#finished the mad ship. feeling normal

[brbarou]

too late for her. wide wings hang above her

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[joedirtymadre]

Your First Fight

Headcanon 🫶 (Pls send more requests)

LUFFY + ZORO + SANJI + LAW + ACE + SABO

LUFFY

“I don’t get why you’re so mad at me,” he said as he watched you pace around the room. “Are you serious? I asked you to stay behind on the ship, because you know this island is known to be a common Navy stop! All I needed was to grab some herbs and plants for the garden and who do I see rocketing into the middle of the plaza?” You asked, knowing damn well who it was. “Me…” he replied softly. “Exactly! I asked you to stay behind and watch the ship with the others! Why can’t you do the simplest of tasks?” You yelled. “So what if I left? I got bored, and why are you trying to tell me what to do?! If you want me to remind you, I’m your captain! You listen to me!” He yelled back.

“Well it obviously doesn’t look like it, since you were hurling at max speed into a Navy base island without a care in the world! Grow up! I asked you to stay behind because we had others who needed to stock up on supplies, which means you had to stay behind and make sure we’re not discovered or the ship isn’t hijacked!” You yelled. “We would have been fine! We always escape, so why are you so mad at me?” He asked. “Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it won’t. Plus I asked you to do something and you just ignored it,” You replied. “Well if you want to boss people around so much, go find your own ship. Maybe you’ll be a better captain,” he said coldly as he walked out of the bedroom.

ZORO

“Hey stop!” You called out to your boyfriend. You were both currently lost… or he was lost, you knew where to go, but Zoro wasn’t listening. “Zoro, I told you a billion times that the ship is the other way,” you said. “I know where it is! You don’t need to babysit me, I’m not a little kid,” he sighed. “I’m not trying to,” you said. “Well it feels like it… like I can’t take a break,” he grumbled. “Ok… but why are you so upset? I’m just giving you dire-“ he cut you off. “Because you’re always doing this!” He shouted as he stopped and looked at you.

“Huh?” You asked. “You��re always… suffocating me. I can never have a moment to myself, ever since we started dating. It’s like you’re a leech and I can never get rid of you for 5 seconds,” he groaned. “Oh…” your voice cracked. “I didn’t m-mean…” you trailed off. “Wait… (Y/N), I didn’t mean all that. I’m just-“ you cut him off. “No… it’s fine, I understand… You just want some space…I’ll head back to the ship, I’ll see you there,” you said as you turned on your heels and ran towards the ship. “(Y/N)!” You heard as you continued to run off.

SANJI

You slowly approached your boyfriend, excited to help him with whatever he needs. “Hey!” You smiled. “Hi beautiful, how are you?” He smiled back. “I’m great, so what are we making today?” You asked. “Nami-swan asked if I could make her some fruit tarts so I’ll be preparing that for her,” he smiled. “Mind if I help? If you finish quickly we can go-“ he cut you off. “Sorry (Y/N), but I’d hate for this to be messed up. It’s better if I do it alone,” he explained.

“Oh… but I normally help you in the kitchen, why can’t I help you with this one?” You asked, confused. “To make sure it’s perfect for my Nami-swan! Plus, you still haven’t mastered certain techniques, and I’d hate for this treat to not be perfect for my beloved Nami,” he swooned. “Seriously?” You huffed. “I didn’t mean to offend you my love, I was just answering your question,” he replied as he began preparing the dessert. “Ok fine, I’ll get out of your way. Maybe your beloved Nami will come help you out in the future,” you said coldly and began walking out of the kitchen. “(Y/N)! Hey! Wait!” He called out, but you continued to your bedroom.

LAW

“(Y/N) you’ve been at that for the past 6 hours, it’s time to take a break,” Law said as he watched you continue to try to fix the electrical issue that’s been causing problems with the motor. “But I can’t just stop now… what if the motor stops when we’re trying to escape from someone?” You asked, feeling frustrated by the uncooperative wires. “Come on, maybe you need some fresh air. We’ve been ducked at this island for a whole day and you haven’t even looked outside to see it,” he sighed. “Well I’m sorry that I’m trying to fix your ship!” You huffed. “That’s fine, but you need a break,” he said.

“Well I don’t want a break, what I want to do is fix this stupid thing!” You groaned. “And I really don’t need someone breathing down my neck when I’m trying to do something!” You added. “I’m just trying to look out for you, but if you’re gonna act like this then I’m leaving,” he said softly and headed towards the exit. “Good, maybe I’ll finally be able to fix this,” you glared as he walked out.

ACE

“Come on babe, are you really still mad at me?” Ace asked as he followed you to your bedroom. “What makes you think that?” You asked as you tried to shut the door in his face, but he quickly stopped it and stepped in. “That’s why,” he frowned. “Just making sure to close the door behind me,” you said as you gave a tight smile. “Come on, what’s the big deal? I’m sorry I left without telling you,” he said as he tried to hold you. “You just don’t understand,” you huffed as you brushed off his embrace. “Then tell me,” he said as he sat on your bed.

“What if you died?” You said bluntly. “Well… that’s being optimistic…” Ace said awkwardly. “I’m serious, what if you died? You really left without me knowing, and sure you made it back safe, but what if next time you’re not so lucky? And I end up finding out my boyfriend died in the middle of the sea, and I couldn’t even say goodbye to him…” you said softly. “Ok, ok… well I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left. Even though you know I’ll always be safe. So, forgive me now?” He smiled. “No, because you’re not taking me seriously!” You groaned. “Why are you still mad at me? I said, " I'm sorry, don’t worry so much!” He yelled back. “I worry because I love you, but if you’re so dense, then just get out! I don’t know why I even put up with you. When it obviously shows how little you care about my feelings!” You shouted as you pushed Ace out of your room. “Wait, (Y/N) I’m sorry! Let’s keep-“ but you cut his words off with the door.

SABO

“Sabo~” you cooed. “Yes (Y/N)?” He replied. “I’m bored, can you please put the book down for a second and let’s go walk around the island or grab something to eat?” You asked hopefully. “Not today, plus you know we’re not supposed to be venturing out when he has to be on duty,” he explained. “I know, but we both get and hour break from standing guard and you’ve been spending each break reading. Can’t we do something, the two of us? Together?” You added. “Why? We’re spending time together right now,” he rolled his eyes.

Your eyes fell to the floor, “Alright,” you said softly as you headed back to the base. “What’s wrong?” Sabo called out. “Nothing, just gonna head inside,” you replied. You heard footsteps behind you, “What’s wrong? Tell me,” he said as he grabbed your arm. “Sabo we’ve been here for 2 weeks and you don’t want to do any normal couple stuff with me? Not even for an hour?” You asked. “(Y/N) you know-“ you cut him off. “Yeah I know, I also know how hard it is to have a relationship in our positions, but that didn't stop you from asking me out… Plus… I’ve seen you go out with Koala on a few occasions, you didn’t seem to have an issue with the rules then,” you glared. He quickly released your arm. “Hold on, you’re misunderstanding that (Y/N). You know Koala and I-“ you cut him off once again. “I know, but it doesn't mean you’re off having fun with another girl. While your real girlfriend is stuck here watching you read a book,” you said softly before turning on your heels and heading back towards the base.

[half-bakedboy]

for the buck/tommy prompts — “you’re an idiot.” “yeah, but i’m *your* idiot.”

A few months into dating, Evan asks Tommy to a family dinner at Sergeant Grant and Captain Nash’s house. Tommy’s never been nervous when meeting a significant other’s family or friends, but he sure as Hell is terrified to meet Evan’s pseudo-parents. 

You know, the ones Tommy hijacked his own helicopter for because they saved an entire ship of people from being murdered by pirates, blown up, and drowned in the middle of the ocean where they’d probably never be found?

It didn’t matter that he had met them before. How is he supposed to feel normal about meeting two people like that? 

“I can practically hear you spiraling, and I feel like that’s supposed to be my job,” Evan interrupts his, well, spiraling. Tommy turns toward him from the driver’s seat with furrowed eyebrows. 

“I’m meeting your entire family together for the first time. How is this about you again?” Tommy asks. Evan must know he means well because there’s a soft smile on his face and he reaches out to grab Tommy’s hand. If he was a lesser man, they might have been shaking. He feels like he might start when Evan’s face turns more serious. 

“You know I haven’t had the best track record with women…” Evan begins.

Tommy can’t help but interrupt. “Good thing I’m not a woman…”

“Not a woman, I know,” Evan finishes the inside joke with him. He’s running his thumb in soft circles over the back of Tommy’s hand, spelling out words Tommy wishes he could decipher. “You’re different in more ways than that, though.” 

Tommy doesn’t speak even though Evan expects it if the long pause he allows says anything. 

“You might not be part of the 118 right now, but you’re as good as family. You’ve worked side-by-side with Hen and Chim, you were part of the first team that Cap led in L.A., and your friendship with Eddie has only grown since we got together.” Evan sighs. “I’ve always been terrified of not being enough so I’ve pushed people like you away. People who I respect, who I envy, who I wish I could be like so that they can’t replace me.” 

“No one can replace you, Evan,” Tommy inserts, even though he knows he doesn’t have to. Evan knows that, but Tommy will never stop reminding him. 

“No, they can’t,” Evan says confidently. Tommy squeezes his hand with pride. “But that makes this—us—all the more serious to me. You’re sticking around for as long as we’ll have each other, and probably after that.” Evan takes a deep breath and, with vulnerability bursting out of his blue eyes, says, “I guess, this is my way of saying that I want you in this family whether you’re with me or not.” 

Tommy practically melts at the words. It’s what he’s wanted since he first hopped in that helicopter, since before his friendship with Eddie or his relationship with Evan. He’s missed Hen and Howie, and he wants to laugh with their wives about stories from their pasts. He wants to get to know the first Captain he met who deserved to be in his position, and say thank you to the first cop to shake his hand when he finally—and accidentally—came out in a fit of frustration. 

Evan knows exactly how much the sentiment means to him, and to hear him say it out loud, makes emotion swell up in his throat. He knows it’s too soon to talk about forever, but he’s never felt something so close. 

“Plus, if they’re your family, too, they can’t be mad at me for not telling them I was bringing you because the invite was implied.” 

With the moment thoroughly broken, Evan jumps out of the car and runs around to open Tommy’s door. Tommy sighs as he exits, but reaches out to hold Evan’s hand anyways.

“You’re an idiot,” Tommy mutters with a shake of his head. 

There’s so much fondness in the words, that he might as well have said I love you. 

Evan’s grin barely falters, and he kisses Tommy’s cheek quickly but firmly. “Yeah, but I’m your idiot.” 

It’s not an I love you, too but one day, Tommy thinks it might be. 

[airaibunny]

dom!kazuha x sub!fem!reader - “all because of a concert sign” (warnings: smut, degradation, jealousy, fingering, thigh riding, begging, orgasm control, orders)

a/n: this was a request! also, the reader is the maknae, but not a minor! reader and eunchae have been aged up to fit the narrative!

word count: 1.8k

it’s currently 11:35 and you and the rest of your members are having a hard time saying goodbye to the fans at your concert. you all love hearing them cheer and scream your names, it makes you feel accomplished. tonight was a blast, like any other concert night, however, it would have been a lot funner if kazuha wasn’t staring daggers at you the entire concert.

she was so distant today, which is very unlike her, especially towards you. she’s normally quite the opposite, always all over you when she gets the chance. she does it in front of the fans too, more discretely of course, but she can never seem to keep her hands off you. which is why tonight was weird, she barely spoke to you, much less touched you. you did catch her staring at you a couple of times, but she looked angry, very angry. you can’t wait to get some time alone to ask her what was wrong.

after many tears and apologies for your departure, you finally all make it backstage. you rush towards kazuha, thinking you can finally talk to her, but the managers barely let you speak to each other before rushing you outside. you try to get a few words in when you get in the car, but kazuha still refuses to speak to you.

the rest of the car ride is silent and eerily long, it feels much longer than it did when you were on your way to the venue. you awkwardly sit wanting to touch her thigh or her hand, or even just have a conversation, but she won’t budge. you’re starting to get worried, did you do something wrong? you think back to everything you did at the concert, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, just the regular amount of fan service and some joke flirting with the fans. nothing you don’t normally do in front of her.

“stop shaking your leg, it’s gonna fall off.” eunchae jokingly shouts at you even though she’s directly at your side and startles you. kazuha turns her head to look at you but immediately turns back with an eye roll.

“manchae, lower your voice, my head hurts.” sakura shoots back at her and the car goes silent again. you finally arrive at home and nobody even tries to make small talk before rushing off to their bedrooms to get ready for bed. even when you’re finally inside you and kazuha’s shared dorm though, she doesn’t turn to look at you or pay any attention to you in the slightest.

“c’mon zuha, talk to me.”

she stops what she’s doing and turns to face you, the same anger in her expression as before.

“go talk to chaewon.” you roll your eyes with a sigh and look at her in disbelief. “is that what you’re mad about? we act like that all the time, this is not a new thing. plus, you know it’s just fan service, why is it bothering you so much today?” you walk closer to her and try to wrap your arms around her neck but she grabs your wrists before you can finish your motion. you gasp a little out of shock, and somewhat arousal. you hate to admit this, but seeing her this mad and possessive is actually turning you on.

“i’m mad about what i finally saw today. have you seen the things the fans write about you and chaewon? the requests they make a meet and greets? the concert signs with your ship name? and you go along with all of them. you’re just giving them more reasons to think there’s something happening between you two.”

her grip on your wrists tightens and she brings herself closer to you, practically breathing her words into your face and neck.

“you know it’s not like that, the fans’ narrative means nothing to me. you know i want you .”

“okay then, show me.” her hands leave your wrists and travel to your sides, pushing you back against your dorm room door. “i want you to do exactly what i say, then maybe i’ll believe you. do you understand?” you answer her with a breathy ‘yes’ and lean in for a kiss. she allows the kiss to happen for maybe a few seconds, then pulls away, leaving you longing for more.

“take your clothes off.” you obey her demand instantly, partially because you’ve wanted to rip your clothes off for the entirety of this interaction. you’re not used to her being like this, she’s normally very vanilla during sex, this kazuha is completely new.

once all of your clothes are off, she takes your wrists into her hands again and pins them above your head, shoving her thigh between your legs at the same time.

“you finish when i tell you to, got it?” the way the words sound coming out of her mouth nearly make you fail her demand on the spot. “got it.” “great.”

she begins kissing down your neck and collarbone and you can’t help but be completely entranced in the noises her lips make while in contact with your skin. you let yourself fall deeper into the sound when you feel her thigh start moving under you. your legs twitch and you almost fall over, but kazuha catches you.

“if you can’t hold yourself up now, how are we supposed to keep going?”

she goes back to leaving lipstick stains and bite marks all over your chest area almost as soon as she stopped, keeping your arms pinned above your head. you look down at her thigh and realize how much slick you’re leaving all over her. she notices you looking and smirks.

“do you like seeing yourself on me? does it make you horny?” you whimper an incomprehensible answer at her and earn a small chuckle in return.

“zuha.” you moan out her name, biting your lip after, trying not to make much noise.

“yes?” “feels tight, im close.”

she pulls you into a deep, slow kiss for a few seconds and pulls away with your bottom lip in between her teeth.

“not yet, hold on a little longer.” you squirm at her request, trying to stop the friction with her thigh, but she won’t let you. she uses one of her hands to guide your hips along her now flexed muscle, clearly aware of what she’s doing.

“can’t, i need to…” her other hand leaves your wrists and jumps to your jaw, moving your head so her mouth is right beside your ear. “you don’t need anything, you want it, because you’re a slut. tell me, do you want chaewon to touch you like this as well?

you vigorously shake your head, trying your best to hold off your impending orgasm. she forces your hips further down onto her thigh, driving you closer to the edge.

“zuha, i can’t keep holding, please.” she quickens the pace of your hips with her hand. “if you really want to get off, beg for it.” you want to take a second and think about your next words, but you can’t. your desire at this moment completely takes over and you blurt out the first words your already foggy brains comes up with.

“please zuha, let me cum. i want to get off so bad. it aches so much, just please.” you slur your words together as you get your best attempt out, hoping it was good enough for her.

“okay. go ahead, cum.” she barely finishes her sentence and you’re already letting yourself go. your head completely empties itself of any thoughts and you feel your legs completely lose balance, nearly falling to the ground once more. she lets you come back from your high and guides you to the bed.

she pushes you down, climbing on top of you and playing with your breasts. tugging and pulling at your nipples with her fingers while using her tongue everywhere else.

you suddenly become very aware of the fact that you’re completely exposed while all of her clothes are still on, so you try taking her shirt off.

“no, my clothes stay on tonight. you’re the one who wants to be played with, not me.”

that familiar sticky-hot feeling between your legs is suddenly back with just one sentence from her.

you pull her down to your lips by her shirt, opening your legs to let yourself feel her in between them. kazuha pulls away, tracing your facial features with her fingertip.

“look at you spreading your legs for me. what would the others think of this? their innocent little maknae being such a whore.”

you feel the blood rush to your cheeks and your core, you need kazuha to touch you, no more teasing.

“zuha, i want you inside of me, please.“

“wouldn’t you rather have chaewon inside of you?”

“kazuha, i only want you, please…just fuck me.”

she licks her lips and finally touches you like you’ve been wanting all night. she moves her fingers up and down your folds a few time before stopping at your entrance, locking eyes with you and inserting two fingers inside.

a heated moan leaves your mouth and kazuha slaps her other hand over your mouth.

“i’m the only one that gets to hear you, try to be quieter.”

she takes her hand away and places it on top of your breast, going back to playing with it like before.

her fingers move at a slow pace for the first few minutes, but gradually gain more speed.

you once again lower her to your face by her shirt, wanting to drown your moans in a delirious kiss. it works for a while, but kazuha pulls away just as she starts curling her fingers inside you, bringing her mouth to your clit. she stimulates you with her mouth while still keeping her fingers in you, pumping in and out even faster.

“zuha, feels good. don’t stop, please.”

she doesn’t tease back this time, she simply complies and continues giving you what you want.

you feel what must be the biggest wave of pleasure ever hit you and your vision goes blurry. she keeps her fingers inside you a bit longer, helping you finish comfortably. once you’re completely done, she finally takes her fingers out and you watch her lick them dry, much like she did with the rest.

when she’s done, she gives you a big gummy smile and cups your cheek with her hand. “i’m sorry i got so jealous, i truly had to reason to”

“it’s okay, i understand. but…”

she lifts an eyebrow at you awaiting the rest of your sentence.

“we could try to shift the fans’ views. it wasn’t that hard for them to like me and chaewon, they could start liking me and you.”

[ganondoodle]

i kinda want to read books again, i havent read any in .. more years than i know to remember but idk how to find anything i like, especially these days (i dont read fanfiction either .. , i tried a few times but it never really caught me q-q)

even when i was young i was somewhat picky (though there are plenty books im sure i finished but just .. dont remember) the last series i think i read was skullduggery pleasant (as i said, its been many years) but dropped it after it got a little 'weird' (in like .. i guess the shonen powerscaling problem, at least thats how it felt back then) and the annoying love interest boy that was seemingly only introduced so protag girl could do what normal girls do tm (i know theres many more books in the series so idk if hes actually more than that but eugh)

funnily enough i only seem to remember the books i loved so much i kept rereading them (the bartimäus trio, though i loved the forth prequel more than the others .. still sad i lost my copy of it in school) or the ones i stopped reading bc something completely threw me out of it-

there was one i literally only remember it was a protagonist (teen?) girl (is that a general common thing for the fantasy genre?) and she was travelling via a ship in that scene, idk if it was a flying one but something was different magical tm i think; and left it or ran away or so and sought shelter from the rain at some point and annoying boy caught up to her and they uuh .. started making out of nowhere?? (im sorry i literally only remember i felt rly uncomfortable and awkward, didnt like the boy, thought they had zero chemistry/felt forced AND i did NOT see it coming, like at all, maybe its my aro/ace/autism .. ness (that i wasnt aware of except being def different for most of my life, haha fun.) but i rememebr feeling like i got flashbanged by what i read, the only actual sentence i (think i) remember was "she felt the weight of his hips shifting onto hers" bc it weirded me out so much and i might just have stopped reading it at that point and never looked back lmao)

another one was one with a setting of having dragons and they were used like horses, also feathered! (though the cover picture, i think, was a big dragon eye surrounded by scales, pretty sure it annoyed me constantly but i might missremember, again its been so long and i went through things my brain wishes it could unlive) and the protagonist worked at a stable or soemthing (also girl? idk), last thing i remember was that all dragons started to go mad and kill themselves .. idk if i read any further

(honorable mention to uuh .. dämonenzeit (demon time), was a demon protagonist and it was a little brutal for my taste but when do you get a demon as the main guy, apparently there were two entries and i only read the first one, also lost that copy- Xarors (an OC of mine) first designs were based on the cover of that book and the thing the band 'disturbed' tended to use (the hooded guy with red glowing eyes) i was very original)

maybe all those were super well known ones and i just never knew (grew up without/extremely limited internet and tech in general after all.... the only one i knew was popular and also read all of it and had all parts .. was a certain bad wizard series that should not still be so popular *watches in horror as my niece gets into it and wants nothing but merch for it*) or really bad peepoo baby books, im possibly confusing or mixing some things bc i read quite a few ones with dragons and similar themes, but thats just what i remember/remember feeling like

(maybe i should see if i still have them somewhere and see how much is true of any of this .... though a part of me also doesnt want to)

[beanghostprincess]

The Strawhats go to Syrup Village when their adventure ends because they want to say hi and thank everyone they've met along the way. Luffy misses his old friends! And Usopp, of course, wants to see the Usopp pirates and... And Kaya. Kaya, mostly. They were dating before Usopp joined the crew and when Usopp started having feelings for Sanji, he sent a letter to her asking if she was fine with that being a thing. And of course, she said yes, because Sanji seemed like such a nice gentleman and if he made Usopp happy then she was happy too. But he hadn't taken into consideration how nervous Sanji would be meeting her. Which, you know, understandable. Meeting your boyfriend's girlfriend. Something totally, uh, normal for Sanji's little mind who had to have a whole crisis for two years about his sexuality and relationships. But you know, it's okay, because it's Kaya. So everything will be fine.

And it surprisingly goes great! Well, surprisingly for Sanji. Usopp knew it would be okay! Obviously!

They encounter the kids first, and they're- They're older and it makes Usopp feel old too. Because what the hell. They're taller and they look almost like teenagers and it's making his heart melt. God, he has missed them so much. They go running to him and asking questions and hugging him and Usopp doesn't think he can take this much happiness, really. He keeps bragging about his cool, awesome, powerful crew and bounty and says that he'll tell them all their adventures later. Piiman directly asks "So, which one of them is your boyfriend?!" and Usopp freezes because "How do you know I have a-" and Tamanegi jumps in like, "Kaya told us!" and Usopp obviously can't be surprised at that. Or mad. He wrote the letters for the kids too, after all. So while the crew waits there watching it all happen, Usopp tells Sanji to come with him and meet the three idiots he had for a crew. And Sanji knows them, of course. He takes a drag of his cigarette, stares at them, and instantly goes "Ninjin, Piiman, Tamanegi" pointing at all of them correctly. They're astonished, but before they can say anything, Sanji squints his eyes at them "I remember because you look like vegetables-" / (Usopp): Ooookay, Sanji, babe, enough!" And he changes the subject to ask if Kaya is home right now. The kids say yes. Yadda yadda yadda, and they start walking to her house. (On their way to Kaya's, btw: "If I cook tonight we're not having vegetables, I would feel bad-"/ "Sanji!" / "C'mon, it's funny- They're cute, I swear. Like cute little potatoes-" / "Do you want me to punch you?" / "If we have children, do you think they'd look more like a radish or a cauliflow- / "Dumbass. And those are the only children we're having for a while. Get used to them." / "Wait, I was joking! Do you- You want children? With me? I-" / "Sanji, please, not today.")

So they get to Kaya's and... And Sanji is excited. Nervous. But excited. Nami won't stop teasing Usopp about it, too. And he's not worried. He's okay. He's not anxious. Everything's gonna be okay and she will love the person he has become. Definitely. Nothing to worry about. But he's visibly shaking, and he didn't expect Sanji to be the one holding his hand to calm him down, but it happens. And he couldn't be happier.

So, of course, Luffy can't be fucking quiet and starts knocking on the door and yelling for Kaya to come to greet them. Even if it was supposed to be a surprise. And Nami says "Gosh, Luffy, calm down! She can hear you. Everyone can hear you, actually. Shut up and wait for-" but she can't finish her sentence because Merry is already there with the biggest of smiles, opening the door for them. Usopp just says a soft "Hi!" while Luffy wastes no time in going in.

Nami: Luffy! Wait for a damn second! Merry: Oh, well, not that we can control the King of the Pirates, can we? Nami: You don't need to tell me. Franky: You look like Merry. Merry: ... I am Merry? Franky: No, I mean the ship- Usopp: Franky, we've explained this to you. Franky: Not the part where the butler looks exactly like the ship, though? Usopp: Oh. True. Well. There you have it.

Everything happens a bit quickly. Kaya is walking down the stairs when they're walking in, and the second she sees Usopp she just has to hug him tight. Sanji steps away because, well, he doesn't want to get in between their reunion. And everyone thinks he's jealous or weird about it, but it only takes a moment to realize he's staring at them with the fondest of looks in his eyes. She's the most beautiful girl he's ever seen (apart from Nami and Robin, of course. But it's another type of beauty) and there's just this glimpse in his eyes nobody can actually describe.

Usopp and Kaya kiss and he starts to feel a bit dizzy because- Wow. Remembering her kisses is just as overwhelming as he thought it'd be. She's precious. He says they'll tell her all about their adventures. That he has truly become somebody she can be proud of. She says she has always been proud of him, and Usopp dies a little bit with that. When she's done staring at him, she tilts her head to the side saying hi to everyone else and she spots Sanji, hands on each side of him and bouncing his right leg. She lets go of Usopp to approach Sanji and grab his hands, and with a soft, tender smile, she says "I'm so glad you've been looking out for him. I've heard so many great things about you, Sanji! I truly hope we get to know each other better" and Sanji dies. Sanji instantly dies. Not from a nosebleed but a heart attack, probably. He's speechless for a whole second and nobody says anything. Because this sweet girl just said this in front of everyone and let's be honest, everybody is wondering how the fuck Sanji and Usopp are the ones with enough rizz to pull this wonderful girl. Anyway- I can imagine Jinbe laughing and saying "Usopp! You have a type!" and he's being genuine and sweet but it's so fucking embarrassing the sniper just wants to curl up and die.

Luffy, Nami, and Zoro see Kaya again and it's so, so sweet to see her being a doctor just like she wanted. She's healthy. She's adorable, like always. And she welcomes them into her house gladly. Kaya says hi to the rest and she. Absolutely. Adores. Chopper. That's probably the cutest doctor she's ever seen, and also the smartest! If Usopp and Sanji didn't need to talk with her, she'd probably spend the day talking to Chopper. She also gets along with the older members of the crew! They're all just so nice to her <3 Robin comments about how Usopp and Sanji have been talking a lot about her and Kaya giggles but it makes Usopp want to run away to a private place as quickly as he can. If Robin is the one talking about this, this means they will all keep the embarrassing conversation going and he can't have that.

They decide to stay for dinner, the way they had planned because Sanji is dying to cook for her and they just knew Kaya wouldn't let them go without having dinner with her. Besides, they've been staying for a while in every island so that they can enjoy their time with each person and decide what they want to do next. If they want to, you know, stay with the crew or choose to keep going with their lives outside of being a pirate (everyone chill, they're staying together. At least for a long while until they're old. Because otherwise, I will cry). So, Sanji cooks while the crew waits around the house. Talking to Merry and Kaya and wow!! The kids are staying too!! Awesome!! Usopp is in the kitchen with Sanji because he just needs a second to calm down. It's too much. In a good way! But god, he needs a second.

Usopp helps Sanji with a few things while they talk about everything and nothing. A kiss here and there. And then, Usopp is suddenly a bit uncomfortable about what he's about to say. "What do you think about, um, Kaya?" / "Are you really asking me that?" / "Yeah! Why wouldn't I? Maybe you don't- Fuck. I don't know. Maybe now that you've seen us together you don't want-" / "I want to, Usopp. More than anything." / "Really?" / "Yeah. She- She makes you happy. She even makes me happy and I just met her. And- I don't know. I guess she just looks a lot like my-"

But then the kitchen door opens quickly and it's closed just as fast, because Kaya is there, resting her back against the wall and smiling shyly at them both.

Kaya: Hi! Hi. I- Am I interrupting or-? Sanji/Usopp: No! Kaya: Oh! Oh, okay! I just thought It'd be nice for us to be together for a while? Alone? Usopp: ...... Luffy is being- Kaya: Nami? Usopp: Oh, fuck, yes, makes more sense. Sanji: Nami-san can be a bit assertive sometimes, but it's alright. Kaya: So it's okay if I stay? Usopp: Kaya, it's your kitchen- Sanji: Of course, madame. You're gonna be the first one to taste our dinner, then. I need opinions. Kaya: Oh, I'm not a cook. But I am sure your food is excellent! Sanji: Indulge me, please? Eat whatever you like. Usopp, whispering: Why are you being more romantic than me? She's my girlfriend. Sanji: And I am your boyfriend. She's, like, my girlfriend too, now. Usopp: Does that work like that? Sanji: Uh, not sure? Kind of? Usopp: ... As long as you two are happy. Sanji: You should eat too, by the way, mon amour. I am being serious when I say I want feedback.

They end up spending a long while together making dinner. While Usopp tells her about their adventures, she tells her about her life without him and her studies. How much she has been trying to help the village, too, and how the kids have been doing. Sanji asks them their opinions on the food. Asks them for help, too, if needed. And everything ends up being so domestic and nice that Usopp is surprised Kaya and Sanji just met. They're so in sync and they look so pretty together they even look like a couple already. Usopp thought he'd end up feeling left out (because he always does) but there's just something about them being together that makes his heart melt.

Skipping the dinner part, because it's just all of them having fun as usual and besides a few cute glances and blushes and compliments, there isn't anything remarkable about Sanusokaya here. They end up in Kaya's room after dinner, while the other crew members go do whatever. They have designated rooms and beds (the place is a fucking mansion, and there's room for everyone).

The thing is, they go to Kaya's room to talk about... Them. They don't know where to begin, so Usopp breaks the silence by telling Kaya about how he met Sanji. Things she already knows from letters, but she hasn't actively heard. And it's obviously more entertaining this way. So Sanji and Kaya sit on her bed while Usopp talks. And one thing leads to another and he's also explaining Skypiea. And Water 7. And when he gets to Dressrosa, something they had already talked about during dinner, Sanji decides to explain what happened back in Whole Cake Island. He didn't have this in mind. Opening up so much, he means. But there's just something about Kaya that makes him want to keep talking. So he explains a bit (not everything, of course) about his past. And she's so, so sweet about it. Holds his hand all the time. Rests her cheek on his shoulder. Usopp kisses both of their foreheads. And that's when Sanji stares at Kaya and says:

Sanji: You know? You remind me a lot of her. My mother, I mean. Kaya: Do I? The way you talk to her is so wonderfu- Sanji: You are wonderful. Kaya: Oh- Usopp: Sanji, you can't say that to her! That's my job. You're wonderful, babe. Kaya: Thanks, darling. I just- I was thinking that it could... If you are okay with it. Maybe I'm overstepping. That it could also be his job? God, I am explaining this awfully. I am a doctor, not a writer- Usopp: He would love to be your boyfriend. Sanji: Don't answer for me! Usopp: Weren't you going to say yes? Sanji: In a more romantic way, yes. Of course. Kaya: Really?! Usopp: I think he likes you more than he likes me- Sanji: Idiot. Don't ever say things like that. He's always so- Kaya: No, yes, you have to force the love into his head, huh? Sanji: Exactly! Usopp: Don't get too excited, Kay. He's just like that too. You say something good about him and he starts sobbing.

Long story short, they sleep together in Kaya's room, all tangled up and cuddling because they're the cutest, most adorable couple in the world. They stay for a while in the Village and spend some days together, growing closer and clingier every day. And sadly they have to say goodbye because they want to keep going with their journey (they have stuff to do. They tried to bring Kaya along, but she's the doctor of the village. She can't leave them alone) but she knows they'll come back to her. She trusts them to

[peri-helia]

No use crying over spilt milk

Joe x Nicky Secret Agent AU

It’s a milk run, really.

Get in, make the drop and get out again. Something he’s done a million times, even in time sensitive situations.

Joe just has to make sure that Nicky doesn’t try to do the dishes before tomorrow morning. Under the kitchen sink isn’t one of his usual places of concealment, but he doesn’t want to risk Quynh or Nile finding any of his weapons under the sofa bed’s slats or in the guest room. So he’ll move his stuff, pry Nicky away from doing the dishes with kisses and convincing him that it’s okay to leave the pans to soak, just this once. Then he’ll extract everything while Nicky and Nile are on their morning run.

See? Easy.

He’s just nudging the cupboard door open with the toe of his boot, arms full, when there’s a rattling sound from inside the cupboard and the door springs open, the familar sound of weaponry thudding to the floor as a barrage of knives, and a couple of handguns fall out of the cupboard and skid across the floor around him.

Which. Are not his.  

What.

What.

Had Andy done an inventory and forgot to tell him? Stacking them haphazardly like this was normally Booker’s sort of thing -

There’s the light, rapid tread of someone running down the hall, of Nicky running down the hall towards the noise and towards trouble just like always and it’s all Joe can do to shout, “I can explain!”

Arms full of his Spare Bedroom Stash, standing on one leg in front of the kitchen sink was not how he figured he’d tell his husband he was a spy but to be honest he’d sort of not thought about it and just hoped for the best.

Christ, Booker’s really rubbing off on him.

“I can explain!” Nicky repeats, repeats – What the actual fuck - as he rounds the corner, hands raised.

“Uh – I” Nicky’s eyes dart from the mess on the floor to Joe’s weapon laid arms and back again. His face cycles through expressions too fast for even Joe to read them, but there’s flashes of panic, confusion and worry there. Everything Joe’s feeling right now, basically. 

Whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthe

“What the fuck do you mean you can explain?!”

Nicky can’t even slice an onion without supervision, he forgot to take the knife guard off when they visited Booker’s family for dinner two weeks ago, Joe remembers hysterically, what the fuck is he doing with all this.

Nicky takes a deep, calming breath that comes out vaguely shuddery, his shoulders still somewhere about his ears, gaze resolutely fixed on Joe’s face. “Yusuf.” Oh fuck, not good. Can be very good in the will you spend the rest of eternity with me or the I’m going to pretend I am not going to let you talk me into spending all day in bed again way. But this is more of the Quynh’s ship went down. Andy’s stitches that Nicky thinks is from an appendectomy have re-opened sort of way. “Yusuf, habibi, would you sit down? Please?”

Joe puts the weaponry on the kitchen table, thinking about what a mad tableau this makes, the two of them sitting at the kitchen table, a pile of weaponry between them. Nicky quietly takes the opposing chair, sighing to himself when Joe doesn’t sit. Joe notices absently that Nicky takes the chair that is between Joe and the door, but angles it slightly so that he can see it too, the way he always does, even here, even at home.  

“I suppose I should start with the fact that – um, well, I’m not an translator”

Joe blinks because of course Nicky is a translator. He forever sits at this very table, earphones jammed over his ears, listening quietly. He starts ordering his coffee in one language and finishes it in another. He corrects the poor subtitles on Netflix, with a quiet mutter of ‘that’s not what they’re saying’, eyes flitting over the actors’ mouths as his brow furrows. There are notebooks and notebooks filled with his transcriptions. But, but all Nicky’s work comes from his laptop – the work laptop he has to use an app to open, not from his notebooks and – oh, oh God

 His eyes catch at Nicky’s own, those beautiful oceanic eyes, all big and pleading and Joe’s brain starts back on its track of whatthefuckwhatthefuck, the grip of his Beretta digging painfully into the meat of his palm. Nicky’s still talking.

“Joe? Tesoro, I really wish you would sit down. I –“ his Adam’s apple bobs, “di immortals is not an translation firm, it’s a front for my team, Quynh’s team and the whole me not being able to cook thing is a lie, a painful one but I'm too good with it and you'd have known and – I don’t own throwing stars” Nicky stops, mouth open, eyes trained on Joe’s hands.

Joe becomes painfully aware of the crick developing where his little finger is hooked though said throwing stars that Andy had got him for the Sao Paulo job years ago, just because he’d said there were cool and he’d wanted to learn. Because Andy’s the best.

“Of course not – these are mine!” It comes out somewhere between indignant, proud and enthused.

Well. Fuck.

This was not how he’d pictured this going at all.

[revserrayyu]

2.5 Xianzhou continuance thoughts [part 2]

**SPOILER warning** for March first boarding the Skysplitter, Feixiao coming to Yukong’s aide, a healer in need of a medic and the fight against Hoolay. As always, refrain from reading further if you haven’t reached the first boss battle or finished the entirety of the 2.5 story because I’ll probably mention some things that happen later on.

Amidst the serious wolf hunt going on, I appreciate the silly conversations the game threw our way to ease the tension once we switched back to March’s perspective. Now that we know Hoolay is capable of turning foxians into borisin with just his fangs, it’s good for our Trailblazing companion to be a bit suspicious of everyone at the event, but thankfully this one soldier is just an awkward man doing his job.

We continue to be such a bad influence on our friends, even when we’re not around. I can’t even be mad that the game insults our mental health because this whole scene is just too funny. And most likely true because the Trailblazer is far from normal.

The whole situation with Hoolay’s plague-mark spreading fear and the danger it presents alongside these lines of Feixiao’s just reminds me of that one line from Serval during the Belobog story when we first escape the Underworld and request her help: “I know Cocolia’s style - get everyone into a frenzy first.” (yes of course I remember random Serval quotes.)

Wise words from our resolute General. She would make a good mentor, but I believe it was said (no clue on when or by who exactly), that she can’t really take on an apprentice because of her busy schedule and/or shortened lifespan due to her moon rage. Something like that. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong but I know there was a reason she doesn’t take apprentices somewhere.

Finally getting to the borisin attack scene that they teased us with during the 2.5 trailer and I’m truly impressed by how Feixiao manages to arrive at Starskiff Haven from Exalting Sanctum so quickly.

Granted, the speed at which she arrives is mostly due to her riding on top of a starskiff that she.. somehow acquired from who knows where, but the cutscenes switch up so fast from Feixiao reassuring Yukong she’s on her way one moment to then seeing her flying into the fray the next. I found it incredible.

It was also amusing to see Feixiao just ram the starskiff into an unfortunate borisin and crash land the whole thing while she remains perfectly unharmed.

Eeehehe, I just love that kind of pose where people hold their weapon over their shoulder like that. Not to mention that confident smirk of hers too.. aaahh she’s so cool~ And Yukong too. I still adore her. Shame we didn’t get to see her fight more than what the 2.5 trailer already showed us but hey, I’ll take what we can get. Better than nothing.

With the way you move, sweetie, everything is swift.

My assumption about Feixiao using Yukong’s bow from the patch trailer turned out to be correct. From wielding swords, gun blades, battle axe and bows, she can do it all folks! We love a multi-talented queen.

So that giant flash of light in the sky turned out to be Feixiao’s arrow.. good lord. At least she gave everyone a heads up about it so we could try to move out of range, but with how quick she acts, it couldn’t have be that much time. Thankfully Moze is kind enough to offer us some assistance.

Ma’am.. please calm down with the amazing cutscenes. You’re too much for my heart to handle. The powerful attack did seem to hurt her a bit though in the end, or it was her moon rage acting up.

Now there’s a question I’d like the answer to. How did people react to her bloodline? Or do they really not know about it and just see her as a foxian? Whenever I read about the Yaoqing, I see that moon rage is kinda common among foxians of that ship because of their close ties with the borisin, so perhaps other ships really don’t mind Feixiao’s backstory. After all her military accomplishments, I wouldn’t either, honestly.

Looks like we won’t be getting a definite answer either as she chooses to just taunt him instead. She’s perfect. I love her. I’d gladly beg for her.

Jumping back to the Skysplitter where March & Yunli meet up with Yanqing, the girls are rightfully suspicious of his sudden arrival and wonder if he’s a disguised borisin. It’s a fair assumption since they last heard he was supposed to be helping Feixiao, but he reasons with swift logic that ultimately makes fun of his own height and the truth surrounding that fact is hilarious.

For a whole side mission taking place back on the Luofu, there’s not as much Jing Yuan as I originally thought there would be. At least he’s working behind the scenes though, setting up a well thought of trap to lead Hoolay into by setting up a fake Wardance ceremony to draw him out into the ring.

The fight with the warhead himself was fine. I wish I remembered more of it but I didn’t really have any trouble with him.

The fight probably would’ve been more memorable if they didn’t cut to a flashback of a seriously injured Jiaoqiu right in the middle of it! AAHH! I’m actually kinda surprised that Hoolay kept him alive for this long (and didn’t completely eat him after everything either), but since there was no more use for him.. yeah, makes sense he would eventually toss our healer aside like trash and leave him to die on his own.

Oh goodie, yet another flashback to pull at my heartstrings. I wasn’t expecting Feixiao to be so much younger than Jiaoqiu..? Or more like I never really thought of who’s older/who’s younger between them before. I just assumed they were about the same age. Hearing him lose his patience with her was a bit unexpected, but when you remember how tired of Jiaoqiu is of learning that his patients lost their lives upon returning to battle and how the previous General asked him to personally save Feixiao, his annoyance is understandable.

Before Hoolay leaves Jiaoqiu, our healer reveals he knows about the bloodwine custom where borisin kill off their prisoners and drink their blood before battle to increase their madness. Hoolay confirms this and I can only assume that he drinks said blood from the gash across our foxian’s chest. Unfortunately for the warhead, Jiaoqiu seemed to have an ace up his sleeve.. which just so happens to be poison.

During my 2.4 posts (part 2 I think), I jokingly said that “this man could very well poison someone if he wanted to,” but sir, I didn’t want it to be yourself!? And with the most lethal of poisons too?? Goddamn.. that’s so extreme, honey. I’m not even gonna question how or when Jiaoqiu actually drink the poison, but he definitely needed to make sure Hoolay had a taste of his blood or else his impressive last ditch effort would’ve been all for nothing. Thankfully, his plan is a success and the sly fox skillfully uses the same advice he previously told Mok Tok & Hoolay about with feeding a child with picky eating habits: you hide the thing you want them to eat among something else. Green peppers chopped up into meatballs. Deadly poison mixed in foxian blood.

Nooo no no, stop this self loathing at once! Your life is nothing close to insignificant! Aahh.. he’s making me so upset. Half the reason being he’s seemingly dying, the other half is because of Mark’s brilliant voice acting. He was so dang good throughout this entire scene, from sounding broken and losing hope, to the weak chuckles when he finds the tiniest bit of amusement about his poison plan taking effect. Actually, his performance was wonderful throughout the entire story so far.

What isn’t wonderful however.. is how Hoyo baited all of us into thinking that Jingliu was going to return! All those mentions of her name and the cameo of her during the 2.5 trailer.. worthless! The Jingliu from the cutscene is nothing but Hoolay being reminded of her style when Yanqing launches a serious counterattack by taking inspiration from his own experiences of battling against Jingliu during her companion mission.

Like.. yeah, good for you young man for freezing the beast so effectively, but I’m still so twisted that our ice queen doesn’t actually show up. I know it makes the most sense that she doesn’t, considering she and Luocha are locked up on another Xianzhou ship, but maaann.. it would’ve been so cool to see her again.

Despite turning into a popsicle, Hoolay still manages to strike back against Yanqing, only for a true queen to descend onto the battlefield and stop his large blade effortlessly, just as she did to both Yunli & Yanqing’s last patch with just a couple fingers.

Sigh.. what an amazing woman. And there’s gonna be a whole lot of fangirling over her during the next post too. (probably).

[byghostface]

//long rambling

There is a vent in the last part (about pro ship:/+ wired shipping + block list) it's naturally negative so reading at your own risk.

So in the new Batman and Robin issue #7 Nika's sister making an appearance, got me thinking of other possibilities for sibling characters to come back.

Mostly I’m thinking about Respawn since he is Joshua Williamson's own character. And He made Respawn appeared in the last issue of Robin(2021), he also brought back Mara in that run too (just some appearance in the later issue).

And now Joshua Williamson is writing Batman and Robin, so naturally he can bring some characters back in this run. He had said in an interview that he might have figured out a way(try) to bring back Maya.

Throwback to 2022 of this old wip/art I made, is about what I think the emo teens of Lazarus squad dynamic would look like.

I imagine Nika and Respaw are irritated/tolerate with each other but would stay for Damian because Nika is Damian's girlfriend and they want to stick together. Meanwhile, Damian likes to include his half-brother in some fun activities (Respawn is acting reluctant bc of his own issues but he actually likes to have friends and feel include).

I haven’t finished this art bc I was going to add more wips (with other characters like Rose and Hawke) to make it a post. I didn't finish this art back then bc I was afraid Talia fans would be mad at me for drawing Respawn.

Trust me, I hate that Talia gets associated with Deathstroke like this, but I think Respawn is a confused/mistreated teen character and Damian (bless his heart and soul) still wants to be his brother regarding the whole mess. I will explain/talk more about my thoughts on Respawn as a character and his situations once I finish these drawings and get ready to post them.

Writing/typing words is harder than drawing for me personally. Drawing is like channeling my energy into a picture and forming an atmosphere and hopefully people will understand what thoughts and feelings I was trying to convey. Writing is using more brain powers to choose the correct and cohesive words, so people would not misunderstand what I'm talking about. Especially when English is not my first language, and even so I normally don't talk(write) much in my mother tongue either…(I'm not a quick thinker, it took me a longer time to think things through, writing literally exhausted me physically and mentally more than drawing.)

It doesn't mean I don't enjoy writing, it's just not my first choice to convey thoughts… but considering I can't draw everything I have in my mind and it takes even longer time to finish any art, I just need to write down things first from now on. Tumblr is the only place I can think of that has this longer text feature blog post and I'm more familiar with this platform format. So I will still be here posting my fan content.

.

(↓Vent, if you want to avoid being block by me then read down below.)

I must say I will forever hate respawn x flatline as ship, cus I know who started this ship and their reasons behind it—Don’t let the new character develop naturally as the story goes, let’s put them in made-up weird situations first so I can prop up my own ship!😍 And get both of the new characters out of the way, since no one would defend them so I can fanon the hell out of them by making them look bad all around!🤞 (What if I stone you first hand🪨🪨💥)

And I will continue to dislike/against any shipping Damian's sibling to Nika. I simply don't like the unnecessary sibling conflict just for romance tropes! So go away boooo I hate you‼️ Not to mention the ignoring of different age range multi-ship hide behind poly… that's straight up proshipping I hate you even more!!👎

Also for people who said Nika should be crush on Damian's mother instead of him… I hate you twisted proshipper rotten smooth brain‼️‼️ She dating a boy her age and has mutual connections with him, why would she crush on her boyfriend's mother instead?? Just because Nika is a big fan of Talia??? So you telling me young ppl can't idolize adults normally without being labeled as romantic nowadays huh??( Not saying you can't crush on adults, but why crush on your boyfriend's mom? ) Your weird ass mind is showing with this ass hc be fr. Again, why would you imagine that? You just wanted to push a fake narrative of Nika being wired so you could have an excuse to make Talia and Damian dislike her (which is not true), but in fact is YOU are the weird one projecting your twist thoughts/hate onto Nika‼️💥🪨🪨

I will start to block ppl who are shipping/liking respawn x flatline (+proshipper) and STILL interact with me, read the room!! My art is not for you weirdos‼️Go away BOOOO💥 🪨🪨🪨💥💥

Can't believe I need to type this all out cuz some of you weirdos will still do these things and think is okay to interact with me and my post/showing in my notifications BOOO👎🪨🪨💥🪳🪳🪳🩴🩴🩴

(sorry for venting about random weirdos/Nika haters again, and thanks for reading.)

[sweet-s0rr0w]

day 28 of @hprecfest - a fic over 100k

Any Instrument by @dictacontrion - E, 131k, 2015

Summary: Draco Malfoy wouldn't go back to England for anything less than an exceptional case. Being asked to figure out why Harry Potter can't control his magic might be exceptional enough to qualify.

Excerpt:

Draco reached for a teaspoon, grasped the edge of the saucer, and leaned back against the sofa, stirring gently and resting an ankle on the opposite knee. “Why, and for what, exactly, are you trying to blame the French?”

“As I suspect you know, there have been hordes of Ministry officials trekking through the house all week. Aurors and Unspeakables, all of them. Millie says the East Wing is off limits, and Prippa has had some fairly alarming news about why that is. I can only hope this whole affair is a case of temporary insanity. Now,” she said, stirring her tea, “that can’t be down to your mother, or you’d have gone mad ages ago. The Unspeakables I’ve overheard talk about your technical abilities with a truly disturbing degree of reverence, so I doubt it’s your work. Process of elimination. It must be the French.”

“That would be the why. Is this accusation of temporary insanity the what?”

Greg shifted, curling his body towards an armrest and looking intently into the middle distance with his chin braced in a palm.

“Draco.” Pansy set her saucer down with enough insistence to rattle the whole set. “Even in your altered state, I can’t imagine it’s escaped your notice that Harry Potter has moved into your ancestral home.”

He paused. “It hasn’t. Though that particular detail was supposed to escape yours.”

Some sweet_s0rr0w trivia: I finished reading this fic one morning back in November 2020, and a few hours later I had the idea for my first ever fic (which became Nor All That Glisters)! I don't think the fics are alike at all, but I suspect I found some things I really admired here - the writing is brilliant (I think the author does dialogue and character interactions especially well - I remember a brilliant Pansy very clearly in this one), the development of trust then tentative friendship then more between Drarry feels very natural, and the feels epic in scope; twisty and clever and fun. Draco's a biomagicologist (brilliant lore here), come reluctantly from his home in France to help Harry with his magic. Also, the flower scene is one of my favourite scenes of all time. Big rec from me to anyone who hasn't read it yet!

If you read it, and especially if you love it, please do let me know! And as always, please do take the time to leave the author a kudos/comment <3

day 1 - first fic you remember reading

day 2 - a fic rated G

day 3 - a fic not on ao3

day 4 - a comfort fic

day 5 - a romantic fic

day 6 - a fic for a ship you don’t normally read

day 7 - the best of your OTP

day 8 - a fic that was recced to you

day 9 - a WIP

day 10 - a fest/event fic

day 11 - an underrated fic

day 12 - a fic from your favourite author

day 13 - a rare pair

day 14 - a fic rated T

day 15 - a fic over 50k

day 16 - a podfic

day 17 - a fic that makes you cry

day 18 - a fic that makes you laugh

day 19 - fanart

day 20 - a fic with fanart

day 21 - a fic rated M

day 22 - a series

day 23 - a crossover or AU fic

day 24 - holiday (vacation)

day 25 - holiday (national holiday)

day 27 - a smokin' hot fic

[she-karev]

Pregnancy (One Shot Request, Andrew DeLuca x Alex Karev’s Sister Imagine)

Age Rating: 12+

Chapters: One of Two

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy

Ship: Andrew DeLuca x Amber Karev (Alex Karev’s Sister)

AN: Hey guys I see you liked my last post and I got a one-shot request to do another time skip for Amber and DeLuca. I hope you guys like it and I’m up for one shot requests if you have any. I'll try to post part two by Wednesday.

Summary: Amber gets bored during maternity leave and texts Andrew who comes over.

Words: 1741

October 20, 2022

I sit crisscross on the king bed making a lazy raspberry sound as I flip through the pages of Watchmen. Graphic novels aren’t what I usually read but I got desperate after finishing the whole shelf of books in the study. I’ve read everything from classics like Jane Eyre to new releases like Iron Widow. After that I asked Levi for a recommendation, and he immediately dropped off this huge comic book. The art is good, the storyline is surprisingly relevant to society’s political landscape and the characters are interesting. But it has barely kept me from chronic boredom that comes from maternity leave or as I like to call it, maternity prison.

My little sidekick is in her eighth month of gestation and it’s pretty evident to anyone with eyes given how I look like Pluto. If Pluto had boobs and was wearing her husband’s Harvard shirt with gray sweatpants. After the New Year I told Andrew that I was ready for us to start trying to have a baby. The pandemic was over, I was caught up in my residency thanks to Webber and Andrew was finally back in the O.R. as a general surgery attending. The timing couldn’t be better and around March we found out we were pregnant and then a few months later we found out we were having a girl. There was a bump when the residency program shut down for a bit but it restarted with a new batch of interns and me being promoted to Chief Resident.

Unfortunately, that joy was short lived, I had to go on maternity leave about a few weeks later when the exhaustion kicked in at 35 weeks and I’ve been glued to the bed ever since. And to make matters worse Levi was assigned temporary Chief Resident so that was another cloud looming over my head. The only thing that keeps me somewhat sane in this bed is my husband and baby daddy coming home and detailing every step of his surgeries so I don’t become dumb. Which is why I sent an impulsive text that I’m sure will make Andrew angry at me.

I hear running out in the hall and the door bursts open revealing Andrew in his navy scrubs and blue fleece telling me he came straight here the second he got my text. He looks around worried until he finds me criss cross in the middle of the bed looking healthy as a clam despite my text saying 911. I grin at him trying to look innocent so he doesn’t get too mad at me for worrying him because I was bored and needed contact with the outside world.

“Hi honey.” I greet him normally and he looks at me in shock before confusion sets in his face and I explain, “I might have possibly fibbed in my text don’t be mad.”

“You-” Andrew groans frustrated before laying it out, “You texted me 911.”

“I know.” I take a sip of my water bottle as Andrew walks to the edge of the bed staring down at me clearly peeved.

“I came straight here from work because my very pregnant wife texted me 911 and I was afraid she was in labor or bleeding out. But instead, I find her in bed chilling and acting like she didn’t almost give me a heart attack!” I wince at the exclamation, “God Amber what is wrong that you have to scare me like that?”

“I can’t be held accountable.” Andrew scoffs at my excuse and I continue, “I can’t be held accountable for my misguided actions because your baby and me have gone insane from bed rest and boredom. Will it make you feel better if I said sorry for almost scaring you to death?”

Andrew’s face softens slightly, “Well I think the knots in your hair are punishment enough so yes.”

I look in the vanity mirror to my left and see that my normally composed blonde hair is all over the place due to laying on my pillow for 10 hours. I look back and see my husband grinning amused already past his anger and I frown at that, “Yeah that’s right laugh at your pregnant wife who has permanent bed head let’s see how that ends for you.”

I stand on my knees and crawl over to the edge to face Andrew who chuckles while I pout, “Okay in all seriousness is there a logical reason why you texted me 911 when there is nothing emergent?”

“I’m bored out of my freaking mind.” I explain bordering on yelling while Andrew is looking at me affectionately with his bright green eyes, “I’ve been at home for five weeks, five weeks, do you have any idea what that is like?!”

“I have a feeling your gonna tell me.” Andrew puts his hands on my hips to keep me steady.

I hold up Watchmen to prove my point of how bored I am, “I’ve read all the books in our shelves I always say I’m gonna finish, I tried watching Netflix but you know it just makes me miss human contact more and to top it off while I’m shackled to this bed like that lady in Gerald’s Game my husband is at work saving lives and actually making a difference because unlike me he doesn’t have a big bowling ball under his shirt. And I think the baby is bored too and she sent that text because she’s hungry for more of your surgery stories and a reminder that there’s a world outside this bed. She’s very stubborn about what she wants.”

“She takes after her mother.” Andrew quips in amused and I narrow my eyes at him causing him to chuckle, “Look I know it’s hard being cooped up in here but you heard what the OB said bedrest is important and you were reaching your limit. I had to practically carry you out of the hospital when I found you passed out after your 18 hour shift in the pit.” I groan at that memory because it’s when I admitted I was exhausted and ordered to go on leave until after the baby was born, “You were doing the work of eight people it’s not good for your stamina and it would’ve affected the baby too.”

“You don’t know that.” He raises an eyebrow at me and I continue, “I’m like an M1-A1, it’s a tank and it can survive anything and get the job done.” I look down at my huge belly pouting at my changing body, “I mean I’m already as big as a tank right now and my bikini days are getting narrower by the minute.”

“I never really liked bikini’s anyway.” He’s trying to console me again which he always does when I complain about how big I’m getting, “You look way better in that sweater than some tacky string.”

“Stop being nice, you know my hormones make me unpredictable.” I remind him again, “The nicer you are the more it makes me want to choke hold you.”

“In that case you look like a bloated whale.” Andrew jokes and it doesn’t amuse me at all, “Better?”

“Not in the least.” I sigh and wrap my arms around the back of Andrew’s neck and say sweetly, “Just stay here and tell me stories about life on the outside.” I run my fingers through his wavy hair to add effect but it doesn’t work. He looks enticed but he’s gotten stronger against my seductions over the years.

“I can’t, I have a surgery this afternoon.” He steps back to my disappointment, “Plus I gotta help Marsh with the skills lab for the interns while Hunt is in the ER. And as much as I want to, I can’t stay here because your bored or Grey will reprimand me. Find something to do while I’m working so the time will pass by and you won’t be so bored.”

Suddenly a light bulb goes off in my head on how I can keep myself busy, “Your right.”

He exhales in relief and turns to leave, “Thank god I’ll see you tonight, I love you.”

“Oh no I’m coming with you; you’re taking me to work.” I get off the bed, go to our closet and put a black coat over my clothes and slip into my black crocs. I can see Andrew turning to face me again with an annoyed look.

“That is not happening babe.” He tells me bluntly but I don’t listen as I grab my purse, “Okay you and the baby need to listen to me. I am not taking you two to a hospital with the germs and blood and diseases it’s not happening I’m putting my foot down.”

I widen my eyes at that and he emphasizes by crossing his arms against his chest, “I’m just gonna watch from the gallery and catch up with my friends and see if Schmitt is still alive. It’s not like I’m getting a scalpel come on man.”

Andrew stands his ground, “Nope still not happening, if you want new books order on Amazon and get express, I don’t care about the price as long as it keeps you in bed and following doctor’s orders.”

“I’m a doctor, you’re a doctor, our siblings are doctors and all of our friends are doctors. I’m pretty sure we both know what’s safe and not safe for me and the baby too.” I remind him, “A hospital is the best place for me to kill time because if I go into labor, I just have to walk five steps to a bed in OB. Please take me with you, think of it like take your daughter to work day.”

He looks at my belly and back up at me, “I think we’re a little early for that.”

“Take me with you.” I sternly command.

“No.” Andrew says with finality causing me to narrow my eyes at him as he keeps a composed face. I mimic his stance crossing my arms across my chest and glaring at him to assert dominance. Even in my condition I stand as his equal and he knows it, he knows I won’t go down without a fight so he has to do the same. We stand there silently for a few moments, me in my pajamas and him in his scrubs, waiting for one of us to budge.

Next Part Here

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

oizys u should explain mouthwashing game to me alkdfjals;dkfj ( ˘ ³˘)♥ ( ˘ ³˘)♥ ( ˘ ³˘)♥ it sounds neat but too horror-y for me 😭 but i'm getting. idk just like vague hints that you've heard about it or something <3 sooo if u want to then i could hear about it without having to experience it directly 👀

i dont know what would give you the implication ive seen it im so subtle about my enjoyment of it (lying) but yes ill be happy to provide an explanation :)

specifically what im going to do is . copy and paste the Extremely Detailed Run Through of the game that i told blink in a fit of madness, which is pretty much as close as you can get to playing/watching the game Without playing/watching it imltho

and Then since that explanation will still be kinda horror-y and may not be enjoyed by all ill put at the end of it a tl;dr section that's a more str8-forward explanation of the game with minimal horror elements explained in depth

so if u want to read the whole thing Great, if not feel free to speed scroll to the bottom and read there :) if u have any thoughts or follow up questions Please let me know i love being normal about this game

warnings for: blood, gore, mutilation, severe injury, implied assault (general and sexual), death, general Horror and Tension vibes

mouthwashing is a sci-fi horror game, set on the ship 'the tulpar' with its 5 crew members. there's curly, the captain jimmy, the co-pilot, second-in-command anya, the ship's nurse swansea, the ship's mechanic and daisuke, swansea's intern curly and jimmy are old friends, anya's about their age, swansea's an older man with a family back on earth, and daisuke is a teen/twenties smth who doesnt really know what he's doing with his life

when the game Opens u are told it's '0 days until the crash' and u get to have fun playing as a not-immediately-identified character who's running their ship into an asteroid following that scene you switch to '2 months after the crash' where you're playing as jimmy, with most of the rest of the crew sitting at a table with u and talking about whether or not to open up your cargo hold- as a delivery ship, it's against regulations, but you're stuck in the middle of space, the only thing protecting you from death in the vacuum being piles of emergency foam, and if there's food or medical supplies in there, you need them if youve any chance to survive

you learn in short order that the missing crew member- curly, your former captain now that jimmy's taken over that responsibility- was missing bc he's been in the medical ward for 2 months, devoid of his hands, feet, skin, and one eye. he was in the cockpit when the ship crashed, and it shows. if youve seen the fucked up bandaged guy assoiated with the game, surprise! that's post-crash curly

u get to Have Fun feeding him pain meds after anya asks for your help, saying she cant do it herself. this game has Wonderful sound design so. well. no one's having fun

jimmy then gets to go find a way into the cargo hold, along the way learning that the utility room is foamed up to hells and swansea isnt letting anyone else in there for the time being- the ship's cyro pods live in there, and theyre delicate, so he doesnt trust anyone else to break through the foam without a) killing them b) destroying the pods

once u break into the cargo hold, u see shelves upon shelves of cardboard boxes before the game switches gears to flash u back to 7 days before the crash

u learn ur now playing as curly, who's finishing up a psych eval with anya. he passes, huzzah! and offers to do jimmy's for anya when she mentions that he never takes it seriously, making stupid jokes that she then has to write down for the official report

before doing so, however, curly finds that daisuke has trapped himself in some foam trying to fix a utility vent that leads between the utility room and the medical room. curly gets the axe out for swansea to free daisuke with + clear the rest of the foam. luckily, no one is injured, and the pods (right next to the vent) weren't broken. swansea makes it clear that no one, especially daisuke, is to go back into that vent. it's too fucked up, it can't be fixed, you'll be cut and burned and shocked to death trying

curly takes note before leaving to do the eval with jimmy, with it going over more-normal since curly is doing it instead of anya. they then talk about their respective life positions- jimmy feels he's never going to be good enough, that he's never really gotten anywhere meaningful, and curly is torn between staying in his role as a great ship captain or trying to see if he'd be better off somewhere else, if being a captain is really what he wants to do forever

jimmy makes a comment about how curly's choosing between staying at the top of his current ladder or switching for another, but he's still got 'a long way down/to fall' either way

theyre cut off when a message from the higher ups comes in, and jimmy leaves so curly can read it privately

back to 2 months after the crash, the crew reveals what theyve been shipping: mouthwash. boxes upon boxes of mouthwash. one of them makes a comment about how this is what they wanted us crating across the stars? only mouthwash? anya notes that the mouthwash has too much sugar to be used as a disinfectant, and points out the 14% ethanol content. swansea takes this as a good sign to take a swig of the stuff to Swallow, making a comment about 15 years of sobriety down the drain

we return to 7 days before the crash, where curly has read the message from the higher ups and it is Not Good. he goes to tell the crew, only to have them all greet him with hats and balloons- surprise! happy birthday, curly

they only get one birthday celebration per trip, and they take turns each trip with whose bday they focus on, and this time it's curly. jimmy comments on how the tradition is corny, but he's kinda grown to like it, and he looks forward to the next one. curly reacts oddly before he goes to make the cake; he has to be the one to do it, bc only the captain has the rights to make sugar packets

the crew ask him to do a speech, but as he puts the cake down, they realize something's wrong. they ask what, and curly reveals the news of the note- the 'pony express' they work for is pulling the plug on them. this mouthwash expedition will be their last one- they will get paid for it, curly says, they assured me the crew

doesnt exactly take the news well

swansea said they shouldve seen it coming, pony express was the last organization to run manned delivery ships, the writing was on the wall. anya expresses that she doesnt know what to do- she doesnt have any savings. daisuke asks if they can even do this

jimmy gets more into it, pointing out Specifically how fucked they are- swansea's hardly got that many more working years in him, anya never finished nursing school and hey we all know she never will, but, yknow what, daisuke's got a rich mommy and daddy, so thank gods he'll be just fine. jimmy's got nothing waiting for him on earth, but whatever, i'll be fine, isnt that what you said, curly? that im always fine? down here on the bottom of the rungs? and of course, for curly, this is the best possible outcome! a chance to leave being a captain with none of the guilt of the choice. he wasnt even running from being a captain, just from being around them, but he has to be hero. he's always the hero. and now he's still the damn hero

curly tries to calm jimmy, jimmy slams his hands on the table, and tells him to just cut the goddamn cake

curly does so. it looks more like a stabbing motion

back to post-crash, it's the middle of the night. daisuke's asleep, anya + swansea are missing, and curly's scream-groans are echoing through the ship

jimmy goes to check on curly, finds him flailing. he needs more painkillers, but jimmy's not sure if he's had his set for the day cycle yet, so he goes to find anya. both her and swansea are found in the cockpit, talking about something. anya's not sure what to do. they cut off when jimmy appears, ask him if he's having trouble sleeping too

jimmy asks about the meds, anya says she forgot to do it. jimmy berates her for it before saying he'll take care of it- anya tries to insist she can, but jimmy ignores her to do it himself

curly flails more, pained, screaming, but he gets the meds, jimmy sees to that. theyre running low. once theyre out, jimmy muses, they wont have anything to give curly for the pain, to keep him still

still jimmy, we now enter a This Isnt Reality moment

jimmy's in the main area, the screen that simulates a sky cracked and flashing EMERGENCY on it. at the table is curly, in all his bloody bandage glory. the cake's between him and jimmy. curly- who can talk here, who cant talk in real life anymore- wants to eat the cake. jimmy says it's shitty, subpar, not worth it. curly argues that u need meh things to make the good things Good. he asks jimmy to cut it, and jimmy says he will once he finds a knife

the cake knife is in the broken cockpit, buried in the back of the captain's headrest. jimmy comes back and finds the cake is gone, now curly's on the table instead. the game glitches and cuts to 3 months post-crash before you cut anything

jimmy's in the cargo hold. the place's been lightly ransacked, some boxes open, spilling off the shelves. you need to check on the crew

daisuke's on the floor right outside the hold, sick with a mouthwash in hand. he's drunk some. jimmy says he should stop, it'll kill him-

-faster than anything, daisuke finishes. he gives the mouthwash to jimmy. he never wants to see it again

anya's at the table in the main area, staring at an unopened bottle. there's a backup medical storage area, trapped in the foam, but not That trapped. she thinks they can get to it. they need more medicine

jimmy goes to get the axe from swansea. he's wasted on mouthwash (side note, this crew's ability to survive things that usually kill over the longterm is oddly high. no offense curly and swansea, but you both should be dead well before the end of this affair) and dancing with the axe in hand

jimmy wants it? wants to risk cracking a hole in their ship's emergency foam and killing them all? be his guest- swansea buries the axe in the sky screen behind him, right in the center of the fake sun, and lets jimmy take it away

he gets to the medicine. painkillers- different type, different dose- and medicinal rubbing alcohol (pure alcohol, the inventory tells you, so strong that it could kill)

anya asks him to give the pills to curly again. jimmy breaks again, yelling at anya- can she not do her job?? doesnt she know how busy he is as captain, how much he has to do?? find the scanner, get into the cargo hold, check on the crew, get the axe, and of course, give curly his fucking pills. anya backpedals, says she can do it- but no. jimmy's been asked, jimmy's got it. he'll give curly his fucking pills (the swear is in the mission objective now!)

i get it now, jimmy tells a pained curly, about wanting to get out. being captain's hard. you have to do everything. but don't worry curly. jimmy's going to get them all through this. he's going to fix this. he gives curly his fucking medicine

we now cut to 6 hours before "judgement". jimmy's locked himself in the cockpit- outside, swansea is yelling for him, telling him he cant hide, shaking the door. jimmy rushes to the supply cabinet, finds a broken metal pipe and some rope, these can be useful

he shoves the metal pipe into the door, trying to reinforce the lock. he grabs the rope and swansea breaks through the door's window, reaching through the broken glass for the lock

3 days before the crash, anya's sitting in the main area, looking at the simulated sky. it's set for night, deep blue and silver moon. curly sits next to her. neither of them can sleep, anya says she's been having trouble for a few nights now

there's a dead pixel in the top corner, anya tells curly, if you look closely enough curly cant see it, but he says it'll haunt him. now that you've told me, anya, it'll always be in the back of my mind anya asks how much longer they have to the trip. 273 days, curly responds, just under- -8 months, anya finishes. sits for another moment. captain, why do they have a lock on the door for the medical room, but not the sleeping quarters? same reason they do the cockpit, curly replies. safety the screen glitches out on the word

post crash, 5 months. there's an emergency, daisuke tells us- anya's locked in the medical room with curly

jimmy and daisuke go to investigate, try to force the door open. jimmy asks how hard anya's tried to unstick it on her end, has she put her back into it? she's silent. jimmy asks if the door is really stuck. it isnt, she admits, and she isnt going to unlock it

jimmy says she needs to get over herself, that she needs to learn to deal with hardship. all their meds are in there. she needs to open the door

anya says that she still believes people arent as bad as their worst moment (an earlier conversation, back when we were only 2 months post crash, when jimmy was musing on why they chose to keep curly alive despite the cost, despite 'what he did'). that she believes this isnt her worst moment. they wont stop her from what she must do

jimmy, worried about curly, asks daisuke if there's any other way into the medical room. there is. it's the super duper completely off limits vent that starts in the also currently off limits utility room

to get in the utility room, they need to get past swansea. he's got the key and he's still not letting anyone in, looking miserable and ill as he sits outside the utility room door. he's not dead yet, but the mouthwash isnt exactly doing him any favours

8 hours before judgement. daisuke's on his bedroll, bloody and in agony. they need disinfectant- where's the medicinal alcohol? swansea asks (demands) jimmy tells him cocktail, and swansea curses, tells him to go look for something else. swansea goes to the medical room, door now open. you can't see the area where curly is, cant find anya; the screen glitches out in grey stripes you go the cargo hold. the stairs leading down into them are longer, longer than you remember, too long. take responsibility, take care of it. there's a monster in the cargo, and if you move when it's too close it'll get you

you find a bottle of mouthwash, not yet opened, in the hands of the ship's horse mascot polle

you take it back to daisuke. he tells you he's sorry he messed up, you tell him not to speak

it's too much sugar. you have nothing else you close your eyes and daisuke screams

5 months after the crash. you need to get past swansea. he's got a high tolerance, but it can only be so high, right? you mix a cocktail, one part mouthwash, one part medical alcohol (so strong it could kill)

swansea accepts the 'peace offering.' he hits the ground and the key falls out of his pocket. daisuke worries, will he be ok? it's fine. he has a high tolerance

you open the utility room and find that it's not filled to the brim with foam. the edges are, sure, and most of the cyro pods are ruined, but it's clear overall. there's still one pod standing

daisuke's impressed. swansea's done more work than we thought! jimmy argues he hasn't done any work, he's been lying through his teeth the entire time, hiding the remaining cyro pod as his own secret and excuse to keep welding the axe. only one of them can survive, and swansea's setting it up to be him

daisuke isnt convinced, says they should wait to ask swansea about it. jimmy says theyll deal with him later. for now- the vent

it's still a danger, electricity sparking from a loose wire. daisuke's not convinced this is a good idea. sure, swansea may have been lying about the utility room being foamed out, but he was really serious about this vent. maybe they shouldnt go in

jimmy reminds him this is there only way in, to anya, to curly. daisuke has to go in- he'll be fine, and then, swansea will be so proud of him. he'll have done so well. he'll have done good.... under captain's orders

daisuke folds. he's going to do it. he climbs into the vent. you listen to him clunk through, shuffle over the metal- a pained sound, a groan, and then he's into the medical room. oh, anya, what did you do?

it's 1 day before the crash now. your objective is to find the gun

it's not in the medical room, not in the main area. you go to the cockpit, where it should be, and find anya, kneeling on the floor, distraught. as the nurse, she gave all the psych evals, but no one gave her one. you shouldve. you should have done a lot of things

you'll take care of this, you promise her, you'll get this all figured out. it doesnt have to go on the report logs. where's the gun?

anya tells curly she's pregnant. he asks who.

captain, anya says, i told you.

curly asks for the gun again, says he'll talk to him, he's known him a long time, but he needs the gun back

she reminds him that only the captain can open the case, that she doesnt really have the gun, just the case holding it, hidden away. the bylaws wont let you arm her with it against him, but she wont let it fall into his hands

6 hours before judgement. jimmy cant get daisuke's bleeding to stop. swansea's kneeling next to the kid. he's got the axe again

he talks to daisuke, for a bit. about how he hadnt been able to do anything right, about how swansea didnt know why he had come to the ship in the first place. about how he was just a kid trying to figure everything out. about how he was still always Trying. always wanting to Learn. useless ray of goddamn sunshine. you couldve taught an old fool like me a lot. close your eyes, daisuke

swansea raises his axe and strikes the center of the sun

jimmy starts arguing with swansea, angry, why'd he do that? didnt he see jimmy was fixing it, that he just needed time? why will no one on this damn ship give him any time?

swansea says he's done with jimmy's trying to 'fix' everything, that there was no more hope for any of them, that he was sparing daisuke from spending another second with jimmy and his delusions

jimmy accuses swansea of less selfless motivations, tells him that he knows about the utility room, the one remaining cyro pod- swansea's planning to try and be the last one standing, isnt he? 20 years in a cyro chamber is a better chance than the months theyve got on the ship before food runs out

swansea laughs at him. he doesnt want the cyro chamber. he's got everything he needs right there on the ship. does jimmy want it? he's welcome to it - he can tell whatever story he wants when the rescue crews finally find him. he can be the hero. curly and the rest of them'll take the blame. jimmy can be the hero

jimmy brushes him off, goes to the medical room. anya's on the floor, vomit on her chest and three bottles scattered around her slumped over form. curly, still alive, watches you with one eye as you pry open her hidden drawer and find the gun case. you can open it. you're captain now

you go to the medical door. open it up to find swansea running at you, full tilt, axe raised over his head. you slam the door shut

curly laughs at you. as you open the case, get the gun, find swansea running at you. bloody hunk of meat and he's laugh-crying at you

0 days before the crash. anya's in the medical room, on her knees. she told jimmy. curly says he wishes she wouldve waited for him. it doesnt matter. jimmy didnt take the news well, stormed off. curly goes to follow him. he can fix this. he'll fix this

jimmy's outside the utility room. i can fix this, curly tells him. you'll get through this

it's not just me though, is it? jimmy points out. it's your ship, captain. your responsibility (take responsibility, take care of it). that'll follow you around for the rest of your life

or they'll just see it as your best attempt. a tragedy, despite its impeccable captain's supposed best efforts. no survivors to tell the tale

for a moment, the first moment, you cut out of both jimmy and curly's bodies. you watch jimmy put his hand on curly's arm. take care of it, take care of it, take care of it, kills 99.9%-

jimmy says he'll take care of it, and he walks away

moments later, the ship is crashing, jimmy sitting outside of the cockpit. tell me you didn't-? no response. you pry open the doors to the cockpit, rush in headfirst. you'll fix it. you will fix it, even as fire consumes your vision

1 hour before judgement. you've got curly in your arms now. you walk him out to the main area- surprise! happy birthday jimmy

the crew's seated at the table again; anya with her vomit-covered chest, daisuke with a bloody line through his face, swansea with a bullet through his forehead. jimmy places curly on the table. theyre all celebrating him, begging him for a speech. you pick up the knife

for some people, it's enough just to put food on the table. but not for curly. he needs more. you've always needed more, curly, but that's alright. i still believe in you. even like this

a view from above shows the crew slumped over and unmoving. a view from jimmy's eyes show them sitting up, breathing, smiling. swansea's drinking more mouthwash

you cut through the cake with a stabbing motion, a sawing motion, dropping a slab on each member's plate. the cake sits. curly stares. both his legs are shorter than they were before the crash, but one even more so now. feast

you're in the vents now. take responsibility. there's no going back now. you turn around and something- a face- in the darkness- you're facing the vent again. there's no going back now

you crawl, backwards, through the vents. a bloody note reads responsibility and you crawl from it the fastest. axes line the vents. now flowers, hibiscuses, bright pink like the one's on daisuke's shirt

you tie up swansea. you can still fix this, you tell him. you'll fix this

swansea tells a story. how he used to be a drunkard, always down the bottle, until one day he looked in the mirror and scared himself, saw a bloated body in a ditch if he didnt straighten out. he got sober, got a job, a mortgage, a collared shirt. a wife, kids. none of his achievements ever felt as good as he wanted them too. those days, lost to the bottle, living on the edge- they were some of the best he ever had

if i couldve done one thing right, he tells you, i wouldve saved that kid. that would have been worth it. that would have meant something

jimmy says he can fix this. swansea tells him to fuck off. jimmy fires his gun

you walk through the endless halls of the ship. the walls are sporting eyes, and all of them are watching you. curly's eye, eyes. watching you. you crawl out of his throat and find him where you bolted him into the ship, half machine, surrounded by tvs

you go to the tv, watch a cartoon. it's mother goose's birthday. you grab the cake and pull out a slice of curly's leg. he'll thank you one day. you twist the knobs until the cake goes down a treat, until he can't spit it back up. he'll thank you one day

there's flesh in the ship and it's beating, bleating, horses like fetuses in the warmth. the blob blinks filmy eyes out at you and screams

polle's talking to you now. backdrop of the cargo hold. backdrop of the skyscreen, set to night. poor you, polle coos in false sympathy, caged and unbelieved

i tried my best! jimmy argues, me and curly both did. but curly's the better man

why are you still so concerned with him?

jimmy carries curly to the utility room. puts him in the pod. closes the door

we're curly again, watching our old friend through the glass

i wanted to help you, but all i did was hurt you. but you're safe now. no one can harm you now. together we can fix anything, right? we fixed it. i.... i fixed it

jimmy walks out of sight. you hear a gunshot. a moment of panic, blind- did he forget? did he leave you here, trapped, alone-

and the cyro kicks in, blue and cool, as the credits roll through your vision

TL;DR RECAPPING

mouthwashing is about a cargo ship crew stuck in space after their ship was purposefully crashed by one of their own. you take turns playing the game 'before the crash' as curly, the official captain, and playing 'after the crash' as jimmy, the co-pilot and unofficial captain once curly is severely injured by the crash. other characters are anya, the ship's nurse, swansea, the ship's mechanic, daisuke, swansea's intern, and polle, the ship's mascot who is only alive in some nightmares

throughout the game you learn that, while he's convinced the others it was curly, jimmy crashed the ship in a fit of desperation after learning that anya- whom he assaulted- was pregnant. the child was evidence he wouldnt be able to hide when they reached their destination, so... why not crash the ship and doom everyone!

the game gets its name from the fact that the only thing the crew was hauling turns out to be mouthwashing, which swansea uses to get drunk, but otherwise isnt very helpful. many good symbolic/metaphorical implications contained in it though!

by the end of the game, all characters end up dead, save for curly. anya commits suicide with pills, swansea mercy kills daisuke after jimmy goaded him into doing something stupid that got him seriously injured, swansea gets shot when going after jimmy, and jimmy kills himself with gunshot after putting curly in a cyropod. it's possible curly wont survive too, but he's the only crew member with a chance at it

the game has Many themes and concepts and such but some of the most important to take away are:

responsibility and complicity. jimmy and curly are the two player characters for a reason; they're parallels to each other. jimmy is the primary/direct cause for most of what goes wrong, but he wouldn't have been able to do everything he did if curly had done his job and stopped him. curly's complicity in jimmy's crimes are what ultimately doom himself and the entire ship. jimmy does everything, curly does nothing, and they are both to blame

the rampant effects of misogyny, in the workplace and general, and how even in issues that are All about them, women are often excluded from their own narratives. mouthwashing is driven by the injustice anya faces at both jimmy and curly's hands, in how jimmy treats her and in how curly refuses to see what jimmy's done because He's An Old Friend, He Wouldn't Do That, Right? yet, despite this, anya is often strikingly absent from the story, especially in jimmy's hallucinations. he's willing to accept the blame, the responsibility for everything... but not anya. he begs forgiveness for wronging curly, but he never even thinks of it for anya. in a story so largely controlled by the mistreatment she faces and everything she tries to do to combat it, anya is constantly sidelined. this is purposeful. this is unreliable narrator at their finest

turning the blind eye eventually comes back to hurt everyone, especially the ones who looked away the hardest. curly does nothing to help anya, only to end up in a position where he's the one entirely at jimmy's violent mercy. see the previously mentioned points

and there is So Much More but those are some base points u can carry away with u whether u read the full debrief or just the tldr :) hope you enjoyed . i am mentally well (lying)

[queeoretician]

Just finished re-listening to Nona, and I have to know - what the ever-loving fuck did Jod want with G—'s arm? My first thought was that it had something to do with the dead man's switch for the suitcase nuke, but he mentions that he still has plans for it, in his narration to Alecto/Harrow after the bombs have gone off, so there's something else there. I feel like it's tied in with something about G1deon and Pyrrha being different from the other lyctor/cavalier pairs we see.

Speaking of which, there are a good few of those differences - here are the ones that come to mind:

G1deon's thanergy-void ability that lets him break Harrow's bone wards. I don't think this is it - to me it feels like it's more in the vein of Mercymorn's one-touch supernatural anatomy abilities, within the "normal" range of freaky abilities that lyctors have.

G1deon being physically imposing, unlike any(?) other necromancer we come across. I feel like there are some connections here that are eluding me right now.

The big one, Pyrrha's individuality surviving lysis. This by itself wouldn't make sense to me, but maybe it ties in with G1deon's buffness, that somehow the physical basis for their ascension was atypical?

On that last note, something else that stood out to me through Nona is that Pyrrha and G1deon's necro/cav relationship dynamic seems very different from the others we see (not just among Jod's original disciples but also with the contemporary pairs). At one point Pyrrha mentions filtering G1deon's brain fluid while working on the transference/winnowing trial, with the only other subject of that test being Cristabel rather than one of the other necromancers. In another passage Pyrrha talks about working on the Tomb's wards with Cassiopeia and Mercymorn - her plus two necromancers.

This had me wondering if Pyrrha was also a necromancer originally, somehow - but Palamedes's explanation to Nona of why she isn't affected by the blue madness undermines that hypothesis. But that aside, Pyrrha was definitely involved in what I would think of as "necromancer stuff" in a way we don't see from anyone else except Camilla (because the Sixth House are nerds). But maybe my expectations are off base because we're introduced to the necro/cav relationship through the eyes of Gideon, who is aggressively disinterested in necromancy...

Speaking of nerd shit, what kind of people were Jod's crew before the bombs and the Resurrection? He refers to them at one point as "a cop and six different kinds of nerd" and "two scientists and an engineer and a nun and a lawyer and a banker and a cop and an artist," referring to A—, M—, G—, the nun (Cristabel), C—, A—'s brother (Alfred), P—, and N— (he doesn't seem to have included himself in that tally). The narration clearly references all of their roles individually except G—'s, so I would guess he was the engineer, with the scientists being M— (medical) and A— ("the glycerol-6 genius"). But as best I can recall we don't really hear anything about G—'s role apart from being Jod's most steadfast supporter and carrying the suitcase nuke - it comes across as though Jod took him rather for granted. I wonder if Pyrrha remembers this and holds it against Jod along with all his post-Resurrection shit? I'd love to learn more about this in Alecto - I wanna know everything about our problematic fave ex-cop ex-spook genderfuck parent figure and her grief and her love...

But back to my earlier line of thinking, after the Resurrection Jod roped his disciples into a war of vengeance against the descendants of the generation ship, and defense against the Resurrection Beasts, and at a very tentative guess it seems like only Pyrrha of the original eight would have been predisposed towards that kind of combative life (jokes about academia aside). But at the same time she seems to have stepped into a research-y role that we don't see from any of the other original cavaliers (with the caveat that our info is very limited and Alecto could upend this entirely).

All this is to say, I Have Questions about Pyrrha and G1deon and who they were pre-Resurrection, but right now I don't have any coherent theory beyond "I think there's something going on here."

[nic-coughlan]

ok buckle in cause this might be a bit long (sorry!)

Im gonna be so honest, i do not understand the amount of angst and borderline disrespect people have for luke because of the whole lukola and antonia thing. i just read an anon and response on another fans page where they basically said luke was irresponsible, immature, and had a bunch of red flags. I know that the people pap photos disappointed a lot of people but i’m having trouble understanding what about them made him come off as immature and 🚩🚩🚩??? from a pr standpoint would it have been better if he’d waited a while after part 2nd release to hard launch his relationship? yeah totally. and i absolutely understand the distaste for it because it put nic in the position of doing damage control (again still not completely understanding why it’s such a big deal genuinely)

I hope i’m not coming across as disrespectful or anything. I LOVE nicola and i like luke but im genuinely just confused by the fan response.

Am i just not caught up on the lore? Is there information that im missing about luke and his past relationships aside from having dated someone long term and breaking up with them within the last year?

maybe im in the minority but i honestly didn’t think the whole shipping luke and nic and him having a gf was that deep???! like yeah it was fun but when it comes down to it they are actors and, seemingly, very good friends. yeah it’s disappointing when two people who have very good chemistry aren’t together irl but it’s weird to me that some people seem to be so attached to the idea to the point of choosing to not finish the rest of the series because of the pap pictures and luke having a gf.

Anyway, if anyone could offer insight into the other pov it would be appreciated. I’m just curious about why people are bashing him

you're my second anon to be like i LOVE nicola and i like luke...he's okay i guess...which made me laugh aasdfkkj

i can't tell you the feelings of others! wish i could! i think it depends how deeply invested they were in luke and nicola and how deeply betrayed they felt. you're absolutely spot on, it's not that deep, and luke is not a bad person at all. he doesn't have red flags, he's just a normal dude with a girlfriend. that's it! but you also need to consider it's the journey that people have taken with them and six months is a long time to be associated with your co-star and to imagine they are in a relationship, a secret relationship, one that they both endorsed and said they didn't mind that people shipped them. it can trigger feelings of betrayal and a deep sense of distrust, especially if you've never shipped or imagined two real life people in a relationship. it's why real life shipping is sooooo complicated because you intertwine your real feelings for the fictional couple with the real couple. polin and lukola.

even a week later, a WEEK, people are still irritated and they are still doing damage control. it's madness.

[nym-wibbly]

On your AO3 you wrote The pieces I'm proudest of are the Broken Wheel series (Once Upon a Time) and Madness for Two (Doctor Who).

What made those two series stand out above others for you if it's ok to ask?

It's completely okay to ask!

Those stories are the ones that turned out on the page looking something like the vision in my head. They were relatively quick and painless to write, probably because they're so contained compared to my long fanfics, but also because I threw away some of the self-imposed constraints that make writing harder (if ultimately more likely to be attractive to a wider audience). They're more self-indulgent and removed from canon than I normally go for as either writer or reader.

Broken Wheel explores a Dark Castle-based romance for Belle and Rumple without really digging into the pitfalls of their relationship. They desire each other and they go for it. As a canon-divergent AU it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but as a fairytale take on OUaT's twist on a fairytale, it's kinda fun. It's quirky because Belle and Rumple are both quirky characters capable of becoming lost in each other to the exclusion of everything else. They spend the story exploring what's possible on their terms and - to deploy a phrase I didn't yet know when I wrote those pieces - matching each other's freak. I think it was the first time I wrote Rumple's POV, which I don't find easy or comfortable compared to Belle, so I'm proud of how that turned out.

Madness for Two is similar in a way - short, contained, smutty with feels, showing POV's I usually avoid because I find them hard. Self-indulgent, quirky, prioritising the Doctor/Master 'ship and smut over the more complex realities of their canon relationship. I wrote it for the 50th anniversary of the Master's debut on DW so I wanted to avoid really diving into the morality of it all and just celebrate my love for the characters. As with Broken Wheel's Belle and Rumple, I wrote Thirteen and the Master (and the subplot with Twelve and Missy) in an obsessive, claustrophobic, and quirky collision of personalities. Nobody matches freaks like those two!

In this case I added a MacGuffin to stop 'em actively fighting for five minutes so the story could work, not so much to enable the smut (though it was nice to do that for the Master's birthday - they've been jonesing for some quality Doctor-time in my head since the 1980's!) but to force their POV's to deal with the antagonism and intensity of their bond in words. I wanted them to describe each other as intimates and, in doing so, throw a light on themselves.

I intended both Broken Wheel and Madness for Two to be character studies first, smut second, love story third. The DW piece throws in angst and hurt comfort too, because that's my fave playground. I played with tone and voice and imagery more than I usually would and - on the whole - was happy with the results. I enjoy reading these stories back, actually seeing the story instead of the flaws in my writing/things I'd do differently now I've learned that bit more.

Lastly, they're actually finished pieces and not WIPs that keep me awake at night listening to the unfulfilled character voices in my head! I've always hoped to add a third piece to make Broken Wheel a trilogy, but it doesn't need it if I never can. I've never quite found the right narrative voice for it, maybe because it wants to be told from Belle's POV while the first two are Rumple's. It's a cute enough story from her POV, but I'd like the set to match and haven't yet figured out how to do that.