#if you need me i will be upset/trying to post here with some regularity/be more functional in general

[cheschesterpossum]

(In reference to that Yandere Transformers post about turning humans into Cybertronians, bc it's kinda scaaary. And I like thinking about the angst.)

(It could be something regular Rung and Primes do as well, but it fits SG! Rung and Primes slightly better.)

Hear me out.

SG! Rung, and the Primes figuring out how to transform humans into Cybertronians so they could preserve their (Favorite) creator, and not lose them in, like, 50 Earth Years. Once they're transformed, Y/N has to learn how to adapt to their new life as one of the creatures they helped to create. Unable to go back to their old life even if they wanted to.

I imagine that they'd probably be, like, a regular Cybertronian? They aren't gonna start out godlike, or anything. lmao. The only thing they do have going for them is the knowledge of how to control/kill switch other Cybertronians. Which is strong, sure, but not something that can't be countered with careful planning. Also, Primus, and the Primes themselves answer to them. So yeah.

Them starting out normal won't stop their clingy immortal son, and grand children from making them immortal as well, though. Maybe even giving them Prime/God status of their own volition to allow them enough strength to keep up with them.

-Perchance Anon

Oh my goodness how are you so big brained Perchance???

(I know you meant for this to be wholly platonic with Rung, but I feel like this could be both romantic or platonic)

(Also SG Primes are all asshole, they're the one putting the cogless bots in the mine, not Sentinel. Just my way of interpreting sg universe for tfone)

The SG!Primes and SG!Rung, as much as they're a bunch of evil little shits they're absolutely terrified of losing their y/n (again). The abandon arc left them all with abandonment issue whether they're aware or not.

The first time you're gone maybe temporary (for a long gosh darn time by the pocket universe's standard) but you being gone of old age is permanent, and that terrify them to the core.

I like to think y/n start off as a cogless bot at first bcs the Primes and Rung were pretty hasty when turning them into a cybertronian. I'm making y/n small af compared to their brats (like how small cogless bot are compared to the Primes. They're massive wtf). Adapting to your new form is going to be pretty tricky but worry not as your beloved creations are here to guide you! (Also for some reason you still have your human organs but they're made of metal now, but your heart is replaced with spark, just bcs I like weird body horror)

Can you imagine how scandalous that would be? The Primes? Having a cogless bot around? And catering towards their needs? Did the Primes just call the bot 'SIRE'? Letting that COGLESS bot boss the PRIMES around? Wait wtf do you mean Primus and the Matrix flog towards the bot as well? WHO IS THIS???????

Even SG!Sentinel is baffled as well, he have no idea where y/n come from, their origin and who they are (whenever he try to ask the Primes get strangely hostile and on guard towards him). But other than that he's really concerned for you, because like he's been around the Primes for a long time (not as much as you but shhhh) so... were you kidnapped? (Tbh yeah) Are they keeping you as a pet? Are they keeping you hostage?

I do think they'll make you a lot more durable than the average bot, like INSANELY durable, so you could keep up with them and wouldn't get crushed by just a hug. You're a walking indestructible cogless deity or demi-god now.

Aside from that I'd like to add a side effect: considering y/n have a bond that runs deep with with Primes and Primus (Rung), their spark is connected to them. The Primes and Rung can feel your emotions and can sense when you're in danger or distress- this caused you to have less personal space- bcs whenever they remotely sense that you're upset at something they're getting there at light speed.

One of the High Guard: *makes a not so funny pun*

SG!y/n: erm... haha-

*The wall besides you two explode as your brats(Primes) burst through it, and they're ready to give the high guard a demotion (death)*

Either that or Rung strike the "offending" bot down with a lightning strike out of nowhere. Doesn't matter if it's sunny or you two are inside a building.

Due to that everyone is walking on eggshells whenever they're in y/n's presence, they value their lives.

When you recharge (if you're not being cuddled by SG!Rung in a bone breaking grip already) you can hear whispers of Rung's voice, not in your audials but in your processor. He whispers many things and many reassurance, sprinkle in some manipulation to keep you here.

Did I forget to mention you don't have much freedom either? They keep you in the palace 24/24 because they're paranoid of y/n escaping or being stolen by someone or getting hurt or worse killed. Even if you go outside there will always be company, whether it'd be the Primes, (usually) Rung or the few high guards they trust to be with you.

The Primes would constantly try to show off and one up eachother now that their sire is back in their life, just like good old time. But more often than not Rung would whisk y/n away when they're not looking.

On the upside you're treated very well! The way they act to others and towards you is like black and white. You could call the Primes by their name (not title) or nickname anytime you want ("Hey Megatronny"), but if other bot calls them that? That bot is dead.

You can still scold them and boss them around ("Onyx! Stop trying to peck your siblings processor!), and they'd listen (hopefully). They're more like clingy spoiled brats to you than anything. The power you held is... terrifying to everyone else ngl.

You may never be able to get back to your world or be human anymore. But hey you have free healthcare, food, no need to pay rent, no need to pull an all-nighter for work now! Not like you can escape Rung's watchful optic anyway👁👁 (from having a job to being unemployed, best glow up yet).

And ykw? Feel free to activate and use the Matrix of Leadership anytime you want. You still can't believe the toy you bought from ebay turned divine.

[seventh-district]

.

[haltandcatchfiretothemax]

When you and your wife are on a date night (making and eating dinner together, sitting outside for a bit, and then her hacking into tw*tter to restore the block feature while you hack into Pr*me to uncancel her beloved A League of Their Own)

[wordsofwhimsy]

🅲🅾🅽🅲🆁🅴🆃🅴 🅵🅻🅾🆆🅴🆁🆂

A/N: I’ve been going BONKERS reading through all of the Mark Grayson x reader fanfics on here.  Y’all are so damn talented!!!  Got a girl having all the feels.  It really inspires me to write more myself :’).  The last thing I posted got a little bit of love & it really meant a lot to me!  I’m also going to try working on my formatting to make it more appealing.

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

PAIRING: [Budding] Sinister!Mark Grayson x Reader

WARNINGS: Series-Typical Violence & Gore, suggestive abusive/possessive

INSPIRED: by the song “luther” by Kendrick Lamar & SZA

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

♫♪ If this world was mine… ♫♪

Something was changing in Mark.  The sweet, funny, and thoughtful guy you’d known for years was still there, but you’d noticed within the last few months that there was also something else—something much darker bubbling just below the surface.  At first you told yourself his heavy emotions were normal and made sense.  What he went through with his father was nothing short of traumatic, and he never truly had a chance to process any of it.  Not in the typical sense, at least.  No therapy, no counselors, no support groups.  Just himself, his mom, and all of the poor souls who dared to take up the mantle of being a career criminal.  Of course there was always you, but what words of wisdom could you really offer?  You were just a regular girl, working an ordinary nine to five as a library assistant.  The life he led was so fantastical and impossible for you to ever truly understand.  You loved him dearly and would always support him in any way you could, but the reality was you did not relate to his current life at all.

As time went on though you noticed that what started as a shadow within him was growing, becoming like a black sludge that would seep out of his mouth when talking about Cecil, or his father—or anything really that he disagreed with.  If you were being honest with yourself, it scared you.  You of course knew he was not his father and would never even conceive of committing such atrocities, but somewhere in the recesses of your mind you held the image of the destruction that was caused by Omni-Man, and then the knowledge that Invincible was more than capable of doing the same.  Not wanting to add the stressors that consumed Mark’s life, however, you never voiced these feelings.  But they were there nonetheless, and becoming harder for you to ignore.

♫♪ I'd take your dreams and make 'em multiply ♫♪

“I don’t understand what you’re so upset with me about [Name],” Mark stated, the irritation evident in his tone. “You wanted to become the lead librarian, and now you are. That’s literally what you asked for.”  You stared up at him incredulously, arms stiff at your sides with your hands clenched into tight fists.

“You have got to be kidding me right now Mark.” You waited a few moments, for some reason believing his senses would come back to him.  Instead, you were met with him starring evenly back down at you. Your eyes widened as you shouted, “You threatened Mrs. Crump into retiring!”

“I gave her strong encouragement.”

“Be so for real right now…” You dropped your head and covered your face with your palm, needing to regroup your thoughts. “Maybe I’m mistaken.  Did Invincible not show up at my job this morning and tell my boss that if she was smart, she would make this her last day?” His dark, slim eyes glanced away from you now as he gave no answer.  Your lips pursed as you slowly nodded your head, at a loss for words.  Mark looked back at you, his expression suddenly so soft and tender.  It almost made your heart flutter.

“Your life is so short, [Name],” he said in almost a whisper. “You deserve for every dream you ever have to become reality.  In fact you deserve even more!” All the built up tension in your muscles suddenly melted away as you instinctively reached out to take his hand in a comforting gesture.

“Oh—” Your fingers trace up the solid and muscled contours of his arm, gently grazing over his shoulder and neck to finally cup his jaw. Your eyes meet with his and you couldn’t help but feel a soft smile tug at your lips. “Mark… My life may seem short in comparison to yours, but understand that for me, it’s the longest thing I’ll ever experience.” Your words seemed to do nothing to comfort him as a look of frustration pulled at his features. You only continued to gently smile. “Besides, the fight for our dreams is the most important part of the adventure.”

This seemed to register for him, at least on some level. “I love you,” he hushed while holding your face in his calloused hands.  He leaned down to give you a soft, lingering kiss that made you weak in the knees.  This time, as was the case with every time that you began to worry about his dark tendencies, he touched you and flooded your brain with oxytocin causing you to forget all about your concerns.  Just like he wanted.

♪♫ If this world was mine, I'd take your enemies in front of God Introduce 'em to that light, hit them strictly with that fire ♪♫

This is a dream, you told yourself.  Every cell in your body was shaking in horror.  This is dream, you repeated in your mind, tears welling in your eyes.  This has to be a dream.  Mark stood facing you, donning his superhero attire.  Although the blood that heavily stained his right hand up to his elbow did not lend itself to the idea of heroism. “[Name],” he spoke your name so calmly.  Nausea churned in your stomach as you took a step back from him. “I had to do this.  His life was meaningless – he didn’t deserve to be on this planet with you.”

You couldn’t bring yourself to look anywhere but at his face.  You didn’t dare see what was undoubtedly laid in a careless, bloodied pile at his feet. “You know that I’m right, [Name]. Don’t you understand? He was—”

“He was my father!” you cried, the tears now spilling freely from your swollen eyes. “How could you do this?!”

“How could I do what? Save you from his abuse? Spare you from another bruised eye or busted lip? Another horrible insult being spit at you from his vile mouth?” As he talked you could see the blackness gushing from his lips.  This was what you had feared all along but denied endlessly, until now.  And now it was far too late.  You took another step away from him and suddenly felt your back pressed into something solid and immovable.  Mark’s arms closed around you from behind, his face leaned down next to yours. “I am all you really need, [Name].  I can keep you safe.  No one else can do that for you.  Only me.” You sobbed without restraint, all of your body giving way under his embrace as he kept you on your feet effortlessly. “I know this is hard for you right now, but don’t worry, I promise you’ll understand someday.”

Having gone numb to your own senses, it took you several minutes to realize you were no longer on solid ground and instead floating above your father’s home.  It was quiet out, no sirens or people screaming.  Your neighborhood and the police were none the wiser.  And even if someone did know, what could they possibly do? “I love you, [Name].  I know you know that.  You might not feel the same right now, but I hope soon enough you will again.”  The tone in his voice left you feeling like you didn’t have a choice in the matter.  And suddenly, you could see the future clearly.  He would follow in his father’s footsteps, and this world would bend knee to his every whim.  You would be no exception.  In the name of self-preservation, you found yourself reaching up to hold onto his arms which still gripped tightly around your rib cage. 

“I love you too.”  The words surprised even you as they cracked out of your throat.  A low hum of satisfaction could be heard from Mark before he placed a tender kiss to the crook of your neck.

“I’m so glad to hear you say that.” He squeezed you even tighter, pushing the breath out of your lungs and putting a deep ache in your spine.  How could your sweet, thoughtful, caring boyfriend have changed so much? Where did the Mark you know go? Your stare fell back down to the roof of your father’s home and the sight immediately brought tears back to your eyes, blurring your vision. “Things in this world are going to be changing.” You bottom lip quivered at his words. “But don’t worry, I’ve done some things to your house just to make sure you can stay safe.  I can’t wait for you to see.” He placed another kiss to your throat, and you felt yourself slip out of your skin.  Nothing would ever be the same.

[biancasaidstfu]

FAVE ANON HERE 🤍

First things first -

“OMG VIP MEET AND GREET TSWIFT TICKETS FOR HER NEXT TOUR 😱😱😱” - I consider this a binding contract. You might understand that more BIANCA if you did your LSAT studying. 😉

Now to matters at hand -

I hear people have been checking in with Bianca to see where I stand these days. You can all rest assured that I am firmly planted in the same place you last heard from me. The same place I’ve been firmly planted since last summer. While I’ve had some slight shifts over time in my “whys” or “hows” of the current situation, I never doubt my “what” and for that matter I actually have a fairly solid “why and how” theory that I’ve been continuously throwing around since last summer and every month it seems to grow more solid in its foundation.

Did my vague-ness of that last paragraph confuse you? Simple terms: N & L are together. And why is it so secret? Well that’s a theory for me to know and you to maybe find out one day. That’s it. Those close to me know what the theory is.

It all comes down to knowing how to keep things in the group chat. 😏

With that being said, I have an observation of the fandom that I need to make express. People talk crap about the Jackholes and Tif & Co for being “stalkers” or “invasive” and “not respecting privacy” but why are we not casting as much ire on the Lukolas who are exhibiting the exact same behavior. The ones who are so desperate to “break the news” that they run to Twitter or TikTok or Tumblr to post something without thinking it through. The ones who are seeing research in discord servers and posting to their platforms. The ones who are delivering news of a personal nature about Nicola or Luke on their blogs without blinking an eye - and most importantly - reporting it as fact without any of us ever knowing that it is actually fact.

I understand that you online platform is your own personal forum and no one here is trying to police you but I implore everyone to take a step back and look in the mirror. This behavior is no different from the Jackholes and if you support it than I never wanna hear you talk down on Tif and her friends again.

While I’m on the subject of talking down - can we cut the crap on the Nicola hate? I’m sorry but Jake is gay. I’m also sorry but Jake is her friend and he’s not a character that will be written off the show. If he face “triggers” you or causes a “jumpscare” please unfollow him and his friends. And no, Nicola is not a bad person when you see her hanging out with them. There is nothing wrong with a “single” 38 year old woman having friends in their mid 20s. Let’s be honest, at this point most of yall are spewing hate at her because you believe something about her that certain online creators are stating as fact and so it’s hurting your brain to see her out and about so often. THIS IS WHY WE DONT BLINDLY BELIEVE THEORIES. And regardless, it’s her life. If it bothers you that much then please move on from the fandom.

The amount of judgment in this fandom from people regarding who Nic and Luke hang around. I would like each of you to submit the following: a detailed history of your romantic relationships, a detailed history or your friendships, and a picture of yourself (not a pfp of Nic or Luke). Once I’ve reviewed all that, I will decide if you have the credentials to judge at the level in which you do.

That’s enough rambling for now and I’m sure after this some of you will never wanna hear from me ever again. But what can I say - I call it like i see it and i tell it like it is.

For now, I’m just gonna sit back and let the chips fall as they may. All will be revealed in due time and tbh none of this is worth getting upset over. I’ve faced way harder in the past 6 months. 😉🥴 I just need some of you to remember that this isn’t a reality show required to keep you entertained on a regular schedule so it may be wise to pick up some other hobbies in the meantime.

As for me, you can catch me with my nose in the Polin fanfic when I’m not working my real person job and dealing with a slew of current personal issues. If it’s fantasy you’re looking to involve yourself in, than maybe head over to AO3. What’s even crazier is that there are even tons of fics about Pen and Colin being pregnant, you know if that’s the kind of story you’re looking to live in everyday. 😏

Ok well that’s it. 😘

xoxo

Fave anon has returned 🎉🎉🎉

[senlinyu]

Hey I am a big fan of manacled and so excited for alchemised! I was wondering if you'd be able to share some posts for UK trans charities? We're having a hard time over here and obviously jkr is a big reason why. I know you're an ally and I think your voice could be really useful right now. Than you for your amazing writing!

Absolutely, I was so upset when I saw the news. I’m so sorry that you and everyone in the trans community in the UK are being faced with this ruling. 

The news has made me really question and second guess how to continue to exist in fandom, if I can or should. In the past, I’ve tended to think that since I was writing to a pre-established community, no one here was going to be discovering Harry Potter because of me. Especially knowing that JKR had expressed vocal distaste for dramione, and that my fics generally tend to fall into the 95 theses nailed to the door category of ‘fan’ work, I’ve tended to take for granted that my feelings about her are fairly obvious to any fandom regular trying to assess them. 

But now, particularly because of the way that Manacled has completely breached containment, I don’t feel like I can say that about my personal participation any more, which makes me very sad because the thought of stepping away from my communities feels like losing a found family. 

Because I got into Harry Potter by reading fan lexicons and fanfiction for several years before I read the books or saw any of the movies, when I think about Harry Potter my primary association with it isn't JKR, or the cast, or series itself, but the fanfic communities, many of which in my case, have been very queer, and were the first lgbtq spaces that I was able to participate in.

It was the people from those private communities who talked to me as I was sorting through my orientation of being aro/ace and were so patient with me a couple years back when I was trying to unravel whether I was allowed to identify as non-binary while still being fairly femme presenting. So it’s always a bit of a shock to step out of my circles and remember that’s not what most people associate with Harry Potter.

And while I can continue my personal friendships without context of HP, watching communities I’ve been connected to for decades dissolving feels so sad. And I don't know where to begin when it comes to things like LTDI, which I don’t want to abandon, but I also don’t want its continuation to be misconstrued as some kind of endorsement of transphobia.

Sorry… I’m rambling. I feel like I’ve been stuck in a mental hamster wheel ever since I read more details about the ruling, trying to sort through my feelings and what an appropriate reaction is, but also not wanting to come across like the big deal is how it affects me. 

But since this is something I’m very well-known for now, I feel like I need to do and say something to make my feelings clear.

I’ve been donating to Mermaids UK for a couple years now, it’s the charity that I’ve had listed on my fandom FAQ site when people have messaged or emailed wanting to 'pay' for my fics. 

I also made a donation to Not A Phase after seeing Nicola Coughlan post about it.

Since I’m not UK based, I feel a bit hesitant to resoundingly endorse a specific trans charity since I don’t personally know the details of their ground work, so if you have other trans charities whose advocacy and activism you’d recommend, please let me know. *hugs*

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

End Game 8

No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, age gap, stalking, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Your gaming buddy asks to meet up but it doesn’t go exactly as planned.

Characters: Andy Barber

Note: have a great friday, dudes.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

Maris Street. You rarely go that way. It’s near the core of the town, closer to the west end where green hedges and white picket fences cordon off the suburban elite from the commoners like you. It suits him, doesn’t it? You assume this is what he’s used to. 

The venom roils in your gut as you approach Oxford Drive. You stop before the sleek grey exterior. The black trims and large golden moniker in all caps add to the extravagant effect. Flowers boxes stand outside the windows that glow amber with rich ambience from within. The nicest place you ever went was the Korean Barbecue your dorm mate dragged you to; this is well beyond that. 

You take a breath and look down at yourself. You’re still wearing the black jeans and plain tee you sport for your job. Former job. Your beat-up sneakers perfectly match your thrifted aesthetic and the purse strap twisted around your hand and wrist frays as if to assure everyone that you don’t belong. 

You go to the front door and pull it open. You step inside to the low drone of stringy music and the subtle clink of glasses amid the low murmur of voices. You chew your lip as you approach the tall round desk where the hostess stands over the open reservation book, like some mystical keeper of scrolls. How very Skyrim of her. 

She gives you a look, one you expect. You sniff and cross your arms, the strap of your purse further straining your circulation. You exhale and peek over at the dining room. 

“Hi, I um...” your cheeks pinch as you find it difficult to speak. “I’m meeting someone.” 

“You are?" Her skepticism drips from her voice, “are you certain they’re... here?” 

“Yeah. I don’t know if he made a reservation or whatever. Obviously, I’m not a regular,” you snipe back. You’re too exasperated to hold back. You don’t need her judging you too. “Older, beard, uh, tall... Andy Barber. Is he in the book?” 

She flutters her pretty lashes and looks down. You watch her. She’s a few years older than you. Tall, balayaged hair, slender, perfectly bowed lips. What about her? Or someone like her? Why wouldn’t he want that instead? Why is he bothering you? 

“Barber,” she nods, “yes, he’s here.” 

She seems surprised by that. She steps out from behind the desk and tells you to follow. You obey. You have to. This is all just pulling teeth. He has you toothless already. 

You keep your head down as you trail behind her. You only look up as you sense a figure on the other side of her. Andy stands as you approach and you nearly choke. You want so bad to just turn around and run away. 

A line deepens in his forehead and disappears. He smiles as the hostess waves you forward. He comes around to pull out the other chair before you can. You retract your arm and barely withhold your frustration. Can’t he understand you want nothing from him? 

You sit stiff and fix your bag in your lap, slowly unwinding the strap from your wrist. The hostess promises a server will be with you soon and struts away. You stare at the table cloth and as Andy sits, darkening the edge of your vision, you turn to glare at the far wall. 

You feel even more demeaned sitting there in your jeans in tea among the crystal and tall-stemmed lilies. The tinkle of the soft woodwind music makes your head buzz yet the smell of the food teases your empty stomach. Your eyes drift to a group of older women, laughing over wine, a symbol of what you’ll never be. Happy. Free. 

“Thanks for meeting me. I guess you’ve never been here before,” Andy begins. 

You shake your head and flick your eyes to the ceiling. You grit down on his words. Why is he acting like this is normal? 

“Nice place, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah,” you snap and look at him directly, nearly growling in his face, “very nice. Upscale. Well above me.” 

You cross your arms and sit back, your purse strap still loosely clinging to your wrist. His chest rises and he exhales through his nose. He leans forward and his cheek ticks. 

“I brought you here for dinner, so we could talk, get to know each other--” 

“That’s not what I’m here for,” you insist, almost teary-eyed from your rage. You don’t like being angry. You’ve never been very good at and more times, you end up blubbering. “Kara, my friend--” 

He tilts his chin up and sets his gaze firmly on you, “we’ll get to that.” 

“No, now,” you hiss. 

He huffs through his nose. He looks around, silently chewing his agitation. He sits up and replaces that manufactured smile as a server approaches. 

“Good evening, can I get you started with drinks?” He asks, his dark shirt finely pressed and buttoned to the very top. 

“No thank--” you begin. 

“We’ll take a bottle of cabernet,” Andy interjects, “for the table. Oh, and could we get some fresh bread. This has been sitting out.” 

The server acquiesces and takes the basket as Andy hands over the wine menu. You barely keep from rolling your eyes. You’re not here to eat and drink and be merry. Kara is quite possibly behind bars. 

You glare at him and wait. The server leaves as you keep your arms folded, fingers clamped tightly. He looks at you as if there’s nothing wrong. As if this is all normal. 

“I want to know what’s going to happen to Kara. You said you can help--” 

“I can,” he says casually, “so let’s have a nice dinner and then I’ll do just that.” 

“But she’s--” 

“They’ll have her in holding, question her, then they’ll have to figure out charges, yada, yada,” he explains, “don’t worry, I’ll give them a call after, tell them my client is invoking her right to an attorney.” 

Your chest thumps and your ears ring. He’s so confident. He already knows you can’t say no. Not to him or this dinner. You have to sit there and celebrate his victory that came with your defeat. It’s not right. It’s... it’s... deranged. 

“Why?” You croak. 

“Why?” He shakes his head. 

“Why are you doing this? Why me? Why not someone... someone you can relate to? Someone your age?” 

“Why you? You’re perfect, sweetheart. Perfect for me,” he coos, “come on, we get along. We did. I know I messed things up but it can’t change that we had fun. We did, didn’t we?” 

You swallow and shrug. Those nights you stayed up and mined or raced or whatever, they were fun, they were nights you look forward to. But every single one was a lie. 

“Sure, but... what if I’d lied to you? What if I wasn’t me? What if I was some guy in a basement--” 

“You weren’t.” 

“But what if--” 

“I know you weren’t.” 

“How could you know--” 

“I just did. You’re so genuine, so... kind, that can’t be fake,” he insists. 

You sink down, slumping your shoulders, and look away. What can you do? You’re exactly where you never wanted to be. With less options. With none. 

“What do you want from me?” Your dry mouth crackles around your words. 

He’s quiet as the server returns. He sits back and you lift your chin as you watch the server uncork the bottle. He pours the wine and Andy asks for a few more minutes with the menu. Again, you have no appetite. 

When you’re alone again, Andy takes a breath and shifts in his chair. He brings his hands together, pinching his left ring finger as if he’s missing something. He quickly pulls his hands apart. 

“You. That’s all I want,” he breathes. 

You stare at him. You don’t understand. Maybe it’s because you don’t want to. If you keep denying it, it might not be the very idea that makes your skin crawl. 

He reaches for his glass of wine and holds it out. You stare at it, then look him in the face. You can’t wipe the horror from your face. 

“Cheers to us, sweetheart,” he says, “me and you.” 

You shake your head as he waits. Slowly you take the glass before you and raise it. He clinks the crystal between you. 

“It’s the first day of the rest of our lives,” he declares, “we can both build the home we always wanted. Together.” 

🎮

Andy pays the bill as you wallow in futility. This is it. Your life is over. All because of one mistake. All because you trusted the wrong person. 

He stands first and you follow. He grabs the to-go box of the food you barely touched. You’re in such a fog, you can barely think. He gestures you towards the door as he nudges you with the box. You hug your purse to your stomach and walk between the tables. 

The cool night air wakes you up. As you come to the sidewalk, you stop. You turn back to him and wet your mouth, a hint of wine on your tongue. 

“Call. Right now,” your voice shakes. 

“What’s going on, sweetheart?” He inclines his head as if he doesn’t understand. 

“The police. Call. You said you would help Kara,” you insist. 

His brow arches and he nods. He holds out the container and you take it stiffly, letting your purse dangle from your shoulder. He pulls out his phone as he stares at you. Finally, he looks down and scrolls. He clears his throat before he puts it to his ear. 

“Hi, yes, this is Andy Barber, I’m an attorney for a woman in your custody. Yes, I do.” You listen to the piecemeal conversation, “name is Kara Orascio. Yes, she won’t be talking to the police any longer. That’s correct.” He pauses and listens intently, “I’m out of town but I can be there tomorrow. Sure.” 

He hangs up as his eyes cling to you still.  

“So, looks like we need to pack,” he says. 

“What?” You utter. 

“Don’t you want to see your friend?” He challenges. 

“Well, yes, but I thought you--” 

“I’m not coming back here again. So, you’re coming. We’ll deal with your friend’s charges then we’ll go home.” 

You blink, “home?” 

“Sure, sweetheart, I got it all ready for you,” he turns down the sidewalk and takes your hand. 

You have the urge to rip your hand out of his. You want to tell him not to touch you. You want to scream and run away. You don’t because you want to save Kara more. 

“I meant what I said before. I can get you into school down there,” he guides you along, “you’ll like it. It's close to Boston. Place called Nelson. You ever been to Massachusetts?” 

“Hm, no, didn’t travel much.” 

“That’s okay. We can do some of that too. Still got lots of summer left. We could go somewhere sunny,” he drawls, “you know, it gets gloomy in the fall so we may as well enjoy it while we can.” 

“Sure,” you murmur. 

Your feet are heavy, your head too, every part of you just wants to give up. Haven’t you? Isn’t that what this is? You surrender.  

“You okay, sweetheart?” He stops and lets go of you, fishing around in his pocket. 

“I’m...” your vision narrows in; just like the moment you first met him. As Andy. As the real him. As the twisted man you just sold your soul to. “...tired.” 

“Aw, yeah, well, it’s been a long few days. For both of us. You wanna come back to my hotel. The bed’s really cozy and the tub is deep. You could relax for the night before we gotta get on the road,” he offers. 

You shake your head, “n-no,” you stutter. The last thing you want to do is be alone behind closed doors with him. “You said... pack. I should... do that.” 

“Ah, I did. Alright, I’ll take you to your grandma’s. I’ll have to come early so we can get to your friend.” 

“Right,” you agree coarsely. 

“Trust me. I know how to handle cops,” he chuckles and pulls out his keys, unlocking the car right beside you. He opens the door and steps back, “I’ll call ahead. Get us a room as there too. I guess you’re going to want to catch up with your friend while we’re there. Might be a while before you see her again.” 

You wince and look at him. A while. You look around at the street lights. You’re not unhappy. Leaving this place doesn’t matter to you but leaving Kara, possibly forever, that’s a knife in the chest. But forever is easier if you know she’s okay. If you know she doesn’t pay for your stupidity. 

You nod and get in the car. You can’t speak. If you even try, you’ll bawl. The end is there, you feel it closing you in with the car door. 

[tinfoil-jones]

Gravity Falls: For Your Own Good, Ch. 7

Summary: A few years after moving to Gravity Falls and having his lab built, Stanford Pines happens upon his estranged twin brother, Stanley. He mentally prepared himself to be suffocated by his brothers neediness all over again - what he wasn't prepared for was Stanley walking right past him like he didn't even notice him.

Rating: M for language, violence, and adult implications

Preface: Dialogue only, but some actions will be annotated for clarity. Cross-Posted on AO3 Here

WARNING: TW/ the topic of suicide.

First - Prev - Next

CH.7

“You really need to tidy this place up, Stanford. I know you live by yourself, but that’s no excuse to have papers and books scattered around like a dust devil came through.”

“It’s organized chaos, Fiddleford. I know where everything is.”

“And this pile of unwashed laundry?”

“I’ll get to it. Washing clothes is a waste of time, and I’m a busy man.”

“Uh huh, and this pile of unopened letters on your counter? What are all of these, Stanford?”

“Several of our colleagues started sending me letters en masse.”

“And you didn’t open or read them?”

“I received so many at once, it must have been an invitation for a convention. I wasn't interested in attending one at the time. I’ll get to them eventually.”

“These are dated over a year-.”

“Eventually.”

“You’re stubborn as a mule. At least wash your dishes. You’ve been categorizing your notes for the past hour - what are you trying to do?”

“I’m trying to find the definitive event.”

“For Stan?”

“Yes. You said that something extremely traumatic caused the memory loss; if I can identify what event exactly caused this, maybe I can fix this. The problem is, however…”

“Is that you’ve handled the situation in the most extreme way you could think of?”

“No. That isn’t it- and that isn’t true.”

“Mhmmm.”

“The problem is there’s too much.”

“Too much?”

“Trauma. He’s offhandedly mentioned terrible things- even when I met him in town, he had three stab wounds and acted like it was no big deal. And the more we ask, the more we prod, there’s more. The ones we heard were just the ones he was comfortable enough to mention, there has to be worse things he will not or can not speak of. And that thought… scares me, Fiddleford. I knew he wasn’t doing fantastic, but it wasn’t… It wasn’t supposed to be this bad.”

“That’s not your fault Stanford - didn’t you say he left home? It is sad he was too stubborn to ask you or anyone else in your family for help, but I suppose you two have that in common yeah?”

“...”

“I’ll admit that might have been tactless of me- Stanford? What’s- Hey! Hey now, it’s okay! It’s okay- I’m here for you.”

“...Five.”

“What’re you whimpering into your hands, now?”

“Five times. He wrote me a list of people who have tried to kill him in the past. There were thirty names.”

“That’s terrible, but not entirely surprising from what he’s-.”

“He listed himself five times.”

(...)

“How could you be so selfish?”

“I’m a selfish guy, I dunno what you want me to say.”

“Why do you only ever think of yourself?”

“Can’t afford not to. It’s dog eat dog out there, you know.”

“Will you take this seriously?”

“Will you tell me what you’re upset about this time? I can’t read minds, and I’ve known you for four days! Throw me a bone here, PhD.”

“You tried to- to take your own life?”

“Yeah. A couple times. Never succeeded, but that’s the story of my life.”

“Why would you do that? Why would you try something like-”

“Okay I’ve had enough of your judgemental bullshit. I’ve been playing along with your ‘missing twin’ narrative, the least you could do is not fucking go there. I’m a homeless criminal on the run all the time. You tell me why you think I’d want to die sometimes.

Use that big fucking brain of yours for two seconds and think statistics - homeless people kill themselves more than ‘regular’ people, so do prisoners and convicts. You’re both? Oooh boy you’re in for a time. You have to fight to survive all of the time, and sometimes… sometimes you just get so tired, you want to stop fighting you… you just want a break from it all. You want it to just end.”

“Stanley…”

“...”

“...Talk to me. Please. I’m not trying to judge you, I just want to understand.”

"...Let's say I am this mystery twin-"

"You are."

"I'm being hypothetical here, listen. Let's say I am this mystery twin of yours. Specs was saying he didn't even know you had a twin."

"How did-."

"You pressed the mute button, not deafen; I could still hear you. Anyways, your best friend didn't know you had a twin. So to your own best friend you never mentioned 'me' over what, at least 4 years or however long it took you to get a degree? Or in the years that followed? Not even once?

If I'm your twin, I can't have been that important for you to do all of this. I screwed something up, and you don't want me in your life."

"..."

"I don’t know what you're trying to prove here- if you’re going through some guilt or pity or whatever. I'm just some drifter! I don’t have anything, and I don’t have anyone. You shouldn't be wasting your time like this. I'm not worth any of the time or effort you’ve put into this. Even if I was who you think I am. Because that guy? That guy fucked up so badly you didn't think about him for ten years. And I'm just as big of a fuck up."

"Is that... is that what you think about yourself?"

"Stanford, that's all that I know about myself."

*Ford abruptly opens the barred door and walks through the forcefield into the cell*

"Woah woah, I'm not looking for a fight-."

*Ford hugs him, Stan just stands there*

"I wish you called, reached out to me, I-. I wish I reached out."

“...He probably wishes he reached out, too.”

To be continued...

[babydollmarauders]

SWEET SWEET BABY — JACK HUGHES

part of the el!hughes au

summary: in which y/n (lovie) gives birth to their baby boy

warnings: reference to porn (?), birth

notes: THIS TAKES PLACE IN APRIL 2024! (2.8k words)

not my gif

“five more days.”

Jack’s voice breaks me out of my reading trance, my eyes tearing away from my book that sits propped up on my overly large bump.

“hmm?” i hum, wincing as the baby pushes against my bladder.

Jack just smiles, he has one hand resting on my lower stomach, and the other holding our two-year-old to his chest as she naps.

“five more days,” he repeats, his sentence broken up by a yawn. “until his due date.”

“if he can stay in here that long.” i joke. it’s an ongoing worry of mine, that our baby boy is gonna come before his due-date like his sister did.

“he’ll do it.” Jack says confidently, looking down at my stomach. “right, little guy?”

our son, as though knowing his father is talking to him, kicks directly at Jack’s hand on my bump, resulting in a wide grin from Jack.

“told ya, Lovie.” he looks back at me, “he’ll wait. he just told us so.”

“go take your nap!” i laugh, pushing at his legs with my foot.

“okay, well i’m taking her with me.” he sticks his tongue out at me as he stands up, clutching Eleanor tightly to his chest with his good arm as he does so.

“that’s fine with me. peace and quiet.” i sigh, “maybe i’ll actually get to finally finish my book.”

“you mean your porn?” Jack teases, bending over to press a kiss to my forehead.

“it’s not porn! it’s romance!”

“porn with a plot!” his words are spoken with a dismissive wave of his hand in his post-surgery sling as he walks toward our bedroom.

“shut up!” Luke’s voice drifts out from his bedroom, and i can only imagine him with his pillow pressed against his ear. “i don’t wanna hear your freaky sex talk! some of us are trying to have a pregame nap!”

Jack throws his head back in laughter, the tips of my ears turning red at Luke’s assumption.

“go to sleep, before you upset my son.” i huff, waving Jack off.

“our son can’t get upset yet.” he reminds me, his brows furrowing in confusion.

“i know. i said my son.” i tell him. “Luke.”

“oh my god.” Jack groans, rolling his eyes before he turns and finally disappears down the hallway.

i hear our bedroom door click shut and let out a sigh of contentment.

Jack hasn’t given me any room to breathe for the past couple days. ever since we hit one week until the due-date, which is how early i had El, Jack has been hovering nonstop, just in case the baby decides he’s ready to make his grand entrance. but finally, it’s the last game of the regular season tonight, and with Jack, Luke, and El all taking naps, i get a couple hours to myself.

just me, my book, and the unborn child in my womb that is currently dancing on my bladder.

i heave out a sigh, bookmarking my page and shutting my book, letting it fall to the couch as i struggle to push myself up.

damnit, i should’ve had Jack help me up to pee before he went to sleep.

i finally, successfully, rise from the couch, waddling over to the bathroom and making it to the toilet just in time.

after washing my hands, i head into the kitchen and grab myself a water bottle and the tupperware of pre-cut fruit that Jack had prepared for me this morning, before making my way back to the couch.

**

my head is pounding, light pains in my stomach as i sit on the floor, waiting up for Jack and Luke to get home.

the Devils lost to the Islanders 4-1, and i know both the boys are gonna need cheering up. even though Jack sat in a suite the entire game and didn’t play, i know he feels the loss just as hard as the rest of his teammates.

El is wired from her two naps of the day, currently decked out in a princess dress with a lab coat over it as she plays doctor, checking my bump for any ‘boo-boo’s, but i don’t have the energy to fight her on going to bed.

El’s play stethoscope is pressed against my bump, her wild blonde curls falling over her eyes as she looks down.

“mama.” she whispers, standing up straight and cupping my face.

“yes, lovely?” i coo, tucking a curl behind her ear.

“baby heart!” she points to my stomach, bending back down to press her plastic stethoscope against the stretched out fabric of my shirt.

“yeah? are you listening to the babies heart?” she nods enthusiastically, the stethoscope bouncing from its connection in her ears.

she rips it out though when she hears the front door unlock, her head snapping up towards the living room entrance, waiting to see who it is.

as soon as Jack rounds the corner, her little legs take off; her feet slapping against the hardwood floor as she runs over to him.

“daddy!” Jack’s face brightens at the sight of her, a small smile playing on his lips as he bends down, allowing El to wrap her arms around his neck.

“hi, lovely.” Jack presses a kiss to her cheek as she pulls back. “what are you still doing up? how come mommy didn’t put you to bed?”

“mommy, doesn’t have a single ounce of energy left to fight her into bed.” i sigh, letting my head fall back onto the sofa.

“uncle Luke’s got it.” Luke swoops in, pulling El up into his arms. “c’mon munchkin, you wanna wear your Elsa jammie’s tonight?”

“dark vader!” El screams, making Luke wince as he starts toward the hallways to her room.

“what has uncle Quinn done to you?” he shakes his head as they retreat.

Jack sighs, looking down at me on the floor. he huffs out a chuckle and shakes his head at me as i stretch grabby hands out to him, walking over and helping me up off the floor.

“you okay?” i run a hand through his overgrown hair, staring into his ocean blue eyes.

“yeah,” he starts, pausing when he sees me flinch. “are you?”

“mhm.” i nod, gritting my teeth as a sharp pain shoots through my abdomen and back.

“are you sure?” he asks, flattening the back of his hand to my forehead as if checking my temperature. i swat it away. “Lovie, if we need to go to the hospital, just tell me. better safe than sorry.”

“we don’t-” i’m cut off by El storming into the living room in her Darth Vader onesie, Luke chasing behind her with her toothbrush in hand.

“we gotta brush your teeth Ellie-Bug!” Luke catches up to her with his long legs, but not before she can try and scramble up my body, her hands pushing against my stomach and causing me to cringe in pain.

“alright, that’s it, we’re going.” Jack announces, stepping back.

“no.” i stand my ground, crossing my arms across my chest. “i’m fine, Jack. it’s just a few pains. nothing i can’t handle.”

and my words would’ve been believable, if it weren’t for the gush of liquid that begins to trickle down my legs.

“fuck.” i curse, squeezing my eyes shut as Jack retreats to the linen closet to retrieve a towel.

“mommy! potty! go!” El screams, her little index finger pointing towards the bathroom.

“no, lovely, mommy doesn’t need to potty.” i lift a foot as Jack sets a towel down to soak up the liquid, oddly calm given the circumstances.

“hey, sunshine,” Jack’s voice is soft as he squats down in front of our toddler. “you know how mommy and daddy have been telling you baby brother is in mommy’s tummy?”

“baby!” El squeals, making to come and rub my bump like she usually does, but Jack holds her back.

“yeah, a baby!” Jack grins, “well now baby brother is ready to come and meet you, doesn’t that sound fun?”

my eyes water at the calm and gentle approach he has to explaining the situation to our sweet girl, and how excited she seems to get as she nods her head.

“okay, so mommy and daddy are gonna go to the doctor’s, and uncle Luke is gonna stay here with you. is that okay?”

“yuke!” she shouts, her head whipping around to find Luke, who’s currently attending to me as i waddle towards my bedroom to get changed.

“i’m right here, munchkin.” Luke switches places with my husband, probably the better choice, as i’ll need someone to help me peel these leggings off and put new ones on, and i think Luke and i would both rather he not be the one to do it.

Jack makes quick work of helping me sit on our bed, peeling my leggings and underwear off before he helps me into new ones.

“you ready, love?” i question, suspiciously eyeing him and his strangely serene demeanor.

“shouldn’t i be asking you that question?” he smiles, helping me off the bed.

“oh, i know i’m not. but are you?” he guides me back out to the living room, past El’s bedroom, where i can hear Luke reading her a bedtime story, and towards the front door.

“yeah.” he nods as he opens the door. “i’m ready.”

“oh good. then, can you push him out for me?” Jack laughs loudly, helping me into the car.

“unfortunately, i can’t do that.” he reminds me, my lips turning down in a frown. “but i’ll tell you what i can do.”

he pauses to round the car, sliding into the drivers seat. his hand slips into mine, lacing our fingers together as he looks into my eyes.

“i can hold your hand, and remind you that at the end of all that pushing, we’re gonna have our baby boy.” his forehead rests against mine, dipping down to kiss my lips before he pulls away and begins driving to the hospital.

“fuck you and your sweet words.” i sigh, gripping the car door and squeezing his hand as another contraction comes along. “shit!”

**

sweat drips down my forehead as i push. Jack stands beside me, his hand tightly clutched in mine as he whispers reassuring words in my ear.

“i want my mom!” i sob, tears streaming down my cheeks as i stop pushing, looking towards Jack, who’s eyes are welled up with tears.

“i’m sorry,-” he pushes my hair back from sticking to my forehead.

“i want Ellen!” i clarify, squeezing my eyes shut as another contraction hits and i’m forced to begin pushing again.

“oh lovie,” my husband coos, resting his forehead against the side of my head. “mom is on her way. i promise.”

we were lucky in the sense that Ellen and Jim had already flew into town yesterday to attend the boys game tonight and wait for baby boy to arrive. but my labor happened so fast, that he had just gotten ahold of Ellen before i was told it was time to push.

“okay, take a breath, y/n.” the doctor speaks, “i can see his head crowning so this next push should be it.”

i take three deep breaths before i feel another contraction, pushing one last time before the sound of infant cries fill the room.

Jack squeezes my hand as i fall back on the hospital bed, after labor chills making my body shake.

“good job, mom!” the doctor cheers, “you have a seemingly healthy baby boy!”

the nurse rests him against my chest, handing him over to me, and i let out another sob at the sight of him.

“oh-” i stare down at his sweet face, running a finger along his cheek. “Jacky, he has your nose.”

i glance up at my husband, who looks at our baby with so much love; as if he’s the greatest thing in the world. his tears have finally spilled over, his hand reaching out to hold the back of our son’s head.

“he’s perfect, lovie.” his voice breaks, catching in his throat mid-sentence.

“our perfect baby boy.”

**

“he’s an angel.” Ellen coos, staring down at the baby in her arms.

“isn’t he perfect?” i smile softly, still waking up from my nap.

its now eight in the morning, and after the four a.m. birth and then first feeding an hour later, i only got three hours of sleep before Jack woke me up and told me his mother was getting restless to see her grandson and he knew i wanted to witness the meeting.

Luke and El should be arriving any moment, so we’re letting Jim and Ellen meet him before they get here.

“absolutely perfect.” Ellen smiles, looking back at Jack and i. my husband lays beside me in the hospital bed, his head resting on my shoulder as he snores.

i can’t imagine how tired he must be. he stayed awake the entire time i napped, just admiring our baby boy and attempting to do some one armed skin-on-skin with the help of a nurse; who advised better of my husband than to use his other arm, which is still in a sling after his shoulder surgery just six days prior.

“he has Jack’s nose.” Jim chuckles as his wife hands the baby off to him.

“that’s what i said.” i grin, turning my head to look down at my sleeping soulmate. i crane my neck, pecking a kiss to his nose, which makes him scrunch it in his sleep.

the room door swings open, Luke stepping through with El clutched in his arms, and i carefully shake Jack awake.

“hmm?” he groans, his eyes fluttering open before he sits up.

“El is here.” i whisper, just before our daughter squeals.

“mommy! daddy!” Luke sets her on the hospital bed and she clambers up our legs, gingerly settling down on Jack’s lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“hi, lovely. did you have a good night with uncle Luke?” Jack asks, huffing out a laugh at the sight of her messily done ponytail. she nods, her curls bouncing on top of her head.

“her hair is wild, don’t blame me.” Luke huffs, taking the baby from his father’s arms.

“oh my god, he’s precious.” Luke smiles softly at the baby in his arms as he walks toward the bed.

“you see your baby brother, El?” i question, and her eyes widen as Luke hands my son back to me.

my daughter’s lips part, her hand reaching out to touch the babies foot.

“baby?” she whispers, looking up at Jack and he nods.

“yeah, lovely. that’s the baby that was in mommy’s tummy.” her eyes flicker between the baby and my stomach at his words, and i giggle.

“yeah, there’s nothing in there anymore, lovebug.” i tell her.

“baby.” she repeats, her touch raising to his tiny hands.

“hey, mom?” Jack calls out, Ellen looking over at him with raised brows. “you mind facetiming Quinny?”

“yeah, of course.” she nods, digging her phone out of her purse.

i feel a slight twinge of guilt as i hear the facetime ring, feeling a little bad to be waking Quinn up at five in the morning on a game day, but i know he’ll be excited to see the baby.

“mom? what’s up?” Quinn’s voice is groggy when the call connects, and instead of answering, Ellen just hands the phone to Jack.

“hey, Quinny.” my husband grins, letting El wave hello to her uncle.

“hey Jacky, hi El-Bell.” Quinn rubs his eyes, sitting up in his bed. “what’s going on? i have a game tonight, bro.”

“i know. but, i thought you might wanna meet someone.” Jack flips the phone around, pointing it to me and i hold the baby up better so that Quinn can see.

“oh my god.” Quinn’s seemingly more awake now, bringing the phone closer to his face. “you had him.”

tears well in my eyes, an overwhelming sense of longing for my big brother figure’s presence creeping up on me as i nod.

“i had him.” i confirm.

“he’s beautiful, guys.” Quinn smiles as Jack slots himself and El into the frame, showing off all four of us. “what’s his name?”

i share a glance with Jack and he nods, giving me permission.

“Elio Quintin Hughes.” i smile softly, my tears spilling over my waterline as Quinn gapes.

i hear Ellen let out a little sob, and i glance over to find Jim pulling her in for a hug.

“you named him after… me?” Quinn asks, and even through the phone screen, i can see tears glistening in his eyes.

Jack nods.

“it only seemed right.” i explain. “if it weren’t for you, Jack and i wouldn’t have met. you guys are the family that i desperately wished for growing up, and if it weren’t for you, i wouldn’t have it now either.”

tears stain Quinn’s cheeks, “i love you, y/n. and you too, i guess, Jack.”

Jack laughs, huffing out a “we love you too.”

we stay on the call for another hour, letting El talk to her uncle, and us telling him how the birth went, before he excuses himself, telling us he should probably get a bit more sleep before morning skate.

Jack hands the phone back to Ellen, who snaps a picture of the four of us squished together in the hospital bed.

my little family.

[kino-der-joon]

💫 I don’t like vent posting or bringing down the mood if I can help it. Usually when I feel bad, I try to lift others up because it makes me feel a bit better, but I’m not so sure I have the energy to do that right now. Instead, I just want to make a post to say thank you. I know I don’t post on a regular schedule and I feel I’m prone to taking over the Richtofen tag sometimes, I have a bunch of hc asks that I need to get to and some more hc posts that have been asked of me- I don’t mind doing them, I do WANT to, but I think I’m just a bit…Burnt out? ✨

✨ I had an awful start to this week- And I’m not talking about the hate ask (hey bestie!! 😌) I’ve been trying to draw for the past few days and nothing has come out, I’ve tried to force myself to take a break by gaming but then I only end up annoyed and upset. A lot of things are boring to me right now and I hate this, I really do. ✨

✨ So, rather than focus on myself, I want to focus on everyone who interacts with me. Thank you for always showing your support, encouraging me or making me laugh. Thank you for the asks and the interest in my opinions. Thank you for being yourselves too, you’re all so amazing and I love it here- This little Richtofen side blog is the safest place on Earth for me, and I have you all to thank for that. So thank you, bless you all. I struggle to say the ‘L word’ to those I’m not romantically entangled with. I’m not a very huggy kind of person with friends and I don’t really show affection with friends either. But, I do care about you all- I love you all.✨

✨ I’m not taking a break from posting, I’m not going anywhere, but I wanted to take a moment to appreciate all of you. I’ll have some stuff out soon, I’m sure. I always bounce back! Until I figure that out, I’ll just be here. 😌✨

[fuck-customers]

⭐ I work in a specialty hospital for pets. We take care of cats and dogs with issues like cancer, heart disease, and major injuries, to name a few. We're not a regular vet where you go for checkups. It isn't unusual to see bills costing thousands of dollars. The smallest bill I regularly see is still $200+, while the biggest I've ever seen was more than $20k (that was a single visit, not counting the thousands they spent before getting to that point). All that said, I still hear from clients that we're cheaper than our closest competitor. It's just an expensive business to be in.

As you can probably guess, there's a lot of heartache in this business. While most of our clients can afford the $200 first visit, many can't afford to follow through on their pet's treatment, regardless of how much they love them. Which means they have to make very difficult decisions, or, more realistically, those decisions are made for them based on their financial realities. So while it's painted as a choice, it really isn't.

And that's the worst part. The fact that they're here at all is proof that they deeply love their fur baby and want them to get better. And we're telling them it IS possible, but we need that $$$. And that sucks. That SUCKS.

That all brings us to today. A new client came over to pay his $1,500 bill (which I personally could not do, so he's clearly better off than I am) and starts complaining about the pricing. I don't set the prices, but I understand wanting to complain. But then he said "what happens when someone can't pay?"

And it's like. I mean. It's not some mystery. It's quite easy to figure out on your own. If someone can't pay, then their pet doesn't get treatment. If their pet doesn't get treatment..... well, that depends on the specific issue, but a lot of the time it means they die. Maybe not immediately, but they're on their way, y'know? If they can't pay, they go home.

So I'm trying to tastefully explain that, and he gets more upset and starts yelling that our prices are killing pets. That we could save more pets if we lowered our prices.

GOLLY GEE, WHY DIDN'T WE EVER THINK ABOUT LOWERING THE PRICES? IT MUST BE BECAUSE WE DON'T CARE ABOUT PETS. WE DON'T CARE ABOUT POOR PEOPLE. IT DEFINITELY ISN'T BECAUSE THIS IS THE REALITY UNDER CAPITALISM AND WE'RE DOING OUR BEST. AND OF COURSE OF COURSE OF COURSE, ALL OF THIS IS MY FAULT, SPECIFICALLY. CLEARLY I, AN ENTRY-LEVEL EMPLOYEE, AM THE ONE MAKING THESE DECISIONS, AND IF YOU MAKE ME FEEL BAD ENOUGH, I'LL FIX IT.

Jfc man. Go yell at someone higher up. Go yell at your elected officials and demand universal healthcare for pets. But this shit is already hard enough, and yelling at me while also asking very emotional questions isn't remotely productive. Fuck you. I hope your dog is doing better.

Posted by admin Rodney

[cxtori]

Kaveh ✮ Bad Days

summary: basically you’ve had a really rough week and Kaveh decides to help you do your hair when you get upset with it :)

genre: fluff established relationship, good ole’ feminine hair rage, hurt/comfort, Kaveh is really good at doing hair I just know he is

warnings: n/a

WC: 1.3k

song: here with me by d4vd

tori’s note: OMG a genshin fic, lookie! And HELLO! I’m alive. I’m finally getting used to my new job and routine so I’m finding more time to spend on my hobbies, which means I’m finding more time to write :) hoping to be posting more stuff soon! <3

It had been a hard day. A Hard week actually.

First, the art piece you had worked so hard on was rejected by the art exhibit you submitted it to. Then the market was out of all of the key ingredients you needed when you planned to make Kaveh some Fatteh. And then one of the art gallery’s regulars yelled at you because her piece wasn’t in the spot she felt it deserved. Plus all of the other little inconveniences that occurred throughout the week that pushed you closer and closer to the edge.

You were already exhausted, annoyed and frustrated. And now, here you were, sitting at your vanity trying to get your hair fixed and looking pretty while on the verge of tears.

It’s a style you’ve done a million times over. There’s no reason for it to be this complicated. And yet, your hair is refusing to cooperate, your strands now tangled in a hair barrette.

You let out a loud, frustrated groan. At this point, you don’t care if it’s not the best it’s ever been, you just want it to look presentable. But it seems like the harder you try the worse it gets.

Kaveh is supposed to be here at any moment to pick you up for your date and your hair is nowhere near ready. And now the tears welling in your eyes threaten to ruin your makeup as well.

You take a deep breath and try to calm your annoyed thoughts before making another attempt to untangle your hair wrapped around the intricate hair piece, its sparkling green gem reflecting in the mirror as though to mock you.

You’re making fine progress, until you drop the barrette and your hair seems to wrap around it like a magnet. You pick it back up and manage to tug a little too hard on a strand or two, causing a sharp pain in your scalp and an involuntary gasp to escape your lips. And that did it.

You let out an exasperated groan and the tears you’d done so well to hold back drop down your cheeks, dragging dark mascara with it. Great, now your hair is a mess AND so is your makeup.

You pick up the hair piece again, heavily considering whether it would truly be a bad idea to just cut it out.

Before you can convince yourself you’d look good with shorter hair, Kaveh knocks on your door and enters the room.

“Y/n, there you are, darling. I thought you’d be down-” He cuts himself off when he catches a glimpse of your mascara-streaked face in your mirror. “Y/n?”

You turn around to face him, tears now streaming freely down your face as you’ve completely given up on trying to hold them in. You’ve reached your breaking point, though you must admit, you’re surprised it took this long.

“Wh-why are you crying?” Kaveh asks, panic rushing through him at the sight of your current state. His eyes widen slightly and he straightens, placing his hands on his hips. “Was it Ms. Oshi again? I swear, her work isn’t good enough to be putting up a fuss the way she does.”

“No… I mean she did come in again this week, but that’s not why I’m crying,” you say, your words barely comprehensible through your quiet sobs and sniffles.

Kaveh’s arms drop and his expression softens. “What is it then, darling?”

“I can’t get my hair right!” You cry. He looks up at your head, only now noticing the tangled barrett resting chaotically in your strands. “And now my makeup is a mess,” you mutter, turning your gaze back to your reflection.

You miss the soft smile on Kaveh’s lips as he makes his way over to you and rests his hands on your shoulders, gently guiding you to sit up straight.

“Let me help.” You don’t resist when his hands begin working on your hair, carefully pulling it from the metal piece. His nimble fingers make quick work and before long, he’s pulling the barrett from your hair, no scissors needed.

He moves his hand around you to place it in your lap before picking up the hair brush on your vanity. As he straightens out your knotted hair, you begin fixing your makeup, doing your best to not smudge the streaked mascara further on your face.

You finish your makeup at the same time he gets your hair untangled, but when you move to start working on your hair yourself, Kaveh pushes your hands away, a humming quiet “hmm mm”. You, once again, don’t argue and sit back in your chair as he continues his braiding.

Your gaze drops down to the barrett in your lap and you pick up the cool piece of metal. Your fingers trace over the delicate, golden vines and leaves, the stems growing tighter together as they meet in the center where they wrap around a grassy-green crystal surrounded by tiny, crimson red gems.

“Do you remember when I got you that hair piece?” Kaveh asks quietly, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“You mean when you were nervously fumbling with the jewelry box and nearly dumped it into the river? I remember,” you giggle, the image bright and vivid in your memory.

“Ahh, well… yes, but not that part,” he says and you look at his face in the mirror just soon enough to catch the flash of embarrassment on his face. “Do you remember why I’d given it to you.”

You think back on the moment, but no answer comes to mind. You had been together for around 6 months at the time, and aside from that milestone, nothing of significance comes up. You shake your head, careful to do it lightly enough as to not mess up your boyfriends progress. Kaveh gives a light chuckle.

“You had been having an absolutely horrendous week. ‘Worst days of your life’ is what you’d told me.” Your eyebrows furrow as you try to dig up the memories, but you get nothing.

“Granted, I think you were overexagerrating a bit,” he says quickly before continuing. “But still, you were quite upset. I thought the gift would cheer you up. And it did, though maybe not in the way I’d intended.” You laugh again at the image of him almost dropping his newly purchased gift off the bridge into the rushing water below you and the heavy sigh of relief he gave as he clutched the box in his hands like his life depended on it.

He reaches around you to gently take the barrett from your hands, his fingers lingering on yours a few moments longer than necessary.

“All of that to say, this moment will pass. You’ll move on and forget about all of the bad things that happened this week. Well, maybe except Ms. Oshi yelling at you. Her voice forever haunts me,” he jokes and you giggle. He never fails to make you laugh, even if it’s not his intention.

“But something you will never forget are these moments,” he says as he clips the barrett into place. He brushes your hair over to the side and places a light kiss on your exposed shoulder.

“I love you, darling. On your best and on your worst days.” His whispers against your skin give you goosebumps and you turn your head to face him, his amber-red eyes meeting yours.

He takes your hands and guides you to stand up, his hands moving to your wast as soon as your vertical.

“I love you too. Thank you,” you say, leaning close to him so your whispers fall on his lips. He wastes no more time to press his mouth to yours, the scent of clay and sandalwood flooding your senses.

Every unsaid word is conveyed perfectly as he pulls you closer to him and deepens the kiss. You let out a soft laugh when he nibbles your lip, knowing it’ll get a reaction out of you. You pull apart, your quiet pants filling the space between you as you hold each other close.

“My love,” Kaveh says, stroking a thumb tenderly over your cheek. He gives a happy hum as he pulls away, his hand dropping down to yours to grasp it tightly. “We should get going, don’t want the tavern to be too crowded now.”

©Cxtori 2024 please do not copy, plagiarize, repost or translate. reblogs appreciated

[virto-the-weirdo]

13 cards magic future AU

So this is basically me combining several of my smaller au ideas (ghost fedor au, clone puberty au, future au, magic superheroes au n whatever else came to mind) into one big au. I might shove more concepts into it if I come up with stuff.

On another note, this au, as big as it is, is completley unrelated to the rof au. Consider these different things.

Everything below the treshold!

Another important note, for this huge au, the theory that i wrote the other day abt how the cards work is canon, with a minor edit that after death, clone souls always return to the card world, they are magically connected to it

So if you want to catch up on that, heres the link to the post with the theory:

Anyhow moving on with the story:

it all begins with the regular 13 cards - clones are free, fedor is taking care of them

now, he wants them to become independent as soon as possible, seeing how emotionally and phisically draining it is to take care of 8 other people

after they got the paperwork forged, clones were now kind of legal citizens and could do a lot more such as get a job, go to university, move out etc. at this point, none of them are ready to leave the apartment, or dont have enough money for their own place. most of them goot jobs, kuromaku decided to go to university and has a part time job, and he also has a hobby on the side where hes attempting to decode what exactly magic is, how it works, and most importantly how cards work. sometimes other clones join him for the adventures, and at this time clones realise they can use magic with the help of their cards, but theyre still learning abt it so yknow not many big spells

now as time goes by, fedor becomes more and more tired, he thinks its cuz stress since hes basically parenting 8 ppl, but something larger is at play

he has been sleeping a lot latley, and it seemed fine untill it went out of hand

at one point when everyone was taking a walk together, fedor collapsed and seemingly fell asleep

when clones took him back to the apartment and he woke up, everyone realised he became somewhat transparent

fedor was fading away and they didnt know why.

it obviously had to do something with the cards and although reluctant, kuromaku theorised its because all of the clones have been free for a very long time, which naturally upset everyone because it implies they need to be trapped back into the card world in order for fedor to be ok again

also, later on they start to fear that, if fedor dies, they all might die with him, which is also a terrible option

thus begins the arc of learning abt the cards as clones race against time to find out how the cards work, why this is happening to fedor, and most importantly, how to reverse it. As they do, their number keeps dropping, because each time fedor fades more, a clone needs to go to the card world in order to slow down the fading process and buy them more time.

over time they learned more about the cards and their soul trapping mechanic, coming to the realisation that not only do they all have a piece of fedors soul in them, but that fedor is fading because his soul is currently incomplete

clones are linked to cards and fedor to clones, when all the clones are inside card world, fedors soul fragments are all in one place, so while they are there, fedors soul is more complete and not drained of energy

they also learn that there are still souls trapped in cardworld, maybe at some point the clones in the cardworld try to contact them in an attempt to learn what i just said (mybe they learn it from joker's soul but he asks for a favor in return, more on that later)

in the end they found out that, to cure fedor, they need to remove fedors soul fragments from themselves and fuse them back to him

seeing as how now they knew enough abt magic to craft and preform a spell, they do that, so fedor gets better in few days, but now all clones have only their own souls left in them

and with that arc closed a new one begins - the clone puberty arc

seeing as how the clones are now no longer connected to fedor like they were before, they start to change and differentiate more from fedor. some in more usual and some in more unusual ways

this is a very turbulent time in their lives as lots starts to change

fedor, although now cured, has a new problem, and its helping clones overcome the challanges of clone puberty, poor guy cant catch a break lol

anyways, clones resume their adventures, learning more about themselves and magic and so on, i already shared some headcannons for this part of the story so i think u get the gist of what u may expect, i have some comics saved up too

also somewhere here id expect some clones to move out and become more independent

also kuromaku is still studying and he lives in the dorm

and ofc the researching magic shenanigans still happend as there is still more to know abt the cards, lets say they havent yet grasped everything abt them, but enough to cure fedor b4

anyhow somewhere at the end of this arc, they are reminded of something by someone

basically, if we take into account that they got info they need to cure fedor from joker, he wants to cash in the favor and asks for his freedom (he probably communicates via spooky magic, mirrors or appears on his card or idk something like that)

not only that but there is this guilt upon everyone as they learned that there are still souls trapped in the card world

after a long discussion, even though they werent keen on the idea of more clones, especially not fedor, probably due to jokers threats and possibly nightmares and their sence of justice and morals or whatever, clones decided to free the rest of the souls, promising fedor they will take care of them

and so the new arc begins

the queens arc

clones, with the help of fedor, summon the queens and the joker, immediatley doing the seperating spell so none of the queens or joker have fedors soul fragments, as to avoid the fading situation from reocurring

now the queens and joker are very chaotic, excited to be free, and also probably having their own clone puberties

now this time, its on clones to take care of the new clones, fedor gets a well deserved break

at this point all the main clones are independent from fedor (also kuromaku graduated by now) so they have lots of opportunity for shenanigans with new clones as they attempt to show the queens the ropes

now joker probably has his own mini arc, hes like the most magical out of all of the clones n knows the most so he doesnt really need to be protected and taught as much as he needs to be contained cuz he screws around a lot

or not, mybe he flips everyone off and flies away to claim his freedom idk what weird fae creatures do these days

anyways, queens get to hang out with clones a lot, probably getting a lot of screen time if it were a show as they go trough their own stuff n misadventurres

kuromaku and nicole hang out a lot, bcuz nicole has an obvious passion for science n stuff, she goes on to follow her 'brother's' example and decides to go to a university, she has lots of fun explosive adventures

anyhow i imagine emma has lots of beef with og clones, being really rebellious and all but at the end of the day she realizes they just be wanting to help, and she chills a bit once they stop looking down on her (assuming they consider her as younger sibling that needs to be taken care of, while she sees them all as equals)

helen is excited to be here although a bit scared of this huge new human world, so she sticks around others a lot, trying to be as helpful as she can as she wants to repay them for setting her free

cleo... cleo is vibing. idk what else to say, she might go n become a psychic or something, scamming ppl untill others stop her, that would be a fun lil episode

anyways the magic shenanigans continue

after a while once queens are settled down as well, they all have their own lives, but theres a catch

they can all do magic now

after so long learning about it, each clone has learned a set of spells and abilities they can now use with the help of cards

and often when they do, they can firsth transform into their card clothes (magical girl style) and then be all superhero (or antihero or supervillian) abt it if they want to, but most of them are very responsible at this point and dont use magic that often as it aint needed that often

also if some of them do have some kind of superhero arc, they go under their card roles pseudonyms (for example, felix's hero name would be jack of hearts), and their identities remain unknown bcuz *magic*, probably some kind of cloaking psychic spell that prevents ppl from recognising them, even though they got no masks at all

they still have magical adventures here and there, kuromaku is still trying to uncover and scientifically explain magic n stuff so yknow, theres still lots of adventures to go on

there would probably be more characters that meet the clones n are friends or enemies or whatever

mybe some clones even start families

also just one note abt this au, it might be a bummer to some but like its my au so yknow

I do what i want

clones here are like a family and thus there is no shipping between them

Okay thnx for coming to my rambling about this giant au. I might post some sketches n stuff I have on it that I made for fun but dont expect anything too grand, this one is just for funsies.

I have some sketches and fics for it from all over the timeline saved up so you may expect those altho they may be angsty lol.

[lassofics]

I’m Fine

Word count: 977

Timeline: Post Season 3

Warnings: None

Summary: Roy is not fine. Keeley and Jamie both try to coax him into opening up.

Notes: This fic was created and is being published as a part of #Whumpuary2025 !! However, I used the alternate prompt “I’m fine” instead of the regular Day 7 prompts!

There’s been a very noticeable change in Roy Kent’s attitude.

Sure, he’s always been a grumpy old stubborn bastard. But things have taken a noticeable turn for the worse after Ted’s departure.

No one — not even Roy himself — had realized how close they’d been. But now, without him here, and with the pressures of being head coach on top of his normal life stressors, he’s really fucking struggling. But he’ll never admit that — not out loud and not to himself.

Everybody had noticed his suddenly worse-than-normal temper, his seemingly permanent scowl that never seemed to go away (even after a successful match), the way his jaw was always clenched and his muscles always seemed taut with tension, but nobody had dared to say anything. Until today.

“Babe?”

Keeley’s voice echoes from the kitchen as she slowly approaches Roy. Jamie, holding her hand, trails behind her.

Roy’s scowl deepens slightly, and he doesn’t even look up from the paperwork. “I’m busy.”

“I know,” Keeley says gently, then puts a hand on his shoulder that makes Roy flinch as if he’d just been slapped. But she doesn’t back down. “Me and Jamie just want a few minutes of your time, yeah? And then we’ll leave you alone.”

Her tone, sweet and soft, makes Roy sigh deeply as he finally looks up from the papers. He crosses his arms, looking between his partners skeptically.

“Make it quick.”

Jamie steps forward, his gaze much more softened than usual. “We just wanna make sure you’re okay, is all.”

Roy deadpans, his eyes narrowing. “Why wouldn’t I be fucking okay?”

“We’re just… worried about you, babes,” Keeley admits, gently squeezing Roy’s shoulder. “I mean… you’re always working, and-”

“‘Cause I’m fucking busy,” Roy all but snaps back, though he immediately feels guilty for it.

Seeing that Keeley’s gentle approach isn’t working, Jamie steps in. “You don’t have to be such a prick about it, though.”

Roy scowls deeper, shooting daggers at the other man. “Says the prince prick of all pricks.”

“Okay- guys, please.” Keeley lets out a frustrated sigh, then just turns to Roy, her heart aching slightly as she sees the stress on his face. “We’re not trying to upset you, and if you need space, we can give you space. But… bloody hell, Roy. You hardly even come to bed with us anymore.”

Roy scoffs and throws his hands up. “Well, maybe I’m not in the fucking mood for sex, Keeley!”

Keeley’s eyes widen slightly. “Oi. That is not what I meant.”

Jamie, unable to stop himself, chimes in with a sheepish expression. “Though, it would be nice if-”

“Jamie!” Keeley gives him a harsh nudge with her elbow, causing him to wince slightly and shut up immediately.

Roy just rolls his eyes and turns back to his paperwork. Jamie, ready to give up, just silently flips Roy off behind his back, a gesture that Roy doesn’t see. Keeley, however, spots this and elbows Jamie again, this time a little harder.

“Roy,” she says quietly. “We’re your partners. We’re not just gonna watch you keep… self-destructing.”

Roy clenched his jaw. “I’m fine.”

“You’re really fuckin’ not, mate,” Jamie points out, crossing his arms and giving Roy a downright dirty look. “Better give yourself a break before you get an ulcer, old man.”

“Jamie!” Keeley hisses again, but Jamie just chuckles.

Roy, on the other hand, does not. Instead, he just lifts his head, now yelling at Jamie. “I’m FINE! I’m fucking fine!”

Jamie, used to Roy’s raised voice by now, raises his own in turn. “No, you’re not! And you’re takin’ it out on us, and that’s poopy!”

By some miracle, Keeley somehow manages to stifle a laugh at Jamie’s word choice, maintaining her serious expression. “He’s right, Roy. We’re just here to help. You can’t keep pushing us away. It’s not good for you.”

Roy grits his teeth, narrowing his eyes. He stays silent for a few more seconds, almost revealing some vulnerability, but then he quickly steels his gaze, looking between the two of them.

He loves these two so much… but he can’t open up to them. He’s not built for it. The weight on his chest is his to bear — his and his alone. Maybe if Ted was still here, he’d get some help from the fucking Diamond Dogs… but it’s just not the same without the leader of the pack. The true leader.

“I need space,” he finally replies through gritted teeth, this time sounding a little less aggressive and a little more… exhausted.

Keeley’s expression softens. “Babe…”

But Jamie just scoffs. “Bullshit, Roy. You’re just too bloody scared to open up to us. Which is fuckin’ ironic, ‘cause both Keeley and me self have opened up to you.”

Roy clenches his fists, choosing to ignore Jamie, and stares directly at Keeley. “You said if I needed space, you’d give me space. And I need fucking space.”

Jamie opens his mouth again, but Roy sharply yells at him again. “I’m not fucking talking to you, Tartt!”

Keeley, sensing the tension, quickly grabs Jamie’s hand and puts her free hand over his chest in an attempt to calm him down. She’s just as frustrated, but she knows better than to argue with Roy — especially right now, when he’s under so much pressure.

“Okay,” she says softly, though there’s a definite worry in her voice. “We, uh… we’ll give you as much space as you need. But… you’re not alone, Roy.”

Roy wants to fucking scream.

I promise you that there is something worse than being sad, and that’s being alone and being sad. Ain’t no one in this room is alone.

He grits his teeth, suddenly feeling a lump in his throat.

Keeley turns away, still holding Jamie’s hand, and the two of them walk off, leaving Roy alone and sad.

[rollinouttahere-writes]

Wait; I don’t remember much about some arcs, but the foxy the pirate arc was fun; if you’re willing to do anything with this it would be much appreciated!❤️

It’s about on child lucky/reader during the foxy the pirates where they take the reader during one of the games, trying to win her back. Since she’s a child and has no idea what’s going on, she starts crying and stuff, but once they win her back that she’s so clingy and won’t let go of them to the point where she just holds onto on their legs when they win her back and if they lose again; she starts fighting tooth and nails to not let go.

Or something else. I just want to read more child lucky stuff if you have any! Thank you for reading, have a good day author!

I keep telling myself that I’m not going to spoil Lucky Break… but y’all keep giving me these plot bunnies and I keep caving instantly

When I wrote Get Back Here! I’d only imagined the deaging to be temporary, but now this ask has me thinking about it being permanent and now Lucky has been factory reset into a four year old. It’s a very interesting dynamic to think about. I’m gonna have to write about this some more… I’m hereby calling this the Little Lucky AU

I’ve written something like this about the Foxy Pirates before actually! It was just a short drabble, here, but it’s got a similar vibe. The davy back fights do not mesh well with yanderes, and considering that normal, regular-ass Zoro suggested just killing them and leaving in the anime, I think I underplayed how dangerous yandere Zoro would be tbh

Ok so into the spoilers for Lucky Break. They would not get Lucky at all. Period. Why? Because they couldn’t have come in at a worse point in the story. Don’t get me wrong, the Straw Hats wouldn’t take it well at any point, but by this point in Lucky Break they are unhinged. Skypeia is a really bad time for Lucky, and it really messes with adult Lucky so child Lucky is going to be severely traumatized by it. Enel winds up being the tipping point for the Straw Hats going from low-key yandere to full on yandere. Everything post Skypeia takes on a darker tone to match it and the yandere elements of the story go from subtle to very intense.

By the time they get to Long Ring Long Land, Lucky is looking like she got thrown down a flight of stairs, electrocuted, and strangled. This is concerning to see on an adult, and is horrifying to see on a literal preschooler. The Foxy pirates aren’t even really being malicious when they try to take her, they’re genuinely concerned (and also suffering under the effects of Lucky’s amulet which becomes much more potent post Skypeia). They have a team meeting beforehand and are all like “so we’re gonna take the baby and leave the rest of them behind, right?” and no one disagrees.

But needless to say, all of the Straw Hats are on edge and fucking feral so this concern is not taken well. This was supposed to be a drabble, but as per usual I have no self control and wrote a whole ass chapter basically.

3.9k words

Resisting the urge to pick at your scabs was hard on a good day, but when you were feeling sick to your stomach with nerves, it felt impossible not to do. Not wanting to make Chopper upset, you move your hands to grasp at the brim of Luffy’s hat. Partially to keep your hand busy, and partially to keep it from falling over your eyes again.

You guess it made sense that they wouldn’t let you participate, but that didn’t make having to be separated from your friends any less nerve wracking. Luffy had tried to bring you onto his boat regardless, only relenting when Nami bitterly admitted that they had a point and you would be safer on land. 

Terrified at the idea of being alone, you immediately began to tear up and protest, but Luffy made a compromise with you. Since the race was going to be so dangerous, he needed someone to look after his hat and keep it safe. So, if you could be brave about being by yourself for a little while, he would entrust this task to you. Part of you still wasn’t happy about this, but you didn’t want to let Luffy down, so you put on a brave face and accepted. 

Now you were left to sit on the cliffside overlooking the start of the race, waiting for it to begin so it could be over already. At least not everyone else will be in the games after this. From your perch, you could see your friends frantically scanning through the crowd. Oh, they were probably looking for you.

Standing up, you maintained your hold on Luffy’s treasure with one hand and waved to them with the other. Sanji was the first to spot you and pointed you out to everyone else. They all swiveled their heads in your direction, and the relief on their faces was palpable. Everyone waved back at you, and Luffy stood up, rather shakily on his raft, to call out to you, “Don’t worry, Lucky! We’ll win this no problem!”

There were some chuckles coming from the audience, and the weird looking announcer guy felt the need to comment on this, “Oh! What’s this? The Straw Hat’s captain thinks they’ll win this no problem? A bold claim to make from someone who has never seen the might of! The! Foxy! Piiiiraaates!”

You winced at the sheer volume and noise of feedback, not able to resist the urge to cover your ears. Luffy’s hat fell over your eyes, blocking out the view but doing nothing to block out the noise. You already didn’t feel good, and that was not helped by the roar of applause and cheers coming from the crowd. 

The breath lodged in your throat. The onslaught of noise felt like it was coming at you from all angles, melding together and ultimately amping up into an obnoxious ringing in your ears. Your knees buckled, making you fall onto your behind as you struggled to force yourself to remember how to breathe.

It’s too much! It’s way too much! It’s-

“Hey!” Two familiar hands fell onto your shoulders, snapping you out of the downwards spiral you were falling victim to. One of the hands moves to lift the brim of the hat just enough for you to make eye contact with your best friend. He smiled, and just seeing it was enough to soothe you a little, “It’s going to be okay! Don’t listen to them, we’ve got this!”

“Y-Yeah, of course you do,” you choked out.

Luffy brought you in for a quick but tight hug, smushing your face into his red shirt, “That’s it! We’ll be back before you know it!”

“Luffy! If you’re not in your boat by the start of the race you will be disqualified!” The announcer shouted, causing you to flinch again.

His grip on you tightened, and while you couldn’t see it, you just knew that he was scowling. His neck snapped towards the announcer furiously, “I will be! Stop being so loud about it!” Gently, Luffy pulled you away from him, offering another smile. His voice was quieter than usual, “Don’t worry about it, we’ll beat them and be out of here before you know it.” 

With a quick pat to your head, he rocketed himself back to his raft, nearly flipping it over in the process. While the exchange had eased your fears a little, there was still an overhanging discomfort about the situation. What would happen if they didn’t win? Who would those other pirates take? You shook your head. No. You’re not gonna think about it! Luffy will win, you just know it.

The distinct sound of grass crunching beneath feet made your shoulders tense up. Hesitantly, you turned to identify who was coming up behind you. It was two people. One of them was the captain, you think Luffy said his name was Split-Head? Yeah that sounds right. The other one was some big monkey-looking guy. You’re pretty sure his name was Hamburger, a funny name but who are you to judge?

Split-Head grinned at you, but it was not providing the warmth and comfort that Luffy’s gave you. It reminded you of a sleazy salesman that your mother yelled at in the mall one time for being too pushy. Maybe he’ll go away if you ignore him? You hope so.

“Why hello there, young lady! Your captain didn’t include your name on the roster, can you tell me it?” Split-Head was now crouched down next to you, much too close for comfort.

You kept your head down and shrugged, “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”

This didn’t deter him in the slightest, “Aww, come on! You won’t make friends that way, kid. You can trust me! I’m captain Foxy of the Foxy pirates!” From your peripherals you could see him puffing out his chest in pride. His name is Foxy? Split-Head is more fitting in your humble opinion. He must think really high of himself. “There, now I’m not a stranger!”

It seems like this guy isn’t going away any time soon. You dug your heels into the dirt anxiously, wishing he would leave you alone. “Yeah, well… you’re still strange,” you mumbled.

Split-Head-Foxy let out an offended gasp, then fell to his knees with a gloomy aura looming over him. Wow. He’s pushy, full of himself, weird, AND dramatic. You rolled your eyes and took a decisive step away from him, looking out at the ocean as the race finally started. 

It was then that it dawned on you that this race went around the whole island, meaning that you’re going to have to run to try and keep up. Emphasis on the try. Without a word to the two pirates bothering you, you ran after your friends’ boats. Both of your hands were tightly grasping the hat on your head to prevent it from flying off. Sure, there was a string attached to it around your neck, but you didn’t want to risk it.

Immediately, it became obvious that you were not going to be able to keep up. Even if you were at your best, you wouldn’t be fast enough. But with how injured you were, everything was sore and the pain of your muscles pulling on your scabs made your run more like a trot. The Straw Hats’ boats were getting farther and farther away, and you could feel frustrated tears prickling at your eyes.

There was the sound of… galloping? Yeah, galloping behind you. Pretty soon, Foxy pulled up next to you riding Hamburger like a horse. Man, this guy just keeps getting weirder.

“Looks like you need a ride there, kid. Why don’t you hop on so we can watch this race together, hm?” Foxy held out his hand to you, smiling smugly. Memories of your preschool teacher telling the class to never get in a stranger’s car came to mind. A monkey man isn’t exactly a car, but you think the same idea applies here.

You shook your head vigorously, “No, I don’t wanna go with you.”

Foxy’s smile fell, and his hand drooped. He plastered it back on his face after a moment, “Kid, you’re not going to be able to keep up, just come with me. I’ve got some candy! I’ll give you some if you hop on!”

A stranger offering you candy to get in their vehicle was another thing your teacher warned you about. Yeah, this was definitely a bad guy you shouldn’t talk to. You doubled your effort to run a little faster to put some distance between you and them, “No! Leave me alone!”

They sped up, closing the gap in seconds. Instead of saying anything, Hamburger simply reached out and plucked you right off your feet then dropped you onto Foxy. Naturally, you started thrashing and screaming, “Let go of me! Put me down! Stranger danger!”

Hamburger laughed at your terror, “What a feisty child.”

“Quit laughing Hamburg, she’s kicking up a storm,” he was frantically trying to get a good hold on you. “Calm down! We’re not going to hurt you, we’re help- OW!” You managed to land a good kick to his face. Despite that, he was able to hold onto you. He spun you so that you were facing away from him.

His hand grabbed your face and turned it to gaze out at the ocean, “Look! We’re caught up now!”

True to his word, you could see the contestants. Your face scrunched up in confusion, not seeing Luffy and Sanji’s boat anywhere. Or Zoro and Chopper’s. Were they that far ahead? Yeah, that was definitely it, had to be. You could still see Usopp, Nami, and Robin at least. Seeing them made you feel a little calmer.

“See? We were just trying to help you out,” his smug grin was back. “Now how about you tell me your name?”

As much as you didn’t want to, he probably wouldn’t shut up about it until you did, “It’s Lucky.”

“Lucky? Is that supposed to be a nickname or something?” “It’s my name! You asked and I told you, stop bugging me about it,” you grumbled. You want to get down, but you get the feeling they wouldn’t let you do that. At least you get to follow the race now.

Foxy fished around in his pocket and pulled out some brightly colored objects, “Here, I bet you want some candy, don’t you?”

It’s bad enough that you’re riding with him, you’re not gonna take any candy from this weirdo, “No thank you, I don’t want any.”

He sighed and stuffed it back in his pocket. You hoped this would be the end of his chattering. Unfortunately, it didn’t appear that luck was on your side today. Or this week, really. Foxy held out your arm, scrutinizing all the scabbed over burns on it, “How did this happen, Lucky?”

“It’s none of your business, I don’t wanna talk about it mister,” you huffed. You didn’t want to even think about that ever again. About him. About how cold and uncaring his eyes were. About how much it hurt. Your shoulders started to shake and your lip trembled.

“Whoa, hey it’s okay! You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to!” Foxy brought you in for a hug, but you really didn’t want it. You squirmed and tried to get away from him, but he wasn’t letting you.

“What’s this?! The last remaining Straw Hat boat has broken into first place with incredible speed!” The announcer shouted.

Wait. Last remaining?! How was there only one boat left?! You looked out to see Usopp, Nami, and Robin barreling towards the finish line. They were going to win! They needed to if they were the only ones left.

Foxy cursed under his breath, “Hamburg, you need to hurry to the end goal!”

Hamburger only nodded and sped up. You were kinda impressed by how fast he was able to go. Despite being pestered by these two so much, you were smiling and kicking your feet in excitement. They were going to win this race! And then they would win the other two races, too!”

A little ways before the finish line, Hamburg came to a halt, and Foxy hopped off. You took the opportunity to scramble off him, too. You rushed to the cliff and called out, “You can do it! You’re gonna win!” If they heard you, they didn’t react.

“I wouldn’t count your chickens before they hatch, Lucky,” Foxy stated ominously. He held out his hands and made some weird shapes with them, like he was trying to make shadow puppets. All you could do was eye him curiously, trying to figure out what that was supposed to mean. You don’t have any chickens, why is he talking about counting them? Weird. 

His fingers were pointed right at your friends and then he said something about a slow-slow beam. Your friends, who were previously rocketing towards the finish, abruptly slowed down to a crawl, seemingly unable to move. Your jaw dropped as the other boat with the pointy nosed girl on it took the lead and then, much to your horror, won the race.

You whipped around to Foxy, who was looking quite proud of himself, “What did you do?!”

“I put my devil fruit to good use, that’s what! I can slow down anything with my slow-slow beam.”

“That’s cheating! You’re a cheater!” You stomped your foot angrily, pointing an accusing finger at him.

“No it’s not. I said there were no rules in this race, didn’t I? That means I’m allowed to help my team from the sidelines if I want.” He tried to pat your head, but you slapped his hand away.

“But that’s not fair!”

“Life isn’t fair, kid, you should get used to it and be a good sport about your team losing,” Foxy had the audacity to try and scold you for your behavior. Who does he think he is?!

“I hate you! Stupid Split-Head!” You kicked his shin before running off to try and find your friends, you need to tell them about this. 

Due to how large Foxy’s crew was, it was difficult to find one of your friends. Especially when everyone was trying to get you to stop and talk to them for some reason. Finally, though, you spotted the red shirt that you would recognize in a heartbeat. 

“Luffy!” 

That catches his attention, alright. He whirls around and then runs to meet you. Knowing the drill, you lift your arms so he can pick you up. He does just that, holding you out in front of him, “There you are!” His clothes were wet and water was dripping out of his hair, he must have fallen into the ocean at some point.

Your first order of business was to return his prized possession to him. You pulled the hat off your head and placed it onto his, albeit a bit crooked, “I kept your hat safe for you!”

“I knew you could, good job Lucky!” Luffy pulled you in to balance you on his hip and used his free hand to ruffle your hair.

Now onto the big thing, “Luffy, that Split-Head guy is a cheater! He’s got a devil fruit that makes stuff super slow and he used it on Usopp, Nami, and Robin! He uses his fingers to do it!”

“Is that what happened?!” The grin he was previously sporting dropped and he looked surprised.

You nodded, “Mmhm! I saw it myself!”

Luffy mimicked your nod, humming in thought, “Well now that we know about it, we can look out for it in the next game. We’ll figure out how to beat it, don’t worry!”

You looked away, picking at his shirt nervously, “Are you sure? You said the same thing about winning the race, but…” 

He tensed up from that, “Hey, come on! Have some faith in me, in all of us. We’ll win the rest of the matches for sure!” Luffy knelt down to put you on the ground, “Now how about you go stand with the others, okay?”

“Okay,” you didn’t really want to leave him, but you needed to listen to him. He probably had important captain stuff to do. It only took a second to spot some of the others. They weren’t far away and were watching your interaction with Luffy. You hurried over, squeezing yourself in between Robin and Sanji.

Sanji dropped onto his knees and brought you into a tight hug. He was also soaking wet. “Were you okay being on your own, princess? No one bothered you, did they?”

“I’m okay. Some people did bother me, but I gave them the slip after I kicked one of them in the shins,” you declared proudly.

Sanji’s face pinched in fury, “Who?”

“Um,” you took a second to remember their names again. “Oh, Foxy and Hamburger!”

“Hamburger? Do you mean Hamburg?” Robin asked, stifling a chuckle. Oh yeah, Foxy did call him that, didn’t he?

“Yeah, that. They kept trying to talk to me and made me come with them to watch the race. I didn’t want to, but Hamburger- I mean Hamburg, picked me up and made me come with. Oh, and Foxy tried to give me candy but I didn’t take any.”

Sanji was scowling and looked ready to go on a rampage. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he let you go and stood up while digging his cigarettes and lighter out of his pockets. He was muttering about caving their heads in later.

The announcer and captain were standing on a stage and said that it was time to announce who they were taking for their victory. Your heart sank and you clung onto Robin’s leg nervously. Who were they going to steal? Would Luffy really be able to win them back? What if they won all three rounds and stole three of your friends? Robin pet your hair reassuringly.

“We have decided on who is becoming a Foxy pirate! It is none other than,” there was a pause for dramatic effect. Your stress was climbing with every second. The announcer took a deep breath and finally finished the sentence, “Lucky!”

Everyone fell silent, but for only a second. Then chaos erupted.

“Absolutely not!” Nami shrieked.

“You said she was too young to participate!” Sanji interjected.

“We said she was too young to participate in the fights, not that she was off the table for this part,” Foxy pointed out with a smirk.

“She’s four years old! What could you possibly want from her?!” Sanji was already mad before the announcement, but now he was furious.

“That doesn’t matter, you need to hand her over now, lest you want to break the rules,” Foxy reminded him.

Sanji was distracted from his argument as he heard a sob behind him. From you. Robin was quick to scoop you up, cradling you in her arms and trying to calm you down. “Now look what you did! She’s crying!” Sanji barked at them.

“I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna!” You wailed, clinging onto Robin like your life depended on it. Which, as far as you were concerned, it did.

“Pick someone else, Lucky isn’t going to go with you,” Luffy spoke. His tone was cool, but the words were sharp.

“Don’t tell me what to do, straw hat. I’m making the rules here, not you. She’s a pirate, is she not? She needs to learn not to be such a crybaby. Besides, once she’s with us she’ll see how nice we are!” Foxy crowed proudly. 

“This is cruel, she’s just a child!” Robin chimed in, clutching you to her chest even tighter.

“Quit complaining so much, it’s not like we’re going to hurt her any worse than she’s already been hurt. We’re probably better suited for protecting her than you are,” the pointy-nosed woman was now approaching you and Robin, looking annoyed. “Now give her to me. Come here, Lucky! Do you want to go get some cotton candy with me?”

Her reaching for you only made you scream louder, “NO NO NO! I’m not going!” She tried to grab you anyways, but Robin was quick to put a stop to that. Arm sprouted from the woman’s body and immobilized her. 

Robin backed up by several paces, “Get away from her, you’re just going to make this worse!”

At this point, tears were pouring down your face and you felt like you couldn’t breathe despite how frantically your lungs were working. You coughed and hacked between hysteric breaths and sobs. Your heart was pounding out of your chest and your head hurt. They were going to take you away. You were going to be taken away from your friends again. Just like in Skypeia.

They were going to steal you.

They were going to hurt you.

“Don’t let me get taken away again!” You wailed at the top of your lungs.

Foxy scoffed, “This is getting ridiculous! Fine, if you won’t give her to us then I’ll tak-”

His sentence was ended abruptly by Luffy’s fist connecting with his face. A sickening crunch cut through the air. Before he even hit the ground, Luffy’s hand grabbed hold of his jacket and pulled him close. As soon as he was in range, Luffy was on him. 

He climbed on top of him and as Foxy was raising his hands to defend himself, Luffy grabbed them and snapped his fingers before he could put his devil fruit to use. Then Luffy began wailing on him, furious, raw screams erupting from his throat.

Everyone was frozen in place, shocked at the display, but then the crowd rushed at Luffy to save their captain. They couldn’t even get close, though. Zoro leapt into action, cutting them down like paper. You weren’t able to see anything else after that, as Robin snapped out of her own state of shock and buried your face in her neck. “Don’t watch this, Lucky,” she whispered.

A hand landed on your head, gently stroking your hair. It feels like Sanji. He confirmed this by speaking lowly, “Robin, get Nami and Chopper and head back to the ship. Prepare it to set sail, it looks like we’re not going to be finishing these games after all.” He peaked around her shoulder to be able to look you in the eyes, “Don’t worry Lucky. We will never let you get taken away again, I promise.”

Many Foxy pirates swarmed around you ready to attack, only to get sent flying by Sanji. He didn’t even look back at you and Robin, “Go! I’ll protect you so just focus on getting the others and going back to the ship.”

“Right, let’s go Lucky,” Robin held you securely in her arms and ran. “Navigator! Doctor! We’re leaving, follow me!” They didn’t need to be told twice, cutting through the crowd to run in tandem with you and Robin. “We need to free the ship and get it ready to sail!”

“Should be easy enough,” Nami said. She caught your eye and switched to a softer tone, “When we get back to the ship, I need you to go hide in our room until one of us comes to get you, okay?”

“O-Okay,” you sniffled pitifully. At least the tears had stopped now. You chose to nestle in closer in Robin arms for the duration of the sprint back to the Going Merry, eager to leave and for this to all be behind you.

[torialefay]

Hello there! Haven’t seen you around for quite a bit now, is everything okay?🥺

I wanted to request a reading on Chan and if he’s really the way he shows himself to us, if he’s all sweet and caring or could maybe hide some mean parts that would come out in a relationship (like him being an asshole).

I’ve had pretty bad experiences with libra men, they all act sweet and caring the firsts days, basically love bombing you, and then they just show their true asshole nature… soo idk im kinda scared he’s like that too hahah

hi baby!!! everything is okay, tysm for asking 🥺 i'm on clinical rotations right now, which is basically where you train to be a different type of doctor each month. it's been a lottttt this past month, so i haven't been able to write or be on here as much :( but hopefully i'll be able to do more in this next month!

first, i'm so sorry you've had a bad experience with libra men! i just got out of a long-term relationship with a libra man, so i understand what you mean. one thing i WILL say is that as far as acting like an asshole, i don't know that that's a libra quality more than it is something else in their chart. a lot of my best friends are also libra suns and i think the love-bombing aspect of that can be very true for all of them. livras just need that reassurance that you like them and they know how to make you feel special. as far as being an asshole though, i think that we'd have to search deeper into the chart for that.

for chris:

one thing i want to say about libra suns right off the bat is that obviously they like to appease everybody. that's why a lot of people find them likeable. libra suns understand what you want them to act like, and that's exactly what they do. so what does this mean for chan? i think he 100% knows that we like it when he is our "sweet, shy, humble father of 7 kids", but he also knows we like it when he's got major daddy vibes. and he knows WHEN to bring them out... now that side of him is what he shows to US, but it could be vastly different from what he shows others. you've probably seen that when he's around other guys, he takes on a more masculine, playful character than what he normally shows us. i think behind closed doors when he's just with his members or friends, he's def more of a "guy's guy" than what he lets on. i think he probably cuts up a lot, makes crude jokes, says stupid boy shit, etc. but it's not that he's trying to be deceitful in not showing us this... i just think that he knows when it comes to stays, he needs to behave a certain way. i think when it comes to GIRLS in general, he knows he needs to behave a certain way. i don't think any of it is insincere at all, and i think he def still has those traits that come out when he's hanging with the boys, BUT in everday life, i see him as more "dude-ish" than he probably shows us. any man that's out here wear shorts in the fucking cold is a dude's dude, let's be honest.

so, whether he's an asshole or not i think depends on 1) his other chart placements, and 2) what your own chart placements are. for example, i know some people got upset ab what he posted on bubble a week or so ago. to ME, i thought it was just all jokes and him messing around (like dudes do) and thought it was annoying but funny tbh. like i don't have time for your shit today christopher 🙄 BUT obviously some people did not like it and really took it to heart.... so in that regard, it's like "okay, is he an asshole, or do i just perceive him as an asshole bc we don't have the same sense of 'joking around'?" i think that's a big factor in it. but let's look at his chart and see OBJECTIVELY do i think he'd switch it up and be an asshole after a certain amount of time.

as far as communication goes, NO, i do not think he would intentionally be an asshole on a regular basis. his personality AND his communication style both sit in libra in the 5th house. i think this shows he's really funny and creative, flirty, and likes to mess around and get people riled up. random note, but 5th house also is heavily involved in children, so i think he'd talk ab having kids or raising a family together a LOT. but on the regular, i think he'd actually be a good communicator in relationships and try his best to make them fun.

something i find interesting ab channie is that both his moon in libra and his venus in scorp lie in the 6th house. 6th house governs work, service, and health. i feel like this makes TOTAL sense for him. his moon rooted in libra here means that in relationships, he probably has to feel very giving and feel that he needs his partner to integrate into his work life in order to feel balanced. i have sooooo much more to say on this, which i will do later. his venus in scorp here also tells me that he pours a lot of love and beauty into what he does in work, and that he is vvvvv passionate ab it. i think with this combo, it could actually come up that he is "married to work" in a way. he could REALLY struggle finding balance between relationships and work. and let me emphasize why:

his mars is in sagittarius on the 6th/7th house cusp. stick with me here. mars represents action and aggression, while sagittarius is a fiery and independent sign. i talked previously about how 6th house represents work and service, but 7th house is the ruler of partnerships and marriage. so put all of this together and what we are seeing is someone who REALLY struggles in balancing work and relationships, and this is happening in the placements that rule aggression and independence. can def be a scary combo tbh.

so how do i see this playing out? overall, i think chan is lovely in relationships. basically will be whoever you need him to be and actually is very loving. he has that 6th house placement, so although work is extremely important to him, so is service, which INCLUDES taking care of you. HOWEVER, he has a very difficult time balancing these two things. i think when things are going poorly at work, he will bring that home and into your relationship. when things aren't great in your relationship, he will really struggle at work.... so as much as i hate to say it, i do think if he's having a difficult time at work, he could accidentally take it out on you. even if he doesn't mean to... either 2 things would initially happen: (1) he gets really upset and bottles it all in and/or gets flighty all of a sudden and acts like he doesn't know what he wants, (2) he explodes on you for no reason... like when he feels like his life is off-balance, he can genuinely get that worked up. don't get me wrong, he would regret it later and do everything to try and make up for it, but i see him having that problem for the time being.

so i think it's up to everyone individually how they're able to handle those traits in a relationship. i see people say something like "when chan gets stressed at work, all he wants to do is come home and lay in your arms", but i genuinely disagree. he may END UP wanting that by the end of the night, but when he's upset, he needs to be alone for a bit. so i think that's up to you if you think that makes him an asshole or not? i think it depends on compatibility and how you also react 100%