#no one i know is allowed to read too much into this or connect dots

[bratthewurst]

Oh my god, ive been smacked in the face with how hot someone packing is

[paradlselost]

ֹ ⑅᜔ ׄ ݊ ݂ CINNAMON GIRL ۪ ֹ ᮫

DOCTOR PHOSPHORUS x FEMALE READER

⎨ 𝐀𝐍 ⎬ this is part two of ULTRAVIOLENCE and should be read as such ! also i love lana for him , it’s perfect . i just watched the new episode and you can tell near the end lol . i tried to explore a bit more of his needing of love as well as the readers ! also i had to get creative with the smut due to him not having a dick so sorry </3

⎨ 𝐂𝐖 ⎬ monster ! reader , religious / catholic trauma trauma and guilt . depictions of body horror and violence . blood and burning , mentions of cannibalism , imposter syndrome and disassociation . non graphic depictions of death and injuries . smut : pining , pet names ( puppy + princess ) , sub - ish phosphorus , clothed rubbing and fingering ( ? m receiving ) , male moans ( yay ! )

3 . 2 k words ++ not beta read

A hero.

It was a strange feeling, being praised the way you were. It wasn’t like anyone outside the bubble of the castle cared, but those inside hailed you and the other creatures as saints. Perhaps it would feel a lot nicer had the others been able to look at you with something more than hesitancy.

“Good work.” The Bride had said, Flag following with a similar sentiment, but you could tell how empty the words were behind gazes that wouldn’t meet yours. Even among animals like Weasel and robotic parts strewn around the grounds like GI, despite the Bride’s nature and Nina’s gills you are nothing more than a monster.

God, and Phosphorus. Things had been little short of awkward with him since the night you had shared. Despite his request that you not talk about it to avoid situations like silently standing beside each other in a lineup and trying to forget about his handprint being burned into your thigh, they still happened. You cannot blame him, though, for the way he avoids you as much as he possibly can.

Flag had wanted monsters for this mission, but it seemed you were too much. It isn’t like you can remember; practically pleading with Nina to tell you what had happened had left you with the bare minimum, but it was something. The gunshots had no doubt set you off and witnessing GI being torn apart hadn’t helped. In your absence had been a monster, eyes glazed over and rolled back into your skull as downright demonic claws and wings sprouted from your flesh, body contorted to allow the growing of the appendages. Bullets fired at you had been expelled from your skin like they were being spat out and the wounds simply grew back as if nothing had happened.

“They had to pull you off a body…” She informed you as gently as she could, though an air of fear surrounded her, as if her words would set you off again. They might, day by day it felt like you were losing yourself to this monster. More and more of you disappearing, you didn’t know what would make you volatile anymore. “Well, Phosphorus was the one to volunteer.”

Her words did little to ease the guilt that bubbled in your chest. The thought was nice, that he had been the one to take initiative and guide you back to your normal state; though part of you couldn’t help but assume that was because he didn’t want anyone else to observe the branding he had given you and connect the dots of your night together. You can’t blame him for anything it seems, not how he avoids you and not how he tries to cover up the things you’ve done together. You’re unworthy of love, aren’t you? That’s what they had said when you were just a girl.

Bruised knees and bleeding palms, the sharp end of the rosary’s cross digging into your palms and making indents as if to replicate that of Christ himself. You’re little more than the thieves that hung beside him on that day, representative of the one who laughed in his face and was hence discarded from the kingdom of God, never to see the pearly gates or beautiful lights. Judgement day would not be kind on you, you had heard the nuns and priest whisper from behind the monastery walls. What had you done to be cursed in such a way? Was simply being born enough to cast you from God’s light? It’s not like you had chosen that.

You’re quiet, far too much so for the others to consider it normal, but no one says a thing. Perhaps they’re too worried about setting you off, maybe they want to distance themselves. It seemed everyone grew a little closer from this mission, but you are just as alone as ever. The plane ride back is bumpy, Weasel curled up into a ball beside you. He was the only one who didn’t seem to care what you were or who you could become. Somethings never change, like the way you card your fingers through the coarse fur that coats his body.

You can feel his gaze on you, the radiation that pools from his body is difficult to shut out. Daring to lift your eyes to meet his, you don’t miss the way he quickly adverts his gaze as if he was ashamed of having been caught. God, you hated this. You could deal with the others avoiding you, you hadn’t expected them to try and be your friend after this regardless, but him? Could you forget how sweet he had been to take care of you after you had slipped? No, you don’t think so. Besides, those pretty whines and mewls that had spilled from his mouth still weighed heavy in your mind.

Arms crossed as the plane landed, back in handcuffs and escorted to the cell you had spent so long in. Your taste of freedom was over, done with. It was back to the slop they had the gall to call food and the endless sound of waves that now pissed you off more than it soothed you. Things seemed to be getting on your nerves more frequently, since he had brushed you aside and told you it would be better like this.

It doesn’t feel better. How can he be right about your situation when his hand burning into your flesh had felt so good? You worry your bottom lip between your teeth as you sit on the thin mattress in the cell assigned to you. The lights had gone out for the night long ago, the freedom you had once felt in the large room of the Castle was now gone. Back to the same old routine, back to being captive. Back to the power dampener around your neck.

You want to lay down, to close your eyes and at least try to get some rest, but the same looping sound of crashing waves and the soft green glow from far down the hall only served to stress you out. How could he brush you aside like that, had it truly meant nothing to him? You were well aware of his tendencies, the psychopathic nature of him, but that night had felt; well, like something. Like he cared despite his apathy.

Maybe you were thinking too deeply into this, maybe it was nothing more than a simple fling to him. Maybe your touch starved mind had crafted this narrative that he truly loved you and was just hiding it. It had been far too long since anyone but your own hand managed to touch you like that, to slip past the layers of monstrous intent and simply find you. Even if it wasn’t real, if he truly didn’t care, at the very least you would have that to remember. And for now thats okay.

For now.

Because the next morning you are forced to see him, forced to have all the feelings from the last few days pile up in your gut and make the stupidly large power dampener you wore feel even more foolish. You sat at one of the tables, lazily picking at your plate of food when you were interrupted. A hand swiped your tray off the table, knocking the mushy pile of stuff they dared to call food to the floor.

“Whoops, were you eating that, dollface?” No, you weren’t, but the asshole who picked a fight with you didn’t know that. Another monster, another creature who was far too vile to be put onto the team. Why shouldn’t you indulge just a bit?

Blood. It’s all you can taste. It suffocates you as you lay in a pool of it. Trickling down your nose and coating your mouth. You cannot quite tell whose it is, yours or the beast laying dead beside you. It’s nice, though, rich and far more delicious than the slop they feed you here. The electric shock had hurt, but not awfully so. You don’t feel angry that you’ve allowed the monster control over you once more, just bliss.

Ending up in the medical wing had not been on your itinerary, though. Head pressed back against the cold, sterilized pillow that was as thin as paper against the hard as a rock mattress. You’d hardly call it nice, if the hums of medical machinery hadn’t been soothing as white noise; you could almost get used to it. Your eyes flutter shut against the cold atmosphere, taking a deep breath to let the serene moment wash over you, its truly a nice break.

Till the doors open and you’re greeted with that familiar green glow basking over you for a moment before being harshly shoved into the bed besided you. You let out a soft sigh, sitting up and rubbing your eyes slightly. He wont look at you, clearly pissed off about something, and as the guards leave the room he shoots them the middle finger before finally catching your gaze.

“What are you looking at?”

“You. Why are you in here?” You can’t help it as the question slips through your lips before you can stop yourself. You shouldn’t engage with him, it’ll only serve to make you upset over the little predicament the two of you find yourselves in, but it comes out nonetheless.

“The guy you killed’s dickweed friend decided to pick a fight in his honor. You know that’ll go on your sentence, right?”

“What does it matter? I’m already in here for life.”

He simply hums in response as you card your fingers through your hair. You suddenly feel tired, as if being around him is draining. Putting up this act of nonchalonce about your feelings towards him is more taxing than you had originally expected. He weighs heavily on your mind, taking up valuable space that could be used for other mundane things in Belle Reave like finding new shapes in the texture of walls you’ve stared at for years.

The room is quite now, far more than you like. The humming machinery now acts as a nuisance, a reminder of how hes doing everything but talking to you. While you can’t blame him outloud, you did just kill someone over him, does he feel anything about that? Does he even know how your mind runs circles around the thought of him all day? God. You sound like a love-sick schoolgirl with her first crush. Whats next? Will you write little anonymous post-it notes for him?

Regardless, you can’t stand the silence anymore, looking back over at him you tilt your head to the side to come across as non interested as possible. As if the question you’re about to ask him is one you’ve just thought of and not one thats been on your mind since that night.

“When we-... God, this sounds stupid outloud but why did you not take off your pants? Do you not have anything… down there?”

The awkwardness is palpable in your tone and it fills the room. Mentally, you curse yourself for asking such a dumb question. If he had eyelids, he’d most certainly be blinking over and over out of sheer confusion.

“Uh no. Its just the pelvis. Look at me, I’m just a skeleton and have you ever seen a skeleton with a dick?”

“No, I guess not…” Theres a pause, eyes fluttering away from his awkwardly. You shouldn’t have even brought it up and you really didn’t want to listen to his sarcastic answers.

“Do you want to see?”

Again with the sarcasm, you roll your eyes slightly and look back over at him with a frown, about to retort before you realize he isn’t joking. No, he’s looking right back at you, skeletal hands fiddling with the buckle of his pants. A sheepish blush coats your face as you worry your bottom lip between your teeth. Sure, you two had had a very intimate encounter before, but this was different and it made you second guess his seriousness in telling you the two of you should pretend that night never happened. Without another thought you nod, almost a little too quickly.

“Yes. Please.”

“Eager now, aren’t ya pup?”

“Pup? Where’d that come from?”

“I mean, you looked like a starved dog with a piece of prime rib in its mouth when I pulled you off that guy back in Pokolistan.”

“Don’t bring that up right now.” A huff falls from your lips as your blush darkens, shaking your head slightly to push the imagery out of your mind. Had you really acted so barbarish that he deemed it fit to call you such a name? And are you out of your mind for liking it in some way? He simply chuckles as his hands continue to play with the button of his prision pants before he finally simply pulls them down and cocks his head to the side at you.

“See? Told ya.”

“Oh. But- you can still feel as if it were there?”

“I guess. I wasn’t just faking those noises to make you feel better.”

You can tell by his tone that had he had eyes he would’ve winked at you. A grin that you can’t see etched into the permanent smile of his skeletal face as you slip off the bed you were in, stepping over to him and gently running a hand over the orange fabric of his shirt as he lets out a soft, shuddering breath. For him, as well, it had been far too long since anyone looked at him the way you did.

After the death of wife and kid and being burned alive in his own machine meant for good, after taking over the Thorne crime ring and subsequently being taken down by Batman he has been looked at as nothing but a monster. Maybe, in a way, he is. The radiation addled his brain, the death of his family heavy on his consious. Had he been good before? He can remember a time where he tried to help, but was that out of kindness or need for recognition and praise?

Perhaps he doesn’t deserve it, the way you look at him as if hes someone special, as if hes done you some favor. It makes some part of him feel sick, while the other part relishes in the feeling of your touch, even if it has to be over fabric. A soft sigh emitted from him as he grabbed your hips, careful not to touch your skin even if he had before, and pull you ontop of him while he laid back in the bed.

He relished in the blush that coated your features, hands moving up to gently graze over the power dampener you wear, he resists the urge to burn through the metal and instead matches your gaze, a hum.

“You like this position, princess?”

“Oh its princess now?”

“Don’t avoid the question.”

Somehow he manages to get laughter out of you, coaxing it from your pretty lips and letting it fill the room. He almost feels stupid with the giddiness that fills his chest, tilting his head back against the headboard to get a good view of you. For every awful thing thats happened to him, hes almost glad they all did because they led him to you. He could deal with the worry of burning through everything if it meant you’d be by his side forever.

His sappy thoughts are cut off by the sudden feeling of pressure against where his cock had been. Your sleeves had been rolled up over your palms, providing a barrier that allows you to knead against his pelvis like some kind of cat. He can’t help the way his hips thrust up slightly, back arching into your touch. Its euphoric, sweet, and he’s letting explotives fall from his mouth like they’re a prayer to you. Like you’re some sort of God.

“Oh, ffuck princess, just like that.” His head tilts back farther, soft huffs emitting from him as he tries not to dissolve into a moaning mess in your hold. It’s been far too long, and even the night you shared couldn’t compare. He feels like an idiot for telling you it would be better to ignore each other now.

You keep a steady pace, hands moving against his pelvis to create some kind of friction, relishing in the clear way he fights back the moans creeping up his throat. Its almost beautiful, like a symphony of choked sobs and wanton moans. You couldn’t help but grin, humming softly as your eyes focused more on the exposed bones of his lower half.

“Phosphorus?”

“Alex. fuck - please call me Alex.” His words are a bit sudden but the way he practically pleads with you makes it difficult to think twice. His name, though, just knowing it feels intimate.

“Alex. I’m gonna try something, okay?”

Its a warning that slides right past him, indecent moans filling the room as he simply nods feverishly, though begging with you that whatever you’re going to do you don’t stop making him feel like this. You’d be a fool to stop now, anyways, with the way the radiation on his body hightens like a solar flare its all the sign you need to tell hes close.

You almost hesitate as this is probably a bad idea but you don’t give yourself time to dwell on the consequences of your actions as one hand stops kneading and instead moves the fabric of your shirt sleeve off, quickly pushing past the barrier of radiation and tracing your fingers over the inside of his pelvis.

It burns, pain bubbling up in your body and at the same time the reaction from his is almost like a man possessed. His moans gain volume at the feeling, urging you to push past the pain and continue to rub along the bone. He squirms and thrusts his hips up, arching his back yet shying away at the same time. It’s too much for him, the wires of his brain getting all crossed between feeling so good and overstimulated at the same time. It doesn’t take a genius to know that he was orgasming.

He falls back against the thin bed with a huff, panting to catch his breath. You sit up straighter on his lap, pulling your hand out and cradling it in your other one. It hurts, stinging as large burning wounds take up the majority of your hand. He sits up as well, apologies spilling from his mouth before your skin begins to heal as if nothing has happened.

You blink, knowing he probably would be as well before you simply rest your head on his chest. Theres an unspoken thing, now, an idea that perhaps the two of you don’t have to be as careful as originally thought, especially if your body had a healing factor even with the power dampener on. A content hum emits from him at the thought, tilting his head to look down at your form thats nuzzled against him. No doubt the cameras have caught all this, but the thought doesn’t seem to run through your mind so he wont worry you with it.

“If thats what we could do with that collar of yours on, imagine what we could do with it off.”

“Hmm does this mean no more ignoring me?”

“Who said I was ignoring you in the first place, princess?”

[ivesambrose]

𝔏𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔨 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𐙚

Its been a rather cold month so I decided to channel something warm to look forward to 🤍

To book a personal reading with me DM or email me at Ivesambrose@gmail.com with your name, date of birth and query

Services Offered

Client Testimonials & feedback

Thank you for the tip 🌹

Picture 1

You may have been dealing with challenging situations or people who are quick to throw jabs at you or throw a wrench in your plans. This may have led you to question your own intuition and potential making you scared and hesitant to take a step forward or take any risks in the fear of failure. You'll realize that their scattered mindset and opinions aren't supposed to be your core beliefs. You're not supposed to take advice from people whose life you don't see yourself living. Rather, you should focus on what makes you bloom from within.

You can look forward to a shift in belief system that will in turn change your entire life and reality for the better.

You can also look forward to something that excites you in the form of a rewarding opportunity (especially in terms of career for most of you) that you have been wishing for or were being patient for the longest time.

You can look forward to something valuable that will grow with time and won't be a fleeting thing. You'll be able to trust your intuition and judgement again. You'll be receiving nurturing and quality connections in your life as well. People who care and support you and your dreams.

All of this comes at the small cost of slowly letting go of your self sabotaging tendencies.

Timing: Coming 21 days

Picture 2

You've recently fathomed the power of your thoughts and words and how time and circumstances are irrelevant when it comes to them materalizing. This has been happening a lot but in the past you have questioned them but now you've grown more adamant, strict and assertive. You've learnt to stand your ground. You want to fully step into your power more than anything and allow no one not even yourself to stand in your way.

You can certainly look forward to a completion and celebration. Your labour has been steady and your harvest will be abundant. Enjoy your prosperity. You'll also be embarking on a new journey in your life, ideas and outlook will expand, no one will be able to confine you.

There's a lot of passion coming your way, it will allow you to overcome any fear you may face.

That long awaited renewed hope, clarity and peace is finally yours. You can actually see your path ahead, the destination that you'll reach, so you'll choose to embrace and enjoy your journey.

You can also look forward to a physical glow up, being appreciated, being proud of yourself and your achievements. Shedding guilt. As well as connecting with people or existing friends who feel like your tribe, with whom you don't have to mask your true self to be loved and accepted.

Timings : coming 14 days, stay loyal to your end goals. (September for some of you too)

Picture 3

You can see the dots connecting in your life, maybe you don't know how exactly, you may not have the outline laid out in front of you but when you aren't overthinking it, you realize how one thing leads to another and gain momentum. Things aren't exactly as a standstill as you think. You're extremely disciplined and focused, so whatever you have set sights on is bound to happen or be yours.

You may not realize how powerful your esoteric gifts are but you will. You can look forward to your visions, dreams, written words actually coming true as though it were a prophecy. Be mindful of the people you share your wisdom and insights with. I do see you aren't as happy with your current social circle or people you interact with. You trust very few and you sometimes feel very isolated. But you excellent foresight and there's always a silver lining in your circumstances.

Life will begin to change as the days get warmer and longer.

There's so much beauty in you, you don't even realize that you're a muse to many or are about to be. You might go into hiding only to rise from the ashes as something wild and free. The transformation that you seek is ongoing and something you know is inevitable. Celebrate it when time comes or start from today itself.

Timings: Coming 12 days, summer season (July and August is standing out for some of you as well)

[thecoolerliauditore]

I need your thoughts on Martyn.

Jesus Christ in heaven where to start.

I was planning to write massive essay posts about each of the winners sooner or later, I guess Martyn can skip the queue. As a treat.

BAD traffic series martyn analysis post don't read. LONG POST

note: rules I'm operating by are to keep the analysis primarily traffic-based (although this one's kind of an exception because. mr watcher lore) and I'm not rewatching entire POVs so stuff might be wrong so on so forth

Why is he... Like that?

So before I even start talking about 3L I feel the need to address Martyn's background first because, not unlike alot of the other members of the cast, Martyn's previously established relationships from series like Evo have a significant impact on how he behaves.

This is kind of difficult for me to talk about because it breaks my "no material outside of the traffic series" rule for these essays specifically, but I think it's honestly just more fun incorporating Martyn's off-series lore drops and such into his character instead of leaving them out.

So here's the basis I work from -- Martyn is the most unreliable narrator in a full cast of them. His lore is his character's version of events, not an unbiased retelling.

Whether the Watchers exist and whether they're the same entities present in Evo doesn't matter all that much, since all we know is that they are very real to Martyn, at least. Taking the lore as Martyn's POV also helps iron out some of the more awkward creases it creates when viewing the series as a whole (e.g. Grian's involvement with the Watchers surely means he would reference them himself, yet he doesn't) and lays the groundwork for some really interesting things about Martyn himself when you try to put the dots together on how he arrived at these conclusions. I'll be referencing these as they come up chronologically.

So, without over complicating things, here are the rules I'm playing by when it comes to pre-3L Martyn:

Evo did really happen with the same people, however the exact details are muddy.

Martyn knew Jimmy prior to the games and the two already had some sort of personal connection going in.

We're not trusting a word out of his mouth. Especially if he says them on stream. But we are going to acknowledge what those words are.

With those parameters set, let's move on:

Third Life, and the guy who gets a little too into it

Like Grian, Martyn immediately acclimates to the game's survival-based mechanics. Martyn spends a good chunk of the first session of 3L seemingly aimless, but he makes observations and choices throughout that show he has survival at the back of his mind (e.g. him quickly establishing an alliance with Grian and Bigb while sneakily putting them in his debt through the diamonds he finds early -- even if this doesn't end up paying off to anything).

Unlike Grian however, Martyn less desperately clings onto a need for an edge to survive and seems almost comfortable in playing the game. A running theme for him throughout all the seasons will be that he seems to feel most comfortable when he has some amount of unspoken power over others, whether that be something as silly as testing the waters with his creeper soundboard or later when he starts playing 4D chess with himself in regard to his loyalties.

"Power" might be not exactly the right word for what Martyn yearns for, but it's the best word I can find to really describe it. He's always the one with a card up his sleeve or a plan B or, arguably most importantly, the one with control over the situation and responsibility over his own and others' wellbeing.

In my mind, at least, I think it might be a consequence of Martyn actually being quite sensitive in terms of relationships and having this very deep-seeded need to protect his loved ones from harm but lacking the emotional intelligence necessary to allow himself to be vulnerable about those feelings and communicate properly. So instead he finds some way to protect himself emotionally (usually overdramatic and makes him way worse) and treats everyone including himself with a level of un-seriousness that alleviates the tension for him.

If I were to dig deeper into this specific point I must say Martyn seems to have chosen to perform a very specific breed of masculinity, with his constant agonizing need to protect and lead while not having to confront his own perceived weaknesses, and alot of his insecurities and frustrations come from being denied that husband-y role to play.

His interactions with Jimmy early on in 3L portray this side of him quite plainly. After seeing Scott hit him around at Renchanting, Martyn gets Jimmy alone and asks him if he's okay but after Jimmy dodges the question, Martyn quickly becomes frustrated and starts acting very overdramatic (e.g. threatening to cut Jimmy off, "I can't look at you", so on) even as Jimmy keeps insisting they keep talking.

In my humble opinion, it's clear to me from how he speaks to Jimmy in this scene and further on, and from his referencing of their Evo relationship, that this is these two's established dynamic - the way Martyn dramatizes everything feels almost as if he were making a joke of it, teasing Jimmy, almost akin to how an older sibling or very old friend would act. It's possible that Martyn didn't expect Jimmy to take any of his threats seriously (although he definitely was laying on the pressure to try and get him to agree in the moment) and that's why he's so taken aback when Jimmy does act almost afraid of him from this point forward.

Not once does Martyn ever verbalize his own feelings regarding the matter. He never says that he's scared or worried for Jimmy, or even makes any sort of subjective judgment on Scott's character for hitting Jimmy in the first place. He makes it all about Jimmy, never communicating *why* he is doing what he's doing which ends up giving off the impression he thinks he knows what's best for him, which of course never communicates to Jimmy that Martyn cares for or loves him and ends up pushing him away as a result.

Speaking of Scott, despite Martyn clearly not approving of the way he treats Jimmy (judging from the aforementioned conversation and his later lore streams where he essentially calls Scott and Jimmy's marriage a sham), he does not ever act antagonistically towards Scott. Which I think is indicative of another key trait of Martyn's - an almost uncanny ability to push aside his own feelings at least momentarily for the sake of the game.

Martyn does not speak badly to or about Scott. He even explores the nether with him very early on and the two literally joke about trapping the Flower Valley and killing Jimmy together.

I think there's an understanding and perhaps a level of respect, on Martyn's end, towards Scott. One of the first observations he makes about Scott's base, after all, is its defensive location and Scott, like Martyn, values his own competency and likes to pretend he's more emotionally unattached to his partner than he really is (the parallels between Martyn/Ren and Scott/Jimmy are even somewhat lampshaded by Martyn himself when he refers to them as "my red" (Ren) and "your red" (Jimmy) later).

It seems that Martyn doesn't dislike anything innate to Scott's nature, and even has love for his manipulative traits. If it were anyone other than Jimmy Scott was hitting, I'd argue, Martyn wouldn't have raised a fuss about it. Not to mention, there's also a sense of "keeping your enemies closer" when it comes to these two, as both seem acutely aware the other is useful on their side and a threat anywhere else.

I'd argue despite the fact he's able to push his dislike towards Scott aside, he definitely still feels spiteful towards him, as he ends up hunting him down pretty mercilessly come the end of the series (after Jimmy dies too - so perhaps there was also a level there of feeling the need to put up with Scott beforehand as he was Jimmy's only ally, but now that Jimmy's gone there isn't any need to be friendly with Scott anymore.)

Now onto the heavy-hitter Martyn 3L relationship - his dynamic with Ren.

I'll be honest I think most treebark shippers have summed up their relationship way better than I could. You could probably go into the tag and see thirty eight analysis posts more indepth and accurate than mine. However I will say that one thing I see rarely mentioned is this very obviously being Martyn's first time meeting Ren (I'm talking about characters here but here is your acknowledgement this is definitely a result of this literally being the case for the CCs).

He's not used to Ren's mannerisms -- during their first meeting, Ren says his usual "ex-squeeze me" (instead of "excuse me") and Martyn responds "no thankyou, I'm married". Not to get too into it as this is The Martyn Post but Ren's POV would imply the same since he sees Martyn's name in chat and he immediately starts theorizing about what kind of player he is.

I think Ren essentially being a stranger to Martyn at the start of the series makes it easier for him to act manipulatively and keep him at arm's length, as well as be in denial about the whole emotional attachment thing. For so much of their alliance during 3L Martyn is acting, performing to match Ren's vibes, except he's not.

^this quote and the concept of freudian slips informs like 88% of my worldview, if anyone's wondering why I'm. like that.

"The Hand" is very much not how Martyn naturally acts or behaves, down to the change in speaking patterns. It's a persona that I think both Ren and Martyn never take too seriously or mistake for Martyn's authentic self, but it's also something Martyn uses to express his innermost feelings he disallows himself from usually. Yes it's all silly even in-universe but I think there's something special about how he constantly expresses his devotion as The Hand, even if he's doing it with a layer of irony. Plus, I think it says something that, jumping later in the timeline, his flashbacks in LimLife are much more true to the character of The Hand than Martyn himself.

This section is already long enough but I do have to mention Bigb, Grian and Scar or I'll explode.

Earlier on, I touched on Martyn giving Grian and Bigb diamond swords early and it being an attempt to leverage an alliance between them. This I admit might be a slight reach however the reason I say that is Martyn continues to pursue Bigb and Grian as allies throughout the season.

Bigb is cut and dry enough, he ends up floating around the outside of Dogwarts as a not-quite-member after the siege in which pretty much half the sever were antagonized by Grian and Scar. I'm probably not the person to thoroughly dissect Martyn/Bigb but there's something interesting there about how alot of people tend to have this general fondness towards Bigb and Martyn is no exception.

As for Grian, Martyn acknowledges that Grian is responsible for the siege, possible moreso than Scar, but keeps questioning how "gone" he is, worded as if he believes Scar is manipulating him. I've seen people compare this to how he acts towards Jimmy and Scott which I can definitely see the throughline. However, I think while both are an example of Martyn's protector/saviour complex, they are innately different due to Martyn's relationships with both the perceived victim and captor in each case.

Despite Grian also being an ex-Evo member, Martyn does not act towards him with the same familiarity he does with Jimmy. He also brings up Grian's welfare with Bigb and not Grian himself, with Bigb being the other person involved in their earlier established sword alliance. To me, it feels as if Martyn is more testing the waters for if he can still get Grian on his side than out of any genuine concern for Grian, although it is possible he's projecting some of those leftover feelings regarding Jimmy's situations onto Grian and Scar.

The other reason is, I think, Martyn might genuinely be afraid of Scar himself and villainizing him as a result. Everytime Scar shows up in Martyn's POV he's paired with tense music and sporadic editing that makes him appear more unhinged. Martyn has also said on tumblr he found Scar intimidating at the time, which is of course a dubiously canon source but I find it applicable enough.

It makes sense, too. When you compare Martyn's treatment of Scar vs his treatment of Scott. These are both people he has recognized as real threats and he assumes both are manipulating their respective partners, but while he remains friendly (at least outwardly) towards Scott he's constantly wary of Scar, drawing weapons on him pretty much on sight even before the siege.

I think Martyn fears Scar because he doesn't understand Scar. Scott is someone like him who he knows the inner workings of, or at least that's what he believes, so while he doesn't care for him he doesn't feel a need to keep him away. Martyn always assumes a level of coordinated malice from Scar that is more than often either completely unfounded or a result of something originating from Grian (my favourite example of this is, right before the siege, Scar wanders over with his bee on a lead and Martyn starts yelling "he's got a bee! what does that mean?!" as if expecting the bee has some pvp reason behind it. when scar just wanted to have a bee).

That isn't to say that Scar isn't malicious - Martyn is right like 90% of the time that Scar's not-so-subtle friendly hellos have some sinister plan behind them, but he doesn't ever truly get that Scar isn't the evil mastermind he thinks he is.

I'd argue this fear is what also makes Martyn not pick up on the fact that Grian is the more manipulative one out of the two - something that even Scott seems aware of - because he never spends enough time with them on friendly terms to be aware of that dynamic.

Last Life AKA big brother syndrome in full blast

Okay that was a long ass section sorry lmao have to establish everything there. Everything from here on is gonna be a lot cleaner I swear.

The Southlanders could honestly have their own ultra-long post about how they're the perfect disaster team-up lord of the flies esque situation the series has to offer.

Impulse, Grian and Martyn are all similar in that they understand they have to play the game a certain way through keeping their loyalties dubious while Mumbo, as a newcomer, is extremely naive and goes along with whatever the more assertive members of the group say. And Jimmy is Jimmy.

Martyn takes on a leadership role within the group, being the one to constantly spearhead their humour and come up with new often disruptive plans (usually targetting Scott because he totally isn't spiteful still, albeit in a very playful way). After Joel traps their base with tnt minecarts, Martyn is the one to keep everyone else back and disarm them, a huge contrast to 3L's siege.

Their group embraces the rules of the game - if you turn red, as Grian does early on, you are kicked out from the group as a threat. There's this sinking feeling throughout all their spyglass shenanigans and life-trade trust exercises that this is still an alliance in a death game and if you prove yourself to be a detriment, you will be kicked out.

It's no wonder than why Jimmy, who gets his usual bottom of the barrel treatment, tries to run away with Martyn's life during one of their trust exercises. He's been shown at this point he can't fully trust the Southlanders to protect him forever -- how could he, when Martyn, again, never slips in any sign of affection between the teasing?

To Martyn, however, this is a betrayal of his trust. His plea to Jimmy to return sounds a lot like their conversation back in 3L on the snowy mountain regarding Jimmy and Scott, except this time Jimmy accepts Martyn's offer and Martyn tells him he was lying, calling him an idiot for believing him in the first place. This is probably the harshest Martyn acts towards Jimmy in the series, but it's worth mentioning that to Martyn the timeline of events goes he offers Jimmy his protection and alliance--> Jimmy refuses--> Jimmy dies (which Martyn probably sees at least partially due to said refusal) --> he gets Jimmy back and does everything in his power to keep him safe --> Jimmy does the equivalent of *killing him* and tries to get away with it.

Martyn still obviously cares about Jimmy despite being upset at him, as after his usual dramatics and declaring a trial for Jimmy in which each of the Southlanders vote on his fate, Martyn still votes to keep Jimmy in the group (again, something Jimmy is never made aware of).

Possibly partially because of the Jimmy incident and the overall dog-eat-dog culture of the Southlanders, Martyn does to them what he never managed with Dogwarts - betrayal. At least, on some level.

Ironically, it's Ren he betrays them for, forming the Shadow Alliance and even giving the life Jimmy had attempted to steal from him to Ren instead. My read of this has always been that it supported Martyn truly being happy enough for Jimmy or someone else to have his extra life, but Jimmy's act of betraying him itself being what hurt him.

I think now's a good time to start mentioning the Watcher Lore, as here is where it starts kicking into gear. Martyn's claims of emotional bonds not carrying over from previous seasons is not only a very natural progression from his emotional distancing in a coping mechanism sense, but also enables him to betray Ren too later on and not have to confront the guilt that comes with that when he tries to lead him into a tnt trap in the final 1v1v1v1. However, he still cheers for Ren as a ghost and even says that he would be happy to see Ren win, indicating he really does not hold any malice towards him.

I've seen people make jokes about the watcher lore being Martyn schizoposting and I'm sure I've made similar jokes in the past but. Speaking very genuinely here Martyn's questionable sanity is a big part of his character to me.

His Episode 8 of LL literally begins with him acting out the usual running joke of him stealing Mumbo's intro, except Mumbo and Jimmy are dead at this point and he is doing their voices and talking to himself. When the illusion is broken, he panics and the video immediately cuts to him running around obviously distressed with a disembodied voice demanding things from him.

I'm obviously not authorized to diagnose every single one of Martyn's many mental illnesses, but I think mentally breaking down in a timeloop death game is a fairly average thing to happen to someone, and Martyn might be especially susceptible due to his aforementioned need for power and responsibility in every relationship (i.e. I'd like to think he feels some helplessness/guilt over Jimmy and Mumbo's deaths, leading to this sequence).

Not to mention, someone who is emotionally vulnerable coming up with a nebulous Group of Evil People who are the source of all the bad things in a helpless situation of violence is. Something that happens historically quite alot. To try and find reason in the madness is just a human instinct, I think.

One thing I feel like I should mention is his "marriage" with Mumbo which. I honestly don't see as anything more than a gag. Not that Martyn isn't a massive hypocrite but "marrying" Mumbo would be very much contradict what he has to say about Scott/Jimmy's situation. I do think he cares for Mumbo and potentially Mumbo's naivete served as incentive for Martyn to put on the usual assertive/provider role but I don't think there's much more than that (no hate to the shippers, tho, if they knew eachother for like a week longer they would've kissed)

Double Life. Oh no

Double Life Martyn is one of my favourite POVs in the series because it is. Hilarious. Unfortunately.

To start off, he is one of the players who almost immediately accepts the soulbound system as romantic and his views on Cleo/Scott's relationship are heavily based on that (I love that one clip where he mocks them in front of Jimmy).

Him acting flabbergasted at Cleo rejecting him despite pretty much having no relationship with her prior to this season is a really funny contrast to Scott and Pearl, especially when he continues pursuing her like they're recently divorced and Cleo's just like. rolling her eyes. It's all very performative on Martyn's end and why I mentioned his sense of masculinity at the start, because in theme with DL being The Feminism Season TM this is when it comes full throttle in display with the way he treats Cleo.

Martyn keeps referring to himself as a "provider" and refers to Cleo's relationship with Scott as "childish" -- Martyn trying to win over Scott's partner to his side, assuming he knows best for the partner and calling their relationship a sham? Does any of this sound familiar?

Cleo is not like Jimmy, however, and is very clear to Martyn in terms of what she wants from him - which is an apology, no diamond swords or heart-shaped houses, but Martyn in all his emotional denseness can't understand this and keeps assuming there must be some hidden strings attached.

I couldn't find the original meme I had in mind but these are within the same genre. The one I remember had captioned something like "dads don't say "i love you" but they will buy ten boxes worth of the fruit they overheard you say you liked once", which pretty much sums up Martyn's emotional intelligence to me. He would much rather give you way too much of something he thinks you need (e.g. with Jimmy the playful teasing, with Cleo the acts of service) than just say "I love you".

Cleo's blunt honesty serves as a stark contrast to Jimmy and brings something out of Martyn that we rarely ever see -- a genuine, vulnerable interaction in which he has to admit he's hurt. Cleo immediately denies him the role of rescuer he wants to play by telling him directly that she, not Scott, was the one who came up with the idea of teaming up and even gets Martyn to verbalize he's hurt by their actions and cares for her.

Once that illusion is shattered for Martyn and Cleo even admits she's acting manipulatively towards Scott, Martyn realises he and Cleo are more alike than he initially assumed and that he doesn't need to take care of her like he always tries to with his relationships. Ironically, the one relationship he has that is born almost entirely out of government mandated performative romance, is the one that gets him to examine how he views people especially his romantic interests the most.

This is, of course, all said with the fact that following this very heartfelt moment, the next time he speaks to Cleo he pushes her off a fucking cliff and kills her in mind. And the fact that he was very much beating the shit out of her and even called their relationship "toxic" himself early on in the season.

It's kind of hard to gauge Cleo and Martyn's relationship from this point forward but Martyn definitely chills on the namecalling and cooperates with Scott and Cleo for the main part going forward.

I think it's also worth mentioning that, despite Scott once again being the object of his spite, Martyn is once again friendly with Scott all season. When he catches Cleo and Scott mid-axe crit, it's Cleo he starts hitting and not Scott, despite them both being responsible. Behind his back, Martyn will claim Scott is "ruining" Cleo but to his face Martyn is always respectful. He actually even calls Scott "pretty"/"hot" in the last episode, which has some implications I'll talk about more in the Limlife section.

Martyn, like everyone else, is weird about Pearl. Uniquely in his case, Pearl isn't a witch nor demoness, but rather a non-factor he seems to have had written off and her triumph in the end comes as a shock to his system.

He dismisses her concerns over and over in the first episode as they are exploring together and, instead of seeing her as a natural source of allyship, doesn't value her enough to keep her around as an alliance even after Scott and Cleo dump them. In his heart to heart with Cleo, he even very randomly speaks badly of her, although he immediately seems to feel a bit of guilt over it.

He never seems to view Pearl through a sympathetic lens despite the two being in the same circumstance and, again in the same conversation with Cleo, they both agree that she could act as essentially a pawn (an "extra healthbar") for them like Cleo uses Scott.

I feel the need to clarify that while, yes I do believe Martyn is Weird About Women, I also do think he's honestly above average and sees them more as people than some other men in the series (note: my standards are not very high)

He sees most people as nothings that can be manipulated or competition that also can be manipulated, it just so happens that all the women in the series so far land squarely in the former and it took Cleo saying to his face "I'm taking advantage of Scott" for him to realise she wasn't a victim. However, even afterwards, he never treats her with the same competitiveness he has for people like Scott and Scar (albeit it makes enough sense in this season since she's attached to his healthbar, but this remains the same for future seasons). And as a reminder, he holds respect for those he deems as threats, which might have something to do with why he feels comfortable hitting Cleo but not Scott.

As for Ren and the Broken Hearts Club, they didn't get a lot of time together this season since both were preoccupied with their own soulmate dramas and being awful to Pearl but what we do see of them ranges from heartwarmingly nostalgic to a little bit hollow. Martyn saying to Pearl that they're the same at this point doesn't really read to me as him being truly sympathetic since this is post the "you should go use pearl as your second hp bar" conversation and Ren is way too busy to deal with the emotional turmoil of what's going on between himself and Bigb to really pay attention to Martyn.

Ren is still very kind to Martyn, especially considering the last time he saw him in LL Martyn was trying to kill him, but there's an emotional gap between the two that's very noticeable at least to me when compared to 3L and LL.

I think Martyn, at this point, convinced of his own "emotional bonds don't carry over seasons" logic, might be a bit too comfortable on relying on Ren. In both DL and LL he runs to Ren when his current alliance gets shaky and Ren is a source of definite comfort for him (as he said so himself on stream). Ren, as a source of comfort, is not a threat to Martyn aka not someone he needs to keep tabs so when said source of comfort falls through the gaps, you get:

Limited Life. The one where he compares himself to Joffrey from GOT

I don't think I have much to say about LimLife Martyn that hasn't already been said.

I will say I don't necessarily think Majorwood is purely his rebound relationship from Ren, the Mean Gills forming is very much not OOC for either Scott or Martyn (this is pretty much how they acted with eachother at the start of 3L) and their resulting give and take coworker-esque dynamic is a very natural place for them to end up from their previous interactions. Scott, like Martyn, tries to shed his emotional attachments with each new season so they are, in a very literal sense, making eachother worse by reinforcing that habit by normalizing it to eachother.

However, the parallels to their respective 3L partnerships I can't blame people for pointing out, right down to Martyn killing both Ren and Scott in the seaons he was teamed with them and the latter being happy about it.

I think it's time to say what I've been implying with Scott and Martyn throughout this whole thing and that is that they are eachother's ideal ally. They are both aware of the game, play the game, emotionally distant, manipulative and make themselves suffer more for that mindset. I don't think there was ever a moment in their allyship where either assumed the other wasn't going to stab them in the back later, despite the mutual respect they have being very real.

Martyn spends a lot of time this season just wandering around talking to various people, alot like how he acted in 3L before he and Ren became an official thing. It's almost as if, without Ren there, he loses his default go-to guy and is once again sizing up the competition around him.

The one exception I would say would be his interactions with Cleo, who he seems genuinely friendly with, even offering himself up as a "godfather" for the Clockers before the whole server became some form of extended family. You'd think this alliance would also have some basis in the ever present Scott/Cleo alliance but Scott's constant sacrifices for the Clockers are never discussed between him and Martyn, in fact the two of them rarely talk about anything ever past base-building and dolphin-wrangling, and the Clockers seem to treat them as two seperate entities rather than an alliance (e.g. Bdubs seems almost entitled to Scott's life after a certain point, but none of them ever even consider asking Martyn for time).

That, and of course the fact that Martyn kills Scott very unsympathetically towards the end, really point me in the "Martyn is still spiteful towards Scott" direction -- after all, alliance or no alliance, I don't think Martyn would want to be in the conversation with Scott where he tells him about his "love you back" exchange with Jimmy. Martyn certainly respects Scott, loves Scott I'd even say, but I don't know if he actually likes Scott.

I think it's also interesting that it's this season where Martyn's Watcher Lore interludes make a return, just in time for his source of comfort (Ren) to be missing.

Re: the watcher lore the comment Martyn makes about swapping out souls of players who are too "damaged" is very in line with his DL seeing women (and "weaker" men like Jimmy, Mumbo and, of course, Ren) as default victims as, knowingly or not, he implies through this that all the women in the series have souls too weak to withstand the horrors. This also in turn implies that he himself is not broken, which I think he'd like to believe.

Secret Life. It's happy again :D oh wait no

Secret Life starts with Martyn kissing Jimmy. I feel like we moved on from this way too fast in general I mean on the cheek or not he did kiss him he did literally kiss him.

I'll be honest I think the Big Dogs POV is the one I'm least familiar with out of all of these but from what I do remember it's very nice to see Martyn and Jimmy settling back into what seems like their Evo dynamic or even their pre-horrors LL dynamic.

Unfortunately Jimmy is not Cleo and thus cannot get Martyn to be the slightest bit vulnerable, so their dynamic remains stagnant and neither acknowledge the awkwardness that still resides between them.

Jimmy is at least very clearly holding onto some discomforts, judging by his behaviour late in the series when he acts aggressively towards Pearl and celebrates Lizzie dying. He even chases Scott down with a sword on horseback earlier on and, very early in one of Pearl's episodes, he quickly switches between sounding sad and angry.

It's clear to me at least SL Jimmy has reached some sort of breaking point, and this never gets acknowledged by Martyn (I like to think he just lacks the EQ to deal with it). This all cascades into Jimmy attempting to kill Martyn and running away before dying.

SL Martyn feels almost like, to me, the 3L Martyn who successfully convinced Jimmy to team with him and the disaster that comes with that. Martyn certainly has continued to be his survivalist self, not trusting outsiders to the point where when the Wither/Warden combo is unleashed, he immediately assumes they're picking off reds and goes to hide.

Weirdly enough, his protective tendencies towards Jimmy are pretty much gone. It's almost as if when he doesn't see an active threat (e.g. Scott) he assumes things must be good enough and leaves it at that, which also implies he can't comprehend that He might be detrimental to Jimmy himself.

Obligatory. Yes he still misses Ren. Him literally basing his alliance concept off of dogs is. hilarious. I'm so sorry babygirl.

Real Life is, again, non-canon to me but turns up the "dad who buys you 45 mandarins" energy to 11 with him being Ren and Skizz's pseudo-dad. I love Ren having a crisis about his own RP btw it's the funniest thing and he does it like. Everytime.

Uh yeah I hope that's long enough

[poppadom0912]

Uncle and Niece

Characters: Will Halstead x Daughter!OC, Jay Halstead x Niece!OC, Adam Ruzek, Kelly Severide, Sylvie Brett, Antonio Dawson

Warnings: Nothing

Summary: Everyone is introduced to the uncle and niece duo.

A/N: The ending of this was very rushed because it got really awkward and I didn't want it to get to long. I dont really like this but I am posting this in celebration of me getting my first job!!!!

*****

Jay hummed to himself, idly scrolling through his phone reading some messages while he took the occasional sip of his coffee. He managed to get a full night sleep without getting woken up by someone calling about a crime scene, allowing him to wake up earlier than usual.

Making sure everything was clean and clear, Jay clipped his gun and badge to his belt, slipping on his jacket but before he could open the door on his own accord, his doorbell rung, confusing him as to who would be at his apartment at this time.

With caution, Jay opened to door and was surprised to be met with a frantic looking Will. The doctors hair was a total mess, bags under his eyes, his coat haphazardly put on over his scrubs, his bag just about sitting on his shoulder with his hand clutching a smaller hand.

"I am so sorry but I need a really big favour man." Will said, panting as he just about managed to get all his words out. He looked like hell but his little girl on the other hand, no a single hair of hers was out of place.

Looking back and forth from the father and daughter duo, Jay eventually connected the dots, sighing as he did so. Going through all the possible scenarios in his head as to what the worse would happen if he went forward with this really big favour.

"The daycare at Med isn't open and no one is available to babysit but I had no idea you were working. You know what? Leave it, it's fine, forget I ever asked." Will rambled, only now noticing that Jay was leaving for work.

"Dude, it's fine." Jay shook his head, huffing as though he was hurt at Will trying to leave. "I'll take her to work with me. Everyone will love her and it'll be our first official time hanging out together."

"You sure?" Will replied, apprehensive as he let go of Faith's hand, letting her hold Jay's instead. "I owe you man."

"Nah, it's fine." Jay shook his head again, smiling down at his niece. "We'll have fun at the precinct."

"Alright Faith, be good for Uncle Jay Jay, okay? Make sure he stays out of trouble." Will said, bending down so he was eye level with his daughter. A smile she inherited from him plastered her lips as she bid her goodbyes, pressing a loving kiss on his cheek as she waved him away.

"Bye daddy! I love you too much!" Faith shouted down the hallway, watching Will hurry into the elevator, not wanting to be late. "I love you!"

"I love you too baby!" Will shouted in reply, enthusiastically reciprocating her wave which totally contrasted his completely messed up appearance.

With the elevator doors closing, Jay and Faith were left alone for the first time in both their lives. Looking down at the three year old, the three year old craning her neck to look up at her thirty something uncle, she gave him a toothy grin sending this weird feeling in Jay's gut. All of a sudden, he felt this strong urge to protect this little being with all his livelihood no matter what the universe sent this way. It was weird.

"Okay, let's go to work."

*****

For the entire car ride, without being prompted to, Faith was rambling on about anything that came to mind and Jay was intently listening even though he struggled to make out a few words. Faith spoke about her toys, her amazing father and how excited she was now that she was three since it was her birthday a month before Will suddenly showed up in Chicago.

With her much smaller hand in his, it was weird as to how something so small could exist but it was a miracle it could, the uncle and niece duo walked into the 21st precinct. Jay patiently held her hand at all times as she took one step at a time, the steps were much bigger than the normal ones she was used to but she denied any of his help.

Before Jay could make a clean escape, making a dash towards the metal gates, he was stopped by a very familiar voice causing him to come to a halt, screwing his eyes shut at the impending doom he was about to face.

"Chuckles, what do you have here?" Trudy projected, her hands on her hips when she noticed the tiny human being accompanying one of her detectives.

"Sargent, this is my brothers daughter Faith. Remember Will? The doctor?" Jay replied apprehensively, crossing his fingers he wouldn't get reemed in the middle of the district.

"Sure, anyways, Faith is an amazing name for such an adorable girl." Trudy, shrugged it off, leaning over the desk as she started gushing over the toddler. "I see your uncle missed out on those beautiful red locks, disappointing really."

Faith smiled, giggling despite not understanding what Trudy meant but Jay did and he felt slightly offended. "Okayy and that's enough for one day, we'll be upstairs if you need us sarge."

"It's time to say bye now Faith. Say bye Trudy!"

"Bye Bye!" Faith smiled, waving at the older woman who unbeknownst to her had become the most amazing person in the three year olds eyes.

*****

Whoever came up into intelligence, their footsteps could be heard against the wood flooring, allowing all the detectives to know who was coming up based on the force or speed but this was confusing.

There was definitely more than one person, one being bigger than the other but both going at the same slow pace. No one was able to make out who it was till they made an appearance.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Jay and Faith made it to the top of the staircase and were in the bullpen. For Jay, it was nothing amazing and he was here everyday, it was basically his second home but for Faith, it was both scary but amazing.

"Woah! Who's incredibly adorable kid did you kidnap?" Adam teased, a smirk on his face, being the first to notice the little girl that no one knew. Getting up from his spinning chair, he set down his coffee and leaned against his desk to get a better look at the duo.

"Jay, you never told us you had a daughter." Erin said accusingly, also smirking as she joined in the teasing. She was slightly shocked but easily hid it along with her confusion and slight irritation.

"Her name is Faith and she's my niece." Jay said with some pride, introducing Faith to all his colleagues. "My brother put me on babysitting today, so I expect all of you to be on your best behaviour."

"Sir yes sir." Adam's smirk didn't falter, walking towards the pair, bending down so he could offer his hand. "It's lovely to meet you Faith, I'm Adam."

"Hi." Faith replied, taking his hand confidently but she didn't move, simply holding it. She smiled at him, flashing a toothy grin in his direction. "Are you a superhero like Jay Jay too?"

"Indeed I am, aren't you smart?" Adam said rhetorically, pushing himself up so everyone else could talk to you. "We're gonna get along great."

"So Adam's already introduced himself." Jay rolled his eyes, pointing at Adam who stood proudly with his hands in his pocket. "This is Antonio, Erin, Al and my boss is Hank. They're all detectives like me."

At his last five words, Faith's whiskey coloured eyes automatically brightened and everyone noticed. She shuffled on her feet, her eyes sparkling in wonder as she looked at them all.

"Hey, you wanna hear a funny story about your uncle cause I've got too many." Antonio spoke up, smiling at the widening smile on the three-year-olds face at the mention of stories. Without a second thought, her hand was out of Jay's grasp and she walked straight to the Latino who picked her up, sitting her on his desk.

Besides Hank and Al, Antonio had the most and probably best experience with children and it definitely showed.

With a soft smile, Jay watched as the senior detective divuldged into a most likely embarrassing story before he walked away, slipping past Erin and moving towards Hank who he had much to explain to.

*****

Thanking all the forces in power today, Jay's brows scrunched in confusion at the purple hair tie that had somehow ended up around his fingers, a cute plastic flower cheaply glued to the front of it.

Throughout the day, Faith had been given a tour of the bullpen and even had the chance of manning the front desk with Trudy when intelligence went out.

It was just after lunch and Faith had woken up from a very good nap, the painless indentations on her face proving such. But, her hair had gotten completely messed up and Jay was now stuck.

Faith giggled at the confusion painting her uncles face, the adorable sounds washing away any of the impatience Jay just had. It was crazy how the toddler made him feel, even though she wasn't his own child.

"You know what, you look great Faith." Jay shrugged, tucking her red curls behind her ears, patting down the uncontrolled frizz all around before picking her out of her carseat and gently setting her on the ground.

For the billionth time today, Faith found herself in awe of the firehouse. She had only ever seen them in her cartoons and despite her excitement, she could feel the nervousness bubbling in her stomach at how big everything was in real life.

As if sensing her miniscule amount of anxiety, Jay scooped the toddler into his arms dramatically and walked up the apron and into the firehouse where he could see squad sitting at their table.

Jay's sudden action shocked her, sending butterflies in her stomach as she shrieked, laughter easily following suit when he wouldn't set her down despite her poor pleas.

The sound of childish laughter interrupted any conversation happening at the squad table, all their heads turning to find the source and to say they were confused was the least they could say.

"Hey man, you good? Whose baby did you kidnap?" Kelly asked, getting up from his chair, giving the detective a typical bro hug while minding the toddler perched on his hip.

"You remember my brother right, he's a doctor at med." Jay said, continuing when the lieutenant nodded. "This is his daughter Faith. Faith, this is one of my friends Kelly, he's a firefighter. Can you say hi?"

"Why do you have a girls name if your a boy?"

Her innocent question shocked them all. Jay's eyes went wide as he stared at his niece, Kelly was a mix between laughter and shellshock while the three squad members immediately began laughing.

"Faith, I what-"

"Oh my gosh! Who is this beauty?" Sylvie said, preening at the sight of the girl as she exited the ambulance. "She looks exactly like the new doctor at Med you know. Oh yeah, did you know that he has the same surname as you Jay, crazy."

"That's my brother Sylvie and this is his daughter Faith." Jay replied with ease, a smile on his face at the rambling paramedic.

Before she could address the fact that he had a brother, she frowned as she cast eyes on Faith's unruly hair.

"Does she have a hair tie?"

"Yeah, it's here, why?"

"Give her here."

And with that, the blonde paramedic disappeared into the firehouse with his niece and her cheap hair tie gone from his wrist.

"Boden's waiting for you inside his office Jay."

"Oh yes! I actually have work to do. Thanks severide."

[l-in-the-light]

The most embarrassing series of posts about Lawlu you will ever read: edition Dressrosa (part 6)

Two long posts in one day?? I guess I really wanted to get into "carrying Law like a bag of treasure" mini-arc that badly haha. Love is a hurricane so let's go!

Luffy's back to his "I don't have time for this" antics. He wants to save Torao, there's no time to be idle or to waste, alright!

Luffy's done with being patient and sticking to plans. He was interested in his life to stick to only one plan anyway, which he believes is shattered now. Too bad, Viola. You're just not Law.

Luffy has enough of waiting! Faster, faster! And again, not interested in any other plans, unless they're Law's. (yes, he asks about the plan, but only to complain. He's not gonna listen)

Torao's fine! Luffy looks really happy and he calmed down a bit and does he have a slight blush here or what lol. But like I told you all, he's not interested in listening to plans and idling around. He wants to go, go, go and he isn't even trying to understand what they're waiting for. This is the Luffy we all know, the "before Law" Luffy lol.

To understand why Law says that the alliance is finished, we need to rewind to his fight with Doflamingo. He said that to protect the Strawhats. In case Law gets captured and loses (and he expected to be defeated), cutting his ties with Strawhats should make them all leave the country, right? After all they will have no more business here because the whole alliance was focused on Law's plan, and once that is no longer their business, in Law's mind it means they will leave. After all that's what pirates do. They don't care about countries, old allies etc.

I mean, if it was anyone else than Strawhats, Law would be right, wouldn't he? He just didn't know them well enough yet at this point. He probably thought saving kids at Punk Hazard was just a whim on their part, a precedence, and normally they would only do such things for their friends. And Law isn't their friend, neither is anyone in Dressrosa.

Luffy: Omg Law I missed you so much!

Law: Not this again!

Luffy wastes no time anymore and is so, so happy to be able to rescue Law it's unreal. Meanwhile Law tries to push him away, shocked that he's here.

He tries three different tactics to push Luffy away: 1. You were supposed to take care of the factory, did you do it already? 2. The alliance is no more, scram from here 3. If you rescue me, I will be your enemy!

This is probably The Moment when Trafalgar Law realized Luffy treats him as a friend, someone to risk your life for to help. Law isn't having any of that. Luffy risks his life for friends, and Law wants the exact opposite: protect him no matter what. Those two desires clash here.

Luffy almost fell for it, to be fair. But then decides he will rescue Law no matter what he's saying. He did the same for Ace in Marineford, despite Ace screaming this is not his business, so why would Law's words stop him now?

I love how Luffy calls Law selfish. I mean, he's kinda right about it. Law doesn't take into account Luffy's feelings here. And Luffy also doesn't take Law's feelings into account here. It's a battle of who will rescue the other, lol. They're so hopeless, I swear...

Law's last attempt gets completely ignored. He again is dragged into Luffy's pace here and he knows it. He lost to Luffy, again. Hence why he will allow himself to "get saved" from this moment on, which I think makes Luffy actually happy - after all Ace didn't allow himself to be saved.

And yes, the "I'll kill you" is a lie. All things Ace said at Marineford to keep Luffy away were also lies. Those are all hints for us to connect the dots here. Not that anyone believed Law here anyway lol. There's just no way he would actually harm Luffy after trying to protect him for freaking two arcs now. But he would and will say just about anything, if it has even a slight chance of pushing Luffy away.

Now we have to address the elephant in the room. Does it all mean that Trafalgar Law was suicidal and actually expected Luffy to leave him to die? Well, yes and no. Yes, because he does care for Luffy more than he cares for himself, for multiple reasons (low self-esteem might be one of them actually). Let's not forget Luffy is the life he saved in Marineford. Saving lives means everything to Law.

No, because did you notice Viola magically spawned a key to Law's cuffs? Did you notice how prepared she was in this whole arc, even handing Sanji a map to secret factory, almost like she knew that's exactly the thing they're missing in their plan? Well. I think Law lied and did visit Dressrosa before. And made Viola his secret ally, a great chess piece on the board that's capable of making her own decisions and prepared in case Law needs a backup plan (remember fake cuffs in Punk Hazard? It's the same logic applied here. Law always covers ways to recover from precarious situations/possible emergencies/mistakes). In other words, getting captured by Mingo and rescued with help of his ally, was a part of his backup plan. Yes, he planned his own capture, you heard me right. It wasn't his plan A. Just a backup plan B or C.

You're welcome if that turned your understanding of Dressrosa's plot upside down. I'm always happy to deliver! Oh if you only knew how much of Law's plan was probably obscured from us. Because I don't think Viola is his only secret ally. Ofc you're free not to believe it and just accept the old truth fandom believes in, which is Law being a selfish suicidal idiot. Let's move on for now!

Important to remember: this is Law's narration here. After all he's the only one in this group that knows what Doffy's birdcage is, having experienced it before. He has a clear PTSD moment about it and speaks his actual mind here. Which is him being terrified that innocent people will die, all because Law's plan went to shit. He's most likely already blaming himself for that. This is definitely not the result he wanted, which might be one more reason why his original plan was so indirect in dethroning Doflamingo. He was hoping to avoid stuff like this.

Luffy taking care of Law's sword <3 Busy talking with Zoro over some stuff, meanwhile Law pays attention to Doffy's broadcast, because Luffy doesn't. Those two really fill each other's blank spots, and they do so naturally.

First time Law hears that Luffy is now after Doflamingo. He reacts to it, trying to make Luffy understand that it's a dangerous decision, assuming Luffy is just swayed by emotions.

And their wishes clash again. Law tells Luffy it's better to give it up and scramble. Law no longer tries to push Luffy away, he realizes he lost that battle already. But he's still not giving up on keeping Luffy safe. Ironic, considering he's practically helpless and cuffed here (but the key to the cuffs should be nearby). Just moments ago he clearly regretted the fact innocent people got dragged into this deadly game, but here he is trying to downplay it and even disregard it as not important.

Luffy's not having any of that. Either he heard his regret before and connected the dots, or he still deeply believes Law to be a good person. He expects him to want to help this country too. If Luffy doesn't doubt Law even once, no matter what Law has to say about it, why should we? Luffy's usually the best at reading people, their emotions and judging if they're good people or not. I definitely trust him when he calls someone a good person, and i think you all should as well.

What Luffy and Law are actually communicating here is this:

Law: "This is going too far, we should stop. We might lose our lives here" (as in: I don't want you to lose your life here).

Luffy: "This is no time to be worrying about that! We're already dragged in this!" Or even... "I'm not letting you give up everything just to protect my life! I will carry your wish to save Dressrosa!" (but I doubt Law understands it this way)

Of course Law is taken aback here. He doesn't understand why Luffy is so attached to this country already or why he made his final decision already (and we might also question it with him, because we saw how Luffy respected the plan before! Not even Rebecca or fake peace could sway him! And Law apparently was more aware of it than we expected him to be). It was less than a day. He will find out eventually though, because it will keep bugging him and be constantly on his mind, hence his immediate reaction:

And now he finally gets it. Yep, it was because of food. And it will be because of food again in Wano. It's not the full reason, but oh god it is hilarious. Neverending cycle of suffering for Law continues on.

I guess Luffy's deep interest in Law is reciprocated after all. Law is also unusually interested in things concerning Luffy and stuff about Luffy seems to be always on Law's mind.

Law already knows what's gonna happen, just by hearing "the direct one!!" answer. He still is in disbelief.

Neverneding cycle of suffering. No wonder he becomes a zen monk by Wano.

And it continues. He clearly doesn't enjoy the freestyle jumping off the cliff while being at someone else's mercy or being tossed around. Luckily for him, Luffy holds him tight.

Considering how he was just so heavily manhandled, you can't hold it against Law here that he's kinda petty. Also Luffy's panic is adorable, he's like "oh no, I totally messed it up" which he usually wouldn't care much about, but now he's literally carrying Law with him, so it's no longer about his own safety (he doesn't care) but Law's (he cares about that a lot). And can I just point out since Luffy grabbed Law he never lets him go anymore? Yeah, he loses him occassionally, but never lets Zoro carry him even for a second. Nope, Luffy's gonna carry his own treasure the whole way all up to Mingo's castle and no one's gonna put hands on it!

And I believe this to be the reason. Luffy knows that the whole Doflamingo's Family got a beef with Law, but also normal citizens would be trying to get Law, and Law is still wearing seastone cuffs so can't do much. So Luffy takes it upon himself to take care of him now! And he's so overprotective he won't let anyone else do that!

And again, it's mutual. Law, despite his position, will still fret over Luffy's wellbeing all the time. My god, can they just stop being so obvious? Worry for yourself for once, Law!

He worries and worries some more and doesn't even complain when he lands face first on the ground.

Special mention for Luffy caring about innocent people, because this proves to Law that Luffy actually does care deeply about things like that! By Wano Law will accept it as the truth and Luffy's general MO.

I wonder how it felt when Luffy laughed while holding Law on his arm like that. Law must have felt him laughing through the vibrations in his own body. It's just... so casually intimate between them. Of course Law doesn't miss the chance to actually scold them both, because they do attract unneccessary troubles on them and they're already in bad spot. Law's worrying never ends!

I just wanna point it out: Luffy is falling here, but he still holds Law close, refusing to let him go.

This is here just so you can also stare at both of them lying down at the same time, because that's so rare, whenever Luffy's not on guard, Law usually is, but not here. Here they're just both little sheeps and Zoro has to step up his game instead. Maybe on some subconscious level, Law actually feels safe when Luffy carries him, because he felt safe when Corazon carried him forever ago as well.

I just love how Luffy realizes what Cavendish is up to and rescues Law. And there we go, the infamous "crewmate" debate. Let's start with Luffy. Many people assume Luffy just lied here to protect Torao, because that's the easiest option. But it doesn't take into account Luffy's personality. Luffy never jokes about crewmate's status and if he calls you one, he actually means it (yes, I do believe he tried to seriously recruit zombie tree and Kinemon's legs. He was so deeply disappointed when he found out Kin's legs aren't a seperate entity!). Luffy means every word he said here and he only voices it outloud exactly because it will help keep Cavendish away from Law. And it's not the first time the "nakama" thing is hinted at:

He says it here as well. "My crew's life is more important than flame-flame fruit". But at this point none of the Strawhats is in any immediate danger. Law though, is, indeed.

But when did Luffy start to think of Law as his crewmate? Punk Hazard? Dressrosa after he saw Law being shot? Well, my personal bet is right after Marineford. Because by rescuing him Law proved to Luffy he's a good person. And that's all Luffy needs to want someone as a crewmate. It does help though that he saw Law fight and must consider him really strong.

There's one interesting thing here though. Usually when Luffy declares someone his crewmate/nakama, he would pursue them no matter what. But in Law's case, he just... waits. Seems he wants Law to be the one to make the final decision, and until he does, Luffy will wait for him forever. You think I'm reaching? Watch till we get to Wano haha.

Funny thing is, Zoro caught up on that before Luffy even put it into words. Let's remind ourselves of Zoro's sword languague in Water 7 for a moment:

He explains he doesn't pick sides and he draws his sword a bit and closes it again ("clicking" it) to make the point. He also gives his friends a choice: they need to decide now whether Robin is an enemy or a crewmate (original uses the nakama word). Now fast forward to Dressrosa:

Zoro does the same gesture from Water 7 and it's meant for Law. He's telling him basically the same message here "choose your side, are you with us (nakama) or against us (enemy)." It's right after Luffy and Law quarrel about fleeing or staying and helping the country. Law is also a swordsman, he most likely understood the message, hence his shocked reaction, because he was faced with an ultimatum from Luffy's wingman.

And what's Law's stance on it? He clearly refused there, right? "I'm not!" but that was before he was ready to give his actual answer, so of course he would be mad, he semi-expected this is Luffy deciding things for him. He realizes just a moment later that it's actually not the case and why Luffy said it, hence he shuts up. He shares his final decision only after Zoro leaves to fight Pica and I bet you anything it was on purpose, he was avoiding giving his actual answer in front of the other. Maybe he just thinks Zoro's crazy and might indeed treat him as an enemy as the result... or maybe, just maybe, he is actually torn. I mean, he's allowed to feel confused, he just evolved from a friend to a crewmate in a matter of one hour or less.

Law's hat is on and so is Luffy's, at the exact same time. Shared solidarity <3

Law isn't often taken aback by Luffy, but here he is. I guess it's the first time he sees Luffy so stupidly stubborn over something and the realization hits him like a truck. Yes, Law, Luffy can be just as stubbornly petty as you, are you up for the competition? Seeing your face I would assume that's a "no" haha. He might later on.

Law: Too close! (he's making a very uncomfortable expression and Jeef is leaning all over him).

Luffy: Hands off and get off!!

It looks like Luffy wants to protect Law, but actually I think he's just trying to literally push the guy off so he can win the petty competition of who reaches Doffy first. I'm sure Law appreciated Luffy pushing the guy off.

But it can be also because Luffy wanted Jeef and Abdullah to get away from his treasure that he tugged on Moocy right behind himself lol.

Should we ask ourselves another question? Why is Law allowing himself to be handled this way? There are actually multiple possible reasons for that: 1. He decided that no matter what Luffy wants he will tag along with it, there's no way he's leaving Luffy alone to face Mingo 2. He actually likes being carried around (we have Corazon to thank for that) 3. He's actually too weak in those cuffs to get himself to that palace. Which would explain why he doesn't even try to sit up while on Moocy or why his guard wasn't on around Cavendish, normally he wouldn't allow himself a mistake like that, no matter how much Luffy manhandled him. Though like I said before, I don't exclude "trust" as the partial reason as well. I just don't think it would be enough to make Law stop fretting and worrying.

The love adventures of Luffy carrying Law around will continue in next part!

[charmac]

Do you think Mac has jacked off while reading the Bible? Or is he too ashamed? Or does the shame just turn him on more? Are the pages of his Bible all stuck together?

Oh, I don't think; we know:

(Pages stuck together, thanks for the confirmation, Charlie)

I think the shame definitely turns him on more, considering Mac Day:

And, the connected punishment, lest we forget The Gang Goes to Hell... (and the script here... whew)

While he was repressed then, he wasn't as of Charlie's Home Alone, so I think it's clear to claim that a part of his "homosexual awakening" was connected to the fact that he was gradually getting more and more into the idea of being punished (gone sexual) for his sins, to a point where he was just genuinely jerking off to the "evils of homosexuality"

I do wanna continue here though and say Season 15 is pretty interesting because we see Mac battle between being Catholic and proudly gay. He seemingly has no issue bragging to a Priest in the middle of a church that he's into triple penetration, but it is his sex life that is the driving "reasoning" for why he thinks he should become a Catholic Priest:

He's been "S-ing&F-ing" his way though life for too long and now he thinks God has taken away one of his identities (Irish) as a result. Mac's idea of being punished by/for God continues, but it's now through the form of revocation (as opposed to shame or flagellation). I think there's a clear "connect the dots" idea that depriving himself of sex (via becoming a Priest) is an "evolved" form of allowing God to punish him for being gay.

Obviously Mac learns he was lied to, as he actually is Irish, so his "journey" here is a bit of a wash, but the fact that his rationale jumped to God punishing him for having gay sex still stands. As he grows to accept himself, he's still looking for ways to feel shame (which, as we've seen, gets him off)...

But is the constant seeking for some form of punishment still there? We didn't see much of his Catholicism in Season 16 (I think the only mention of God from Mac was in The Gang Gets Cursed), but we did continue to see his sex life and—well, that was pretty heavy on Mac, openly gay dating, somehow managing to be neglected and deprived of actual gay sex, wasn't it?

[wickedsmille]

snippet saturday

I got tagged by @takemetomyfragiledreams for a Snippet Saturday! (I love getting tagged in these things. You spoil me so good. 🖤) And I did a thing. Like a continuation of my jaytim one-shot monster mash kind of thing. And what's under the cut is probably more than a snippet but, hey, short and concise just ain't my thing and I've made my peace with that. That being said, enjoy this heap of dragon!Tim riding in to save his damsel familiar demon!Jason. (I didn't edit nuffin' so beware, probably typos afoot.)

Idk who to tag 🥲 So, if you're reading this, I tag you. No take backsies.

-

Most people wear their glamors whenever they’re out in public. The mixing of humans, creatures, humanoids and all those in-between has come a long way. It’s harmonious, almost. Not everywhere, not all the time. Crime against creatures and hybrids is higher still than humans and those creatures human enough to pass for normal. So whether out of fear or consideration or conformity, glamoring is as prevalent as it has always been.

For Robin, for Tim, that is doubly true. 

Dick and Jason were witches. It didn’t matter for them. The ethereal, glowing eyes of a witch in their half and full forms are hidden by the dominos. For all anyone else could tell, Robin was something but no one could ever pin down exactly what. There’s too many magical beings now openly living shoulder to shoulder with humans for it to matter. Too much magic freely floating through the air to definitively pick out a specific thread and follow it from the vigilante to the person behind the mask. Being witches allowed them the freedom to fully spread their wings without fear of giving away their identities whether they were Robin or Dick or Jason. 

Bruce has the world convinced Brucie is a bumbling idiot of a human while Batman is very obviously more but there’s enough creatures out there like daevas to muddy the waters. 

Of course, Tim’s parents wanted a flashy hybrid to parade around the balls and galas they bothered to attend when they were in Gotham. A new treasure his father could point to and boast about, proof of his mother’s superiority over the other children of the elite. They’d hoped he’d even get the unique ability to function without a familiar afforded to creature and humanoid hybrids. Rarely, the tempering magic of a humanoid would be enough to balance and tame the raw, electric power of creature magic. Then there’s no need to balance the scales through unnecessary attachments. 

Tim visited enough doctors as a kid, paid enough to keep their mouths shut to do procedures typically only done after seventeen at the limit of when bonds form, for his parents to come to the early conclusion Tim wouldn’t be one of the lucky hybrids. They got their trophy to stuff into stiff suits and march across marble floors but their disappointment in the knowledge Tim wouldn’t be able to function independently was a weighted, palpable thing. 

It’s always been customary for the wealthy to hide their true forms but, after that, they gave him a talisman to wear to events on top of his own glamors.

Becoming Robin and having Bruce harshly demand he always keep his glamors up wasn’t jarring because he’d already grown used to it. The magic started to itch if left too long. Sometimes Tim would forget to remove them even at home despite the cold, empty rooms being his only company. Sacrificing the truth of himself for Robin wasn’t a hardship. Nowadays, it’s second nature. He hardly even remembers what he looks like in his half and full forms. But he does know a half dragon, half elf is too conspicuous to ever be seen as Robin. It would be all too easy to connect the dots between such a rare hybrid and Tim Drake. 

Even just the thought of breaking his glamors, in public no less, is enough to make his heart race and his palms sweat but his bond is screaming familiar in danger over and over again as pain dances along every nerve. Tim can’t see any other way to neatly wrap up the mess Jason has created. From his vantage point perched on a billboard across the street from a nondescript warehouse on the southside of the docks, Tim counts at least fifty heavily armed mercenaries and one Red Hood.

Jason is powerful. Incredibly so, but everyone has their limits. The relative stability of Tim’s fused magics, his more prominent elven blood making the powerhouse magic of his dragon side more docile, compared to the volatile churning of Jason’s does come with the perk of not needing contact with his familiar as often. Which is all the better since Jason has made himself scarce since their last meeting. He’s posited that Jason likely doesn’t enjoy the same benefit given the incendiary nature of his magic, where the demon side reigns supreme and feeds, feeds, feeds off the magic of the witch. 

He can’t imagine what state Jason is in. Tim had already drafted a plan to hunt Jason down again for his own damn good. 

Now he’s being forced to speed up his timetable and make what seems like an impossible choice. Fifty guys, most likely armed with bullets and magic themselves, is something Robin can’t handle with a handicapped Red Hood. The thought of calling in Batman and Nightwing for back up rankles. There would be no hiding the bond with him and Jason close to one another, not from Bruce and, by extension, from Dick who serves as his familiar. Tim isn’t ready to share this part of himself yet. It’s a tender, open wound Jason tore open again, a weakness he hasn’t created a workaround for yet. 

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t, though. 

Heaving a long, weary sigh, Tim straightens up and hops down off the billboard while casting a temporary veil of invisibility over himself. With deft fingers, Tim does the latches on the Robin uniform and stuffs them into a cache stored inside the defunct AC unit nearby. Left with nothing but his undershirt and tights, Tim stands at the edge of the roof and grimaces. He can feel the swell of magic bubbling under his skin, equally soothing and irritating the pain channeling through the bond into him. 

Man, he really hopes he isn’t making a terrible mistake. 

Mind already made up, Tim shoves away his self-doubt and leaps off the roof with his arms spread. He closes his eyes and wipes away the haze of the glamors while pulling on his own magic to wrap around himself. To embrace himself and what he truly is. It’s pain and relief rolled into one, like scratching an itch viciously enough to bleed. His skin ripples and stretches, bones breaking down and knitting back together while muscle and sinew stretch to accommodate. As much as it sucks, because it does, Tim feels freer than he does swinging from his grapple through Gotham’s skies. 

He wants to laugh but it comes out as a chuff because of his snout. His paws slam into the concrete of the road, claws digging in and ripping it up. Bounding towards the warehouse, Tim decides to go for shock and awe. Most people don’t expect a full-fledged dragon to run into them head on. He knows even as a drake he's on the smaller side for dragons and doesn't have the added bulk wings would give his silhouette. Still, a dragon no matter the sub-type is a dragon and their reputation as an apex predator has been well earned in and out of the magic community.

Running on four legs is weird, especially with the unwieldy weight of his tail thumping clumsily against the ground behind him, so Tim stumbles the first couple steps but he settles into a loping run as he closes the distance between himself and the warehouse. The spines along the top of his head and down his spine shift with each powerful push of his legs. By the time he’s throwing himself bodily into the wooden bay doors of the warehouse, Tim has even managed to wrangle his tail into some semblance of order so it's not throwing off his balance so badly. 

The wood gives way easily, no match for Tim’s plated scales and thick hide. He skids across the warehouse floor, claws leaving gouges in his wake. Everything inside the building stops as Tim settles in the center of the room. No one so much as moves, too busy gaping at Tim to fire their guns and shoot off a burst of magic. His inner elf wants to preen at the stunned attention but Tim squashes the stupid impulse. 

Instead, he roars into the silence of the warehouse. The sound of it reverberates off the glass of the windows, completely destroying the ones closest to Tim. Tim’s tail swings back and forth agitatedly as he bears his teeth. The deep black of his smooth scales explode into a brief starburst of color when the light catches them like he’s been armored with plates of black opal. Tim rears his head back and roars with his whole chest this time as his tail slams into the floor and cracks the concrete.

The first roar was an announcement of his presence. The second is a warning to stay away from what is his.

[archivists-plus-one]

So I've had a running theory for TMAGP for a while now and I think today's episode gave me just enough to somewhat solidify it... 

(Special thanks to @clare-89 for helping out with this!)

Spoilers for The Magnus Protocol up to + including episode 19 below:

Chester - Sulphur (The Soul)

Okay so my theory is that each of the TTS Gang represent/are connected to each of the three alchemical primes, and this is what keeps FR3-D1 'balanced'. And I'm pretty sure I've connected the dots...

I think this is the most obvious of the three - he has had every single case that has been categorised as “transformation” so far, and the other cases he’s had have all related back to The Magnus Institute, been very ‘Eye’ orientated, or mentioned Hilltop Road or interdimensional travel (And the doppelganger case did say it was in Oxford…). Transformation also has a deeper meaning - in alchemy, it is believed that the human soul has the capacity to transform, and the process of doing so is very similar to what happens on an alchemist’s bench. 

Norris - Salt (The Body)

So it was while I was putting this together that I realised that Norris has actually only had four cases so far. His first one, the first case we heard in the show, was about a reanimated body which no longer talked or acted like the person it was.  If that doesn’t say it’s a body lacking a soul or a mind, I don’t know what does. The second one was the first with the infection in episode 3. This one, to me, could have been ‘The Mind’, but it is quite literally about a person losing his mind, and his body being taken over by whatever this weird plant infection is. The liminal space episode has many soulless, mindless ‘bodies’ acting as ‘NPCs’ in the services. And I think the Mr Bonzo case is quite self explanatory.

Augustus - Mercury (The Mind) 

Okay, so we have only had two Augustus cases, and at first I mostly gave him ‘Mercury’ because it was the last one and he had to fit into it somehow, but looking closer at the cases…he does. The violin case from episode 4 had a couple of instances of ‘mind control’, to a degree - The first being when the writer’s tutor is compelled to jump out of the moving carriage, and the second when the writer plays the violin and it appears to compel everybody to murder each other. The case from episode 18, with the person building a ‘house’ in their mind, is, again, also pretty self explanatory. 

But the thing that pulled this all together for me from episode 19 was actually a line from Colin:

If we are to believe that Chester is connected to sulphur, this would absolutely make sense - Sam has been becoming too obsessed with listening to Chester’s cases, particularly about The Magnus Institute, and he has been warned multiple times that it’ll “drive him mad”.

He also says that the world will end with too much mercury. Maybe this is why Augustus is only ‘allowed’ to read out a few cases? And if we’re running with the jmj theory that Augustus is Jonah….well, we’ve seen how too much of him can end the world. And Jonah did have the ability to see into people’s minds.

Another interesting thing here is that “Stasi” was the secret police agency of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) between 1950 and 1990, and was both hated and feared. Knowing that FR3-D1 is written with German source code, I can’t help but wonder why they would have commissioned the program, and exactly why the OIAR have access to it. And exactly what really happened to Klaus…

Of course, as always, I entirely expect to be completely wrong about everything, but... What am I if not a nerd.

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

☠️ Something Dread, Something Red: Chapter Three

Something Dread, Something Red: Stuck in a proposal to a Marine Commodore, you escape minutes before your wedding in one last ditch effort to avoid getting married to a tyrant. Barely making it to the port of your town, you stumble across a ship just starting to leave and beg for passage off the island. You fail to notice that the people you beg for help, are pirates.

Warnings: Domestic Violence.

To Note: “Red Haired” Shanks x FemReader

Word Count: ~2.8k

Previous | Masterlist | Next

5 Years Prior

The lilac dress you wear flows around your carefully crafted body in effortless waves. It is made from a chiffon fabric you begged your mother for nearly six months to have. Your usual attire consists of heavy satin and lace, and for your eighteenth birthday, you just want to feel happy and light for once. It takes much convincing, but eventually, your mother caves. She needs you to be happy and is willing to give you this one thing. But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t gone all out on your chiffon lavender dress.

The color matches your hair perfectly, the stitching is made from the best silver thread Berry can buy, and the ribbon wrapping your waist comes from a silk farm known to be the best in all the Blues. You think it is too much for just a simple birthday, but your mother does what she wants. Events like this give you time to yourself because she is far too busy to monitor your every move.

So you are currently sneaking off to the library to get some reading time in. Your mother always berates you for your habit of keeping your nose in a book, telling you that ladies don’t read, they play music and host tea parties and other social events. While you have been trained in such things, you don’t find the same pleasure in them as you do with reading. There is something about hosting tea parties and socials with the older noble population whom you are not friends with. You don’t have any friends because your mother doesn’t allow you any.

“So controlling,” you mutter to yourself, pushing the door to the great Bonn family library. There is every kind of book you could want in this library; your father is a collector of sorts. With his connections in the merchant guild, he often makes trade deals involving rare books and encyclopedias. Venturing to the nearest aisle, you run your fingers over leather-bound book spines. “What should I read this time? It is my birthday, so maybe something special…”

You further wander, heading in the direction of the books your mother disapproves of you reading. It is mostly books on sea navigation, sailing, and shipbuilding. All information your mother deems irrelevant in your education. Reaching a section that holds a multitude of maps your father is fond of reviewing to find more ports to add to the Bonn empire, you pick up a few scrolls and curiously look at them.

One of the maps is of the Gecko Islands; Syrup Village is circled, and the familiar scrawls of your father’s handwriting dot the area around it. From the brief glances you have gotten of documents and the conversations you’ve overheard, Syrup Village is where all the ships in the Bonn Chestnut Trade Company come from. The ships are well-built and last through the weather of every Blue they cross. Abandoning the maps, you pick up a random book and open it. You are greeted with words and depictions of the construction of a lace factory. You close that book, making a face, and return it to its place on the shelf.

“Rather not,” you comment, moving on in hopes of a more interesting book to read. A few more minutes of wandering and you find a book that certainly piques your interest. It is a book on the politics of the marines, and more specifically, pirates. Your eyebrows rise in interest, and you pluck it from the shelf.

You’ve never really been informed about pirates; your mother calls them scum, and your father claims they are bad for business and nothing but conniving scoundrels. So you grow up knowing next to nothing about pirates. Walking towards the sitting area within the library, you open the book to a random page which holds a long list of pirates the marines are keeping track of at the time of the print. The main name that stands out, and that is at the top of the list, is Gol D. Roger. But the little symbol next to his name is clearly a mark of death.

“He certainly appears to be important,” you murmur to yourself, looking further down the list of names. You don’t recognize any of them, not that you are well-informed, but still, your mother gets the paper every morning and tuts over the news. You occasionally pick up the same names repeated over and over throughout the years. Pausing in step, you turn the page and just catch the words ‘Warlords’ and ‘Emperors,’ when footsteps have you on high alert. You snap the book shut and hold it behind you as your father appears, a parchment in hand. He pauses in step upon seeing you.

“Linaria, your mother is looking for you,” he speaks before eyeing the hands you hold behind your back. The book now seems like it is made of lead. “Can I presume that the book you are hiding is not one your mother would approve of?”

“It’s just a book,” you argue, arms dropping to your sides. “How exactly is that dangerous to me?”

“Your mother’s decision is your mother’s decision, Linaria,” your father says, not questioning his wife’s authority when it comes to your upbringing. “Hand it over, your mother is expecting you in the tea room.” With a grudging sigh, you do as he asks and head for the exit. Your mother is waiting for you in the tea room? Last you knew, there weren’t any events on this day that involved the tea room. Perhaps she has added an extra item to the agenda. At least you could have your favorite tea since it is your birthday.

Walking swiftly towards the tea parlor, you breeze by several maids and butlers who curtsey and bow to you as you pass. Before entering the tea parlor, you pause to collect yourself. Then, taking a deep breath and straightening your posture, you enter the room. Your mother is sitting on one of the couches, teacup in hand.

“Father said you were looking for me, Mother?” you softly speak, for ladies never raise their voices. She doesn’t turn her head to look at you.

“We have a guest, Linaria.” A guest? Your eyes follow your mother’s gaze to see a marine sitting on the couch opposite her. What is a marine doing at the manor? And one so high-ranking! “Greet our guest,” your mother hisses to you. You clear your throat and turn to the marine.

“Forgive me for not doing so earlier, I am Linaria. Welcome to the manor,” you greet like the perfect daughter your mother wants you to be.

“Thomas Collins, my fair lady, Commodore of the Marines on Kuri Island.” The man, Thomas, answers. “May I offer you a happy birthday? Your mother has sung praises of you and is very excited about this cornerstone in your life.” Your mother is telling praises of you? A shocking thought as she has been nothing but critical of you as of late, but this isn’t a time you can question her motives. Thomas rises from his seat and strides over to you, his figure towering over your small frame.

“Oh, thank you, I am very excited to see where my life takes me,” you tell him, your fingers coming together in front of you and winding together in a nervous habit.

“It would be rude of me to drop by without a gift for such a lovely young woman, and I took it upon myself to prepare something I thought would be fitting for a woman as beautiful as you.” Thomas continues, reaching into his coat and pulling out a slim box.

“Oh, sir, you didn’t need to prepare such a thing,” you say, almost stuttering over your words in surprise. You can feel your mother’s eyes glaring daggers into you for even thinking of refusing such a thing. Nonetheless, you take the slim box from his gloved fingers.

“You are to be the next Lady of the Bonn Chestnut Trade Company; I think you are deserving of your first piece of jewelry.” You open the box to reveal a delicate bracelet with flowers and gems that sparkle. It really is a lovely piece if the flowers hadn’t been roses. You force your face into one of happiness and thank him.

“It is absolutely beautiful; thank you for picking such a wondrous piece,” you reply in faux happiness, fluttering your eyelashes and plastering a smile you’ve perfected over the years. He looks pleased, very pleased by your reaction, and gestures toward the bracelet.

“May I?” he presses, and you, of course, relent, allowing the strange Commodore to carefully wrap the beautiful bracelet around your wrist. Not much is said after that, as Thomas indicates that he has to return to duty and bids his farewell. You don’t dare speak until you are sure that he is long gone.

“Mother, who was that, and why was he here?” you question, turning to your mother still sipping tea. She sighs and lowers the tea to the table in front of her before rising from her seat. Striding over to you, her cold eyes scan you.

“That was Commodore Thomas Collins; he is in charge of the marine base on Kuri Island and the surrounding archipelago.” She informs you, mouth pressed in a tight line. “And you are to be his bride.”

“Bride,” you repeat incredulously, thinking for a moment that you have misheard her. “Mother, what are you speaking of? I do not remember him proposing to me!”

“Of course not, you silly girl, it is an arranged marriage to ensure the success and power of our family and business.” Your jaw nearly drops open.

“You can’t just make decisions about my life like that,” you exclaim, your voice raised and eyes flashing in anger. “I’m not going to marry a man I don’t know and certainly not because you tell me to!”

Your head whips to the side, and you take a stumbling step backward before you even know what happens. Raising a hand to your stinging cheek, you let out a gasp at the sharp pain radiating across your face. You look at your mother, eyes filled with hurt and anger. She points her finger at you.

“You are to do exactly as I tell you, Linaria.” Your mother growls to you, seizing your chin and forcing you to look into her cold eyes. “And that means you will marry.”

Present Day

Sitting on one of the stacked crates, you stare at the little bracelet hanging from your wrist while feeling sick just looking at it. Your other hand reaches for the delicate chain, and you harshly pull on what feels like a shackle until it snaps. Then you throw it as hard as you can over the side of the ship you escaped Kuri Island on. Your wrist hurts from the metal digging into your skin, but at the same time, you feel like a huge weight has been lifted from your shoulders.

The ship gently rocks as it sails, but you find the sway almost comforting while you hold yourself and look out across the water. This is the farthest you’ve ever been from your home, and the salt air is an entirely new experience. Turning your head away from the pristine waters, you find several of the men staring at you. Right, you begged your way onto this ship; you might as well compensate them for the trouble. So you reach back and undo the clasp to your necklace and hold it out.

“Compensation,” you speak, offering the glimmering jewelry piece to them. “It’s worth a lot of Berry, that I know.”

“We don’t want your jewelry, madam,” the red-haired captain, the one who’d effortlessly tossed you over his shoulder and carried you away, speaks. You are pretty sure the others have been calling him Shanks. “But we would like to know what had you fleeing from your own wedding.”

“It was arranged,” you answer, chewing on your lip and twisting your hands together. “I didn’t get a say in it; Mother organized the whole thing to ensure the family business would remain successful and in power.”

“You must be a Bonn then,” Shanks comments, thinking over who has the most power on Kuri Island. The Bonn’s. “Who did she want you to marry?”

“The Commodore.” Several of the pirates let out whistles and shake their heads.

“Don’t blame ya’ for runnin’,” one even comments. “That is one crooked marine.” You rub your tired eyes and sigh.

“I do not wish for you to get wrapped up in my personal business. You can drop me off at the next island. I don’t want to be a burden to you.”

“You are hardly a burden,” Shanks corrects you, eyes scanning your figure more thoroughly now that you aren’t trembling violently from fear. It is clear that you’ve been running for a while when you approach him, but now he can see little nicks and cuts on your skin and smell the metallic tang of blood clinging to your body. “I think you’ve had a long day; you could do for some rest.”

“It’s not even half-past ten.” His eyebrow rises at you, and he nods his chin.

“And you might look the picture of perfection, but even I can tell that you are exhausted. We shall talk more of this tonight; in the meantime, you should get some rest and get out of that dress. It’s very…” Shanks struggles to come up with a word to describe someone as beautiful as you, yet so out of place.

“Ostentatious?” you offer lightly. “You should have seen me with the train. My mother tried to drown me in lace.” Your light jab at your own outfit brings out a couple of chuckles, and the men are glad to see the brief smile upon your face. It is much preferred to your distress.

Shanks has directed you to his own room, for it is the best furnished for a lady such as yourself, and you can have privacy there. After changing out of your dress, you can get some much-needed sleep, and then finally the full picture of the woman he’d helped can be rendered. So as you clutch your arms to your chest and look around the cabin in curiosity, Shanks digs through a chest of spare clothing to find something your size.

You know he is the captain, but he doesn’t stand up to the stereotype you had pictured in your head about what a captain is supposed to be like. The space is sparsely furnished but homely. Maps, artworks, and a few weapons you have never seen before dot the walls, and the quilt thrown over the hanging bed in the corner looks handmade and well-used. For some reason, the sight of a threadbare and well-used homemade quilt comforts you.

“I’m afraid I don’t have much but spare tunics and pants,” Shanks speaks, taking the clothes from his trunk and turning around. He pauses in place, staring at the dirt-riddled and crusty wound on your shoulder. He’d been so shocked by your appearance and beauty he’d overlooked something so critical. “We need to take care of that.”

“Take care of what?” you question, half turning in place with a quizzical look on your face. Shanks sets the clothes on a nearby table and nods to your shoulder.

“You have quite the nasty wound on your shoulder, madam,” Shanks speaks while inspecting torn skin littered with dirt, rocks, and grass. “You must have been running on adrenaline to not be feeling this.”

“I was in a hurry,” you meekly speak, trying not to shiver as soft and gentle fingers prod broken skin.

“I can imagine,” he replies, brows scrunching together. “I don’t think you need stitches; it’s not too deep. But you are going to need it cleaned before it gets infected.”

“Very well,” you sigh. “Thank you for informing me. I will take care of that.” Shanks can’t help but snort at your words.

“And how do you plan on tending to it yourself?” The scathing look you shoot over your shoulder makes Shanks’ smile widen, for he doubts you even realize you are giving him such a look.

“I am already intruding as it were,” you snip out, crossing your arms.

“And you are my guest,” Shanks enunciates. “As long as you are on my ship, you shall be treated as such. Now please, take a seat; this won’t take long.”

You really don’t want to, for you already feel like you are intruding enough just by asking for passage off Kuri Island… but his gentle eyes are insistent. But not in a bad way. So your protest dies down on your tongue, and you do as he so gently asks.

Date Published: 11/19/23

Last Edit: 7/29/24

Previous | Masterlist | Next

[wannaeatramyeon]

your sammy content has me screaming, blushing, giggling and kicking my legs!!! idk if you write for this stuff, but would you mind writing what yandere sammy, gun and goo would be like? have a wonderful day <3 - 🌺anon

Fanon Sammy has me reacting exactly the same tbh! TYSM for reading and the ask 🌺🌺🌺🌺❤️

Oof. Toxic, abusive relationships? (And this is also a trigger warning). I haven't made this as dark as it could be but here we go...

Lookism Yanderes: Gun Park, Goo Kim, Samuel Seo

A snippet into their toxicity

Gun Park

"How was school?"

You land on the sofa with a crash next to Gun.

Ugh. School was... school. Albeit a little better this week than it has been. The worst of your project work is over and that idiot in your class hasn't been around.

"Is that classmate still giving you trouble?"

"Huh? Oh. I haven't seen him this week."

"Hmm. Interesting."

Something about the way Gun says that draws your attention.

Why is he smiling? Is he happy that you're happy or-

Come to think of it. You haven't seen him since you last mentioned him bullying you to Gun.

... Everyone who causes you trouble has a habit of going 'missing'.

There was the group of girls who harassed you. Some drunken idiot who catcalled. This classmate who started picking on you. And actually, that boy you made friends with a few months back and Gun had disapproved when you told him.

The dots start to connect.

You startle back to the present and notice Gun staring intently at you. He knows that you know.

"Don't be scared, Y/N. I'm only doing this to protect you."

You know your boyfriend is violent, but you never thought-

"Are they..." you can't bring yourself to say the word 'dead'. The idea that Gun killed these people terrifies you.

"Not dead. They just aren't here anymore." Gun notices the shock written all over your face. He continues, "Y/N, haven't I made your life so much easier?"

And that is true. To an extent. But-

"You understand I would never hurt you?"

Wouldn't he? You suppose he has never laid a hand on you. You nod.

"You trust me?"

That, you do. He has never given you reason to doubt him. You nod again.

"Say the words."

"I trust you..."

"And?"

"It's for my own good." you say, even as the insidious grip of fear starts to wind its way around your neck.

Goo Kim

The bell to the cafe jingles, signalling a new patron. You put on your peppiest customer service smile.

Oh. Your face falls when you see who it is.

"You're here again?"

Goo just grins, taking his usual spot right by the counter. Right by you. "Yes my little sweetpea. Just visiting my love at work!"

It started as a nice gesture, Goo occasionally popping in. And if he wasn't here then he would be constantly texting you.

(He sulked for a week straight when you told him you weren't allowed your phone when you're working. Somehow you felt personally responsible for this despite it being a work policy.)

His quick coffee breaks turned into a few hours of lingering then eventually staying during your entire work schedule.

It is too much. Far too much.

"Goo... You know I got told off last time when you stayed for my whole shift."

"Is your manager still giving you a hard time!" Your boyfriend looks at you with the saddest puppy eyes and a pout. Goddamn it. Why are you the one feeling guilty.

You press on with what you want to say anyhow, "... Don't you think you being here all the time is a little inappropriate?"

Not just a little - a lot, you think. And not inappropriate - completely suffocating. But you are careful with your words.

"No! How could you think that..." The sulk intensifies and Goo looks genuinely upset. Ah shit. You're about to apologise- "Besides, I think your new boss would be fine with this."

In a blink of an eye, the mood changes. Goo looks happy. Manic, almost.

You narrow your eyes at him. What is he up to. "How do you know?"

"Let's just say I know him very personally."

"Who is it?"

"Your beloved - me! I bought this little cafe! Now I can see you all day every day!"

Seriously? This is ridiculous.

Your eyes quickly dart towards the other customers and your coworkers. You can't make a scene and frankly, you don't have the energy for this fight.

Nor do you want to put up with a week straight of tantrums until you inevitably suck it up and apologise.

Instead, you attempt your customer service smile again.

You hope it works.

Samuel Seo

Entering the living room, you are immediately greeted by Samuel glaring at you.

"Where have you been?"

"Didn't you see my text?" You are sure you texted him before you left, telling him not to wait for you for dinner.

"I must have missed it." His expression doesn't change. "Where did you go?"

It was nothing special. You just had a catch up with a few classmates over a meal. Your eyes glance at the clock. It's not even 8pm.

"Who were you with?"

You explain (and you did mention if he had just checked his phone), but Samuel makes you list out every person.

"There were guys there?"

You frown at him. Well, yes but it's not like it wasn't a group-

"Am I not enough for you?"

The question surprises you but you read between the lines. You know Samuel has his insecurity issues, and you have been trying to work through them with him. Surely, this should have been fine.

"Of course you are," You try to defuse the situation, yet the doubt creeps in that you could have been more considerate.

"I would be more comfortable if you asked first." Samuel approaches you, angry and disappointed. "How am I supposed to concentrate on work if I don't know where you are?"

"But I did text-"

"Do you want me to lose my job?"

You shake your head.

"Everything I've worked for?" Samuel looms over you, looking furious.

You shake your head again.

"Then why is it too much to ask you to ask me first before you wander off?"

Your eyes start to well up with tears.

"Don't be like that." Immediately the anger is gone, replaced by concern, "I'm only worried about you."

His hand reaches out to stroke your cheek, and you lean into it - does this mean that the worst of the storm seems to be over?

"You know I love you, right?"

Of course. It's obvious that Samuel loves you. And you love him too. He's only doing this for your sake.

"I know. Sorry for making you worry."

[bread-tab]

okay random 4am rant time, don't take it too seriously, but: people need to recognize there's a difference between "bad worldbuilding" and "worldbuilding styles you personally don't like."

bad worldbuilding is, for example: internally inconsistent, bigoted, or something else that messes up the plot or characterization of the story itself. sloppy. careless.

things that are *not* bad worldbuilding:

minimalism.

i've been thinking about this in the first place because i saw a post about the Murderbot Diaries a while back (don't know who made it, don't care; this ain't personal) saying the worldbuilding in those books is bad and lazy. to me, as an avid sci-fi reader and writer, that is clearly not true. but i understood why they thought this. the series uses extremely minimalist worldbuilding which intentionally withholds a lot of detail, in a way that is consistent with the (nonhuman, robot, depressed robot) first-person POV. this could also be a feature of the author's writing style in general—i haven't read her other works—but i wouldn't bet too much on it.

the signature of intentional minimalism is that there *are* details about the speculative setting—they're just doled out very thoughtfully and sparingly. the intent is to leave you a little hungry for more. it's to make you think very carefully about the details you do have. this is best suited to stories that already have elements of psychological and/or mystery plot types. the worldbuilding you do see should still be believable, internally consistent, and have interesting implications if you think about it a bit. but you are for sure going to have to think harder to get it.

if you're not in the mood, i will concede, a minimalist style definitely comes off as a bit dry. if you are in the mood, it's relaxing.

whimsy.

this is a big one for sci-fi fans in particular. see: the constant debate about whether any particular story is "hard" or "soft" sci-fi, and whether soft sci-fi is bad, etc etc. but worldbuilding doesn't have to be realistic to be good. you're allowed to have Jedi and humanoid aliens and time travel in your sci-fi. you're allowed to have historical anachronisms and astrology and po-ta-toes in your fantasy. whether or not they're silly isn't the deciding factor on how "good" these worldbuilding elements really are.

the key thing is tonal consistency. you've got a serious high-fantasy setting with its own strict, un-Earth-like theology and magic system, and you throw Santa Claus in there? yeah, that's not gonna land well. but C.S. Lewis can get away with that in Narnia just fine. why? because the Chronicles of Narnia are whimsical children's stories with a strong Christian/Western mythological influence already, and their central conceit is a crossover between the mundane world and the magical world. of course Santa can cross over too. it's whimsical, but it's not actually random. (and if you ventured into straight-up comedy, you could get away with random too. as long as it's funny.)

the unreliable narrator.

i don't have a good example for this off the top of my head (maybe Murderbot again? idk, i'm sleepy, fill in your own) but i'll tell you how to recognize when this is done well.

by definition, an unreliable narrator has some key misconceptions about their own world. so how do you tell what's going on as a reader? how do you know the writer isn't equally confused?

you connect the dots. solve the puzzle. in practice this is similar to reading a minimalist setting—but instead of just sparse clues, you also have a boatload of red herrings. you can catch some of these misleading details by comparing them to your real-world knowledge and saying "wait, this doesn't add up." other times, the false clues intentionally trick you by subverting those real world expectations.

the trick is in the consequences. regardless of what the narrator says, their actions should still have logical consequences. there should be things going on that the POV character doesn't know about. the character will be forced to learn and adapt their narrative because of these shifting circumstances. you can catch them in a lie. the inconsistencies themselves tell a story.

...

i'm gonna stop myself there because this post is long and i oughtta be sleeping. just. this is a distinction worth making. is it really bad worldbuilding, or is it simply not the genre you're craving today? learn the difference for your own sake. you'll have an easier time realizing if a story is something you'll find enjoyable to read, regardless of its actual quality.

[originalgenshinscenarios]

I am so sorry Miko for this assignment to Ayato 😔

Part 1 (Lisa, Kaeya, Diluc, Rosaria)

Part 2 (Zhongli, Kokomi, Hu Tao, Baizhu)

Alhaitham, Ayato, Nilou and Yelan monster scenarios with human reader

Reader here is gender neutral

Warning: for the sake of it being a romantic story rather than dark fiction the description of Jorogumo is in a few ways inacurate on purpose.

Warning 2: researching Naiads was hard asf since I kept getting different sources to different questions I had so apologies ahead if I accidentally wrote something in an inacurate way.

Alhaitham- stone golem

Have you ever seen a man as gorgeous as a statue? Well... he was a statue at first. You remember how often you used to sit nearby it whenever you had an idle moment. It was in a secluded place, sometimes you even wonder if anyone else knew about it.

Sometimes, when you were feeling a bit alone- you talked to him like he was your friend. You couldn't take out some frustrations in your everyday life, so why not just talk to a statue that has no way of responding or judging you?

One day however you noticed something. The statue had a hole on his chest (at least that's the time you actually paid attention to the hole), like something was supposed to be there- but it was nowhere to be found.

You started to look around it. You had no idea what you were even looking for, but you just got a bit too curious.

Luck had it that not long search later you found a gem behind one of the bushes. Without hesitation you put it in the hole which caused an interesting reaction...

The statue moved. It's voice was very pleasant unlike what he said "And what did you wake me for exactly?" Judging by his tone, he wasn't exactly happy about being awakened.

Of course you had no idea that he would wake up so you told him that. To which he called you ignorant for not recognizing something as "basic" as a cursed gemstone.

You decided not to argue with him. I mean it'd be like talking to a stone wall. Which you sort of were doing before...

It was getting awkward at this point, especially since he was indifferent to that. So he just left...

He knew exactly where he was going so he must've been "asleep" for not a long time. He didn't pay you much attention. Actually he acted as though you weren't there.

So you decided to just leave him alone. It was as simple as that. But a part of you continued to be curious about him.

Especially since it was hard not to pay attention to him. You saw him around quite often. Whenever he was reading something, he was still. Looking once again just like a statue.

A very handsome one. If only he wasn't such a stone hearted asshole. But it's not like you can expect much of a guy who literally has a heart made out of stone if he has one to begin with.

One day, you were feeling a little frustrated. So you went back to your usual spot. It was weird coming there knowing that the statue isn't there anymore but when you got there you were surprised to see him.

He didn't feel the need to explain himself. It was clear that he just wanted some peace and quiet. And that's exactly what this place was giving. With a little hesitation, you sat down next to him and just allowed yourself to relax.

You enjoyed each other's company in silence, until he asked what made you come here this time. To which you looked at him surprised.

It didn't take long to connect the dots, although earlier he was "asleep" he still was concious and aware of the things around him.

You didn't know what to do... But in the end you told him a short summary of your recent worries.

And as earlier the point of talking to a statue was the lack of judgement, this time you felt it more than ever.

Then again... Having an active conversation helped you more. And to be honest... You had fun. He was blunt, and while his words did sometimes hurt his lack of social understanding was... Cute in a way.

Ever since that moment, you found yourself getting closer to him. He didn't talk to people much, but he started to look for excuses to talk to you.

When he caught feelings and recognized them he also didn't see any point in pretending. He was blunt even in his confession, but you accepted his feelings.

Honestly you were freaking out yourself a bit before that when you started to fall for him. I mean what were the chances of him returning your feelings when he wasn't exactly the type to be interested in romance.

And yet here you were. With a man who's heart was a stone- and yet it was beating for you.

Ayato- Kitsune

Recently, you found yourself being the victim of some harmless pranks... although you could never tell who or what was pranking you or were you just unlucky.

Each time you went through that path between Konda village to Inazuma city some minor inconvenience happened to you. And nobody but a few foxes were there to witness it.

You started slowly suspecting that you were being harassed by Youkai, and you were pretty sure of that actually- there is no buts here.

And since it was always in company of foxes there was no mistaking it that at least one of them was a fully sentient Kitsune. It wasn't that hard to guess which one was it though.

So next time you were pranked by it's illusions you decided to check your theory. You walked up to the white fox, it had an incredible fluffy tail- or perhaps was it because it had more than one?

You asked what their deal was and they acted dumb for a moment, making you question your sanity. Eventually it got bored of pretending and changed forms. With how childish these pranks were, you were expecting some kid. Instead you saw quite a handsome guy...

You didn't recognize him from anywhere. But his clothes were rather fancy, so he could be some sort of big shot you had no way of recognizing. But how would he have so much free time to prank you like this?

"Ah and so you caught me, I was wondering how long it'd take" his voice was mischievous but at the same time oddly appealing.

You only wondered what did you do to gather such attention around yourself. But there wasn't any real reason for it actually.

It was just a coincidence, and your reactions just happened to entertain him enough to keep his interest.

He tried to leave once his cover was off, and you managed to stop him to ask for his name... And you were surprised to learn that he was actually someone important.

Ayato was never much of a public figure, even though his name is known by many nearly nobody had seen him.

There were a lot of rumors about him as it was... him being a Kitsune actually explained a few of them. But since it wasn't a common knowledge among the public, he sure was great at masking his Kitsune features.

In the end it didn't matter much. It wasn't very likely for the two of you to continue crossing paths.

He won't catch you off guard anymore, and he "interacted" with you for the sake of entertainment... Yet a part of you had fun as well.

He added something to those walks of yours and while sometimes you prayed to not run into him... At other times you were wondering what he'd do next.

You didn't see him on that path for about a week, so you were pretty sure he won't show up here ever again... But then you fell victim to his pranks once more.

Turns out that he was actually busy for once but the moment he had the time he went back hoping to see you again. Actually, his schedule is always tight. It's just that he found himself always being able to find an excuse to go to that spot.

He couldn't quite explain it, but he found himself falling for you at a first sight. Your first meeting was a coincidence, but everything after it wasn't.

And he was right to trust you. Because even though you knew what he was, you didn't pass that information onto anyone. Even if you didn't do it because you thought you wouldn't be believed... He appreciated such "loyalty".

Eventually he stopped entertaining himself with your reactions, instead whenever your paths crossed he indulged in a nice conversation with you.

He wasn't surprised to find out that he was right in having feelings for you... But he only silently adored you.

There was a lot of barriers that should be keeping his heart away from you. From social status to your mortality. And yet he allows himself to have those joyous moments with you.

Nilou- Water Nymph (Naiad)

Getting lost in the desert wasn't something on your to do list and yet here you were. Dehydrated and desperate. Your Sumpter beast ran away as it got scared of something.

You were trying to follow it but it quickly lost you and so you could only rely on the traces it left... but the wind was slowly taking care of them so you needed to be quick.

From afar the beast's tracks conveniently were towards an oasis... so you started to wonder if it wasn't an illusion. But you had no other choice but to follow it.

You were really lucky as it turned out to be an actual oasis, and as you reunited with your beast you noticed that you weren't alone.

A pretty lady was dancing on the water. Standing on it like it was solid ground. And thus you wondered now if you weren't just dead or asleep so pinching yourself you react to it causing the lady to turn around and notice you.

Seeing you in such a dire state she immediately walked up to you and asked "Oh dear..! Are you okay? Do you need help?"

Once again you started to wonder if you didn't die and the pretty lady wasn't an angel. Her sweet voice, graceful moves and gorgeous face really were making you question your state of mind.

But your exhaustion was getting to you, so before you got to respond to her you passed out.

Nilou panicked at first but she quickly pulled herself together and tried to help you. She took care of both you and your beast and waited for you to regain consciousness.

She was patient and other nymphs teased her for worrying so much but she just couldn't help it.

Once you awakened she wanted to help you prepare to head back home... But first you needed to rest and she was very insistent on it.

As you rested you got to know her better and you very quickly got to get along. It was almost like you could knew each other for ages.

She was just so such a kind and gentle soul, talking to her was relaxing. It was maybe even a little bit too perfect.

But you weren't too surprised about it, after all Nymphs are supposed to be perfect... Right?

Your departure was sad for the both of you. But Nilou tried to mask her disappointment when seeing you leave.

She was only wondering if she'll ever see you again. While you were asking yourself if you really just fell in love at the first sight.

You soon found yourself reading more about Nymphs and there were maybe one or two romance stories between a Nymph and a human you stumbled across while researching...

There was one major problem though, you had no clue where to look for that oasis. But when there's a will, there's a way.

You felt it was a little bit insane to risk your life just to meet Nilou again... But you'd also go insane if you wouldn't be able to speak with her soon.

You prepared yourself for the expedition. Hoping for a little bit of dumb luck to guide you.

And guide you it did. Just as you were about to give up you saw it in the distance. Now you only hoped that it was the right one. But you had your suspicions since it wasn't on your map.

Upon seeing you she was really surprised... But also extremely happy. Just like last time the two of you decided to rest together and talk the night away.

This time however you didn't let your interaction end on "what if"s you asked if she wanted to come back with you. You didn't ask her for anything big. Just for her to be your roommate and if she's okay with it girlfriend.

Although it would make her mortal she didn't hesitate to agree. It was spontaneous, but she definitely wasn't going to pass an opportunity to see you every day.

Yelan- Jorogumo

There has been a lot of odd cases lately. The milileth would be suddenly summoned for arrest of various criminals, just for them to be found in something that looked like spider web.

At first you didn't really pay mind to that odd occurrence. Until a pretty lady showed up in your life. Coincidentally, around the time where you were being threatened.

You accidentally happened to hear a bunch of idiots talking about their "perfect plan" on causing some mayhem in the harbor. And ever since you were told to keep your mouth shut or everything will be pinned on you.

So it was hard to trust anyone. They could've been sent as a distraction or maybe the pretty lady was sent to plant some evidence while you weren't looking to make you look guilty.

And although you couldn't deny how... Charming... She was. You weren't some idiot that would do anything for a gorgeous woman.

Then suddenly she leaned into your ear and said "We're being watched. Follow me and I'll explain everything" her tone was serious. But it wasn't said in a way to further threaten you.

With some hesitation, you decided to temporarily trust her. So once the two of you were alone she explained that she knew what was going on.

She introduced herself and said she'll help you. But you needed to cooperate with her. Before you agreed to it blindly you asked her what her plan was.

She just needed you to act as a bait. And while you didn't like the sound of that... She was rather convincing.

It was just before they started setting everything up. They had all the evidence they could have on them and the moment couldn't be more perfect.

You waited for those bandits and as you looked around, you didn't see Yelan anywhere. You started to think that she was setting you up but you had no time to further think about your doubts as the group was there.

You started to act as though you wanted to join their scheme. After all, you're already involved.

You didn't talk much, you were just buying time that's when you noticed for a split moment that Yelan was here. Dashing between the trees. You had no idea how or why for that matter.

When she was done doing... Whatever that was she interrupted your conversation. When the bandits tried to attack, her incredible speed impressed you once again.

And those who she didn't catch in her spiderweb in that run, got caught by the web that was set on the trees.

As the two of you were leaving the scene, you heard the milileth in the back. Everything happened so fast you honestly had no idea what to think. Especially since you witnessed the person (?) behind all these odd occurrences.

When all of it was a done deal the two of you were walking back to the harbor in silence for the first few minutes.

You had so many questions... And yet you said nothing. She was the one who eventually spoke up, she asked if you were okay.

Somehow, from that question the conversation started moving in it's own direction.

It was rather enjoyable, you soon found yourself really enjoying her company. It was hard not to.

So your interactions didn't end with that situation. You ended seeing each other quite frequently- and you'd be lying if after some time your intentions weren't purely platonic.

She was just so interesting and awesome in every way. Even her creepy spider quirks were just something you couldn't help but admire.

You hoped that you weren't delusional and you're right in suspecting that she likes you too...

Without wasting much time, you told her how you feel. She wasn't very surprised by this but she didn't mask that it made her happy to hear you say so.

You were glad the "trap" you had fallen into was love and not her web.

~Mod Lisa

[popcat69]

Maybe In Another World

"If you gave someone your heart and they died, did they take it with them? Did you spend the rest of forever with a hole inside you that couldn't be filled?"

warning: death, blood, angst

Apocalyptic future donnie x reader (can be read as platonic or however you want)

Bits and pieces of once beautiful, proud standing buildings now decaying on the ground, pink gum wrapped around them marking its presence, large rocks the shape of spears emerging from the deepest parts of hell into the once green, enchanted globe. Dust dancing around slowly filling my lungs with a slow death, hopefully a peaceful one. Unlikely, however, I'm told it's a good quality to be optimistic. Mikey would be proud.. Right? Then again i'm mostly far beyond from recovering,

Calloused hands stiff and a victim of repeated harsh tasks that i said were easy, not making me break even a single sweat, you not allowed to be weak in an apocalyptic world, its survival of the fittest out here, i learnt the hard way, even if you try and try it's impossible to save everyone and useless, we don't have the support to help everyone. It's hard to move my eyes around, it's as if I'm crawling through a desert, everything feels so dry but it feels like I'm sweating a lake. I feel so empty, everythings kind of peaceful right now, I never thought I would experience a quiet moment since the start of this recheted downfall on my and many other lives. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children…..

HGK!

Why is everything starting to burn? It's slow but it hurts, my skin itches but i can't move , i can't move? Why can't I move? My matted tangles locs becoming more reteched smelling and dirtier by the second. Salty drops start to run down my face, my eyes becoming less dry, its getting easier to see. There's a small blur of purple coming my way, its too far to make out what it could be but as it comes closer I can understand who it is. I want to say ‘hello Donnie’  but only my lips move and not a sound comes through them, it's weird though i don't feel motivated to say hi. I’ve always loved greeting people, maybe thinking that it would  give everyone a little bit of hope that we will get out of this piece of shit world alive. He's kneeling down beside me, his eyes are shaking… he looks scared? Not like him, he's quite ‘idgaf’ about everything. He's saying something, i can't make out what the ringing in my earring is becoming louder, more uncomfortable. I’m pulled up and placed with my back leaning onto a small mountain of bricks. Dark green hands swiftly moving its way to wrap around my bloody waist.

Bloody?

Blood?

Why am I bleeding? I thought I was careful, apparently not. He looks at me as if saying sorry, i look back not really connecting the dots before he puts pressure on a wound i didn't know i had, and its if in that moment i woke up. I can hear the screaming of children, the bones that the resistance is stepping on trying to flee to safety. A hole in my lower torso spilling red profusely, how am I alive? I should be long gone. The intense taste of blood fills my mouth, spilling out uncontrollably. He just stares, i never seen anyone who looks so helpless, i don't like it, i want to hug him and tell him everything is going to be ok, it's not though. We both know it. Everything hurts, I feel like I'm on fire, I need to move, do something to try to get rid of this pain but I physically can not, my body has given up. I don't want to give up yet. There's so much still to do. I'm not ready. But I have to be, there isn't much of a choice. With the very last strength I had I was able to lift my hand, my bruised, abused hand and it rest on the side of his face. I try to voice my last words.  

“I’m so proud”

Tears flowing down mixing with the blood splattered around my face. I try to get one last look but my body doesn't allow me to, it is trying to get me to rest and give up. I'm not ready but I wasn't ready for my world to become…this. I'm never gonna be ready, I think I'm starting to accept that. Maybe in another world we all lived together, happily.

[l0stfoster]

okay it’s me that butterly anon, somethings just connected in my brain (cue the buzzfeed unsolved “I’ve connected the dots” meme)

so, from the master post, Johnny does speak w/ death, there’s specifically after Darry was supposed to die

but like, does death ever get pissed off (or protective, etc) when crap happens to Johnny?

LIKE WHEN HE GOT JUMPED

Cause idk, man, but now Bob ending up dead feels a little more suspicious

the guy who almost killed Death’s child getting murdered, by Death’s child?

AH WAIT (live connected dots moment) AND IF JOHNNY CAN SENSE DEATH

We know pony wouldn’t have drowned (Pony knows too) and Johnny didn’t, like yes sure he probably panicked (maybe he misread Bob’s for Pony? Idk) BUT it’s the fact death sense dude only killed his (basically) attempted murderer because he thought Pony was gonna die, even though he can sense death? And he didn’t feel Bob’s? Hmmmmmmmm (wondering if Death decided some revenge was in order)

(I’m probably wrong but oh well)

Butterfly Anon core

Johnny and Dath talk LET'S GOOO (I use they/them for Death bc. Cmon. It's fucking Death.)

- Death does get pretty protective of Johnny, however, they also know that there's not really much they can do to step in. The deities and above aren't exactly allowed to do that; they've seen the kind of stuff that occurs when you interact with mortals. - (This is a good time to mention that yeah, there are other deities, most of the stuff we talked about relates to Greek gods concerning Paul's witchcraft stuff.) - You're spot on with Bob's death ;) Death had a bit of revenge in mind. - Death's interference doesn't happen often, but it can occur. This is seen in how Dally's death was prevented (and later down the line, one for Paul) - Death occasionally gives Johnny false death senses. Sometimes it's to keep him on his toes (or to lightly mess with him, he does it because Johnny can't read Paul's death date), other times it's got its own intent. - Johnny got false flashes of Pony dying from the drowning. He didn't know that Pony wasn't able to drown but likely wouldn't have pulled the blade to get them off of him. It was only when he thought his best friend was going to die that he acted. - Death had to give him a little push, so to say. Death felt messy. As Timewing said: "crying death you manipulative bitch /silly" - He got flashes of Bob's death as he was stabbing him. - To an extent, this could also be viewed as a response to Johnny saving Darry from the car accident due to his magic. If he was going to save a life, he was going to take one as well.

[blossomslovely]

Isekai Yandere Strawhats

Masterlist

Previous

Synopsis: You can read them together or separately, I f*cked up the last part but I tried connecting some dots without fully disclosing everything bc I am not yet sure if I want to continue expanding on this story. If you’d like this to possibly become a series let me know !

You had been startled awake gasping for air and completely drenched in a cold sweat. It was the middle of the night, the ship was dark but the light of the moon shone through the porthole allowing your sight to adjust. You sighed to yourself, memories of your family. What a cruel thing the mind can be, you thought.

You were restless and couldn’t sleep any longer, dreaming of distant voices like you weren’t here on purpose was hilarious in a sinister way. You wanted to believe the person you had become was just a simple state of mind so that you wouldn’t go crazy. But you knew better, you knew to everyone else you’d be considered a lunatic.

You’d argue with yourself constantly, in every crevice of your brain, while also being the mediator wanting everything to stop. This was a good life you were living, free of idiotic way of life you lived previously. When you woke from dreams like this, for a minute or two everything was clear.

You could remember how you got here, remember why you left in the first place. And best of all, you remembered why you were so scared of these people in the first place.

You chuckled to yourself as you got out of bed, your stomach now empty and gurgling for a snack. Making your way to the kitchen you saw the light in the crows nest and a shadow passing through the fish tank. Of course he would be up, you knew his schedule.

You wanted to go up and ask if he’d join your for a drink and a snack but, just as you reach the second flight of stairs you stopped yourself. Alone time when you were awake was needed.

Of course there would be times where you were alone during the day but never completely alone. The constant fake concern or the random outburst to grasp your attention when your eyes went blank always reminded you, you weren’t alone.

You opened the locks on the fridge, rummaging around for alcohol, one of the greatest things about this world was how strong it was in both flavor and effect. Back home you were too young to drink but here you could have anything you desired.

That’s what you liked to tell yourself now. Whenever the itch got too overwhelming and started becoming a visible panic attack you knew just how to calm yourself. Deep breaths, look at just one thing, and clear your mind of negativity. It worked but sake worked even better.

You drank too glasses in the darkness, the affect making itself known when you stood up to bring the rest of the bottle up the stairs. Giggling when you almost fell face first only to be caught in the strong arms of the swordsman.

He looked pretty tonight, the moon was a friend who liked to light up the features of his face you wouldn’t notice during the day. Making him out to be a knight in shining celestial armor. You smiled at him and he gave you a small smile back guiding you to the crows nest.

You told him about your dream. He listened quietly sipping directly from the bottle only stopping to pour you some.

“ Zoro.. is anyone listening?” You asked eyes scouting the perimeter of the room. He shook his head and urged you to continue.

“ My dreams remind me that I’m not insane— well that I’m not completely insane. I want to say they ground me as much as they hurt me.”

The tears welled up in your eyes, threatening to fall in giant droplets of sorrow. He stopped drinking to give you his full attention as you went more in detail about the things you’ve bottle up.

You were like a scroll unraveling before him, if he were bold he make a joke saying that you were the one piece they’d been searching the sea for.

He understood completely why the crew was enamored with you. The little fighting fish trapped in a tank, who could only give without take, the colors of your scales vibrant and full of life while your tail flashes trying to ward off the parasitic infection dwelling all around and within.

He finally spoke up, startling your rambling about every little topic on your mind, “ I didn’t want to interrupt but I have something interesting to tell you.”

You nod eager to listen.

“ I know we’ve been waiting a while and this since is a golden opportunity now that we’re alone. On the last island I spoke to an old man, there isn’t a name for it yet but there are other like you. Travelers.”

You threw yourself into him and held him tight. This was the break through you’ve gone through hell waiting for.

“ There have been quiet a few others, over the last few years he’s said. Some trying to be discrete and others making grand entrances, they speak how you speak, using the same slang and everything I knew they were linked to your situation.”

“ This is incredible ! I knew there were others like be but… I always thought they’d be- Zoro?”

He suddenly yanked you off of him, picking up the bottle of sake and walking to the door. Just as you were opening your mouth to speak the floor started creaking, someone else was awake.

Panic set through you.

Do they hear anything? Did they hear your excitement? Who was coming closer?

Zoro opened the door revealing Robin. How could you possibly forget the other equally dangerous night owl on the ship. She smiled at you and waltzed in sitting on a stool.

“ I didn’t know you woke up Y/N, I would’ve joined the two of you earlier.”

“ Oh yeah I didn’t really want to check for anyone but I just— I seen his shadow and I couldn’t sleep so I figured… why not.” Your nervous laugh creeped in towards the end of your sentence.

You silently damned yourself and looked over to Zoro who sat right back in his spot drinking the almost empty bottle like nothing happened.

The three of you talked about little things, souvenirs from islands, Zoro about swords he looked at, and Robin went on about a foreign scripture she has yet to completely figure out.

Zoro’s presence kept you at ease and before you knew it you fell asleep again. The rest was short and you woke in your bed by the booming voices of your crew mates. Making your way to the kitchen you were greeted continuously upon entry, the captain patting a seat between him and Zoro.

The handsome Prince handing your orange juice in a wine glass to accompany your eggs and bacon. You ate silently till Luffy started stealing off Ussop’s plate causing a ruckus on the table.

The morning came and went and you were playing card games with the boys till lunch. The excitement creeped in when you were handing your cleared plate and heading off the the crows nest once again.

Watching from the upper deck was Nami accompanied by Ussop and Chopper holding baskets of tangerines and pop green. A keen eye was needed in order to be a navigator and that eye noticed your 180 when you were around Zoro.

“ They’re close those two..”

The others agreed watching you leap up the stairs into the crows nest. It was hard to not notice when no one else really bothered the grumpy swordsman in his little sanctuary.

The woman hummed then directed her little helpers to continue picking fruit while she went to investigate. She heard your cheers and giggles as she got closer to the door, daring her to press her ear on the door.

Intently listening to you laugh about a story from your childhood she failed to notice the blonde creeping up behind her with a tray of drinks. With a hand to her chest to keep her from punching him she pulled him close to listen along with her, much to his delight of course.

Although when the cook heard the joy a familiarity being shared with the swordsman he almost barged into the room. Nami having to physically hold him back so that their cover wouldn’t be blown.

It’s almost like they forgot the swordsman can dodge knives in his sleep. Zoro alerted you the moment Nami was walking up the steps. Yes, she was as stealthy and as sly as a cat but there was more in fooling a man like him. The topic of conversation changed and you had suggested writing notes while you spoke the next time around.

The itch was back but you didn’t want to alert Zoro. He was doing his best in keeping your endeavors discreet and telling him would out more on his plate. That night you were reading and the navigator invited you to sit with her while she drew up new maps.

“ Y/N, you’re pretty close with Zoro huh.” She spoke up.

Your eyes left the pages to look at the woman gracefully creating lines and squiggles on the large lithograph. “ Yeah, I enjoy telling him stories and he just listens or laughs.” You shrugged.

She hummed and continued, “ I was heading over to you to ask if you wanted to help peal some tangerines for Sanji to make marmalade.”

“ Oh crap you should’ve asked me during lunch. I can help tomorrow if you’d like.”

She looked over to you from the corner of her eye and smiled agreeing.

“ I didn’t mean to listen in but… you seem very relaxed around him, more relaxed than with the crew.”

“ He.. he just seems to put me at ease I guess.”

“ Why aren’t you at ease with the rest of us?” She inquired tilting her head and placing the ink pen in the corner of her desk.

You quickly rebutted hoping to ease the sudden tension beginning to bubble up. She was full of questions today and you felt like you were in an interrogation room without a door. She chuckled at your stuttering, it was so cute when you were nervous. She continued her work and changed the topic to not cause you anymore visible worry.

Laying in bed that night you finally felt at peace, before your interruption earlier Zoro had told you he knew a way for you to get back home. It would take some time and you would have to get the others off your radar.

Your thoughts quickly shifted to Nami and how she approached you earlier. To a non trained eye your conversation just seemed like small talk or curiosity among friends though the threat of something more was obvious to you. You were sure she did that purposely, looking into your eye, raising and eyebrow, and giving you that sly smirk.

Just to see what type of reaction she could coerce out of you without making things too transparent. You knew eventually they would look into your newfound closeness with the swordsman. You turned to the other side of the bed where the pillow was cold and the light didn’t hit your closed eyes. Shaking the thoughts away to sleep and deal with another day tomorrow.

The ship was still lively while you were resting, everyone doing their own little tasks and routines. In the room next to the crows nest Robin was bathing, she was enjoying her peace till a small knock came from the door.

“ Robin could I come in?”

Nami opened the door and waved sitting on the edge of the tub. “ I think we should tell Luffy about Zoro and Y/N.” She said letting her fingers graze the steaming water. Robin hummed and leaned over to her, “ We should eventually of course. However, don’t you think we should also go to Zoro separately first as well? To completely assess the situation.”

Nami agreed and decided now would be the perfect time since you were asleep and he was completely alone.

She knocked twice and opened the door peaking in, “ Zoro are you busy?”. He looked up at her with a weight lifting over his shoulder and shook his head. She waltzed in sitting in the booth seat hitting her lip, the nerves of trying to get a straight answer out of him settling in.

“ I wanted to talk to you about Y/N, you’ve been pretty close yeah?”

“ I guess? They just come in and ramble while I work out.”

“ Well I hope you aren’t forgetting that the crew also wants to get close to them.”

“ What’s that supposed to mean exactly?”

He was as standoffish as always but if this wasn’t done who knew what the two of you could do. It’s not that she even wanted to question the first mate but no one else has been able to break the barrier with little Y/N… and of all people to it was the grumpy swordsman?

“ It means that whatever you’ve been promising them… isn’t going to make them..”

“ Rebel? I’m loyal to my captain, whatever ideas you’re having are wrong. They came to me because the rest of your are idiotic and overbearing.”

Nami huffed angrily at the assumption that she was overbearing and idiotic. She knew that at certain moments the entire crew would make you uncomfortable but her? She walked out slamming the door and the swordsman’s eyes hardened.

If Nami decided to personally ask him then someone more dangerous was involved.

Back in the bathroom the archeologist was humming quietly to herself as she drained the tub and let the steam dwell around her. The slam of a door from down the hall brought a smirk to her lips, Zoro had ticked Nami off and now she was going to play her part.

Robin knew from the moment you joined their journey you would be valuable. From the way the crew took a liking to you immediately and especially the way the captain would light up in your presence. Robin was extremely loyal to Luffy, she was going to do anything to ensure his happiness was preserved.

She knew you were scheming something with the swordsman. Just as she knew that the swordsman was aware of her presence whenever she’d try to lurk into the room. It’s not that she was doubting Zoro’s loyalty, but he obviously cared about you enough to even consider helping you get back home.

There were times where she questioned herself, she knew that keeping you here basically hostage was wrong. She lived her life running in fear and to keep you here against your will went against everything she stood for but… her captain was her number one priority now, and if making you cry yourself to sleep every night was the sacrifice then so be it.

The ship had finally settled and the moon was now at its peak, the boys room was filled with voices but surprisingly Luffy was quiet. Sanji took notice and eyes the swordsman from the corner of his eye. Without even looking towards him Zoro shrugged and turned the other way. He rolled his eyes and held his tongue not in the mood to argue, he was more concerned about his quiet captain who stared blankly at the wall.

Luffy wasn’t usually one to think too much about one thing for too long, so it was right to be concerned. Sanji stood tall peaking over into his cot and the boy met his gaze.

“ Something on your mind?”

A crack of a smile spring onto the captain’s face, he liked that his crew knew him so well. “ I’m just thinking of Y/N.” He sighed.

As of late you’d been running rampant through his mind. Every time he gets close you get farther and he doesn’t know how to fix it. You keep reminiscing about your old home and life, when you first got here you were ecstatic to be with him, he doesn’t know what changed.

You’d been more than happy when he welcomed you into his crew, you got along with everyone, and you fit so perfectly like his last puzzle piece. Then one day he woke up and started spewing things about wanting to leave. To leave him.

That thought angered him and he shot up from his cot startling Sanji. “ Why have the changed? We’ve been so kind. I don’t understand-”

“ They’re just homesick… we all get homesick.”

“ Yeah but it’s all the time with Y/N. She’ll laugh and play with us then started getting all sappy. It’s annoying me.”

“ Maybe it has something to do with this green moss ball sleeping underneath you— you seen how damn close they got. WAKE UP MOSS BALL!” Sanji hissed.

He kicked the swordsman’s cot waking him up and bringing the attention of the others in the room.

“ I have to watch in an hour what are you talking about in the middle of the night?”

“ How about you tell our very annoyed captain how you and Y/N have become so chummy.”

“ I don’t know why you’re all acting like this, isn’t it good that we’re friends? You guys need to evaluate your approach— and leave me alone.”

With that he fell right back to sleep the entire room thinking to themselves.

After that night the entire crew morphed into these disgustingly saccharine creatures. Catering to your every need like you were an infant who couldn’t be let out of sight for a moment.

In their minds you were their sweet Y/N and they were just helping you settle into your new home. Luffy’s annoyance spread to all the crew members, accept for you and they had a newfound determination.

Zoro decided it was better for the both of you to stop meeting too often, the outburst of Sanji let him know his efforts weren’t working. They were still hot on your tails and it was a matter of time before Luffy himself came to the two of you.

You were distraught, sitting in the kitchen eating a piece of cheesecake Sanji set out for you. You were finally so close and you had to be put on hold because for reasons Zoro wouldn’t share with you.

Enjoy ! 🍨 if you’d like a post specifically about Y/N and how she got here I’d be willing to do so, thank you for all the support.

Tag list