#now i realize those kids are often better off in the long run

[performing-personhood]

Every time I doubt my trauma, i look at the places where the furniture isn't - my unquenchable need for someone to express curiosity about me and my inner world, my complete inability to express candid emotions, the anxiety spike and vagus nerve activation around highly emotive men and unexpected phone calls, the way I can only express my thoughts when I'm literally sitting on my toilet (the only judgment-free, rushless place in existence). All these little indents in my carpeting will always be my proof that I went through something real.

This is my proof to myself that I truly, actually was the Convenient Child, and I am this way because nobody told me I didn't have to be until i had fully coalesced into an adult with a hole inside of me where my free will was supposed to be.

The worst trick a childhood anxiety disorder pulls is, you spend your early years being applauded for being so much more mature than your peers, because you aren’t disruptive, you don’t want any kind of attention, you don’t express yourself, you keep yourself to yourself - this makes you a pleasure to have in class, etc etc - and you start to believe it’s virtue. But you’re actually way behind your peers in normal social development, and who knows if you can ever catch up.

[newkatzkafe2023]

I love your work. Almost no one talks about Netflix monkey king. So May I request a reader who is kind oblivious to the fact that everywhere she goes it like those cartoon disasters. Like she could walk and a giant boulder almost hit her. The poor monkeys are the one who take the brunt of the damage and you are concerned but completely confused. Basically reader a bad luck magnet and doesn’t realize it

This reminds me of 2 things Candy by robbie Williams and Mr Bean🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

(Lmk Wukong) He is so stressed being with you everyday especially when your so unnaturally clumsy. You bever seem to be aware of your surroundings and just skip and walk while looking at your phone or just walking around smiling. Just to have a beam almost fall on you, a car almost hitting you, and to cause people to trip over and next to you. Wukong is mildly jealous That you can cause mayhem without lifting a finger, But it's also greatly cospinning and that causes him to take damage from your clumsiness. It's a good thing you love to give kisses for his boo boos🥰🥰🥰

(Nezha Reborn) you are like a black cat, a adorably sexy black cat that roams the streets with flowers in her head. Everywhere you go Is chaos and calamity happens, and the crazy part you have no freaking idea😣😣. Wukong Is dumbfounded by the stuff that happens around you like seriously How do pianos fall from the sky?!??! Why is it when you walk past a open window and explosion happens, and then the final straw is when you look on your phone and Cause a bus to hit a flag pole. Yeah Wukong Find himself Being the responsible one and Getting Is consequences to your bazaar events, but it's so cute that you turn around and show concern for him as you kiss his wounds.

(HIB Wukong) IT'S LIKE HE'S RAISING 3 BABIES AND ONE PIG!!!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 if it's not silly girl wondering off, Luier's curiosity getting the better of him, or pigsy doing something that's probably gonna get him kilt or arrested. It's you and your bad luck and Absent mindedness, like seriously, are you so stuck in your bubble? You don't see much of the world around you. Wukong luckily calms down about this because It's not like you're trying to stress him out and make him worried it's just your so damn accident prone🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ Granded it's on Wukong for baring the blunt to most of your accident but at least you take such good care of him at the end😚💋💋🧡

(MKR Wukong).............First he has to protect master Tripitaka............now he has to watch and protect YOU TOO?!??!?!?! Wukong has never seen someone so accident prone in his whole life. Like seriously HOW ON EARTH AND YOU STILL ALIVE?!??!?! Then you would have the nerve to finally pay attention to what you are doing and show concern for him when he's looks All dishevelled and beat up. You'll often pout and take out an first aid kid to come and take care of him, You drive Wukong crazy with your Terrible luck and Absent mindedness but oh my god your so sweet🥰

(Netflix Wukong) He's running around like a chicken without a head when it comes to you and your bad luck. Seriously, how are you so unbothered and unaware of your surroundings not to mention how you can just travel around like nothing is gonna happen to you. At first, Wukong thought someone was one to get you, but after a long time of watching your back, he learned about your ever so Crappy luck and he had to take the area damage. At least your always so extra affectionate when it comes to his daily injuries Making sure to kiss all his boo boos.

(BMW Wukong) Sigh you can be quite the handful for him everyday. Wukong can literally feel his own eye twitch as he watched you walk in a the field in the middle of a battle. Luckily for Wukong nothing seem to hit you infact Stranger things happen Whenever you showed up, like arrows missing you drop your book, or people hitting someone else while you bend down to fix your dress. Then the old booby trap bit when you walked into a bunch of traps and somehow only he got injured, While you come out unscathed he just doesn't understand and for once it drives him insane. At leat when you finally noticed his current condition you stop to nurse him back to help.

(Destined one) Can you believe he is adapted and got used to it quite quickly. He silently watches you on the daily so he is quick to notice you and your wildly bad luck. The Destined one has also noticed that you don't seem to mind your own clumsiness and terrible environment. In fact, what's kinda weirded him out was the fact that you don't seem to even notice it or more like your completely unaware. He takes note of this as you wrap up his latest injury, Due to your calamity.

FEEL FREE TO REBLOG🤕

[lady-of-glass-and-bone]

Some Orm Marius Headcanons Just Because

Pairing: Orm Marius x reader

A/N: Orm headcanons because apparently why not. Orm is my new crush I guess? I don't know either. Wow this got really long. Not sorry. I haven't had inspiration in forever and it feels nice.

I imagine that if you're ever fancy enough to have a shower and tub separate from each other (which is my idea of fancy, I love giant bathtubs I'm a weirdo) he would chill in a full tub of water while you shower. The first time he does it he scares the crap out of you. Now it's kinda nice.

Also, taking baths together. He might scrunch up his nose and tell you he'll think about it when you first ask. Eventually he'll agree but fights you on the temperature of the water the whole time. You're better off just setting up camp next to the tub if you really want to hang out with him while he marinates.

Call it his Marinating Time and you get The Frown™️. Arthur 100% looses his shit and wonders why he didn't think of it first the first time he hears it and it catches on like wildfire.

Have a campfire with Orm and he'll awkwardly stand 10 feet away while you try to lure him closer. Eventually he comes around to it but he likes it more because of how much you like it. S'mores are secretly his favorite though.

And once he cooks over the fire that's it. That's the only way you'll get him to cook. Why? Because of the taste🤌 that's why.

You two can look at the lobster tank at the grocery store together. Dare him to steal the lobsters and he'll give you The Frown™️ because that would be childish.

You always bring a water bottle with you when you go out anywhere on land together. Like one of those giant, metal, double walled monstrosities that are heavy as fuck and hold half a gallon. He thinks you're insane for lugging it around everywhere until he realizes one day that he drinks out of it more than you and that you're carrying it around for him. He's such an idiot I love him

Likes the feeling of you idly running your fingers through his hair. It kind of reminds him of being underwater, feeling the current.

You get along with Arthur in a way that almost worries Orm. In the sense that you will 100% charge at Arthur in a mock fight and try to wrestle him to the ground as a greeting after like, the second time you meet him. Arthur is absolutely siked to have you around, you lighten Orm up but don't take shit from Arthur.

Which makes Tom instantly happy you're around. You two often commiserate over having fallen in love with Atlanteans and what not. Lots of comfortable silences between you to.

And Junior. Orm has all kinds of feelings he does not want to think about when he first sees you holding Arthur and Mera's kid. Even if his Mother is giving him a knowing look as you spin the laughing kid around until you land safely on the couch.

You get along so well with Atlanna even if she's a little intimidating at first. She sees how much you care for her younger son, how you don't let him linger on the outside looking in because "this is your family too, Orm" and she he hugs you a little too tight after hearing that, after seeing small stolen moments between you and Orm. Her sons are happy.

If you want Orm to teach you how to fight he will say absolutely not and when you ask Arthur, who obviously says hell yeah, only then does Orm take over. But then you tell Atlanna one day that you think he's going easy on you so she lovingly starts training you to kick ass. She does not go easy on you. It's kind of awesome.

If you ever go to a museum and see a tylosaur fossil and Orm casually points out he use to ride one, you literally drag him to the nearest beach and demand he proves it because LOOK AT THAT? ⬇️ THAT'S COOL AS FUCK!

So I went ice skating today and since I have Orm on my brain I was thinking about ice skating with Orm and he would be so very, very horrible when he first steps out on the ice. Thinks you are purposely trying to embarrass him. He's a baby deer on ice. The Frown™️ is impressive if you laugh at him falling because honestly the ice rink is in more trouble than Orm when he falls anyway.

I think (sometimes) he learns things through shear stubbornness. He doesn't want anyone's help. He can figure this out on his own thank you very much, no matter how many times he falls (literally or metaphorically) just to prove he can. But when it clicks and he gets it, man is graceful as hell. Does laps around you and gets brave enough to pick you up and zoom around with you yelling at him the whole time.

Also, he likes when you praise him praise kink? praise kink.

He gets snarky when he's upset and I imagine he can be pretty mean without thinking about it. Probably has a hard time apologizing when the relationship is still new.

So, so worried about seeming too vulnerable around you. Tell him directly that it is okay to be vulnerable, you love him, you trust him and you want him to trust you.

[idyllic-affections]

i’m in love with the kaveh disaster dad au you have and i would love to see alhaitham becoming closer with kavehs kid. like mr stoic over there having no idea where those books and supplies about that very niche thing they were talking about yesterday came from

newfound fondness.

summary. alhaitham grows a little more fond of the orphan kaveh insisted on adopting.

trigger & content warnings. no applicable warnings.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. fluff. alhaitham & child!reader. 0.9k words. they/them pronouns for reader.

author's thoughts. hello dear <3333 i really needed a shorter request to write bc all of my other requests are a bit more lengthy and i'm in just a little bit of a burnout state so i am delighted by this request. i love my adoptive dad kaveh series...... i also realize now that i don't really talk too much about alhaitham and his relationship with [name] compared to how often i talk about tighnari and kaveh's relationship with them. also cyno???? i have neglected him too??????

at first, alhaitham wasn't keen on bonding with kaveh's adopted child; a child would only disrupt the comfortable life he has both built for himself and worked so hard to maintain. of course... he ended up being wrong. terribly wrong.

all throughout [name]'s first few months of being integrated into their new family in sumeru, they don't spend much time—if any at all—in kaveh and alhaitham's shared house. most of their time is spend in gandharva ville or in sumeru city, the latter being either on the weekends with kaveh or throughout the week with tighnari (if he happens to need something from the city and decides to let them tag along). given this fact, it's not at all a surprise that they didn't really know much of alhaitham, aside from the casual mentions of him from their other sumeru family members.

later on, as kaveh slowly grows into the vacant father role in their life, filling the empty space, they start spending weekends at his house... which is really the scribe's house, but at the time, that detail meant nothing to them. alhaitham never bothers to correct them, either. it doesn't really matter.

sometimes kaveh has to run errands and doesn't want to take them out in the glaring midday sun; they didn't grow up in sumeru, and they're already having a hard time adjusting to the heat (not that he's any better at handling it), so he doesn't want to risk exposing them to the sun at the peak of the day. sometimes he has to go meet one of his clients for a consultation and can't take them with him. who knows? either way, kaveh always makes these trips as quick as possible. his weekends belong to no-one but his kid. his clients find his doting behavior very cute, thankfully, so he hardly ever takes long.

alhaitham is always home during these occurrences (kaveh forbids him from leaving, since he wouldn't so much as dream of leaving his child home alone at such a young and vulnerable age—not that the scribe would leave them home alone, but still). naturally, this led to unavoidable meetings.

alhaitham quickly picked up on the many odd behavioral patterns kaveh's child displayed.

they were quiet—with him, at least. they were happy and expressive like most other children their age with kaveh or tighnari or collei, but with him? they never said a word, only speaking when spoken to, quietly shuffling around the house without so much as a peep... but more importantly, he sure as hell noticed the way they'd peek around the wall and shyly watch him as he read. they never got closer than that, though, and they'd run off if they realized he had seen them. based on this, he simply came to the conclusion that they were shy.

...or anxious, he supposes, but there is a vast difference between anxiety and shyness, and what he sees in them is not necessarily anxiety.

eventually, he does get sick of it. it's not like he worried about coming off as intimidating, no. it's just that if [name] maintains a poor image of him, it would eventually be an inconvenience for him. yes, yes, that was all. he just needed to kill a potentially dangerous rumor at its source before it got vastly out of hand. that's all.

"come here."

the way he sounds when he beckons them over is admittedly a little harsher than what he meant to be, so he's very much glad that they still do come over to him, timidly fidgeting with their sleeves.

"since you seem so interested... sit down, i'll read to you."

"h— huh? really?"

"hurry up before i change my mind."

as alhaitham reads to them, he points out words they may not understand and explains what they mean, also going as far as to help them pronounce some words that they mentioned having trouble with back at gandharva ville.

"oh... tighnari showed me that word, but i can't get it right."

they also can't pronounce tighnari's name correctly, which makes alhaitham's lips quirk upwards ever so slightly.

"here... i'll show you. which word is it that you're having trouble with?"

though it is something of a tutoring session, alhaitham finds that there's something... calming about it. he doesn't bother moving them away as they gradually get closer, only adjusting to accommodate them.

he also doesn't say anything when their weight falls a little heavier on his chest.

...did they really feel safe enough to fall asleep, just like that? the thought makes a fond warmth spread in his chest. he has no intention of telling kaveh or anyone else, though.

kaveh comes home later to see his child curled up asleep in the scribe's arms.

(the second he points it out, which of course he does, alhaitham's cheeks flush a slight pink and he coughs, telling kaveh to come get his kid and claiming that they wouldn't leave him alone.

the architect has never rolled his eyes harder than he did at that.

alhaitham's newfound fondness is obvious, but kaveh decides to leave it alone for now.)

from then on, they are just as excited and bubbly when they see alhaitham as they are when they see any of their other family. he's even gotten accustomed to hoisting them up, balancing them on his hip, and just... carrying them around.

oh, and alhaitham has no idea where those hobby supplies came from. he's got no clue where those books on a hyper-specific topic that they mentioned offhandedly the other day came from. he has no clue. none in the slightest.

...

maybe alhaitham is a little soft for them. just a little.

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

[captain-mj]

Okay, so I'm very sick rn, and could use an order of Fluff, please.

Maybe some GhostSoap where Ghost gets deliriously sick and is having hallucinations, and Soap just stays there and comforts him through it all?

Wrote this while a tiny bit depressed so I hope you like it

Ghost never got sick. He just didn't. The mask kept him from getting most airborne illnesses (presumably) and he was careful to never get infections.

But somehow. Someway. He had... something. Didn't matter. The fever that wracked his body was vicious and cruel.

Soap was currently sitting with him and fretting. He was muttering about medicine and what to do and stuff that made Ghost's head hurt.

Someone... spoke. His head jerked towards it but it didn't repeat.

"Simon." Soap called to him, putting his hand on his warm cheek. "You're burning up." His voice sounded very far away.

Gentle hands laid him down. For a moment, he felt like a kid again, safe and sound in his mom's arms. He heard someone whimper and wondered if Soap had hurt himself.

Soap carefully tapped his cheek and he opened his mouth on command. A pill was slipped into his mouth and then some cold water followed. Ghost closed his eyes and drifted.

Something called to him again. Speaking to him sweetly. "You need to get up."

Ghost grunted, his head aching. The hand came back, gently running through his hair.

The voice faded to a soft humming. One of the Beatle's songs. His mom's favorite.

Ghost softly hummed along and he swore he could smell her perfume.

Her absence hit him hard as the perfume disappeared. He keened softly, reaching out for her hand again. When he was sick as a kid, she'd give him plain toast and maybe a cup of tea until he felt up for soup. Always the same. Some cheap mix of chicken and vegetable.

Ghost wanted that. He wanted her hand on his hair and his childhood bedroom.

Soap kissed his forehead. "Simon. Why do you look so sad?"

Ghost looked at him and winced. "Johnny... Please don't leave me."

"Hey, I'm not going to leave ya. Gonna stay right here."

Ghost grabbed his hand and kissed his wrist.

"You're burning up." Soap said softly. He grabbed a rag that he dipped in cold water and gently puts it to his forehead. "I'm worried about you."

"No medics. Please."

Soap smiled sadly. "Alright. I'll stay with you until you feel better." He gently put the rag on his cheek and then on his throat.

Ghost groaned softly in relief and smiled. "Thank you. I love you." He missed Soap's sad look.

The hallucinations could not be kind. They couldn't stay as just a sign of grief.

A skeleton stood there. It watched him. Body unnatural.

It popped it's head off and held it out to him.

"Your mother's skull. You killed her."

Ghost closed his eyes tight, afraid.

"Your brother's rib cage. You killed him too."

Ghost covered his ears and the whimpering came again. It didn't occur to him that he could make those noises.

Soap put his arms around him and pulled him to his chest. "I got you, Simon. I got you."

Ghost shivered hard and he pulled up just long enough to take off his shirt. He pressed into Soap's body, feeling the heat rolling off of him. When he tentatively opened his eyes, there was nothing there.

Soap kissed his sweaty hair. "Later, we'll take a shower okay?"

Ghost turned around and hugged on to him, face buried into his skin. "I love you."

"Stop saying that. You're only saying that because you're delirious."

"I'm sorry. I guess I should say it more often. Don't want you to doubt that." Ghost rubbed against him like a cat.

Soap sighed softly and gently ran his hands up and down his back. "Alright, Simon."

Ghost rested against him, enjoying the warmth. Later, he might put on his mask and pretend this never happened. But the part of him that he normally kept shoved down really hoped he wouldn't. He hoped he'd kiss Soap sober and say he loved him again until he realized he was telling the truth.

But for now, his whole body felt like it was on fire. His head hurt. His muscles were sore. So he rested there, safe and sound and with Johnny's heartbeat in his ears.

[hoseokslefteyebrow]

The Anomaly || JJK

Chapter 4: Homesick

summary : In which you're isekai'd from your (own) parallel Jujutsu Kaisen universe to the canon universe.

wordcount : 2k

Pairing: Jujutsu Kaisen X Reader, eventually Character x Reader (idk who yet tho)

Masterlist | Next

You find yourself seated in a familiar spot. The scenery is the same as back at home, the sun setting on the sight of Tokyo Jujutsu Tech. There have been a lot of days where you and your best friends have lost track of time talking to one another late at night in this very spot. 

You're worried,mind running with scenarios of how home would be doing. How is your own world? Are you having this human body - cursed spirit issue too? The one you had been fighting was quite tough- were your classmates alright? Was your best friend alright? Or had everyone written you off as dead? Considering you disappeared right after a battle, it wouldn't surprise you. You're not sure. Your eyes sadden, losing yourself in your thoughts. You refuse to believe that everyone believes you're dead, that they've given up on you just like that.

You glance down at your bracelet. It's ordinary, crafted from simple wood. It matches your best friend's bracelet back at home. You wonder if his works. It's filled with water, imbued with your cursed energy. That way, he could always find you when he needed you, and you could always find him when you needed him. You doubt it works. You can't feel your connection to it currently, your cursed energy with you and you alone. 

" Are you okay? That last mission seemed to be quite rough on you. "

You glance up, only noticing Yuuji standing there now. Had he been standing there for long? 

" Ah, sorry, I didn't notice you. I'm alright. I've just got homesickness at the moment. "

He hums, noticing your sad eyes as he sits down beside you. 

" The way you stood up for Nobara was badass. It was cute too though. Are you two close in your universe? " 

He's calm, watching the scenery with you. Your presence is somewhat comforting. New, yet so oddly familiar. 

You hum. 

" Yeah, we are. I was so happy to learn that another girl would be joining our class. We hit it off right after meeting in the city for the first time, when we went to pick her up. I think that got Sukuna a little jealous. "

You're smiling fondly at the memory, meanwhile Yuuji has to remind himself that you're talking about a different Sukuna, not the one he's harboring. 

" Ah, he's your best friend right? "

You hum. 

" My one and only. "

" What about us? "

You turn to him, blinking. 

" What about us? "

" Are we close? You've mentioned that we used to be close when we were younger. "

" Ah, yeah. We were inseparable as kids. Until you grew more athletic and developed a love for horror. I'm a whimp- I don't like horror at all. It makes me downright unable to sleep. Sukuna would laugh at me when I came over to sleep over one random night, because of my fears. I wanted to prove him wrong, so I watched a horror movie with the three of you. It backfired, and I was unable to sleep. Sukuna ended up feeling guilty enough to watch Pokemon movies with me all night. We grew closer after that. I realized that I too was one of the people he has a weak spot for. In my universe, you're one of those people too. "

Yuuji blinks, not having expected that at all. 

" Sukuna as my twin.. The idea of that leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. "

You laugh softly. 

" I think it's weird you share a body with him in this universe- and that he had 20 fingers. And that you swallow them for breakfast, basically. "

Yuuji laughs, agreeing with you. A comfortable silence settles over the two of you. You lean your head on his shoulder for a moment. Back home, you were touchy with your friends, often linking arms with Nobara, or straight up pulling Sukuna along to where ever you pleased. He always pretended to hate it, but you know him better than that. 

Yuuji doesn't seem to mind, instead relishing the comforting gesture. 

Yet, you can't help yourself from asking him the next question. You need answers. 

" You've mention that you've... Killed, instead of exorcised before.... "

You're careful in your words, allowing him to stop you if he wants to. When he doesn't, you continue to carefully speak. 

" I just wondered... Do you maybe know why? - As in why they were in a human's body? "

Yuuji shakes his head, eyes on the floor. 

" I don't. There's a curse who's strong enough to transfigure people though. I know you're afraid too, but if we don't figure out how to send you home soon, you might have to fight more human-cursed spirits. "

You nod at his words, your eyes downcast on the floor. 

" I don't like it either. I hope we manage to kill patchface and these cursed spirit people before anything too rash happens though. "

You hum, about to reply when-

" It's because of you! You took me in, and now the severed parts of my soul have awakened. "

Your eyes widen, head raising to stare at the mouth and eye that has sprouted on Yuuji's cheek. What the fuck was this?-

" To help lots of people, was it? Brat! People are gonna die because you live! "

" Hey, don't tell that to Fushiguro. Don't you dare. "

Yuuji's stoic, different. It's obvious he doesn't like Sukuna. 

You don't like this Sukuna either. You can tell he's nothing like your Sukuna. 

" And what are you looking at?! "

" You're an eye and a mouth on my friend's cheek. "

You deadpan the obvious as you blankly stare at him. 

He cackles, Yuuji slaps his hand over him, trying to shut him up. 

" That's enough out of you. "

It doesn't stop him, Sukuna's mouth appearing on the back of Yuuji's hand. 

" You don't belong here! You should die! "

" That's rich, coming from someone who's a mouth on a hand now. I'd say you should die. "

While you're busy mocking him, Sukuna has an unsettling realization. He's met you before. You're not from here, and you're definitely not supposed to be here. You were a sorcerer he was forced to face back in the Heian era. Your reverse curse technique was strong, strong enough to be used as a weapon. Your domain too, was one he hated. He absolutely hates you. He needs you dead before he can carry out his plans of regaining powers. Facing both Gojo Satoru and you would set him at a huge disadvantage. One that not even his current plans could face. 

However, there's no need to rush in killing you though. It appears that you don't even know your potential just yet, your body protected with regular cursed energy. 

Yuuji scoffs, slapping a hand on his own to stop Sukuna from spouting nonsense. Thankfully, he disappears. 

" Soo, that's your Sukuna. "

" Yeah, sorry about that. "

" It's fine. I don't take things randomly appearing mouths say to heart. "

Your smile eases Yuuji's worries, his previous guilt gone, replaced by a warm feeling. The two of you sit in silence a little longer, enjoying each other's company and watching the sun set on Jujutsu Tech. 

-

A few days pass, and you find yourself and your classmates in Tokyo's shopping district. 

" Aren't you buying way too much? " 

Yuuji releases a puff of stress, holding the many bags Nobara has shoved in his arms.

You're walking a few paces up front with her, your arms linked together. You have bought some stuff too, considering that was why you were here in the first place. There was no answer on when you could return to your own universe, no one has any idea how just yet. Your financials are finally properly supported by Jujutsu Tech, and you've entered the shopping district. You're only really buying stuff you need, though that is still quite a bit, leaving you with three bags. 

You're only holding one. For some reason ( an unspoken one, everyone was surprised when he offered), Megumi was carrying your other two bags. You've promised you'll buy him a crepe as a thank you, but he's brushed you off, telling you it was fine and that you should save the money. 

" Half of that is yours, you know? "

You blink at her, that's not true. 

" This bag is all that's mine! "

Just as Yuuji raises his bag to show her, one threatens to fall out of his arms. He manages to catch it. 

" Drop one and you're dead. " 

" Ah, Yuuji, do you maybe want me to carry some bags? "

" No Y/N, Itadori is a strong guy. He's fine. "

" I don't think being strong is part of the issue Nobara-"

And then.... One of the clothes she bought slips out of the open bag, on the floor. 

Everyone's eyes widen. 

You raise your hands, attempting to stop Nobara, but as expected, she's already punching him. Megumi tugs on the back of your uniform, holding his own high in embarrassment as Nobara scolds Yuuji. 

" Come. Let's pretend we don't know them. " 

He's already walking a few steps away with you, arm around your shoulders, When his phone rings. 

He takes his arm off you, taking out his phone. 

" It's Gojo sensei. " 

You're not sure why he's informing you. Maybe because you know him as well. 

Their conversation ends soon enough, and he turns around, facing Yuuji and Nobara again. 

" What? "

Finally, Nobara releases Yuuji. 

" Gojo sensei is calling us. "

" Huh, why? "

Nobara's pouting, you guess that she wanted to spend the whole day lingering around Tokyo's shopping district. 

" It's a mission, 'a top secret one'. "

You snort, the words familiar. 

" Ah, so this Gojo sensei is the same as the one back in my universe. "

" Does your Gojo sensei say that often as well? "

You grin at Nobara, nodding. 

" Last time he called us for a 'top secret mission' was because he wanted to get crepes and didn't want to go alone. "

You smile fondly at the memory. Eventually, it had only been Yuuji, Nobara, Megumi and you. Sukuna wasn't around, because he was simply god knows where. You hadn't felt bothered enough to find out back then. Your best friend had been offended that you had gone without him. You only found him hours after the place closed. As a peace offering, you spent your money on expensive fruits (strawberries) and chocolate, dipping strawberries in chocolate late at night. 

Nobara laughs at your words. Some people are apparently the same no matter the universe. 

" Why not go? Gojo sensei still said it is top secret after all. It must be big. "

You smile at Yuuji softly. He was so cute sometimes. 

" Yeah well, Y/N is right. He does say it all the time. "

Yuuji hums at Megumi's words. 

" Yeah, so what? "

All four of you exchange smiles, and make your way back to the busstop. This time, you link arms with Megumi, simply because he's the closest. He shoots you a surprised glance, but his expression softens, features softening into a smile. 

This Megumi was so different of your own. This one is nice to you. 

The Anomaly Taglist:

@luxylucylou @kalulakunundrum @strxbxrrylover @aethersslave

[omghallucinations]

charts that made me go "oh boy": stray kids lee know

ok. well. i've been on a journey.

i was innocently inputting idols with known birth times into my astro software as i do and i put this guy in and said "oh... oh boy..." out loud so obviously i decided to do a write-up

i finished this write-up. realized i was bias wrecked all to hell. so. there u go. let this be a warning to you all. be careful whose chart you analyze because you could end up with a Problem!!

unrelated (related) i just love a sagittarius moon. my favorite moon there is. some people love a taurus moon, fair, valid (also lee know has his moon in the 2nd which is basically a layer of taurusy vibe) but i love a sagittarius moon most of all. those guys are crazy (affectionate). you cannot kill them in any way that matters. truly understand the inherent hilariousness of life... .. somehow can always see through the illusions of capitalism... i love them.

who is this anaretic degree ass

girl how many important degrees... do u need... ... i have two 29s and one 0 in my chart and i thought that was a lot...

lee know has both venus and neptune at 29 (and venus at 29.59 which is, wow old soul ready to get the hell off this lawn much?). the anaretic degree is the "fated degree"--it's like, your soul has just about mastered this energy and is about to take it somewhere else (bc the next degree is not 30, it's 0 of the next sign) so it's time for some TESTS. it's crises and gifts. often you're naturally good at this energy in whatever form that takes, but it's gonna fuck with you on and off throughout your life. more during the first half to be fair. especially with that 0 degree saturn, he'll probably be in way better shape after his saturn return.

venus at 29(.59?!?!) in libra -- ok i also have venus at 29 (.09!), so i can tell you that he never has to be single if he doesn't want to be, but it is not gonna go right for a long ass time and he's gonna be weird and intense about relationships and it will not feel good. he might think it is going right. he is wrong. get ready for some gifts but ALSO some crises with love and creativity and beauty and shit--especially with venus at home in libra and his scorpio rising. he's definitely captivating, and can probably bamboozle whoever he wants with his beauty and charm, but his crisis and urgency feeling in love is probably a Whole Lot both for him and for his partners. and it's in the 12th house like.. .. . oh boy honey. he's gonna hide his need for love and validation and his sensitivity so hard. also literally his relationships (and they'll probably be undefined for a long time) despite the fact that every one is gonna be so intense.

it's also opposite his 0 degree saturn????? girl!! and conjunct his sun also in the 12th... .. . . . well at least you are so beautiful and charming and generous, lee know, and everyone really likes you. i know u issues and tremendous sensitivity that you hide like crazy and probably a judgmental family member (who probably means well, unfortunately!) whose influence burdens u even now as u feel like there are somehow always Forces Working Against You for no reason! even tho u just gotta Believe In Yourself dot mp3.....

bright side! when he works through some of this stuff he's very likely gonna have a very solid and mature marriage and he already has sort of a maturity leg-up, thank u saturn in taurus and juno conjunct sun. eventually you will look back on the many unhinged texts you sent at 2am and laugh... . .. more than you already do, you sagittarius moon, you!!

neptune at 29 capricorn in the 3rd house -- hahahaha welcome to crises and gifts around dreams, illusions, secrets, delusions, etc. and make it capricorn: old soul vibes, anxiety, not gonna settle until later in life. in the 3rd house: dreams and illusions with gemini vibes, unending curiosity, brain running at 300 all day all night, so many Thoughts. hm. does he have adhd (inattentive subtype)???he's super creative and iconoclastic but he may be doing a lot of talking and not a lot of... doing. it's also a weird mood to have the fanciful dreams planet in the harsh reality sign, there's conflict inherent there. (oh lord, neptune is square venus and saturn with a 0 orb??? t-square??? bro??? lee know did ur parents or teachers or society crush ur dreams??? do you now crush your own dreams urself in advance to avoid disappointment??? do u think you can either have love or success and not both???)

(i can fix him!! wait.)

lunar nodes at 29 (NN in Leo in the 10th, SN in Aquarius in the 4th) -- lol this plus his 29.59 venus, his soul is Ready to Move On from these lessons hahaha, luckily his career really reflects his soul growth shit--moving away from his comfort zone of being a semi-reclusive iconoclastic weirdo with depressive tendencies who stays at home and moving towards self expression, celebration of himself and creativity in his career/a public space. he is gonna have a lot of crises about this though, since the south node is still really important and you shouldn't abandon it, it's ur foundation. he's gonna have questions like what does "be yourself" even mean??? how public is too public? how private is too private? what if i Fail, Publicly??? what if i don't put myself out there enough???

(he probably does not put himself out there enough, because of the relationship between his nodes, saturn, venus and his 12th house sun--but he should!! fight for your opportunities king!!)

(if u do not already have a therapist, lee know, please... get a therapist... it will help u.... i swear....)

we're still not done with degrees for some reason

saturn at 0 degrees taurus in the 6th house: another #same, my saturn is also at 0 degrees!! ateez jongho is another one with a 0 degree saturn, it's a very strong aura no matter what. any planet at 0 is fresh and new and EXCITED TO BE THERE and depending on aspects etc it will almost always express the energy of the planet in that sign real... loud... and real... vibrantly... ... .. without much nuance... for better or worse. this doesn't have to be a straightforward manifestation of the sign, sometimes it's wonky, but either way it's just a lot of Pure Sign and Planet Energy.

saturn is a more outer planet, so normally the sign its in is more of a light flavor and the much more important thing is the aspects and the house its in. if saturn is at 0, scratch that whole sentence

saturn in taurus is really. really clear in lee know's personality, tbh even to someone who only knows him from his professional activities. like. startlingly. i see her. saturn is a force for maturity, lessons, responsibility, discipline, structure, practicality, actual real physical life not the idea of life, and in taurus it's going. home. bye. the taurus jumps out. he's not too fussed about how much attention he's getting, or how much center time, he never jumps in ego-first. in the sixth house of work daily life and virgo vibes he's just gonna do what he's gotta do and get it done. solid, mature, grounded, no celebrity disease in sight, really a nice counterpoint to the kinda manic romance he's got going on in the 12th that would unhinge him from reality in many ways if it weren't for saturn

sixth house also gives some health stuff, some virgo vibes, can be critical. he might have or have had some health probs, or he may have them in future if he isn't super careful

taurus in the sixth to me gives apartment rooftop garden, beloved pets (6th house is the small animals house :)), dependable cornerstone at work but leaves at 5pm sharp because he wants to GO HOME. he's not gonna do more than he has to do because that's #stupid and he's not #stupid. he's not lazy at all he uses exactly the amount of energy he needs to and no more, again, because he's not dumb. vibes. icon. comfort. ease. chilling out.

he probably can really cut you deep if he wants to (especially with his chart ruler being his super specific and critical virgo mars in the 10th), luckily he doesn't care enough most of the time

(being mean in a funny way does not count, because of his aforementioned sagittarius moon and various gemini/virgo influences, it's the way he expresses affection!)

party (?) in his first house

idk i think a lot of idols have stuff in their first house, more proportionally than most people, which makes sense for their whole...situation. anyway. his first house has:

scorpio mercury: fun!! anything in your first house is gonna color the rest of your chart, almost like another layer to your rising. for example ateez hongjoong and (g)idle soyeon are both capricorn risings with uranus and neptune in the first house, so they're not regular capricorn risings, they're capricorn-aquarius-pisces risings. with mercury in there lee know gets a fun gemini/virgo flavor to his life path/vibe. he's gonna be chattier, funnier, externally wittier than most scorpio risings, more similar to a gemini or virgo rising in that way. it really is his cross of Sexy Intense Head Bitch You Shouldn't Cross but also Head Silly Yapper. his mercury is widely conjunct his ascendant, so the gemini/virgo/communication focus comes across strongly.

he's smart and curious and can talk anyone into anything at any time. it's another thing in his chart that chills out the sort of. self-serious Drama of scorpio placements (she said, scorpio moonly). mercury is zany!! and can really think itself into all sorts of interesting places (anxiety vortex? deluluville? why not both???)

scorpio chiron: well ya can't have it all. he has some pain and wounds around his own identity and place in the world as well as his soul-need for independence and self-assertion. it's complicated for him to Be Himself and with scorpio he probably has some past life shit here (in addition to his many heavily karmic 29 degree placements, let's all say thank you god for giving him a sagittarius moon and mercury in the 1st house)

sagittarius pluto: power. magnetism. take the usual power of a scorpio rising and crank it up to 20. also he has a temper under the calm, methodical taurus saturn and also thinks he's right 100% of the time. and he has some deep feelings and can empathize with the suffering of others! most importantly his past life stuff has been rooted in the search for identity and place in the world and he finds unconscious security in independence and his ability to assert himself, probably extra complicated for his 29 degree libra venus who craves union with another! lol!

this is honestly only just scratching the surface (just like any chart interpretation) but i gotta stop!! unfortunately i've been bias wrecked by an astrological chart. embarrassing as hell!!

[asliceofzosan]

pspsps Zeff meeting Ayari 👀👀👀

oH YOU REALLY DONE DID IT NOW

zeff knows how much sanji loves kids.

he first noticed it when he was roughly turning into a teenager. around the age of 13-14. it isn't often that families come to the baratie. but when they do, sanji actually volunteers to wait tables when on normal understaffed days, zeff would have to drag him out of the kitchen kicking and screaming. he didn't understand it until he decided to watch sanji and everything made sense.

if one is the child of a pirate or a marine, you're bound to be a little fussy (case and point: sanji). and his boy was a natural at calming down fussy babies. those chubby little rascals would immediately stop crying when sanji would pick them up and carry them on his hip, taking everybody's order like usual. the parents would look at him gratefully, even allowing him so far as to let him wait other tables with their baby in his arms.

during sanji's break, he would play with them. if they won't stop crying, he'd ask patty or carne to heat up some milk or mushy vegetables to feed the kid. and more often than not, sanji would sometimes be seen with a sound asleep baby as he barks out the orders to a bewildered kitchen.

zeff asked him once if he wanted a baby sibling. sanji just laughed until his sides hurt.

"you can barely raise me, you old coot." he said in response with a bright grin that reminded zeff how much he loved this kid. "i'm better off as an only child. trust me."

(he does. trust sanji, that is. but he will never forget how his laugh sounded pained. like an echo of a terrible memory. he'll come to realize why after a long while.)

as sanji grew up, his natural gravitation towards children never wavered. in fact, kids often flocked towards him at the baratie, following behind him like little ducklings in a row. sanji's smile was softer on those days, the sparkle in his eyes as prominent as when sanji talks about his beloved all blue. the kids would hang onto his every word.

he doesn't know how qualified he is at knowing good parenting from bad parenting. but he did raise sanji for most of his life. his little eggplant turned out pretty decent by his standards.

so of course, it's a no brainer for zeff that if sanji would one day have his own kid, he'd be the best dad in the world.

"head chef?" patty says as he enters zeff's office. "someone downstairs really wants to meet ya."

"if they want a discount they better fuckin' run." he gruffly replies without looking up from the newspaper. "customer is always right my ass—"

"sir?"

"–and you know what's real upsetting? the fact that they think they're all hot shit! i don't care who you are. you pay to eat here–"

"chef-"

"–would be nice if i didn't get some dumbass like that for once—"

"chef, it's sanji!"

zeff has fought sea beasts, marine fleets, and pirates with a worse death wish than him. he has faced starvation, dehydration, massive bloodloss without batting an eye.

but nothing. absolutely nothing makes his heart jump more than hearing that his son has come home to visit.

"well what the fuck are you doing standing there, patty?" he bellows, standing up and stalking towards the open door. "you better be preparing a feast for my boy."

"actually, he's already in the kitchen cooking one himself."

zeff laughs. that sounds exactly like his boy, alright.

it took zeff all of two seconds to notice that sanji isn't alone.

the swordsman is there, hanging off his shoulder like it's nobody's business (and he's pretty sure sanji mentioned at one point that he had gotten his head out of his ass and finally got together with him. lord was that an ordeal). and it looked normal for a few seconds until sanji turned around to face zeff.

there was a child there.

strapped to sanji's chest with some sort of blanket-like contraption was a baby. it couldn't be more than two years old. its shrieks of delight echoed in the kitchen as it drooled all over sanji's suit. its hair was green – the same shade as that of the swordsman glued to sanji's side. and it was tied up into little pigtails that bounced as it moved.

"zeff!" sanji greeted, that same bright sunny smile plastered on his face. "come meet your granddaughter!"

his... what?

then he looked closer at her and it all made sense.

the curly eyebrows.

but it also made no sense at all. because the longer zeff stared at his granddaughter, the more confused he felt because how in the love of the all blue did sanji get a child that looked exactly like him and his idiot swordsman?

he was so much in his head that he didn't notice sanji take the kid out of her baby sling and hold her out in front of him. he was brought back to reality when one small hand wrapped around the end of his mustache with a continuous giggle. zeff stared at her, his whole world stopped on its axis. he never saw sanji as a baby. he wonders if this is the closest he'll get to experiencing that for the first time...

then the baby pulled on his mustache with a high pitched shriek that could reach the heavens.

"jiji!" the little girl squealed, now holding onto zeff's mustache with two chubby baby hands. zeff stayed rooted to his spot, transfixed by the girl's mere existence. but also there's a stirring in his heart that occurs when she smiles at him. she looks exactly like sanji. though with a lot less teeth.

"would you look at that, old man." zoro laughed as he gently pried his daughter's (????) fingers off of zeff's mustache. "you get her fifth word. congratulations."

on a normal day, (but god what even classifies as normal anymore?) zeff would have probably kicked that swordsman's chest in and sent him flying into the next room. but there's something about the way sanji's smile softens as he watches zoro play with the baby. his eyes mist over and the only reason he probably isn't openly crying right now is because zeff is right there.

there are precious few instances where zeff's seen sanji genuinely happy.

now is one of them.

he coughs roughly to get their attention. all three of them look up, sanji's gaze particularly nervous. but zeff just shook his head, figuring he'll ask all the dumb questions later, and holds his hands out expectantly.

"you gonna let your father hold his grandbaby or or ya just gonna hog her the whole time you're here?"

the laugh that escapes sanji's mouth has both zeff and zoro staring fondly at him. then when sanji transfers his baby girl into zeff's arms, sanji's smile is freer and more open than zeff's seen it in years.

"zeff," sanji says, smoothing down ayari's hair down with one hand, his other hand resting on zeff's bicep. a strong grip. a grounding force. "meet ayari. our little blessing."

ayari coos up at zeff and grabs his mustache again. sanji bends down slightly to rain her little face with a million kisses. zeff just stares at this all with the barest hint of a smile on his face.

yeah. he always knew sanji was gonna be a good dad.

genuinely i am in agony i love this family 😭 do you have any idea how much i was crying while writing this??? is it possible to get baby fever from your own oc zosan baby???

[msfcatlover]

Duke in the Reverse!Robins AU be like…

”Eldest daughter syndrome? What eldest daughter syndrome? Nah, just because I’m the oldest does not mean I have eldest daughter syndrome. Sure, I’ve had to mediate between Damian & Bruce, or Steph & Bruce, or help certain Titans find a middle ground, but that’s just being a good leader. And yeah, I’m protective of the younger kids, but that’s just what any responsible adult in my position would do.”

*finds out one of the members of his team has such bad civilian trauma they need to straight-up quit hero work*

“Oh shit… I fucked this up. I was too focused on my own problems, how the fuck did I miss this? Okay, okay. I was already burning out trying to juggle being Gotham’s only daytime hero and single-handedly leading the Titans. I need to pick one. And find some way to make it up to Grant. Jesus fuck, how did I miss this…”

*Tim becomes Cass’s apprentice. Steph & Cass start arguing more often. Steph has her biggest fight with Bruce yet. Steph goes missing.*

*Steph dies*

“After that fight with Bruce, no one backed her up. She didn’t know anyone was supporting her. She died thinking none of us were on her side. If any one of us had actively taken her side, instead of getting distracted with our own messes, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Oh, but am I really expecting Damian or Bruce to be intelligent about feelings? Am I really expecting tact from Cass? I know them too well; it should’ve been me, shouldn’t it? I can’t believe I managed to fuck up worse than I did with Grant…”

*Luna gets taken away*

“Look at what you’ve done, Bruce! Look what you’ve fucking done! You’re tearing this family apart! We all promised to look out for her if anything happened to Steph, and you’re just going to force every single one of us to break those promises?! You’re going to rip away the last piece of Steph we had?!? Look at Dami & Cass! Look at them! You did this!”

*finds out Damian’s training for Tim to be Shadow uses all the LoA techniques he refused to use for Steph, making it borderline-through-outright abusive, almost certainly to try to drive Tim off by making him too miserable to continue*

“I. I can’t fucking believe this. I can’t… I can’t believe it took me so long to realize. Damian, nobody is happy about this, but fuck you. I thought you were trying to be better, you absolute fucking asshole! And I… I don’t even have the excuse of not knowing half of the involved parties this time, or being away, or too busy, I was just looking away because I didn’t want to think about Tim taking Steph’s mantle. I should’ve fucking stopped this the first time Tim came back from Bludhaven. God fucking dammit, how do I keep failing the kids in my care in the same fucking way, over & over again?!”

*was all the way at the other end of the room & looking in the wrong direction to have enough forewarning to actually save Tim from being shot*

“I… I… I… I’m literally the only person who could’ve fucking stopped this. I have all the training, all the abilities, but I went to refill my punch glass, and now Timmy might never walk again. I mean, absolutely blame the asshole who pulled the trigger, but Tim & I were in the same fucking room. Who would even put a hit out on Tim Wayne? There’s no way Tim doesn’t know who’s behind this, but he won’t tell me because he doesn’t trust me, because of course he doesn’t! Look at my track record! When it matters most, I let down the people I love. My parents, Grant, Steph, Tim…”

*Jason becomes Shadow.*

*The Tower fight happens.*

*Jason gets kidnapped by the Joker.*

*Bruce “dies,” and Jason runs away to have the Red Robin arc.*

*Dick only begrudgingly puts up with Duke because Duke’s rather overbearing expressions of protectiveness support are not meshing well with Dick’s “stuck on anger til I personally catch my parents’ murderer” issue*

“…If anyone needs me, I’ll be screaming in the closet.”

[lightlycareless]

I'm sorry for sending you a lot of ask 😭😭😭

I found this one tiktok vid and i want to share it with you

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSFWmwA37/

I imagine this with naoya and naomi 🤭

Hello!!

UGHHHHH I CAN'T BELIEVE I TOOK TOO LONG AND NOW THE VIDEO ISN'T THERE JESUS 🤬😭😭😭😭

But I remember well what it was. It was essentially a daughter receiving her father (dress up as a princess) giving him a rose, and he's really moved by the gesture :')

And of course, my version of it :3 Thank you so much for waiting for me 🥺💖 And I'm sorry it took me a while to reply :'( but I still hope you like it!

warnings: none. fluff. Naoya loves his family.

Happy reading!

Dressing Naomi up comes as one of your many attempts to show how much you appreciate Naoya and all the things he’s done for his family.

You do it quite frequently, whenever possible (and as secretive as you could—you don’t know how he manages to always figure out your surprises! Could it be the bank statement?) for there’s no one else that knows better than you about all the things he’s had to sacrifice to do his duties.

But up to that point, you really hadn’t involved Naomi—outside of phone and video calls, photos here and there of the cute outfits you’d put her in for the day or places you’d visit with her, her participation in such gestures is often limited.

Perhaps it’s because she was still too young and there wasn’t much that she could do besides well, being cute and existing.

However, now that she was a bit older, 3 years to be precise, Naomi had become a bit keener to help you out! And such, your mission to do something father-daughter related begins.

It took you a while to settle into something that would wow Naoya (far more than the usual)— at first you considered dressing her up as his favorite character from that one anime you recalled he particularly enjoyed—Neon Genesis Evangelion.

But complications would arise soon enough, beginning with Asuka’s hair color which you initially thought easily fixable with a wig… until realizing it was too itchy for your poor baby, at one point she simply gave up, swiftly pulling it off her head and throwing it away.

The other option that ensued was temporarily dying it, but you wouldn’t dare ruin her precious dark hair, never!

So, you ruminated on your options. Continuously wondering what kind of surprise would blow away Naoya, far more than the others!

…

…

Why not go dressing her up as what she was? A title that once belonged to you, but now you were more than happy to pass down onto your daughter: A princess.

With a cute pink, puffy dress, little pink flats and of course, those chubby cheeks that lightened up with her toothy smile! Accompanied by her now classic two ponytails always adorned with ribbons. She’s just gotten enough hair for you to style her like that, so there’s no way you weren’t going to take advantage of it!

And finally, but not least, her pacifier. The eternal struggle of whether to slowly start detaching her from it or let her keep it for a bit longer always plaguing your mind.

Her doctor says it’s ok if she keeps it for a bit longer, she’s still around the age where kids use it…. At the same time, she tells you to not fret too much—you and Naoya had unwittingly become the type parents that ask her just about anything regarding Naomi’s safety, continuously worrying that the slightest action might harm her to the point where she had to remind the two:

“She may be a baby, but she’s still capable of doing things.”

Well, the pacifier will remain then, a pink one to match her dress!

“Are you ready, mochi?” you ask after adjusting the last details of her dress, Naomi responds with a curt nod and the serious look on her face she always had whenever sucking on her pacifier. It’s as if she was determined to do so, and nothing else! How adorable! “Now remember, when papa arrives you gotta run to him and hug him! Hug him as tightly as you can and never let go! He’s been away for so long and misses us terribly——so be sure to remind him how much we love him, ok?”

Naomi didn’t need to be told twice to know what she needed to do, for her sentiments aligned exactly with what you told her. The video calls were not cutting it anymore, all she’s been wanting now was to see her papa again and be pampered by him!

So, when the fateful day arrives, you and Naomi eagerly stand by the entrance, giddily waiting for the moment his car drives past the gates, subsequently steps out it and heads over to the two to be promptly received with a big kiss from you, and of course, a tight hug from his baby daughter.

But more than that, you wanted to see the kind of reaction he’ll have upon noticing his baby all dressed up as the princess she is. The culmination of all your efforts to make this father-daughter moment happen!

And thankfully, it was all that you imagined, if not more.

Naoya’s heart was always a mess whenever he knew it was time to come home. There mere thought of seeing his family again, especially after weeks of absence, was enough to have him in a frantic state.

It was almost impossible to believe that the always level-headed Naoya, the collected, assertive heir had sweaty hands when driving back to the estate. Something that began when he saw the familiar trees of the nearby forest appearing on the horizon, worsening at the sight of the gates he both loved seeing when returning, loathed when leaving.

In just a matter of minutes he’ll be walking onto the estate, to his home. But even when it was nothing that he had to wait, he couldn’t do it. Naoya couldn’t take it anymore—He needed to see his family, now, which he knew were anxiously waiting for him on the other side of those doors!

So, before the car even came to a full stop, Naoya swiftly prompted the door open and jumped out, ignoring the nearby staff which asked him to be careful and heading straight towards the loves of his life, to embrace them and shower them with his affection—

Only for Naomi to win him to it, dutifully obeying your request by bumping into him first, a small pink flurry tightly holding onto his leg and snuggling against it, her way of telling him welcome back!

Naoya tried his hardest to not pass out at the sight of his adorable doll-like daughter tackling him, though he later thought that if that was the way he’d leave this world, then it wasn’t that bad.

Of course, he wouldn’t desire that, for there is nothing more than he wished than to be with his family right now.

“Princess!” He eventually manages to exclaim once snapping out of trance, a wide smile, slightly teary-eyed look on his face as he swiftly scoops her up and places kisses all over her cheeks—something she would’ve gladly accepted per usual, if it weren’t ruining her look! Naomi soon tries to push him away, effectively letting him know of her discontent. “Oh dumpling, what’s wrong?”

“You’re ruining her makeup” you giggle, walking closer to the two and placing a kiss on his cheek.

“Makeup?” He repeats, leaning a bit backwards to get a better look at her face, smiling when noticing what you meant.

From subtle glitter on her eyelids, to a tint of blush on her cheeks (not that she needed it anyways, she was naturally rosy most of the time) Naomi was fully committed to the role of princess, naturally. And of course, it made her look even cuter. Though you and Naoya knew she didn’t need much to look good, for in your eyes she was perfect.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to ruin it, pumpkin.” He chuckles, kissing the top of her head as an apology. With this her frustration ceases, completely succumbing to his embrace. “You’re very pretty, as you always are—did mama dress you up?”

Naomi shakes her head, you and Naoya laugh.

“Ah, so you chose this yourself?” She nods. “You have good taste then, as expected of my daughter.”

Naomi’s eyes glisten, flattered by his words as her cheeks warm up before hiding her face at the crook of his neck, seemingly embarrassed. Naoya likes that she reacts just like you whenever shy.

“Did my princess miss me?” He asks, she nods again. “I missed you too, very, very much.”

“Welcome home, Naoya.” You finally say, stepping on your toes to give him the customary, much necessary, kiss on the lips which Naoya gladly reciprocated—unless Naomi was to protest, feeling left out and demanding she’d be included. “But you were just kissed, pumpkin! I need a bit of papa’s kisses too.”

Dejectedly, Naomi ends up relenting… for now.

“It’s good to be back.” Naoya smiles, taking in the warm company of his wife and daughter and what it represented: he’s finally home. “You don’t know how much I missed the two of you.”

“We can imagine—we missed you so much too.” You respond. “Specially Naomi, she’s been nothing but talking about you!”

“Really?” Naoya breathes, imagining her cute babbles intertwined with papa’s here and there—and how much he wished to hear them! “Then I guess a reward is due. And thankfully, I brought enough toys for that.”

Naomi’s ears perk at the mention of toys, as they always do, followed by a prompt attempt to escape his grasp and reach for the back side of the car where she expected them to be.

Her father would’ve not wasted anytime at this point to give her such gifts, for her reactions were always endearing to see…

But first, there was something else he needed to do.

“Actually, my love, can you hold Naomi for a second?” Naoya asks you with an uncharacteristic shyness, followed by a subtle redness forming in his cheeks that naturally has you growing inquisitive.

Until seeing him take out his phone, that’s when it became clear what he wished to achieve, and thus, continued to happily do what he requested.

“Naomi, look at papa.” You say, softly gesturing at the lens. The way Naomi quizzically looked up at him made his heart swoon, unwittingly giving him the perfect shot.

It’s rare to see Naoya taking the initiative when taking pictures, he just… never liked doing so. Made him feel embarrassed by it for some strange reason, but you never pushed him about it; and why would you? He did enough for the two! Surely one thing he didn’t want to do would be ok.

Instead, you gladly took on the role of designated photographer, the one in charge of captivating these moments and subsequently sharing them with Naoya for him to take as a reminder of home when away.

But this was too cute to pass up that no amount of shame could make him lose this opportunity. And such, after taking his phone out and focusing the camera on his wife and daughter, he takes a picture: the one that would become his new wallpaper, replacing an equally adorable picture for an even better, newer one. Showing how much his daughter has grown.

“Thank you so much, pumpkin.” Naoya coos, proceeding to take Naomi from your arms and giving her another kiss on her soft, round cheeks. Naomi sighs, accepting his gesture as she closes her eyes, letting him continue peppering her face. “I don’t know what I would do without you in my life. I love you.”

“Hmm!” Naomi whines, her version of the same words, which makes Naoya melt as well as remember why he’s doing all this for.

Why he spends days, weeks, if not months away from his home, sleepless, dangerous missions where the slightest mistake could potentially lead to his death…

To see his family happy, warm, fed, safe.

Things that he would do over and over again, forever if needed, just to see them smile.

And there you have it!! More fluffy moments between our favorite family 💖 gjkasjgkasjg whenever I get asks involving Naomi and Naoya I smile, I really, really like enjoy writing things for them. Even though I get angsty sometimes hahaha

Well, once again, thank you so much for sending me this 🥺💖 I'm a bit sad that the video isn't there anymore, or maybe it's an error from my part? AAAAA ANYWAYS 🥺 I'm happy with this. And don't worry, you can send all the asks you want :> .... I might just take a while to respond with all them requests💀

Once again, thank you so much. Take care, and hope to see you soon!!

[genericpuff]

I've come to the stunning realization-

-that Lore Olympus is basically to the webtoons industry what Youtube Kids is to Youtube.

And I'm not talking about the general "Youtube Kids" label, I'm talking about those videos - Elsagate, Johny Johny, Cocomelon, Mickey Mouse tattooing Spongebob or whatever other weird example you can think of - which are explicitly designed to game the algorithm, turn views into money, and most of all, gain and keep the attention of the one demographic that won't question what they're consuming - children.

!!!!THIS POST HAS FAST PASS SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

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I mean, this is undoubtedly just a tinfoil hat theory, but think about it:

Bright oversaturated colors that are attention-grabbing.

Meme faces and 'lol rAnDoM' humor even when it doesn't suit the situation at all.

Art that's all around ugly and cheap on a technical level but still stands out due to its color design and prioritized advertising.

Vapid surface level scene-to-scene writing that doesn't connect or have any meaning in any coherent way.

One-dimensional projection characters who are easy to manipulate and sway for audience sympathy or anger even if those opinions change on a dime based on actions in the moment.

Cliffhangers that are less like true cliffhangers and more like clickbait. Episodes nowadays tend to be filled with drawn out plotlines, vague hints that can be applied to just about any school of thought, and non-sequitur memes to fill the time until they can hook the reader with another cliffhanger to keep them coming back next week.

Coin prices have gone up but episode length, substance, and quality have noticeably gone down. Even if they reach the same panel count they usually have, dialogue is minimal and pacing is brutally inconsistent to the point that plot progression is often non-existent.

Banner ads that run constantly, often in the first or second (or both) slots, with push notifications and pop-up ads also becoming more frequent whether you're subscribed to the comic or not.

And underneath ALL of that, we've got blatant objectifying and sexualization of female characters regardless of context, misogyny that claims to be progressive, racist undertones, borderline fetish content that constantly toes the Terms of Services line, normalization of problematic/toxic relationship dynamics, a creator who's more interested in 'getting back' at critics than writing an actual story, and underlying messaging both from the characters' and the creator's behavior that encourage witch-hunting, rejection of accountability, and blind devotion.

All this is essentially why I've given up consuming LO entirely, beyond just on a critical level as of late. There was a time long ago when I stuck around in the hopes it was going to get better, that maybe it was just going through a "rough patch" as some stories do. After that I stuck around because I wanted to see how it could possibly pull off its ending. And then after that, I simply stuck around for the laughs and community banter. But now I don't even find it funny anymore, the punchline of how bad it is has gotten incredibly old. And at this rate, as much as we'd like to believe it's going to end in its third season as it's been mentioned in the past, we also were told it was going to end between 100-200 episodes prior to that - the way it's going, I can't even stick around "for the ending" because LO is going to be around for as long as WT tries to milk it, despite it no longer having a heartbeat.

As much as I've loved talking shit about this comic and it's undoubtedly the main reason so many of you followed me here in the first place, I'm not going to lock myself in some kind of purgatory hell just to be proven what I already know is going to happen - either the comic continues on forever, doomed to be a lifeless mascot for the zombie corporation that is WT, or RS eats shit while trying to stick the landing with a plane that has no functional parts.

There's a quote from Caddicarus that I couldn't help but think of as I typed this up, from his nearly-decade-old review of Dalmations 3 (oh god, it's nearly been a decade since that video came out what the actual fuck-)

"And this is where I officially lost all fucking care. I realized it wasn't going to end anytime soon. It's one of those rare instances where the novelty of how awful everything is actually gets really tiresome and unfunny." - Caddicarus

[irisbleufic]

This will probably feel like it’s coming out of the blue, as The Simpsons isn’t something I’m known for posting on main, but like…I’ve had a long-term fascination with this show. I saw the first few seasons when I was a kid. I had to watch it at a friend’s place and my grandparents’ place, because, like many parents raising kids/teens in the 1980s-1990s, mine were convinced Bart was a bad influence. Lisa’s ambition and cleverness have always meant a lot to me, but this strange rumination has more to do with my eternal puzzlement over the bad rap Bart has gotten from parents.

I can say more than ever, especially with regard to the past decade or more of seasons, that Bart is actually a really sweet kid. Mischievous and bored, but genuinely sweet. Meanwhile, Lisa’s got a devious streak a mile wide and is probably the fictional kid my parents should have been most worried about teaching me dubious behavior and scheming (because she knows how not to get caught).

I’m sure this conversation has been had many times over on the internet, but this moment of navel gazing in the wake of watching the first handful of episodes from the latest run (Season 35, how the fuck has this show been around for all but the first 7 years of my life?) just feels…necessary somehow. Every once in a while, when a piece of media has been with me for a long time, I’ll have this weird realization that the character who means the most to me isn’t the one in whom I saw the obvious parts of myself at first.

Sure, I’ve always been a dutiful, ambitious student—even now that I’m an adult who teaches college undergrads, I don’t think I’ve ever shed that. But I was also that weird, imaginative, often-bullied kid who didn’t know they were neurodivergent, who got yelled at for not paying attention during class and sneaking off to the woods adjacent to my elementary school during recess. Sometimes, I took the fall for the occasional prank my few close friends and I would play because I wasn’t good at getting out of the way in time. I had a real disdain for authority, although I knew how to hide it from the few teachers and admins I genuinely liked/respected.

I don’t really have an earth-shattering point to make here except that, huh, it’s neat to realize Bart is the one I related to the most all along. It never even occurred to me that we’re both oldest children; Lisa is eldest-coded sometimes even though she’s the middle kid, but…damn, if Bart’s experience as the oldest isn’t similar to mine. You get cracked down on, get in trouble for, things that your parents can’t be arsed to go after by the time your younger siblings come along. You love those little shits with all your heart even though they aren’t above rubbing their immunity in your face. You shatter beneath the pressure of things that finally, finally hurt too much to keep up the tough-guy façade.

Anyway, Bart: my parents were wrong about you. Everyone’s parents were. I feel that even more strongly as an adult than I did when I was a kid. And the kids like you, like us—more sensitive than meets the eye, mind always racing a mile a minute, mischievously curious, all too often misunderstood—are the reason I became a teacher. Thank you for that.

I’ve been saying to friends for a long time, when The Simpsons comes up in conversation, that the cast of this show are our Players: “Let them be well used, for they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time. After your death you were better have a bad epitaph than their ill report while you live.”

[moontyun]

Pairing: Beomgyu x reader Genre: angst-ish, attempted humor, slice of life Warning(s): none Word count: 1.0k Updates: Every fourth week of the month Synopsis: Oh how they disliked him. He was loud he was obnoxious. Every time he was around them, something terrible would happen. But he really loved their energy and loved to be around them. He just could not stay away.

Closing time

Rain pitter pattered on the window gently as he sat up in bed, dazed, trying to wake himself up fully to start his shift. The cold wooden floor beneath his feet. He wanted to crawl back into his sheets, cozy and warm, falling back asleep. He felt like he hadn't slept in days.  His job was draining him of every last bit of energy he had. It wasn't a hard job but it was pretty taxing on his body. Pushing patients around all night 3 times a week, 12 hours at a time was hard work for him especially considering he was also going to his classes.

Banging on his door his roommate, Taehyun, shouted at him. “If you don't hurry up you're really going to miss it.” He tousled his hair, groaning as he forced himself out of bed, opening the door to a scrubbed out Taehyun staring blankly at him. His eye bags looked so heavy Beomgyu was going to ask if he needed help carrying them. “Hurry up, they were swamped when I left. They might even call me back.” He moved past his friend and to the kitchen. Odds were, the flood of patients was going to be slowed down tonight. That's how it always was on nights. Days were a lot and nights there was hardly anything for him to do. He poured himself some coffee and started to get ready for his shift. 

“Was it closed when you were heading home?” 

“No, not yet. People were still there. Better hurry up if you want to see him before they close.” 

Quickly, Beomgyu started to get ready. He had to see his little friend before they closed. Rushing, he threw on his scrubs, brushing his teeth, leaving his bed head as is. As soon as opened the front door, he took off running. He had really wanted to see his “friend” he had made many years ago. 

When he was in elementary school, his class had taken a field trip to the local aquarium. When he was there, he was given the opportunity to feed the dolphins and fish. Yes, seeing and feeding those animals were cool and all but he much preferred feeding and spending a good chunk of his time at the penguin exhibit. He had one penguin in particular that was his favorite. It was a cute little king penguin, who he named Piplup. Piplup had no feathers on his tail, no one knew why and the other kids in his class made fun of that little penguin. But not Beomgyu, he thought he was the cutest little guy to walk the earth. Sure, Piplup was different but that’s why he adored him so much. 

The storm was only growing worse, rain was pouring down on him as he rushed down the street, trying his very best to make it to the aquarium on time to see Piplup before they closed. He hadn’t seen the penguin in months. He always tried to visit as often as he could but between school and working weekends, it was kind of difficult to see him. He was hoping to at least get five minutes before he needed to be back at the grinde.

-

Fish swam up above and to the side of you as you walked through the long aquarium tunnel. Closing up the place was your favorite part about working here, you got the entire place to yourself. Even if it was just for a few minutes. This tunnel was your favorite place to be. Colorful fish, an array of corral and lemon sharks swimming on the seafloor, starfish sticking to the glass. Cute sea urchins littering the floor. All of the creatures dancing beautifully in the crystal clear blue water. What could be better?

This wasn't meant to be a part time gig. Initially, it had started out as you needing volunteer hours to get into the university of your dreams but now you absolutely loved it. You realized marine biology was what you wanted to do with your life and this was a good place to start while you were going through school. 

Classes day in and day out, weekends spent here or studying. There was no inbetween. You had hardly any time for yourself nor time for your friends. You hadn’t seen them in months, who knows exactly how long. Being as busy as you were, they eventually stopped asking you to hang out assuming you would eventually ask them to hang out or something. Now, months had gone by and you hadn’t heard a single peep from them. Sure you missed them, but by now, you were very much used to being alone. Studied, ate, slept, whatever, all alone and by your lonesome. In some ways, it was very peaceful. No one asking you to do anything in your spare time for who knows how long, no one stealing food from your refrigerator, no one constantly badgering you to give them all of your attention. In others, it was kind of painful. There was no one asking to spend time with you, no one to share your day with. Even if it did hurt sometimes, you still loved your life the way you wanted and had no one to criticize you on how you did it. 

After walking through the tunnel one last time, you started to head to the front door. 

Heavy footsteps tore down the sidewalk as you had turned to lock the doors. Quickly, you turned your head, prepared yourself to defend if need be. A tall man in scrubs was running at full speed down the sidewalk, slowing down as he got closer to the aquarium, stopping directly in front of you. You stood there, wide eyed, and a little guarded, ready to fight. He was huffing and puffing, resting his hands on his knees, looking at you through his messy hair. He was drenched in water, you assumed from the rain that happened a little bit ago. “Di-Did I miss hours?” he asked.

You continued to stare at him, still utterly confused, “Y-Yeah, I just closed up. Our operating hours are from 9 am to 4pm Monday through Friday and 8 am to 6 pm on weekends.” You replied, continuing to lock the door. 

He stood up right, scrunching his face, still trying to catch his breath. “Dammit, he was right.” He said, slightly groaning in either pain or annoyance, you couldn’t really tell. “Thank you. I’ll come back another time.” 

masterlist! ☆ next! ☆ previous!

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[mermaidchan05]

Vesuvia Weekly: How it Started, How it's Going

Additional entry for the "things that changed" prompt because I will take any chance to dump OC lore on everyone and that is a threat lol

(Slight content warning for very vague mentions of abuse)

Chimalus and Nadia

How it Started

Chimalus and Nadia actually met briefly when they were children.

Chimalus, though a far cry from royalty, was the firstborn of a small but wealthy noble family.

Their father was the type to always find a way to hobnob with those in higher power. If he wasn’t throwing a party himself, he was attending someone else’s fancy gathering… and dragging his child along with him.

Chimalus and Nadia both decided to escape a fancy event at the Prakran palace at the exact same time.

And so the two of them wound up accidentally enjoying a moment on their own private balcony.

It was awkward at first, but Nadia was eager to have someone listen to her talk about anything other than the endless fancy-party small talk, and Chimalus was only too happy to listen.

The two of them could just be kids, and it was a beautiful moment for them both.

Sadly, both of their lives fell through many, many dark twists and turns after that party.

And yet, somehow, those twisting paths led them both to Vesuvia.

How it's Going

Chimalus’ life was actually better after waking up in the life of a (relatively) ordinary shopkeep instead of the first in line for head of a noble house.

Their father was the picture of corrupt nobility, obsessed with power in any form over all else... including the welfare and wellbeing of his child.

He actively caused a lot of harm.

But now Chimalus has been given the chance to leave all of that behind.

Learning to be a person again with Asra meant that they actually had someone who encouraged them, who helped them find and pursue their own interests, and actually showed physical affection.

This was one of the biggest things that Chimalus was able to share with Nadia when the two of them finally met again.

Without even realizing it, they did exactly the same thing they had done during that party: they treated her like a person instead of a Countess or Princess.

Now Nadia and Chimalus take on everything together, from the biggest problems in the city to the much lower-stakes but equally challenging book club debates.

Perhaps someday one or the other will remember the moment that started it all.

But either way, in each other they found what they had both longed for as long as they could remember: being together as equals.

Meleia and Asra

How it Started

Meleia had always been an outcast. Even before she moved to Vesuvia.

Living and working with her aunt only made things more difficult.

Meleia came from a very distant place, somewhere literally off the map, and she was forbidden from talking about her past.

Between that, and her foreign magic utterly clashing with her aunt’s magical style, and her general lack of knowledge about Vesuvian culture, she felt trapped and alone.

And then she met Asra.

Asra happened to be in the right place at the right time to help her out of a sticky situation in the market just before the whole “stuck in the same spot during Nadia’s procession” thing happened.

They found kinship in each other, a pair of outcasts with magic they weren’t entirely sure what to do with.

But what had really amazed Meleia about Asra at the time was his willingness to actually help her out. To listen to her.

Even though the fleeting moments at the annual Masquerade were the only times they were “allowed” to run into each other, there was such a sense of hope and relief when they were together.

Her life significantly improved when her aunt eventually moved out of the shop, which let Asra visit much more often.

He helped her learn how to control her magic better.

But their relationship, as much as it was built on trust and sharing their mutual curiosities, was always veiled underneath secrets.

Meleia couldn’t talk about her past. Asra didn’t want to burden her with his.

And Meleia couldn’t explain-- not because she wasn’t allowed to, simply because she didn’t know-- why she never quite managed to control her magic.

Still, it was wonderful to have Asra by her side… until the night of that fateful argument.

How it's Going

It was tough at first, after waking up.

Meleia always felt a little guilty that Asra was so often the one taking care of her, and she longed to take care of him in return.

But now things are better in nearly every way.

Finally, finally, the two of them are exactly where they need to be.

Meleia has someone she can truly be herself around.

Asra has someone both to support him and to help him soldier through the more difficult choices and parts of life without slipping away.

The two of them have a deep understanding and trust of each other. Misfits have to stick together, right?

There are no secrets between them anymore, and ever since Meleia discovered the truth behind her resurrection and her new body, Asra has been more determined than ever to help her reclaim her past.

In all honesty, her new body helps a lot with magical control: one thing they did find out was that Meleia’s parents were both incredibly powerful magicians with two very different styles, leaving her with almost too much power for one person to handle alone. Having the borrowed body of an Arcana grants her the strength she needs.

The rest of her life remains a mystery… so far.

But whether they uncover it or not, Meleia and Asra will always, always have each other. And their friends. And Meleia found her familiar. And Asra found his parents.

They both have a family now, both with each other and beyond. And Meleia finally has a place-- and a person-- to call home.

[analogwriting]

Childhood Crush

Chapter 6: Alloy

Killer x gn!reader

word count: 3.5k

next

For the most part, your injuries healed up quite nicely. You had some new scars here and there, but you didn’t mind. The problem was, well, your arm. With that motherfucker hacking up your arm in the way that he did, he had done some serious nerve damage. You couldn’t really feel in that hand - it was fleeting. Some days were better than others and you could feel just fine, but most days, it was all phantom. You would watch as you touched something, not actually feeling it. You knew how it was supposed to feel, so your brain tricked you that you were feeling something. 

It was confusing.

Sometimes, you didn’t have complete control over it either. It would easily lock up or just drop to your side as if giving up. You no longer could do surgeries or stitch people up. You couldn’t even work in the smithy all that much anymore. With the lack of feel in your arm, it also made some tasks difficult. You had burned and accidentally cut yourself so many times without even realizing it until later.

Hell, even cooking was a harder task. 

Not to mention, you had to train your nondominant hand to do everything now. That was a whole debacle in itself. Physical therapy was a nightmare every time. It just…made you feel so worthless. It reminded you every time how much you lost and wouldn’t be able to regain. You felt like you couldn’t do anything.

You kept those thoughts away, not wanting to dwell on it too much. You did eventually get a hold of some things. You were cooking again, but you took your time with it. You were still able to work in the lab part of the hospital. Not all was lost, so you tried focusing on that.

The boys were also around more often. You knew they were keeping an eye on you - that they were worried. You felt terrible. You tried to tell them all to not worry, but they always brushed it off - or claimed that they didn’t, that they just wanted to come say hi. You called bullshit, but you eventually stopped arguing.

“Can I not hang out with my favorite person?” Eustass said one of the times you tried to shoo him to do his own thing. His words threw you into a fit of laughter which only pissed him off.

“What the fuck is so funny?” He pouted, folding his arms across his chest.

“The fact that you came up with a lie that bad.” You rolled your eyes, putting your hand on your hip. “You couldn’t come up with anything else?”

Eustass huffed, his cheeks turning pink as he pouted. “It is not a lie,” he grumbled.

“Not too sure about that one. I’m pretty sure Killer is your favorite. Mostly because he enables you the most.” You smirked and his jaw dropped. “That is not true!”

“I do not!” You heard Killer chime from the kitchen and you laughed. 

“Yes, you do! Do not try to argue with me about this, Killi!” you shouted back being met with silence.

You let out a long sigh, running your fingers through your hair as you turned to your brother. “Tungsten…I wish you wouldn’t worry so much. I’m not a child and our threat has been eliminated. You guys made sure of that.” You remembered the anger and hatred radiating from both Eustass and Killer that day. And the overkill that the latter did to Nathan. Though, the fucker deserved it.

“And I don’t go looking for fights either. I’m always at the hospital or here. You guys take care of the shopping so I don’t even do that anymore.” You chuckled, shaking your head. You looked at him in earnest. “So please.”

You smiled at him. “Stop worrying so much, okay?”

For a moment, his expression was unreadable. Then he grimaced, folding his arms and turning away from you - much like he did when you were kids. “What the fuck ever. Don’t come crying to me when you get in trouble then.” You couldn’t help but laugh, shaking your head. 

Eustass opened his mouth, probably to yell at you, when Heat suddenly burst through the front door. You jumped, looking over at him. “Heat? Are you okay?” He seemed panicked, but then you realized he was just excited. 

He was grinning, Eustass soon mirroring his expression. “Oh shit?” He laughed. “Fuck yeah! That’s what I’m talking about. Let’s go!” He walked over to the door, looking back at you.

“C’mon, there’s something I want you to see?”

You stood there, blinking in confusion. Something was done? What? Was there some kind of project? Eustass also seemed excited to show you, but you could not think of what it could be. You looked at Heat, trying to gauge a reaction from him. “What is it?” you asked and he shook his head. “I’m not allowed to say.” But he also seemed pretty excited.

You felt Killer stand next to you and looked up at him as well. “I don’t suppose you’re gonna tell me?”

“Nope.”

“Of course not. You’re tungsten’s biggest enabler.”

“I am n-” You shot him a look, immediately shutting him up. You looked at Eustass. “Fine, lead the way.”

He frowned. “What crawled up your ass and died? Now I don’t even wanna show you. You’re so bitchy today.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “You know I distrust surprises…well…your surprises.”

Eustass looked hurt. “What have I done to earn such distrust?” 

Your expression turned deadpanned. “Well, there was the time you put firecrackers under my bed,” you said.

“There was also the frog incident,” Heat commented, immediately throwing his hands up in surrender as your brother shot him a glare.

“Don’t forget the mud pit in the backyard.” The glare was now cast at Killer who also put his hands up in the same fashion as his friend.

You chuckled. “There was also-”

“Okay, okay. I fucking get it. I do a lot of pranks. But I promise you’ll like this. Trust me.”

You looked at him for a long moment. “I don’t, but lead the way.”

A scoff came from Eustass as he folded his arms. “You know what, fuck you. I’m not going to show you now!”

You guffawed. “Fuck off! You can’t do that!” 

“I can and I will!”

“Then I’ll just follow you when you’re not looking and see it for myself!”

“The fuck you will!”

You two glared at each other with your arms folded. A snort came from Heat. “Ah, you two are so related. You fight and look the exact same right now.” The glares between you and your brother were now on Heat who put his hands up again. “Ah, okay! I’ll shut up!”

“I fucking will!”

A sly smile spread across your face as you glared at Heat. “Lead the way, Heat,” you said. His eyes widened. You know the boys had a hard time disobeying you. After all, you all grew up together. You watched as his eyes drifted from you to your brother. “Don’t…” Eustass warned.

You watched his internal war going on in his head through his eyes. Honestly, it was so entertaining. 

“Alright,” you heard Killer say and suddenly you were picked up and thrown over his shoulder. “You’re getting too feisty. Let’s stop bullying, Heat. Keep us out of your sibling squabbles and let’s go. Wire’s waiting.”

Your face immediately went red hot as you tried squirming out of his grip. “Hey! What the fuck! I’m not the one at fault here! Why am I being picked up!”

Your brother just cackled from next to Killer, sneering at you. “That’s what you get for killing my excited vibe. Let’s go!” 

You groaned, slumping on Killer’s shoulder, knowing there was no way out of this.

--

“Eustass Kid. What in the everliving fuck is that?” Before you was a ship. A pirate ship by the looks of it. The goggles and the red hair donning the skull on the jolly roger was enough for you to figure out this was his pirate ship. You looked at him, your eyes wide.

“How the fuck did you get this? How did you pay for it? When did you get it? What the fuck-” You felt Killer’s hand come up from behind you and cover your mouth. Once more, your body heated up but your head was still reeling from what you were looking at. “Process.” Honestly, you were too acutely aware of how close Killer was to you to fucking process anything, but you were going to pretend like you were.

Eustass stood before you with a deadpan expression as he waited for you to finish your freak out. “You fuckin’ done?”

You nodded, Killer slowly letting you go. “A pirate?!” You looked at your brother wildly, walking closer to the ship. Your head was spinning, but you also supposed it kind of made sense, but…you were worried. You knew your brother was strong. He could do anything he set his mind to. 

Your brother nodded, walking over next to you. “This is the Victoria Punk.” Your heart clenched for a moment at Victoria’s name. You had found out sometime after you woke up that Nathan had also been responsible for her demise. It was sweet of your brother to name the ship after his first love.

You’d poke fun of him for being sweet, but it was a touchy subject all around when it came to her, so you held your tongue.

“And I’m…” A shiteating grin spread across your brother’s face. “Going to find the one piece.” You stared at him, blinking slowly as you processed this new information. The one piece? Like from the stories you told him when you were kids? No matter what you thought, you knew your brother was going to do what he wanted.

“Well, good luck with that.” You turned to leave only to be blocked by Killer. “Where ya goin’?” 

You hesitated in your answer. “Home…?”

Eustass groaned. “Do I have to fucking spell it out for you? You’re coming with me.” He grinned, putting his hands on his hips and you just stared at him. Going with? Why would he want you to go with? You didn’t provide much help…

“I don’t…”

An exasperated sigh came from your brother as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright. I didn’t think this would be that hard for you to grasp. Aren’t you supposed to be some big brained doctor?” 

You grimaced. “Oh, fuck off. You’re dropping one bomb after another on me and you expect me to just…accept things?” 

“Uh, essentially, yeah.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes and folded your arms across your chest.

“Captain, you are dropping a lot on them at once,” Wire said, joining the fray. “You show them your new pirate ship - which they have no idea how you obtained. You’re telling them you’re going to search for the one piece - a story they told you during your youth as a bedtime story. Now that they’re coming with? That’s a lot to process.”

You looked pointedly at your brother. “See, I’m not crazy. Wire gets me.” You folded your arms across your chest.

“I mean, you are crazy, but that’s for different reasons.” Eustass grinned and you lunged at him only to feel Killer pull you back via your collar and you glared at him. “I’ll fight you,” you grumbled, folding your arms but staying put.

You closed your eyes, taking a deep breath. “Okay. Fine. You want to be a captain of your own ship, fine. You want to look for the one piece? Fine.” You opened your eyes and looked at him, feeling exhausted. “But you can’t just string me along. I’m not built for the sea.” Not anymore at least.

“What’s this really about, Bigs?” As usual, he saw right through you. There was no hiding anything from him. With another long sigh, you looked at the ground. “In my current condition, I’d be nothing but a hindrance. I can’t fight anymore, can’t even stitch you all up properly. Hell, cooking even takes me longer than it used to.” A deep frown set in your features.

Eustass stared at you, processing what he was seeing. He’d never seen this side of you before, so you were sure that he was the one short circuiting now. 

“First of all,” he started. “I wouldn’t have asked if I thought any of that. Second, you can still do all of those things. It’s just going to take time. You stitch us up just fine. It doesn’t have to be perfect anyway. And your cooking is still fine.” He stopped.

“Third. You don’t have a choice.” Your head snapped up as you looked at him, slowly narrowing your eyes. The fuck he mean by that? “Excuse me?”

“I said, you don’t have a choice.”

“And what makes you think that?”

“Because I said so. I want you to come with us - you’re going.”

“I can’t just up and leave. I have a job - a life.”

“Fuck all that - you’re coming.”

You just stared at him, completely flabbergasted. There was no way that he really thought you would just up and leave, did he?

“Killer.” Eustass looked behind you and Killer nodded, stepping towards you.

“Killer, I swear to fuck that if you pick me up and put me on that ship against my will, I will never fucking forgive you.” You turned around, glowering at him, mustering up the most dangerous look you could. He immediately stopped in his tracks.

You sighed, looking back at your brother.

“You know…” Killer began and you looked back at him, eyes narrowed. “There’s a whole new world out there. Whole new islands with all kinds of ingredients waiting for you. I’m sure you could make an even better salve. Or other kinds of medicines. You’re always wanting to further your medical knowledge.”

You stared at him for a moment, clicking your tongue. He knew just what to say, huh? 

“Besides, you’re safer with us,” your brother said, drawing your attention back to him. “There’s no guarantee that no one will go after you after we leave,” Wire chimed in. “People will probably come after you as some act of revenge.” Your face soured at that word.

They were right. If they left, you were defenseless. Especially now that you couldn’t fight. You’d be a sitting duck. At this point, if they knew Eustass, they more than likely knew you. Not exactly a lot of people with the last name ‘Kid’ anyway.

Killer spoke, his voice soft. “The last thing we want is to receive news that you’ve been killed while we were away and because of us.” Your heart caught in your throat and you swallowed hard. Fuck, he always made your heart race. Dammit.

You closed your eyes, head falling back as you ran a hand through your hair. “Fucking-” You groaned. “Fine.”

They all let out bursts of joy and you held up your hands. “Alright, alright. Chill out.” Part of you was excited, too. You had always wanted to sail the seas, what kid didn’t? But, you always just assumed it would always be just that - a dream.

“Besides, even if Killer respected my wishes and didn’t carry me on board, I know you would’ve done it instead,” you grumbled as your brother threw an arm around you with his signature shiteating grin on his face. Oh, you could punch him.

“Correct,” he mused.

“Let me pack my stuff. And I’m going to need help moving everything.”

“We’re on it!” They all said it in unison and you grimaced. 

“Don’t fucking do that!”

--

“Holy fucking shit, tungsten.” The box in your arms dropped, mostly because your weak arm gave out but also from shock. Your brother picked it up, putting it on top of the one he already had, walking over and setting them on a desk in the room.

You looked around the room. It looked like a state of the art lab. At least compared to the dingy one on your island. You stared with wide eyes. Desks, shelves lined with books, cabinets of all sorts, etc. Everything a doctor/scientist like yourself needed. You could fucking cry honestly.

“You made this for me?” you squeaked out. Eustass nodded, grinning widely. “If I was going to make you come with me, I knew I was going to need to make you hate it a little less,” he mused and you looked at him.

You ran over, hugging him tightly. “Oh, thank you!” You heard him groan, patting your head after hugging you back for a moment. “Yeah, yeah. No big deal.”

“No big de-” Your jaw dropped as you looked up at him. “Tungsten, look at this place.” You still couldn’t believe it. “Whatever. Get off me. I got a reputation to uphold.” You laughed. “It’s literally just us but okay.”

In one quick motion, you pulled a book off the nearest shelf and opened it. 

“The hospital was nice enough to donate us copies of whatever books they had.” He grinned. “Seems they really liked you.” 

“Well, I’ve been working with them a long time, so I’d hope so,” you mused with a grin.

“I suppose I’ll start unpacking.” You put the book back on the shelf, wandering over to your boxes. “I still can’t believe you had this built for me.”

Eustass rubbed the back of his head. “Well, you took care of me for so long - which I know isn’t easy so…” He shrugged. “Returning the favor?”

You just let out a silent chuckle. He didn’t have to pay you back for anything and he knew that. You accepted his answer though, smiling. 

“Just don’t…experiment on us too much. We’re still suffering from the meatloaf incident.” You had tried to enhance nutritional value in food so that it would be better for everyone healt wise.

“I didn’t know it was going to explode!”

“You could’ve - oh, I don’t know - fucking tried it before you gave it to us?”

“I thought it’d be fine since the chicken didn’t explode!”

“They’re not even from the same animal!”

“But it’s the same concept!”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t test it first!”

Another voice called from the deck above. “Captain!”

You narrowed your eyes at your brother. “This conversation isn’t over.”

“Yes it is,” he hissed as he headed out of your lab and to whomever was calling. On his way out, Killer was on his way in. Eustass seemed to give him some kind of look, but you couldn’t discern what it meant. Very curious.

Killer seemed to shift uncomfortably under his gaze, heading further into your lab as Eustass left.

“Hey, y/n. I think this is your box. Got mixed up with ours.”

You pointed to the bookshelf. “Will you just put it over there for me? I’ll get to it later.” You turned back to what you were doing, but quickly found yourself watching the man before you as he set the box down. The way his muscles flexed as he moved, the veins bulging. Your mind wandered to when he had picked you up earlier and put his hand over your mouth-

Ayeo, what the hell were you thinking! You swallowed hard, turning your attention back to your list. You cleared your throat, trying to calm yourself down.

“Ah, t-thank you. By the way,” you said, trying to fill the silence so your thoughts didn’t wander again.

“It’s no problem. Just a box.” He shrugged as he stood back up.

“For earlier, too.” 

He tilted his head to the side quizzically, even with his helmet on, you could imagine the face he was making. “For respecting my wishes. Not forcing me on the ship.”

“Ah, well. I don’t think I could stand you being mad at me in the slightest.” There was an air of hesitation like he was going to say something more, but decided against it. You turned your attention back on the box before you. 

“Keep doing what you’re doing and you should be fine,” you mused, looking up for a moment and winking before looking back down at your list. Aaaand why the fuck would you do that? The hell was that supposed to mean? Fuck could you be more embarrassing? 

“I kind of half expected you to ignore me and throw my ass on the ship anyway,” you said with a shrug, not looking up from your task at hand. 

He was quiet for a moment, making you look up. “I will never make you do something you truly do not want to do. Remember that.”

You blinked as you processed his words. You felt your face heat up. Fuck, even after all these years, he could still make your heart race. 

An inhale came from Killer as if he was going to say something, but you heard your brother call his name. He gave a small wave before he left, leaving you wondering what he was going to say.

[aprillikesthings]

I run into people--online, IRL--all the time who seem to think I'm this exotic brave creature for traveling alone and going places alone.

And, to be fair, there are places/events I do not enjoy alone!! Movies at the theater by myself aren't as fun. I've gone to a couple of concerts/shows alone and while in many cases it's better than not going, it's not as fun as going with friends. (Except for classical music concerts. I don't know why.)

And, also, I am an extrovert; and for me part of the fun of traveling alone is meeting and chatting with new people, even if just small talk.

(Lol that has come up more than once on forums/groups/etc for people who do solo travel--the actual introverts who don't want to talk to people and that's why they travel alone, getting grumpy that most of us are social and like meeting people!)

And obviously: it's fun to go places with friends or my partner. Showing my fave places and events to Daci will never get old and I still have a long list to get through! Like Astoria and Seattle!

But! I love going places by myself.

And I keep realizing: I've always done this?

I was the oldest kid and only girl among my siblings. I also often had few friends. So I went places alone or I was stuck in the house. So sometimes I just wandered around, to the extent I was allowed to do so, lost in my own thoughts, playing pretend in my head.

In Iceland as a kid (living on the American military base) I would walk around just because. I would go to the USO and drink Lipton tea and read a book because...why not? In Virginia Beach I'd walk to the store and flip through all the magazines and buy a Snapple (it was the early 90's lol) and walk home. I'd bicycle around aimlessly (not that I was allowed outside our subdivision). I would've gone to the beach or the mall alone if I'd been allowed!

My parents were considered overprotective, and I still got to do all those things. Wild to think about, now.

Moving to the Portland area, that first summer after high school I'd take the bus to Barnes and Noble and buy a frappe at Starbucks (they were NEW at the time lolll) and browse the books for hours alone, bouncing off the walls with caffeine and sugar. That fall I got my license and realized I could drive downtown (or drive to a light rail stop and take that) and nobody could stop me. I would poke through vintage clothing stores and Powell's books and nobody would hurry me along or complain that they wanted to go somewhere else. It was bliss!

And I think it was like, ten years ago or so, when I found out a fairly common source of like, anxiety? fear? -was eating at a restaurant alone. And I still cannot wrap my mind around the idea. Like....why. What are you afraid will happen? Nobody is paying attention to you. Nobody cares. Like. What?! Just bring a book.

But I've had so many people tell me I'm brave for going places alone and I just don't feel brave at all? To me being brave means being a little scared and doing it anyway, and while I'm always nervous when traveling about SOME things (taking public transit in a new place, especially when you don't speak the language; is intimidating at first), the general concept of going to a place alone is just exciting to me.

I don't have to worry about anyone's needs but my own. I can eat whenever/wherever I want, do whatever I want, go wherever I want. It's so, so freeing.