#i had so much fun translating this chapter

[lisutarid-a]

[Gakuen K] Munakata Reisi Route Translation

Mochi Pounding Festival

LIST OF CHAPTERS

[Translation under the cut]

Saya: Happy New Year. Munakata-senpai.

Munakata: Happy New Year! I look forward to working with you again this year.

Munakata: Well, let's go.

Saya: (I can't believe I get to go to Hatsumode with senpai, it's going to be a good year)

Saya: *claps hands* (I wish to get to know Munakata-senpai better)

Saya: What did senpai ask for?

Munakata: Asked for…Rather, I mainly thanked for last year and gave a report.

Saya: (By "mainly," I wonder if he did anything else)

Munakata: And you, what did you ask for?

Saya: Eh! Um…It's a secret.

Munakata: Well, since it's you, I have a general idea. Now, let's go back to the school.

Saya: Yeah. Today is the Mochi Pounding Festival in the courtyard, isn't it? I'm really looking forward to it.

Saya: Happy New Year, Akiyama-senpai.

Munakata: Akiyama-kun, Happy New Year.

Akiyama: Happy New Year. All the members of the Blue club have gathered. Awashima-sensei said she would be a little late.

Munakata: Then, let's get to the mochi pounding.

Yata: This side! Ha! Ha! Ha! That side! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Kamamoto: Yo! Ho! Hey! You're doing great, Yata-san! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Totsuka: As expected, you are a great duo. You in tune with each other.

Kamamoto: Hehe! It's easy!!

Munakata: The Red club…

Mikoto: Yo, Munakata. We started before you.

Munakata: Well, well…The whole Red club. Pounding mochi brings good luck. It can't be helped.

Munakata: But I don't recall giving the Red club permission to use the courtyard…When did you submit the notification?

Mikoto: …We didn't submit it. I thought students were allowed to use school property. Whoever came first won. That's what brings good luck.

Munakata: I see. Originally, you would need permission to use it…That's fine. I'll let it slide this time.

Munakata: Fushimi-kun, let's begin immediately as well.

Fushimi: …Okay. Understood.

Yata: Oi, Saru! Why are you starting next to me?

Fushimi: From the moment we submitted the application for the use permit, it was decided that we would use this place. Why are you the ones starting here?

Yata: The ones who used it first won! You're distracting me, go over there!

Fushimi: Haa? What are you talking about? I'm telling you, we're the ones who have the official permission to use it.

Munakata: I gave them a special exception on what was originally a violation of school rules. …It can't be helped.

Mikoto: Oh, so you want to do it? Whenever you're ready.

Munakata: Yes, however, this time, it will be a mochi pounding competition.

Fushimi: Hmph! Hmph! Why I'm the one making mochi!?

Akiyama: Please do your best, Fushimi-san!

Munakata: Fushimi-kun, keep the rhythm and the fighting spirit - hit, hit, hit.

Fushimi: President, don't just stand and watch, make mochi too, please.

Munakata: Hmm…. I will be participating in the general battle.

Fushimi: Haaa? Since when did you add such a rule! I mean, do we suppose to win!?

Munakata: If you make delicious mochi, we win.

Fushimi: What is that even…?

Yata: Saru makes mochi…We can't lose. Let's go, Kamamoto!

Kamamoto: Yup, Yata-san!

Fushimi: That guy…He wants to compete with me?

Yata: The Red club will definitely win!

Fushimi: Ha! That's unlikely.

Yata: The hell you're talking about, Saru?!

Fushimi: You will never make delicious mochi with your rough way of pounding!

Yata: Haa!? Is there such a thing as a rough way of pounding mochi! Just put some force into it like this…

Yata: Rah!

Kamamoto: Shaaa! Yata-san! That was a good hit!!

Yata: Right!? Hehe. It's a piece of cake for me!

Fushimi: If one is good and the others are not, it's meaningless. Idiot!

Yata: Saru, you bastard!!! I'll never lose to you!!

Fushimi: Sorry, but there's no way you can beat me!!

Saya: It's becoming somewhat of a competition …

Awashima: Ah, the Red club was here too…

Saya: Sensei, what should we do? It's the beginning of the New Year and suddenly it's turned into a fight.

Awashima: It's fine. They are not even using any special abilities.

Awashima: And I don't see the problem with an increase number of delicious mochi.

Saya: I guess so. But still, boys compete with each other in a strange way.

Awashima: That's true. But at that rate, it will be a while before we can eat mochi.

Saya: Yeah…I'm a little hungry.

Awashima: That was good timing. Actually, the teachers made mochi earlier.

Saya: T-Thank you! Whoa…It's full of red bean paste (anko). Thank you for the food.

Saya: Oh, would you like some too, Munakata-senpai? Mochi filled with red bean paste.

Munakata: …Could it be that you are saying this on purpose?

Saya: Eh? On purpose?

Munakata: …Anyway, no thanks.

Saya: Got it.

Saya: (Munakata-senpai looks like he's sulking, but I guess it's just my imagination)

[Prev chapter][Next chapter]

[fluffypotatey]

To be honest I am a huge Nalu shipper. But the thing is I want to know the difference between the way Natsu cares about his guildmates and Lucy. Like what is the obvious difference since that boy sees every as Nakama so how can we say that the wag he cares about Lucy is different?

Like even when Erza passed away? (All the way back in first season there was a segment where the guild was gathered at her grave and all) Natsu was still very reactive. Plus he was also said to be depressed even when Lisanna passed.

What's the difference between all of them and Lucy?

the fact that he stayed. the fact that before he met Lucy, Natsu wasn't one to stay in a group or even want to work with anyone besides Happy at the start of the story. hell, he was ready to just file Lucy down as "New Guildmate" once they reached Fairy Tail

but then, Lucy doesn't leave. she follows him on his mission to save Macao despite her not needing to or even really understanding everything about it. she stays and then fights with him and saves him. it's no secret that Natsu is strong and can take care of himself really well. he's been going on solo missions for years now, and no one has really stopped him, but that means he's been in a lot of sticky situations where he and Happy are on their own and have no backup. and yet, without asking, Lucy offers it

and i think this is the moment when Natsu considers that maybe it's okay to have someone there to have his back (sans Happy)

"but Natsu only needed Lucy for the next quest because of the requirements," well, Natsu also wouldn't have taken or even considered that quest if it weren't for Lucy, yeah? he was not a team player (in the picking job's sense) or really wanted other people to help him on his quests sans Happy. and then he goes and picks a job that caters to their team whilst ensuring that Lucy can't say no

or maybe i'm reading too much into it 🤷🏻‍♀️

or maybe Natsu's got horrible abandonment issues that he will latch onto people so fast (Igneel & Lisanna) but also cause him to distance himself so far when left behind (his 1st time at the guild, Lisanna's death). Erza and Gray are Natsu's closet friends after Lisanna and yet they cannot reach him when he closes himself off. and then we have Lucy, who stuck by and had his back, so who is to say Natsu didn't make some contingencies to ensure whether or not she'd join him?

but maybe it's the rose, colored ship glasses i have on

because yeah, Natsu cares for all of his guildmates. the power of friendship is his biggest motivator. when we meet Natsu, our first introductions of him is defending his guild's reputation from Bora (who was using it as a guise for human trafficking) and saving Macao. and our 1st big arc (Galuna Island), where Natsu adamantly refuses to allow Gray to use Ice Shell and sacrifice himself despite how antagonistic they've been to each other. we get Natsu 100% at Erza's defense throughout the Tower of Heaven and he is even ready to defend Wendy though they only met hours ago

Natsu is a character with a bleeding heart and cannot help but wear it on his sleeve, but we don't really see him allow others to fight his battles or have his back until Lucy comes in. to be honest, i don't even think he had his heart on his sleeve until Lucy. he still has a bleeding heart (i don't think anything could stop that), but he was not ready to be open in receiving company because he was so used to it being ripped away from him

that being said: of all the characters he interacts with, he finds Lucy to be someone compatible enough for him to start going on team missions and inviting her on them (for example, his 1st S-class mission, which he stole, he went to her house to show it to her. the fact that part of the reward was a celestial key might be a coincidence, but i wouldn't doubt it as Natsu and Happy's trump card in case she refused)

but yeah, the difference is that he stayed and didn't push her away at the beginning, but instead continued to invite her along with him to the point that doing a mission without Lucy wasn't his regular anymore. compared to the rest of the guild, of whom he spent most of his childhood with, even if he spoke to no one, they would still be around and talk to him anyway. he might not invite them on job and only challenge them to fights, but the guild is his home and a constant in his life, a constant he needs (bc heavy abandonment issues).

"okay, but he still pushed her away after he watched Igneel die right in front of him. and he left the guild for a whole year, too. so what's the difference there?" you may ask.

so 1) Natsu never thought the guild would disband. he returns to Fiore after a year and is the last to know that they disbanded. he assumed, like all the other times before and while he and others were sealed for 7 years, that Fairy Tail would still be there when he returned. he assumed that his disappearance would not impact so hard because the guild would still be around and Lucy would have the others with her

which, did not happen :)

and like, so many guild members go off on jobs, quests, or even just leave for an indiscriminate amount of time (which i, personally, believe was his rationality for leaving), so him being gone for a year was nothing! right? no harm, eh? his plan was never to be gone forever :))))

2) he just watched his father die and lose any chance of having some semblance of a long term reunion with Igneel. he literally lost one of his main driving motivations for getting stronger and taking jobs. before Fairy Tail, before anyone, it was Igneel. and to learn that a) Igneel was always with him to begin with and b) he only got to see him for less than a day after 14 years of nothing......i would feel lost too ngl

man's needed space from everybody. and he also needed comfort, but Natsu has been shown not to really be the character who asks to receive comfort (and when he does receive it, it's usually when he's already emotionally compromised). he is in the habit of shutting people out after being abandoned or losing someone close to him, with his next rationale being to "get stronger" in order to prevent what happened in the past to ever happen in the future.

anyway

what makes this different? well for one, he sent the letter only to Lucy (or it's implied since no one else is shown getting one) because of how the two spend most of their time together. even the line that goes with the panel makes it sound like Natsu is unsure on how the note will be received (maybe even hesitant? but that could be my own hopes)

and one of the 1st people he reunites with after a year is Lucy and we get such a similar parallel to the first chapter of Fairy Tail between the two as if the narrative itself is slotting them together to say "ah yes, now everything is back to normal and new journeys can begin"

but yeah, this is just a long way of saying, that Natsu does love his friends and guildmates but even when he is close to them, he kept to himself (and Happy) and sort of stayed in their orbit but always with some emotional distance because of his fear of abandonment. and then you have Lucy where he will stay for and allow her to orbit around him and he will invite to new adventures no questions asked

that's the difference

[kyouka-supremacy]

Well.

[s0up1ta]

OKAY FJRST. THE LITTLE DETAILS FROM THEIR CANON DESIGNS/YOUR PERSONAL DESIGNS BECAUSE THEY ARE CANON TO ME TO THE AU

not to be the chip guy but of course he comes first. chibos little beanie instead of the captains hat is SUCH a great touch !! the fact he still has his necklace and his long coat in a different more cover-up-slut approach makes me insaneeeee god he's so. Just like me frfr. you just drew me but if i had long hair and more bastard swagger that's so coolio bro what the freaksauce... ALSO keeping his belt and piercings make me to happy forever and ever but swagever ! Im normal ^_^ WAITTT also the "coverupslut" tits thing is really funny to me obviously he couldn't be walking around like that in the Real World because it's lame and doesn't support his transgender swagger but I really love how you kept his midriff and the teensiest tiniest little bit of a happy trail because he fucking WOULD wouldn't he. he WOULD fucking look like that. and !! speaking of speaking of that his black crop top thing works really well with both his style and his style of dancing which I think is so awesome sauce broski AND THE BLACK NAILS. THATS IMPORTANT can i get you to make something canon for me from one guy to another you're such a good friend and this isn't me buttering you up at all but on a totally separate note did you know you're hot and cool and all your art is amazing and you're talented and smart. could you make it so jay was the one to paint his nails and he complained forever and ever about it he wad so annoyed but he only complained more when the paint started chipping and he forced her to fix it. staring at you with autism eyes Btw

gillion design is so real forever and ever and I'm totally okay about it bro trust. absolutely LOVE the fact he kept his necklace too but instead it's framed as a gift from pretzel and made as a Kandi necklace :〕 it's so sick ANDDD THE WAY HE DRESSES !!! his baggy black tank-top and belt with the pants bro you Get It he fucking. Would look like that humanized wouldn't he. the bracelets and the also black nails (that. And Again, looking at you with begging and pleading autism eyes. jay probably had to act like she was just SO down to do and felt like it for funsies so she could teach pretzel when in reality chibo just begged her because he's a little bitch and really wanted to bond with gillion because he's an idiot and couldn't think of a better way. Also his paint was chipping and he was mildly annoyed) AND !! THE HAIRRRRR holy shit my friend tumblr user and mutual soup s0up1ta im losing my actual goddamn ever-loving mind over the way you drew his dyed hair it's so fucking pretty dude THE COLORRRRSSSSSS THE COLORS IM BEING POSSESED AND TAKEN AWAY. THE VIBRANCY SNATCHED MY SOUL AND GOT ME VAPORIZED LIKE IT WAS DAYBRINGER SOLOMON SAVE THE WORLD AND SUCK EACH OTHER VAMP4VAMP STYLE MY FINAL MESSAGE

Oh my god. And pretzel. soup im losing my fucking MINDDDDD over pretzel i know when you showed me the (theses aren't posted yet. i get to be in the Cool Exclusive Friend Club for. Asecond >:DDD) drawings of her with the biker helmet i lost my shit then but I need to lose it again. i lose that very frequently. The little patches in her jeans and clips in her messy hair and home-made bracelets covering every part of her body that they can and her big fluffy skirts that mimic her frogtopus arms that spread out and her overalls QND THAT ONE DRAWING. WHERE AHE IS PAINTING GILLIONS EYELINER ON IM. SOUP IM SHAKING YOU IM LOSING OT and also. Of course she would like bluey <3

Now onto the actual writing for just a second because I need to ramble on how well you fucking Captured the way it was written so perfectly because like. Holy fuck dude

Tigers being paired with you Definitely is the best possible outcome because you have created something for me to be Insane about. I could picture everything so vividly and i heard that one line where it was him going "I want you. I want you baby" and i just completely saw your drawing of them arms linked and extended and I lost my MINDD soup. spinning in circles and shimmying like a deep sea isopod ruffling up dirt on the seafloor look at me in my dead ass eye holes because i cannot express enough how much I love that. everything in this fic was pictured entirely in your style and I'm so fucking normal about that I promise. i LOVE seeing the little details you move from both cannon jrwi and your designs into the way they're drawing because, and I cannot stress this enough that this is a good thing, they all look like Them. normally with au's it's them slightly off or that's Them just in a different outfit but NOOO dude you got it so perfect. yeah that IS what they would look like that IS how they would dress and act and look and fucking DANCE bro 🗣🗣‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

and finally just wanted to say the writing is sosososo good forever and ever but that's exactly what I would expect from Tigers101 the fnc guy and chip kisser themself alright not surprised in the least. and with the art being as amazing at going with it not nearly surprised it's sof uckign awesome seeing you grow and get more talented as an artist because DUDE !!!!!! HOLY SHIT YOU HAVE GROWNNNN its so awesome man

anyway leave you with this image

because i saw the part where chibo blushed and I pictured him in your style and i nearly whisper-screamed faggot out loud before catching myself because I'm tired <3 thank you for being you and so rad and sweet forever and ever and making the sick ass cool ass shit that you do im sohyped and so happy everytime I get. A message or a tag from you because I KNOWWWWW it means I get something to feast apon and i love it so much. already said it once but it's so nice i say it twice suck each other vamp4vamp style and save da world. my final message

I AM FRAMING THIS AND HANGING IT ON MY WALL FOREVER THANK YOU SO MUCH DUDE AUDHJSJSJDKFBJS 😭😭💕💕💕

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

I just looked at the price on the back of a book I’ve had for a bit over a decade and it was four. fucking. dollars. Just four with no taxes. No extra 97cents or something before taxes. Just a round number that you would add taxes to.

I googled the price of a new edition and it was almost thirteen! Not an even thirteen, it was like 12.96 or something. Close enough that it’s basically thirteen but if you’re adding multiple items together to try and get the price on a purchase with more items it would add more confusion.

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 719: The start of the Inter High qualifiers!!

Pag 5

1: Sorry for the wait, in fifteen minutes, at 10 o' clock, the qualifiers for the Inter High of the prefecture of Chiba, here at the gate before the beach of Kamogawa

2: will start!!

They're here!!

4: Yeah.... sorry, sorry

Pag 6

1: A ra-ra-race, so suddenly!? And what's more, the important qualifiers

Ah- ah- uhm, ah the helmet, the helmet, where is it, teh

Come on, come on, calm down- you're holding it in your left hand

2: I just heard the announcer saying “start”, Kinaka-kun

They're starting, seriously!?

Calm down, it's in fifteen minutes; now it's the tine to line up at the starting line

Let's go, Rokudai

That's why....

3: Sorry for the wait....

4: You seem to be in a hurry, so I brought these, here!!

5: Ka-Ka- Kanzaki-senpai!!

Aj- ah-yes!

Pag 7

1: Thank you so much!! -teh!!

To- to- today we'll work hard until the end of our strengths, thank you so much!!

Yeah... you're so impressive, first years

And.... so nervous

2: Ah- ah-

Ah-

She's my senpai as a “manager”.....

3: You said.... “brought”?

5: The jersey with your number bibs

Waa, waaa, thank you so much, teh

Waaaa

By the way, numbers bibs are are something that's meant to be put on by yourself!!

Pag 8

1: Th- thank you

Hurry, put it.... uhm....

3: Wear them, and run

5: They're the jerseys of the Sohoku's members

Pag 10

1: Hurry up, there's no time

I underestand that nervousness very well, too!!

2: Of course you're nervous, you're running in the qualifiers with the same jersey as them

3: The jersey I.... longed for....

My obejctive.....

4: I can wear it? Me!! Now!!

5: Excuse me!!

Pag 11

1: This.... I'll wear this, and.....

2: run together with Back-gate-slope-senpai....!!

3: I feel so honred.... and I might feel inadequate, but

4: I'll run in the race!!

5: Now, zip it up!!

The magic of that jersey is that it makes you nervous but it also gives you strength!!

Pag 12

1: They're here!!

3: It's Sohoku!!

Pag 13

1: Waaaaa!

It's last year's champions!

The two-times champions!!

They're here, Sohoku!!

Last year's winners, Sohoku High School, arrived at the start line!!

Amazing!

They're not just Chiba's two-times champions, they're national champions!

Incredible!

Sohoku! Sohoku!

Nice!!

2: Kakaka, they got all excited as soon as we get here!!

Thanks a lot, I'm Naruko Shoukichi!!

Naruko!

Redhead!!

3: Thanks a lot, I'll do great today, too!!

Look forward to my flashy running!

That redhead guy is fun!

4: I'm excited

Onodaa!!

Onoda-kun is so cute!!

5: Kashiwahigashi- well, do your best!

Makuhari- don't give up!

Don't just assume we're gonna lose!!

Pag 14

1: We have to breakthrough this race

Yeah

2: Sohokuuu!!

Win!

I mean, of course they'll take the top goal....

Honestly, aren't they unmatched?

Yeah

3:If we lose here, there'll be no Inter High

Winning for sure, no, we never know what's going to happen, that's road racing

4: Yes

Three years ago....

5: Sometimes I remember that day....

Pag 15

1: The qualifiers in Anesaki with Kinjou-san and the other third years

2: The first years are here

3: Finally in third place, Sohoku!!

What did the old man say in the end?

That.... they'll take the finish line, with a difference of one minute....

Can they really do something like that?

4: Catching up.... and even creating a difference of one minute..

Can they really do that?

If they really can....

5: It's overwhelming

6: Sohoku is the top!!

Sohokuu!!

Pag 16

2: Back then, we were first years, and they were so strong and overwhelming that we could only think that our senpais were incredible

3: But I get it now

5: To open such an overwhelming gap

6: They worked so hard to prepare for that

Pag 17

3: That's right!!

4: We spent so much time practicing and thinking about what could happen and preparing for it!!

5: And we also prepared so hard for this

6: Yeah!!

's right!!

Pag 18

1: Let's run with everything we have!!

2: Uh!!

Sohoku's presure got stronger!!

Waa

No, don't run with everything you have!!

3: Let's go!!

4: Yeah!!

Yeah!!

Pag 19

1: This road leads to the Inter High!!

Pag 20

1: The Kamogawa qualifiers for the road racing Inter High

Pag 21

1: Start!!

2: Under the clear blue sky, the ciclysts are all dashing on

There's also a lot of people cheering for our local high school in Kamogawa!!

Kamo..!!

Do your best!!

3: Kashiwahigashi, take it this year!!

Yeah, got it!!

Pag 22

2: Do your beest!

Thaaanks a lot!

There are so many bikes!

So colorful

3: Now, is the parade section over?

Sohoku's Naruko?

4: 'lright

5: Should we go now!!

6: Waaa Naruko jumped ahead at the start!

Sohoku's Naruko!! Isn't that bad news!?

Waaaaa

7: Hahaha, it's alright!!

Huh!?

Pag 23

1: “In road racing, you can't win alone”!! That's the theory!!

We have the numerical advantage! If he's left alone, he'll eventually get exhausted and fall!!

Kashiwahigashi Nomura-san!!

2: I'll show you

3: This is Naruko Shoukichi's flashi riding!!

Like this

Pag 24

1: I'll reach the goal!!

I'll away with the first attack and then win, and make a legend!!

2: No no no, Naruko is definitely bad news!

He'll get away and win on his own, that guy!

Catch him!

Chase him!!

4: Thanks to Naruko-kun, the first half will be easy

Yeah

While Naruko-kun is in the lead, we'll be protected from the wind

6: By the way

Pag 25

1: Kinaka and Rokudai.... until the last moment, they weren't at the start line with us

Ye-yeah

2: I- I'm sure they ran late while getting ready.... and are now hesitant to cut through everyone to come to the front

I guess they're starting from way behind us

3: I don't see them at all

4: Do we leave them behind?

You're so quick to make a decision!!

5: They were too flustered, chosing them was a mistake

Your humor is too dry, Imaizumi-kun!

6: Let's wait for them

We can't do that

Ehhh

7: No, seriously speaking

Pag 26

1: If they can't get here by themselves, then we don't need them

2: This race

3: also serves as the team members selection

Pag 27

3: I.... in the end we ended up at the very end of the line, teh

4: Is Imaizumi-san in the lead?

Pag 28

1: And there are so many people, the density is so different from that of middle school's races!!

Ngh!! I can't get used to this way of riding!!

2: I'm sorry, it's because I took too much time in getting ready, teh

And now you, Kinaka-kun-

3: Whataver, there's no use in talking about it now

Anyway, let's go up to where Onoda-san and the other are!!

4: If we can't get to them

5: Our race ends now!!

[pharawee]

And there we have it. Somewhere along the way all of Din's good intentions turned into this:

This is not (Din's face but more on that next week) the face of a man who wants to protect his loved ones. It's not even about justice. It's about revenge.

Because how is risking your family's lives and threatening your lover and killing three random street thugs in Hong Kong any better than bribery and illegal logging?*

(*NOVEL SPOILERS: And the show actually went out of its way to sanitise Din's actions. In the novel, Din masks up and pays Gun/Fin a visit - where he proceeds to beat him within an inch of his life and severs both of his Achilles tendons because ?? ???)

Look at your life, Din/Lue/Tee, look at your choices. You literally exploded people and sent your spouse a recording of it (I don't get tired of bringing that up because who even does that??).

And I know he had a year to mourn the person he once was because it was necessary (??) to become Cheng Talu (which btw according to the novel also means something like "earth", just like Din does - it's basically the equivalent of Mr Smith changing his identity to Herr Schmidt 🤡) but there's better ways of approaching your traumatised lover than to goad him into reenacting some messed up version of the Piña Colada Song.

Wow, surprise, he hates you now. Well done.

But ok, in his defence, he's manoeuvred himself into a bit of an impossible situation here. He wants, above all, to protect Ken and if for that he has to sacrifice his own happiness then so be it (he's done it before, after all). But also it must be quite frustrating to sever the connection to your past self and want to start anew but all Ken does is look back.

If you were in Din/Lue's shoes wouldn't you wonder if your lover recognised you beyond your appearance? Be it by your actions or your habits or even just your presence?

I guess the weaver girl and cowherd analogy was apt. There might as well be the whole Milky Way between them right now.

Is it any wonder that Ken looks at him like this by the end of the episode:

Imagine the betrayal.

[no1ryomafan]

I love how I have at least 4 wip fics in my docs for getter rn-two are finished but need revisions, the other two aren’t finished-and even though I posted in this tag this month moving forward I should at least focus on finishing most of them especially since one of them was supposed to be a Halloween fic and is a au idea I want to unleash even if it’s not gonna get shit for awhile/if ever but yknow what my fucking brain wants me to write? Ryoma in jail. Even though I don’t have a finalized fucking concept so I don’t know what my BRAIN WANTS.

[amphiptere]

this audiobook is 21h long, it had better be engaging

[otaku553]

Fire (Part 2)

<- (PREV) (NEXT) ->

(Spade Pirate Sabo AU Masterpost)

And that is!! 18 of 18 pages!! It's this long because I didn't want to break up their fight. I hope you enjoy :)

I had to rewrite their fight like,,, 3 times lmao. I'm not very good at writing fights because I'm Incredibly Passive Aggressive and Very Non Confrontational. Thankfully my partner helped me out a bit with making the escalation feel natural, so hopefully their grievances and motivations read well. In the end, both of them are starving probably-emotionally-stunted teenage boys in a high-stress situation, and Tage is being faced constantly with one of the biggest sources of his trauma that he doesn't even remember-- of course he's going to lash out.

Fun thing I learned this time around, if I struggle with planning a chapter, it can kind of help to write it out in prose like I would a fanfic, and then translate it to comic form. This is how I eventually ended up with 18 pages of comic,,, because I can't really estimate how much I'll need to draw when I'm writing in prose. In turn, this did help a lot with adding more natural behaviors between dialogue, like Tage tapping his finger to fidget while crossing his arm, or all of their pointing and gesturing while they're arguing.

[lisutarid-a]

[Gakuen K] Munakata Reisi Route Translation

The Cavalry Battle Horse

LIST OF CHAPTERS

[Translation under the cut]

Saya: (The next The Cavalry Battle is the final event of the sport festival…It's a special club competition, so it's going to be an intense battle)

Saya: It's frustrating that the girls can't participate in the cavalry battle…Good luck!

Fushimi: Well, we'll just play the game the appropriate way.

Saya: (Eh… Munakata-senpai is not here. Where did he go?)

Kukuri: The main events of the Sports Festival, as well as the special club inter-competition, has finally reached its final event, the cavalry battle!

Kukuri: At the moment the leaders are the Blue and Red clubs, but after a seesaw battle, the score is tied 200 to 200!

Kukuri: In substance, it is a summit showdown between the Blue and Red clubs. We expect a he-eated battle between the Heads of the Blue and Red clubs!

Kukuri: Now, the representative of the Silver Club who left the game early, Neko-chan and Shiro-kun as commentators, who do you think will win this game?

Neko: Wagahai is hungry…

Shiro: No-no, you just had a meal a while ago.

Neko: Then, if you're hungry, you win first prize. So Wagahai wins!

Shiro: In other words, I think the one who works hard enough to get hungry will win!

Kukuri: Thanks for your comments! Okay, so the remarkable competition is starting…now!

Kukuri: O-Oh, here comes the horseman who breaks the rules!

Saya: E…Eeeeh!?

Munakata: Thank you for waiting. Well then, let's get started, shall we?

Yata: What the hell is that!? Why are you entering on a horse!?

Yata: T-This is so…cool, isn't it!!!!?

Kamamoto: Yata-san! Isn't that a foul play!? Right!?

Totsuka: Eh, I lo-ove it~! I want to ride a horse too!

Kamamoto: Hey! Even Totsuka-san! That's a foul! Come on, Yata-san, please come to your senses!

Yata: Ha! That's bad, I shouldn't have been so careless, I almost let the guys from the Blue club get the better of me!

Kamamoto: The Blue club didn't do anything to get the better on you, though…

Yata: You blues are going to lose by foul play for bringing that horse!! What a pity!

Fushimi: Tsk…I'm told it's a foul thing to do.

Munakata: The rule is to take the opponent's bowl while riding a horse, that's all. I don't see any problem.

Fushimi: …You heard that. Do you feel pity now, Misaki?

Yata: Damn Saru…!!

Mikoto: …Ha, looks interesting, doesn't it?

Yata: E-Eeeh!? What are you saying, Mikoto-san?!

Totsuka: Ah, it looks like somebody's got turned on. I guess it's okay to start.

Munakata: Well then, here we go!

Mikoto: …Come on! Munakata!!

Munakata: Suoh! I'm coming!

Kukuri: Thanks for your hard work today. It ended up being a draw, but it was very exciting.

Saya: That's right. It was really fun.

Kukuri: I was not able to follow the program and was so thrilled.

Kukuri: Kukuri-chan's live commentary was really cool. It was like watching TV!

Kukuri: Hehehe, thanks! I don't know why I was chosen to be an assistant. But I had a lot of fun myself.

Saya: Ah, I got a call. See you later!

Kukuri: Uhm, see you later~!

Saya: (I guess I'm done cleaning up here…)

Munakata: Konohana-kun, thank you for your hard work.

Saya: Senpai! Thanks for your hard work. The cavalry battle was really awesome!

Saya: I didn't expect to see you coming out on a real horse. I think everyone was surprised!

Munakata: Fufu, thank you very much. The preparation was worth it.

Saya: You look like you're pretty good with horses, are senpai good at horse riding?

Munakata: I don't know if I can say I'm good at it, but I like to ride it from time to time.

Saya: (Ehh…! I didn't know they ride horses sometimes, that's so elegant and cool)

Munakata: Well, have you finished cleaning up?

Saya: Yeah. I'm done here.

Munakata: Well, would you mind helping me over there?

Saya: Got it! I'm going.

Munakata: Fufu, that's a good reply. I'm looking forward to working with you.

[Prev chapter][Next chapter]

[lheesluv]

One Night Stand (l.hs)

Having the time of your night, you get tipsy and hook up with a stranger who later find out is your brother’s best friend.

PAIRINGS — brother’s bsf!heeseung x fem!reader

GENRE — brother’s best friend, one night stand, smut

WARNINGS — smut (mdni), p in v, protected sex, alcohol, everyone is 20+, lmk if i missed anything!

WC — 0.6k

A/N — hey guys! if this seems familiar, it’s the first chapter to my wattpad series “My Secret Lover.” if you wanna know what happens next, go check it out at lheesluv on wattpad.

© All rights reserved lheesluv 01/04/25 do not copy, repost, or translate.

Blurry vision. That was all you were able to see. You had no idea how many drinks you drank tonight, but you didn't care. You were having fun. You lost your friends in the huge crowd so you stumbled your way to the crowd of people dancing.

You didn't know how long you've been dancing for but before you knew it, you were dancing with someone who had an addicting scent. Before you knew it, your arms were wrapped around his neck and his arms snaked around your waist. Before you knew it, you felt the tension grow between the two of you. And before you knew it, your mind was clouded with this euphoric feeling as you felt the pleasure flow throughout your body.

Your fingers tightened their grip on the bed linens as your head threw back. Whimpers and whines left your parted lips. You felt different sensations as you heard his groans and growls. Every second, his hips would make contact with you. His thrusts were never faltering and intensified. Profanities would leave your lips every now and then.

"S-Shit," you slipped out, not knowing his name. He got close to your ear and whispered, "The name's Heeseung, darling." You just knew he had a smirk on his lips but you soon forgot about that thought when he took you in another position.

"Fuck, Heeseung." You gasped out at the new position, your hands that were once gripping the sheets now clutching onto his biceps. "Oh, s-shit moan my name like that." He moans at the feeling of your walls clenching around him. He keeps his pace fast, causing the sound of skin clapping to bounce on the four walls.

The sound of your whimpers, the heavy breathing, the skin clapping, the wet noises turned him on so much. He grabs your waist tightly and pounds into you, the tip of his head hitting your right spots in every way. "O-oh my god— fuck, you're so good," you cried out, digging your nails into his broad back. You felt him smirking against your neck as he left wet kisses on it.

Your face scrunches into a lewd face as your back arches for the overwhelming pleasure. He had you trembling beneath him. "Fuck," Heeseung groans under his breath, enjoying the sight beneath him.

He felt you tighten your walls around him, making him grunt. "H-Heeseung, I-I'm—" "I know," he breathes heavily as he speeds up his thrusts. "P-Please," you cried out, gripping the sheets tightly. You felt his cock drag against your walls and the thought of it was about to make you combust and you released with a high-pitched scream.

The amount of times you kept clenching around him made him go insane. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, cum. Cum all over my dick," Heeseung growls, releasing his hot load in the condom.

He slowly thrusted in your wet dripping heat to ride out your high. He dropped his body beside yours, the room filled with heavy breathing from the both of you, the room smelling like sex. Before you knew it, you passed out from the exhausting activity.

You woke up with the sunlight shining in your eyes. You groaned as you sat up on the bed, feeling a headache hit your head from drinking last night. Memories from last night's party hit you, making you look around the room—clothes on the floor. You, naked. But the guy, he's gone.

You got dressed and walked out of the house, seeing bodies sleeping everywhere. "Well that was one hell of a one-night stand," you thought to yourself as you got in your car and drove back home — clueless to what awaits for you.

[pathologicalreid]

hii!! its me again!! please could i request another spencer reid x female!reader where spence is just reading a book and minding his own business, and then the reader comes along and wants his attention bc she's feeling a bit needy, so she starts bugging him to get his attention and its just really fluffy and ends up being really cute :)) thank you!!

attention | S.R.

in which you attempt to get your boyfriends attention

who? spencer reid x fem!reader

category: fluff! tooth rotting sweet fluff!

content warnings: defined relationship, anna karenina, idk its just fluffy

word count: 569

a/n: howdy! thank you so much for the request!!!!! this was fun and sweet to write. i hope you enjoy <333

He was sitting on the couch, his nose buried in a book. Spencer wasn’t purposely ignoring you, but his reread of Anna Karenina held all of his attention.

You were sat in the reading chair, a novel open in your hand, but at some point, your eyes had wandered from the ink to your boyfriend. In your defense, he had just been in Oregon on a case for a week, and this was the first time you’d seen him since.

Tilting your head to the side, you looked at him, “Spence?” You whispered, not wanting to interrupt him, and hoping he would look at you when he finished his page or chapter.

He didn’t budge. He kept his hand covering his mouth and every once in a while, his lips would move as he read. Realistically, you knew that he would be done reading the entire novel within an hour or two, but books be damned, you had missed him.

“Spence?” You tried again, tucking your bookmark in your book, and setting it on the side table. “Spencer,” you called his name in a sing-song voice.

Like Excalibur from the stone, he stayed put. You couldn’t help but smile at him, because you had always been fascinated by his ability to get lost in a novel, let alone a novel he’s read countless times before.

Giving it a rest, you got up, refilled your glass of water, and sat back down at the opposite end of the couch he was reading on.

Spencer reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, giving you hope that his attention was off the book, but he just went back to the book, never even lifting his eyes from the pages.

You set your water down on the coffee table before turning to face him again, the leather of the couch was cold even through the fabric of your clothes. Instinctively, you moved closer to Spencer, who radiated heat like a furnace during all four seasons.

He adjusted so that his legs were more extended across the couch and kept the book at eye level.

Sighing, you said his name again before resorting to slightly more extreme measures. Making your way across the couch so that you could poke your head through the slot between the book and his body. Acknowledging you, he hummed and gave you a dopey smile. “Hey,” He murmured against your lips when you leaned forward to kiss him.

Feeling accomplished, you laid down next to him and settled your cheek on his chest, “Hi, Spence.”

Spencer moved his arms so one was holding the book up and the other was lazily scratching up and down your back, “Do you want to get dinner later?” He whispered lowly like he was in a library. Really, in his apartment that wasn’t much of reach.

You nodded against the fabric of his sweater, “Yeah.” You peeked at his book, “Are you reading Anna Karenina in the original Russian?”

He hummed, “I read a translated version on the flight home, I want to compare the two versions and see… Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I think you’re perfect,” you whispered before setting your head back on his chest. “Continue reading, I’m good here,” you said, closing your eyes, intent on taking a nap.

Spencer pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of your head, “You’re perfect.”

[silvergreenseraphim]

“Obedient Soldier”

[A phrase uttered by Sephiroth in Scene 07-06. As this line indicates, Sephiroth in BC (Before Crisis) was regularly obedient to orders, such as defending the Mako canon and protecting Hojo. Therefore, Shinra valued the worth of Sephiroth's loyalty and treated him like a hero.]

-Keyword Collection, CC Complete Guide, p. 285

“Until then, I will be an obedient soldier of Shinra…”

He uses the term “従順な“ which is described above. He willfully submits himself to Shinra’s authority regularly in spite of inner turmoil and reluctance much of the time.

I see more of this with every update in The First Soldier. Sephiroth calls it his only job. You would say then “Yes, and he is paid for it and treated like a hero! That is why he obeys!”

First. Where is this interest in money? And who is to say he receives it? He was raised and trained by Shinra from his boyhood days. His lack of interest in money is said clearly.

Angeal might have partially misjudged him for it too in chapter one of episode 2 when Bachman asked Sephiroth’s opinion on the situation in Robio:

Sephiroth: “Search for the missing troops. Don’t interfere with the filming. Anything else is not my job.”

Angeal: “You’re a stingy guy.”

Sephiroth: “What?”

Angeal: ”There’s no harm in experiencing things. Don’t just consider profit gain and loss.”

Sephiroth: “That’s not the reason.”

Angeal: “Then tell me what it is.”

Sephiroth: “….”

(Japanese translation) (*Note about the nuance here at the bottom of the post!)

There is another reason Sephiroth focuses so narrowly on his job but he does not want to state it. He does not want to explain why he focuses on nothing else. Why?

His disinterest in money itself was more obviously stated in episode one:

Matt: “We'll have to talk about the distribution of the reward money… fortunately, he (Sephiroth) doesn't seem to care about money.”

Money is not the reason for Sephiroth’s loyalty to Shinra then. You might then say it’s because they treated him as a hero! Like as it was said in the Guide, they valued his loyalty and dealt with him as a hero. But where is it stated that Sephiroth wants that either? No, it is the opposite.

Sephiroth: ”I don’t want to be a hero. I want to live a normal life…”

Glenn: “What did you say?”

Sephiroth: “Nothing. It’s never going to happen.”

But Sephiroth! Since you are a hero, Shinra must spoil you and treat you well? They must give you so much! Is that why you stay with that defeated resignation?

Perhaps you have authority and respect within the military! The fandom has always called him the General….

Ignore that you see the cameras he hates, the false propaganda he knows about, his low sense of self-worth, how he sees himself as a cyborg killer that does not deserve friends. He never experienced the sensation of joy and fun with others until he met Glenn’s team. Ignore that he was trained to be afraid and heartless. Forget that he has memories of Hojo’s pain and training.

And authority?

“Very sorry. We cannot follow orders from others outside of the normal chain of command.”

These are just infantrymen.

Sephiroth’s ability to refuse orders in Crisis Core was also an unofficial privilege that existed under Lazard’s generous command. If it were Heidegger, no privilege like that would have existed and Sephiroth would have had to kill Genesis and Angeal in Banora. Lazard, a man already disloyal to Shinra, had to be in command for that point in Crisis Core to exist.

“Also, there may or may not be a right to veto orders...It seems to be just unofficial though..”

-Kunsel to Zack, CC DMW flashback

Angeal Hewley is also made team leader over “Shinra’s hero” in episode 2 of The First Soldier. Years later Angeal still gives orders to Sephiroth that the hero follows. Sephiroth’s authority inside Shinra is not like a general or even a captain.

Not that then. Perhaps you are living a lavish lifestyle, hero?

….ah, but do I even need to explain why this one is nonsense when this boy was isolated and brought up by Hojo?

”Mom? Why are you in my bedroom?”

-Sephiroth, chapter one, The First Soldier Episode 2, Japanese.

A lab cell near to where Aerith and Ifalna were held as prisoners?

“I’ve never had many opportunities to interact with people.”

-Sephiroth, chapter five, The First Soldier Episode 1, Japanese.

He would not have in the environment Hojo gave him.

“I am a SOLDIER that was raised to stand on the battlefield. SOLDIERs are worthless unless they are strong in body and mind.”

-Sephiroth, chapter five, The First Soldier Episode 1, Japanese.

“You and I grew up in different worlds. The day we understand each other will never come.”

-Sephiroth to Angeal, chapter one, The First Soldier Episode 2, Japanese.

Hojo is who raised him like this! In isolation and cruelty!

“I am the only one who can speak to Professor Hojo freely at any time, who researches the limits of our SOLDIER abilities…”

-Sephiroth to Angeal, chapter one, The First Soldier Episode 2, Japanese.

Did that Halloween event not show us the deeper horror beneath these other horrors? And who they were connected to?

Hojo: “Endure the pain, Sephiroth. You’re not at your limit yet. The more you endure, the more of your hidden strength will awaken.”

Glenn: Hey! Hang in there!

Sephiroth: “I’m sorry. I was suddenly in a lot of pain, but I’m alright now.”

Glenn: “Don’t be so strong!! Rest! Rest! Don’t push yourself so hard just because you’re the team leader!! Just relax!

Sephiroth: “….I’ve never heard anything like that before. It’s just the reverse of what the professor said…”

(Japanese translation)

Who would have ingrained such deep loyalty into the world’s strongest SOLDIER so well other than his father Hojo? Sephiroth does not speak of leaving Shinra until he is close to 25 years. He was shaken when Elfe questioned why he fought and if it was for any reason. He responds to a command from his friend Genesis on immediate instinct.

He is conditioned. That is why he was an obedient soldier to Shinra and why he stayed with them even when he hated his life. He was afraid. Of them and of Hojo!

The First Soldier will only keep showing this. Sephiroth’s friends were his chain to mental stability. When they left and died, he became vulnerable again and Nibelheim was timed just right. How much grief and anger must he have felt learning about how deep the use of his body and mind had gone? Enough to hate Shinra and soon everything.

Shinra is run by greedy pigs who have their dogs and sheep. They have their SOLDIER recruits, their Turks, their Deepground prisoners, their clueless employees. You will find that among these pawns, there are many who try to leave or question the power keeping them in check and that is because Shinra was not so careful enough to condition and lie to them.

They were careful with Sephiroth though because disloyalty from him would be so dangerous. The story shows this well enough.

Out of all of their abused pawns and attack dogs, Sephiroth was the one chosen to be exploited in front of the world and decorated in hero’s ribbons to cover up the scars. He was lied to about the depth of his abuse and given false hope in his two dear friends. He was trying to claw his way to the light and find himself so that he could be a real hero and protect others but there was no hope for such things. His cage was gilded and when he became aware of it, that boy’s heart was filled with sadness and then anger and then hatred.

His life was DESTROYED by Shinra from the start. His loyalty was sown into him mostly by Hojo. This new episode of The First Soldier has brought this truth further to the light and I do not think it was will stop.

Thank you to those who helped me with this post in DMs!

Notes:

*Angeal’s words in chapter one of FS Episode 2 about Sephiroth’s “stinginess” do have a nuance that I do not want to ignore. He can be talking about money gain/loss but also a whole mindset! His words are broadly referring to a narrow-minded and “Scrooge-ish” view of things where there is not much room for anything outside of Sephiroth’s thin focus. That thin focus is Sephiroth’s assignment and the gain of completing it, which could include profit from Angeal’s perspective and would be a reason to complete a mission if we remember his scene with his parents where that is a discussion. The point is to say that Angeal is not only talking about money, but for this post I focused on that aspect of it because of Sephiroth’s response against the entire assumption and his formerly mentioned lack of interest in money.

[chleem]

Flashing lights prologue

Series; actor Drew x actress reader

Summary: Drew gets involved in the worst scandal of his career. One way to solve it? Proving to the whole world that he’s the sweetest lover to exist. Who better to help than the one person he can’t stand? You, an A class actress with an alcohol addiction. So, will Drew clear up his reputation, or leave with a bigger mess to clean up?

Genre: fake dating, enemies to lovers(?, slow burn, angst, smut,

Warning: mentions of alcohol, swearing, mentions of k!lling oneself, mentions of rape & sa, mentions of drug usage, smoking & vaping, (read at own caution

⋆.˚ please dont copy/translate my work!

⋆.˚ this is entirely fictional, if uncomfortable then don't read

♡⸝⸝ chapter 1 | index

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Talk about a scandal. 

‘Drew Starkey, rising star from OBX, impregnates girl and refuses to take responsibility.’ ‘Drew Starkey impregnates girl and forces her for an abortion.’ ‘All to know about OBX star that SA a girl.’

Even an interview starring a random girl that claims to be pregnant with Drew’s child. 

If Drew knew going to the club a week ago would cause such big damage to his career, he would have never stop foot in there. But being stubborn and a sucker for fun, he just needed the relaxation that clubbing would offer. 

His PR manager Henry, who Drew’s only sees once a year, is surprisingly quiet. He sits across Drew, staring at his laptop. His typing makes up for the quiet and tense (at least for Drew) atmosphere in his manager’s office. 

“I’m sorry,” Drew starts, genuinely, his eyes shifting between his manager Jeff and Henry. “Look, I don’t know who that woman is. She’s lying, alright? I didn’t even talk to any strangers last night. Just my friends. And I was careful with how much I drank-”

“Calm down, we didn’t accuse you of it,” Jeff chuckles, also surprisingly calm and not scolding Drew. Normally, Jeff would scold Drew so hard that it took Drew back to the days of being coached by his dad. “I’ve worked with you for almost ten years, I know you wouldn’t do that.”

Hold up. Was this a dream? He fucked up real bad, why were his managers so forgiving? So… calm? This felt way too strange. They should be furious right now, thinking of a solution and threatening to kill Drew. So why were they so gentle with this situation?

Drew adjusts his hat, pocking his tongue against his cheek. Without thinking, he simply says, “What?”

Jeff glances at Henry, who nods, looking up from his laptop. Drew furrows his eyebrows at Jeff, who simply looks away as Henry starts. “Fine, Drew. We’re all fucking pissed at your mistake. Do you know how many sponsors have asked to break up your contract? Even after we’ve came up with a clean statement? For fuck’s sake, Drew. You’re fucking thirty now, and you still act like a fucking child!”

Drew licks his lips looking away. Okay, this was the Henry he saw yelling at other artists, and what he expected when he walked into the office this morning. But now that he was yelling at him, it felt horrible still. After all, who likes to be yelled at? 

“I’ve had to pull multiple strings to help you, to clear your name up. So you better hope this is your last mistake,” Henry continues. 

Drew couldn’t help but ask, “what did you do?”

“We’ve come up with a plan,” Henry says, walking over to the printer. He grabs the paper, taking a quick look before placing it on the table in front of Drew.

Drew’s eyebrows furrow, sensing something really strange. 

And he was right. On the top of the paper, it read, “Fake dating Proposal.”

What the fuck. He reads through the first sentence in his head, with widen eyes, “In order to save Drew Starkey’s career, he must conduct a year-long fake relationship with Y/n Y/l/n.”

He falls back in his seat. “You’re not fucking serious. This is the strings you had to pull? This is fucking ridiculous! How is this-“

“Drew!” Jeff yells, making him shut up. His face was slightly red, sweat dripping down his forehead. “Drew, trust us. We wouldn’t cause more harm. This, this will save your career, save you.”

“but out of anyone-“ Drew adjusts his hat once again. “Out of anyone, and you chose her?”

“She’s the best choice of right now, and the only one who even agreed. Drew. You’re not in the place of choosing. You sign, and you accept it. Or it’s the end.”

He couldn’t believe himself right now. Literally. Out of every solution, every person, it had to be you. You, the one person he can’t stand. You, the one person that gets him worked up and annoyed. It was like the end of the world for him. 

Worse, his manager seems to agree with this solution. As if he doesn’t know how much Drew despises you. Jeff places the pen next to Drew. “I hate to say this, but Drew, you’re screwed unless you do this. We see the vision, and in a few years, you’ll see it too. Just, just treat this as another acting class, okay?”

Do I have a choice anyways, he thinks. Drew rubs his face in annoyance. Fuck. Damn you and damn himself. Getting into this stupid situation in the first place. 

He looks at the contract again. Sees your name again. And his head hurts a thousand times worse than a hangover. 

He reads through the contract terms, cringing at it. 

‘Must show up at five or more public evens together.’

‘Must show PDA at public events, such as touching, holding hands, kissing etc.’

‘Y/n Y/l/n must talk sweetly about Drew Starkey, and steer away any negative comments.’

‘During the course of this fake-relationship, being seen with any other costar of the opposite sex is forbidden.’

Much more was listed, at least twenty terms were on this contract alone. So this is the real thing. 

And at the bottom, Drew sees what was offered. Wow. You get offered millions of dollars, while all Drew receives is a clear to his scandal. 

He should at least get half the amount you’re earning, considering that he has to put up with you. “How can she get so much cash?” Drew asks, curiosity killing him. 

“Because she’s got nothing to gain from being with you,” Jeff states matter-of-factly, that hurt Drew’s ego more than it should have. He also noticed how much money this was, almost all the money he earned from acting in OBX. Wow. So not only were you a moody bitch, but a greedy one as well. 

Drew rubs his eyes aggressively, a frustrated yawn coming out. He so is going to regret this. The worst decision he ever has to make. 

You better be the savior to his career, or he was going to kill himself. 

Drew signs, pushing the paper away as if it had some kind of disease. 

Henry forces a smile, grabbing the paper. Drew gets ready to leave, but Henry stops him. “Where are you going?”

“Home. I- that was enough for me.”

“No, no. You’re going to Y/n’s filming set.”

“What?”

“Yes, you heard me. Her manager gave the green light, so you’re going.”

“Fuck, it’s only like, a minute since I signed.”

“Hey, I’m saving you right now,” Henry says. “Now, you want your sponsors back or not?”

Drew curses under his breath, never wanting to punch a wall as much as right now. “Fine. I'll go. But I can’t promise that I’m hugging or touching her or anything. She’s a complete stranger to me.”

“We just need a couple of photos to leak out,” Jeff says, grabbing his jacket. “I’ll drive you there.”

“Fucking hate you Jeff,” Drew says, walking out the office. “Henry you asshole.”

Either his managers heard and said whatever, or they didn’t care. But cursing at people who's helping him ‘save’ his career was the least of his worries. His head is just consumed with meeting you again, the brattiest bitch he's ever known.

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

word count: 1.2k

ִ ࣪𖤐 a/n: i'm sooo happy for the support and how much people liked the teaser! i was giggling seeing the reblogs and likes.

anyways, thought i should release a prologue first, to give drew's pov of this situation. apologies in advance for y/n's character and anyone who can't handle her! but i'm so excited for you guys to read ch1, which will be released later this week! like or comment to show support, really appreciate it <3

other | index | ch1

[eureka-its-zico]

Chaos in Their Bones Ch. 2

Ongoing Series

Synopsis: All your life you’d listened to your friend, Usopp spin wild tales about pirates and adventure. Pirates weren’t a thing that came often to Syrup Village, but one straw hat pirate and his crew changed all that the day they arrived. Now, you aren’t so sure if your sleepy little village was always pirate-free or if no one had been paying attention. 

Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x Reader

Genre: friends to lovers, frenemies to lovers, slow burn (I hope y’all like aching) eventual smut

Words: 6k+

A/N: For this chapter, I played with the idea of having Zoro’s POV. It felt necessary for the story progression that I had in mind. This chapter was a tad fun to write, and I hope that translated well into the story. Originally it was going to be longer, but I realized I wanted to save the dinner to go with all the action to end the Episode 3-4 story arc. Thank you guys so much for the love you’ve given this little story. I hope it continues to be one you enjoy 🖤 Much Love, Jenn

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This place is a maze. 

That thought rang true with every hallway you entered and the endless number of rooms within. With every step you took inside Kaya’s large estate, those words kept echoing through your head. How many guest suites could one house possibly hold? But also, why would you ever need so many?

You’d been wandering the halls for what felt like an eternity. Your head poked into each room after a brief knock. Yes, a brief knock before plunging head-first into someone’s private space wasn’t much of a warning but at least you were knocking. 

And all of this just to find Zoro who may or may not help you expose whatever metaphorical skeletons this butler had stuffed in his metaphorical closet. Or an actual closet. The possibilities felt endless. 

You weren’t even sure how you were going to explain to him exactly why you were searching for him without sounding like a creep. You would just have to cross that bridge when you came to it. 

You were about to give up trying to locate him because you were pretty sure you’d just passed that same exact clock for the second time in a row. You let out a raspberry as you placed your hands on your hips. Was it plausible you were lost? Inside a ginormous house like this? Yes, it sure as shit was. Maybe you should’ve been dropping breadcrumbs to find your way back to your own room when this was over. 

Rolling your tongue around your mouth, you looked down to your right and realized there were only two more doors left. What could it hurt just to look? You were already down here anyway. 

With a shrug, you moved towards the second to last door near the end of the hall. You weren’t in a rush to check what was behind either one, but you were also not leaving any stone unturned and all that. If your earlier dozen room checks were any indication of what to expect, you were willing to bet that you were going to find absolutely nothing waiting for you. The joy of joys. 

You were just a few feet from the door when you heard the lock click. The sound caused you to stop dead center, facing the door like an absolutely terrified rabbit caught in the headlights. What were the chances that whoever opened that door was going to be Zoro? And what were the chances that he would be willing to listen to what you had to say? 

The possibility of your questions being answered ebbed the panic in your chest down just a tad. Enough that when the door finally opened and Zoro was, in fact, standing before you, you silently thanked the universe for your suddenly award-winning luck. 

That was until you realized he was just standing there. In a robe. A silk robe with his swords slung over his shoulder and because of his current hold on his swords, said robe in question was flashing a peak of his chest. You immediately wanted to take back your previous thank you letter to the universe. 

This should be illegal. 

The worst part? You were pretty positive from the way Zoro was staring at you - his eyes taking you in from top to bottom lord HELP you - he did not seem as impressed with you as you were of him. Why in the hell couldn’t you say a word? Yes, he was attractive - stupidly so - but he was also just another guy. 

A guy in a thin silk robe and hair still damp from a bath. 

You watched as Zoro’s body began to relax, or relax as much as someone like him could. It was when he let out a sigh as if your very presence was keeping him from something important, that you felt your feet remove themselves from their spot in the carpet and spring you forward. 

There was a split second when Zoro’s eyes registered your movement. His eyebrows raised up in surprise as the almond shape of his eyes widened just a tad before he braced for whatever you were about to do. Zoro was planning on an attack and his body was primed to force you back. Instead of violence, he was met with your hands shoving him back inside his room with your foot kicking the door swiftly closed behind you. 

Once you knew you were both securely back inside the room, you stopped shoving him. You waited for your eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the room before you looked around. It would be embarrassing if you’d done this and someone else - Nami or Luffy or anyone else really - had been inside with him. The only thing you noticed, however, was his previous clothes strewn across the room. 

When your eyes ventured back to Zoro you found his earlier shock replaced by what you could only guess was his usual stonewall expression. 

“Look,” he began the timber of his voice causing you to jump. “You seem nice and all, if not a little disturbed, but I’m not interested.” 

You looked up at him with your confusion knitting your brow together. 

“Not interested?”

You weren’t sure why it took you that long to realize what he meant, but it was dawning on you at warp speed and your confusion was quickly replaced with horror. 

“Oh my god! No, no! I was not trying to like, do anything to you like that.”

The disbelief in his eyes told you plainly he didn’t believe you, and by the tick in his jaw something was bothering him about your statement. 

Shit! He thinks I’m a perv 

You wanted to crawl under the nearest rock and die there. You followed his eyes as they trailed down his chest to find your hands were very much still attached to him, practically groping him. 

“Then why are your hands still on my chest?”

A small squeak of surprise left you as you dropped your hands down to your sides and shook them like it would be enough to get rid of the feeling of cupping his very pronounced…chest. You took a step back from him in hopes that giving him space would save the entire interaction. 

“Sorry about all the ugh…touching,” you mumbled. “But I did come here to speak to you about something.” 

“This is going to be good. Is it to convince me you weren’t trying to grope me?”

“God, you aren’t going to let it go, are you?” 

Closing your eyes you took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. When you finished, you opened your eyes again and gave him the best smile you could muster. 

“Okay, let’s start this again. I,” you motioned towards yourself, “have come to ask you if you noticed anything weird.” 

Zoro cocked an eyebrow at you. His arms moved to lock his arms across his chest somehow exposing the peek of flesh from the robe even more. 

“You mean weirder than right now?”

You purse your lips together tightly as you try to exhale all the annoyance from gathering in your body. 

“Let’s just move on from this moment, ok,” you began. “I came to talk to you about the butler.”

Without warning, Zoro rolled his eyes and dropped his arms from his chest. His swords clanging against his leg reminding you that he wasn’t making any move to set them down anytime soon. 

“Here we go again about the butler,” he groaned, and the very sound shouldn’t have sounded as enticing as it did.

Focus! 

“Oh, save it!” You snapped. “I saw you, okay? The way you looked at Klahadore before you followed your friends inside. You looked at him like you recognized him. Like you’d seen him before somewhere.” 

Zoro regarded you coolly. The hardness that had disappeared while he’d teased you earlier slid back into place until he was as unreadable as stone. 

“I’ve never seen that butler before in my entire life.” 

“Why are you lying?” 

You couldn’t keep the exasperation from your voice or how your desperation was starting to creep back in. Could you have been wrong about Zoro this whole time? Did you just see what you wanted to see?

No. You know what you saw and you were not going to be called crazy. You took a step towards him and weren’t surprised when he didn’t move back. Instead, he tilted his chin, his full pouty lips still very much pouting, as his eyes carefully watched you. 

“You know, that I know, that you looked at that guy and went, ‘hmph, something’s not right there’.” 

Yeah, that felt like a solid argument. 

You waited under Zoro’s cool gaze for him to reply. For him to show any sign of anything, really. He was literally the most unmoving person you’d ever meet, and you were starting to wonder if he was even real. The shitty part about waiting in silence, besides the uneasy commentary your brain was beginning to make, was the smell of the vanilla and sandalwood that wafted off him in mini waves that assaulted your senses. 

You were so intently transfixed by trying to match his unblinking gaze that when he finally moved his head down to be eye level with you, you’d almost jumped out of your skin. 

“Is everything okay with you? Do you suffer from any brain damage?” 

You wish you could say you handled the next few seconds with grace and poise. Things that all upstanding future doctors did when faced with adversity. However, that was most definitely not you, and you weren’t able to keep an exacerbated yell of frustration from cairning past your lips. 

“Oh! You are literally the most infuriating man I have ever met!”

“And you are the most perverted woman I have ever met,” Zoro shot back, this time taking a step towards you. 

If he was trying to intimidate you, he should’ve tried back when you weren’t ready to tear him limb from limb. 

“I beg your pardon?!”

“Who just pushes a semi-naked man into a room so they can grope him?”

“I wasn’t trying to grope you! I was trying to interrogate you for information!”

God, that sounded so much worse. 

“That sounds a lot worse, actually.”

Of course, Zoro would state the obvious, and was he - was he smirking? Your eyes rapidly blinked as you tried to make sense of what you were seeing because as fast as you’d noticed it, that devilish smirk had disappeared. Now Zoro once again looked as serious as before. You began to move back towards the door with your hands up in mock surrender. 

“You know what - fine! If you don’t want to help me, that’s your choice, but you know I’m right. And I’m going to prove that something is wrong here with or without your help.”

You shot one last look in his direction before turning on your heel and giving him your back. You were at the door, your hand on the doorknob when Zoro surprised you with a question of his own. 

“Why ask me to help you?”

Glancing over your shoulder, you expected to see that smug smirk on his face or to get the cold shoulder. What you found instead were eyes so intent on you - waiting for your response - that it caused your lungs to collapse. A million replies played over through your mind, but only one of them mattered. 

“Because out of everyone here, I thought you would believe me the most.” 

It didn’t matter if it was the answer he’d been looking for or the one you thought would win him over. You meant what you said and you hoped he’d felt your admission genuinely. If Usopp didn’t want to believe you, and if Zoro, who you still believed knew or at least felt something was off here, wasn’t going to be able to help you, you would just have to do it yourself. 

Did you know what that entailed? Hell no, but Naan didn’t raise a quitter, and you weren’t going to roll over and just give up just because it was hard. Not when someone’s very life depended on you. 

——————

After your incredible failure of finding a co-conspirator to help you on your quest for answers failed with flying colors, you weren’t exactly sure what to do with yourself. Usopp no doubt must have snuck in by now to see Kaya - sans your “gift” - and the others were probably in the ridiculous closet looking for dinner attire. While you could’ve gone just to socialize with everyone else, Kaya had sent a dress to your room. 

Sham had looked absolutely miserable dropping it off and that was a joy all on its own. 

You considered heading to the closet just to see Luffy again. Luffy radiated optimism like sunshine; at the moment, that sort of unyielding optimism was the mood booster you needed. 

Unfortunately, you knew Zoro must have made his way there by now and you weren’t necessarily ready to face him again. The disappointment was clinging to you and that’s what you hated the most. You didn’t understand why you’d seemingly put all your eggs inside the Zoro basket. Just because he’d looked at Klahadore weird didn't mean he’d sensed something off. 

Shit, Klahadore was weird and deserved every side-eye glance he got. 

All it meant for you was going back to the drawing board for a new plan. One that was going to be able to get you next to Kaya. At least long enough so you could perform some kind of assessment. 

You rounded the corner to what you hoped was the hallway your room was down. The earlier thought you’d had about getting lost turned into an accurate one. You’d spent just as much time trying to get back to your room to get ready for dinner as you had searching for Zoro. 

Zoro.

Even just thinking about him made your jaw clench with fresh irritation. What was more infuriating than your most recent conversation was the fact you could still feel the strength of him in the hollows of your palms. The sharpness of his jaw and the high sculpt of his cheeks- 

No! Absolutely not, you chastised yourself. 

It was maddening how little he believed you - mocked you - and yet, here you were acting like some lovestruck teenager. He wasn’t that handsome. 

You were lost in your thoughts to the point you weren’t aware of your body's attempt to warn you. The hairs on the back of your neck stood on end and a sickening feeling began to rot in your gut and made sure all the imaginary - very imaginary - butterflies disappeared. 

The goosebumps that rose along your exposed skin informed you that the grand hallway, filled with all its riches and fine cherry woods was as ice cold as the dead. Has it always been this cold and you just never noticed? Or the eerie silence that made the manor feel more haunted than alive. 

Your feet involuntarily came to a halt in the middle of the hall. You couldn’t explain the panic that was building in your chest, but it felt like you were being watched. Your heart rate sped up until you could practically feel it thundering against your ribs. 

“You are being silly,” you whispered to yourself. “It’s just an old house.” 

“Old houses do have their quirks, don’t they?”

You wish you could say that when Klahadore spoke from behind you, you’d reacted with grace. With dignity. What actually happened was you screamed sharp enough it could raise the dead. 

The whiplash you gave yourself as you turned to face him was dizzying. You wanted to kill the fear that widened your eyes and pressed your brow into your hairline. Your mouth was painfully dry as you took in his presence and the absolute shit-eating grin he wore. 

He enjoyed seeing you afraid. 

“Oh dear, Doc, did I give you a fright?”

Klahadore gently tipped the frame of his glasses with the edge of his palm. You wanted to smack them off his smug face. 

“What do you want, Klahadore?”

You struggled to regain your composure. You refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing you afraid. It was what he wanted after all and didn’t take much to notice. He was already trying to close the few inches your retreat had given you. 

“I was simply wondering why you were wandering around the manor. You’ve been showing highly suspicious behavior ever since you and your friends arrived.” 

Your eyes narrowed in on him and as you held your head high. 

“Have you been following me?”

“Oh, come now, don't be silly. To have someone followed means you’re worried about what they’ll find, and you? You are the last thing I would be worried about.” 

Klahadore dropped his head down until he was eye level with you, but somehow used his size to remain imposing. A thinly veiled threat to remind you exactly what he thought of you; nothing. 

The first time you’d ever received an insult from Klahadore had been just like this. Alone and away from anywhere Kaya could hear him. He’d made sure that Usopp and you were together just so he wouldn’t have to repeat the insult twice. 

“I know you two must feel exceedingly special having Miss Kaya ask for you to come keep her company, but I’m afraid this will be the last time you ever come over unannounced or not. We can’t allow her image to be tarnished from being seen with unwanted children.” “Unwanted?” Usopp had been so confused - he knew he was wanted; wanted by Kaya and you. Klahadore saw in that confusion an opportunity to place doubt in his mind and completely tear him apart.  “Yes - unwanted. So unwanted that your father never returned, and your mother chose death as a final way to be rid of you.” “You son of a bitch!” You’d snarled and snapped. You were only kids.  The world had taught you early on about hardships and fairness; how the world and the people in it could lack kindness. But Naan always made you look for the good in the world, and in the people who sometimes allowed the ugliness of others to warp them into someone they weren’t.  It was a concept child you never understood. Teenage you were barely beginning to grasp it, but when Klahadore spoke those words so full of hate and venom at your best friend: there weren’t enough flames left in hell to cover up your rage.

The memory of that day left a black mark on your soul and you find it replaying at the most inconvenient of times. A harsh reminder of the first time you’d ever considered murder as a means of healing. The world would have to be a better place if someone like Klahadore wasn’t in it. Right? 

Naan, as always, talked you down from doing something rash. From allowing someone like Klahadore to have the last laugh and ruin all the plans you had for your life. 

But Naan wasn’t here to talk you off that ledge or to remind you who she knew you were. Your rage shouldn’t define you. Looking at Klahadore’s retreating back, you weren’t all too sure if it wasn’t you because if he ever showed up needing any form of medical attention, you weren’t so sure if he’d leave on his own two feet. 

A body bag would suit him nicely. 

You watched him until he completely disappeared leaving you alone once more inside the hallway. It felt weird to take those first steps back towards your room. To go inside and see the dress Kaya had sent to your room and know you were going to put it on and share dinner with that man standing in the same room. 

There had to be a way to show everyone here exactly who Klahadore was, and you would spend the whole dinner trying to do just that. 

———————

He’d been searching for a drink since his interaction with you back in his room. Zoro wanted to call you crazy - hell you acted crazy enough, but you’d done something he hadn’t expected. 

You’d surprised him.

He didn’t want to admit it then but he did get a weird vibe from the butler. The minute his eyes landed on Klahadore it had sparked a nagging feeling of a memory he just couldn’t quite place. 

And you’d noticed. 

After you’d left his room, he couldn’t shake the conversation you’d forced him to be a part of. Teasing you had been easy. He’d expected you to be a bleeding heart, but as you’d turned to leave, stomping your feet and spitting back words that stung for just a second, it had been Zoro’s turn to notice something about you. 

It was the fire of your determination that piqued his interest.  

While Zoro wasn’t sure why you held such a stick up your ass exactly about the butler, he was positive you had a reason. Besides the fact he couldn’t seem to pull up a clear memory of why the same butler piqued his own interest, and that was beginning to piss him off. 

What was even more annoying was the fact you’d brought it up enough that he’d asked Nami and Luffy if the butler seemed familiar. He didn’t know why he’d asked. If it had been more for him or for you. 

That pissed him off more. 

You seemed to be good at that. Pissing him off and getting under his skin. 

When he came downstairs, Zoro expected you to be there already. A quick glance around the room informed him you weren’t there, but a row of flutes filled with what he hoped was alcohol most certainly was. 

He carefully set down his strap of swords and moved closer to the drinks. No one else made a move towards them and, for a split second, Zoro was worried maybe the flutes were nonalcoholic. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around the delicate crystal and quickly brought it to his lips. 

The smell of the liquor hit him first and his muscles relaxed instantaneously. 

God. This was exactly what he needed. 

“Zoro! You gotta try this!”

Zoro didn’t bother looking because he’d seen the appetizers being served when he came down the stairs. He wasn’t impressed. Plus, if he was going to make it through this evening, he was going to need way more booze than what was inside these little Crystal flutes. 

“I got all I need right here,” he replied and brought the glass up to his lips. 

The first sip erased all the tension that had been binding up his muscles. The next pull from the glass relaxed him completely, and he downed what was left in one giant gulp. He placed the now-empty flute back down on the tray and swiftly grabbed another. 

Zoro was vaguely aware of all the chatting going on around him. The sound of Usopp and Luffy sharing stories and Nami doing whatever it was Nami did during fancy dinner parties. He meant what he said - he did have everything he needed to make it through this dinner inside these glasses. At least, that’s what he thought until the sound of a heel echoing off the step brought his attention to the top of the stairs. 

He was sure the new flute with his latest drink was at his lips. Zoro inhaled the sharp scent of liqueur with every breath he took. He just couldn’t seem to make his elbow bend enough to drop it from his face. 

You were making your way down the staircase, oblivious to the world around you as you came down with a hand carefully placed on the railing. 

The dress you wore was covered in article flowers; all of their small bold colors were bright against the backdrop of black chiffon. The top of the dress left your shoulders exposed, and the style you’d chosen to wear your hair, with beads of pearls intricately placed within each strand, made you seem ethereal. 

You looked like moonlight inside a garden; soft and wild and for the first time Zoro forgot that breathing was important. 

Once you reached the last step, your eyes finally moved up from the safety of your feet. Zoro was vaguely aware the rim of the glass was still resting on his bottom lip, and that he’d yet to take a drink. He felt frozen - helpless - until your eyes found his rooted frame - helplessly waiting - and the smile that curved your lips brightened up the room. 

It was in this second that he realized he was fucked, and the annoyance of that realization was enough for him to finally upend the glass in one large gulp. 

——————

Zoro had looked at you for less than a millisecond before he’d upended the contents of his glass in one large gulp. His disinterest was evident enough throughout his entire body. With one last glance in your direction, he turned back to the waiting tray of glasses. 

Well, that wasn’t the reaction you’d expected. 

The disappointment scraped raw across your chest as you watched Zoro take up another glass. His gaze was steadfast at the wall as he downed whatever was inside. What felt more disappointing was the fact you’d cared. 

For all intents and purposes, Zoro was an asshole. So, it begged the ever-present question: Why did it bother you so much? 

Yes, you’d painstakingly gotten ready around the dress Kaya left inside your suite. Was it your usual taste? You weren’t all that sure, to be honest. It’s not like you’d ever been invited to any fancy dinner parties before. You weren’t sure if this was the proper form of dress or if you’d gone overboard with your hair. 

At least Nami had a feather inside her hair and it looked as if she’d given her blood-orange hair some curls. She looked absolutely gorgeous and you made it your mission to tell her.

“Wow, Doc you look-“ Usopp began. 

You turned beaming towards your friend as you waited for him to acknowledge your hard work. Maybe at least Usopp, of all people, would say something nice. 

“Different.”

You could practically feel your smile deflate at the edges. 

“What did you put in your hair?” Luffy asked around a mouthful of meat. 

“Oh yeah, I was wondering what looked different. It’s the hair,” Usopp confirmed with Luffy. 

The both of them smiled and nodded at one another as if they just solved world hunger. Your tongue rolled around your cheek as you debated on what to say. Maybe you’d expected to much out of a bunch of men. 

“They’re pearls,” you huffed. 

“That’s silly,” Luffy chuckled. “Why would you ever put pearls in your hair?”

“It’s to look nice.”

“I never knew hair needed accessories,” Usopp offered before taking a bit of his appetizer.

“Nami put a feather in her hair,” Luffy offered before taking another bite. “Maybe you guys can talk about putting random stuff in your hair.” 

There was no way this conversation could be real, and yet…

Luffy was still wearing his genuine smile while he and Usopp continued to enjoy the appetizers Sham passed around. This evening was turning out to be the last time you’d ever consider wearing anything like this again. What was even worse was that out of the three of them, Zoro was the only one properly dressed. 

While Usopp went with his usual no shirt underneath his jacket, Luffy was wearing just a petty coat and miraculously found dress slacks that didn’t even reach his ankle. They looked like their usual selves, just dressed in black. 

But Zoro…

No! Absolutely not.

“I’ll go look for Nami so we can discuss…putting things in our hair.”

“That’s great! I’m sure it will make her happy. She seemed frustrated earlier when she asked for help.”

“I can’t imagine why,” you mumbled, as you turned to find Nami speaking to Merry. 

Well, it looked like that was going to be a bust too. Man, she really did look very pretty, though. You were considering what your options were. You weren’t comfortable just injecting yourself into whatever conversation Nami and Merry were having, especially not when she was rubbing his arm like that. 

Luckily for you, the sound of Klahadore announcing Kaya’s entrance kept you from having to go with your final option, which was to get a drink. Next to Zoro. 

You all collectively turned to watch as Klahadore helped Kaya make her way down the stairs. You couldn’t help but smile up at her and her current choice of attire. While she’d made you look like a garden, you could only assume she was the sunshine that hovered above it. The only problem you had with the golden silk material was that it somehow made her sickly pale skin appear paler. 

She must have picked the color in hopes it wouldn’t do that, but all it did was raise the alarm bells in the back of your mind. You’d allowed a pretty dress and a fancy meal to cloud the real reason you’d come in the first place. Instead of being a doctor, you were playing dress-up. 

You were still scolding yourself when Kaya finally made it to the end of the staircase. Her smile was bright and happier than it had been in a long time, as she regarded Nami and the dress she’d chosen. It hadn’t even registered that any of the clothes you currently were wearing belonged to her deceased parents. You made a mental note to make sure to take extra special care not to ruin the dress with any droplets of food. 

“Oh, Doc, I’m so glad I picked this,” Kaya breathed. “You look absolutely magical.” 

You couldn’t help but look down at the dress again. It was an incredibly delicate dress. A work of art to be worn on the body. Maybe that was why you felt like such an imposter wearing it. 

When you looked back at her, you tried to give Kaya a convincing smile. One you could even make yourself believe you felt worthy to have it on. 

“Oh, Kaya you are too nice,” you replied, only for her to shoot you down with a wave of her hand. 

“Nonsense. Usopp is always telling me about all the good you do for everyone. It’s time you let yourself be appreciated.”

Your earlier response to Kaya’s welcoming smile was one of your own, but at the mention of your supposed good deeds, you felt it tighten into a grimace. 

It means nothing if I can’t even help you.

Up close, her color wasn’t pale - it was ashen. The whites of her eyes were devoured with a yellowish tint and - 

Like the parasite he was, Klahadore was there pulling Kaya gently by her elbow to lead her back to the conversation between herself and Merry. Your eyes followed him as he made sure to plant her a few feet in front of you; her back excluding you from following to join. 

Once he made sure she was safely away from you, Klahadore stationed himself a few feet away next to the penguin pillar at the base of the stairs. He thought he was sneaky and that he had stopped your trained eyes from being able to do a quick evaluation.

Unlucky for Klahadore you were quicker than he thought. 

You were getting ready to head over to him when you caught Zoro walking back over to the tray. He was doing his usual of placing down an empty glass only to grab a fresh one, except this time he was talking. To Klahadore. 

What a fucking liar!

You couldn’t think straight as you watched the exchange. The way Klahadore overplayed the flabbergasted victim. You didn’t have to be close to them to know what Zoro was asking him, because just like you’d suspected, he did seem familiar to Zoro. 

It felt like you could breathe fire, you were so pissed. 

At some point, Klahadore ended the conversation by interjecting himself into someone else’s conversation. You didn’t care what it was. They could’ve been discussing flying pigs for all you cared. Your eyes were still honed in on Zoro who regarded you for a split second before he sat back down in the parlor’s middle seat. 

You started making your way towards him when Klahadore called out it was time to eat. You suddenly weren’t hungry. 

Zoro must have sensed you coming for him because in one swift move, he was out of the seat and standing. The strap that held his katana’s back over his shoulder as he followed Sham behind the double doors.

“You son of a-“

“Doc!” Usopp whisper-shouted as he nervously took your hand in his. “Sit next to me. Please.” 

You were still seeing metaphorical red. Your brain firing rapidly on only one main thought and that was to get a hold of Zoro and throttle him. 

It wasn’t Usopp’s fault that Zoro was a dick, and he looked genuinely terrified. Stuffing your current bad mood as far down as you could muster (you were about to see said moss-haired reason for your fowl mood in t-minus two seconds), you planted on a smile and gently took Usopp’s hand. 

“What kind of wingman would I be if I didn’t?”

“Oh, thank god,” he laughed. 

The both of you followed closely behind Merry and the others as you were all escorted inside the dining room. Merry quickly took his seat at the end of the table, and you noticed rather quickly Zoro had claimed the seat closest to the door. 

Without thinking, you took the seat beside him and motioned for Usopp to take the last one. The one directly beside Kaya. For a moment, Usopp looked at you wide-eyed and uncertain. You did your best to make him comfortable. 

“You got this, Usopp,” you whispered. “Don’t overthink it.”

His response came in a small nod that did little to erase the terror that shined in his eyes. You gave his arm a light squeeze for reassurance before you straightened up in the chair. Glancing over, you watched as Zoro poured what looked like a freshly opened bottle of wine into a glass. 

You waited patiently for him to finish and when he went to set the bottle down you made your move. With a slight lean to your right, you swiped your hand out to grab a hold of the glass. Zoro caught the movement too late, but you now had his full attention. His nostrils flaring the only indication that he was irritated by your sudden drink stealing. 

Good. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” He questioned. 

His dark eyes never left your face as he waited for you to answer. 

“Being petty.”

To bring the point home, you tilted the glass in his direction in a silent salute. You made sure he watched as you brought it to your lips and took a sip of the blood-red wine within. 

Zoro’s jaw ticked in irritation as you gave him a devious smirk, and when Sham came by Zoro waved her over. 

“I need a new glass.”

Now the smile that graced your lips was genuine and you made sure Zoro was aware of it. It was time to have a little fun of your own and that included hogging as much of his alcohol as humanly possible. 

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As always, thank you for reading. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

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