sit on his shoulders, they're absolutely amazed by how much they can see. Jack tries his best to remember they're on his shoulders but if a class is really boring and he forgets, he'll lean on one shoulder which causes them to lose balance and almost fall but hed got quick reflexes and apologizes to them.

- THE WAY EPEL AND THEM WOULD GET ALONG. Like, Epel will walk in all roughed up because he got into a fight and walk past you to rant to Jedediah and Octavius and talk about how some kids were picking on him for being cute and little and Jed and Oct are all: "YA BETTER HAVE SHOWN 'EM THAT WHAT FOR!" and Epel is all: "COURSE I DID!" and you just sigh because you know that Vil is gonna ask to keep Epel away from your "little raggedy friends".

- BELIEVE IT OR NOT, SEBEK ACTUALLY RESPECTS YOUR LITTLE CREW. Especially after he finds out you want to be a Night Gaurd and mistakes your words and believes that you come from a family of noble gaurdians who keep the ancient relics of your world safe (which is kinda true but its not that dramatic) and when he sees you defend yourself with a mere flashlight, you become his idol.

- IN NIGHT OF THE MUSEUM TWO, THERE'S THIS SCENE THAT FITS PERFECTLY WITH YOU AND SEBEK FIRST MEETING, HERE'S THE LINK BUT GO TO 1:57 BUT THAT'S HOW I IMAGINE YOUR FIRST MEETING WITH SEBEK GOES.

You, whispering as your faces are squished together: "Listen, fae boy, you do not know who you're dealing with. I've seen things in my world, stuff you can't even imagine."

Sebek, whispering back: "Like what kind of stuff?"

You: "I'm not gonna tell you, but you're gonna drop your sword-"

Sebek: "The way you said it just made it sound like you were gonna say something really cool-"

You: "Yeah, you don't get to hear it, drop the sword-"

- OKAY BUT YOU BEING DEEMED THE NIGHT GAURD OF NIGHT RAVEN COLLEGE. Like idk, maybe you don't need as much sleep as everyone or during weekends, you just hibernate and then survive on naps and energy drinks throughout the week (it's such an unhealthy habit, all of the Dorm Leaders are concerned and Vil might trick you into drinking a sleeping potion if your eyebags get too prominent) but I love the idea that the bullying rates go down. Hell, even the Savanahclaw dorm kids don't try to start with as many fights with you around because they know you'll finish them with your flashlight. Like they're all cornering you and you blind one of them temporarily before you do some cool fighting moves. Your quick wit and training as a night gaurd is the only thing you've got to give you an edge in this world and by God are you gonna use it.

-And even if that fails you, you've got friends who've got your back. Like you get cornered by some bullies and then they feel something stab their feet and Jed and Octavius are bravely stabbing their shoes and the students are hopping around in pain.

- But yeah, the Night Gaurd in you just makes you walks around Night Raven College and look at all the various statues and history and you read and do your research on Twisted Wonderland.

- Like in the first movie, the thing Larry did after his first wild night at the museum was do research and by God, do you dedicate yourself to doing research on Twisted Wonderland and the study of magic.

- ALSO MALLEUS JOINING YOU DURING YOUR LATE NIGHT PATROLS OF YOUR SCHOOL GROUNDS and telling you everything there is to know about the magic here. You know how Ahkmenrah calls Larry "Gaurdian of Brooklyn"? I feel like instead of Child of Man, Malleus would call you "Gaurdian of the Night" because you tell him that's your dad's job and you want to fill in his shoes.

- MALLEUS AND SEBEK TRYING TO GET YOU TO JOIN HIS GAURDS BUT YOUR DUTY IS TO EVERYONE BUT HE'S ALL: "You know, just in case you might have to stay for longer, there will always be a spot in my court for you. As either my gaurd or my spouse-"

- "What was that last part?"

- "What?"

Feel Free to Send in any Thoughts/Asks/or Questions about this AU!

[sun-of-4-gun]

seeing your six ear macaque design (btw so freaking cool) makes me so curious about him :0! do you have more info about him?

AHH thank you!! that makes me so glad to hear (≧⁠▽⁠≦)♡*⁠。I have a whole idea of how he was made but nothing too solid! if anyone has any other insights I'd love to read them!!

this is something I've decided recently that when Six initially popped out of the ground, he looked a lot more like Monkey King. a scruffy, young adult six-eared macaque with dull red fur. he is an exact clone save for minor details that will kickstart big changes

it was instant for him to go out explore & experience the world, learn about this & that. he found his way to Flower-Fruit Mountain and it's clear to him that regardless of people, monkeys, and even demons just don't like him. his freakishly gross amount of ears certainly don't help or an underbaked unsettlingness about his whole vibe being uncanny & off, but he don't give a damn (yet). he just wants to be received positively for a change, so when he quickly found kinship in the legend of the Monkey King, he thought to seek him out in the hopes of understanding, but that idea is immediately snuffed out in favour of straight-up just becoming the Monkey King himself instead! he wants all the blind adoring glory and none of the work, but he needs help. assistance if you will, 'cause there's no Monkey King without his Stick. that's the whole reason he is where he is

long story short, Six is able to clone Stick and forge his own staff; Suixin Tie Ganbing (or Rod/dy) who I haven't designed cause I'm struggling (⁠^▽^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ I don't imagine it's as characterised as Stick, if any. like a soulless copy y'know? Six knows Monkey's heart & mind so intimately, but lacks an awareness in that he is still more like the guy 500 years ago + caught up with knowledge to present time. of course, by becoming a specious macaque, he sacrifices his ability to predict the future & utilise that sixth sense, as Monkey isn't a six-eared macaque, but one of ✧ numinous wisdom ✧ and ultimately gets the upper hand to destroy this imposter, who apparently all along is a split aspect of his very own psyche & soul, a literal two-minds & double-heart situation. unlike Six, Monkey is a complete-ish person, and his counterpart has a lot of growing up to do. its a big difference between 500 years of self-reflection to 5 years of figuring out one's desires & purpose!

so Monkey aims to kill Six, a rotten part of himself that he tried to bury years ago, kept hidden from his master out of shame and deep inner conflict that it literally ate him up on the inside, and when it was too much to bear he cut open his chest to find an actual root of wickedness growing from his heart like a tumour, festering from the back of his mind and manifesting into a second organ that desperately needed to take control and get out. I imagine Sandy witnessed this and Horsie knows about it, but nobody said anything because Monkey seemingly "defeated" it when he buried this parasite into the dirt, thinking it would quietly die with nothing to leech off of anymore. this came back to haunt him, obviously, his own self or at least some corrupted mirror staring him in the flesh

but he doesn't kill him, seeing himself within literally and metaphorically, the second thoughts are clear and instead of destroying the six-eared macaque, he buries him alive instead. because if Buddha can stick him under a mountain for 500 years and that turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to him, why can't he do the same for this guy? he's a screwed up version of him, but like him nonetheless. he was 5 years old himself when he got mountained anyway!

except that well, it's still the six-eared macaque, his own species, and for whatever reason it was after that Tightening Fillet Spell by Guanyin that Six is cursed to be tethered to Monkey King in every physical & emotional way, especially by their own doing. all thoughts, joys, grief, love, rage, pain, pleasure and else of Monkey's will be second-hand to the specious macaque and he has no choice but to listen to & feel everything his creator feels & experiences. it sickens him, infuriates him, these sensations are tormenting regardless of his own desires for 1,000 years of complete depravity & deafness to everything of the outside world but the Monkey King and once he's freed from the earth by chance of a quake, he wants nothing to do with Sun Wukong. though that's impossible when he's literally connected at the heart & mind by some one-sided chain. so logically, he has to kill him.

his time underground allowed his sense of self to develop & ultimately change his appearance, so now he's also somewhat complete-ish as a living being. except he can't exactly move on with his creator in the way, as how can he trust his own emotions & sensations when all he's known are another's the past millennium? he'll get help & some assistance again, and he'll use the same jade dagger that was discarded after getting rid of him the first time to stab Monkey in the heart and sever their connection once and for all

[centuryberry]

I wasn't gonna say anything, but I did think yue was being pretty racist/xenophobic in thinking azure was gonna kill her bc he's a lion demon. One thing would be bc of his actions (though trying to steal a married man, while bad, is leagues better than child murder), or bc misunderstandings of things she heard, but no it's specifically because he's a lion. Does she assume things from other animal demons bc of their form, or is it only azure bc he's a threat to her parents marriage

All right, before you get the torches and the pitchforks about Yue and her apprehension towards Azure, there's a reason why this AU Yue thinks this way when all her other counterparts don't. And it's because of Wukong.

When teaching her about her monkey and yaoguai heritage, Wukong didn't hold back on the gritty details about yaoguai instincts. Traditional demons have a violent culture and follow their instincts more often than not, which is why they are often opposed to the Celestial Realm and seen as monsters. It's why Wukong and his kingdom faced many territory wars and skirmishes.

The thing about the yaoguai is that they do show and share some instincts and habits of the animals that they take after. Monkey yaoguai build nests and groom, wolf yaoguai place importance in pack bonds/family, tiger yaoguai are extremely territorial and solitary, and so on. Some yaoguai also take on some less...nice instincts. Wukong told Yue about a tiger demon who caught and ate the baby monkeys of his troop before he took it down.

Now, Yue didn't just take this and think: "all yaoguai who are big cats are going to eat me. automatically." No, she thought: "oh no, another fixation, I gotta research about this. before it consumes my mind like herbs." So, she got her hands on a book of animal facts (the closest she could ever get to her interest) and studied hard. It's the book where she got the cuttlefish fact in Unpaid Babysitting.

Now, how does this apply to Azure?

Yue quickly learned through reading between the lines that Azure still held a torch for Wukong and definitely wasn't Macaque's friend. He was actually trying to replace her other parent as Empress if she was reading things right.

Azure is an enemy to her parents' marriage, so Yue mentally treats him as such. She expects nothing but the worst from him. She needs to know what he can do and what he's capable of doing, but since Wukong says nothing but nice things about him, Yue can only guess the worst. The Jade Palace also sounded like a historical C-Drama Yue used to watch in her past life, so she knew that kids weren't exactly off-limits when it comes to these type of conflicts, especially not children of the Emperor.

And this line of thought automatically reminded her of the lion fact that she read in her book. It also reminded her about Wukong's lecture about yaoguai instincts. So, she concluded that Azure, being from the Jade Palace Court AND a lion yaoguai, wouldn't mind getting rid of her if the opportunity presented itself.

Now, let's make this clear: Yue isn't afraid of Azure because he's a lion yaoguai, she's afraid because the lion yaoguai is Azure.

Azure, who's charismatic, politically powerful, smart, and still going after Wukong even though he's married. If marriage wouldn't stop him, why would a kid? And he might claim that he'd be fine with raising Yue if something unfortunate ever happened to Macaque, but what about the potential children that would come from Azure and Wukong's union? Yue would be an obstacle. A reminder about Macaque and Wukong's love. Maybe even be the thing that holds Wukong back.

Yue is stuck on the "lions kill cubs not fathered by them" fact since she is a cub. She's squishy, tiny, baby Yue who can't even reach beyond the second shelf without some help. Lionesses on guard against them already have problems with keeping their cubs alive, what about Wukong who seems to trust Azure? If Wukong just blatantly rejected Azure and his romantic overtures, Yue wouldn't be as stressed, but he was an idiot so she was stuck with this scenario.

So yeah, Yue had been stewing with this kind of fear long before she popped out of the mirror. It didn't help when she saw how devastated Azure was when he laid eyes on her and his disturbing insistence on getting some time alone with her. (Murder! Her overthinking mind cries.)

But here's the kicker: Azure Lion isn't actually a yaoguai. He's a Celestial Beast. Two different creatures. Azure doesn't even have that strong of an instinct to follow and/or overcome. But Wukong didn't tell Yue about this difference and Yue didn't know enough Otome Game lore to understand this. And Wukong didn't even correct her when she first brought up her fears.

Yue's assumptions are mostly born out of her fears, imagination, ignorance, and Wukong (and Macaque) not sitting her down and correcting her.

Funnily enough, Yue never has this irrational fear toward anyone else. Not even Peng. Random lion or tiger yaoguai? Nothing. Just Azure. So, if her thoughts and actions are still construed as racism, then it's a special sort of racism directed at Azure and nobody else.

(This started out as a funny gag and callback to the animal fact Yue dropped in Unpaid Babysitting and I ended up expanding on some yaoguai culture. Hope this was a good enough explanation.)

[peatorice]

This will be an analysis of Arcane's conclusion mostly from a thematic standpoint, and stablishing one of the keys to this: Jinx is alive, if you also interpreted it like that you can skip to the next paragraph, otherwise here’s why I think that’s the case: Cait has the monkey head of the grenade and is looking at the projects of the place where Jinx blew up (implying she didn’t found a body) and has a little smile when she notices Jinx probably fled, and there’s also a pink trace right before the explosion. One of Powder’s first lines is saying "one day I’ll ride one of those" looking at an airship just like the one from the ending (a take that seems very random otherwise), and the "the end" card has her aesthetics, all of that right after a speech that ends with "Our story isn’t over yet", I don’t even see it as ambiguous to be very honest.

Jayce says that Viktor has always been trying to fix what he deems as "imperfections", characterizing his lack of self-acceptance as what fuels many of his actions, which is similar to Jinx: labeling herself with the nickname that reduces her to her mistakes, a self-destructive way to take agency over her own self-loathing, and as "Silco" puts it in her hallucination when imprisoned, it became a box that confines her sense of self. Jinx and Viktor can’t handle flaws, one reduces herself to them in desperation, and the other wants to sacrifice everything else for "cleansing".

Jayce and Ekko stand opposite to Viktor and Jinx as contrasting views about the core of Arcane, very clearly put in Viktor’s speech at the end of Act 5: The good and the bad often come from the same source, be it in the sense of emotions, intentions and the capability for them or in the form of cycles and causality, opposites are what enable each other, and this friction is what makes us human even in the most basic level, like trying to balance reason and emotion. Viktor and Jinx see this negatively in their own ways, while Jayce focuses on how this makes us human, and Ekko focuses on how even with this conflict there’s always space for the good to flourish, the basis is pessimism vs optimism in the face of the world’s inner workings.

Ekko here also stands opposite to Caitlyn’s words to Jinx, about how there’s no way to erase your mistakes (another unhealthy way of dealing with imperfection), which reenforced an idea Jinx already had and surely enabled her suicide attempt (that also carries her hopelessness for the state of the world in general, as framed in her hallucination with Silco saying the cycle started way before him and Vander).

When Ekko comes to stop her, he carries with him the fact that things didn’t have to be that way, that there’s still a human being beyond the storm inside Jinx’s head. She notices the monkeys on his device while he says that "it’s never too late to build something new, for someone worth building it for", just by that she at least understands that she has something to do with Ekko’s words, and that to him she is the one worth building something for, like Vi is to her, and ultimately it’s for Vi that she comes back (she tells her "Even worlds apart, I'll always be with you", implying that Ekko did told her what he lived and she's carrying all of it with her). As always human connection is the key to everything she does.

Her conclusion is bittersweet: She’s able to get rid of the "Jinx" identity, to take a leap forward while leaving some things behind, to search for a new path... But she doesn’t think she could do that in Zaun or Piltover, as she noticed Vi will never let go of her, and there she’s already a symbol with too much history and mistakes, she breaks the cycle of conflict not by dying in a literal sense, but by leaving her old life behind and starting anew, far from the rotten soil where she grew in.

This also parallels the alternate Powder’s conclusion, she says she doesn’t want to “lose what makes her herself” (talking about the life she had at that moment being what keeps her from using her talents for greater things), but when witnessing Ekko’s departure, everything they talked about resonates in her heart. To me the take of the gemstones she has kept implies that Powder will use them to fulfill her potential, accepting to take a step beyond the “identity” that became a box, and accepting reality’s imperfection of this step having a cost. “To take a leap forward you have to leave some things behind” really summarizes the conclusions of both of her versions.

Jinx’s decision of trusting her own potential to help (a direct contrast to her trauma of always ruining everything when trying to help) is what allows Piltover to resist, and for that and her bringing more zaunite forces, Zaun ends up receiving a seat at the council.

The social struggle isn’t over, it isn’t that simple (and to somehow end it the show would need way more seasons focusing solely on that, this is not a story about a cathartic revolution for a model society, even with the critiques of how things are being essential), but Jinx did manage to help Zaun get a louder voice, a better path to the future than by Viktor’s "cleansing", and politically a more realistic step considering the story’s scope and focuses (and how things work on our own world, with all the unfairness that comes with it. The final speech makes it clear that the remaining problems are treated as problems, they don't need to be thoroughly solved to be framed critically, one of the main messages is exactly how things will never be perfect but that doesn't mean that they're hopeless).

Viktor’s mistake was trying to erase everyone’s identities as a way to eradicate the existence of flaws, Jinx’s mistake was confining her identity to flaws, when both of them become able to accept imperfection as part of their own humanity and look at a possible future despite of it, they achieve the necessary balance in their hearts.

Arcane is bittersweet, full of opposites that rarely get everything their way, an ending that’s fully happy or fully tragic wouldn’t fit as well as this one did. I loved what we got and can’t wait for this team’s next project exploring this universe.