#honestly this could be anyone he interacts with he would do this to so many other people

[riddles-n-games]

Hey guys, I've been seeing another rift going on in the fandom regarding TGG and TIG characters, so I've decided to make a statement that can hopefully make things more cohesive.

I understand that not everyone likes the new spin-off and honestly, I'm considering just stopping after GU. Personally, I don't have anything against the characters of TGG but my problem is that they sound too much like our old mains. However, that's not their fault. It's the author's. There's nothing wrong with JLB wanting to expand the TIG universe but it is problematic when you are repeating the same character arcs of the old characters that are also present and interacting with these new mains. The problem that we face is the fact while even in The Naturals there are similar characters, they are divided by different series. However, that is not going on here with TIG and TGG. TGG is a continuation of TIG and our TIG characters are still present. Heck, one of our old mains is a player and a love interest here to one of the new mains. And therein lies the issue. When you have a connected series, it's important to have distinguished characters with different voices, not carbon copies.

What I expected for TGG characters was that she would move from the character tropes we've seen already in the series and come up with new ones. I mean, come on, she's a psychology major, we bring that up so often but what's the point when she keeps going in circles and never brings up anything new? I pointed a lot of this out pre-read because I already correctly guessed where this was going within just a few pages of reveal. Don't get me wrong, if she wanted to, she could do it but it doesn't feel like she has new plans or plots. Be honest with yourselves and don't just praise because she's your favorite author. You can be a reader, a fan, and a respectful critic all at the same time. Don't lower your expectations just because they can't deliver every time.

The trouble is that when you go back to TFG, in the acknowledgments, she herself wrote she wasn't sure there was going to be a third book. And now look, suddenly two books were announced a month or two after she released the last book of the trilogy which introduced our mains and not the most fashionably. I do believe she had ideas but I don't think they were the best fleshed out. You have to realize that just reading TGG, how many of you recognized the obvious plots, the romantic subplots, the character arcs, and even the semi-hidden plots just getting to the halfway point? And how many of you said, hey, wait a minute, we've had this plotline before? You did, didn't you? I want to give Jennifer the benefit of the doubt but I truly think she is in over her head because I don't believe she quite thought that this is how long the series would go.

In fact, I think that she is making more trouble for herself in trying multi POV for this new series when really I think it should have just been Gray taking over. It would have allowed us to see how he's grown especially after the heartache and mental health issues he's had to go through to get here. It felt like the obvious next step, even the summary for TGG made it sound like that. However, the only thing that seems new to me is the hypersexual atmosphere which also makes no sense to me because teens may go through attraction but that doesn't mean they're horny all the time and anyone who's gone through puberty can attest to that. So I ask again, like one reviewer on Goodreads put, were the romantic moments in the room with us? 12 hours is not love or romance, it's lust, that's it. Couldn't summarize it clearer. If she wanted to make it better, it could have been that she made the book stretch over a series of weeks which is why I wonder what the heck will happen to any character development if this book series is done in like 3 days?

As I said, a lot of things feel very repetitive, the plot, word choice, thought processes, quotes and sayings, etc. We are in a loop. She's in a loop. I think that the best thing JLB could have done is leave TIG alone for a few years after TFG, make a new series or whatever works outside this series she wanted to, give herself time to truly see if she has new stories to tell for TIG by writing a spin-off and then come back to give us that content. Because it's really telling how forced things have been in the last two books, even here with GU and I really think this empire is toppling. As they say, quality over quantity and thoughtful than full of thoughts that are just a variation of one another. That's what makes me think more and more she should have left it at TFG.

Thank you for reading and I hope this gives a new perspective that can help you see some things more clearly.

[icantwithstormandsilence]

I completely agree with you. While I haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird(I haven't read a lot of classics), I really love seeing how other people perceive the world so I do think authors should be given a chance to show their perspective and understanding of how they see the people around them being brutalized solely based on their race and the people who do the brutalizing.

Yes, the N-word is undeniably offensive, but its inclusion in the book isn’t gratuitous; it serves a purpose.

The reason why many people were displeased by the author of Storm & Silence using a slur was because his stories rarely address racism. Seeing how Karim, a man from India, was one of the main reoccurring character, I had hoped there might've been some heavy topic surrounding how people treat(I know it's a Wattpad book but still👀). Yes people called him a brute, savage, made him sleep in the stable, etc. but as an Indian myself, I have heard how many English people treated Indians. I guess because Karim was Rikkard's bodyguard no one dared to say anything too much.

The use of the n word felt out of place and unnecessary in this series. I'm sure people would've still been outraged about it even if the author constantly addressed it. I also feel people would not have liked it if he constantly addressed it because "it's too political for a Wattpad book". Either way the author would've been seen as the bad guy because people always feel the need to put some sort of blame onto to someone😅.

When he addressed why he used the slur, he said it was for historical accuracy. That made me angry because even if he says he wants historical accuracy, there are many times where his writing contradicts that.

I wonder, does your stance apply only to works on Wattpad, or does it extend to all forms of literature?

I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this. Like I said in the beginning, authors should be allowed to express their view(they should also be aware that there will be criticism no matter what), but there definitely is a difference with stories published on Wattpad.

While it's a platform that allows anyone to publish, it is very much a social media. Many people are able to interact with each other, which includes the author. If you publish on Wattpad, you are most definitely more exposed to other peoples opinions. Other readers also get easy and instant access to these opinions.

Something you might find offensive is not something that will offend others. But once you express that it offended you and others see that, they get offended for you. Eventually it becomes a hate-train where they berate the author saying "you have offended this one person so you are bad". It was probably never purposeful on the authors side, but once people form an opinion of the author, it stays.

I understand that Wattpad allows authors creative liberties and is positioned more as entertainment than as a critical engagement with historical issues. And that's what you disagree with? That Wattpad authors may not always intend to educate or provoke critical thought, whereas canonical literature often seeks to do that?

I'm not much of a writer, but I grew up reading on Wattpad and learned to write as I pleased. It definitely taught me to improve my imagination and creativity. To many young people who read original stories on these platforms are sure to think of these stories as more than just entertainment, but because others see it as a silly and unprofessional platform, it discourages the readers from engaging with it as anything but entertainment. I find it annoying because I've read many original stories that I really loved and wanted my friends to read it too.

I come from a somewhat conservative religious community and there was a lot a things I didn't know about the world. I've only interacted with my classmates and family for most of my childhood and having access to Wattpad other than just published physical books, which I could only discuss with few people, I got to see more and learn more. If I didn't have Wattpad, I don't think I would be as open-minded as I am today.

Many authors publish on Wattpad with the intention of sharing their stories and in many ways they teach a lot of people something new.

I understand the desire to protect young readers from harm, but I worry that in shielding them from uncomfortable realities, we’re doing more harm than good.

I agree with this too. Currently, the US is in the process of getting many books banned for the most dumbest reasons. They always find some reason to remove books from the shelves saying "It's to protect the children". I've read a lot of uncomfortable topics when I was young but it also taught me somewhat of how the world works. If we're not exposed to these stories, no one will learn how to interact with other people or why some people feel the way they do about certain topics.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It was nice to understand how differently you saw that situation. I hadn't given it much thought because I wasn't aware of it until I read about it on tumblr. I saw how many people were outraged and I understood them too. I guess I agreed with them because I didn't fully understand why it hurt them and wanted to support their feelings😅.

One thing I'll never get over is how Storm & Silence could've easily been so much better if Rob Their(the author) wasn't afraid to actually write a compelling story.

Don't get me wrong, I adore the whole concept of '19 year old Victorian girl dresses up as a man to get a job'. But it's just so poorly written that I think about all the ways the story could be better when I'm in the bus going home from college.

I mean, that's how it is with books, they will be criticized no matter how good or how bad it may be. But then again, this is a Wattpad book. You can never expect too much from a Wattpad book. Every character feels very two dimensional after the first book that every other book after that is just plain fan-service.

The first book is genuinely good, except for the hyper feminist way Lilly is written to be. The author doesn't even bother to add conflict between any of the characters. The ONLY conflict that we ever get is Lilly arguing with Rikkard how she's capable of anything even if she's a women in every single book. It keeps going on and on like this that it just gets boring.

And the way Lilly's intelligence is suppressed makes me mad too. Like in book 3, she literally deciphers a map to find the treasure, but god forbid she recognizes her fiancé's(whether she likes him or not) initials on the waste disposal file and connect the dots on how he and her previous guy(I forgot his name) might've just disappeared. That right there could've been a good conflict. She recognizes the initials, realizes what Rikkard might've done, get angry and argue about not wanting him to interfere with it, then having to find an escape from her next fiancé and choosing to go out of town with Rikkard against her will instead of telling him why bcs she doesn't want a new waste disposal file.

Not to be mean, but the author is a man. At the end of the day, the way female characters are written by men will never be realistic. I know there might be real people out there like Lilly, but the way her "inner feminist"(I hate when she kept saying 'mY iNneR FemIniSt iS prOtEstiNg' stfu) is written truly makes me want to pull my hair out. It will never be same as writing a story from a women's perspective when you already know what it's like. I'm not saying that men are incapable of understanding the female experience, I'm saying that it's stupid and annoying when a man pretends he does.

Also the lack of historical accuracy boils my blood. Rob claims to have done thorough research on every historical details yet somehow Lilly and Rikkard goes on top of the Statue of Liberty despite the story taking place around 1840 and the statue starting its construction in 1876.

SNS was the last and final original story I've read on Wattpad. I really wish I could go back and keep myself away from that app and read an actual book. But it's the only place I could go to when I lost my sanity. Let me know how you feel about the book. I know there's barely anyone in the fandom, but please tell me your perspective.

P.S. can someone tell me where Rob used the slur. I read about many people talking about it but I cannot remember or recognize where it is.

[cowchickenbeefpork]

Edward and Leslie during the narrows arc

[mothman-etd]

I have talked a few times about Psychological Operations or psyops on here, but I would like to point out a real world example of a PO Operation that was found out recently by the Department of Justice.

Before that though, If you would like to read more about the actual position of a PO soldier, you can look no further then the PO benefits page on the US Army special operations recruitment website (https://www.goarmysof.army.mil/PO/).

Personally I feel like many people still believe psyops to be some kind of conspiracy theory instead of a fairly standard military division in almost all modern militaries, anyways onto the example.

The US Department of Justice is going after (indicting) two RT (Russian state media) employees for committing fraud and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Basically they created a front "media" company in Tennessee, translated russian propaganda videos into english, then paid right-wing influencers to promote (reblog/retweet/talk about on streams) said videos.

Three of the named influencers that I could find were Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson.

I honestly have no idea who these three are, but supposedly their platforms have millions of followers. Also, some of these influencers were paid up too $100,000 a week to promote their videos and messaging.

So to summarize, Russia setup a fake company to pay American influencers to repeat their lies so that their followers would interpret those lies as legitimate since their were coming from a source they trust.

When people talk about election interference this is what we are talking about.

$100K a week is insane money for most, I am sure many people would be hard pressed to not sell their soul for that much money. Many of the videos from this media company were lies about the Ukraine war, and looking into Tim Pool it seems he also has a very anti-Ukraine stance (Audio from one of this podcasts https://v.redd.it/41xgvuri0vmd1/DASH_AUDIO_128.mp4)

I generally do not talk about my job on here, but corporations used to pay me to run seminars to help train their employees on spotting these types of attacks--mainly targeted psyops attacks from nation states to hack into their company via end user interaction.

Or in layman's terms, to help companies protect themselves from Russian Ransomware Thieves and Chinese Intellectual Property/Information collectors. Both of these being extensions of the Psychological Operations military divisions of each country.

I am really not sure how to end this post other than I am just trying to show people how real it is that the militaries of the world are spending obscene amounts of money in trying to influence your opinions and day to day life via your internet consumption.

Surf responsibility, be very wary of anyone telling you not to vote and don't believe everything you see/hear on TikTok/youtube/twitter/Insta etc etc

[kacievvbbbb]

I do really like the way the new chapter kind of showcases that Loid is really starting to settle into this whole parenting gig.

Like first 20 chapters Loid would have immediately gone into an anxiety induced fit about being a horrible fake father and how he's failing the mission and Anya, if Anya pulled the same crying fit trick on him (like she's done with success before) or he'd at least start to doubt his choices a little. But he just acts like a regular dad does and tells her to shut up, he doesn't give a fuck and she's staying her ass at home. And she would have too if Yor didn't convince him and if that isn't the most family shit ever I don't know what is

That's the growth we needed. Nature is healing.

Also he would have never out loud called her a brat before especially where Yor or someone else could hear and doubt their "father daughterly ness" but now he's yelling at her like a true father. Because yeah she really don't be listening but we love her for it.

I don't know I've always just felt like he's his truest self when it's just him and Anya. mostly because when he's not hyper focused on appearing like the greatest dad, Anya is just so ridiculous and left field that its hard to have anything less than a genuine reaction to her and the things she says. Also in regards to this operation stryx, she's the person he has the least to hide from, they both know he's not her dad and she's not his kid and that his marriage to Yor is fake. There's nobody to play pretend for, and that allows him to be just a little more real in their interactions because she's real with him.

Like I know he's a spy so we never really know his truest personality cause he's always putting on a mask, even with bond he puts on the mask of trainer no matter how badly he's not deceiving anyone, but honestly it doesn't feel like there's a mask with her. He's not Loid or Twilight with her but some secret third thing. Just a man with no real name but who is no less real and the strange kid he's trying to do right by no matter how many stress lines she cause him

[sergeantbarnessdoll]

Okay but imagine Bucky on Help you out with that saying “Don’t show your boobs to anyone but me now. These are for my eyes only” or “you only show these to me, alright? No more dares from your friends, no more helping out another man see boobs, unless ofcourse, that man is me. These are mine to mark and see”

as a subtle hint of him wanting to be exclusive 🥹

My Eyes Only » Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier

Pairings: Boyfriend!Bucky Barnes x Girlfriend!Reader

Summary: Bucky makes it perfectly clear that your breasts are for his eyes only.

Warnings: implied Smut (18+), language, dirty talk, kissing, pet names

A/N: I’m not taking requests at the moment and I wasn’t planning on making a part 2 to Help You Out With That so I hope y’all enjoy this little Drabble, but I couldn’t resist this so thank you to the lovely anonymous person who requested this🩵

Written on my phone. My apologies for any mistakes.

Header made by @buckys-wintersoldier

GIF IS NOT MINE! Credit goes to the creator.

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!🔞

It would be after you came home from shopping with your friends. You walk in Bucky’s apartment and go to the living room where Bucky is. You immediately greet him with kisses. Bucky couldn’t help but notice how revealing your cleavage is in the shirt you’re wearing. He also couldn’t help but feel jealous that people other than him possibly saw your breasts.

“How many people did you show your breasts to?” Bucky asks.

“No one.” You answered.

“Are you sure?” He asks again.

“I showed them to my friends a couple times.” You answered honestly.

“Why?” He asks.

You could hear the jealousy in his voice.

“You weren’t there so I asked them for their opinions.” You tell him

You watched the way Bucky’s jaw clenched when you said that. Bucky grasped your hips and pulled you onto his lap, straddling him.

“Don’t show your boobs to anyone but me now. These are for my eyes only.” He tells you. “You only show these to me, alright? No more dates from your friends, no more helping out another man see boobs, unless of course, that man is me. These are mine to mark and see.” He says.

“Wait a minute… are you jealous?” You asked.

“No.” He answers, lying through his teeth. “Maybe…” He lies through his teeth again. “Ok, fine. Yes I’m jealous.” He finally admits.

You couldn’t help but giggle and kiss his lips.

“Plus that’s my way of wanting to tell everyone that we’re together.” He says.

“You want to tell our friends we’re dating?” You asked, making sure you heard him right.

“Yes. Unless you don’t want to.” He says, rubbing his hands up and down your sides.

“I’m fine with it.” You say, agreeing with him.

Bucky smiles widely and kisses you.

“As of right now…” Bucky’s hands disappeared under your shirt and slid further up till they were under your breasts. “I have more important matters to attend to.” He says, his thumbs rubbing the underside of your breasts and shameless staring at them.

🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖🪖

-Bucky’s Doll

[wife-of-all-dilfs]

could we get some gally headcannons please?👀

Whatever you want to write🩷

Thank you ❤️

gally in a relationship headcanons

masterlist

finally some gally love <3 idc what anyone says, his eyebrows are beautiful. NSFW BELOW.

the glade

enemies to lovers type shit. i'm talking y'all would go as far as avoiding meal times just to avoid seeing each other.

he'd always be staring at you—from across the glade, through the bonfire, literally all the time.

sooo many interactions would end with y'all being up in each other's faces and throwing petty insults.

you'd slap him if he says anything that borders on sexism. he eventually learns what's what.

'there's a thin line between love and hate'.

other gladers would get so annoyed by how much he talks about you. his favourite excuse: "she just pisses me off so much".

but there's no excuse for jerking off to the thought of you late at night.

honestly, he would probably realise he likes you when you scull his secret recipe drink in front of him.

he'd ignore his feelings until you're the only thing on his mind and it infuriates him so fucking much.

you would be arguing one time and then suddenly he kisses you. the kiss would be aggressive, heated, and most likely up against a tree or hut.

suprisingly, his confession after would be very vulnerable and tender.

everyone is confused the next day when you're practically glued to each other's sides

gally would be very protective and borderline possessive. he'd hate it whenever other guys stare or talk about you.

would probably end up in a fistfight over it.

he'd be a rough/passionate kisser.

he'd be very into thighs. his hands are big and calloused so he'd enjoy wrapping them around the plush of your thighs, kneading the soft warm skin in his hand.

despite his gruff and harsh demeanour, he would always hold/touch you with utmost delicateness, apart from heated moments.

guards you whenever you shower.

would break so many rules for you. reluctantly, of course.

y'all know the term 'sleeper build'? that's gally. he might not seem extremely muscly at first glance, but once he starts heavy-lifting and building, his arms are legit bulging.

your first time together wouldn't be too great, but once you practice more, it gets good. like, really good.

love love loves receiving but also thoroughly enjoys making you come and knowing only he can do it.

his favourite sex position would be holding you up against a wall. he likes feeling strong.

arguments would almost always end with him taking you into the forest and fucking you against a tree.

when he gets stung, he would probably fight through the changing to tell you he loves you one last time before getting speared. oop.

the last city

when y'all reunite, you'd both collapse to the floor in each other's arms kissing and crying which surprises you. the gally you knew was not a crier or favoured public affection.

gally changed a lot since you last saw him, emotionally and physically. he is taller, more muscular, and has a more level-headed and calmer attitude.

he'd be more emotionally available and willing to be open and vulnerable with you.

the first thing y'all do when you're alone is have sex. and he even fucks differently.

the better wording would be 'make love' instead of 'fuck'.

he is much more gentle and loving and focuses on your needs wayyy more than his own. he couldn't believe how aggressive he previously was with you, how selfish he was.

he would worship your body and show you how much you really mean to him.

you would make him leave his mask on one time while y'all fuck. its hot af.

would always be touching you—an arm wrapped around your waist, holding your hand, your thighs, etc.

the hugs, man. he'd literally pick you up and engulf you in his arms. all the time. this mf had a severe epiphany and realised his love language was touch.

would always be complimenting you. "you're beautiful, you know that?", "god, you're a fucking angel.", etc

wouldn't get mad if other guys talked to or stared at you anymore. he would probably joke about it with them instead.

well, maybe he would be a little aggressive.

"yeah, ha-ha, careful or i'll throw you to the cranks".

trusts you to be able to take care of yourself but is still a major worrier, especially during the war within the city.

after arriving at the safe haven, he would build a house for you. you would enjoy watching him because, well... muscles.

all in all, gally would be an extremely different man compared to the one you first met, making your love for him stronger than it had ever been.

[wildestdreamsblog]

Latibule Season 2: IV

Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader (Mafia/Detective AU)

Summary: In which he lost his latibule.

Warnings: Secret Identity, Yandere behavior, Obsessiveness, Possessiveness, Manipulative behavior, Violence, Mention of death, Disability, Sexual themes, If you’re not 18+ please, PLEASE, do not interact. Be mindful of the warnings. Let me know if I miss anything.

Masterlist, Latibule 2.III

The fact that he was not even trying anything was what was making you be more on edge.

It had been more than three days now and he still hadn’t done anything except following you wherever you went. He turned into your very own version of a shadow, never straying more than a foot away. Despite your diminishing sight, you could see how people went out of their way to avoid your path. You surmised that it was because of the man following you closely. You didn’t have to turn to see the glare he was freely giving anyone as though he was your guard dog, or the dark energy he was emitting like a disturbed cat you used to frequently liken him to.

You were close to your breaking point. Your future laid uncertain, more so about your survival and likelihood that you would see your beautiful son once again just because his father was confusing you.

His motives confused you. If he was here to end you, why hadn’t he done so, yet? If he wanted to talk to you and ensure that you wouldn’t blab to anyone about who he truly was, about his other identity, why hadn’t he done so yet?

Why hadn’t he done anything except to follow you?

You were never a good actress, and you knew sooner rather than later that he would inadvertently notice. Honestly, you were already sick with anxiety and you didn’t know what you would do should you take this one more day. This had to stop and you needed to know why he was doing this.

And what exactly was he doing you asked?

Take for example, right now as you were trying to enjoy your meal in a small diner. His presence was unsettling and his eyes, like dark pools, seemed to follow your every move with a mix of intensity and longing that sent shivers down your spine. Not only was he eating on a booth in front of yours, but he also paid for your meal. He even went as far as threatening the waiter with his eyes to make it appear that the meal was free due to some made up celebration.

You couldn't help but scoff at the absurdity of it all. Unicorn Day? What kind of excuse was that? What even was a unicorn day?! That did not even exist! But even as you stopped yourself from rolling your eyes, a nagging question lingered in the back of your mind. Why was he going to such lengths to keep you close?

More so… why was he pitifully eating his meal alone, his gaze held a certain softness and daresay yearning in them? Why did he look so…lonely?

Confusion and frustration warred within you as you struggled to make sense of his intentions.

However, it was becoming less likely now that he wanted you gone when you came home and finally found solitude. You were going through the motion for the night. Your hands were running across the table as a guide, a thing that you had learned to do when you hit yourself too many times from the edge of the table, when you felt what seemed to be a protective gear used in the corner of tables. And then all at once, you noticed all the little things that had changed without you fully noticing.

The bathroom tiles had more friction to what you were used to, the kitchen utensils lost their heaviness, and the doorknobs were now noticeably noisier than before.

And now that you were alone without his overbearing presence clouding your judgement, without him breathing down your neck that caused you to immensely fear for your life, that you started to look on the other side of your horror: did he do all of these for you?

Perhaps, you were able to tolerate it all because of the anticipation of pain you thought you’d get from him. But this softness and tenderness displaced you. Somehow, this was worse. This was something you couldn’t bear, not when you now knew who he truly was. You couldn’t take this, you couldn’t let all of this change anything – especially when you now had someone to protect. You struggled to think of what could happen should he find out that his clever deception brought someone in this world.

Sleep had greatly eluded you that night regardless of how weary you felt. Your thoughts were all over the place, consumed by worry for your son right now. You couldn’t even step out to find solace and watch the stars like you used to do when your thoughts were just too loud. What was the use, you thought, when you could no longer see their beauty?

You had your eyes closed, now accustomed to darkness and your body was even when you heard it– a miniscule creaking of the floorboard, followed by the gentle opening of the door. He was here, you surmised.

Agustd was here.

Was he here to finally do the deed? Was he here to finally end all of this chaos? Did he wait until the dead of the night so that there wouldn’t be any witness? So that the job would be easy? So that he wouldn’t have to look into your eyes as he delivered the final blow to your heart?

Despite the terrifying thoughts racing through your mind, you were still as a board. You were greatly anticipating the pain as he drew near, his familiar scent, once beloved by you so much, was now making you acutely aware of his proximity more than ever before.

You could feel the heat from his body. You could hear the gentle rustling of his coat as he moved. This was it, you thought. This was your end, and maybe it was for the best. Hoseok would take care of your son. He was evidently fond of him. You knew that multifaceted man loved your child despite who his father was. You knew it the moment you woke up when your child was only a month old and found him gone from your side only to discover Hoseok gently comforting your crying son with his ridiculous stories, his voice painting a story. You knew it the moment he patiently stood by your son’s side when he was sick. You knew it when he cried when your child took his first step. Despite what transpired that fateful night, Hoseok was good to you and your son.

You trusted him.

You felt the side of your bed dipped from Agustd’s weight, yet it was his hand that you first felt. His calloused hand tenderly caressed your face, his touch so faint that you almost wondered if this was real. His thumb softly touched your lips and it lingered there for a moment that you wondered how you were able to control your breathing. You had gone years without him, his existence merely both a nightmare and a wonderful dream only in your memories. You had put him behind, hadn’t you? You had fully squashed any hopes that you and him would be anything other than a disaster, hadn’t you? You had repeatedly told yourself that you would never again let yourself feel anything for him, hadn’t you?

So why then was your heart shattering? Why then now that he was near, now that he was touching you, did your beliefs and your resolute heart wavered?

You could take him following you around. Honestly, you would rather take him being your shadow instead of this because then you could play pretend that he was not here.

You were about to open your eyes when you felt a drop on your cheek. Then, it was as though a dam overflowed as you felt teardrops cascading down your skin and the hand touching you trembling with both grief and relief.

Perhaps, if you could see him now, you'd understand how deeply you were intertwined in each and every part of him. If only you could witness how your absence and your inability to see now broke him, then all your hesitations about him would vanish because no man whose heart was not owned by you would cry as much as he was right now. No man who loved you as hard as he did could withstand this.

“Thank you for not leaving me alone in this world, my angel. Thank you for being alive,” he whispered in the silence of the night.

Min Yoongi’s POV

You were alive and it should be enough for him.

But Min Yoongi had always been a greedy man. He was a despicable man who always craved for more and blamed it all on from his terrible childhood to his twisted parents. He knew he was greedy when he took the organization that had been in his Jin hyung’s family for decades and ventured into darker places no one dared to go. He knew he was greedy when he didn’t stop there and even took hold of the police force for himself. More so, he knew he was greedy when he found you alive and instead of being contented that you were here, that you made good on your promise and didn’t go where he couldn’t follow, he still wanted…no. He craved the warmth brought by your proximity. He wanted you so near to him that you couldn’t breathe without him knowing, that you couldn’t think without him hearing your own thoughts.

He wanted you by his side that you couldn’t leave again. He wanted you so close that no one would dare to hurt you anymore.

However, there was this part of him that was good regardless of how minuscule it was. It was the same part that you were able to reach, the one that made you believed that he was incapable of inflicting pain to others, the one that made the betrayal so much more painful to you. And now, that part was warring with the dark side of him to let you be. It was the same part that whispered that he was somehow to blame for all of this, that had he left you alone, you wouldn’t be in this mess. It was the same part that whispered that he should be happy that you were alive, and that alone should be enough. It was your second chance in life but this time, it shouldn’t be with him.

His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, fingers curling into fists as he wrestled with the conflicting desires raging within him. He wanted to reach out to you, to pull you into his embrace and never let you go, but he knew he had already hurt you enough. And so, he stood there, silently battling the demons that threatened to consume him whole.

Perhaps, this was why he did nothing but to follow you and to watch you from a distance, only letting himself near you when you couldn’t know, only letting him touch you when you wouldn’t be able to push him away in disgust.

His train of thoughts and self-hatred were interrupted by his phone. Yoongi looked down at his ringing phone before bringing it to his ear, turning away from you as he answered. The street was busy but he had clear vision of you from behind, and the crosswalk hadn’t signaled yet for pedestrians to proceed.

“Yoongi-ah, where’s my niece and nephew?”

Here he goes again, Yoongi thought. He chuckled at his ridiculous question, his Jin hyung still hadn’t given up on his agenda of them having families of their own. His hyung's unwavering determination to see all of them settle down and start a family was both endearing and exasperating at times. “You won’t even ask how I am?”

Jin's response was swift and filled with characteristic enthusiasm.  “You found her. I’d say your more than okay. That is exactly why I’m expecting a nephew, preferably, within 9 to 10 months, okay? I’m buying Louis Vuitton onesies as we speak.”

Yoongi listened to his Jin hyung’s plans of buying his supposed nephew the most expensive and ridiculous clothes a newborn could have with a heavy heart. Listening to him made the situation so much heavier. Listening to him made him realize how further he was to realizing that dream…and how impossible it would be now.

“Are you really just going to let me buy him his first custom made toy gun? Really? Because your silence seems like you are agreeing-“

“She’s blind now, hyung.”

That statement alone finally made the mafia prince to cease from speaking, the weight of Yoongi’s new reality was slowly settling in. “She cannot see me. She still doesn’t know that I’m here-“

But Jin's response was unexpected, cutting through the air with a coldness that sent a shiver down Yoongi's spine. "Bring her home, Yoongi."

Yoongi's brows furrowed in disbelief, his mind reeling at Jin's insistence. "What? Didn’t you hear what I just said? I said—"

“I heard you, Yoongi-ah,” he stated with his cold voice he seldom used. “She’s blind now,” he repeated tonelessly. “But I’m telling you to bring her home. We might be able to do something. It’s not over until I, the greatest doctor to ever exist, tell that it is.”

“Hyung,” he sighed, looking down as he processed what Jin said and his poor attempt at making light of the situation. There was a possibility that he could fix you. But did you want anything to do with him now? What if you looked at him with hatred and disgust in your eyes? What if you saw him and decidedly left him again? Was he being selfish for considering the alternative? Could he even survive after that?

And for the first time in his life, he admitted that he was beside himself for terror that you might want nothing to do with him, that you would rather forever lose your sight than see him.

But before he could dwell on his fears any longer, Jin's voice cut through the turmoil, filled with frustration and exasperation. “Then make her fall in love again with you. You did it once, Yoongi. I cannot believe after all the education I all gave you, after sending all of you to the best universities and ensuring that you all would be the top of your chosen profession, you are all still idiots! This is such a simple problem that requires simple solution. For the love all of all that’s-“

Yoongi’s turned to where you were, only to find you crossing the road behind other people. He was a good foot away from you when he heard the screeching sound of tires that seemed to have spiraled out of control and horrifyingly, in its path was you.

His angel.

He moved before he could even think, his legs powered through, pushing people out of his way just to get to you. He remembered thinking to himself at that moment that he this time, he would harshly refuse losing you. This time, he would fight harder against destiny that was so hellbent on taking you from him.

And that time he swore that the universe was on his side as he reached for your arm and firmly pulled you to his chest. The screeching tires and the shocked sounds of the city faded into the background as he felt the force of the fall. With a deep grunt, he absorbed the impact, his body tensing with the weight of both of you as you collided with the ground. Despite the pain shooting through his body, his only concern was for your safety.

His arms remained a steadfast barrier, shielding you from harm as he felt the ground beneath him. The world seemed to slow down, time stretching out in that moment of crisis. The sound of your shock was drowned out by his pounding heart and the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins. For a split second, time seemed to freeze as he held you close, shielding you from the impending danger.

As the screeching tires came to a halt, Yoongi's focus remained solely on you. He felt a surge of relief wash over him as he realized you were unharmed, safe in his arms. His heart was beating so fast brought by the sickening worry that he wouldn’t make it in time that he failed to notice the consequences of his actions.

“Are you okay, Angel? You’re not hurt…right?”

“Suga…”

Chapter V

[grandline-fics]

Hi can i request a Luffy x fem!reader where the pair are just two dumb idiots together like the reader has a personality like his (overly enthusiastic and optimistic) and they do everything together but they both dont realize that the like eachither (bc again dumb idiots) and the crew works tgt to make them both realize and get them to confess to eachother?

DESCRIPTION: You’re just as clueless as Luffy and the crew have to intervene to make you both realise your feelings

WARNINGS: none

CHARACTERS: Luffy

WORDS: 1,734

A/N:  Thank you for this request. I honestly didn't know how to make this work in the beginning but I'm happy with how this fell into place. Hopefully you like what I came up with

*REQUESTS ARE OPEN*

MASTERLIST | PROMPT LIST

———————

Once upon a time the Strawhat crew believed that their Captain was one of a kind. They took his energetic nature, clear motivation to only do what he wanted as his current mood directed without any thought beyond that, stubbornness, and still unwavering joy in the face of most things as the concoction that could only be Luffy. However they were all collectively shocked when you crash landed into their lives and promptly made them realise that everything that made Luffy his loveable yet exhausting self was also very clearly what made you you too and when you and Luffy first interacted it was like two points finally connecting, never to separate. 

All their adventures before you came along seemed like such a breeze, how naive they had been in those days to consider it difficult to keep up with Luffy’s optimism and spontaneity. After you joined the crew if felt like double the work. It didn’t matter if they had eyes on one of the chaotic pair you two created because without the vigilant supervision over both of you, it only assured a disaster that could have been avoided. It never mattered to you or Luffy because at the end of the day you two would be laughing and telling the drained crew that it had worked out in the end and that there had been nothing to worry about. After a while it wasn’t the lack of thought to the crew and their wants of an easy time on an island to explore that frustrated them, it was the fact that you and Luffy still hadn’t realised you had feelings for each other and continued to act like oblivious morons every single day while also so clearly showing them and anyone else you interacted that you were two idiots in love. 

“They’re doing it on purpose.” Nami muttered one day, arms folded tightly across her chest as she glared at you and Luffy running about the deck of the Sunny, laughing and chasing Chopper without a care in the world. Suddenly Luffy grabbed one of the masts and propelled himself through the air. Chopped managed to dodge but you ended up being the one Luffy tackled loudly onto the ground. There was a beat of silence before the two of you burst out into loud laughter once more, doing nothing to move out of the position you were currently in. “They have to be doing it on purpose. They’re evil geniuses.”

“Don’t give them so much credit. They’re both just blind to how they really feel.” Zoro disagreed from his spot in the shade, opening his good eye to look you and Luffy’s way. “Don’t know how many times the stupid cook and I have brought it up. Luffy just believes he loves them the same way he loves us as his crew.”

“Oh no, that’s a very different kind of love compared to what he feels for us.” Usopp said with a small shake of his head. He supposed that the only reason this whole matter hadn’t been resolved yet was because of your personality. Anyone else would have been more aware of the difference and clear feelings and actually talked things out with their Captain. Everyone seemed to let out a collective sigh of exhaustion and resignation. All of them wishing-more for their own selfish peace of mind more than anything- there was something to be done and help you both realise your feelings.

It wasn’t until a week later that the crew stopped at a new island to relax and enjoy while they waited for the Log Pose to set. While some took to resupplying the ships, others took to exploring. You weren’t exactly annoyed that you hadn’t gone with Luffy, you were just confused at why Usopp and Nami insisted on you joining them on their shopping trip and no one else coming with them. Had they had a fight with some of the others on the crew that you weren’t aware of? You certainly hoped not, you didn’t like the crew fighting amongst themselves. 

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Nami whispered to Usopp as they remained a couple paces away from you. Operation: Divide and Conquer might have had a good name but the strategy didn’t seem all that good except try and get you to confess to Luffy by either making you jealous or straight up lying. If they couldn’t get through to you, they would try the same tactic with Luffy.

“It has to!” Usopp hissed back, quickly throwing you a nervous smile when you looked over your shoulder with a curious tilt of your shoulder. “Hey let’s go in here!” He called out in a panic, pointing to the closest store. You stopped and shrugged, going along with whatever the sniper wanted. You had nothing to buy on this trip so you were just here for company and fun. Still this wasn’t what you’d thought would be on his or Name’s shopping list.

“Is someone getting married?” You asked, looking around the store filled with elegant gowns, robes and suits. Suddenly your eyes lit up as you hurried to hug Nami and Usopp tightly, so this was why they had insisted on you coming with them. You couldn’t fully understand why they were being so secretive but it didn’t matter given how overcome with happiness for them. “You guys! I’m so happy for you both! Have you told the others?! Are you getting married on the island?” 

“WHAT?! NO! ” Nami blurted out in shock while Usopp could only shriek at the implication. “We’re not getting married!”

“Oh…that’s a shame.” Your smile fell slightly. “I always thought you two made a nice couple. Guess I was wrong. So who is getting married?” You asked, staring intently on your friends who stammered and struggled to think of something. Operation: Divide and Conquer was crashing and burning around them and their brains all but blanked as together they rambled together while you patiently listened. Neither of them really knew what they’d told you or knew if it made any sort of sense but you seemed to accept it and continued with your day with the frazzled pair.

When you returned to the Sunny later that day you went to your usual perch of the railing near Sunny’s head. Silently you thought over what Usopp and Nami told you and were beginning to work it out in your head when Luffy appeared beside you with a bright grin. “Hey, what’s got you so frustrated looking?” He asked, oblivious to the rest of the crew on the deck; all of them pretending to go about their business when they were only making sure they were close enough to hear. 

“I’m thinking about Usopp.” You explained in a dazed tone, absently running your fingers along your bottom lip, deep in thought. Luffy frowned slightly while different sets of eyes glanced Usopp’s way, all confused about what he and Nami did while they were alone with you. “I’m trying to work out this wedding.”

“Usopp’s getting married?” Luffy asked. On the one hand he was happy but on the other hand he thought Usopp would have told him personally. “To who?”

“That’s what I’m trying to work out.” You mumbled before taking a deep breath, deciding to start from the beginning. “Usopp’s enemy wants him to marry their princess to avoid a great battle but he doesn’t want a fight or to get married so he needs to make them think he’s already married so they don’t get angry right? He needs Sanji to cater the wedding, Brook to preform the music, and Zoro to be his bodyguard so they’re out. Nami said because she’s giving Usopp the money for the wedding that’s the only favour she’s doing and won’t marry him as well because that’s not fair. Usopp said he can’t marry Franky or Robin because they’re like his parents and Chopper’s a reindeer and that’s weird. Which leaves us.” 

The more you explained the situation the more Usopp and Nami shrank towards the floor out of despair and embarrassment. Why had you believed that nonsense enough to now relay it to the entire crew who were now looking at them in bafflement. Through it all Luffy hadn’t taken his eyes off of you. He didn’t want Usopp to be forced to be married to someone he didn’t like but it didn’t stop him from quickly turning on his heel and looking to his friend. “Usopp I’ll marry you!”

“You can’t marry me dumbass!” Usopp shouted back making Luffy glare, all but standing in front of you to block you from Usopp’s stare.

“Well you’re not allowed to marry them. So it’s me or the princess.” Luffy told him with defiance in his eyes.

“Why can’t he marry me?” You asked curiously while getting to your feet, watching Luffy blink as he only now considered his fierce sense of protectiveness and possessiveness towards you. 

“Because I don’t want him to?” He suggested with a shrug. “I don’t want you to marry him, I don’t like it.”

“Well I don’t like you being married to Usopp.” You added, voicing your own reluctance and unhappiness at the thought of Luffy marrying…well anyone. There was a silent exchange between you and Luffy as though you were communicating in your own way through a look alone. Together you both grinned with a faint blush creeping across your cheeks as you both whipped your head towards Usopp and declared in unison.  “Usopp you’re marrying the princess.”

While it hadn’t been the grand romantic epiphany the crew had been expecting to witness, they could tell that a shift between you both had occurred. There was something a little more intimate between you both while you both remained your happy, energetic selves. No one on the crew had the heart to tell either of you that Usopp had been completely lying about the arranged marriage so they never mentioned it again. They were however all in agreement that if it ever was brought up it was to be brushed aside and explained as a story Usopp had been thinking of writing and nothing more. But from the looks of things slowly developing between you and Luffy they could all see that it was shaping up to having a happily ever after.  

[saladoffruitcolored]

Yandere platonic omega father x neglected child reader PT 5

Wedding. Wedding. Marriage

Honestly, Rowan doesn't know when he started to despise the word and everything it means

There was a time, many years ago, when that word brought butterflies to his stomach. At that time, he and that man were deeply in love (or at least that's what he thinks). He still remembers the bells ringing in the background as he gently held his beloved.

If someone had said at that time that he would come to deeply hate the man who was kissing him so softly in front of the church altar, he wouldn't have believed it. He would have laughed, laughed out loud even thinking about this impossible possibility.

But well, life was unpredictable and the impossible becomes possible every day, every moment, for anyone.

He didn't notice the first signs, or rather, he didn't want to notice them. The way Hector wrinkled his nose in disgust around you, the way he seemed indifferent to you, how your crying always seemed to arouse annoyance and never concern.

It was ironic how Hector could be so loving and maternal with the neighbors' babies but was so cold to you at home, he almost never held you and seemed ashamed to say you were a beta

Rowan remembers the first sign that something was wrong, the day of your birth, for months the two of you created expectations and dreams about you, anxiously waiting for the day you would say hello to the world, Rowan remembers that day well, the wonderful where everything started to go wrong day of your birth

Rowan was holding you so tenderly in his arms, he remembers well the look of love in Hector's eyes when he asked to hold you, as soon as he held you it seemed like all the love just disappeared

Hector panicked, started screaming about you not being his baby, he screamed about you being defective and he flailed in panic so suddenly that I almost broke your fragile neck

It was necessary for Hector to be sedated, the nurses said that it is a very normal reaction, the omega instincts are not initially capable of picking up beta pups, initially accepting only omega and alpha pups

The lack of an omega pup's scent makes them anxious

hearing this did not reassure Rowan, in fact it made him more worried, this was his pup, they loved this pup for months and now his mate almost killed him, his mate was not trustworthy with the pup

The only thing superior to the bond of an alpha with his mate was the bond of an alpha with his pup, without him knowing or realizing that day the first seeds of doubt and hatred were born in his heart

Since that day Hector was no longer trustworthy with you, every time the two of you interacted Rowan was just one step behind

afraid that you would be released from your omega father's arms and fall to the ground

He tried his best to ease motherhood, he paid a nanny to take care of you, all Hector had to do was breastfeed you and give you some love in the morning and afternoon that good-for-nothing wasn't even capable of that, at night your care was exclusively his

He doesn't remember when the love cooled down but he remembers exactly what was the trigger that broke the marital cord that united them and killed all the butterflies in his stomach

The house, once a cozy refuge, was now often filled with tension. It seemed like every conversation ended in an argument

The house was silent, except for the screams, what started as a reprimand to your husband for having once again forgotten to pick you up from daycare, evolved into a huge scream. Hector, with teary eyes and an exalted voice, gestured frantically as he screamed

If someone from the outside looked at him, they might even think Hector was the victim

“You don’t understand!!! I need to live my life! You can’t expect me to stop living for myself to stay home and take care of your child”, the volume of Hector’s voice hurt Rowan’s ears

Every day there were the same arguments for the same reasons, already tired and venomous Rowan tried to argue, although his words were always lost amid the accusations

“Mine!? My child!? The puppy is only MINE!? YOU'RE NOT THE FATHER TOO!? You seem to forget that you have a life here!!! That you have a husband and a baby waiting for you at home, you can't just go out with your friends for hours leaving your own baby alone”, at this point he himself was already upset

“You disappear for hours, spend tens and hundreds of dollars on your credit card on gifts and clothes and trips with your friends and you don't have the money to buy a new coat for your baby!!”

Rowan always thought that the two had a good relationship, a solid marriage but apparently he was wrong, the relationship that was once limited to love and trust was now marked by fights and mutual accusations. The influence of Hector's new group of “friends” was quite apparent

A bunch of failed omegas who preached about being free and independent but were still supported by their parents' or ex-husbands' money, whispering sweet nothings in Hector's ears during the day and trying to get into Rowan's pants at every possible opportunity. He tried to tell Hector but his husband didn't believe him and just accused him of being abusive and controlling.

The nights at home that were reserved for spending time with the family were replaced by parties that lasted until dawn. Having to go pick up his husband from parties and see him acting totally drunk and flirting with everyone around was humiliating. It was only worse than having to make up a lie for you about why the omega father was smelling funny and vomiting all over the carpet.

Rowan was feeling increasingly alone and helpless. The loving husband he knew seemed to have been replaced by someone more self-centered and distant. And you, their beloved baby his baby seemed to have been relegated to a secondary position, being neglected while Hector dedicated himself exclusively to his pleasures and addiction

Rowan tried his best to give you all the love you needed but it was difficult to reconcile work, which was the only income in the house, with the almost exclusive squares of a child

“You are being selfish!!! Think of me!! Think of your child!!!”, his voice was increasingly emotional

“Don't you dare talk about selfishness, I sacrificed my youth to give birth to that thing!!!”, Hector retorted with a venom that Rowan had never heard before. “I lost my identity because of that kid!!!”

He doesn’t remember what insults were said next, all he remembers is your scared eyes peering at the two of them through the crack in the door watching your omega father packing his bags

Rowan, at the very least, expected him to look back at you but no, Hector walked forward taking heavy steps towards the exit without even saying goodbye to you

He walked out the door and never came back, the divorce papers arrived a few weeks later, ironically not even a day after the fight one of Hector’s “friends” was knocking on the door offering a “shoulder to cry on”

her cleavage was so big that he was genuinely curious about how her breasts didn’t pop out of her blouse

“Rowan! Rowan!! ROWAN!!!” His best man’s shout snapped him out of his nostalgic, melancholic thoughts. “Your tie is already perfect, man, you’ve been looking at yourself in the mirror for almost 40 minutes, don’t tell me you’re nervous” in the final words there was a tone of amused mockery

“No, I’m not anxious, I was just remembering some things”, the way his life had changed so suddenly once again was disturbing

Three years, it’s been three years since your breakdown, since he put you in therapy and since he met Sarah, his future wife

A little less than a year after starting therapy with you, Doctor Sarah resigned, her older brother who owned a series of hospitals, apparently he died of an allergic reaction after eating shrimp (in a vegan restaurant?), his wife and son also died in a traffic accident on the way to the hospital when they found out about his hospitalization

Apparently there was a problem with the brakes and the car lost control on a hill, Sarah didn’t want to give many details but he saw the news in the tabloids and on TV shows, EVERYONE was talking about it, for months it was the most popular topic in the media

Mainly because it started a fight for the succession of the business, Sarah won because she was the closest blood relative of the couple, much to the anger of the other relatives, there was even an assassination attempt against her that resulted in the entire family of her ex-sister-in-law being imprisoned for life

It was a real scandal, a year later Rowan met Sarah in a market, she recognized him and started talking to him

This event repeated itself daily, it seemed that wherever he was Sarah was coincidentally nearby

He was no idiot, he realized very quickly that she was stalking him, the question was why was she doing it?

Wearing summer dresses and carefully styling her hair to make it look like she hadn't spent hours styling it, just enough makeup to highlight her casual beauty done so subtly that if someone didn't look closely they wouldn't even notice she was wearing it, and her sweet personality totally different from the way she treated him in the office before

Others had tried to seduce him before, he knew very well how this game works

She seemed like the idealization of a divorced man's fantasy: young, beautiful, kind and totally interested in raising taking full responsibility for puppies that weren't hers

The reason became clear not long after when he saw her interacting with you, the way she hung on your every word was very obvious to him, the way she seemed to have to restrain her own hands from tucking your rebellious lock of hair behind your ear

Whenever you were mentioned her eyes would shine in a maternal way, It wasn't hard to see what her ultimate goal was in getting close to him

When he realized this, he wanted to back off, he wanted to put an end to all that force and make it very clear that if she got close to you again he would call the police, but then he realized something

Having only one father was dangerous, if something happened to him, what would happen to you? Your omega father was clearly not interested in you, he would probably take the life insurance money and spend it on his daughters, leaving you in misery

Rowan didn't have any close relatives, you would be alone in the world, but with Sarah the scenario would be different, you would have someone to turn to, someone to take care of you

Sarah made it quite clear that she fully intended to trade you for her heiress, if that happened your life would be set, you would never have a hard time in life. Isn't that what a father hopes to provide for his puppy?A life of happiness without financial hardship.

Money was getting tight, his ex-husband was asking for a raise in his alimony, Hector was claiming that he needed more money to support his daughters he's not their father so why is he the one who has to support those cuckoo chicks!?

Paying for all the courses and clubs you take at school is expensive, private school itself is expensive.

Recently, the Harmonia Beta movement has become stronger than ever. It was only a matter of time before mass layoffs and marginalization against alphas and omegas starts. He noticed his boss making rounds of the offices it's only a matter of time before he gets fired, without his job, how would he support the household? How would he support you?

Sarah came along like a miracle solution, marrying her would mean securing your financial stability, it would mean you could choose any college you wanted he tried his best to save for your university but it's hard being the only one working in the house having to maintain your lifestyle while supporting your leech ex-husband and his parasitic daughters, he tried so hard to save for you that he didn't even try to save for his own retirement

When Sarah indirectly explicitly said she would love to get married in the spring he knew what the right answer was, he took a large amount of money from his university fund taking the money out of there hurt his soul but he knew it was for the best, a small sacrifice, soon you would be an heiress who wouldn't have to worry about saving for university and bought the most beautiful and expensive ring he saw at the most popular diamond store in town

Every decision in his life has led him here, to this moment and he can only hope that be the right decision

Looking in the mirror again, Rowan adjusted his tie for the last time. The perfect knot of the tie seemed like a symbol of the beginning of his new life

Rowan heard his friend babbling again, during this whole time the best man talked nonstop about the breasts of the bride's bridesmaids without even realizing that Rowan was not paying attention

Reading the wedding vows one last time, Rowan mentally prepared himself for the ceremony

I'm doing this for my baby, for my baby, always for my baby. We'll both be okay, everything will be okay

TOC. TOC. TOC

“Mr. Rowan, the first ceremony will begin in 30 minutes. You better start heading towards the cathedral. Everything is perfect. You and your bride will love it...” While the wedding planner escorted the two out of the room and towards the church, Rowan made sure to keep his most pleasant smile on his face. Everyone should think he is a loving groom.

Being the center of attention is tiring, yhe religious ceremony has barely started, but he is already tired of being stared at. He really doesn’t know how he will keep a smile on his face for the next three days of celebration, plus two weeks of honeymoon on a family trip to Brazil.

Arriving at the church, he sees the guests already sitting down. He takes his place at the altar below the priest, a few minutes later, the music starts playing, little children enter throwing flower petals.

Then the bride enters.

Drawing everyone’s attention to her, she slowly walks down the aisle church, her eyes exude satisfaction and happiness, the guests think it's the happiness of marrying the man she loves but he knows very well that the reason for her joy is something else, it's you

After the bride's spectacular entrance that drew sighs of admiration and envy from those present, you enter the cathedral, walking down the aisle holding the rings

The symbolism did not go unnoticed by him

The eyes of the two future married couple shined when they saw you, the reason for everything, you were so beautiful

Handing over the rings and exchanging vows the priest officiates the ceremony

Rowan is no longer divorced, now he is remarried and he doesn't know exactly how to feel about it

[lawchwan]

do you believe me? (sanji)

summary: you love sanji, and sure, sanji loves you too, but does he love you the way you do? you're not too sure about his actions... requested: @mooncallerautumn reader: fem!reader disclaimer: reader is possessive and has trust issues, sanji lacks self-awareness, misunderstandings, reader kinda compares herself to nami and robin (but they're all girl girls so dw there's no beef), reader is implied to be a smoker, dom!sanji, sub!reader, cunnilingus, fingering, piv, talks of exhibitionism, kitchen sex, praise kink going brr, Sanji kinda dirty talks, unprotected sex (lets pretend contraceptive exists in the op universe and reader's taking it... also put a condom, you nasties), creampies, honestly Sanji's lowkey off character but idc i want him genre: angst with a fluff (smut) ending a/n: this piece is exactly 3.6k,,, this mayhaps the longest i've written on this account but yeh hope its good regardless :)

crossposted on ao3

Laughter, banter, and cordial interactions are all actions anyone can implement in any dealings with any individual. Those interactions result in hopefully deeper and more meaningful relationships, no matter way of showcasing them.

That's how Sanji caught your attention, parting ways for you to roam around freely in a room, cooking your special meals, and buying you things that reminded him of you just to name a few. His acts of worship and treating you like a Greek goddess walking amongst humans fluttered your heart like a butterfly setting free of its cage...

But there was more than one Greek goddess, and each goddess could represent her powers, and you saw yourself as one of many with the Sanji acts.

Chivalry is an eloquent quality he pertains within him, an admirable feature that makes you feel safe, protected, and loved...

But you were loved solely by Sanji? He thought he did, but to you, you were just like any other woman he interacted with. You were on the same level as Nami when she requested a tangerine-based dessert and Sanji dropped everything and got it for her, you were on the same level as Robin when she came down the stairs and Sanji kneels down and held her hand gently like she was glass as she gave him a warm smile, you were in the same level as the woman at the market who struggled to get the canned soup at a high shelf only for her to flutter her lashes as a thank you and Sanji got weak instantly. The way he treats them is not any different from the way he treats you.

And that ached your heart that was filled with him and the desire to have him solely.

You felt bad for feeling this way, but god dammit you were selfish. Selfish you were and you didn't give a damn. You wanted Sanji for yourself, but you can't have him because he was unknowingly hurting you with the way he's showcasing his affection towards these beautiful women.

You wanted to hate him but you loved him dammit... you'd hate yourself before you hate him.

Sanji took notice of your distance, the cool breeze that radiated off of you as you walked by him caused the hairs on his neck to stand up straight with a sense of vibration in his spine. He could've sworn the room's temperature dropped when you walk in, but it was only he who could feel it.

He wasn't sure where all that came from, the moment he laid his eyes on you, he saw you like you were a star walking amongst man. He was taken aback by the way you showcase and present yourself in front of him and how beautiful you were.

He thought he did everything that you loved, especially after hearing—rather eavesdropping—the conversation you'd have with the female crew and how much you gush over him to the two female crew. Neither Nami nor Robin could see what you see in him, but they both remain giving you support and valid pieces of advice.

So why would you switch up on him like that?

He also noticed that he'd get a disgruntled response from Nami whenever he served her anything she liked in contrast to her elated reaction, catching him off guard with the negative reaction.

"What the hell is going on?" He once thought to himself, looking down at the kitchen counter in confusion after wiping it, thinking he was alone.

"I never would have thought that you would have a lack of self-awareness, Sanji."

Sanji jumped in his place before turning around to see the source of the voice, only to see Robin standing by the door frame with her arms crossed and a disapproving facial expression plastered onto her sharp-featured face.

However, Sanji being Sanji overlooked that and began his antics before Robin used her devil fruit power to stop him from getting closer to her. He was put back into place as she simply shook her head before walking into the kitchen.

"What was that all about, Robin? That really hurts" Sanji rubbed his shoulders to soothe the restraints Robin gave.

"You're one to talk about being hurt..." Robin scoffed as she walked up the cupboard as if she was looking for something, her usually quiet demeanor was present but it contained an uneasy presence that even Sanji sensed as he eyed her figure walking around. Sanji cocked his head to the side in a baffled manner as he looked away for a little bit.

"What? What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I suggest you go talk to (y/n). She'll probably tell you why everyone's cold towards you... if you so much loved her as you claim to do." Robin calmly griped before walking away, leaving Sanji alone to try to discern Robin's cryptic wording. Sanji sat with himself for minutes, pondering the words Robin had told him. Her words echoed in his head as he deciphered the words.

Until it clicked...

Robin's disapproving confrontations, Nami's cold and irritated responses, and more evidently, your avoidance of him; It was all connecting now. Although he still doesn't understand what he did wrong, he'll have to confront one of you, you being the top priority as he sensed that you were the one who's hurt the most...

—

The night rolled around and the ruckus of Luffy, Ussop, and Chopper's antics died down, the sounds of the calm sea soared higher underneath the Thousand Sunny, peacefully rocking the ship. Despite the serenity of the boat, it caused everyone to sleep except for Sanji, with his thoughts blasting through his head in contrast to the sounds of light breathing and snores from the crew.

After staring at the ceiling long enough, Sanji left the cabin to grab a smoke to ease himself off. As he came out to the balcony, he spotted you in the distance, your upper body leaning towards the railing, allowing the wind to brush your hair back slightly. Although you gave him your back, he still admired you from afar. The allure you've given your off was a sight to behold, Sanji just couldn't help to admire you a tad bit more than others—or so he thought.

Sanji walked up to you, you knew there was a non-threatening presence eyeing you, but you didn't know nor care to turn around to see who was it, until he spoke.

"Beautiful night, am I right?" Sanji softly said as he stood next to you mimicking your stance. You turned to him wide-eyed with an open mouth, before you went back, not answering him back. Although you were upset with him, you oddly felt comforted by his presence... Could've been worse but you wished he wasn't next to you right now.

Sanji began lighting a cigarette, smoking a few puffs before looking back at you, noticing the somber gaze you had in your eyes. He offered you the lit cigarette in his hand—a norm between the two of you that you shared a cigarette stick—but you once again ignored him, a silence rejection that pained the blonde figure.

"Okay, what's going on?" Sanji blurted, throwing his cigarette away with his eyes narrowed towards you.

Your brows knitted at the confrontation, "What?"

"For the longest time, you've been avoiding me, giving me the cold shoulder, not hanging out with me... What's up?" Sanji expressed as he crossed his arms while facing you fully. You simply scoffed at him with an eye roll and a headshake, which pissed Sanji off.

"Don't give me that eye-roll, I deserve to know what's going on and what I did to deserve this." Sanji chastised. It was unnatural for Sanji to get this upset, but when the person he had been admiring for so long was being cold around him, he couldn't help but feel frustrated.

"Oh, so now you wanna know what's going on?" You sneered at him as you eyed his disapproving face. He wavered his angered expression to a frustrating confusion with his brows wrinkling to a scowl.

"What are you on about? I just wanted to know—"

"Just forget it, Sanji, like you would get it—" You shook your head as you almost walked away until Sanji grabbed your arms and held you closer in place.

"I won't let you go until you tell me what's wrong..." Sanji whispered as he looked at your sunken eyes. You wanted to physically fight him to let you go, but the way he was holding you almost put you in a semi-tranced state, and you just couldn't. You began shaking your head as you began tearing up, hoping that he could just let you go right there when it did way worse than what you wanted.

"Hey, hey, (y/n), my love, what's wrong—"

"Don't call me that!" You sobbed as you sunk your head further and gripped onto his arms, fingernails digging into his skin in hopes of letting you go, but in fact, it was futile. No matter what you did, Sanji kept to his promise; he won't let you go until you tell him... If only he kept himself in other ways.

Sanji just looked at you even more confused, "why not?"

You shook your head once again, hushing out your confession, "I'm not your love... You don't love me..."

"What do you mean? Of course, I love you."

"No, Sanji! You don't love me the way I do!" You shot at him, making eye contact with him.

As soon as those words hit and he had a look at your tear-stricken eyes, that was when Sanji's brain found its final puzzle piece on why the way you were. He replayed back how he would treat the women surrounding him and how it might have impacted him. He thought it was just his usual chivalry act, and you must've taken it the wrong way.

"Yes, yes, I do, (y/n), I've loved you the moment I've met you," Sanji confessed, and you once again shook his head.

"You probably said that to Nami, or Robin, or any girl you meet..."

"That's not true, (y/n), you're nothing like them," Sanji held your face with one hand, stroking your tear-stained face with his thumb, "you're way more special to me than any woman I've encountered.

"You sure have a way of showcasing it—" you scoffed until your words were cut by a warm pair of lips placed onto yours. Your eyes widened as your body stiffened at the contact, you almost gave in until Sanji pulled himself away from you, almost sensing that you were surprised by his action.

"I know I haven't been the best at treating you the way you deserve, and I am so sorry for hurting you and not telling you how much you mean to me, my love," Sanji's eyes and words were genuine and filled with real adoration, his traditional heart eyes were replaced with a glowing halo that meant something way deeper than those hearts he would showcase any women. He held both your hands as he kissed your knuckles, with your lips slightly parted, words were trying to spill but failed.

"You might not believe me now, but give me a chance to show you how much I love—no, I adore you... I'll give you something no woman has ever taken from, I promise you..."

His words may border into desperation, but you couldn't help but be convinced by his wordings and sweet talks as you gave him a small smile and hushed an approval before Sanji dragged you and took you into the kitchen.

—

It was some time passed since Sanji's confession. You weren't sure how long it had been since you last talked to him, but you simply didn't care as your clothes and Sanji's blouse were discarded somewhere in the kitchen, with him placing himself in between your legs, his hot tongue spreading around your wet folds as you lay across the dining table, moaning out in pleasure. His hair was disheveled with the way you gripped his hair, pushing his face further as if that motion could make his tongue get in deeper.

Sanji moans at the way you are gripping his hair as well as how tasty you are to him. The nectar seeping out of your flower was so ravishing, that he felt like he could turn himself into a bee hoping for more honey.

"Gosh, darling, you taste so divine," Sanji spoke through his licks, looking up at you like you were a goddess. He soon inserts his slender fingers into you while his tongue tackles your clit, resulting in you whimpering out for him. His fingers scissor your walls as he stretches you out with his fingers like he's preparing you for more.

"Mmm~ Sanji..." You mewled.

"Shh, shh, you don't want them to wake up now, do you?" Sanji cooed with a smirk, while his fingers were still pumping in and out of you, "unless you want them to walk in and see you with your legs spread out for me, huh?"

You moaned lightly at the thought of any of the crew walking in and seeing you like this, legs spread out for the cook, eating you out for breakfast, lunch and dinner, something only he can have. Sanji took note at the excitement you were having, which caused him to smile as he got up from his knees.

"C'mere" Sanji exhaled before he fervently placed his lips back into yours, his tongue caressing into yours, making you taste yourself in the process. The hand that was on your thigh to keep you from closing around him ascended up to your neck, wrapping around it lightly.

"Have you tasted yourself?" He rhetorically inquired through the kiss, licking your bottom lips while you continued spilling your pleasured noises.

"Mhm, I know you like it," Sanji amorously giggled, "You tasted so fucking good."

Your eyes were still screwed shut as you felt yourself getting closer to the peak with Sanji's talented fingers. Just like in cooking, he truly knew how to use his fingers to hit the spot, and Sanji knew when it was ready to serve, which was certainly not now. Sanji releases his fingers out of your tight hole, making you whine out which made Sanji purr.

"I know, my love, I know," Sanji pouted as he held your face and squished your cheeks, "but baby deserves more than what she got, and I'm about give it right now."

As Sanji was speaking, he began lowering his already-unbuttoned pants, along with his boxers, releasing his ravenous cock with precum leaking out its dark pink head. You took a peek down at his cock, and your mouth started to drool at the sight, which Sanji smirked at your ogling.

"You want this, don't you?" Sanji smiled sweetly as he placed a strand behind your ear and you began to hold and lightly stroke it, He hissed at the contact while you were entranced by Sanji's parts. Sanji held your wrist and halted motions.

"As much as I want this, lemme take care of you..."

His actions may be fervid and lusting, but the words he let out were filled with fondness and adoration. He laid you down while he teased your leaking pussy, the head just eager to insert it.

"Sanji, please, just put it in~" You begged, and with that, you got an immediate response with Sanji stretching you out, making you mewl out as you threw your head back with a back arch. Sanji ran his lithe fingertips from your collarbone down to your breasts and began massaging the squish plush of your chest as you adjusted to his length.

You two were having a surreal moment, a moment that neither of you, especially you, could have expected to happen. A moment in which you have thought of before going to bed, touching yourself after hours at the thought of Sanji in that similar position that you're in. All the harsh and intrusive thoughts that you felt towards him with the way he treated women melted away as Sanji began moving at a slow pace.

The thrusts left you moaning out as Sanji hushes out strings of praises that left you wetter and wetter.

"Gosh, (y/n), you feel so good..."

"Such a good girl, such a good fucking girl..."

Sanji's thrusts began to become feverish as time goes, the sounds of skin slapping and blissed moans coming from both your and Sanji's lips bounce off the kitchen walls as the wooden table creates slight creaking sounds underneath your bodies, following his rhythm,

"I'm so close—fuck~ you're not that far off either, huh, my love?" Sanji's voice begins to crack as he feels himself about to implode and his thrusts begin to slop away. You were panting and whining mess underneath, struggling to form words in response so you simply just nod.

"Come with me, my love, c'mon," Sanji whimpered softly as he began to hold your hand and his lips attached itself into your neck, giving you the love you ever so deserve.

The volcano in your stomach is about to erupt due to the sheer force of Sanji's hips aided in his cock reaching over to your cervix, giving it multiple kisses at a time. But no amount of thrusts and penetration could have ever given that blissful end until Sanji whimpered out the sweetest sounds with him saying,

"Let me see you come for me..."

And there he has pushed you into that euphoric state as you rolled your eyes back, making you see white. Sanji groaned out as he spilled his all inside of you, leaving the two of you breathless in the process. Sanji landed on top of you, his head on your shoulder as he catches his breath, while you began stroking the back of his head.

Once you gathered your breathes, Sanji lifted himself slightly and pulled himself away to look at the aftermath of what you two had done. Your opening began to ooze out Sanji's load and drip down to the table underneath. You lifted yourself by the elbow and looked down.

"Shit... we eat here, Sanji..." You giggled breathlessly as you lightly scolded him. Typically, Sanji would be upset over a small dust landing on any crevice of the kitchen, but when he sees you with his cum dripping out of you, christening the table, he honestly couldn't care any less.

He leans in once again and attaches his lips to yours, this time in a chaste way. The kiss was pure in contrast to the previous activity you two had, it was a kiss, however, of what's akin to an overdue longing, a longing that was desperate to be released and given by someone specific, and you two were the main target for each other.

He pulled away, his head was placed onto yours as he smiled at you breathlessly.

"Now do you believe me? Now do you believe that I'm madly in love with you?" Sanji whispered, eyes filled with adoration.

Your eyes softened and gleamed as it matches up and mirrored his exact emotions.

"I do... I absolutely do..."

—

Bonus ending:

It was the next day, and Sanji was seen rushed to the kitchen to cook up something for the crew. He woke up slightly later than usual, which Robin and Nami took notice of as they had woken up before the rest of the crew, sitting on the sunbeds by the deck. Sanji greeted them hastily—uncharacteristic of him—with a quick smile and wave as he walked into the kitchen and instantly got into cooking, meanwhile, you showed up moments later...

They took notice of your odd walking, there was a slight wobble to it, seeming as though you were attempting to hide it. Robin and Nami just smirked at each other before looking back at you as you walked up to them.

"Hey, girls!" you beamed as you sat on the empty sunbed next to Robin.

"You seem to be in a lively mood," Robin acknowledged as she looked at the book she was reading, meanwhile Nami lightly chuckled, "Yeah, it's been a minute since I've seen you this cheery," she added.

You simply shrugged and opened your mouth to respond, only for Sanji to come in with drinks at hand.

"While breakfast is getting prepared, I've got you beautiful ladies your drinks," Sanji announced with the tray, beginning to distribute the drinks, and when he got to you, leaned down as he whispered to you "and I made this extra special just for you." He winked as he handed you the drink his hand grazed yours longingly, making you chuckle in timidness.

As Sanji was about to walk away, Nami and Robin respectively began commenting at earshot of his, pretending to be chatting with you.

"I see you and Sanji have made up..."

"Yeah, could've fooled me with that afterglow."

It was like it was purposeful, with Sanji stumbling on his steps and you choking on your drinks, making you cough and Sanji turn red as he ran to the kitchen.

"Robin! How could you?! You made poor (y/n) choke!" Nami feigned offense with a laugh and a slight nudge toward Robin as the dark-haired girl just simply chuckled.

You simply just shook your head as you rolled your eyes with a smile, "I hate you two..."

Your response made the two girls laugh.

characters are owned by oda. i will not tolerate nor accept translation, reposts on other websites, or plagiarism. divider made by mmadeinheavenn.

[ferg0s]

Barou starting a new relationship with a shy girl and how he would go about it

The literal personification of trying to mix oil with water

He was used to everyone looking at him in times of need on the field - he was the king after all - so he didn’t even notice how you would take a step back whenever it came time to ordering food, or any sort of public speaking and interactions.

He naturally took the lead, and you followed suit. Thanking the lord.

He honestly didn’t even notice how shy you were- he just kinda assumed you like hearing him talk. It wasn’t until he passed by an aisle of cute keychains and decided that he wanted to get you one when he realized… he kinda didn’t know anything about you.

I mean he did. He knew your name, your height…. The colour of your eyes…. And hair… and…

“So what do you do?” He asked bluntly as the two of you walked down a park, ice creams in hand. The one he ordered. “What?” “Hobbies? Sports? What do you do in your spare time?” He asked as he looked at you, determined to get an answer. “You know… the usual stuff-“ you awkwardly chuckle. “I don’t know actually.” He was a little shit about it.

But after literally interrogating you for an entire hour, he managed to squeeze out an answer from you. You were completely cornered by him, and you shyly tell him your hobbies. He looks dumbfounded, because to him those are completely normal and healthy hobbies for someone to have. He was starting to think you’re a grave robber by the way you were acting.

Knitting? He will get you the yarn, and parade a scarf you made for him and show all his teammates. Collecting something? He will always be on the lookout for what you like, even going as far as asking his teammates to be on the lookout as well. Video games? He will learn to play your favourite game with you. Cute farming sim? Silent hill? Niche indie game that only 3 people know about? You best bet he will ask for a 4 hour lore deep dive.

Very supportive.

Lwokey will get annoyed at your shyness at one point.

At first he thinks it’s cute, but he’s not the type of person to fully baby anyone, and will force you to order your own meal. He wants the best for you :(

Will say his order and look at you to say yours, watching you stumble on your words as you try to order some fries and a sprite. And will say he’s proud of you after. But doesn’t do it often because he can see the genuine terror in your eyes - only does it even it’s the two of you in line on a slow day.

Slowly learns to accept that you’re passionate in your own way. He’s loud and proud, whereas you like to keep to yourself. In a way he likes that you’re so open with him, that you let him see the stuff you don’t show other people. Thinks it’s adorable.

Will 100% try to make you more comfortable and less shy. You bought a new dress and don’t want to wear it, he will bluntly tell you it looks good and it would be a waste of money not to wear it.

Encourages your fashion choices. Polly pocket platform heels? He loves them. Bold lipstick? He will buy you earring that match. He quietly realized he liked seeing you happy. And you were happiest being yourself.

He’s not a big fan of grossly obvious PDA. Loves holding your hand or when you grab his bicep when you two walk together. You like it because it doesn’t draw unnecessary attention and he likes it cuz you’re always attached next to him and he doesn’t have to worry about actually loosing you. Plus he likes it when you grab his bicep.

Took forever to convince you to come to one of his games. You were too nervous to get into an arena with so many people - said you could come with a group of his teammates girlfriends - but you hated the idea of being with people you didn’t know.

He got really good at spotting you in the crowd. Didn’t matter where you were sitting, he just trained himself to see you. You were too shy to loudly cheer like everyone else, blending into the crowd due to that. But it didn’t matter.

In a weird way. He likes that hes the only one who gets to see you this happy, because hes the same with you. Slowly learning to take his guard down, be more open.

You’re learning to be confident while he’s learning to be trusting.

[platonicyanderereverie]

Can you write yan Childe, Capitano and Arle and a teen reader that they have to train because Tsarirsa sees potential in them to be the next harbinger? Tysm if you write this!

Thank you for your request‼️

Platonic yandere Childe,Capitano and Arlecchino with teen reader!

[Warnings!: none]

The tsaritsa herself had acknowledged your potential, potential tyat could fill in one of the empty seats of her soldiers...whether you chose to go along with it or not, you were personally tasked to one of the harbingers for further training.

Childe

Childe would take on the mantle with little to no protest. Honestly, it’s a good turnout for him—he has a sparring partner now! You’re a bit younger than he would like, but in a way, you remind him of his younger self.

He’s more than willing to spend hours trying to get you to be as versatile as possible. Just like him, he insists you know how to use as many weapons and techniques as possible when you’re training.

As time goes on, your spars and training with him become something he looks forward to dearly, so don’t disappoint him. He grows a tad protective, often “helping” you get patched up (in reality, he does all the work while you sit quietly and don’t protest) after duels.

Expect a good amount of little gifts too. He’s not above bragging about you to anyone who will listen—expect his siblings to know all about you before you’ve even met.

"Pretty good! Your form was a bit off near the end, but overall, a good improvement," he chuckles, his gloved hand finding its way to your hair.

"Tonia sent me some pastries. Let’s go enjoy them together, hm? You can’t become a Harbinger if you’re hungry all the time! Come on!"

Your boots dig into the snow as he rapidly drags you off. Even though he’s very upbeat about any improvement you make, he doesn’t seem willing to let go too soon.

---

Capitano

Capitano takes his assignment very seriously. He’s firm and intimidating at first, but the more time you spend with him, the more you realize how patient he can be with you.

Of course, being trained by the number one Harbinger himself comes with heavy expectations. Capitano is meticulous with what and how he teaches you. War tactics are a particular focus, and you often hear him ramble about them during training.

You’re sure to be exhausted by the end of each day, but if the captain deems your performance satisfactory, you’ll receive a grunt of approval.

The captain feels rather strange about the soft, weak spot you eventually carve into his cold, rotting chest. He maintains a firm exterior, but you’ll notice moments when he offers you advice that seems almost... personal.

Though he won’t show it, Capitano takes quiet pride in your progress. In his eyes, you are destined to become a great Harbinger—a worthy servant of the Tsaritsa alongside him. Do not disappoint.

"You did well," he grunts in his deep tone, the sound ringing smoothly in your ears as he gives your shoulder a small squeeze of approval.

"If you’re still feeling restless... you’re welcome to take a walk with me."

"Your improvement has been satisfactory. At this pace, you’ll serve the Tsaritsa well," he hums as you trail behind him. Despite your legs feeling numb from the cold air biting at your cheeks, you wonder if you’ll ever not feel overwhelmed by his immense presence.

---

Arlecchino

Arlecchino is arguably the most experienced in training someone for the position of Harbinger, given her work with Lyney in preparing him for the role of head of the House of the Hearth.

That being said, your initial interactions with her feel purely transactional. Her training covers a wide range of skills, and you’ll often be deployed on missions alongside other members of the Hearth.

Her evaluations are based on the results of these missions and the head-to-head fights she has with you, during which she carefully analyzes how you implement the tactics she has taught.

Since you’re training to work alongside her, expect words of caution and occasionally thinly veiled complaints about her colleagues.

She’ll be oddly pleased when you bond with the children of the Hearth, as communication and trust are key to her.

"Good. You were quick to dodge that. But remember, in a real fight, there will be no moments for hesitation," she says simply, her heels clicking against the ground as she approaches you.

"As a treat, how about you go aid Lyney and Lynette on a mission? It’s a simple one, really, and you can have the rest of the day to yourself afterward," she says, pausing beside you. Her fingers briefly tap your shoulder as she waits for your response.

[simp4konig]

Self-aware König X Gender-neutral Reader

Word count: ~2800

König slowly comes to the realisation that he was in a game, that he was never real, and that he'll never be with reader.

His sense of self deteriorates as all he wishes for is to escape from the boundaries of his code and be real.

In this instance, ignorance really *was* bliss.

*Slow burn

*König has a mental breakdown at one point lmao

Edit on same day: HOLY SHIT thank u for so many notes!!!!!!!!!!! 🥹🥹💞💞💞💞💞 You guys are so nice 🫣🫣

*Self-aware AU belongs to @puff0o0 !!!🥳🥳 (The girl behind the disguise🥸... Was rthis loser all along!!!!! 😈😈imagine giving permission to 👍THIS 👍idiot to write Ur fic idea lol u made a mistake 💀💀💀ok but idid my best not to ruin their awesome au with this pathetic controbution and jope I honoured it well 😭😭 but fr i had been stalking their profile since the begigning of their self aware! au and ivloved their acc 🥺🥺I love their imagines and how they fulfill the request yet leave enoith for imaginstion !! (which, don't mind if I do🤠all of the König scenarios added tovmy incessant daydreamimg hhhhhhhhh oh no),, and when they followed me I was staring at my phone with the BIGGEST goofy grin on my face 🥹🥹Thank YOU sm!!!!! 🫂MUCH LOVE!!!!!!!!!!💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞

*To anyone waiting (I've gotten such lovely messages from people saying they liked my first fic (which made me so happy as it was the first ever fanfiction I published online🥹🥹)), Part TWO of my first fic is on its way !!!,, I didn't want to make u guys all fluffy 🥰🩷💘✨🤗 inside only to tear your hearts 💔🥀🗡️🗡️😭 in two witj this 😿 dw I promise to reward u guys with another fic and cute himbo (and absolute menace while on the battlefield 👹)König <33, with King X König having more wholesome interactions in the near future!!

If you had told König that he wasn't real, he would have looked at you blankly and said nothing, passing off your suggestion as a joke of sorts that he possibly couldn't understand.

Perhaps if he was ever faced with a situation like this he'd question you about it, but nothing more, and drop the subject at hand.

Honestly, the likelihood of him ever thinking over this twice would have been slim, as he would not pay your philosophy much thought shortly afterwards.

In fact, he believed that his life as a Kortac operator was indeed a real one, and he wore his embroided Austrian flag on his shoulder with something next to pride, always praised for his outstanding efforts by his superiors in the same tone of voice. To König, however, it meant nothing, and he'd only nod his head in an attempt at gratitude, turning his back to the commemoration in indifference.

Despite not remembering anything of his childhood, his upbringing — hell, even any of his past prior to becoming a soldier — König didn't ever think over it too deeply. The overwhelming pressure to make sure missions went without a hitch and constant deployments to foreign countries left no time to reminisce, especially not when his work was so demanding, and it only made sense to him that they were the reason for his forgotten memories.

Besides, even if he had time to spare and be inactive, he had to stay focused, as being an operator meant that he couldn't let any nostalgia or softness distract him from his tasks.

On the battlefield, König worked on autopilot, performing finishing kills with efficiency and with machine-like precision. Reacting quickly to enemies ambushing him from behind or an enemy that was laying on the floor behind the corner waiting to shoot him in the head, he'd eliminate the targets with bullets to spare. Really, he was unstoppable, and he was on a killing streak.

Until he was shot in the head one day.

The moment it happened, the shot was like an explosion that almost obliterated his eardrums, outside noise deafened like his head was underwater. All he could hear was the high-pitched ringing, and it held an uncanny resemblance to the beeping of a heart rate monitor machine that he would never lay next to, dying instead on a bed of cold rubble and broken shrapnel.

Somehow conscious enough to look around, his mind was completely empty, eyes attempting to adjust. What he'd assumed would happen in a time like this was his mind flashing with memories like a movie reel in his last moments, his entire life playing out in his final dying seconds.

Yet he remembered nothing. No Mama, no Papa, no childhood or any his life trials, nothing that had changed him and moulded his character, not even his motive for enlisting into the military in the first place.

The part that was most unnerving about all this was his complete apathy to it all.

Did he even care that he was dying? Shouldn't he at least feel regret at having essentially been the one to pull the trigger, cutting his own life short with the lifestyle he had committed himself to? Why wasn't he scared, sad, even bewildered at the very least, shocked that his life would soon end so unceremoniously? Fuck, not even mild disappointment at least at not even had travelled the world, and failing to ever explore any place besides abandoned buildings housing hostages and terrorist bases swarming with foes? Nothing at all?

Unable to process his situation, König just... laid there, unmoving, while his surroundings moved in double speed. Nondescript figures holding rifles wearing camo and balaclavas blurred in his vision, and he couldn't differentiate the enemy from his own.

Slowly losing consciousness, he felt his world darken around him, dulling his senses to the mayhem unfolding in real time. He'd accepted his fate, and could do nothing about it. That was that. And this was it.

It was a shock to his system when a silhouetted hand pulled him up by the arm limp by his side and shouted in his face, "Get up, soldier! This is no place to die!"

König didn't need to be told twice. He nodded his head robotically, his eyes looking ahead of him with a thousand-yard stare, and not even sparing a glance to the anonymous ally that saved him, he picked up the his gun off the floor and loaded another magazine into it with a satisfying click.

In his delirium, he worked on autopilot after that, shooting at anything that shot at him first. Too much in a daze, he was past the point of realising that the gaping bullet wound had suddenly sealed itself, vanishing entirely and leaving no mark that it was ever there.

After that, König didn't realise that he wasn't real when any injuries still didn't affect him. He assumed that his insensitivity to wounds was a result of a high pain tolerance, and his body healing miraculously was his ability to regenerate fast.

Although he would lay on the ground, his arm outstretched while through gritted teeth shouting: "Scheisse! Ich brauche hier Hilfe! I need some help over here!"; truth be told, he'd only do so when he after getting used to seeing so many bodies writhe in pain like so, and something for some reason told him that it was the right thing to do.

Waking up moments after not far from the spot he supposedly died in a daze, all bullet wounds gone, he didn't have time in the moment to think over the specifics of his death. Maybe he was hallucinating, or remembering things incorrectly.

König began to suspect that something was wrong when he'd hear his operators say the same sentence word for word. He rationalised that the constant shooting that never ceased even late into the night and dangerous missions that left him with far too many close calls put pressure on his mind. This mania amongst soldiers in the military was a common phenomenon after all, so it shouldn't have been as much of a surprise for König when he felt waves of déjà vu at hearing statements he could have sworn were related to him before at one point, and going to infiltrate areas that were vaguely familiar.

At some point, he thought something was REALLY wrong when he was storming a military base with... a sniper rifle.

Time stood still as he inspected the weapon in his hands, eyes wide.

That... was impossible. He had never been a sniper. True, he had wanted to be one from the beginning, yet he had adapted to his role as the main means of assault, always on the offensive rather on the defensive. So then... Why?

Adding to that, his appearance would differ. They were subtle changes at first, yet still noticeable: a red helmet instead of his black; an ochre hood instead of his black veil with its signature red streaks; a sniper camoflauge when that disguise had never been in his possession before; and even a gas mask with a hazmat suit when he had been wearing something else altogether on the helicopter heading towards its destination.

Although König hadn't know it yet, his reality was slowly shattering along the cracks, but he stubbornly fought the gnawing feeling that ate him up from the inside. He had to stay focused, he repeated to himself. No time to ponder when a task was at hand.

"All units ready your weapons, and in position immediately." Through his walkie-talkie, a voice began counting down the time left before the mission would begin. "60 seconds."

König checked all of his gear, making sure that everything was in place and he was fully equipped. A rifle, a side-arm, ammo, grenades, a med kit for an emergency and a knife. "40 seconds."

Looking up into the sky and straight into the sun, he didn't need to cover his sight as his eyes weren't affected by it at all. Yet, his eyes squinted in confusion, sensing that he was seeing something that he wasn't meant to see behind the glowing eye. "20 seconds."

He saw more than an eye. An ear, a nose, then a mouth. A face.

He saw you.

You were looking at him through a screen, holding a controller and waiting to start playing your game.

His reality shattered all at once, and he stumbled on his feet, unable to regain his balance, feeling himself go weak in the knees. He tuned out the all-important seconds through the communication device, unable to compose himself as for the first time ever he struggled to breathe.

Suddenly, all of it made sense.

People telling him the same things and never deviating from the topic of the mission, the reawakenings, the pain insensitivity — all of it was because none of it was never real.

People never branched off into other topics of conversation because their sole existence was limited to a few hand-selected voiceliness and idle animations. With each upgrade and level up, König had gotten praise from from him superiors, which explained how emotionless their announcements always sounded and why they were so constant.

The frequent brushes with death weren't a matter of luck, and instead it was just his entity respawning until a certain condition was met, until either Kortac or Specgru came out victorious — otherwise, he could "die" as many times as it took until the time ran out.

He was unfazed by bullets that grazed him and knives that tore though his flesh as he could physically feel no pain, his very existence artificial, his skin composed of pixels with no human matter hidden beneath them.

And, his inability to trace back to before he was transferred to Kortac was all because it was all he was programmed to know. There was no childhood. There was no Mama or Papa. It was just him in this world, and he had been manufactured, his thoughts and behaviours fabricated.

For a moment, he considered you the creator of his word, his God, and felt forsaken. He wanted to curse you, to snap your neck in his hands and watch your head drop lifelessly in his hold.

Yet it became apparent that you weren't the one behind this realm. Seeing the headphones strapped to your head and the controller held in anticipation in your hands, you were simply indulging in a past time, and weren't to blame for his state in any way. It wasn't your fault that you were unknowingly playing as a König trapped in the game.

You let out a groan of frustration, mashing buttons on your controller in an attempt to get König to move.

"What the fuck is going on?!" You hissed, trying in any way you could to start playing. Checking your router and the game's ping, you saw that your connection was secure, and that there was no reason for König to be frozen in place. "Fucking piece of shit console."

König shook his head, still disbelieving and unable to accept his fictional reality, yet hearing the sound of your voice made everything an even tougher pill to swallow. He had to stay in character. For you; it was the least that he could do.

After the initial lag at the beginning of the match, the game went smoothly and you couldn't find any faults. However, you suddenly noticed that your movements over König improved, moving with more fluidity and suddenly taking less damage than what you would normally use to. Headshot after headshot and kills all of the time poured onto on your screen until you'd find yourself being ganged up by bitter players wanting to ruin your streak as revenge.

Still, you topped the leaderboards with a new personal record that night. 97 kills to 0 deaths flashed on your screen, and you jumped up from your gaming chair, ecstatic, almost knocking it over in the process.

König felt butterflies in his stomach seeing you smile and jump around excitedly, and that's when he had found his purpose.

From that moment on, you became his lifeline. You gave the unfeeling König something to live for, a motive to keep fighting that he hadn't been given when being created in the game — for you and your greater good.

Really, you made him feel things: made him feel alive; made him fight with more passion and determination when your happiness was on the line.

He fell... In love.

The feelings and emotions he felt in his chest chest were genuine, and weren't pre-written in a script or manipulated by a third-party. Even the bullets that would pierce through his gear and leave him on the ground withering in agony was worth it, and he'd exchange his invincibility any day to feel what he felt when he saw your face, and the smile that tugged at your lips when you were revived or got a difficult kill.

His love for you was immortal, and it would persist through generations and could last for a lifetime, and König was almost certain that you could feel all of his energy channelling through your TV.

He found himself lovingly staring at you through the screen, admiring you as if you were an ephemeral being, a beautiful angel, even when your hair was greasy, your old tee had armpit stains and your eyes were bloodshot from how long you had been playing. Really, none of that put König off — if anything, all of those made you so distinctly you, so human.

Yet, König was in love with someone that was practically in another dimension and he would never speak to them, never touch them, never share thoughts and pass the time doing everything and nothing with them. None of that, because he wasn't real.

Had his life improved now they he had grown self-awareness? Had his ignorance really been bliss before his revelation? Perhaps if he had been another NPC that only gained manipulated consciousness whenever the player spawned in the map he wouldn't be so stricken with grief and crouched over in agony, the knuckles on his hands turning white from how fervently he was gripping his mask. He'd hyperventilate off-screen, sometimes the torment being too much.

Being so close to you yet being restricted to his three-dimensional world was bittersweet at the least, and internal suffering at most. His insatiable craving to be with you, and you with him only, fuelled his desperation, and he tried to keep you with him for as long as possible through any means necessary.

When you selected an operator that wasn't König, your game glitched heavily and would even crash whenever you made the mistake of even complimenting their design, and God forbid whenever you tried to play as someone other than him, as your console would near explode.

When you'd boot up a different game on your PlayStation, your loading screen would suddenly transport you back to the one of MW2, König greeting you with a voiceline that he reserved and perfected just for you:

"Welcome back, schatz. I have been waiting for you." Because he treasured you, and you were the only person that he could ever have feelings for.

Perhaps a recent update was fucking up your console, or it was just malfunctiong due to age. Either way, playing on an eight year old PS4 meant it could only run for so long and glitches like this were inevitable, yet you persisted in keeping the console running, not in your budget to afford to upgrade.

You'd search frantically on the internet for any information about the new König voicelines and whether there was any resolution for your problem when playing CoD, something telling you that your game was not functioning in the way that it should.

A thought crossed your mind that König had gone rogue, and you tried to laugh it off. Swallowing thickly, that still didn't relieve the deep pit in your stomach. If anything, the mere idea made it worse for you, and you'd get an intense gut feeling that would make you feel dizzy whenever König would make eyes contact with you and stand there, making you question whether he was acting out of character or not.

His attempts to keep you with him were commendable, yet none of it could change the fact that it would never be anything more than one-sided pining, a deep longing for a person whose world kept spinning while his stopped once you logged off the game, his day ending abruptly and being consumed by darkness.

For now, König had to content himself with being stuck behind a screen. He wished so desperately to be able to touch you, to escape this human generated world that trapped him in these bounds, and to find who he really is when with you. Shrouded in this deep black void, all he could do was wait patiently until you'd boot up the game again.

A hand was placed on his side of the screen longingly, resting it gently on the face on the other side.

Note: this wasn't meant to be so sad ,how did an idea of König popping out from the screen turnvto this 😭😭

[d1xonss]

Could you do a Daryl x reader where at first he doesn’t like her, and she tries to get to know why hes so mean to her? Maybe he yells at her and then some comfort after?

Pretty When I Cry

✧ Pairing : Daryl Dixon x Reader

✧ Era : Season 1

✧ Pronouns : she/her

✧ Genre : Angst/Fluff

✧ Word Count : 4k

AN ~ This is a very cute idea. I've been wanting to write something for season 1 Daryl because he's just such a cutie pie, but I didn't really have any good ideas. Though I think if he were to ever snap and "be mean" it would surely be in the beginning; his sassy era lol. But thank you for the request, hope you enjoy!

In an instant it seemed like, all of humanity was completely flipped upside down. You were on your way to work when the chaos all erupted, dead people coming back to life and the military taking matters into their own hands. Bombing places left and right even if that meant killing the ones who weren’t infected. The entire thing shook you more than you were ever willing to admit, after all, you were more fragile, soft and clearly not built for whatever the world was suddenly turning into.

But to your surprise, you made it out alive. Traumatized, sure, but alive.

You seemed to count your blessings every single day since then, thankful for every little thing that had happened to you since. Luck seemed to shine down upon you as you weren’t alone for long, finding a small group camped out in the high mountains merely days after everything went down. They all welcomed you with open arms, clearly taking a liking to your kindness and wanting as many people to come together as they could get. After all, it’s all that was left of the world. People you could rely on.

You grew to love the tight knit group, forming friendships with people you never would’ve guessed you’d meet in a million years. You also tried to keep yourself busy, wanting to be as useful as possible and provide what you could for the others. Not because you felt obligated to, but because you simply wanted to. Things like cooking, collecting berries and mushrooms, doing laundry, anything you could find to help contribute. 

Something you seemed to be ashamed of however, was that you couldn’t really do any of the “heavy lifting.” You had never fired a gun in your life, that alone narrowed down the list. Not being able to stay on watch, not being able to hunt, and…not being able to take care of the dead things that sometimes wandered all the way up here. At first, the thought of you being weaker than the others never even crossed your mind. It was only brought to your attention when a certain man began to poke fun at you because of how small he saw you.

Merle Dixon was a grade A asshole to put it bluntly. Ever since he and his brother showed up to be a part of the group later on, he had made it his mission to annoy and harass you whenever he saw the opportunity. You couldn’t figure out why you were his main target, his main source of entertainment, but you could only guess it was because he always got under your skin in a way he was able to see. That, and he tended to make you cry. He even gave you a nickname because of it after a while, one that you absolutely hated. And he knew it too.

Although Merle was someone you couldn’t stand, his brother Daryl however was…different. He could still be snappy and hot headed just like the other one you supposed, but he had never acted that way towards you surprisingly. His main target was Shane, and honestly, who could blame him? There were many times where the man would take things too far and Daryl would put him in his place, unaware of the watchful wide eyes that watched the interaction. He never seemed to care, wanting to tell everyone how it was without a single ounce of regret. You sort of envied him for that small little thing.

You had never stood up to anyone in your life, always too scared of the outcome and you hated being yelled at more than anything in the world. So it was safe to say you avoided confrontation at all costs. Clearly, as you hadn’t found the strength to stand up to Merle since he got here. But though neither of the brothers particularly cared for you, you were still kind to them just like you were to everyone else. You didn’t miss how the others in the group would almost look down on them in a way you couldn’t understand, so you wanted to be the one who provided just that little bit of kindness. It really went a long way, or at least that’s what you believed.

Though you had to admit, it was a little difficult sometimes. There were moments where you just wanted to yell in frustration, curse at Merle for how he always treated you and how Daryl typically sat there and did nothing. But you always managed to cool off, reminding yourself that they most likely acted like this because of something from their past. Something they couldn’t control. Who were you to treat them differently because of that? It was hard to stay strong at times, but in the end, you always seemed to send them a small smile.

You currently busied yourself on just the outskirts of the camp past the trees, finding and picking a few berries to bring back seeing as the group was running a bit low. And every bit of food counted these days. Your gaze stayed down as you chose the ripest ones, placing them in the little woven basket you brought to gather as many as you could for the time being. Though upon your hunt for different kinds of plant based things you could eat, your eyes happened to catch a mere glimpse of something colorful a few feet away.

To your surprise, it was a small patch of wildflowers growing together, each a different beautiful color and only a reminder to you that the world wasn’t completely dead. There were still many beautiful aspects along the way, even though a bit of hope may be lost, it was little things like this that brought a smile to your face. So you decided to wrap it up, bring back the things you’d collected along with picking one of the small flowers, putting it behind your ear for now to take back and put in your tent with the rest of your things. You had the idea of pressing it into one of the pages of a journal you kept.

You then found yourself slowly trailing back towards the site, almost dreadfully as you could predict what was coming next. You could practically hear it in the back of your mind like it was burned into your memory. Merle’s phantom voice echoed in your mind, knowing he would most likely call out to you the moment he noticed your presence reenter the space. But again, you reminded yourself to just try and be kind. It was the one thing you were best at.

Slowly but surely you made it past the treeline, and only about eight seconds passed before you heard a loud wolf whistle from your left along with the same booming laugh. Like he amused himself or something.

“There she is!” he called from the space in his and Daryl’s separate camp away from the others, “It’s weeping willow.” he smiled widely in hopes to get a reaction out of you.

You sighed as you sent him a small smile, “Still not my name Merle.” you reminded as you just tried to walk past him.

But it wasn’t that easy. It was never that easy. He easily stepped in front of you to block your path, the smirk still plastered on his face. “Close enough.” he waved off, “Besides, I wanna see what you so kindly brought back for me.” he said before quickly snatching your basket out of your hands.

Your eyes slightly widened as you tried to grab it back, but he pulled it away faster. “Merle.” you huffed as you attempted to reach for it again, but he only moved it away quicker. Every move you made, he would make as well, purposefully keeping it from you as he started to walk backwards for you to follow.

Like dangling a damn carrot in front of your face.

Your frustration grew as you continued to follow and reach for it as he laughed, watching your attempts and fails. You could feel your cheeks beginning to heat up in embarrassment now, sensing Daryl’s eyes watching the interaction as he made a few bolts by the small fire they had set up. He sat there still, doing nothing as per usual as he watched the interaction unfold right in front of him.

“Merle, please. It’s for the group.” you tried as you reached for it again.

But he pulled it out of your reach as you stood face to face, “Well, I’m a part of that group ain’t I? I think I deserve this just as much as the next bastard. Unless of course you have a different opinion bout that…” he trailed off as his smirk grew.

You sighed, “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. It’s for everyone.” you clarified kindly.

The man only laughed at you, and you quickly began to feel the familiar lump forming in your throat, trying desperately to swallow it down and not let your emotions escape. It was obvious you were sensitive, but also having to fight the same fight over and over again, it got old quicker than you would admit. You could hardly stand these interactions anymore without at least tearing up a little at his teasing and taunting.

Finally after having enough, you reached out quickly and managed to snatch the basket back from him in one quick motion, placing it on your arm as your brows furrowed a little in frustration. Merle’s eyes widened a bit at the fast unexpected action, before he started smirking all over again once he caught the expression on your face.

“Oooh look at that. I almost got ya to snap.” he poked as he swayed a little clumsily on his feet, most likely a little drunk or high would be your best guess.

Sighing to yourself again to calm down, you shook your head as you knew of his only goal, “I’m not snapping.” you stated calmly.

Though he clearly didn’t believe you, wanting to push you even more. His eyes traveled away from your eyes as he grinned wickedly, pointing to your ear. “What’s this lil thing?” he asked. Your eyes widened a little, but before you could even react, he quickly snatched it away all while pulling your hair a little in the process. 

Your hand reached again, “Merle, come on, please.” you spoke desperately as you moved to keep up with him, before your frame accidentally stepped a little too far to the left.

In a fit of embarrassment and clumsiness, your foot accidentally knocked over a bucket that was sitting a little too close to the fire. The only problem was, Daryl’s freshly made bolts were sitting in there, now being engulfed in the flames. Your eyes widened in horror as you quickly scrambled back, watching Daryl instantly stand to his feet in an attempt to save what wasn’t ruined. But it was too late.

“Son of a bitch!” he cursed loudly as he bent down to pick up the bucket.

One of your hands came up to your mouth as you couldn’t believe what you had just done, freezing in place as you now didn’t know what to do. You knew you were in deep shit already, but when Merle suddenly paused just as you did, you knew you were royally fucked as the two of you just watched Daryl stare down at the fire motionlessly.

Eventually you found your voice, stepping forward a little to reach out to him, “Oh my God, Daryl I’m so sorry-”

But your words clearly didn’t mean a thing. He slapped your hand harshly away from him as his head snapped up to look at you, a fire of his own growing in his eyes. “What the hell is wrong with ya?!” he screamed.

You instantly flinched back at his sharp tone, the lump once again forming in your throat as you desperately tried to keep yourself together, “It was an accident-”

“Do ya even know how long it took me ta make those?” he asked angrily, not even bothering to wait for an answer. “Nah…course ya don’t. Cause you don’t do anything around here! Always just sittin in yer own little fairytale, smilin without a goddamn care in the world, when in reality you just fuckin ruin everything!”

His words cut through you like a knife. But not one that was sharp. One that was dull, just sawing back and forth relentlessly and hurting you even more than you could’ve ever imagined. Your eyes quickly filled with tears, not even knowing what to say as he was clearly about to blow up even more with how angry he grew. 

He scoffed once he saw how speechless you became, “Just get the hell outta here.” he spat harshly as he got up closer to your face, aggressively pointing off into the trees.

Tears began to pour down your cheeks at the last of his words, not even wasting another second as you dropped the basket from your arms before taking off in the other direction in a flash. Your chest heaved as you moved quickly through the trees, not being able to get alone fast enough so you could finally let everything out. You almost couldn’t believe the things that just happened, how everything got so messed up after you swore you were making progress with the two of them. But you weren’t. And perhaps you never would, that being something you would just have to accept.

Though finally after feeling like you walked quickly for miles, you came to the clearing of the large quarry, slumping down near the water before you began to sob all by yourself. You let everything out, every built up emotion poured out of you like a rush of water. You could’ve sworn you cried so much that you could fill a quarry of your own, knowing that those emotions were really the only thing you were good at. Crying could be an olympic sport, and you would win first everytime given the chance. 

But that thought only got you thinking more, making you stew over Daryl’s words. Maybe he was right. Anyone could say that it was the heat of the moment, his anger, insults just spilling out of his mouth that were simply not true. But in a way, you knew how true they were. You had to admit that you did feel useless as you hugged your knees to your chest, covering your face as you sobbed even more. You didn’t have useful skills like some of the others, not being able to prove yourself as you truly were weak when it came to a world like this. All you ever wanted to do was be kind, provide for the people you cared about most. But your outlook got ruined in an instant, quickly replaced with a new one that you would surely think about forever.

It was funny, you thought. You once heard Merle’s faint voice playing in your mind repeatedly, but now…you only heard Daryl’s. His insults, his harshness, it was something you never would’ve guessed or expected from him. But now you knew that you had just ruined everything, when all you wanted was to help.

You didn’t know how much time you spent alone, crying off and on to yourself the more you allowed your mind to run, but you could only assume it was a fairly long time. The sun was beginning to set in the sky, the little bit of light that was left shone over the water in front of you, making it sparkle as your tears continued to blur the scenery. You sniffled as you wiped your cheeks over and over again, wanting to pull yourself together enough to be able to show your face again back at camp. But the embarrassment was still weighing heavily, almost a crushing pressure.

But then all your attention was pulled to a shuffling noise coming from behind you, causing you to whip your head around in a panic to see where it came from. Though the sight was more surprising than you could’ve ever prepared yourself for. Daryl slowly emerged from the trees with a hesitant look on his face, and your eyes widened as you quickly turned your head back in the opposite direction. You didn’t want to look at him. You couldn’t even bring yourself to understand why he had come out here. He had already done enough, he made his point crystal clear. You were just silently hoping he didn’t come out here to yell at you again.

Daryl on the other hand felt an immense amount of guilt. His chest tightened a little as he caught barely a glimpse of your red, puffy eyes and your tear stained cheeks, knowing he was the cause of it. He couldn’t describe how it made him feel, but all he knew was he was wishing he could take it all back if it meant not having to see you cry. His brother already caused you to break down enough, he didn’t want to be the cause of that too. And yet, he was.

The man slowly walked up to where you sat near the blue water, the rocks crunching beneath his boots louder and louder as he approached. Your heart was hammering in your chest as you just prayed he would go away, not wanting to interact with him after everything. But Daryl was stubborn, and he didn’t want you out here all night just because you were nervous to come back.

“Dinner’s almost ready.” he said a bit awkwardly, stopping just a few feet away from you. You heard him loud and clear, but you said nothing, not really in the mood to eat. Facing the group after they surely heard the scene that went down, it all sounded like a nightmare.

Daryl sighed heavily as you didn’t respond, you didn’t even look in his direction. Acting as if he wasn’t here at all. “Hey.” he called.

“...Why do you hate me?” you whispered, still not facing him as you spoke.

He almost questioned what you had said, but then it seemed to hit him all at once just how badly he had fucked up with all this. The one girl that showed him a kindness he had never seen, now thought he wanted nothing to do with her from the projected words he spat at her.

He let out a soft breath as he closed his eyes momentarily, stepping up a little closer, “I- I don’t…I don’t hate you.” he said quietly.

You didn’t react, so he managed to push himself a little further than what he was comfortable with. He moved to slowly sit down beside you, keeping some distance, yet he wanted you to know he was there. That he meant it. “I don’t hate you.” he said again.

“You act like it.” you were quick to say as you turned your head to look him in the eye, “I…I don’t even know what I did…” you said, your voice quiet and broken.

The man stared at you for a long moment, before slowly shaking his head, “Ya didn’t do nothin…it’s…it’s hard to explain. But I guess I never really understood…why yer so nice. Thought maybe ya just wanted somethin from me…I dunno.”

You shook your head a little in disbelief, “I’m nice because I care…that’s it.” you assured as you didn’t want him to think otherwise. But you supposed hearing his reasoning out loud made a little more sense, seeing as how you truly were the only one nice enough to show your kindness to the brothers. He was skeptical because no one had done that for them before, the thought nearly broke your heart.

A long moment of silence passed between the two of you, before you were the one to break it, “Listen…I’m so sorry about what happened. I didn’t mean to ruin what you worked so hard on, it was an accident.”

Though Daryl quickly shook his head, “Nah, don’t be. If anythin, I should be apologizin for what I said. I…I didn’t mean none of it…”

You stared at him with a soft expression, “But you were right…everything you said-”

“Everything I said was bullshit.” he said bluntly, looking at you with a seriousness in his eyes, “I say a lotta stupid shit I don’t mean when m’ angry, and this ain’t no different, ya hear me?”

“But it’s true.” you argued gently before looking back out into the water, “I don’t know how to help out…how to survive in a world like this. I always try to do what I can, but it’s never enough.”

Daryl paused as he saw the sadness behind your eyes, a sudden feeling overtaking him as he wanted to say or do something that would get you to smile again. “Hey, that ain’t true. Ya go out and scavenge, ya help cook the food that’s brought back…ya even helped stitch Glenn up when the dumbass hurt himself.”

His words caused a small laugh to escape your lips as you looked back over to him, “Well I knew he would somehow mess it up even more if he did it himself…I didn’t have a choice with that one.”

“Nah…ya did.” he said seriously, “Ya always have a choice, and I see ya puttin others before yerself all the time. That’s somethin ya should give yerself credit for.”

Your eyes softened the longer you looked at him, a small smile forming on your face just seeing how much he cared. Even if he wasn’t willing to admit it out loud just yet. “Thank you.” you said quietly.

Daryl felt his face grow a little hot as he ducked his head, clearing his throat a little awkwardly, “Yeah, no problem…” he muttered before it looked like he suddenly remembered something. “Oh, and uh…I brought ya this.” he said before revealing the hand that sat behind his back.

You looked down to see it was the same small flower that Merle took from you, sitting in the palm of his hand as he held it out to you. Your eyes widened a little as your small fingers delicately took it from his grasp. “You got it back?” 

“Uh, no that one was all smushed by the end of…everythin. So I went and got ya a new one…hope that’s okay.” he explained a bit quietly.

Your smile grew as your eyes lit up at the simple kind gesture, one you would have never expected from him. “It’s perfectly okay…thank you.” you said sincerely, raising it up to place it behind your ear.

He nodded a bit awkwardly as he watched you for a moment, chewing the inside of his lip. “Alright, well come on.” he muttered as he stood back up to his feet, “Best be gettin back.” he spoke, hesitantly extending a hand out to help you up.

His actions surprised you a bit, but that didn’t stop you from taking his hand, letting him help you stand before the two of you slowly headed back through the woods. You half expected complete silence as you walked side by side with him, but he managed to keep a conversation with you as if he suddenly enjoyed your company. Though maybe he always did, he was just cautious as he didn’t always trust people as easily as you did. But you were growing more hopeful as he slowly came around, finding you had to be patient to see how much of a gentle person he really was.

From that day on, you and Daryl had slowly gotten more comfortable with each other. You wouldn’t really call it a friendship per se, but it was something the two of you very clearly cherished. But that wasn’t the only thing that seemed to change.

Merle’s attitude toward you seemed to have completely flipped from what you had grown accustomed to. He rarely ever spoke to you again after that day, and if he did it was always something short and simple, not an insult in sight. Though you were a little surprised, a part of you had a feeling who changed his mind about you.

~ Thanks for reading!

[rockatanskette]

So, I've written before about how our relationship with predators would probably intimidate aliens, but I just pictured another way we interact with predators that is honestly just as scary from an outside perspective: we pretend to be predators and even make up new ones, all just for fun.

Now, we also adopt predator patterns for utility: wearing striped makeup for camouflage, imitating roars and bird calls, etc. But I'm specifically talking about the video I just saw from Creature Bionics of creature rigs designed for a human actor to better do motion capture. I'm talking about voice actors and sound designers creating new and terrifying clicks and roars and growls because lions' roars just aren't scary enough. I'm talking about adults dressing up as plush monstrosities to entertain sports fans and children. Gritty is terrifying, objectively.

One day at an early meal, human Janet seems confused when her alien crewmates start asking about a shape-shifting monster that they keep seeing in human culture. They ask her what it's like to live on a world with "dogjons;" animals that can shift from a fan-headed creature with eye-covered wings to an amphibious eel-like figure, humanoid but not human, to a death-pale monstrosity that chases anyone who dares get near its food. Human Janet is confused until they say that the pale figure has eyes in its hands; bloodshot, and glassy.

"Oh, Doug Jones! No, he's not a monster, he's just a really good actor. Too good—the Shape of Water awakened something in me, specifically."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's just say the lady 'mating' with him isn't a horror story, it's a fantasy." Human Janet says, like it's nothing. Then something seems to occur to her, and her eyes brighten with what the aliens are quickly learning is mischief. "Oh my god. Am I the one who gets to explain monster fucking?"

Elsewhere, an alien accompanies xis human friend on a day out with their young. There's some kind of show being put on for human youth and Xlibthar is excited for this insight into how humans get Like That. Imagine xis surprise when the lights go up on the entertainment platform and a horde of creatures rushes up. They are large and bright yellow, with big black eyes as dark as singularities, with bright red spots on their heads that clearly indicate venom. Xlibthar shrieks and shields xisself behind Akio and Hinata, sure that something has gone terribly wrong.

"What are those?!" Xlibthar demands, quaking in xis shoes.

"Those? Oh, they're just Pikachus." Akio does not seem even the slightest bit distressed, and five-year-old Hinata is absolutely losing her mind with excitement at the sight of these garish monstrosities.

"What. On Earth." Because this could only happen on Earth. "Is a Pikachu?"

"It's a Pocket Monster. It's a series about monsters that battle with each-other. Pikachu is a mouse that can shoot electricity out of its body."

Xlibthar stares at Akio, wondering if this is an example of what humans call "gaslighting," because keeping monsters in your pockets sounds too insane even for humans. And, "you bring these things around your CHILDREN??"

"I mean, they're not real." Akio puts his hands over Hinata's ears. "They're just people in costumes. Though Nintendo would never let you see one with its head off."

Xlibthar has many questions: why? What? How? What? But one question has been answered: if this is what entertains human youth, it is exactly why Humans are Like That.