#something that might’ve been so easily avoided | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

strawberrychampayne · 1 month ago

Text

i guess you aren't oblivious anymore?

bradley bradshaw x fem!reader

warnings: some swearing

word count: 2393 (I'm so proud lol)

summary: bradley wants her to forgive him but she's not letting go so easily. good thing he remembers something he told her a few months prior that might just win her over

ring ring ring

Glancing over at her phone she clicked the stop alarm button. Rolling over her shoulders slumped as she thought the past 2 days over in her mind. Bradley showing up the night before wasn’t something she was expecting. Had he really meant what he had said or was he just trying to get her to talk to him?

As easy as it would be to maul over the previous night she had a job. One that took years of training she might add.

As she stood up she decided that she’d have enough time to go for a run before work. Something she did to clear her mind. The breeze that would sweep across her neck and shoulders would distract her from her problems even if it was only a half hour. Grabbing her purple sports bra and sweats she climbed into them, almost tripping and falling. Snatching her keys, phone and headphones she stepped out of her house. Narrowly missing the pink tulips that laid on the ground beside her feet. She missed them completely, not even sending them an accidental glance and took off.

After running three and a half miles, sweat dripping down her body, Y/N returned home. As she walked up the door she glanced down and saw the flowers awaiting her. Freezing, she paused trying to unlock her door. She turned her head around to see if she could spot the sender. Was it Bradley? Did he actually remember her favorite flower? Did this mean-

Absolutely not. She was still mad at him. He was a dickhead when he wanted to be. Wrapping her hand around the stems, her hand felt wet. The morning dew coating the flowers and giving them a shine. I guess it was a start to an apology. Not that she cared about one, right?

The water running down her sore body encased her in warmth. Pooling at the bottom of her shower and sliding down her drain. Washing away heaps of sweat and regret. She hated how showers made her reflect on things. Maybe it was because they warmed her up or maybe because they made her feel rejuvenated when she finished. She wondered if she had been too cold to Bradley. Maybe she could’ve heard him out. She didn’t want to stress herself out, she had work to do today. Turning up the soft music playing in the background she sighed. My Girl filled her ears. Typical.

—---------------------------------------------------

Rooster could feel the stares of the people around him. Everyone was looking at him, judging him. It was in fact only Hangman and Phoenix but their stares felt like everyone. They were judging him as he walked up.

“So, how’d it go loverboy?” he heard Hangman remark as soon as he was in earshot.

“Looking at his expression that resembles a kicked puppy I’d say not good.” Phoenix added, a look of pity on her face.

Rooster gave them both a pointed look. His lips in a tight, thin line for a moment as he thought of what to say. He could downplay the whole thing and avoid the teasing remarks of Hangman or he could be honest and get helpful advice from Phoenix.

He stupidly chose his first option.

“I don’t think that's any of your business. It went fine, not perfect, but fine.” Rooster replied, a grimace apparent on his face. Glancing over his shoulder he watched as Magnet walked up to the doors. Was she moving in slow motion? He excused himself and all but ran to the door. Wrapping his hand around the cool metal he pulled it open.

“Magnet.” he whispered as she walked through the door. “I just want to apologize again, I-”

He closed his mouth quickly as he saw the look she gave him. Had he not known that Magnet was a sweetheart who could barely kill a fly he might’ve even been intimidated. He watched the sway of her hair (and her hips, he can’t lie) as she walked away from him. Not even sparing a second glance to him.

His head hung in shame and embarrassment he walked back over to Hangman and Phoenix.

“And here I thought you said “it went fine”, correct me if I’m wrong but that didn’t look fine to me.” Hangman said, cockyness but also a sense of pity coming off of him.

“Shut it, Hangman” Phoenix said, slapping his torso with the back of her hand.

—---------------------------------------------------

It had been 4 excruciating hours of work. Y/N walked to the lunch room, her packed lunch in hand. It didn’t help that she couldn’t get Bradleys stupidly gorgeous face out of her mind. It was like her heart wouldn’t listen to her mind when she was begging for images of his face to leave her mind.

Glancing around the room she found Phoenix in their normal spot. In the beginning of training the two of them claimed the table as their own, not even letting the rest of the daggers sit with them. It was a girl debriefing table as they called it. Somewhere they could share their feelings without the judgment of the sassiest group of men to ever walk the Earth.

Before she made her way she quickly glanced around the room for Rooster. She had figured it was time she’d start calling him that again, but not Roos. He’d lost that privilege. She scanned the tables full of people eating and laughing with each other, not seeing him anywhere. Weird.

—---------------------------------------------------

While Magnet didn’t see him, he saw her. He was waiting for the perfect moment to swoop in. As he watched her make her way to her usual table he sped walked towards it. He saw as Phoenix’s eyes widened as they raced, unbeknownst to Magnet. She could see Rooster was gaining on her. Her face turned into a grimace as he got to the table quicker and pulled out Y/N’s normal chair. Rooster watched as Mag stopped in her tracks. Glancing towards the exit he thought maybe she’d make a run for it and leave. With a sigh of relief he watched as she finished the inner battle she was having and walked the distance separating them. He watched as she gracefully sat down and he pushed her chair in.

“Thank you.” was quietly mumbled, so quiet that Rooster could barely hear it.

“I’m sorry, come again?” Rooster said, genuine confusion in his voice.

“I said, thank you, Rooster.” Y/N replied, annoyance evident in her voice.

“Well I see we are back to you calling me by my callsign. Y/N please just let me apologize for-” Rooster began.

“Don’t push it Bradley. This is the girls table. Thanks for the chair thing but you need to go. Goodbye Rooster.” Y/N said, cutting him off.

“Right. I will see you later Mags.” Rooster said, his face turning slightly red from embarrassment. He turned and began walking back to his normal table.

“That was tough to watch, Rooster” he heard Hangman remark.

“Yeah Rooster, that was the shutdown of the century.” Payback added.

Although they all teased him for his setback he couldn’t help but notice the looks of pity from around the table.

—---------------------------------------------------

“That was sweet of him. Don’t you think Mags?” Phoenix started, giving her a look.

Y/N wasn’t paying attention to Phoenix. She was too busy in her head replaying the interaction that had just taken place. It was sweet of him to do but did he seriously think that would win her over?

“Mags?” Phoenix repeated.

“Huh?” Y/N said, glancing up from the plate of food that she was moving around with her fork.

“I said that it was sweet of Rooster. Don’t you think so?” Phoenix repeated.

“Yeah, um I didn’t think he was going to do all that.” Mags replied

“Mags, you do know you can talk to me, right?” Phoenix asked, her voice sincere.

“Yeah, I um, yes I do.” Mags said, her voice thick from the urge to start crying.

“Y/N? What's wrong?” Nat asked, reaching over to grab the woman's hand.

“Do you want to go talk in the bathroom?”

With just a nod from the other woman, she stood up while grabbing her arm and directed them both to the bathroom.

“Tell me what's wrong.” Phoenix said, her voice stern.

“I just don’t know what to do. I want to forgive Bradley so badly. I just can’t. I can’t get the image of his face when he called me a friend. And I know that I can’t be mad at someone for not wanting me back but that's just the thing, he said he liked me too. He confessed it to me but I just can’t get past those words coming out of his mouth. I want to so badly Nat, I promise I do.” Y/N said, she was crying now.

“Oh honey, I promise it’s going to be okay.” Nat said, pulling the girl into a hug.

“I need to go, I have so much work to do.” Y/N said, pulling away from the woman.

“Okay. I promise it’s all going to work out Mags.”

“I hope so.”

To: Rooster

You need to fix this.

Read 12:33

I know.

Read 12:35

—---------------------------------------------------

“Come on Mags, just come to the hard deck I promise it’ll be fun” Hangman all but whined at her

“Hangman, I really don’t want to come. I want to go home, get on my pjs, eat some ice cream and cry to a Disney movie.” Y/N said, a hand on her hip as she looked at the man.

“That can be done tomorrow.” Hangman said pulling her up, “You are going and thats final.”

“Alright alright Mom. Let me just get my stuff.” Mags said, giving Hangman a look.

—---------------------------------------------------

To: Bagman

Did you get her to come?

Read 4:00

You really owe me.

Read 4:06

I know.

Sent 4:12

—---------------------------------------------------

Pulling up to the Hard Deck, Y/N sighed.

“Do I really have to go?” Y/N said, trying to give her best puppy dog eyes.

“Yes. Now let's go.” Hangman said, stepping out of the car with Phoenix and Y/N.

An ughhh was heard from behind them. Phoenix letting out a chuckle at Mags antics. The three of them walked up to the doors. Y/N took a deep breath and stepped in behind the duo. Glancing around the bar she took notice of who was here and who wasn’t. Payback, Bob, Fanboy and the others. No Rooster. She didn’t know if she liked that fact or not.

“He’s not here yet.” she heard Hangman whisper in her ear.

“I wasn’t even looking for Rooster.” she said, attitude evident.

“Never specified who.” Hangman said with a shrug of his shoulders as he walked away.

“Asshole.” Y/N muttered, rolling her eyes.

With a huff she made her way over to the bar. Sending Penny a little wave she watched as the older woman made her way over.

“How are you doing, sweetheart?” Penny asked

“I’ve been better but I’m okay. Can I just get a beer please?” Y/N replied.

“Coming right up.” the other woman said going to get the drink.

As Mags glanced around the room she swore she heard a familiar tune. It couldn’t be.

—---------------------------------------------------

“Well we all know my favorite song but what about you Mags?” Rooster asked.

“I can’t tell you my favorite as I am gatekeeping but I can tell you my favorite love song.” Y/N said with a small smile on her face.

“Well then, your favorite love song.”

“My Girl by the Temptations.” Y/N replied.

“My Girl?”

“My Girl.” Y/N affirmed.

—---------------------------------------------------

She could hear the song being played on the piano. As much as she wanted to get her beer, curiosity got the best of her as she slowly walked over. Her eyes widened as she saw who was playing. Roos.

There he was playing her favorite love song and looking so good as he did it. When he looked up from the keys and saw her a smile spread across his face. His face was glistening with a thin layer of sweat as the Hard Deck was always hot with so many people. His fingers glided gracefully over the keys as he played them. He looked so in his element, so perfect. Rooster kept his eyes on her, like nobody else was in the room. Like it was just her and him. She felt her feet moving before she could even register it. She came to a stop right in front of the piano and just watched him with a sparkle in his eye. Listening as he sang along with the melody.

As the song came to an end people around them started cheering. Some came over to clap Rooster on the back and say how cool it was. If this had been any other day Rooster might have basked in the attention but now he only had one person on his mind.

“Mags, please just let me explain.” Rooster all but begged.

“Okay Rooster.” she said quietly.

He quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the side door. Glancing left and right he made sure that nobody else was outside.

“Y/N you’ve got to understand that I truly didn’t know. If I had noticed that you even wanted me I would’ve dropped everything to ask you out. But, baby, I really didn’t. I promise you I didn’t. I would do anything to have another chance. Please, I am begging you baby.”

“I’m sorry too, Rooster. I was immature and should’ve just talked to you. I was just upset but I truly shouldn’t have been because I understand that I had no reason to be. But, I guess you aren’t oblivious anymore, huh?” Y/N asked

“No, I am not oblivious anymore. Can I please take you on a date?” Rooster questioned.

“Yeah Roos, you can.” Mags said with a laugh. Leaning in to finally doing what she's always wanted too. “Can I please kiss you?”

“Baby, you never had to ask.”

—---------------------------------------------------

“I’m telling you, that's going to be his wife.” Hangman said.

“No way you just stole my line.” Phoenix said, turning to look at him with a annoyed look.

part 3 is finally here!! I hope you all enjoy it! I was thinking about mini stories involving Magnet and Rooster if anyone would be interested? feel free to send in requests relating to them!!

stay hydrated, stay healthy, stay perfect!

-strawberry🍓

#fanfic #x reader #bradley bradsaw x reader #bradley bradshaw #rooster bradshaw x reader #series #miles teller #rooster bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster x reader

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revasserium · 7 months ago

Note

do you right series/multiple parts for zoro opla X reader. If you do could you write something angsty n maybe reader was a part the butlers crew before n stuff. A lot of angst but also fluff n cute zoro X reader moments. Thxxx

prompt list reqs are: temporarily closed

catch.

opla!zoro; 9,224 words; fem!reader, no "y/n", slowburn, disgruntled companions?? to lovers, fluff and banter, so much banter, nicknames ("kitten", "pretty boy"), semi canon-compliant, tiny bit post!opla, more plot than not

summary: zoro calls reader "kitten", reader calls him "pretty boy" back. story ensues.

a/n: ha. i have no excuses for this... it's not a series/multipart, but i do hope that the sheer length of it kinda makes up for that lol; tagging @dira333 and @bby-deerling

The first time he sees you, it is over daggers and bared teeth, a hiss working up your throat as you glare at him from the balcony of Kaya’s expansive estate.

“You’re gonna need a lot more than that, kitten.” Zoro’s smirk goes slanted as you leap off the thin railings to land noiselessly before him, your curved daggers striking against the edge of his swords with a metallic spray of sparks.

His smirk fades after that, replaced by a wild, jagged grin as he swings both swords around his body in a wide arc — but you’re backflipping up, too high in the air to be fully natural, your feet landing perfectly on the backs of his blades before you’re kicking off again, forcing the blades down and throwing him off balance.

“I highly doubt it,” you bite out, skimming by his cheek with a savage smile as he jerks to the side just in time to avoid having his face split open. But you whip back around and it’s all he can do to parry your blow.

The discordant clang of metal on metal rings out in the otherwise silent room as you both flicker around each other, him as steady as the tide, you as quick as the flutter of a sparrow’s wing.

“Where was that fake butler hiding you, kitten? You’re much better than those other two —” Zoro grunts as he narrows his eyes, digging in his heels as he parries another flurry of your quicksilver blows. Your lips curl in contempt as you swipe for his stomach and catch on the edge of his white-hilted blade.

“He wasn’t hiding me anywhere —”

The world blurs in a whirlwind of flashing metal — it ends with you hissing as you find you and Zoro on opposite ends of the cavernous room, amidst wood splinters and slivers of shredded upholstery. There’s a thin slash oozing blood down the side of his face and a long gash along your arm where his sword had nicked your bicep.

“Then why’re you with him?” Zoro asks, grimacing as he wipes blood from his cheek.

“Because, pretty boy,” you smirk at the way his eyes narrow, “the old tomcat owes me something. And I never forget a debt.”

Zoro’s eyebrow quirks, and for a single second, you can see the cogs turning behind his darkened eyes, “So… you’re only with him until he pays you.”

You grin, Cheshire wide, and a second later, you’re right in front of him, pressing up into his personal space with a finger trailing up the length of his neck. Zoro’s breath catches, and he’s acutely aware of just how open he’d been, how easily you might’ve decided to end his life had you replaced your finger with the tip of one of your curve-bellied daggers.

“That… and I happen to enjoy slicing things up, y’see…” your voice is syrup sweet and sharp as poison even as he jerks away from you, instinct thrusting his swords forward before he can stop himself. But you’re already dancing away with a soft, ringing laugh, shaking your head.

“Gonna have to be faster than that if you wanna catch me… pretty boy.”

You slink into the shadows, giggling even as Zoro grimaces and tries to chase after you, slashing at whispers and shapes in the dark. He makes it all the way down the hallway before Luffy’s voice catches his attention and he doubles back with a final look over his shoulder, an unsatisfied knot tied tight in his stomach.

The second time you meet, it’s over a barrel of dried sardines.

“We pick up another stray?” Zoro asks, frowning as you grin cheekily down at him from the bow of the Merry. He could imagine the way your ears might flick if you had them, the way your invisible tail might twitch from side to side, snide and all too satisfied.

“Yeah! Didn’t I tell you? She’s coming with us!” Luffy grins wide as he climbs up onto their new ship, giving you a hard pat on the back, “Welcome to the Straw Hat Crew!”

“Thanks, Cap!” you smile, slipping off the railings to help with the extra supplies.

Nami sighs as she joins Zoro on the docks, “Sad, desperate souls, like I said — but hey, at least she helped us escape.”

Zoro frowns, “She did?”

Nami rolls her eyes, “Who do you think undid all those locks on the metal shutters from the outside? Geez…”

Zoro grunts, catching another barrel of dried food as Nami tosses it up toward him.

After that, things… do not get better. You’re too quiet, too quick, and Zoro can never quite tell when you mean what you say or if you ever say what you mean. Your laughter sends shivers down his back, and he finds himself watching you, even when he doesn’t mean to.

By the time you’ve all reached the Baratie, it’s become second nature for him to keep his eyes trained on you, to take stock of where you are, to seek you out the first thing after he wakes and the last thing before he sleeps.

“Ah — apologies madam I didn’t see you there —” Sanji smarms as Nami’s eyebrows inch up her forehead. You bite back a grin as Zoro scoffs to your right.

“And… for you?” when Sanji finally turns his eyes onto you, you’re ready for him, leaning forward, your tongue slipping languorously across your bottom lip as you peer up at him from beneath your thick lashes.

“Got any Déesse? Ah, but you must have — an establishment as fine as this?”

Sanji takes a long breath; Zoro feels the air turn sour in his lungs.

“Of course we do — a woman of taste, hm? And… for the rest of you?” Sanji’s voice flatlines as he looks over the rest of the crew.

Zoro snorts, rolling his eyes, “A beer for me and… a few for my friends.”

Sanji shoots a curt nod his way before recounting the table’s orders, “A few beers, a milk —” he dips his head in Luffy’s direction, “a normal water in a normal glass,” a smile at Nami, “and… a bottle of Déesse — any preference on year, miss?” He twinkles in your direction.

“Oh… surprise me.”

Sanji sweeps into a theatrical bow, “Right away,” before gliding away from the table.

Everyone starts talking all at once —

“Why’re you ‘miss’ but I’m ‘madam?’”

“Great fighter, that guy — did you see him roundhouse that other guy in the face —”

“Wow… don’t tell me that worked on you?” Zoro scoffs as he turns to look at you.

You shrug, “Sometimes, it pays to meet people on their level, hm?” Then, your smile turns saccharine as you tilt your head, eyes flickering towards the triplet of swords caught in the small gap between the plush seats and the pillar to Zoro’s right.

“Right. Whatever.” His lip curls. Nami sighs, leaning her head back against the studded velvet seat backs.

“The two of you are gonna be the death of us…” she muses, laughing as you curl back into your seat with an exaggerated pout and Zoro ticks his tongue against his teeth, feeling heat crest up into his cheeks.

And later, it’s you who tries the hardest to talk him out of his duel with Mihawk, a dull, feline glint to your eyes as you glare at him from across the wide kitchen counter —

“You couldn’t even beat me in single combat — what makes you think you’d be able to best Dracule Mihawk, huh?!”

Zoro snarls as he rounds on you, “It’s not like I was really trying.”

“Seemed like you were doing a lot more than trying to me!”

“You were the one who ran away.”

“Yeah, because I didn’t have a death wish!”

“So you admit that you would’ve lost to me.”

Your eyes narrow into slits as you hiss, “Yes, just like you’ll lose if you go through with this.”

A muscle feathers in Zoro’s jaw as he slowly peels his eyes away from you and turns back to the methodical work of polishing his swords.

Later that night, you find him sitting in the Merry’s kitchen with his eyes closed, arms crossed, his swords lined up just so on the suspended table in front of him.

“You can stop sulking. I know you’re there.” He opens a single eye to peer at you as you melt out of the shadows near the door, your own arms knitted tight across your chest.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“I’m meditating.” His eyes slip back closed.

You leap deftly onto the table and cross your legs, looking down at his row of swords.

“You’ll need more than a good meditation session to beat that old hawk.”

Zoro’s eyes snap open, his words taking on a hard, metallic edge, “What would you know about it?”

Your grin is crescent moon sharp as you tilt your head; you reach forward as if to tap a finger against the sheath of one of his swords. There’s a dull thump as Zoro makes to tug the sword away, but a second later, you’ve got his wrist pinned to the table’s marred surface. Your face is half an inch away from his and he can taste the heat of your breath on his lips.

“See? Not nearly fast enough,” you tut, still grinning as Zoro yanks his arm away.

“If you’re trying to change my mind, you’re doin’ a shit job.”

“No,” you sigh, jumping off the table, your feet eerily silent as always. You make it all the way to the door before turning to glance at Zoro over your shoulder. There’s an inscrutable look on his face as he watches you, and you allow him one last, little smile.

“I just… thought you should be well-rested for your own execution.”

The next morning dawns too bright, too early, the sky too blue and perfect. It’s a blood-hungry day, so your grandmother used to say, the kind of day that aches for disaster. You shiver as you walk silently behind Usopp and Luffy, trailing in Zoro’s shadow as he makes his solemn way to the docks to face Mihawk.

There’s a quick exchange of words before Mihawk’s eyes slide onto you; the faint upward tick of his eyebrow is the only indication you get that he recognizes you. But then, he’s cocking his head, and musing aloud —

“They say it’s good luck to have a cat on a pirate ship, but I’m afraid this one won’t do you any good today, Roronoa Zoro.”

“Oh god… he’s really doing this, isn’t he?” Nami’s hand slips into yours, squeezing tight, her voice nothing more than a terrified whisper.

You give a brief nod, squeezing back. On your other side, Usopp swallows hard, but Luffy doesn’t seem all that worried.

It’s a quick, brutal, and decisive fight, but you watch as Mihawk pulls back at the last second, Yoru slicing through the air, much slower and softer than you knew it could. Nevertheless, Zoro’s blood splatters the creaking wood beams below as he collapses. You feel your lungs slowly calcifying as everyone rushes to Zoro’s side but you stand there, frozen, the world tunneling around you, the wild thumping of your heart echoing in your ears as Mihawk slates you a single look before turning and strolling off back toward the Baratie.

You slip away in the chaos of everyone trying to get Zoro back onto the ship.

“Come to seek revenge for your little boyfriend?” Mihawk asks, casually leaning up against the near-empty bar in the Baratie’s mouth.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you reply, voice clipped. Your fingers are curled into fists at your side, nails digging into the flesh of your palms. Mihawk gives you a single once-over before tutting.

“I see you’ve been sharpening your claws.”

“I see you haven’t,” you bite back. Mihawk rolls his eyes.

“Dear, dear — if even you’ve noticed something then I really am getting rusty. Though it has been hard to find a good sparring partner ever since Shanks lost his arm. Careless man.”

“Why’d you really let him live?”

Mihawk pauses in his rather thorough inspection of his nails to look up at you, lips twitching.

“I meant what I said — the world needs a few more wildcards and… I have a feeling he’ll be coming to find me soon enough.”

“You don’t take on students.” You don’t quite manage to keep the bitterness from your voice even as Mihawk shrugs.

“Just because I haven’t before, doesn’t mean I won’t ever. Now run along — I think your little swordsman friend might need some help, hm?”

You open your mouth to argue, but you hear the distinct sounds of Luffy’s voice echoing out from the kitchen, high and desperate, followed by the base rumble of Zeff’s voice. You slink into the kitchen between the flapping doors, watching as Sanji scrambles to gather Zeff’s knives.

“I’ll get the fish,” you offer, making nearly everyone jump as you reach for the freezer box.

No one has the time to ask any more questions as Luffy leads the way back to the Merry.

Nami’s eyes are wide and over-bright when you set the yellowtail on the table next to Zeff, and the whole room watches with bated breath as the old chef starts to work. Wordlessly, you tug out the large curved needles and place them at his elbow. He spares you a grateful grunt as he grabs them.

You take three steps back, letting out a long breath as you press your back to the cool wood of the doorframe, watching as Zeff stitches Zoro back together.

You spend the next two and a half days curled up in the small chair next to Nami’s bed, dozing every so often, at other times humming, or keeping still as Nami, Usopp, and Luffy take their turns next to Zoro’s sleeping form as well. You’re reciting a childhood nursery rhyme when Zoro finally wakes up.

“I thought cats were supposed to be quiet…”

“— and all the king's horses and all the king’s men — oh… you’re awake.”

“What about the king’s horses and men?” Zoro’s voice is thick and gravelly from disuse, but there’s that familiar twist to his mouth as he turns slightly to blink blearily up at you.

“It… it doesn’t matter — I should go tell Luffy —”

“No, finish the story, kitten.”

Your voice catches in your chest, and after a second, you sigh, dropping back into your seat with a resigned little laugh.

“All the king’s horses and all the king’s men… couldn’t put Humpty back together again.”

Zoro hums, “Wow, cheerful little kitten, aren’t you? You always pick such nice things to say at a sick person’s bedside?”

“No, just the ones that really deserve it.”

Zoro laughs, the sound a base rumble that makes him wince, his hand shooting up to clutch at his chest. You lurch forward, catching yourself before you actually touch him, hovering there as Zoro opens his eyes and a strained sort of silence thickens in the air around you.

Like this, you’re acutely aware of the heat rising off of Zoro’s skin, the fact that his shirt is still pulled open to accommodate the thick bandages wrapped around his torso, the taut skin of his stomach, flexing as he takes in shallow breaths. Like this, you can count the freckles scattered across the bridge of his nose and see the pinprick black holes threatening to take over his eyes as they dilate.

It isn’t till you both hear the clatter of footsteps and Usopp flings himself into the room that you jerk back, blinking as Usopp gasps for breath, gesticulating wildly, rambling about Luffy and fishmen and a fight that’s broken out at the Baratie.

You glance down at Zoro, who sighs, letting his eyes fall shut.

“Go.”

“You stay put.”

“Right, like I’m goin’ anywhere anytime soon.”

Zoro grunts, and you spare him one more sharp look before following after Usopp.

Three days later finds you all back at sea, with a newly minted member in tow, chasing after Nami’s shadow.

It does not take long to track her down, and when you do, the fight is — if not quick, then at least decisive. You’re not the only one who notices the stiffness in Zoro’s limbs as everyone eats and drinks their way through a whole night of merry-making.

“Back for seconds — must’ve liked it!” Sanji crows, slapping another spoonful of food onto Zoro’s plate.

“It was okay.”

“That plate says different.”

“Not hungry?” you jump slightly at Nami’s voice, and you lift your eyes just in time to see her eyebrows kick up. She cocks them at you before settling down by your side.

“Not often that you’re caught off guard — something must really be bothering you.” You can hear the edge of forced lightness in her voice, and your eyes flicker to the fresh bandage on right arm.

Events of the past few days flash behind your eyes and you cast her a small grin.

“Just thinking…”

“Sounds like trouble.”

“It does seem to follow me around, doesn’t it?”

Nami regards you with a curious look before scoffing, “Don’t you mean ‘us’?”

You frown, turning towards her. She slates you a glance before darting her eyes back to the party.

“In case you haven’t noticed… ‘Trouble’s kind of our middle name. If you don’t like it, then…”

Her voice trails off then, and the playful smile flickers like a flame caught in a sudden gust of wind. You press your lips.

“Never said I don’t like it.” You return her smile and see her firelight catch again.

“C’mon then — no more sitting around —” you let yourself be pulled to your feet, the pair of you stumbling towards the large bonfire where several of the villagers are strumming at battered instruments, though the music they make is no less brilliant for it.

“Ah, now there’s a sight for sore eyes,” Sanji says, tapping a bit of ash off a freshly lit cigarette as Zoro scrapes the final bites of food from his plate.

“Hn.” But his gaze lingers on the light-caught shape of you, a black dress hugging the curves of your waist and the bend of your hip, cascading out as you spin beneath Nami’s arm. There’s a softness about you he’s never seen before — something more than the damnable feline grace with which you fought or the steel-lined quickness and skill that forever nipped at his heels like a hungry dog, reminding him that he still had so much more to master, to learn — no, this is something else entirely.

Something lissome and light, something tantantalizing and sweet.

Something… lovely.

And it stirs something inside him too — something not at all sweet and light, though… no less tantalizing.

A semi-inebriated Nojiko manages to pull Sanji into the fray, and a moment later, you glance over to meet his eyes. A line catches then, hooked from the center of his chest to the dark, mesmerizing flash of your eyes, Zoro feels himself tipping forward.

Until he actually is, and there’s a bottle being pressed into his hand by a stranger he doesn’t even glance at.

He finds himself at your side, somehow, everyone spinning around the bonfire like marionettes on a massive stage, his limbs loose and a smile tugging wide his lips. At some point, he thinks he might’ve felt your hands in his, but then again, waking up the next morning face down in a pile of hay, a headache pounding behind his eyes, he thinks it’s probably just his imagination.

They set course for the Grand Line proper then, and everyone settles into a kind of routine. Though despite everyone’s initial protests, Zoro can be seen at the bow of the ship every sunrise and sundown, running through katas, grunting and wincing occasionally when his wound threatens to reopen, at which point you’d appear like a vague, disgruntled shadow, and shoo him back to bed.

“I’ll never best Mihawk if I don’t get better —”

“Exactly.” You pin him with a hard look; he can almost see your hackles rising as he huffs and slumps down into his hammock. You relax slightly, perched atop a rather precarious pile of barrels, but Zoro knows better than to doubt your balance.

“You’ll never beat him if you don’t get better first,” you repeat, narrowing your eyes as Zoro scoffs, pointedly twisting to face the other way. The ship rocks the hammock to and fro, and after a while, Zoro feels himself drifting off into that ever-familiar limbo of half-sleep, his mind wandering through the avenues of his memories, images coming in watercolor flashes, seeping into his vision.

“Tell me something,” he says, his voice low, his eyes still closed.

“Hm?” you barely make a noise, but he feels your presence in the corner of his room, has memorized the specific size and shape and weight of you such that he could pick you out of a moving crowd with his eyes closed, his face turned the other way.

“What do you want to know?”

“You had plenty of stories when I was unconscious — don’t you have more?”

For a moment, you don’t speak, and the silence is filled by the rhythmic creaking of wood, the soft splash of water against the ship’s hull, the occasional cry of seabirds, and the dull, muffled sounds of laughter and conversation from above deck.

“Once upon a time, a kitten was left by the roadside in a tiny village by her mother, who was sick and didn’t have enough milk to feed all her children, but it just so happens that a great big hawk was soaring overhead and took a liking to the kitten. The hawk picked her up in his great talons and brought her to a castle on an island, surrounded by thorns and briars and the most beautiful roses the kitten had ever seen. There, the hawk set her the task of hunting down mice so he himself could go after bigger, juicier prey — for you see, the hawk had long dreamed of becoming the greatest hunter in the whole wide world.”

At this, Zoro shifts to turn back towards you, peering open one eye to watch as you leaned back against the wall of the small storeroom he’d claimed as his own, one of your knees propped up, your arm hanging loosely over it, your other leg dangling down over the side of your barrel, your heel occasionally knocking against the wood with gentle little thumps.

You take a deep breath and glance down at him, a sad, faraway look in your eyes as you continue —

“Eventually, the kitten got very good at catching mice — she grew faster, stealthier, learned to sharpen her claws and teeth, learned to hide amongst the beautiful roses in the garden until the mice grew complacent before she struck. But no matter how much she begged, the hawk would never let her hunt bigger things. And then one day… the hawk took her up in his giant claws again and tossed her onto the beach — told her that there was nothing more he could teach her, and that she ought to find her own way in the world.”

You sigh, shaking your head, “What a liar…” you murmur, almost to yourself as you lower your eyes to your hands, “he never really taught me anything…”

And this time, it’s Zoro who remains silent, letting the quiet seep through the floorboards like the thick, morning mists, rising off of the water’s surface before the sun bakes it all away.

Then, he swings himself off the hammock and makes for the door. Before he can reach it, you’re in front of him, blocking his path with a bright glint in your eyes and a challenge in your smile.

“I’ve rested,” he says, plainly, taking half a step back.

“You’ll never get better like this —”

“Exactly,” he throws the word back in your face before sighing and looking away, “so… help me.”

You blink, staring up at him as he stares right back at you.

“Help you how?” You resist the urge to look away, swallow down the bitterness crawling up the back of your throat — I can’t even help myself —

“Mihawk trained you —”

“No,” you spit out, your shoulders tensing as you glare up at Zoro, “he didn’t — he did everything in his power not to —”

“Tch — you lived with him on that island and he trusted you with keeping the — the mice away —” a vein ticks in Zoro’s jaw as you watch him stare down at you, your heart thumping warm and wild in your chest, “just because he didn’t personally hold your hand and teach you his technique… doesn’t mean he wasn’t training you in his own way.”

You swallow hard.

“So what? It’s not like I can ever beat him.”

“You might. Or I might. If we help each other.”

You ball your fingers into fists, “What makes you think either of us stands a chance against him?”

At this, Zoro’s smile goes slanted — a raw, wild, blood-beat thing.

“Because I’ve seen you fight and I think you’re good. And… I know I’m good. Or at least, I know I’ll get there.”

There’s a certain quicksilver edge to the shape of his words that makes you look up, your eyes meeting his like the colliding cores of two tidally locked stars — something terrible and magnificent, a catastrophe of gravity and inevitability.

Your mind spins and for a second, you can almost see it, that distant future in which Roronoa Zoro becomes the best, better — even — than the best. The greatest in the world. You lean back, your gaze appraising.

“Tell you what — if you get good enough to catch me once… I’ll take you to him.”

Zoro frowns, “What do you mean?”

Your grin quirks and you lilt your head, “Exactly what it sounds like — you get fast enough to catch me, and catch me properly then… I’ll take you to his island.”

Zoro stares. And then, his own grin stretches to match yours.

“Deal.”

Things change after that, the mornings and evenings no longer finding Zoro alone at the bow of the ship, but always with the shape of you flickering around him, the bright, hungry gleam of sun on steel flashing around you.

“Too slow —” you gasp, dodging beneath one of his swipes as he grunts and swings downward, nearly catching the tips of your hair as you spin away.

“But — you’re getting there,” you grin, holding up a hand as you lean back against the side of the Merry, your other hand pressed to your chest.

“Outta breath, kitten?” Zoro asks, smirking as he slowly sheaths his sword, sweat glistening along the planes and grooves of his chest.

“Hardly.” You flick him a disapproving look but there’s a tiny smile that threatens the corner of your mouth as he scoffs, reaching for a rag to dab at his forehead. You can’t help the way your eyes linger on the strong, sturdy ripples of muscles that flex along his back and shoulders as he straightens up either, and when he catches you staring, it’s all you can do to hold his gaze.

You don’t give him a chance to gloat. Instead, you swing your knives around your fingers and cast him a grin.

“Breakfast,” you say.

“Mm,” he agrees, just as Nami comes padding up onto the main deck, stifling a yawn and squinting at you both with a mildly disgusted look on her face.

“How the hell are you guys up so damn early all the time?”

“Ah, they say that cats are diurnal creatures — so they’re most awake at dawn and at dusk. As for the moss-head… I’ve heard that idiots don’t need as much sleep. Not as much brain to rest, y’know?” Sanji remarks, smirking as he brushes by Nami with a wink.

Zoro scoffs, wiping off his blade with a rough cloth, “It’s called bettering yourself. Not that you’d know what it means. All this time and your congee’s still runny as f —”

“Says the guy who can’t tell the difference between sunny side up and scrambled eggs —”

You sigh, ducking around the squabbling pair with a long, sinuous stretch.

“So… how goes the sparring, hm?” Nami asks, her voice dripping with innuendo as she follows you into the kitchen, her sleep-blurred eyes now sharp, her grin moon-sly and teasing.

“It goes,” you say, opening a cupboard and rummaging around for anything that catches your eye.

“I see… and is it going somewhere in particular?” Nami drapes herself across the long couch, her eyes tracking you as you move from cupboard to cupboard, and finally stopping in front of the fridge.

You hoist yourself up onto the suspended table, a glass of milk in your hands, “Depends on where this particular place is.”

Nami shrugs, “Dunno… just seems like Zoro’s spending a lot of time following you around like a lost little puppy these days. When was the last time he’s left you alone for more than say —” Nami makes a show of checking her watch, “15 minutes?”

“We’re just training together — and he doesn’t follow me around all the time —” but even as the words leave your mouth, Zoro ducks into the kitchen, his eyes skipping from you to Nami and back again.

“Waiter said we’re on our own for breakfast.”

“I’m good with milk.” You hold up your glass even as Nami snickers and Zoro nods, rummaging through a few cupboards until he pulls out a bag of jerky. At this, Nami’s eyes slingshot between the pair of you one last time before she sighs dramatically and saunters back out of the room, muttering something about conning Sanji into making proper breakfast.

The quiet twines around your ankles, soft and familiar. Zoro leans against the counter, the small bag of jerky untouched as he watches you sip at your milk. Heat curls along the curve of your spine as you feel the weight of his eyes tracking your lips, the bright pink flash of your tongue.

You swallow.

So does he.

“You’re getting faster.”

“You’re getting stronger.”

Your words overlap like the pages of a book, flipped through too fast.

You blink, and then — laughter. Your’s startled and shy, his soft and… you turn just fast enough to catch him duck his head the other way, shoving his hand into the bag of jerky. He clears his throat.

“Thanks.”

“What for?” you work to press some of your usual purr back into your voice, but it sounds strange and tinny in the wane morning light.

“For…” Zoro hesitates, and for a second, you find yourself leaning into the smooth weight of his voice, as if you might be able to catch his next words in the palm of your hands like bruised fruit.

“Alright — outta my kitchen, mosshead — lovely ladies like these should always start the day with a well-balanced meal.”

Sanji kicks open the door and Zoro glares. You’re already hopping off the counter, quiet as starlight, grinning behind Sanji’s back even as Zoro sighs.

“It’s not your kitchen, waiter. I’ve got as much right to be in here as you do.”

You try to slip away but Nami’s hand darts out to catch your wrist.

“Not so fast… kitten.”

Your entire face flushes at the word.

“I don’t know what you’re —”

Nami’s satisfied smile is more Cheshire than cat but you allow her to drag you up to the bow of the ship, half-concealed by her tangerine trees. Up here, the air tastes briny and sweet with morning air. Up here, you have you squint against the sea’s shattered glass light, cast up towards the dawning sky.

Nami leans against the railing and casts her eyes out towards the distant horizon. There’s always been a sun-kissed quality about her, the brilliant orange of her hair, the darkening patches of freckles scattered across her nose-bridge. You let her press her arm to yours and feel the warmth and soft of her skin.

“So. Zoro, huh?”

You sigh, looking down towards the dark emerald of the waves below. You watch as the water froths against the ship’s hull, peeling away in roils of white lace.

“A little cliche, if you ask me — y’know, the swordsman and the knife-girl? But… I guess it makes sense.” There’s a lightness to her voice that makes you laugh, a solidness to her words that makes you powerless to contest them.

“They say it’s good to have hobbies in common,” you offer, hoping to match the playfulness in her voice. Nami chuckles, making a noise at the back of her throat.

“Oh yeah, I bet ‘bodycount’ means something totally different to the two of you, huh?”

You let a real laugh break though then, your head tipping back and reveling in the sound. The rapidly rising sun casts everything in a dreamy, slant-wise glow — golden hour, you think you’ve heard it called. But you wonder if it’s might just be more amber than gold, standing here, laughing with Nami, you feel for the first time, a weight shift and slip from your shoulders. Like shedding a thick coat after a long day’s travel.

Then, the light shifts, a thin fog of clouds dulling out the sun’s light as Nami fixes you with her too-sharp eyes.

“He’s going after Mihawk, isn’t he?”

You sober as well, wetting your lips. “Eventually, yeah.”

“And… you’re helping him.”

You nod.

Nami sighs, dropping her chin onto a the heel of her hand.

“You… really think he can do it? Beat Mihawk?”

You take your time scanning the horizon. Without the transcendent glow of the rising sun, the waves are cooler, darker, and you know better than most the monsters lurking just beneath the surface.

“Mihawk’s only human,” you say. To which Nami scoffs.

“Right. That makes it loads better.”

You instinctively reach for where you knives would be, the empty loops on your belt like a persistent itch in your fingertips.

“At least it means he bleeds red just like the rest of us.”

Nami nods as you push away from the rails, retracing your steps into the kitchen where you’d left your knives.

Sanji is halfway through grilling mackerel with a steaming pot of miso soup bubbling on the stove. He gives you a wink and a knowing grin as you wander in, jerking his chin towards the hanging table where Zoro is running an oiled cloth along the length of his sword.

“In case you were lookin’ for your knives,” Sanji’s voice is silken tofu smooth as he turns back to his cooking.

Zoro doesn’t look up as you reach for your knives, laid out perfectly, already cleaned and oiled.

“I was doing mine anyway,” Zoro says, by way of an explanation.

You smirk, reaching out to tuck each one into its spot on your belt.

“Thanks, pretty boy, altruism looks good on you.”

You slink from the room before you can hear Sanji’s witty taunt or Zoro’s biting retort, a satisfied heat stirring steady at the base of your stomach.

The languorous days slip into sun-soaked weeks, and though it takes longer than anyone would’ve liked for Zoro’s wound to heal, it does. And the scar, well —

“I think it looks awesome!” Luffy says, clapping Zoro on the shoulder as you tug away the gauze to inspect the long thin strip of puckered skin, a few shades lighter than the rest of Zoro’s chest.

“Yeah, real… manly-like,” Usopp adds, arms folded, leaning against the far wall, fighting an expression between impressed slightly queasy. He backpedals immediately as Zoro casts him a dark look.

“N-not that you’re not real or manly already or anything like that! It just uh — adds to the allure, y’know?”

Nami makes a face, “Yeah, I don’t know about allure…”

Sanji grunts.

“When did this become a museum exhibit?” Zoro snaps, frowning at the entire crew, gathered around him as you unstick the last of the bandages from his now healed stomach.

“We just wanted to make sure you were alright, Zoro!” Luffy says, rummaging around for a snack now that he’s satisfied his first mate is properly healed.

“I’ve been fine for weeks,” Zoro says flatly as Usopp joins Luffy and Sanji wanders towards the window to let out a puff of smoke.

“Can you lean back a bit — I think it’s still not completely healed by your —” you frown as you try to press Zoro back, your palm splaying against his stomach as your free hand traces at the waistband of his pants towards where the large gash tapers into his right hip.

Zoro hisses between his teeth and the room goes deathly quiet.

You look up to find everyone staring, and then half a second later Nami leaps to her feet, talking loudly about a part of the East Blue map she wants to finish, Usopp stuttering after her about checking the knots on the main mast, and Sanji dragging Luffy by the scruff of the neck, insisting that they set up the fishing lines for the day.

The door slams behind Luffy and somehow, the room feels more full than it had been just a few seconds prior. The silence pulses between you, thick and pitched and expanding.

You clear your throat delicately, lowering your eyes back to the task at hand, doing your best to ignore the uncomfortable heat now creeping up the back of your neck.

“Can you —”

Zoro leans back wordlessly, propping his arms against the table, his hips shifting forward to allow you access.

You gently tug down the material of his waistband several inches to reveal the tip of the wound, still a bit raw and red, possibly from the friction of his clothes, or just his general lack of regard for his own recovery.

“Yeah, it’s still not all —” your voice cuts off as you look up to find Zoro staring, and the burgeoning hunger you find there stills your heart in your chest. It’s a strange, base, animal thing, caught in the swirling darkness of his irises, but he holds his breath, and so you do yours —

“Healed…” you swallow hard, reaching for the thick, pungent balm sitting by his left hand.

With slow, methodic movements, you uncap the balm and dip your finger into the sticky surface, reaching forward to run the tip along the soft redness of Zoro’s skin. Thinking back later, you might’ve been thankful for the sharp herbal fragrance of the balm to distract you from the deeper, muskier smell of Zoro’s skin, salted as it always is with sea and sweat, tempered with the unmistakable scent of steel.

But right then, all you can think about is the sharp cut of his hipbone as it slants down, and down, and —

You pull back when you’re done, making to wipe your hand on a piece of washcloth when Zoro catches your wrist in one smooth movement, pulling you up till you’re chest to chest, your body slotted between his spread open legs.

“Zoro, what —”

“Caught you —” His voice is nothing more than a whisper, but you feel it rumbling through his chest to yours.

“— You’re losing your touch.”

You narrow your eyes, “Not a chance — I was distracted, that’s not fair —”

You try to tug your wrist away only for him to tighten his grip. A fist-like something clenches inside your stomach along with his fingers. Fire licks at the base of your belly before climbing up your spine.

“Hn. All’s fair.”

You watch in near slow motion as his eyes flick down to your lips and back up again; you’re helpless to do else but mirror the movement. With your wrist still caught in his grasp, it’s almost too easy for him to pull you forward, to tip you into him till you’re nearly spilling over, till you’re scrambling back with half-caught breaths and wide eyes and your other palm pressing firmly to his chest, where you can feel the fluttering beats of his own heart caught just beneath your touch.

“I-if you’re gonna make a move, at least wait till I’ve finished wiping off my hands,” the words come tumbling out, more a reflex than anything else, but it makes Zoro blink and lean back just a few inches. His grip on you eases ever so slightly, and you tug your wrist from his grasp, expecting him to snap to, to jerk away, to blush or apologize, but instead, all he does is watch you mutely wipe at your hands with those dark, hungry eyes.

When you’ve finished, he quirks an eyebrow as if waiting for you to make the next move.

At this, you huff, rolling your eyes, “Come on*,* pretty boy — you can’t expect me to dress your wounds and make the first —”

The kiss is quick and searing and over all too fast, as most first kisses are. The second kiss is more patient, a slow easing in, a teasing of lips and and a testing of tongues. The third is breathless, hedging on urgent. The fourth — well the fourth is cut short by Zoro pressing his forehead to yours, the both of you panting.

“Wh — what the hell was that?” you ask, gulping down great lungfuls of breath as Zoro scoffs.

“C’mon kitten, don’t go gettin’ shy on me now…” Zoro smirks even as you lean forward to try and nip at his bottom lip, eyes flashing. He tilts your mouth back to his, and words are lost for a few more moments before you find them again.

“Who said anything about getting shy? I just wanted an explanation.”

Zoro makes an abortive noise at the back of his throat as you nose into the place under his jaw and graze your teeth along the skin there.

“C-can’t a guy say thanks for someone dressing his wounds?”

You pull back with a soft hiss and a sly smile; it’s the first time you’ve ever heard him stutter.

“Don’t tell me this is how you’ve been thanking all your savoirs. I’ll have to go compare notes with Zeff —”

At this, Zoro grunts, wincing slightly as your belt presses against the inside of his hip where his wound is still raw. You pull away, startled.

“Sorry — I didn’t —”

“Hey.”

Zoro tugs you back with soft hands and an even softer smile, “Not sure I liked having you talk about Zeff while we were…”

You break him off with a helpless laugh and he joins you a second later. And then, before either of you can say more, Usopp’s voice echoes down from above deck.

“Land ho! Land ho!”

You glance back at Zoro, who slips off the table and has the decency to rearrange his clothes. You share a meaningful look before trying to pull away but Zoro once again catches your wrist.

This time, his lips are set and his eyes are just a tad bit harder than before.

“Don’t forget, kitten, you still owe me an island.”

You pause, peering at him beneath half-lidded eyes as your head lists first to one side, and then the other.

His eyes track yours before ticking down to your lips once more, where your tongue traces a path his own had run along not so long ago.

“You should know by now, pretty boy, that I never forget my debts.”

And just like that, your wrist slips from between his fingers, and Zoro’s left with nothing more than the taste of your mouth and the flicker of your shadow as he steps into the dim hallway.

Loguetown is a bustling place, a bleached button pressed into the chest of the East Blue, bright as a Marine’s new uniform. People blow through like fall leaves on the wayward wind and ships of all shapes and sizes dot every bit of tangible coast, their masts foresting the skyline until it’s barely visible from the docks.

“Need new swords,” Zoro announces as the crew all gather on the creaky boardwalk.

“Same. Could do with a few more knives,” you nod.

Nami tuts, rolling her eyes, “Well I’m getting a new wardrobe.”

“I’m gonna get some lunch!” Luffy grins widely as Sanji sighs, digging in his pockets for a fresh light.

“Looks like we’re stuck with the grocery shopping,” he says, nudging Usopp.

“Uh… I was actually gonna go check out some tech shops to find some parts for…” Usopp trails off as Sanji pins him with a look before shrugging, “Or… I mean, I don’t mind doing groceries first and then looking for parts.”

“Good man!” Sanji smiles, clapping him on the back as he frog-marches Usopp towards the market.

“No getting into fights, got it?” Nami looks between you and Zoro, “we need to be discreet.”

You bat your lashes, “Us? Never! We’ll be sweet and soft as kangaroos.”

Nami frowns, “Wait — kangaroos aren’t —”

You laugh, flouncing off towards town, “Never said they were!”

Zoro sighs before following after.

“It’s not your first time here,” he says after a while. It’s not a question, so you don’t provide an answer, contenting yourself with looking around at all the new shop fronts that had popped up since you were last here, and all the old haunts that have been here since what you’re sure is the inception of time itself.

“Where are we going?” he asks after several more minutes of turning down seemingly random streets.

You flash him a grin, “I know a place.”

When you duck into the arms shop, Ipponmatsu glances up from over his bulbous nose before doing a double-take. His eyes narrow to slits.

“You! You nearly robbed me blind the last time you were here! Get —”

Drop a bag of clinking Berry into one of the sword bins with a feline smirk, drawing a long finger against the hilt of some unnamed blade.

“There. That should set us even. And… you did try to swindle me first. Plus, I’m here on proper business today — my friend is in the market for some swords.”

Ipponmatsu’s eyes remain slits, but his fingers twitch as he edges toward the bin, snatching the sack from it and clutching it to his chest.

Zoro glances around at the various blades hung and displayed around the surprisingly spacious shop. The distinct unctuous tone of your voice doesn’t go unnoticed by the shopkeeper, but he seems too distracted by the sack of Berry to snipe any further.

“Well,” Ipponmatsu gruffs after a few more seconds, “I’m watchin’ you… oh…” his eyes slide from you to Zoro and then to the Wadou Ichimonji at his side. Zoro almost feels the man’s jaw go slack for a second before he slams it back into place.

“E-esteemed swordsman, sir! That blade — at your side — if I might just take a look —”

You’re perched on the cashier’s counter faster than either of them can blink, one leg crossed over the other, feet hanging idly off the side, a palm pinning Ipponmatsu’s greedy hand to the surface, an almost bored expression on your face as you squint down at his fingers.

“Hm… don’t they say that swordsmen ought to take good care of their hands? I could feed a whole family of mice with the dead skin of your cuticles.”

Ipponmatsu yelps and tries to jerk free but your hold is firm, and Zoro has to fight down the amused grin twitching at the edge of his mouth. He’s felt first hand how strong your grip can be, how unnervingly quick the pressure is there, slicing off circulation with the precision of a blade.

“W-what do you want?!” the shopkeeper looks wildly between the pair of you.

You shrug, “Like I said, we’re in the market for some swords. I’d just like to make sure we keep all the dealings above water, hm?”

Ipponmatsu glares at you for a second longer before all the fight goes out of him and he slumps against the counter.

“Oh, alright alright! Look at the damned swords — it’s just… you’ve got a mighty good blade there. You’d do well not to lose it, ” he jerks his chin towards Zoro’s blade, “or get it stolen,” his eyes flash back to where you’re now cheerfully perusing a collection of knives in the far corner, the space you’d inhabited on the cashier’s counter static with your absence.

Ipponmatsu rubs as his wrist. Zoro nods.

“Yeah. I know.”

“Don’t worry — I’ve got no interest in katana’s. I prefer more subtlety myself.” You swing a pair of serrated claw knives around your fingers as if testing them for weight before putting them back.

All in all, it takes half an hour, a cursed blade, and some groveling on Ipponmatsu’s part before you and Zoro stroll out of the arms shop with two brand new katanas strapped to his side, and a fresh set of throwing needles tucked into your belt.

You take off in a random direction and Zoro follows after. You pass through a wide open square brimming with people and slip into a dark alley between two buildings made of carved marble so white it almost hurts the eyes.

Zoro is quiet as he walks behind you, until he isn’t.

“So, what’s the story?”

“Oh… just something from a past life of mine,” you answer offhandedly, fluttering your fingers through the air.

“Yeah? And how many of those have you got?”

You shoot him a piercing look and a crooked grin, “Some number between one and nine — take your best guess.”

Zoro falls silent again as a pair of drunken sailor careen by, arm in arm, belting a sea shanty.

After a while, you turn, “Hey, how’dyou know there was even story to begin with?”

Zoro ticks up an eyebrow, his hands resting one on top of the other over his newly obtained sword hilts as the pair of you wander through the tributary streets, ducking under awnings and slipping through crowds.

“With you, there’s always a story.”

He feels your eyes on him first, and he lets you watch him for a while, his own eyes slipping from store fronts to shop windows. Occasionally, he lets himself linger on the reflection of you and him — him made of so many solid, hard shapes, and you, soft as water, quick as light, elusive as any shadow.

“Then… how do you think this one ends?” you ask, your eyes meeting his in a reflection of a window across which you can see the a vague Nami-shaped pile of expensive clothes.

“This one?”

“Yeah. Ours.”

Zoro grunts, letting his gaze flick away, “What makes you think it’ll end anytime soon?”

He catches your smile and you let him, “Who said anything about soon?”

He feels the prickle of heat as it crawls up his neck and clears his throat.

“Well then, maybe when I become the World’s Greatest Swordsman.”

You frown, suddenly contemplative.

“So… it’ll end when you beat Mihawk?”

Zoro shrugs, “Might. Or it might not.”

Your frown deepens as you turn to face him proper. Through the glass, Nami catches sight of you and is waving you in, pointing at a rack of clothes glittering in sequins and patched in colors you’ve never imagined putting on your body before today.

“No? Won’t that be when you become the greatest in the world? When you beat him?”

Zoro turns, and there — just there, caught in the light of his eyes, the spark of something as he looks down at you. There’s a smile pressed between his lips that’s part mischief, part hesitancy, and all earnest truth.

“World’s a big place. Might have to check around to make sure there’s not a better swordsman out there, somewhere.” His voice is low, hope twisting beneath its rippling surface.

You feel your heart skittering your chest, the warmth in your stomach crystalizing into something more than simple curiosity and harder than desire.

“Ah… right. That does pose a problem, doesn’t it?”

Zoro makes a consenting noise.

“So,” he says, with a tone of light finality as he turns back toward the window behind which Nami is now twirling in front of a mirror in a truly lurid dress of hot pink.

“So…” you say, feigning an air of defeat as you sigh, “I guess you’re stuck with me for a while yet, pretty boy.”

“Hn.” Zoro, for his part, doesn’t sound too upset with the proclamation.

Just then, Luffy’s voice shouts from behind you both and you turn to find him waving.

“Zoro! You have to come look! There’s a guy at the market selling Sea King Meat!”

Then, Nami finally pokes her head out from inside the clothing store, now sporting a pair of blindingly bright disco pants.

“C’mon! There’s like a million dresses I put aside for you to try!”

You and Zoro turn back to each other in a single, stolen breath. Your eyes collide, and Zoro smiles. A small, brilliant, unguarded thing.

“Go on, kitten. I’ll catch up to you.”

You toss him a wide, lingering grin.

“Right. You’d better.”

Zoro waves as he turns towards Luffy, “Don’t worry. I will.”

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clairdelunelove · 1 year ago

Text

call me

simon 'ghost' riley x reader

genre: fluff! (rescue drabble!)

warnings: slightly suggestive, cursing, mentions of motorcyclist!ghost, protective!ghost

synopsis: the downtime after missions was rarely a time that ghost looked forward to. everyone's aware to leave him alone during this period. that is, until he gets a call from you asking for his help to rescue you from an awkward situation!

a.n. wOW! hi lovelies, it's been a while! I was inspired to write this because something similar happened to me at an anime convention! and yes it was with a mw 2019 jawbone ghost cosplayer hehe (¬‿¬) oh, here's my kofi! and pls enjoy! <3

obsessed with the idea that ghost would drop everything and come running to you if you called him.

the conclusion of an operation was, albeit, a bit bittersweet for ghost. sure, he benefited from the downtime of not being in an environment that constantly triggered his fight or flight response and a small break was necessary for his well-being to avoid pushing past his physical limitations. yet, those were the only beneficial factors he could conjure up. most operators took advantage of the intermission to catch up with friends at pubs or visit family for a couple days– a luxury he never allowed himself to have. thus, he spent the days of rest endlessly secluded. trapped within the barren walls of his flat. choosing to occupy his time thumbing through a nonfiction novel or finishing some exterior maintenance. he referred to his living space as a place to rest his chaos. to ease his hardships into a lasting slumber– that is, until he’d receive intel about a new operation. and his home was an enigma of great strength accompanied with struggle, providing a solitude that ghost was well acquainted with. he preferred it that way. no one reaches out to him during this time of isolation. which is why he doesn’t expect your name to flash on his phone’s screen and it’s even more astounding that he chooses to pick up the call.

ghost who leans low enough that his leg almost touches the smooth asphalt when he cruises down the road. the sleek, pitch-black motorcycle adapts easily when he wrenches the steel handlebars. after adjusting in his seat, his gloved hands rev to intensify the speed while his mind recalls the conversation he had with you. approximately two minutes ago. the way you quietly pleaded, “could you please come and get me?” and immediately, the lack of context backed with the sticky hoarseness in your voice awakened unease within him. “you hurt?” his instinctive question is followed with a gruff, “who do I need to talk to.” and the sheer seriousness of his threat forces a minor giggle to leave your lips. the sound encourages him to mull over possibilities. where were you? where could you be right now? think, damn it, think. he drags a heavy hand across his face while vaguely remembering the lighthearted conversation you had earlier in the week. a pair of squad members had politely asked about your weekend plans to which you shared that you planned to get some grocery shopping out of the way. a mundane answer that pulled a couple laughs. but now, the rather ordinary task seemed to evolve into a nightmare as he hears you suck in a wobbly breath. “you still in town, sweetheart?” ghost forces his voice steady despite the crazed way he’s tugging on his shoes and shoving away stray papers to retrieve his keys. you instantly respond that you are and he tries not to dwell on the chance that his presence might’ve helped calm your nervousness. compels himself to solve the blatant issue before figuring out why his decision-making is so sudden. why he’s swiftly weaving through traffic in hopes of finding you when he should be relaxing at his flat. but his voice rumbles out of your phone’s speaker when he instructs, “stay put. I’ll come get you.”

ghost who visibly tenses up when he spots you from the crowd of shoppers. most are occupied in their own business; choosing from a variety of commodities or paying for their groceries at the checkout line. but that’s not what he’s here for. treading through aisles, his appearance manages to raise curiosity from a couple onlookers before they tactfully glance away from the massive man. having one’s identity partially hidden away by layers of clothing while clutching onto a motorcycle helmet tends to facilitate that reaction from the average citizen. it works in his favor. his heavy-lidded eyes scan the room and before long he recognizes a tuft of your hair. he figured his first encounter with you would be under different circumstances, albeit more jovial and perhaps you’d grace him with one of those blinding smiles that you reserve solely for him. however, all he sees is vermillion flooding his vision. you’re backed into a secluded corner of the store by a sleazy man who’s testing his luck. unfortunately for the stranger, ghost was never a believer of good fortune. you venture to put more distance between you and the man but to no avail. he inches closer. “like I said earlier,” you strive to keep your tone of voice stable, “he’s on his way already. I don’t need a ride.” a courageous act but the guy is already responding. a shoddy decision, in ghost’s opinion, because upon hearing the stranger’s crude innuendo, ghost’s nails form crescents within his palms from how fiercely he’s balling his fists. sees you shrink from the words. and he’s a reaper with the sole mission to deliver punishment.

ghost who eases beside you and subtly reaches to touch your shoulder while murmuring, “I’ve got you.” his voice leaves his lips in a soothing drawl that has you inwardly crooning. safety is synonymous with him. always is. initially checks in with you before engaging in conversation with the stranger. you’re top priority. “simon?” his name is a relieved gasp from your plush lips. clearly you weren’t expecting him to step into the situation with hopes of diffusing it. he slowly tilts his head, “told ya I’d come.” mentions it like it’s a common occurrence that he spends his downtime shutting down harassment directed towards you. yet the first observation you make is that he’s dressed rather casually. clad in an ash-colored hoodie and denim jeans that always cause you to wonder whether he has them tailored because of how well they fit his physique. the homey outfit is a sight to behold considering you typically saw him in uniform; you ravished the domestic image. burnt it into your memory for safe keeping. apparently, so does ghost. “you look proper cozy today.” waving a gloved hand, he indicates your casual outfit and the sudden change of topic prompts a small grin to form on your face. which, ultimately, is his entire plan. dragging your eyes to a sudden motion, you watch as he rolls his sleeves up to reveal a swirl of veins and intricately tatted skin. he’s mystifying; everything about him is– which seemingly adds to his appeal and no matter how vigorously you fight against it, you can’t help but feel the inevitable pull. “don’t get any ideas, sweetheart.” of course the comment is meant to scold but the breathy rasp in his voice morphs it into pure sin. he shoots you an inquisitive glance when he regards your heated gaze and wordlessly chastises your behavior with a raise of his dark brows.

ghost who absolutely resents whenever someone interrupts you. the act itself is rude beyond doubt but it’s especially ignorant when it concerns you. and the tacky stranger had the audacity to do it in front of ghost. from beneath his mask, he clenches his jaw when the other man decides to open his mouth to continue conversing with you. again. ghost shifts, positioning himself between the two of you, and spits out the words, “you’re doing me ‘ead in. do one, will ya?” his tone is level, devoid of any expletives in his question yet his manchester accent is gravelly enough for his words to border a threat. the manifestation of trouble. he pushes up his sleeves for good measure. truth be told, ghost would’ve simply told the other man to ‘piss off.’ perhaps give him the finger. but you were around and he favored appearing posh.

ghost who basks in the gratifying burn of watching the stranger scurry away from just his words. runs like a scruffy dog getting caught going through a trash bin and he bites back a snicker. but who wouldn’t run from ghost? dressed as the embodiment of shadows and danger. probably his physique too, if he was being honest. towering at six feet and some more. he states, “don’t think the bloke was fond of me.” can’t refrain from the mockery that lines his words. perhaps the possessiveness was corrupting him more than he imagined. he glances at you, paying special regard to the way the corners of your lips curl at his remark, “suppose you’re right. I appreciate you coming, by the way.” isn’t quite sure why you’re thanking him. he’d rush to you whenever you needed him. but he dismisses it with a throaty, “not a problem.” and it dawns on him that the two of you are alone. away from the prying eyes of the task force members. surrounded by the normalcy of civilian life. and the motorcycle gear that he’s adorned with seems obvious that there’s more to him than he lets on. like the fact that he rushed here without a second doubt. there’s a glimmer in your eyes and he’s aware that your mind is racing with possibilities. “I wonder,” there’s a playfulness in your tone as you shift closer to him, “what was lieutenant riley up to before coming to my rescue?”

ghost who exhibits the duality of man when he’s with you. his voice gets caught in his throat and he promptly answers, “nothin'.” because you’re placing a gentle hand on his forearm. vanquishes him to a robot that can only utter a single word from a single touch. this wasn’t what he was like before; the esteemed protector with a jealous streak. no, he’s reduced to a pining jumble of tenderness for you. even through the layers of clothing he recognizes your warmth and yearns for it. you gaze up at him through your lashes, a telltale sign that his lack of plans served as an invitation to propose more. he knows that look. “you’re quite a secretive man, simon,” you teasingly narrow your eyes, “has anyone ever told you that?” your fingertips trace the swirls of ink on his arm and he desperately tries to fight against the way his eyes drop into a half-lidded stare. your touch always reduces him to a puddle of adoration. “no,” he breathes out and hopes to convey his ardor in irony, “never.” knows you’re grinning at his automatic responses and heat bubbles within him.

ghost who allows your caress to dip down to his wrist which, conveniently, was the hand that held onto his motorcycle helmet. watches as you draw delicate patterns on the helmet’s shell. recognizes that you’re working up courage. for what, he's not sure. maybe you’ll ask him how long he’s been a motorcyclist. that’s typically the first question that’s settled. but nothing could prepare him for your honeyed voice that asks, “can I ride?” and how you use him as leverage to push up on your tiptoes and pleadingly whisper, “please?” he's pretty certain that you mean getting a ride on his motorcycle. yet, with the way your lips are practically pressing against his neck and how the heat of your breath forces him to stifle a groan of satisfaction, all logic flies out the window. pure, unadulterated hunger for you seizes ghost in an unexplainable grasp. he needs you. wishes he could whisk you away to someplace else. perhaps to his place. gosh, he appreciated the downtime after a mission. “bloody vixen,” he murmurs lowly while slipping the helmet into your hands, “it’s all yours, sweetheart.” on his motorcycle it typically takes 10 minutes flat to get to his place or 7 minutes if he turns a blind eye to the speed limit– which is an act he’s willingly committed before.

#simon ghost riley #ghost x reader #simon riley x reader #ghost #simon riley #call of duty x reader #call of duty #simon riley imagine #cod x reader #simon ghost riley imagine #simon ghost riley drabble #ghost x you #ghost cod

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hp-hcs · 1 year ago

Note

Could I request some Yan poly Theo and Mattheo x male reader please?

Where he is an animagus that can turn into a cat just like McGonagal.

Where he goes to them in his cat form for cuddles and scratches and stuff because he’s touch starved, but what the reader doesn’t know is that they know who he is and that he’s not a normal cat, and the reason everyone’s been avoiding him both in his cat form and human form is because they’ve made everyone besides him know that he’s theirs and threaten them. Just the usual possessive Yan behaviour from the duo. Maybe they buy him a collar or something in his cat form and he gets all embarrassed because he doesn’t know that they know he’s a human and just has to wear it when he’s a cat-??

I’m so sorry if it’s too detailed

um, obsessed???

also i tweaked the ending you asked for just a little bit cause i never know how to end fics 🫠

i genuinely despise this. fully anticipate me just deleting this and starting over.

also please never apologize for too much detail it literally makes writing these so much easier and faster

requests? 🥺🤲

“He is, most of all, l'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle.” — Yandere! Theodore Nott x Animagus! Sirius’ son! Reader x Yandere! Mattheo Riddle

warnings: very mild—mostly implied—yandere possessive/violent stuff

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“Ah, Mr. Black. Lovely for you to join us.”

You cringed, hastily smoothing down your hair in an attempt to look like you hadn’t just woken up.

Snape gave you a stern look. “Very well. Now that you’ve elected to make your presence, perhaps Mr. Black can tell us what asphodel is?”

You flushed at the way your professor put you on the spot; the way all of your classmate's eyes were on you.

“U-uh, it’s a flower. It’s supposed to grow in the Elysian fields in the Greek underworld…?” You trailed off uncertainly.

Snape’s lips thinned, a sign that you were correct. “We have a new seating chart—a fact you might’ve known if you’d shown up on time. Over there. Quickly.”

You scurried over to the table he indicated, sitting down in the empty chair between two Slytherin boys.

The boy on your right gave you a sympathetic look, waiting until Snape turned to continue writing on the board before leaning over and whispering to you.

“We’re doing a project in pairs, but me an’ my friend Theo here said we’d add you in ours to make a group of three. Snape wanted you to work with Longbottom.”

The boy on your left—Theo, you presumed—leaned in to whisper, “Yeah, we wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. ‘specially not a pretty thing like you.”

You blushed at the flattering name, whispering back, “Longbottom? Merlin- thank you.”

He grinned brightly, seemingly pleased at your willingness to hold a conversation with him, if the gentle flush of his cheeks was any indication.

The boy on your right tugged at your sleeve with a charming smile. “That’s Theodore Nott, by the way. And I’m Mattheo Riddle, darlin’.”

~~~

“Well, I think we’re just about finished,” Theodore mused, sitting up from where he’d been leaning over your group’s poster board. “Think we used enough glitter?”

“No such thing as enough glitter.”

You laughed at the two boys’ antics as the three of you sat on the floor of their dorm room. They had a good rapport with each other, one that you fit easily into. There was no real awkwardness as you all joked with each other. You actually felt like you belonged, like you’d been a part of their pair for years.

It was a nice thought.

“Well, if we’re finished, then I desperately need to go to the library,” you sighed. “Flitwick assigned twenty inches on the difference between the Conservo and the Protego charms.”

The two groaned in sympathy.

“Good luck,” Mattheo shook his head, resting his hand on your knee.

You’d noticed that both boys were extremely touchy. They always seemed to be accidentally brushing hands with you, peering over your shoulder to look at the poster, and finding any excuse to rest their hands somewhere on your body.

You nodded your thanks, putting away your personal reading book, your glitter quills, and your googly eye stickers that you as a group had had far too much fun with.

“See you guys around!”

~~~

“Woah- Here, kitty kitty kitty!”

You blinked sleepily, annoyed at whomever was disrupting your nap by the warm common room fireplace.

Two blurry, vaguely boy-shaped blobs plopped down on the floor by you, one of the blobs’ bags spilling out its contents all over the floor. You swatted lazily at a feather quill that rolled to a stop beside you on the rug, quickly losing interest and yawning.

“Whose cat is this?” The shorter one—the one whose bag had dumped parchment and jellybeans all over the floor—asked, suddenly scratching the top of your head.

You froze, an unfamiliar rumble rising from your throat at the odd sensation.

You were purring.

If you were human right now, you were sure your skin would be prickling from the stranger’s gentle touch.

Gentle touch had always been uncommon for you. Your family was odd and disjointed. You grew up without a father, raised only by grumpy paintings and a sour house elf.

And once he returned, on a the back of a winged marvel, with stories of rats and traitors and time, his overjoyed smile had faltered when he learned you wore green and not red. His now ever-present pinched look of poorly hidden disappointment whenever he looked at you, paired with your god-cousin’s short and stiff hugs and forced smiles, you felt like an outsider in your own home.

“Virgil!”

The strangers startled you out of your reverie. Your ears flattened back, but the taller one just pet your head softly. The short one crossed its arms, shaking its head vehemently.

“No, dude. Why the fuck would you name our cat that?”

“Cause of the book? Dante’s Inferno?” The taller one pointed at one of your abandoned books lying on the rug, most of the stack on Charms subjects, except for that one. You must’ve fallen asleep while reading it, and changed into a cat at some point during your nap.

“Nerd.”

“Just because you don’t ever read, Riddle-”

You perked up at the familiar name. Blinking away sleep, the two blobs- boys come into better focus.

They’re your fucking group mates.

Fucking Circe.

Theo goes back to petting your head, his steady pets prompting you to instinctively push your head up against his palm to demand more.

“Oh- hi Vee,” he laughed, moving his hand further down to stroke along your spine.

“Wh- We’re not calling it that.”

~~~

They ended up calling you that.

They visited the library after school every day now, where sure enough, you’d always be sitting by the fire or sprawled out on the couch.

Some days, they brought extra friends. On those days, you’d always squawk and wind between your boys’ ankles to get their attention when they got too engrossed in a conversation, like an adorable, jealous tripping hazard.

And after you’d turned in your project, you had also remained friends with them as a human. You now lit up every time you saw them in the halls or the common room, and they always grinned whenever they saw you.

It was nice.

~~~ “Hel- oh.”

You watched as your History of Magic table mate, a usually kind and friendly Hufflepuff girl, scrambled out of her seat to sit elsewhere as soon as you set your bag down. You stared after her in shock.

What had you done to warrant that?

As you stared after her, you finally became aware that your classmates around you were staring at you with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

Everyone avoided the seat next to you like the plague.

You sat alone that class.

~~~

You set your textbook down on your desk, sitting down heavily in your chair.

Today had been awful. Nobody dared come near you in any of your classes, like you were a leper or something. You ate lunch alone, walked to class alone… you just hoped Potions, as your last class of the day, would pass quickly.

“Hello, lovely,” Mattheo greeted warmly, the corners of his eyes crinkling up as he sat down beside you—the first person to do so all day. “How are you this fine afternoon?”

You rolled your eyes grumpily, steadfastly ignoring him as you doodled on your parchment.

You suddenly felt fingers underneath your chin, lifting your head up until your eyes met Mattheo’s.

“He asked you a question, doll,” Theodore breathed into your ear from behind you. “Answer.”

You shivered at his tone and firm behavior, blushing despite yourself. “‘m- ‘m fine.”

“Good boy,” Mattheo sighed, patting your cheek patronizingly. “Was that really so hard?”

Your cheeks flush immediately at the name, as you remain a bit confused as to their sudden changes in personality.

Where were the lovably awkward pair of dorks that you usually hung out with, both as a human and as a cat? (Although, you supposed, they didn’t know about the latter.)

Maybe you were wrong about them?

~~~

You weren’t wrong about them.

You leaned against the side of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, watching interesting passerby on the street as you waited for your god-cousin, Harry, to return back outside.

You were so focused on people-watching, imagining backstories for everyone, (especially the creepy Gryffindor who liked to hit on you no matter how many times you said no: Cormac McLaggen. The boy had practically sprinted away as soon as he caught sight of you leaning against the wall. Odd that he also had a black eye and a busted nose) that you were completely startled by arms wrapping around you from behind.

You jumped, but relaxed a bit when they put their chin on your shoulder and whispered into your ear, “It’s Mattheo, doll. Calm down.”

“You just scared the shit outta me. Tellin’ me to calm down,” you roll your eyes. “What do you want?”

“Go out with me.”

“What?”

“M-me. And Theo. Both. Yeah?”

“Wow. Smooth, dude. Real master of words, aren’t you?” A new voice chimed in sarcastically.

You spun around at the arrival of a second person, relaxing when you saw that it was just Theo.

“What Matty is trying to ask is, will you go out with us?”

You gape at them.

“Both of you?”

“Ideally, yes.”

You blink at them, eyes wide.

Mattheo shifts nervously.

“Sure.”

Theodore blinks, like he wasn’t expecting that answer. “Sure? Like- like yes you will?”

“Yeah.”

The two boys exchange a rather disbelieving, giddy look.

“Uh, how does the Three Broomsticks at seven tonight sound?”

“Works for me,” you shrug, a pleased smile slowly creeping onto your face.

“Oh! Here. We- we got this for you. In case you said yes,” Mattheo digs through his pockets, pulling out a small, rectangular box, like the kind that watches come in. “But, you have to promise you’ll wait to get back to your dorm room before you open it.”

You laugh, shrugging. “Okay, sure. I promise.”

Theo narrows his eyes at you before sticking out his pinky finger. “Pinky promise?”

You laugh again at the way his serious look contrasts with his childish request, obliging and wrapping your pinky around his. “Pinky promise.”

~~~

You shut your dorm door behind you, dropping your bag on the floor and collapsing onto your bed. You, true to your word, waited to open the box, pulling it out of your pocket only just now.

It was small, simple gift box, with a scrap of folded parchment taped to the top.

Y/N –

Thought you might like this. We’d love to see you wear it on our date.

– MR & TN

You raise your eyebrows, setting the note aside and lifting the lid, unsure of what to expect.

You were not expecting there to be a blue cat collar inside, the dangling metal tag reading:

Virgil

If lost, return to either

Theo Nott or Mattheo Riddle

#harry potter #fuck jkr #hp #hp x male reader #x male reader #x reader #theodore nott #theodore nott x reader #theo nott x reader #theo nott #mattheo riddle x reader #mattheo riddle #mattheo riddle x male reader #mattheoxreader

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rxzennia · 7 months ago

Text

leviathan of the cosmos

– tales of the voracity pathstrider

✎𓂃 something unto death as the respawning boss enemy, i haven’t finished 2.1 yet

when aventurine brings up traveling to the reverie hotel in the dreamscape alone, your eyes narrow ever so slightly and you take a step towards him. though you do truly worry for him, you can’t deny that you also want to take a peek at the off-limits-to-visitors area for yourself, too.

he’s been keeping you away from conflict, away from the dangerous games he plays on the daily, but you want to know. you want to see all that he is, his feats and evils, not just what he decides to show you. and if it means following him into the dreamscape, you won’t shy away from your quest of knowledge.

he doesn’t want you to enter the dreamscape reverie with him, but you’re very, very stubborn

“it’s dangerous for you,” he says, giving you the most serious look you’ve ever seen on him, like he’s genuinely concerned (he is)

you tilt your head. even without saying anything, he knows what you’re trying to say – you don’t understand where he’s coming from

he tries to explain, boy, he’s trying so hard to explain to you why exactly it’s a bad idea, but he feels like he’s talking to a wall

are you even listening? hello?

he can’t see your expression because your scarf is in the way, and your eyes betray nothing

for as much as he loves talking at you, this is the one time he wants you to give him a response

“you’re strong enough.” a statement, not a question, because this man is one of the ten stonehearts, and you know he has more power than he appears to have

well, yes. but, to be honest, he isn’t confident in his ability to protect you

death is a dangerous entity, and even if he’s certain he can hold his own against it…

what if it decides that you are its next target? you, who is so precious and lovely?

he doesn’t want to run the risk. he likes having you around, both as a friend and as a secretary, and the last thing he wants is to lose you

but you’re adamant. “there’s nothing to worry about,” you say, oblivious to all the worries running miles per second in his head

he feels like if he didn’t let you tag along, you’d just follow him anyway and that would be even worse

aventurine thinks he knows you well, perhaps even better than yourself, but turns out he’s just delusional. you’re so timid, so awkward, and when you’ve warmed up to him you’re still silent and brooding most of the time, how could he have known that you have so many cards hidden up your sleeve?

he’s just dealt with a few scattered crew from the dreamjolt troupe, but he might’ve made a little too much noise when he whacked the televisions

it feels like the entire floor’s enemies are attracted by the noise, even memory zone memes are showing up

he glances towards you, who’s doing a really good job at staying out of his way and avoiding attacks

way better than he expected

you don’t seem afraid, either. he can tell that you’re relaxed from your body language

one thing he’s worried about, though, is eventually attracting death

because that’s the one thing he’ll try his best to protect you from, but he isn’t certain if he can

he doesn’t think you can fight, and your lack of inclination towards conflict only reinforced that belief

sure, you’re built like a fortress and you’re intimidating, but he soon found out that you’re a big softie inside

which, even more unlikely that you can fight. you just feel so… vanilla

you feel like the type who’d try to de-escalate a situation that could otherwise be easily solved with fists

even if you look like your punches would send people into orbit, it's just so out of your character

he likes that about you, really, but sometimes he wished you have some combat skills

when death inevitably appears, aventurine’s heart drops. it completely ignores him and heads straight for you – perhaps it knows who’s stronger or weaker – its wing rearing back as it coils around you, picking you up by your scarf, and –

he goes pale. he immediately acts, invoking qlipoth’s protection

but he knows how swift death is, and how easily it will lay its claws upon you and take you from him

the shield he casts on you is easily broken in one, two, three slashes

does death penetrate armor? it doesn’t quite make sense – the kind of shield he confers should not have been so easily broken!

before he could even do anything, before he could even tell you how much he treasured you…

you’ll be gone, and he’ll be all alone again

he hates that. and you know he hates that, but what could either of you do?

for as far as he’s come, he’s still powerless to protect the ones he hold dear

he tries, he really does, but his attacks won’t reach death in time, nor will his shield reach you in time

it’s dead set on taking your life, and it’s going to succeed

damn it, he should’ve just forced you to stay in the reverie in reality, or the golden hour, or something

he’d take your annoyance over watching your symbolic “death” any day

he reaches for you – in a fit of desperation, he tries to grab onto you, your scarf, anything

you blink, watching as death’s claws withdraw, and as it swings its blade-laden scythe wing towards you. you seem shocked, but you close your eyes as you welcome the darkness.

the darkness known as your leviathan.

your white scarf sits perfectly around your neck, and your nose is still comfortably buried in the fabric

but there’s no mistaking it; it’s yours

the serpent emerging from the ends of your scarf, who wrapped around the monster known as something unto death, whose translucent body wound around it until it is no longer visible, who made it disappear…

it obeys you, holy shit, that creature obeys you

but you’ve always seemed so harmless, so sweet, so, so… so innocent

how could someone like you harbor something so terrifying?

yet here you are, swallowing the memetic entity with a gulp, like you’re simply swallowing down your food

you’re eating – no, you’ve eaten death

your leviathan settles into your scarf again, its form dissipating as if it had never existed at all

so simply, so effortlessly, disposing of it as if it’s naught but a mere worm

aventurine stares, at where death once loomed, and then at you, who looks completely fine. he stammers your name, and for the first time, he feels a primal fear in him. it’s different to the fear of uncertainty, of whether or not he’ll still be alive tomorrow, or of being left behind again. it’s a fear more powerful, a fear stemming from coming face to face with someone perhaps even more dangerous than everyone he’s encountered on penacony. the fear of prey before the apex predator on the food chain.

his gentle giant of a secretary all of a sudden doesn’t seem so gentle anymore

he can’t really tell what exactly it is hiding in your scarf, but he has an inkling

before he can make a guess, you interrupt his line of thinking

“bleh…” you cringe in disgust, your face scrunching up as you stumble to find refuge on a nearby couch

never mind, he'll take that back

honestly, you don’t look like someone to be afraid of right now

you look like you’re about to collapse, with how pale you’re getting and how you’re almost retching up your lunch behind your scarf

which you are. the only thing stopping you is the physical aspect of being unable to

he pushes his fear aside, and finds it surprising easy to do so

in fact, it’s so easy that he could almost find your reaction hilarious

if you didn't look like you're three seconds away from keeling over

“you, you didn’t just–” he approaches you slowly, kneeling down by your side, “aeons, you look sick.”

you want to give him a reply, but the sheer flavor of the meme you just swallowed makes you so queasy that you think you might puke the moment you try to speak

his hands slowly reach up to hold your face, “will you be okay?” he asks, quiet and careful

you nod, relaxing into his touch, and he can feel you turn to lean against his palm even through the fabric that obfuscates your face

how are you still so adorable when you’ve just consumed the entirety of death?

you’ve never revealed much about yourself, and you’ve been the biggest mystery aventurine has been itching to solve. but at this stage, he isn’t too sure if he wants to find out anymore. you, your path, your abilities… you’ve been hiding them all, under that guise of innocence.

then again, he’s the one who made assumptions and decided to keep you away from conflict

he still feels cheated, just with no one but himself to blame

he wants to believe that you’ve been genuine with him! that your personality, at least, isn’t fake

you’re doing a really good job at reassuring him

well, maybe because you’re experiencing indigestion on a couch in the dreamscape after eating something that looks decidedly inedible

it doesn’t feel like you’re lying to him at all, with the way you’re behaving

when the nausea goes away just enough for you to speak, the first thing you say is a string of curses

and “i really hope i don’t get food poisoning”

it gets silent very quickly, and you two stare at each other

“i… i don’t think food poisoning is what you should be worried about right now,” he manages to say, suppressing the urge to just chuckle, because this is his confirmation that you’re still his favorite secretary

it takes you a while before you let out a very, very quiet mumble of “please don’t fire me.”

aventurine has never expected that to come out of your mouth. “what? why would i fire you over something like this?” he raises a brow, and he’s just as relieved as you are when your shoulders sagged. “i’m just glad you’re okay…”

he tries to lift you up, and you give him an a+ for effort, even if he ends up failing. you lean onto him, letting him carry half of your weight while you try to stand.

“c’mon, let’s get you out of here. you need to rest,” aventurine says, in the most happy, truly grateful way you’ve ever heard him speak. “but, after that? you have a lot of explaining to do.”

#ares's voracity pathstrider tales #honkai star rail #honkai star rail x reader #aventurine #aventurine x reader

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paingoes · 2 months ago

Text

Destroyer

Medical Conference

hi guys um. i cant stop writing destroyer. i swear ill figure out a system to organize these “bonus” chapters soon i promise i promise

delta is eighteen in this but the chapter delves into abuse he experienced when he was a child so cw for that

(Content: living weapon whumpee, lab whump, medical whump, put on display, dehumanization, conditioning, noncon drugging, needles, non-consensual/nonsexual nudity, noncon touching, physical abuse, emotional whump, angst, child abuse, child death mention, parental whump?)

“I forgot, sir,” Delta tried weakly. He knew as soon as he said it that he should’ve just kept quiet.

“No, you didn’t. You’re going to lie about it as well?” Dr.Martino shut down the attempt, focusing his attention back to the device.

Delta laid down unmoving against the steel table as the scanner searched over him. It gave him mild electric shocks each time it passed. Of course, he hadn’t been looking forward to the diagnostic tests. But he hadn’t been trying to get out of it entirely. That wouldn’t have worked. He only wanted more time to psych himself up for it. Too long, apparently. He’d had to be collected for it. It’d been a bad note to start on.

The rest of the exam went on in silence, without anymore mention of his avoidance. As Delta redressed, he thought he might’ve been off the hook for it. Dr.Martino was fumbling though his desk drawers like he’d already left.

He produced two unopened packs of pencils from inside the desk. Delta deflated a little bit.

Delta took the pencils and arranged them in two rows along the floor, lined up flush against one another. Gingerly, he kneeled down on top of them.

“Hands behind your back,” the doctor said, leaning back in his chair.

Already there. He knew the drill. He lowered his head, silently counting. No longer than twenty minutes, usually. No fewer than ten.

When he looked up again, Martino was leaning back against the table, flipping through a folder.

“The ISCEM conference is coming up in a month,” he said offhandedly, as if this would mean something to him.

“Okay?” Delta answered, more in confusion than anything else. He hadn’t meant for it to be disrespectful.

Nevertheless, Dr.Martino’s shoe pressed down against his calf, driving the pencils further into his skin.

“Yes, sir,” he quickly corrected himself. The pressure disappeared. The pain stayed where it was.

“You were probably too young to remember the last one, weren’t you?” Dr.Martino sighed.

“Yes, sir.” He didn’t really think about it. He was pretty distracted by the numbness traveling down his legs.

“Well, put it on your calendar. Don’t want you forgetting again.”

“Yes, sir.”

He didn’t have a calendar.

“Mention the steady-state thing we discussed. I have files on it, I - is it too late to make a copy? I will. And if you could just please pass along a message for me, I would be ever so grateful,” Simon went on, fumbling through his own briefcase, trying to give what he could. Dr.Martino took the reports from him, flipping them around to see the equations he’d scribbled onto the back.

“You’re not coming? Sir?” Delta added the “sir” on as an afterthought, conscious of the doctor’s presence. Simon himself rarely demanded such formalities.

“Don’t interrupt,” Dr.Martino snapped, more tense than usual. But Simon obliged him, stepping a little closer.

“Not my scene.” Simon patted his head. It was soft, but Delta reflexively flinched away from any hands that drew too near to his face.

Something on the desk beeped. The transit had rafted up.

Delta held his wrists up easily as Martino presented the cuffs. They were psychic tech, meant to restrict his powers more than the collar already did. Presumably some kind of safety measure. He felt his world going flat as they clicked into place, all his spatial awareness reduced to a single field of view. The effect was extremely disorienting. He nearly fell over getting off of the table.

He’d mostly evened out by the time they’d gotten to the hotel. He sat idly against the chair he’d been placed in, watching the doctor unpack. Everything in the room was the same shade of beige.

It seemed like they should’ve been able to go. Martino abruptly produce a vial from the bag. Delta recognized it as a sedative. He inserted the syringe into it, drawing it back up.

“I’ll behave, sir,” Delta offered. He eyed the needle warily; he’d usually have been given something in the way of warning.

Martino shook his head. He took a firm grip of Delta’s arm.

“Believe me, this is for your own good.”

Delta tensed his arm up, holding still as the needle entered him. Something cold shot into his veins. It took a long time for the chamber to empty.

It hit him before they even reached the elevator. He clung to Martino’s arm, needing something to brace himself against, however briefly. Martino assured him he wouldn’t have to stand for long. They moved backstage at the panel. Delta nearly collapsed into the fold-up chair.

The cuffs were briefly removed as he was given the medical gown to wear. His hands moved slower than he would’ve liked, but he was able to put it on. It tied along the front, leaving much of his chest exposed.

Dr.Martino took a minute to make sure it was fitted correctly. He cursed, noticing for the first time the visible boot print against the side of Delta’s ribs.

“Great. They’re going to think I beat you.”

You do beat me, Delta thought. Not as much as he used to. Not as much as Paris. But Martino still hit him.

The doctor felt over the bruise with his hand, reigniting the pain. Delta winced. It was recent — still tender. The sedative helped a bit. All his thoughts were coming to him in a haze.

There was nothing that could be done to cover it, so apparently they were just going to ignore it. The cuffs came back on around his wrists. He led Delta out onto the platform regardless, sitting him up against the stool. It was had a back to it, luckily. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stay upright without it. He’d been trained enough not to slouch or to look so outwardly high, but it was definitely a struggle to maintain neutrality. He kept his head down. It was the safest, the easiest to maintain for a long period. People gradually filed in. Though he was used to being put on display, the sterility and lack of decorum in this new space made the whole thing feel all the more jarring. It all felt far away, though.

His eyes closed without meaning to. When he tuned back in, Dr.Martino was droning on. He recognized some of the words. He would’ve recognized more if he wasn’t drugged. It was a talk about internal power generation. Conduits. There was a hand on his shoulder. Delta stood up from the chair. The gown was pulled down a bit from his shoulders.

Martino pressed the multimeter to his collarbones, watching the number climb until it broke. He pulled it away before it could burn up completely. He pressed a thin disk up against Delta’s chest, where it held there. It was some kind of controller. A thin arc of electricity emerged from it without any conscious intention on his part. More appeared, each of them branching away from his body like a plasma ball. The effect was immediate; that familiar fear crept into the eyes of the audience.

It cut all at once. The disk was removed. Delta sat back down on the chair, pulling the gown back up over himself.

The lights darkened. Behind him, a clip show began to play. He didn’t need to look back. He’d seen it plenty of times. Different explosions, annihilations, destructions. All his own work. He could recount each of them to the second. It played for a long time.

For some reason, they clapped when it was over.

“Sorry — do you mind if I look at it?”

Delta opened his eyes again, sensing the it in question. He tensed up.

He hated being touched. The moderator stripped the gown back again. He felt the electric pulse still going about Delta’s clavicle. His hands traveled around the collar.

“I’m biomedical by trade,” the man explained, tapping at the gold, “This is custom, yes? When was it made?”

“The model’s about five years old. It gets updated about once a year.”

“Incredible. I see some scarring, though.”

Delta shivered as the fingers traced the burn scars by his neck, a bit on his trapezius. They were in the shape of a Lichtenberg figure.

“That seems non-optimal?”

“Those actually predate the collar. They’re a natural result of it overextending itself during an exercise. The restrictor works as a stopgap to prevent that kind of burnout.”

Though he’d expected it, it still jarred Delta just how easily Martino slipped back into calling him it.

Another scientist approached. She slid up to Martino, shaking his hand eagerly.

“Oh, darling.” He embraced her. She grinned, readjusting her jacket as they pulled away.

“Danny, it’s been ages. How are the girls?” Her nails clicked together.

Danny. The girls. Martino actually had a family. Not that he ever saw them. He had daughters. They’d been kids, the one and only time Delta had ever met them. They had to be in their twenties by now.

“Brats, the lot of them. They’re smart, though. Smarter than I was at their age.”

“Well, that’s not saying much.”

Delta was not surprised when her hands traveled onto him. He barely flinched this time. But he hadn’t expected her to speak to him.

“Oh, and look at you. You’re all grown up now, huh?”

She gripped his chin in between her fingers, studying his face. The touch wasn’t harsh, nor was it gentle.

“You probably don’t remember me.”

That was correct. Her face was vaguely familiar, but he could find no memories to attach to it.

“He’s a bit distant at the moment. You’ll have to forgive him,” Martino answered for him.

She released her grip, turning her attention back to the doctor. Even in his current state, it didn’t take him long to put it together. She’d been one of the teachers at the Institute. He wondered how many of them were wandering around out there now. Most of them. Dr.Martino had been the only one to retain some semblance of his position. All the other administrators had been cast away just the same as the students.

He had forgotten nearly every one of their names.

Martino packed up the last of the day’s display materials, arranging all of it back into the suitcase. It’d been a success, as far as these things go. He’d revealed all he could without breaching the terms of his contract. All the real science was under a strict NDA. It was nice to catch up with some colleagues, though. It was healthy to be off of a spaceship every once in a while.

He tugged Delta’s sleeve, pulling him up from the plastic chair. He took a minute to undo the cuffs; he’d thought they were an excessive measure to begin with and they had prevented any real show of power. Delta rubbed idly at the marks they had left there.

They made their way back up to the hotel room. The drug had not yet worn off; Delta still stumbled a bit when he walked. He’d redressed himself in a thick hoodie, trying to keep out the chill from the overactive AC or perhaps just trying to hide.

The door opened. Martino dropped his suitcase onto the bed. Presumably out of habit, Delta lowered himself to the floor, kneeling there. Waiting for instructions, as if he could have followed them. Martino scoffed.

“You can sit on the bed. I booked a double room for a reason.”

He watched the whole minute it took for his words to sink in. The way it took even longer for Delta to actually rise, blearily climbing up onto the mattress. His hands gripped searchingly across the blanket, pulling up the edges like he needed something to hold onto.

Martino ignored him. He moved to the far side of the room and opened the door to the balcony. The city skyline was clearly visible just down the road. The lights from it shone brighter than the stars from space. Martino produced one of the foreign cigarettes from its packet. The ember burned in the dark night. It was all quiet.

“What was I like when I was little?”

He turned to look at Delta. The kid was drugged out of his mind. He might’ve given him too much.

Dr.Martino took a long drag. He rarely smoked, so used to the endless sterility that he would not so much as dirty the air. But tonight was a rare night.

“What were you like?” He ashed the cigarette, turning back to look at the night skyline. “I don’t remember.”

Delta looked down, disappointed. He pulled the blanket tighter around himself. Martino sighed, losing the battle.

“…You were quiet. Same as you are now. You mostly kept to yourself.”

He gave no visible reaction.

“You didn’t get along so well with the other kids,” Martino admitted, some disdain entering his voice.

Delta looked up. His expression was totally blank.

“Why do you hate me?” he asked.

It was manipulative, and self-pitying in a way that did not flatter him. Martino put the cigarette out. He stepped back into the room.

Delta shrank back a bit. The doctor looked him over. His eyes had dimmed some, no doubt due to the sedative. His hands were unbloodied. Just looking at him, no one would have know what he’d done. Martino remembered the sound of bones snapping and the bodies out in the yard. He remembered the expression Delta had worn the first time he’d killed — as blank and unfeeling as the one he wore now. He did hate him, he supposed. He’d never been his favorite. All his favorites had been buried a long time ago.

He didn’t say that. He remembered his lines — and he cursed himself for ever diverging from them, even for a second. He would correct it now.

“There is no you.”

Delta opened his mouth as if to object, then thought better of it. Good.

“No more talking tonight,” Martino said.

Delta nodded, laying down onto the mattress. He fell asleep with all the lights on.

…………

tags:

@catnykit @snakebites-and-ink @vivulapom @scoundrelwithboba @whatwhump

@pumpkin-spice-whump @deluxewhump @fuckass1000 @fuckcapitalismasshole @defire

@micechomper @writereleaserepeat @aloafofbreadwithanxiety @pigeonwhumps

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inbarfink · 1 year ago

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Among the various readings and interpretations of What the Hell is Up With the Ending to the DHMIS Web Show - one of the more interesting ones (from my perspective, at leas) has always been that it’s all a metaphor for repeating patterns of trauma and/or abuse.

As in, most of the narrative of the DHMIS Webshow has been some sort of surrealist metaphor for Roy being an overcontrolling and manipulative parental figure for his son and his friends

And then the ending shows them finally escaping his influence -

Only that without a frame of reference for just how screwed-up their upbringing really was and without any healthy way to process their various traumas, they end up being in danger of just replicating his abuse on their own. Either on each other or maybe on the color-swapped characters who can, like, represent their own children or something.

And so the vague ending of the Webshow is an open question, yes, the trio might’ve gotten physically away from Roy’s influence - but are they free from it mentally?

Or are they doomed to snap back into their old familiar world?

And the interesting thing about this is that like… that could be what the Web Show is about on a metaphorical level. But in the TV Show, with its greater emphasis on interpersonal conflicts and the characters - the idea of our main trio unknowingly replicating the abuse they live under is not just something we can hypothetically ruminate on. It’s something we can actually see, something we can actually feel.

Like, the first thing that made me think of Yellow and Red’s interactions with Stain Edwards.

This is basically the closest the Three of Them can get to being parental figures within the confines of the Format. He starts out as such a sweet and curious child-like being, his title for himself is literally ‘the Forever Boy’. And, well…

Red and Yellow are just so uncomfortable with his curiosity and thirst for adventure that they basically immediately try and stomp it right out. And that’s like a whole big thing about DHMIS, isn’t it? The way that children’s edutainment and the education system actually curbs children's curiosity and desire for learning so they can better memorize easily-digestible simplified concepts and Respect Their Authority Figures.

You know, it’s the whole thing with…

And that’s kinda how Red acts with Stain? He’s a lot less violent and more subdued about it - but he also discourages the little guy from asking questions and wanting to explore the world.

And he is trying to push him into fitting more into the Format. And, like, managing his life like the Trio’s own life is managed by the Format. First more generally into what being part of the DHMIS main trio is supposed to mean (‘just sit here and something will happen’) and then eventually literally turning him into something he didn’t want to be.

And from our more familiar perspective, it’s clear that Red Guy really just genuinely thinks at this point that sitting passively and Waiting to Be Taught At is how things are Supposed to Be and can’t really imagine things going any other way. He is honestly just trying to get Stain to understand how their life is supposed to work. (Well until it starts becoming about making a new Duck)

And it’s also clear to us how much Red Guy is motivated by just unaddressed grief about Duck and wanting to avoid conflict with Yellow Guy, who's a lot more explictly lashing out at Stain in his grief

"What's the matter with him?" "Nothing. Just don't look at him." "What? Where can I look? I can't look at him, can't look over there..." "No, if, if you want to look at stuff, just tell me and I-I'll make a list. Of where you should or should not look..." "Seems like a weird system..." "Yeah, well, you seem like a weird little...thing with...and you don't even... the other guy at least had his own clothes"

But looking at it from Stain’s perspective, taking aside our understanding of Red’s character and motivation. This is just an authority figure giving him a nonsense set of rules and then lashing out at him when he questions it. Never giving a deeper explanation than ‘this is how it’s supposed to be’ and basically punishing his curiosity.

Kinda like, well, how the Teachers tend to interact with the trio.

And then there’s Yellow Guy who’s just totally lashing out at Stain through the whole thing, because, again, he can’t process the grief of losing Duck. Because his environment did not give him the tools to properly process that trauma and he has no healthy frame of reference to grief and that’s kinda...

Yeah, that’s just what I was talking about. Stain’s subplot in ‘Death’ is just Yellow and Red having not interrogated their abusive environment and not really dealing with their trauma and thus repeating the patterns of the Teachers on their new child-like figure.

Which then culminates with either Duck killing Stain in the name of preserving the status-quo of the format (“there’s only supposed to be three of us”) or with Stain having internalized so much of what Yellow and Red (but mainly Red) taught him about what he’s supposed to be that he was willing to kill in the name of the Format - and then slotted in perfectly in the unadventurous, unquestioning role of Duck.

And this lil narrative is especially interesting if you believe any variance of the David Theory. Because Yellow and Red were mainly motivated in their mistreatment of Stain by their Grief about a ‘dead’ family member. Which could mirror Lesley's trapping and mistreatment of the trio and her own motivations.

But I think this idea of mirroring and repeating patterns of abuse are reflected in more than just this one episode. It’s also reflected in the way Red and Duck tend to mistreat Yellow.

Because while Yellow doesn’t slot as neatly into the Child position like Stain did- his simplistic naïveté does mean he often plays a Child-like role in our favorite Forced Family dynamic. And the way that Duck and Red can often condescend to him can… very well mirror the condescending way the teachers address all three of them.

Especially when you also consider the similar manner both the Teachers and Red + Duck react to Yellow being fully charged in ‘Electricity’. They are all so nervous about Yellow breaking away from his supposed ‘role’ as the Stupid One.

And they especially all seem so very insecure about the idea that Yellow might be smarter than they are.

And that’s, you know, also an aspect of children’s education that tends to actually harm children and their curiosity. This desire for ‘respect’ towards authority figures and this egotistical need for teachers and parents to always be smarter than their kids - causing them to subtly or bluntly punish children for just being clever or inquisitive.

It’s, you know “I’m the adult, you are the child. I am supposed to be the Smart and Knowledgeable one and you are the one who must be taught. And you need to play your role!”

Again, that seems to be the whole thing in ‘Time’.

Here it’s a lot more subtle and less openly hostile, but Yellow can tell that just like that Insurance Teacher, Red and Duck’s egos have also been hurt by the fact that they might not be smarter than Yellow Guy anymore. And he considers going back to the role he’s ‘supposed to be’, even though being fully-charged seems to feel better for him (‘this doesn’t feel wrong’), just for them.

That’s almost literally a child giving up on a pursuit of knowledge just to placate his parental figures.

And then, you know, his refusal to do so and his assertion of his own ability to make decisions for himself (his own maturity, "they're not in charge of us anymore" "Maybe they never were") is directly what leads to him ascending and disassembling not just the trio’s dynamic but the very structure of the Format.

And I think, it’s not just that Red and Duck’s treatment of Yellow mirrors the way the teachers treat the Three of Them - it might be a result of it as well. With how condescending the teachers are towards them in general, bullying Yellow is their way to assert some sort of maturity and intelligence for themselves. It's super-fucked up, but this is how they internalized expressing what ‘intelligence’ is supposed to look like. And they have no frame of reference for a way of feeling smart or in control that doesn’t involve shutting someone else down. Because that's what literally every authority figure does for them all the time.

Now, do I think that means that our trio is doomed to mirror those patterns? That they will always inevitability repeat the horrors they go through on each other and others? Well, just like with every ‘cycle of abuse’, it can always be broken. But it will take some actual understanding and self-awareness and personal healing from the trio.

And without this, they’re not just trapped within the Horrors physically, but also spiritually as well. Without it, no matter if they do manage to run away, on some level, their journey will always end up back at home....

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kisses4mizu · 8 months ago

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y’know I respect a fan’s choice about how they want to view mizu but tiny ramble about it here. this isn’t any sort of discussion or ‘matter of fact’ essay, just a simple rant about headcannons about her being TRANS and her SEXUALITY.

Warning: extremely long.

Given the numerous limitations that would arise from traveling as a woman, I find it very difficult to understand why some people believe Mizu is transgender when it's obvious that she is hiding this information in order to survive. This was particularly true during the Edo period, when women were dehumanized and treated like objects because we only ever see them as a slave or working in a brothel (majority of the show at least). They were also seen having to depend on men for nearly everything, as demonstrated in the episode where the mother and daughter were left outside to freeze to death since her husband was not present to accompany them. Along with that subtle hints were presented to us that show how comfortable she is when in touch with her femininity like a few moments in the episode where she came back to Swords-father Eiji’s hut. Though, I can definitely see why people would label her as transmasc with the theory that she must’ve grown so accustomed to this sort of lifestyle, she’d perhaps just become transmasc in the later episodes. We’ll never know!

Next, not gonna lie, I’m insanely guilty of viewing Mizu as a bisexual women despite feeling that she is leaning more toward heterosexuality in terms of her sexuality. I have the biggest fattest crush on her so I have no problem stating how much I'm crying and wailing over this. Like c’mon, let's be real, I guarantee that 98% of simps are female, and I’m sure every single one of us has mentioned once that we can all treat her better than Mikio and Taigen. Speaking of Taigen, I HAVE to admit that him and Mizu do have the best chemistry compared to everyone in the show. It’s clear in the way she pulls him away from those shooting arrows, knocks him out becahse she fears for his safety if he follows, saving him from Fowler's castle even though she could have easily just left him to die and slain Fowler, etc. At first, I would’ve assumed she’d have trauma with men especially after Mikio’s betrayal which might’ve led her to stray away from any romantic attraction with men—or anybody in general. Honestly, I have dedicated my time to search for ANY hint (ok not rlly) that she might be attracted to women, but the only time I ever see her become flustered by one is when she appears to be taken aback by the prostitues she tried to ask for directions to the Shindo Dojo. Plus, there were only two occasions where she interacted with Akemi that people use to automatically ship them which is when she saw Akemi in her carriage (not sure of the specific name) and pinned her down in Madame Kaji's brothel. I can’t imagine them as a couple in later episodes, something I’m been dying to see. Though, it’s hard to determine what was running in her mind during the scene where they both stole glances at each other, especially since there was no sort of indication in her inner thoughts or emotions, so it’s normal to assume the above as well. (Despite that, I’m still rooting for AT LEAST bisexual Mizu because for the love of god and for the sake of all of the gay women here, PLEASE. /j)

I may make jokes about these headcannons like playfully hating on the TaiMizu ships. All in all, I’m sure the fans are mature enough to understand that these are meant to be lighthearted jokes and that people interpret a character and show in various ways and it’s normal! Even if I can’t comprehend the theory or feel as though it is a little too complicated/really negotiable, remember to support what you want, ship what you want, make whatever headcannons, nobody’s stopping you! Don’t be too afraid to just announce what you feel about the show. All I ask is to avoid SERIOUSLY cancelling someone just because of their own feelings and opinions. In the end, they’re stilll fictional characters (😞😞) who have no sort of physical form of any sort so do whatever, as long as it isn’t really THAT problematic in a sense (e.g. romanticising rape), go for it.

(Sorry for bringing her sexuality into this, I’m aware of how the show is definitely not centering on this and not every single thing has to be LGBTQ-related but I noice it’s something constantly brought up in the fandom. As someone whose phrasing and essay writing skills suck, I’m still learning bit by bit about how the world works in terms of differing views on things. I may not support your idea of a character but I RESPECT it! If I came off as rude, I’m sorry, remember it’s just my random midnight thoughts🙏)

#mizu blue eye samurai #bes mizu #blue eyed samurai #mizu #tumblr fyp #taigen #taigen blue eye samurai #akemi blue eye samurai #headcannons #akemi #transgender #sexuality #rants n rambles #late night rambles #lgbtq #random rants #might get cancelled #tumbler explore page #explore

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danibee33 · 8 months ago

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Part III of undercover!Ghost 🩶

ghost x reader (callsign: Hela)

word count : 4.7k

>>> [PT 1] [PT2]

You aren’t avoiding Ghost. Not really..

Ok, maybe you are.

The week since the undercover mission had been busier than usual, so it’s not like you don’t have an excuse for your absence- you did have other duties and responsibilities to attend to collaterally to the one-four-one. But were you using said collaterals to possibly steer clear of a certain person..? Well, that’s not important.

“Been awhile, lil’ LT..”

You return Soap’s grin, looking up at him as you both take tentative steps- him reaching out first, and you deflecting,

“D’ya miss me that much, sergeant?” You say, eyes skimming his form, looking for any weakness in it, waiting for the right opening.

It wasn’t a planned meet up, you just needed something to do- you’ve been so restless lately, like no matter what you do, it’s never quite enough to stem the relentless flow of thoughts. Which is how you found yourself on the sparring mats opposite the equally restless man at such an ungodly hour.

“Always miss ye, hen..” Soap grunts just before lunging for you, attempting to swipe your leg but inadvertently opening himself up for you to get your arms and legs wrapped around torso- using your body weight to bring him to his knees,

“Steamin’ Jesus, lil LT- worse than a fuckin’-”

Whatever insults he might’ve tried to spew are cut off when you suddenly readjust, but he recovers quicker than you expect- lifting up and bringing you along with him,

“If ye wanted to cuddle, ye could’a just said so..” Soap says, that flirty little lilt at the edge of his words, the same one you’ve heard him use at the bar a hundred times now. And the lopsided smirk on his lips is all too familiar as he tightens his grip around your waist–

God, he’s such a fuckboy…

With a breathless groan, you switch your hold again, crossing your arm over his face in order to put distance between you while still keeping him mostly trapped,

“Shut it, MacTavish. I’m still winning, aren’t I?”

You go back and forth like this until you’re both struggling to breathe and your muscles begin to quiver with fatigue- throwing jokes and jabs easily. It had always been effortless to talk with Soap, banter with him came naturally, but you think it’s only because you two are alike in that way. Never at a loss for words to fill a silence.

And by the time you’re both thoroughly exhausted, all sweat and panting breaths as you stick uncomfortably to the mat, does he roll to his feet, brushing his hair back in the same motion,

“Always a pleasure, ma’am.” He grins, dwarfing your hand in his own as he tugs you up, “And we’re, uh, we’re goin’ out tomorrow night- or well, tonight, I s’pose.” he fumbles over his words in that adorable way he does sometimes, like a schoolboy with a crush on his teacher, “If ye’d like to come.. I can have LT text ye the details.”

At the mention of Simon, you feel the very tips of your ears begin to burn. The sergeant’s prompt too quickly bringing back all the thoughts and memories you had been trying to purge yourself of by coming here,

“Um.. Sure. No promises, though. It’s been busy, ya know..” You say, fighting to keep your tone flippant and casual- but John MacTavish is more keen than you might have given him credit for.

He walks by your side out of the gym, obviously searching for the right way to bring it up, until finally it’s almost like you can feel his own curiosity win over his better judgment,

“Ma’am.. Did somethin’ happen? On the last mission?” The next few seconds are filled with him trying, and somewhat failing but it’s amusing nonetheless, to explain why he’s asking- mostly due to your unusual absences since returning that night. The way you’ve been avoiding the entire team in favor of doing paperwork in your office-

Which you never did because you said you hated being back there on your own.

No, you always preferred to take care of those things in the common spaces, where the chances of having company were always high.

“Was it seein’ LT’s mug? I ken that’s always a bit of a shock for first timers, but-”

“What?” You interject, eyebrows raised in surprise, “No.. no, it has nothing to do with that..”

Well, that’s also not entirely true, is it? But you don’t think it’s for the reasons Soap’s imagining.. It’s more about the fact that everytime you even catch a glimpse of the giant man, you’re reminded of how handsome he was on his knees in front of you, how big his hands felt over your thighs, how his tongue-

“Well, just think ‘bout joinin’ us, won’t ye?”

The sheer amount of hope in Johnny’s voice pulls you out of your reverie, replacing the memory of amber eyes with bright cerulean ones, and that signature fucking smirk,

“Fine! Just chill out with the puppy dog eyes, MacTavish.. Begging like a damn dog.” You concede, waving him away and turning toward your hall without waiting for his reaction. But he doesn’t let you get far before you hear his chuckle, husky and chocked full of guile, bounce off the concrete walls,

“Woof, woof, lil LT..”

Ghost doesn’t like new places.

He doesn’t like being unfamiliar with his surroundings, because he spends too much fucking time being unfamiliar in nearly every surrounding he’s sent to. He doesn’t like leaving things up to chance, doesn’t like how much more stress accumulates around his shoulders and neck- it annoys him, the ache.

But Johnny and Gaz had just been so damn adamant about trying out a new pub. One on the opposite end of town, and he can admit it’s nicer than their usual hole in the wall, but still.

Ghost doesn’t like new places.

Well, that was until he caught sight of you. And then he found himself slightly more drawn to the low lighting that danced over your skin, the way it glowed in your eyes as your survey the bar-

“Hel’s ‘ere?” He asks, downing the last nip of bourbon in his cup.

Johnny’s head whips up then, spotting you in an instant- and there’s something about his response that causes Simon’s gaze to narrow at the shorter man. It’s too… giddy, too reverent for his liking.

“Aye! Invited her the other night.”

That ache in his neck returns but somehow significantly worse.

The other night? You had been with Johnny the other night? When this entire fucking week he hadn’t been able to get three fucking seconds alone with you-

Ok, no, he hadn’t worked up to trying to just call or text, that felt too impersonal. He was shit at all that anyway, he needs to see your body language, needs to analyze all the little expressions that give away so much more than words do. But you had somehow found a way to beat him at his own game. You turned into a ghost, only ever catching your silhouette from the corner of his eye, hearing your voice but never being quick enough to be within a few meters of you.

And possibly the worst was when he would enter a room you had been recently in, the smell of you permeating the air, causing his heart to stutter just so with every deep breath.

Fucking hell..

But here you are. And at Johnny’s request, no less.

Ghost despises new places.

Yet, he does think he could learn to like the overly enthusiastic beat of the music when he sees your hips sway to the rhythm as you wait for your drink. You’re in tight jeans and a black leather jacket that fits your figure like a goddamn glove- and he swears he can feel the silk of your skin by just memory alone, the curves of your body already etched into his mind.

“Gonna get a refill.” He grunts, already walking away from the table with the empty glass in hand.

The sound of a cup being sat on the bartop snaps you back to the present, followed by a heady rush of chills when you hear the baritone of Simon’s voice far closer to your ear than you expect,

“So, she lives.”

You let out a small breath, turning to find the burly breadth of his chest taking up nearly your entire field of view- clad in black from head to toe, which doesn’t surprise you one bit, but it’s not his usual hoodie and jacket. No, this time he’s in a black henley that fits more like a second skin, the fabric deliciously stretched over his pecs and shoulders, the top button left open to give you just a peek at the silver chain glinting underneath and… is that a tattoo?

“She does..” You say, meeting his eyes.

And you really should know better, with too many of your nights haunted by the deep amber of his irises- but the instant it happens, it’s like you’re back in that damned office all over again. The music grows faint, and the people around you turn into little more than blurs at the edge of your vision. He’s all you can feel, the heat of him, the intensity behind his gaze, the way his head tilts softly to the side, studying you as if he might be recommitting your features to memory- not that he needs to.

Because you’ve haunted him just as much. You’ve been the bane of his existence this last week, and somehow the only thing he can see when he shuts his eyes. The sole focus of his loathing and his desire-

“Ma’am, your whiskey sour-” The bartender announces from behind you, effectively breaking the spell you’ve been so wrapped up in right before you hear another small clink, “and a bourbon, neat.”

Without hesitation, Simon leans closer, big arm reaching around you to pull his glass from the bartop and the black surgical mask covering his mouth and nose down in the same motion. He keeps that same heavy gaze on you, your own eyes growing wider at the sight of his face, his crooked nose and scarred lip. You watch him take a short sip, but just as quick as it happened, his mask is back in place, and he’s stepping back,

“C’mon. Table’s over ‘ere.”

You’re not sure you’ve ever felt whiplash quite like seeing Ghost turn his back on you, easily carving a path through the patrons that fill the space-

But you are damn sure the infuriating Brit isn’t going to get the last word in this.

Ghost can feel your stare, feel how it’s directed right at the back of his skull. A perfect kill shot if he were a betting man. But he can also hear the quiet click of your boots following after him, the tightness in his jeans growing more noticeable with every step-

Fuck.

“Lil’ LT! Glad ye’ could make it out!” Johnny shouts over the crowd, blue eyes cast in mischief and that open sort of admiration that Ghost is sure the man couldn’t hide even if he tried.

You round the table, looking up at the Scot with a devastating smile on your lips before nudging his shoulder with your own,

“Yeah, I just wanted to make sure your ego wasn’t too damaged after kicking your ass this morning, sergeant.”

“Ach! -”

Ghost can hear Johnny sputtering on and on in that terrible mashup of English and Scottish slang that’s always grated on the lieutenant’s ears- but whatever he’s saying doesn’t quite register. Instead, he can only really hear the way your laugh brightens the dim room, see the way your head tips back as you take another sip of your drink.

And it’s only then he realizes that he just wishes you would look at him like that. Wishes that he could draw the melodious sound from you, that he could be the reason you smile so brightly-

“Well, well, well-” the group looks over to see Gaz and Price meandering through the throng of bodies, the younger man with outstretched arms, “Hela! Thought you’d up and left our sorry arses!”

All Simon can do is grit his teeth as Gaz embraces you in a quick side hug, Price close behind with a warm grin even on his bearded face,

“And miss out on all the fun? You know me better than that, Garrick.” You say, raising your glass to the Captain in greeting.

So, no, Ghost doesn’t like new places.

But he can’t deny that as the next hour passes he’s smiled more than a few times at his team’s antics. And he certainly can’t say that he hasn’t missed the way you bring them all a little closer, your bubbly brand of forwardness allowing them to each get out of their heads, even if just for a little while.

“What’s this about you handin’ MacTavish's arse to him?” Price’s voice booms over the music, which has only seemed to get louder the later it gets-

Ghost watches you down the rest of your whiskey sour without so much as a flinch, your cheeks flushed such a pretty pink from the alcohol,

“I mean, is that really a surprise?” You shoot back, the man in question all but slamming his glass down on the table in rebuttal-

“Ooh- yer arse is oot the windae! I want a rematch!” Johnny’s words slur together just enough to give away how good he’s really feeling, throwing an arm over your shoulder, “Watcha say, lil LT? And this time we’ll have a proper judge, right Cap? No cheatin’-”

It really isn’t fair how you lean into him as you chuckle, that ache in Simon’s neck creeping up again at the sight.

Christ alive, why can’t he just get it together? Why does he care? You’ve never been one to shy away from physical touch… but fuck all if it doesn’t eat at him.

“Oi, who wants another round?” Gaz, thankfully interjects, drawing everyone’s attention with a collective and resounding sound off.

The others waltz away through the crowd in the direction of the bar, everyone but you- standing across from Ghost at the table, toying with the toothpick in your glass,

"Late night spar, huh?" You don't miss the added gruffness in his tone, or the fact that he refuses to look at you now, staring somewhere over your head.

And if you were a better woman, you wouldn't feel the need to play into his offputting display of jealousy- but you're you after all.. and he's Ghost. So, you give a little hum before plucking the tiny skewer from your cup,

"Couldn't sleep.." You shrug, looking up at him under you lashes, his eyes already on the maraschino cherry that drips down your fingers, "Figured I'd do something a little more productive since I was up anyway-"

Simon tracks your hand, falling right into your terrible little game as you bring the fruit to your lips- it's tooth achingly sweet when you finally bite into it, mixed with the burn of whiskey. And it's when the juice runs down your chin that you meet his gaze, swiping up the liquid on your thumb, he watches with a severity that sends a dangerous chill up your spine- not even daring to blink as you suck the digit clean.

You know he's keenly aware of exactly what you're doing, but that doesn't stop the lust and satisfaction from rushing through you at his deep growl- those coppery eyes darker than you've ever seen.

All too innocently, you flash him a smile, "I think I'll have one more.. you want anything, sir?"

Ghost thinks he can feel the crystal glass in his hand begin to splinter under his grip, unable to tear his eyes away from the red stain on your lips- it's enough to drive him mad.

He gives you a curt shake of his head, knowing that if he had another drink, he might lose whatever vague sense of self-control he's clinging onto so precariously.

And instead of watching you walk away, he turns toward the pool tables, needing something to do with his hands- because if he clenched them any fucking tighter he think he might draw blood with the way his blunt nails dig into his calloused palm.

Without waiting for the others, he racks the balls before picking up a cue stick and breaking the formation- moving around the table just as Johnny sidles up to him,

"Did’nae take ye for a billiards guy, LT.." He says, quickly working to chalk up his own cue.

Gaz and Price follow soon after, eager to join in on teams- and it works, for a short time anyway to distract him. If he can just stay focused on making each shot, then he won't have time to think about you. But, that's a rather silly notion, isn't it? Because sure enough, just as he leans in to take a shot, he spots you bump elbows with his Scottish counterpart.

"Here to give me some good luck, lil LT?" Johnny looks down at you with a lopsided grin, both hands wrapped around the cue stick as he leans on it.

You take a slow sip of your drink, just enough time to glance at Simon- sleeves now pulled up to expose the thickly corded muscles of his forearms and the faded black ball cap on his head turned backwards. He's calculated in his shot, efficiently knocking a striped ball into the nearest pocket-

"I don't think you want any of my luck, sergeant.." You drawl, eyes flitting up to see his deep blue ones already on you, "Can't say I have the best track record when it comes to that."

Soap's chuckle is warm and laced with silk in your ears, watching him copy his superior's movements, finessing his own cue to score a bankshot. Gaz is next, followed by Price, and you follow them ardently, moving around the table as they go until it's back to Ghost-

"Aye, LT-" Johnny calls, "Why don't you show Hela how to do a jump.."

You've managed to get close enough to the towering man now that he has to look down at you before glaring back at his sergeant,

"'m sure she can figure it out on 'er own, Johnny."

"I've actually never really played." You say before your better judgment can stop your mouth from moving- maybe you have had a little much to drink.

And the way Simon's jaw clenches, having taken off his mask as the other patrons slowly dispersed, makes your core tighten- biting the fleshy inside of your cheek between your teeth. You shouldn't push it. You’ve done enough of that already, haven’t you?

Yet, in one swift motion, Simon's hand is on your hip, the other taking the half-empty cup from your grasp before positioning your body in front of his. It isn't exactly gentle, there's a roughness to his movements that put you on edge, a stiffness in his voice that only stokes the the fire in your belly,

"Hold it 'ere.." You take the stick in your hand, the wood still hot from his touch, "and 'ere."

When you grab it this time, he covers your hand, easily repositioning it further down- "Like that."

Very suddenly, you're regretting putting yourself in this situation, so swept up in the feeling of Simon all but dwarfing you, his proximity far more intoxicating than any of the alcohol you've consumed tonight, that you don't notice the sly smirk on Gaz's face- nor the knowing looks shared between your teammates.

In your defense, Simon makes it hard to concentrate on much of anything with the way he slowly leans into you, urging you to bend forward- his hold light but still strong enough to make the slightest adjustments to your stance,

"Lift your elbow now." He mutters, his breath tickling over your exposed shoulder, your jacket left slung over the nearest chair. But it's his hand that catches you off guard, because unlike every other movement he's made with purpose and intention, a man simply doing a job; when he moves now, it's slow, his fingers grazing up your side before softly caressing the skin of your arm,

"Good."

You shift on your feet, your body feeling like it might combust at any moment, the one word spoken in his brassy accent threatening to unravel you on the spot.

The next few moments seem to pass in a blur, you feel him lean in just a bit closer, his left arm bracing over you on the edge of the table as his right hand lands right behind yours on the stick. Whatever he does after is more like a magic trick than logic, rushing the tip downward on the ball with enough force to nearly jerk you forward, but with enough finesse that the little sphere hops off the table- knocking what you assume was the intended target into its pocket.

It takes longer than you're proud of to recover, scrambling to put a bright smile on your face, moving when he does and hoping to whatever deities might exist that it's dark enough to hide the red hue of your cheeks,

"Look at that, a natural, ma'am!" Gaz shouts, clapping a wide palm over your back- and you try to force out a laugh, try to keep your eyes away from the dark form that's moved back towards the table now.

Away from you.

And you wish it didn't make your stomach twist, seeing him pull his mask back on and fixing his ballcap again so that the bill sits low over his eyes-

"Headin' out, Simon?" Price speaks up, an unlit cigar propped lazily between his lips now.

Simon gives his signature nod, which barely a perceptible gesture, but you're all used to it enough by now. The captain, already out past his bedtime, is happy to begin rounding up his own belongings as well, urging the sergeants to get it together and get to the truck,

"I call shotgun!" Soap calls over his shoulder, already barreling towards the exit, Garrick hot on his heels,

"Fuckin' hell.." Price grumbles, looking back at you, "Need a lift, love?"

"No, I'm good. See you tomorrow, Cap." You say, a tired smile reassuring him enough that you would get home-

And just like that, the once bustling pub is more like a ghost town when you step out into the crisp night air, watching the tail lights flicker away. You had gotten a taxi here, but you feel too wired to call for one now- your body felt like it was vibrating, still so lost in the fading memory of what happened inside. But maybe you were just imagining it.. maybe you had let those lines between reality and fantasy blur a little too close for comfort.

Simon climbed into the driver's seat, his hands hitting the steering wheel before ripping the hat and mask off and throwing them onto the dash-

"Fuck."

What was he thinking? He should have never given into it, never touched you the way he did, held you, gotten close enough to feel you against him again. Should have never fed the monster.

God-fucking-damn MacTavish and his annoying fucking antics, never knowing when to quit. Ever since the undercover mission, the man had been a hound with a scent. Testing and prodding and sticking his damned nose in places it didn't belong-

Simon loathes new places.

But there you are. Standing under the milky glow of the street lamp, your hands tangled in your hair and your cheeks puffed in frustration. And so fucking beautiful he can't stand it.

He should leave. He needs to go back to base, needs to take a shower so cold it hurts, needs to bury himself in work just like you did. He needs, he needs, he needs.

Yet, he doesn't do any of those things.

No, like the awful, depraved man he is, he steps out of the truck and makes a beeline right for you- which, looking back on it, might not have been the best course of action because the instant you see his hulking frame he watches how you go on the defensive. Your posture stiffening and your hand reaching for one of your many concealed weapons if he knows you like he thinks he does.

That's ok though, he imagines you could stab him right here in the parking lot and he wouldn't mind one bit. Hell, you could slit his throat and he would smile as he bled out at your feet.

Thankfully, you do neither of those things.

And as soon as you're within reach, he's got those big hands framing your face, crushing his lips to yours.

Shock is all you can register at first. Your mind and body flooded by adrenaline, ready for a fight when you initially saw the shadowed figure coming for you. But in those same few seconds, you recognized him, recognized every purpose driven stride, the steady sway of his shoulders-

Though him kissing you hadn't necessarily been on the list of things you had expected.

You're pulled to your tiptoes, and for a moment you think it might be a dream, the way he audibly groans when your lips begin to move against his. But he doesn't relent, and you don't want him to. So you lean up, wrapping your arms around his neck as soon as your muscles can catch up to your thoughts.

You feel his tongue gently glide over your bottom lip, a gentle urging for you to reciprocate- which you're more than happy to oblige. The kiss turning somehow more heated, sloppy even, something you had never experienced yet something that you never want to end.

But all too soon, he does pull away, his fingers threading through your hair, "I'm sorry-"

Again, hearing Simon Riley apologise was just not on the bingo card for tonight.

He presses his forehead to yours, your heavy breaths mingling with his, remnants of whiskey and bourbon filling your nostrils,

"Sorry?" You look up at him, eyebrows tightly knitted, "For what?"

"The mission.. I shouldn't have- I didn't-" --he stumbles over his words, scarred lips finally pulling into a grimace, "Hel, is it true?"

The way his gaze bores into you feels intimate, like he's trying to peel you apart, "Gonna have to be a little less vague there.. I'm smart, but I can't read minds."

Your breathy chuckle helps to ease the tension, if such a thing were possible with how close he still holds you,

"That you've never been with anyone, like that.."

Oh. GOD FUCKING DAMN YOU, MACTAVISH.

When you take a step back, he reluctantly lets you go, his expression faltering for a moment- and you hate it. Hate that you had possibly hurt him- but you just needed space to put it all together, to try to explain.

"Yes.." his face falls even more, and it's like you can feel the shame that radiates from him, your hands reaching for him on their own, fingers tangling into the fabric of his shirt, "But I wanted it.. I wanted.. you. I want you- jesus, fuck- I'm so bad at this."

"You didn't say anythin'.."

You shake your head, a laugh huffing through you as you look to the inky sky above, "Would it have changed anything?"

"I wouldn't have-"

"You wouldn't have done what you did? Why?"

That seems to stump him, his mouth opening and then closing, opening again, "You deserved more."

"Simon, just because I've never had sex doesn't mean I'm completely naive.." You initiate the kiss this time, mimicking the way he had held your face, pulling him closer, "I'm under no illusion that it's suppose to be this magical moment-"

He eagerly returns your kiss, an arm wrapping around your waist as you continue, "And, let's be honest, having 'The Ghost' on his knees was waaayy better than sex."

You feel his smile right before he bends down and hoists over his shoulder,

"Simon!"

But, your shrieks and giggles fall on deaf ears, hands smacking at his back in a lame attempt to wiggle free, "Mm.. no, no, keep screamin' my name, sweet girl. I like the way it sounds."

a/n: this one got away from me… but your honor, they’re down so bad for each other 😭 thank you for reading!!

[PT 4] (coming soon)

#simon riley x you #simon ghost riley #it’s getting hot in here yall #haha oops #it’s a four parter i guess #sorry?#call of duty #cod fandom #cod fanfic #john soap mactavish #task force 141 #kyle gaz garrick #john price #reader #fem reader #no y/n

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daz4i · 2 years ago

Text

oh wait i did promise a full dazai and nikolai comparison post didn’t i. time to deliver. no keep reading button, we’re clogging everyone’s dashboards like men. enjoy

clowning

so. i doubt i need to elaborate much on nikolai’s clowning - it’s very plainly put in the text, he along with other characters constantly call him a clown, and he obviously takes on a clown persona.

nikolai’s method of clowning is to take it to the extreme - everything he says sounds like a joke or pure nonsense, making you doubt everything that comes out of his mouth immediately, even when he’s saying the truth.

dazai’s is only slightly more subtle. i’m basing this on no longer human, given that so much of his character is based on yozo. dazai puts on a mask of a carefree, funny, lazy guy, especially to the agency, just like yozo does

his method of clowning is to seem genuine. pepper in just enough truth to make others believe him. seem reliable enough to make others trust him. but never showing his full self, so you should doubt everything he says

ultimately, the same outcome, done with different methods

so, we all agree they both do it. now, let’s analyze why. dazai’s is more obvious imo, so let’s start with him.

with the agency specifically, it makes sense, gotta appear nonthreatening n all, seem like a normal guy with absolutely no past in the mafia (at least at first). i’d also say it can be used to make his enemies underestimate him - no one expects the goofy silly guy to pull a knife on them, after all, and you definitely don’t expect him to be a mastermind.

on a deeper level, if we go back to the yozo train of thought, it’s also to protect himself. no one can leave you, hurt the deeper parts of your soul, attack you personally if they can’t figure out who you are. no one can get close enough to matter to you then get taken away, the way oda was.

nikolai’s reasoning is less grounded in canon or external works (that i know of), so feel free to disagree with that part (with any part of this post tbh.) but in my interpretation, he does it for multiple reasons:

same as dazai, not letting anyone close enough to get him to care. nikolai sees bonds as something chaining him down - he cares about fyodor and sees him as a friend, and that’s why he wants to kill him. if you see him, he will care about you, and he can’t have that. better to have the self inflicted cage of a mask than have the key in someone else’s hands, if you wanna be poetic about it.

chaos! a lot of what nikolai does is to subvert expectations, be illogical, to prove the existence of his free will. nothing more chaotic than a clown

to contrast dazai, rather than make his enemies underestimate him, nikolai’s intention is to make his teammates underestimate him. he’s trying to throw their suspicions off him - oh, he defied the plan fyodor set up? well, can’t blame him, he always does silly shit like that. look how crazy that guy is, obviously he can’t follow orders - so he can freely do what he wants and only have them catch up way later.

already, we see a lot of similarities, as well as opposites-within-the-same-action. let’s continue

death

tldr: both are supposedly willing to die, yet still avoid death.

dazai sure managed to survive a lot of suicide attempts, huh! weird how all of his on screen attempts - especially since oda’s death - have been using methods that are easily to survive, like drowning. that’s so strange guys i wonder why’s that (psst i wrote a whole post just about that already)

and nikolai sure did give a dramatic speech about how dying will set him free, very convincing! weird that he faked his death, then. hmmm.

granted, nikolai’s speech might’ve been The Page’s work, but tbf it does align with his views on this topic so i’d like to believe there was some truth there, just like there’s some truth in dazai’s suicide attempts - yes, they want to die, but... there’s more to be done first.

both of them seem to hold a high value in the act of dying, and both see it as being set free. both feel trapped in their own life - nikolai outright says so, that he feels caged inside his own head, and if you dig into dazai’s character song you see him describe life as a “never-ending today”. both see death as salvation from their situation, but won’t get down to achieving it.

this is actually a good place to transition to our next topic,

meaning

since i mentioned dazai’s character song, one thing he seems to focus on there is looking for meaning, or rather being frustrated that he hasn’t found one yet (he also brings up this internal conflict in the dark era, but the song solidifies it as relevant even in his current state). dazai tries so hard to find meaning, but can’t.

nikolai’s fixation on free will, i’d argue, is not quite a search for meaning, but rather a struggle to prove there is no greater meaning in life, in order to ease his own guilt. none of his murders matter at the end of the day... right? then why does he still feel this way?

ironically, both can find meaning in their bonds - dazai has many at this point, with oda being the main one he might’ve found meaning in before, and nikolai has fyodor - but this is scary. they’re not used to having meaning, to caring. and so we circle back to the clowning, to pushing people away, to wanting to kill fyodor, to the comfort and familiarity of no meaning.

guilt

like onions and ogres, clowns have layers. bear with me here.

on the surface, you’d expect them both to feel guilt for their horrendous acts. peel a layer, and it seems neither of them particularly does, otherwise they would stop doing it, you’d assume. peel back another layer, and... honestly, i think they do, but are just repressing it.

this is smth i get less from the text and more from their real life counterparts, tbh. going back to the yozo comparisons, he does outright say “i’ve lived a life filled with guilt” which. is very fair to expect to hear from our dazai. meanwhile the real life gogol straight up died because of his guilt. i don’t think asagiri would overlook stuff like that when turning them into characters.

nikolai also does outright tell atsushi he feels guilty for the atrocities he committed - though, pretends he didn’t mean it immediately after, putting back one of those layers we tried to peel.

going back to dazai’s song, it’s the “the tainted past, too, begone!” line that i feel is nodding to it. dazai obviously knows the things he’s done while in the mafia are wrong, seems like he knew while being in the mafia as well given his conversations with oda during the dark era. but this really does make it seem like he regrets it, imo.

they’re both repressing their guilt for the same reason they won’t die. there’s more important shit going on. dazai outright tells atsushi that wallowing in guilt is pointless, and we see him move forward and execute plans even if he’s still feeling guilty throughout, and even when he needs to do some dirty work to make them happen. nikolai is the same in that regard - he’s just hyperfocused on this goal of proving his free will, and guilt is another thing that’s keeping him caged, so he must break free from it. wallowing in it will simply be counterproductive.

sorry i gotta talk abt fyodor now

but it’s gonna be short i promise

so we’ve got this all knowing, unbeatable, super smart guy, right? anyway what if the only people we see outsmart him were 2 suicidal clowns. wouldn’t that be funny

so, it’s a bit tricky to call it “outsmarting” with dazai considering how their whole Thing is give and take that’s not going to end any time soon, but fyodor obviously views him as someone on his level so i’m counting that. he wouldn’t put this much effort into someone he didn’t think was less smart than him. and, he calls him a worthy chess opponent for a reason

nikolai did outsmart him, though. nikolai was supposed to die. nikolai wasn’t meant to survive the plan, let alone come to meursault and put fyodor in a death game when he could’ve escaped using the vampiric guard he planted in the prison instead. nikolai is throwing an unpredictable wrench in the plan of the guy who knows how everything is gonna turn out because humans are so predictable.

clearly they both affect him a lot, more than we see others have. both of them are the only ones so far we’ve seen get on the same level as fyodor

and, both of them are seen by fyodor. nikolai explicitly says fyodor is the only person who sees him, and dazai is seen because they are the same, on a certain level. fyodor understands them, which is why it’s even more impressive that they can outsmart him, imo

in conclusion

asagiri i am on my knees begging. make them interact properly please please please

fr tho, i’m curious if this means something. because this is a huge amount of similarities, especially when they’re not really related in any way and barely ever talked. does it mean anything?? how about nikolai being able to use his ability on dazai, does that mean anything????? asagiri please give me some answers i am asking so nicely

anyway. thank you for reading! lmk if i missed anything, or reblog with your own additions and analysis. if you disagree with anything i said, feel free to express that as well, just be respectful. hope i managed to infect you with my brainrot as well. have a great day :3!

#bungou stray dogs #bsd analysis #bsd osamu dazai #bsd nikolai gogol #nikozai #<- man idk. is this even a ship?#long post #dan rambles #please reblog this i worked hard .#this is probably the most organized post i made abt bsd so far #or in general lol 😭 better appreciate it

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lovelyyandereaddictionpoint · 2 years ago

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Christmas | Yandere Twisted Wonderland

Your dearest friends from Twisted Wonderland have landed in your world. Whether by blunder of the mirror or an outside source their stuck just in time for the holidays. It’s Christmas and the party is here your Christmas royalty and your ready to show these sad men from Twisted Wonderland what your all about! Especially since they all seem to be fighting over someone lately.

“Alright boys get your fairy-tails in gear! I’m not called the Queen/King of Christmas for nothing!”

Hanging Decor with Floyd Leech

You groaned as you balanced the untangled garland around your body. Realizing that the only ladder you could use was under and in service of Riddle who was intent on properly straightening the decor he directed his dormmembers put up. Standing on some stairs you called out to the only one who could help.

“Floyd! Here, boy! Floyd!”

Weeks ago you might’ve been scolded for calling your friend like a dog but after living with the sadistic-eel-mer-corset anything to avoid his destruction was promptly ignored. He came dashing past others without care before skidding to a stop in front of you.

“Turn.”

Like clockwork, he followed your command as you hopped on his back initiating a piggyback ride. Apparently, no one in Night Raven was ever brave enough and they weren’t you to ask this giant if he liked to give piggyback rides. All too easily are you able to train this giant into being your speedy, tall method of transport.

“I need you to hold me steady while I hang this Garland.”

You proceeded to struggle as Floyd randomly shifted his weight and bounced you against his back. When you did try to gain some stability he’d only readjust his hold from the groove behind your knee to your upper thigh. Giving it a tight squeeze causing you to squeal before attempting to focus.

“Ne~Ne~Shrimpy? How about you get higher, yeah? Climb up on my shoulders!”

You rolled your eyes before doing just that, finally getting in the position to hang the garland to hang where you wanted it to. You found while Floyd continued to shift his head and body you could easily stabilize yourself if you simply tighten your thigh’s grip around his head. When you felt Floyd’s hand come up to press further relieve the tightness of your hold you internally chuckled at the irony. Nonetheless, you completed your task finally relenting to let Floyd have the playtime he so rightfully earned.

“Well then Floyd, go ahead. What game do you want to play now?”

“This game where you try squeezing me!”

“Like with a hug? Sure, then let me down and I’ll-”

“No! No, we’re already playing just keep closing your legs.”

“B-but this is kind of embarrass-”

“I might just be out of the mood to help with any more decorating.”

“Ok ok just don’t walk around…I don’t want the other guys to see…”

“Okay!”

Floyd had no intention of that happening in the first place. Not because he didn’t want to flaunt how tightly your thighs were squeezing on his face. Because he did. It was more so that he couldn’t have anyone witnessing his own reaction. To say the mer-eel was excited was an understatement. He was practically drooling at the pressure you were applying to his head; no doubt a knee-jerk reaction to being so embarrassed. He didn’t need anyone to see him practically shrilling in arousal.

“F-Floyd!? H-hey!? Tap me if you want out! Please! Please!”

Vil and the Christmas Closet (Vil, Kalim, Idia)

This was something you both dreaded and celebrated. To let the closest professional in fashion and culture that’d you’d ever meet, his opinion mattered quite a lot. Especially to your Christmas collection of funny to charming sexy outfits to wear until the New Year.

“If you claim such a position of the holiday then I’d expect you to have the wardrobe to show for it!”

You expected no less from Vil Schoenheit. Demanding before festivities were held that you model your closet for him. Knowing full-well that he’d most likely definitely tear you apart you invited some…neutral team players.

“I’m sure you’ll look great in everything you wear!”

“W-why am I here?”

Kalim was a wonderful team player. You doubted the man had an insulting bone in his body. Idia on the other hand was here on account of your support and Vil dragging him here with the message being: ‘Here video-game-obsessed potato, bear witness to an otaku with actual fashion sense.’

With bated breath you walked out from behind the visor, giving the group a turn before striking a pose.

“That’s fitting…if you were someone’s grandparent.”

“That is fair.”

Ouch. But you could take it.

“What fun! Can I wear it when we do our contest?! I think you look super inviting.”

“Aww, thanks Kalim!”

“Hey. Focus!”

Vil interjected scoffing and pouting as he waited for Idia to respond. Poor Idia seemed to be crying in the corner…oh…wait…nevermind.

“Hahhahahaha even I think that looks ridiculous! It's like you equipped a rigged piece of armor that just drains your likeability! Hahaha!”

“I assume that’s ‘game speak’ for–never go outside the house like this?”

“Hahaha, that’s an understatement!”

Going through your closet was more or less the same. Vil would either give a generous or honest take, Kalim would cheer in support without actual direction, and Idia would crudely rate it based on otome love interests who, in his opinion, got this thing right.

“No no! This is all wrong! Is this seriously the only type of tie you wear!?”

“Well no I have these-”

“Noo I can’t have my true love doing this much for a mere holiday!”

“Wait what’s wrong with–”

“Says you Idia-san! I loooveee these ties and I love (Y/n) in these ties!”

“Oh please! Your just saying that because that's all you’d want to see on them! With your freaky normie fetishes.”

“Uhm hold on–”

“I think you should be more honest about your feelings! You were thinking the same about that hat I’m sure!”

“You-!”

“Ahem! Anyway, the point is your collection is sub-par. Therefore,” he smirked making you realize this may have truly been the aim, “I’ve already purchased fitting replacements.”

All on hangers wrapped in expensive packaging he pushed them into your person until you conceded and disappeared behind the visor.

“B-but Vil these look so pricey…I don’t want to take your money.”

“Please. You know the quality of these will outlive any ugly sweater and besides, I don’t plan to spare any expense on your beauty.”

You struggled a little but were eventually able to squeeze into the form-fitting bodice of the outfit all while verbally convincing them that you were just fine.

“Gahk! Wow.”

“Uhm (Y/n) are you alright? Do you want me to come back there!?”

“What? Ah-”

“Kalim I’d think you’d try to be less obvious about your intentions. But if you do need help darling I am the one that ordered those thus I should be the one to help.”

“Hahaha thats real nice of you Vil but I got this! I have to fit into clothes all the time!”

“That are tailored to fit you.”

“Vil your talking as if you don’t either.”

“Touche.”

You made a show of coming out from behind the visor lifting the trailing skirt of the suit as if it were a dress. Letting it drop as you posed for dramatic effect.

“So what do you guys think?”

Everyone seemed so stunned; you could only hope it was in the good way. As if to soothe your fearful heart when Idia not so subtly pointed his picture to you as he took a picture.

“Y-you really look like the Winter spirit. The white looks…magnificent on you!”

“Thanks Idia.”

You smiled at him, letting your ego be boosted by the pink tips that seemed to spread throughout his hair. Completely oblivious to the way all three of your audience kept getting closer; close enough to touch.

*Smack*

“Hands off Idia. Your grubby hands are sure to make stains.”

“But your hands on their–”

“I’m adjusting.”

Vil in fact was adjusting the suit of the torso, showing you the proper way to wear it comfortably, because rich people have it different. You failed to really take into account the lingering touches that the supermodel was giving, writing it off as him fussing over your outfit.

Vil stepped back but only a little to admire his work, “I knew you’d look good in white. Now you can truly look the part for that title.”

“Thanks a lot, Vil! I really appreciate it!”

“Of course, you deserve it my love.”

“Wow, you look like you’re about to get married! Would you marry me?”

“What?!” Kalim beamed hugging you by your waist purposely drawing attention from Vil who was respectfully still in front of you.

“Hey! That’s a forbidden question!” Idia piped.

“Don’t answer that potato, (Y/n). I already know what you’ll say.”

“Uhm–”

Sleeper Squad (Leona, Silver)

The fire kindled in its place, the weighted comforters you collected, and the continued buzz in your stomach from the hot chocolate you happily downed moments before. You were ready for your Christmas nap. Having spent the whole day tirelessly preparing for Christmas festivities you were finally letting yourself sleep. That is until you stepped on something warmer than your rug.

“S-silver?”

Hearing nothing but a relaxed puff from the sleeping knight who was faceplanted on the carpet. You debated leaving him there for your nap but ultimately decided if there were anyone you would have been wiling to share your nap time with it’d be the ultimate napper of Night Raven. You buckled down working to carry Silver’s deadweight off the ground to plop him on the arm of the couch you originally had reserved for yourself.

“Phew, okay now its time for my nap!”

“Good I’ll join you.”

You snapped towards the other side of the couch where Leona was already pulling at your blankets and shifting into the cushions of the couch. You refrained from starting a one-sided fight with the Savvannaclaw dorm leader and instead to spite him you curled up next to him on him. Cozying into his your puffed your chest, holding your chin up high as you pulled at the blankets. It wasn’t long before the pull of sleep became more intense letting the smug teasing you would have done become mumbles. Completely unaware of the way his emerald eyes widened before closing them to growl possessively into you as he curled in on himself. Lulled by the vibrations of his growl you just barely heard and answered the question Silver tiredly groaned.

“(Y/n)? You’re taking a nap too? Can I…zzz…come to?”

“S-sure.”

Wasting no time he crawled from his side of the couch to comfortably snuggle into the opening in the blanket. Cozying around to put an arm around you, Silver fought sleep as he could vaguely feel the other arm holding you into their owner’s chest.

“Grrr back off,” Leona seethed through his teeth as if any noise would of roused you at this point. He was already aware of the sleepy Silver falling asleep in the crook of your chest. What he wasn’t expecting was for the preciously closed eyes to flutter open in a glare directed at him. Before Leona could raise alarm Silver was already fast asleep along with you, who was tiredly accepting the warmth of the notorious nappers.

“C-*Yawn*-’mon L’ona, lets sleep.”

He relished in the tired call from his mate and proceeded to inch closer to your behind, breaking the barrier, where Silver was tightly holding onto you, with his arm. Fully placing himself as your big spoon resting himself on your shoulder he could see the grey glare of Silver as he adjusted himself begrudgingly.

With that the sleeper squad was assembled and doing the only thing they could agree upon.

An Intro-course to Cheesy Hallmarks (Riddle, Ruggie, Idia)

“I’ve gathered you all today because I have deemed you all to be the most out of touch with modern interests. And during Christmas, I’d be a monster not to introduce you to not only the tradition but the example these cheesy Hallmarks show for possibly problematic relationships!.”

You could already see Riddle’s stern face of silent rebuttal before he shrunk back into the couch. Since you had come back to your world you had decided it was the perfect oppurtunity to try and get implement your self-subscribed therapy…or thats what you called it.

“Idia you already know why you’re here. right?”

“Yes it's typical of me not to invest any time in Normie movies but I’ve heard of the dumpster fires these movies can be and I can’t wait!”

“That’s the spirit!”

“Wait! Why am I here?! I’m not socially inept like Riddle!”

“Hey!”

“No worries you are just here because you have good taste!”

“Yeah!”

Ruggie’s cheering was looked at with distaste by Riddle and Idia who were both contemplating setting him on fire. Noticing the tense aura the two were giving off you frantically caught their attention.

“Anyways you guys get comfy while I get snacks ready!”

They watched as you rushed away, waiting until you were completely out of ear shot before deciding to release some of the building tension. With arms behind his head and a smug smirk on his face he boasted to the others.

“Did you hear? I’m the one with good tastes Nishishishishi.”

“...yes.” “We heard.” Riddle and Idia responded no longer hiding the deathly glare on their face.

Ruggie hummed, “Then I’m sure you could hear the wedding bells already ringing.”

“What?!” “Huh?!”

“Don’t you see? They know I have class and it’ll just be a matter of time before they realize we’re the perfect match for one another.” Ruggie pressed further relishing in the vein popping from Riddle’s head as the prefect clutched at his pants. Idia cringed before letting out his own response.

“Ewww, you think they’re going to settle. For a normie like you?! Please, you’ll be lucky to be invited to our wedding. A normie like you wouldn’t understand it though, it’ll be anime-themed.”

“Right like they’d even sleep in the same bed as you! No offense, but your like the biggest nerd I know. ”

“And?! You think they’d want to be with a shifty normie, like you? Ha I doubt it!”

The two bickered back and forth with various insults leaving Riddle to excercise the breathing techniques you had worked on him with.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Now Smell.

Popcorn and hot chocolate? Nice.

Now taste.

Nothing now.

Now listen.

“...well I don’t expect (Y/n) to realize their suddenly madly in love with Dr. Frankenstein!”

“...its obvious your too busy following that alpha chad to actually care about them!”

Speak.

“(Y/n)’s not going to be with either of you.”

“Huh?!” “Who says?!”

“I do and I’m willing to behead either one of you if you get in my way.”

Ruggie and Idia were livid each moving to strangle confront him in the middle of the couch stopping when you reentered the room with popcorn in hand. You excitedly went on about the recorded movie you had chosen completely unaware of the passing birds being flipped and silent threats being made as you finally joined them on the couch.

“Alright lets get this show! on the road!”

You cheered as you cozied into your spot between Riddle and Idia who both were enduring the drooped ears and glare from Ruggie. For the two by your side it was all fun and games before the movie started but as the show commences they’re playing a different tune. Idia’s the first to suffer atempting to reach for the popcorn bowl in your lap only to grab a squeeze of something else.

“U-h! Idia!?”

“What?!”

“Your hand!”

“What?!”

“I-its squeezing my chest!”

“.....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

You try and assure him that it was okay to make the mistake while reaching in the dark. But he was far too embarrassed or so he says to even stay and continue the movie, claiming he had to excuse himself to his room to cleanse himself from his perverted actions. Dismissing himself while cradling the offending hand all with pink fiery hair as he disappeared. Riddle shivered in disgust as he caught a glimpse of the lovesick smile on Idia’s face. He shook his head before looking towards the screen. It was him against Ruggie.

He kept his cool watching the movie as he periodically sent a look to the hyena boy who was scooching uncomfortably close to you. With speed and precision Ruggie was already moving an arm behind you, slowly slinking behind you to pull that move.

“Here (Y/n), got you a blanket for our binge watching.”

“Aw thanks Riddle! Wanna share?”

“Of course!”

Riddle happily pulled the blanket he dropped behind your head to the front expertly removing the hair pins that were dug into the couch. He smiled wider as he registered the wet liquid lingering on the needle. To add to his satisfaction Ruggie was silently wrapping a bandaid on himself, stifling a growl as he watched Riddle snuggle close to you.

“Oh so you like that Red? Trust me your going to see this trope a hundred different times.”

Mistletoe with Malleus

“I’m happy to find you out here, my child of man.”

“Mal-mal?”

You turned from looking out from the balcony of the venue you were in. Wearing the modernized cloak with green glowing accents Malleus stood letting his horns appear with the green firelights. You smiled as you leaned on the beam, filled with the nostalgia of your meets at Ramshackle.

“Well isn’t this a familiar scenario, eh Tsun-o-taru? Are you having fun?”

“I suppose you could call it that but in truth I value our meetings over any gala.”

You chuckled, thanking him before you invited him to stand under the cover of the balcony as you looked at the dazzling lights of the city below. You pulled his arm next to you as you leaned slightly over the rail to point at the grand cathedral, you had visited days before. Smiling at the memory you couldn’t register the obsessed look on the dragon-fae’s face as he witnessed the textures of your face.

“See? You can even see the gargoyles from all the way up here.”

“Mmmh. I appreciate the themed spot lights on them. The decorations there were superb I cannot say the same for this venue.”

“What?! What d’ya mean?”

“Well for one the tree wasn’t green. Who in their sane mind decorates a black tree?”

You giggled as he continued.

“The decoration is non-parallel. For instance the collection of berries hanging on only this beam and not the others.”

You snapped your attention to the beam above locating the naughty plant as you felt the heat rising on your cheeks.

“Ah-uhm! A Malleus you don’t know what this is?”

He looked pointedly to you at the name before trying to identify the reason for your fidgetting.

“No. Should I?”

You could feel the heat continue to consume your face as you had to explain.

“W-well Miseltoe is..uh..a plant that has a sort of…a tradition…”

The blushing only got worse as Malleus cutely tilted his head as you continue to fumble this explanation.

“This tradition is…well…let me just show you, would you please give me your hand.”

Smiling in intrigue he did just that, truly curious as he watched you embarrassingly take his hand.

In a moment it felt as though the snow circled around you two like magic. The muffled sounds of the party ceased and Malleus could barely registering the intake of breath he refused to release. Not as you bent down kissing the glove on his hand like a prince to his princess in tales of old. The sight of your eyes looking up at him as your lips left the cloth of his glove sent him into waves of euphoria, hardly containing the tail he kept hidden.

For you it seemed as if Malleus was frozen. You hoped it wasn’t in horror but in shock. Either way you released your hold on his hand as you shrugged.

“The tradition for mistletoe is that you kiss whoever is under it with you. I didn’t want to overstep and kiss you on your face since that’s–”

“Perfect.”

“W-what?!”

His emerald orbs seemed to glow with hunger as he pulled you into him by your waist. He tightened his hold on you using one hand to cradle your back and the other to hold your head into his as he kissed you. The first kiss was innocent, a kiss meant to reciprocate a feeling of interest isthere before diving for more. Harshly kissing at your closed lips before locating an opening to shove his lengthy tongue. Even as you pulled at his hair with your oxygen running out, all that was met with was the curling of his tail against his and your body. When he finally does release you you could only lean on the beam as Malleus continued to cage you against it.

“It seems we are still under the mistletoe. It is only right that we pertain to the tradition.”

#yandere christmas #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere christmas twisted wonderland #yandere floyd x reader #yandere vil x reader #yandere kalim x reader #yandere idia x reader #yandere malleus draconia #yandere riddle x reader #yandere ruggie x reader #yandere twst x reader #yandere malleus #yandere malleus x reader #yandere leona x reader #twisted wonderland #christmas twisted wonderland #yandere twisted wonderland x reader #yandere twst christmas #yandere christmas special

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losersimonriley · 1 year ago

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MWIII SPOILERS!! Ghostsoap fic below the cut

Lifetimes to go

1080 words, fix-it, fluff, do not read if you don’t want mwiii spoilers

It was a dream. A nightmare. The ones that feel so real he can still smell the blood upon waking. It’s usually his family’s blood. Sometimes his own. Not this time.

This is the first time Johnny has featured in such a heavily realistic horror his sleeping brain thought funny to conjure up. Las Almas nightmares had nothing on this one—the legitimacy of it. Pools of Johnny’s blood on the pavement, steadily oozing from the head wound, soaking through his gloves where he’s pressing all for naught. He’s already gone. Johnny dying. Right out of reach. Not getting to say goodbye. Not giving Johnny the courtesy of hearing I love you from his lips even one time before his life was so crudely cut short. Leaving Ghost alone.

After everything. Just like that. Alone. Again.

The way his chest heaves, the way his stomach clenches—his body thinks it’s real. Something about it. Something about it.

It could’ve happened. Easily. If Soap hadn’t snapped Makarov’s neck with all the force of a madman right then, it could’ve—

“Ghost? Wha’s it?” comes a deep, sleep roughed voice to his right, breaking through all the fuzz in his head.

Johnny MacTavish is alive. Johnny is taking up half the bed in their safehouse and has yanked all but a quarter of their sheet to the floor during his sleep. Johnny’s cheek is squished against the pillow and blue eyes, even lit with nothing but moonlight splashing through the window, blue eyes are trained upward at him. Johnny MacTavish is beautiful and beside him and so very much alive.

“Nothin’,” he whispers, lowering himself back down to his own pillow. Facing Johnny this time. He’d gone to sleep with his back to him like a wanker and maybe that was the fatal mistake. One he won’t make again.

“Right,” Johnny snorts, “Shot up like a rocket, ye did.”

Maybe it’s his heart still hammering in his chest, maybe it’s because of the dream, maybe from how fucking tired he is, maybe because it’s just so easy. That’s why he does it—raises a bare hand to Johnny’s face. Fingertips trace through the stubble on his jaw. Rough. Real. Alive.

“You can’t leave me.”

“Simon?” Johnny’s turn to whisper. It’s too heavy a moment for normal volumes. This world in the darkness where they’re half asleep after narrowly avoiding death, and Ghost thinks he might’ve just felt Johnny actually bite it in some other life…softness is the only way.

“Don’t die,” he orders. Johnny scoffs and lays a hand right over top of his own, effectively holding him to his face. And don’t let go.

“Bad dream, aye?”

He bites down on his lip hard enough that there’ll be a sore there come morning. No, not a bad dream. So much worse than that.

“That multiverse shit might be real. Swear I think you just died in another world. Felt it.”

Johnny’s not expecting that one, if the sudden raise of brows is anything to go by. Ghost can feel his facial muscles shift under his palm. Alive.

He’s silent. Just searching Ghost’s eyes and Ghost looking right back in that way they do sometimes. Words without words. Johnny’s reassuring him that he’s still alive, still here. Minutes must go by of just staring and it does work some of the tension out of his tensed muscles. Funny, that. That there can be a human connection so deep that only shared looks can melt the pain right out of a heart.

“Multiverse Soap shoulda’ been more careful then.”

Maybe multiverse Ghost should’ve done a better job at protecting multiverse Soap.

“I love you,” it comes out much more choked out than he’d have liked.

He surprises his own fucking self by just releasing the sentiment out into the wild like that. Fucking hell. His stomach is instantly in knots again. So much for all the silent work Johnny just did to calm him down. He’s shaking, although he’s not sure if it’s from the false grief his body is experiencing, the adrenaline from being thrown awake so rudely, or the nervous anticipation of what he’s just admitted. All of them at once, he reckons.

Johnny picks up on his demeanor immediately. Typical. The utmost care is written plainly across his face as he strokes his thumb over his knuckles, one pass after another in what must be the world’s most soothing touch. Doesn’t pull away. Doesn’t hightail it out of their shared little bed like his life depends on getting far away from Ghost. It should. No, Johnny only smiles with that lovely crooked mouth of his. Alive.

“Love ye too,” he says, like it's as easy as breathing.

Maybe because it is. They’re Soap and Ghost, Lieutenant and Sergeant, Johnny and Simon. When has it ever not been easy like breathing between the two of them?

Right, then. That’s settled. Squared away.

Johnny shuffles closer, head coming to rest on his pillow. He does let go of Ghost’s hand then, only to slowly move it to his unmasked face, their positions perfectly mirrored. Calloused fingers brush curls back from his sweaty forehead and he’s never felt so seen. Never felt so loved.

“I’m not goin’ anywhere, Simon. Hounds of Hell would have to drag me away kickin’ and screamin’. Ye know that.”

“I do.”

“So ye know, then,” Johnny shifts impossibly closer, their air mingling together. Ghost’s still heavy and uneven breaths against the sureness of a low Scottish purr. “Ye know if—when I do die one of these days—”

Ghost gives a firm shake of his head. No. They literally just determined that it wasn’t happening. Ever. And he knows he’s being a right cunt, demanding something so absurd. But he also knows Johnny understands what he means when he says don’t die.

Don’t die until I have you to myself for years and years to come. Don’t die until you’re old and grey, a retired captain. Don’t die until we have a life comfortable enough to say goodbye to. Don’t die before I do.

“I’ll just find ye again,” Johnny finishes with a little shrug. Plain and simple.

“That easy, huh?”

“That easy.”

Maybe in some far off dimension, Simon Riley is mourning Johnny MacTavish and the love they never got a chance to set the world on fire with. He feels for the poor bastard.

In this life, they’re solid. They’re here, all but merged into one being. Alive. Blessedly, perfectly, alive. With lifetimes to go.

Anyway that was ghost experiencing the what the fuck????? moment we all did! I wrote this last night in a spite driven flurry and slapped edits over it today. Might wait a bit to post on ao3-we’ll see what everyone else does lol

Taglist: @cumikering @soapsdish

#mwiii spoilers #mw3 spoilers #ghostsoap #soapghost #ghoap #my fic #mw3 #mwiii #do NOT click the read more if you don’t want spoilers!!

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clumsiestgiantess · 5 months ago

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Just for y’all, a short that became a little two-part story (next part coming soon) inspired by this post by @tinyascanbe

@thetinylittlespider @entomolog-t @tinyundercover y’all seemed interested in this unforgiving angst, so here you go!

Blood trickles down my arm for.. I don’t know, maybe the fifth time? Sixth? I’ve only been like this for three days. Already the threat of bleeding to death is a common occurrence for me. It’s not like I have much blood to bleed out anyway. I’m.. I don’t know how small I am. The grass is taller than my head, and bugs can be anywhere from forearm length to larger than myself. I really just want to go home.

I was jogging through one of the nearby neighborhoods like I always did, when something felt wrong. Lightheadedness clouded my thoughts, so I’d stepped into a lawn beside myself to avoid getting hit while I recovered — perhaps I hadn’t drank enough water. However, by the time my head cleared, I was standing below the grass I’d previously been stepping on.

At first it was just confusing. How could something like that just happen? For a while I had myself convinced that it was some weird dream; I hadn’t even woken up and started my day at all. However, things got real rather quickly once my search for a clearing in the forest of weeds and blades of grass landed me at the edges of an anthill. I’d been chased out of there — hounded down and nearly bitten to death.

Their jaws.. mandibles.. whatever the hell they are.. nearly tore my limbs right off my body. I had to beat at their eyes and heads relentlessly until they were forced to let me go. I just wasn’t strong enough to get out of their grip. To think I once flicked them off me without a second thought. Now, after managing to get far enough away from them to stop and look at my injuries, I found that all it took was a few hard bites to put a limb out of commission for the day. Thankfully, I hadn’t gotten many more than that, or I would’ve lost a limb permanently.

It was like I’d been dropped on an alien world. I’m all for a good hike, and I know a decent amount about camping out in nature, but no survival guide had ever told me how to kill a beetle the size of my torso for a meal, or warned me that said beetle could then turn and try to make a meal out of me. That was about all the hunting I was up for once I was left with large gashes torn out of my back and arms.

Every day and night since then I only became more and more aware of just how awful life had become. I’d gone from believing it was a dream, to begging for it to be a dream. Though if anything it’s a nightmare.

My only hope is getting to the house that this yard is connected to. If I could just get someone who isn’t a bug to find me — someone who wouldn’t try to hurt me on sight or stare at me with an emotionless terrifying face as I pass by. I’ve barely drank anything the last three days, and I know I haven’t eaten. Sleep is basically an afterthought. Everything starts shrieking at night, and even if it were silent, something might come and drag me away the moment I doze off.

By the dawn of the third day, I start hallucinating. I- I swear I can hear my friends voices. They’re here somewhere with me, right? They came to find me, right?! I can’t.. die out here alone.

There! Oh my god there’s someone here! “HELP!” I screamed, stumbling blearily through the endless stalks of grass. They’re running from me; why are they running?! “PLEASE! COME BACK!”

I.. might’ve fell? Scrambling upright, I rushed through the grass and weeds that seemed to have grown denser with each step. I couldn’t run through them anymore and begun clawing at their stalks, desperately trying to carve a path through. How did they get through so easily?!

Sobbing angrily, I shoved and pushed and clawed- and passed out. It could’ve been an hour or a few seconds later when I came to. I was in a ditch of dirt, grime coating my arms, shoulders, and especially fingers — everything I’d used to make my way through the strangely dense plants. For a brief moment I sat in silence, then bubbly laughter began to wheeze uncontrollably from my parched throat. “I was clawing up dirt the whole time!” I gasped through almost manic laughter. “It was pointless! I- There wasn’t anyone there!”

And that’s where I’m at: bleeding out from the wounds I tore open yet again — curled up in a ditch I’ve dug for myself. It’ll most likely be my grave. My stomach growls angrily and my insides start to burn. The acid inside it jumps up my throat, and my uncontrollable giggling quickly morphs into a sob. “Please… I- I can’t do this anymore…” I whimper, clutching my stomach only for my atrophied muscles to spasm and ooze blood from my cuts.

“JUST KILL ME!!!” I shriek into the void, “IT HURTS!!!” One moment I’m laying there in my own blood and tears, the next I’m being dragged away by something. Some large and furry creature starts dragging me across the ground with one of my legs in its mouth. I let it. At least I’m going somewhere.

I.. think I fell asleep? More accurately I probably just slipped out of consciousness. But I wake up once pain begins tearing freshly against my back. I’m no longer being dragged over dirt, but rough concrete. The front step. Holy hell, I made it. Forgetting about wanting to give up, I kick the creature as hard as I can with my other leg. It squeaks, drops me, and runs off.

Slowly and agonizingly, I drag myself to the first and only step. If it were day one or maybe two, I could’ve managed getting over it, but now, starting up at the top from the ground… it’s impossible. I’d die trying to make it up. “Someone h- help..” It was supposed to be a scream, but I couldn’t even manage that. Panting in pain and sobbing in desperation, I silently beg someone — anyone — to come find me. No one does.

I wake up in complete darkness, unable to move. Terrified that I’d died, I cry out. “H—?” Well, I try crying out. I hear rumbling, like distant thunder. If it rains I think I should drown myself at this point. There’s a scraping around me. I’m inside a box or.. some kind of container. Sudden light flashes into my vision and I yelp, closing my eyes as they painfully adjust.

“Y- You woke up?” A voice echoes through the air — far too loud to be normal. I blink through the new lighting and stare up at the person towering over me. A middle-aged woman looks down from above, baffled. “You… I- I thought you were dead!” I flinch at her exclamation and turn away, only to find myself at the bottom of a small box made to fit a bracelet or necklace. The perfect size to become a makeshift coffin for something my size. “I-” I cough as my throat closes up for a few seconds. “I’m sorry?” the voice from above asks. They lean closer in time to catch the tail end of my coughing.

“Oh! Here, I’ll get you something to drink. I- I’m so sorry I sealed you in a box; poor thing! I.. thought you were already dead, but I was too fascinated to bury you quite yet.” I’m not sure whether to be thankful for that or be terrified by it. What do you mean, ‘fascinated’? I didn’t have the strength to get up so I just sorta.. lay there, staring at the ceiling way too high above me.

When she comes back, the giant- ..human. Human, not giant. I’m just.. small. She tries to sit me up, but my whole body tenses in pain and I cry out in agony. I’m released as she flinches, and I fall back to the bottom of the box with another sob. “Oh honey, I’m sorry!” she apologizes hastily, “I- I didn’t mean to do that. You- You’re hurt! Here, let me help you.” She dresses my more obvious wounds, gently moving each limb as she cares for it. Picking up my hand, she gently turns it over — pressing it between her fingers as she scrutinizes it.

“You’re.. so small,” she says in awe. “You aren’t a fairy-tale creature, are you? You’re wearing.. normal clothes.. so I’d think you aren’t. Those shouldn’t even be that small…” I briefly glance down at my under armour tee.

“Are you…? Did you…?” She keeps pausing, unsure what to say. “Were you normal-sized before?” I nod weakly, and she gasps. “Oh no! How long have you been out there for?” With a shaking hand I manage to hold up three fingers. “Three hours? That must’ve been awf-” I interrupt her with a head shake. “Three.. Three days?” That time I give a nod. “No wonder you’re in such awful shape! I can’t believe it… I found you curled up at the bottom of my doorstep. I thought you were my youngest’s toy at first, but when I picked you up you.. started bleeding.” Her voice grew hushed, mind wandering.

“Do you have anyone at home to look after you?” she asks me. I begin to shake my head, then pause as the realization dawns on me. I.. can’t even go home. I won’t be able to get anything to help myself. The gigantic person leans down over me to check my understanding and I quickly shake my head so she’ll get back. “Oh.. that’s alright, honey. I’ll take care of you in the meantime. Do you need anything now?”

“Wa— Water-” I manage to choke out. I desperately wanted to talk to her — to ask her if she could bring me something more comfortable to lay on, or at the very least feed me. The woman nodded, “Of course! I forgot I even brought this. You’ll have to sit up, though. You’ll choke otherwise.” I knew that. I want to sit up. However, I can’t even move without severe pain stopping me. “Here, let me.” Fearfully, I watch her fingers slide down to the sides of my head. I cry out, trying to duck to get away from the massive digits. Her squeezing and pressing my hand was terrifying enough; I was nearly convinced she would accidentally twist it in the wrong direction. But my face.. my head?! One strong grip will be enough to cave my skull in.

“No, no, no! Shh, it’s ok! I won’t hurt you; I’m just trying to help.” “I -n— th-t!” I squeak out, nearly incomprehensibly. My muscles sting while I try in vain to cover my face. As her fingers nudge my head upwards, I squeeze my eyes shut and try to force away the horrible dark thoughts. This is what I wanted — someone who can help me... So why is this just as terrifying as being outside?! I nearly scream as the pad of a gigantic finger rests at the back of my neck. I can feel the strength wavering just behind it. I can feel just how little pressure she’d have to apply to get it to snap.

My head slowly gets pressed upward, and I can’t help but sob slightly. “Aww, you’re alright little one. I’ll be very gentle,” she tells me sweetly. With tiny crumbs of food, and an oversized cap of water, she feeds me — right out of her hand. It’s.. the only way I can eat without awful pain, but it’s humiliating! After the first few bites to save my stomach from eating me alive, I debate going hungry rather than letting this happen.

After letting me eat for a while, the woman places a torn-off piece of a cotton ball beneath my head where her finger used to rest. I want to ask: ‘you couldn’t have done that earlier?’ but hold back. Mostly because my voice still sounds awful and unrecognizable, but also because I need her. I can’t yell at her to get away from me, unless I want to try surviving on my own again…

“Alright,” the woman sighs, startling me from my thoughts, “I’ve got to get to bed. Will you be fine, or do you think I should stay up to watch you?” “I’ll be f-ne,” I rasp. She nods slowly, “Ok.. I’ll come check up on you a bit later, alright? Should I leave the light on?” I shake my head. “Just call for me if you need anything; my name’s Kristine.”

Stepping away from wherever she placed me, I watch her hand reach up to somewhere beyond my view and click off a lamp to the side of me. For a long while I lay there in complete darkness with nothing but my thoughts and the dull throbbing of.. basically everything. It was only then, in the middle of the night, when I actually needed to call her, that I realized I couldn’t. My throat was too scratched up. I fall back asleep with my stomach roiling.

The next morning, I wake up to an empty room. Without a gigantic person hovering around, I feel brave enough to test my injuries. Things finally seem to work again. I can get up out of the little box I’d been placed in; I can speak properly. Wandering the dresser where I stand, I use the free time to stretch my muscles — figure out what I can and can’t do. The food and water I was given still sit beside the box, so I help myself to it. I’m practically starving again.

After filling myself to satisfaction, I notice a cord running down the back of the dresser. It’s such a tempting idea to slide down it to the floor… Surely I have enough time to explore and come back. She might not be back for hours. The logic seems sound enough to me. I head for the space between the wall and the dresser and cautiously slip between them, shimmying downward. It’s not so bad of a journey, but then I get to the opening at the bottom. The place where the dresser stops and I can’t wedge myself between the large walls to stop myself from slipping. With all the horrific events prior, my spent muscles can’t keep up with the sudden weight, and I tumble what must be the equivalent of eight feet to the floor.

Oww. That wasn’t the smartest thing for me to do directly after recovering, I’ll admit. Standing wobbly to my feet, I look around the vast space. Every piece of furniture, no matter how small, looks like a skyscraper to me. It’s simultaneously terrifying and incredible at the same time. Dust hangs in the air — reflecting sunlight like ambient lighting. The carpet flooring nearly reaches my waist like an open field of high grass.

I get about a quarter of the way across the room before the gigantic door to my right swings open. My heart thunders rapidly in my chest as I watch the giant person step into the room. I try my hardest to convince myself I’ll be alright. This isn’t an actual giant — just a person who looks like one from my tiny perspective. She won’t try to hurt me. Yet, I rethink my decision to stay instead of hide once she steps directly towards me while completely unaware of where I am.

“Wait!” I cry out fearfully as her foot approaches, “I’m down here! Don’t-!” My words cut off as I brace myself for an awful weight to crush me down from above. “Oh! Oh my gosh I nearly stepped on you, little thing! Why are you on the floor?” Little thing? “I- My name is-” A hand the size of a large truck descends and snatches me into a fist before I can finish speaking. Did she even hear me speaking?

Now I really am frightened. I writhe in the giant woman’s grip, but to my horror, she only giggles. “Oh stop it! That tickles!” Trapped on all sides by warm skin, I try kicking at the walls but it’s completely useless. Seconds later she opens her hands and I fall ungracefully back into the little box where I’d woken. I yelp in pain as I hit the bottom. “Hello?!” I cry in outrage, startling the behemoth who dropped me. “Could you be a bit gentler!? I could barely move yesterday; I’m lucky just to be able to get up and walk around!”

I’m given a pitying glance, which only makes my resentment stronger. “Aww, even if you do get hurt again, I can always fix you up! Besides, I don’t think it’s such a good idea for you to be wandering around the place, anyway. Who knows what other ways you might get hurt. I almost stepped on you just now!” “And who’s fault is that?” I mumbled. “Here, I’ll be right back,” she tells me, slipping easily out of the room. As if she hadn’t completely skipped past the point that I wasn’t getting hurt — she was hurting me.

With Kristine gone for quite a while, I expected her to bring back fresh food for me, maybe something comfier to line the box that’s now my bed. Instead, she comes back with a large plastic container with a snap-on top that’s lined with slits and features a little magnifying glass window — a cheap creature container. A horrified chill seeps through my skin and clings tightly to my bones. “No… No! What do you think you’re doing with that?!” I scramble out of the little box and make a run for the electrical cord, but my muscles tense with pain and I stumble across the counter.

My bruises scream agonizingly as I fall against a wall of flesh. “Wait-!” I’m scooped up into a palm and deposited on the cold surface of the plastic container. My voice cracks as I realize what’s going to happen to me. “Please! I- I just want to go home! I have a life! I have a family! You can’t keep me here!” My captor smiles softly at me, then begins filling the container with various items for me: a few blankets cut out of fabric scraps, some cotton balls, a little container of food and a bottle cap of water. “Honey, I’d love to take you home, but you’d have no one there to take care of you. I’m sorry, but keeping you here is the safest thing for you. You’ll be fine; I’ll get you whatever you need!”

I blanch at how calmly my captor tried to soothe me. As she reaches to place the lid over the top of the enclosure, I make another attempt at freeing myself. “B- But.. Can’t I at least stay out there?” She shakes her head and my heart drops into my stomach. “I’ve been meaning to hide you somewhere, anyways. I don’t want my kids finding you small like this, and I don’t think you do either.” “I can hide from them! I can-!” I’m cut off as the cage lurches forward into my captor’s arms. I watch through teary-eyed vison as the container is brought into a walk-in closet and shoved onto a high shelf. Moments later, an old shirt is thrown over the top of it. “There,” I hear Kristine say satisfactorily, “That looks perfectly hidden!” Then, her footsteps begin to fade. “NO! WAIT! COME BACK! Please, you have to come back! I can’t live here like this! PLEASE!” I desperately hit the side of my cage — banging on it to call for her return. My desperate voice echoes around me now that everything’s covered. I fall to my knees and cringe awfully as pain ricochets up my arms and legs. Panting in pain and sobbing in desperation, I silently beg someone — anyone — to come find me. Still, no one does.

#horrible transition from field to cage for this tiny character…#hopefully the next part will treat them a bit better #g/t #giant/tiny

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