#sorry it took so long! Work has taken up more of my time in recent days.

[pieman1112]

Do you think Spartan-197 or Rebecca would have any talent for Valentian magic, actually? I was a little curious when I reread one of our older threads :)

I think it depends on how the magic works for Valentia. If the magic has any inherited properties through genetics then they probably wouldn't be able to but if it can be learned then I think that Spartan-197 would have a better chance with it then Rebecca would.

Spartans were generally trained to use all weapons that were in the UNSC arsenal so that they would be equipped for any mission. When the Covenant attacked and the Elites joined Humanity against the prophets, they had a chance to train and use the Covenant weapons. Hunter kept this mindset when he arrives anywhere that isn't a UEG world.

In the free time he would have, aside from cleaning his own weapons or other tasks, he would probably study other magic users to see how it's done and try to copy their movements or stances to replicate the spells. He would also have S.T.A.R analyze footage of the mages both in combat and in practice to see the best way to utilize the magic staffs and tomes.

Rebecca might struggle a little more than her father. Her focus may be on learning the healing magic as that would be an area she understands a little more and without access to UNSC medical facilites to resupply her medical pack, she would have to adapt to how medicine is used in Valentia. She may also try to learn the basic spells but may struggle a little more with the higher rank spells.

[elizabethsnuts]

The most recent fic with Hotch’s daughter was chef’s kisses! It’s just too cute! Can we get one where baby Hotch has her father’s frown and scowl? The team finds it hilarious but Hotch is so surprised. 😂

Cranky-Pants

Aaron Hotchner x Daughter!Reader

Summary: You didn’t get enough sleep last night and were grumpy all day, the team couldn’t help but find it funny that you looked like your dad when you were angry.

———

Today was just not your day, you were tired, you were cranky, you missed your midday nap and you wanted to take a long sleep but you couldn’t as your dad had taken you to his work again.

Aaron was also not in the best mood as you kept him up for most of the night and now was giving him a hard time because you were tired, so tired that you wouldn’t go down for your nap.

Aaron was holding your hand as he walked out of the elevator, you were trailing a bit behind him, stomping your little feet angrily as you walked. You let out an angry noise and stopped walking as your tiny shoe came undone.

Aaron sighed and knelt down to tie your shoe. “Y/N, I know you’re tired and cranky and I’m sorry but can you please be a little nicer.”

You huffed in annoyance and crossed your little arms. “I nice!”

Aaron looked at you and raised his eyebrow slightly. “You are not being nice to me right now.”

You let out another irritated noise before you squealed as Aaron picked you up and held your arms down so you didn’t flail them around. He walked into the bullpen and immediately heard the giggles and chuckles from his team.

His face contorted into a curious and confused frown. He looked around at the others. “What’s so funny?”

JJ and Derek were giggling, Spencer was covering his mouth to try and contain his laughter. Derek crossed his arms and chuckled again. “She’s got the same frown as you, Hotch.”

Aaron frowned again and quickly looked at your face. “What? No, she doesn’t!”

Derek shook his head and pointed to your face and then to Aaron’s, you were both making the same face. “Yes, she does! You can’t deny something that is right in front of me and I can see with my own two eyes. She’s got the same frown as you.”

Emily smiled and took you out of Aaron’s arms, gently patting your back. “What’s with all the frowning today, cranky pants?”

You looked at Emily with a scowl which caused her to widen her eyes and let out a surprised chuckle. “Woah alright, baby Hotch. You sure do look like your dad when you’re angry.”

You just whined and put your pacifier in your mouth, resting your head on Emily’s shoulder. She started to gently rock you while keeping up the back-patting, trying to get you to sleep. You were very obviously tired.

Aaron looked over to see you half asleep on Emily’s shoulder, he saw your eyes close and the soft sucking of your pacifier slowing. He breathed a sigh of relief as you stopped fighting sleep and eventually gave in.

“I don’t know how you did that, she didn’t sleep at all last night nor did she take her nap today.” Hotch gently rubbed a hand over your back, a small smile on his face as he saw your little frown in your sleep.

Emily chuckled. “What can I say? She loves her Aunty Emily.” She softly stroked your cheek, trying to jokingly pull your frown into a smile. “She looks just like you when she gets cranky, y’know? Same frown, same scowl.”

Aaron chuckled and shook his head. “I didn’t even realise, it’s a bit surprising.”

Emily raised an eyebrow and smiled, still gently rocking you. “Surprising that she looks like her dad?”

Aaron shrugged and smiled back at Emily. “Just thought she looked more like Haley.”

Emily looked back at your face, quietly studying it. “I don’t know, I think she looks like you both. I definitely see you in her though, especially in her expressions.”

Aaron’s smile widened into a genuine one, he gently took you back into his arms. You stirred a little, moving your head around. Aaron quickly but gently moved it onto his shoulder, softly combing his fingers through your hair. “Shh-Shh-Shhh, it’s just me, sweetheart. Go back to sleep.”

You mumbled in your sleep quietly and relaxed into him, your tiny fingers gripping his suit. You loved your dad even if you did get angry at him because you were tired.

[slayfics]

Explode Here

You try to get closer to Katsuki during a study session.

1.4k words

You and Katsuki entered the dorms at the end of the day.

"We still studying?" you asked him.

"Yeah," he responded.

"Alright, I just got to grab my phone charger in my room, and I'll meet you," you said, walking toward your dorm. 

"It's fine. We can just study in your room then," he recommended and began to follow you.

You froze momentarily taken off guard by his suggestion.

"What? Do you not want that?" he asked, noticing your hesitation.

"No! It's fine," you said, trying to hide your surprise.

Katsuki had been in your dorm before but, you two hadn't hung out there just the two of you. Over the past few months, you had gotten to know him more and in turn your crush on him had intensified. As a result, the thought of him being in your room caused butterflies to erupt in your stomach.

You opened the door to your dorm and Katsuki made his way to sit on the floor and leaned against your bed. You puttered around the room and he took out his study materials.

You made quick work of tidying up some things around your dorm and creating a perfect atmosphere for the occasion. Your hands slightly shook as you plugged in your phone and scrolled to a playlist you thought was fitting.

Katsuki didn't pay much attention to you as he was still setting up his things and scrolling on his phone.

"Be right back," you said as you hastily walked into the restroom and shut the door. Panic ensued. It's not a big deal. You told yourself as you took a deep breath and tried to get ahold of your nerves.

It pissed you off that you could be so calm and collected when it was anyone else. Yet when it came to Katsuki you were a mess. Overthinking everything you did and said. It was childish but you just wanted him to like you. So far, your antics must have been working. Katsuki was so closed off to anyone else that you counted it as a win that he even came to your room. The only person you knew he had hung out with like this was Eijiro.

You ran your hands under the water of the faucet and splashed your face with water trying to ground yourself.

"Ok," you whispered to yourself and looked at your reflection in the mirror. This uniform has got to go you thought as you undid the red tie and tossed it on the towel rack. Next, you undid a few of the top buttons of the white collared long-sleeve shirt until you were satisfied with the cleavage shown.

Taking one last deep breath to hype yourself up, you swung open the door to the restroom.

"You ready yet?" Katsuki asked irritated, moving his gaze from his phone to you. Despite his irritation, his pupils dialed when they caught sight of your new appearance. His eyes quickly averted back to his phone as a blush crept onto his face.

"Sorry," you apologized, as you took off the uniform blazer and tossed it on the bed only showcasing your figure more. "I'm ready," you said and sat next to Katsuki on the floor.

Katsuki remained quiet, a timidness now growing inside him. How was he supposed to focus on studying now when you looked like that?

"Where did you want to get started?" You asked and pulled your own study materials out of your bag.

"Here," he said roughly shoving his book at you to show you the page he was on. His gaze still averted from you.

You let out a sigh, mistaking his introversion for disinterest in you. "Ok," you said half-heartedly and you two got to work studying.

The study session proved to be unsuccessful for you both. Neither of you had much of a mind to concentrate on. You found yourself devising plans to get closer to Katsuki and pique his interest. While Katsuki was internally yelling at himself for the confusing feelings he had. Up to this point in his life, all that was ever on his mind was being the number one hero, so being distracted by you felt like a weakness to him. Yet, at the same time he wanted more.

"Wait this one is confusing me," you said commenting on the recent hero law you both had just gone over.

"Seriously? It's easy," he said.

You ignored his rude comment, "Aizawa was talking so fast I couldn't take notes on it," you complained. "Let me see what you wrote," you said moving closer to him. You brushed against him as you leaned closer to read the notebook in his lap. 

Katsuki tensed up, "I'll read it to you," he said shifting a bit away from you.

Katsuki began to read, and frustration erupted in your mind. You knew he had to feel fond for you, so why did he push back on all your attempts to be closer?

You sighed and listened to him explain.

"Make more sense now?" he asked.

"Yeah, but then what about this part?" You asked pointing with your pen to another law. You sat at a respectable distance as he explained more to you.

You followed along in his notes as he explained but the scars on his hand caught your attention as he pointed out different subjects to you.

You grabbed his hand to inspect the scars and he stopped mid-sentence.

"The fuck are you doing?" He asked.

"Which training did you get these?" You asked.

"Tch- this is why you can't remember anything you don't listen!" He barked but didn't remove his hand.

"I am listening!" You yelled back and repeated everything he just explained to you.

"Good, then what about the last law we went over today in class?" he asked.

"Can you go over that one too?" you asked hesitantly ready for another lecture, but to your surprise, he agreed.

As he explained, you grabbed your pen and began to doodle on his hand. Katsuki stopped briefly, "I'm listening promise." You said, and he continued. His hand lay in yours as you drew on his palm and listened to his explanation of the hero law.  

With your eyes focused on his hand Katsuki took the opportunity to finally steal glances at you without your knowledge. He hated how his heart rate increased every time he did. Looking back at his hand he scoffed, "That supposed to be me?!"

You giggled, "Yeah," and brought his hand up for him to inspect the chibi drawing you did.

"I don't look that angry," he complained.

"What are you talking about?! You literally look like this right now! It's a splitting image," You teased and held his hand up next to him to compare.

Katsuki grunted and pulled his hand away.

"Wait! I'm not done!" you said and made a reach for it. To your surprise, Katsuki didn't fight you as you pulled his hand back down to draw more.

"There," you said completing your doddle.

Katsuki brought his hand up to his face and let out a scoff.

The words "Explode Here" were written with an arrow pointing to the center of his hand.

"Alright well, I think that's enough for today then," he said packing up his stuff.

"I've irritated you to your max?" You questioned teasingly.

"Hah! That happened a long time ago," he said with a teasing smirk back. "See ya tomorrow," he said standing up and throwing his bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah goodnight," you said as he left.

You let a frustrated groan once he was gone and threw yourself on your bed. You thought Katsuki was just a stubborn boy and would take longer to admit his feelings but, maybe you were wrong, and you should stop trying so hard.

You prepared yourself to give up the chase until you saw Katsuki the next day in class. Nothing happened, he didn't say anything, and he didn't even greet you with anything more than a nod. Yet, when he sat down and brought his hand up to rest his chin on- you caught sight of your doodle still on his hand. A grin spread on your face knowing he hadn't washed it off.

The doodle remained on his hand for the next few days to come, and at the next study session, you two had he commented, "What? No artwork this time?" as he offered his hand to you.

sinners: @queenpiranhadon @unofficialmuilover @maddietries @fiannee @i-heart-carlisle @derangedmango @matchat3a @bakugouswaif @reneinii @peachsukii @pastelbakugou @abadbitchblogs @deluluforcarlos55 @b134ch-m4h-ey3z @pinkpurpledreams @that-one-fangirl69 @dreamcastgirl99 @jays-adventure3 @bythevay

[junipers-archive]

i just read your recent Spencer Reid fic and ugh, I’m absolutely in love with your writing, do you think you could write something about him having a crush on the pilot who flies the BAU jet?

OMG sorry this is so late and it took me so long to get to this request but i hope i did it justice!! {this needs to become a consistent au on my blog!}

word count: 500

"Sorry for the delay! The maintenance engineers are just making sure the plane will be completely compliant with the controls." You're smiling brightly as you enter the cabin of the plane where sits the team you've just recently started flying for.

"I-Its really no problem! If you'd like I could help- I-I have a phd in engineering and I could-" Spencer, who you've only known for about two months now stops abruptly. Much to your dismay because the way the ends of his eyes crinkled and grin spread had butterflies swarming in your stomach.

Looking around you see why, Morgan is just barley containing his smile behind his fist, whilst Hotch has seen to busying himself with the files.

"Uh-Actually sure that would be great Dr.Reid!" You're trying to break the awkwardness but the way he gets up and trips over part of the carpet has you struggling to contain a giggle.

And he is just... starstruck everytime he see's you. Always so taken by how beautiful you look, especially in your pilots uniform.

Once you're outside once more you take the alone time as a chance to finally get to know the young doctor.

"So-uh with all the phds, I'd guess you were a professor of some kind?"

"Uh-yea-yea-well not really" he was trying his best to keep his cool but the flush that continued to return to his cheeks eveytime he was in your presence seemed persistent.

"I-I was scouted after completing my last one by the BAU and put to work with several other high functioning fbi workers-of course I skipped the well to do training in combat because-"

He stopped abruptly, which made you immediately frown. "What's wrong?"

He glances at you surprised, "Sorry, its just I tend to ramble-and it makes people uncomftorable and- and- I'm doing again aren't I?"

You stop and turn to him in a very serious manner that has him standing straighter, "You are not a burden. Do not apologize for having a brain that functions twice as fast as others. Ever."

And if he wasn't in love with you before, he definitely is now. But before he gets to quite literally confess said love or at least ask you on a date the maintenance engineers are hollering for your attention.

With a quick smile you turn to leave, but before you turn completely you see the unsettled dissapointment you're about to leave the young doctor with and decide to be a little more forward that you usually are. Stepping towards his quite fast, you give him a peck on the cheek and walk off with a grin spread wide across your face.

And Spencer, well he doesn't care that Morgan and Rossi just saw the interaction, or that he'll be teased for possibly the next years to come for the dumbfounded expression across his face at the moment because you kissed him. On the cheek maybe. But still. It counts, right?

[delulu-with-wandanat]

ok sooo- reader comes home from school with a pet frog and it causes chaos around the household??? And it jumps in the food that Wanda’s making and jumps on Nats keyboard and makes her send a ton of weird stuff in an email 🤭 but then Wanda and Nat tell the reader that they have to put the frog back outside?

THIS IS SO ADORBSS PLEASE- Ok ok I'm really sorry it took SO long, I just recently have much more free time in my hand. I hope you like it!

Reader Description: 14 Years old, Wandanat's Child <3, gender neutral pronouns.

Pairings: Natasha Romanoff x Wanda Maximoff

Summary: Wanda and Natasha's child is an animal lover. They have the tendency to bring home whatever stray they find, today was no different. They brought home a damn frog.

School was typical, you learn stuff, got in one ear and left on the other. Y/n couldn't wait to get back home. As they were walking home from school, they noticed a little pond. In it was an adorable looking frog just chilling on the leaves.

"Hello you!" They approached the frog slowly, careful not to scare it off. Gently, they bent down to offer their hand and the frog immediately jumps on as if it knows they'll be safe with them.

"Imma call you, Julio." They gently hid the frog in their bag, putting it on top of all the books so it doesn't gets squashed.

In the kitchen of the Romanoff-Maximoff household, two women were enjoying each other's company. One of them was baking, the other was typing an email.

DING!

The timer on the oven went on, Wanda bent down to pull out the tray of cookies she was baking. She put it on the counter and suddenly felt a hand encircling her waist. "Is this your way of charming me so I would let you have the first bite?"

"Is it working?" Natasha asked while nuzzling her nose against her wife's neck, Wanda giggled at the action.

"It is, but it's fresh out of the oven. You will have to wait." Wanda said while leaning her body against Natasha's. Her wife whined while resting her chin on Wanda's shoulder.

"Can't I try it now? It smells so good." It was adorable how different the infamous Black Widow is at home with her loved ones.

Wanda rolled her eyes playfully and turned around to face her, "Patience, my love."

Natasha stared at her with a look that could only be describe as pure love, "Alright. For now then can I get a kiss instead?"

Wanda laughs but leans in anyway to sealed their lips. The two women kissed slowly, there was no rush, and it was full of love. Her hand reached up to circle itself around the former spy's shoulder while Natasha's hand pulled her closer by the waist.

The two Avengers had officially retired, Wanda was first to leave the Avengers. Few years later, Natasha followed suit. They both wanted to focus more on raising their family and be there as much for Y/n, their now 14 year old bundle of joy. Natasha she still helps the Avengers a little, honestly it's hard for that woman to just sit back and relax. However she has taken a more of a 'strategic' position you could say, she's mostly working at home and almost never on the field.

Wanda however, opted to leave that superhero life completely. Catching up on everything she had always wishes to do, while also being a full-time mom. Life is perfect for them.

The two pulled away and rested their foreheads together, Natasha started to sway her slowly while humming some tune. "This is nice."

Wanda had a smile on her face as she was gently being held by her wife, she then recognized the tune Natasha was humming. "The song we played at our wedding?"

"Mmmhmm." Natasha pulled back to look at her wife lovingly. Despite them being together for such a long time, Natasha couldn't help but fall in love all over again for the woman in front of her. Natasha leaned in to kiss the slope of Wanda's nose.

"I love you, Natty."

Natasha laughs slightly at the nickname. She remembered all those years ago she almost shipped Wanda to another country just for calling her Nat. "I love you too, so much." Natasha gave her another kiss, "More than I could ever express with words."

She poured all her love into the kiss, the immense feelings she had for this woman. Natasha would go hell and back for her, and Wanda would do the same. If needed, Wanda would destroy the multiverse just for her. They love they shared was something no one could ever match.

"I'm home!!" A voice was heard followed by the sound of their front door closing.

The two woman smiled hearing their bundle of joy home safe. Wanda, the ever so loving mom, was the first to greet them. "Welcome home darling! How was school?" She asked as Y/n entered the kitchen.

"Hi mama!" Y/n said while hugging Wanda, "School was just school." They moved across the kitchen and hugged their other mom, "I got into the softball team though!"

Natasha gave her a kiss on top of their head, "Well done my darling cub! I'm so proud of you."

Y/n sniffed the air and smelled their mother's baking, "MMMMM" their eyes darted quickly to the tray of cookies on the counter. "I want one!" They tried to take one but their mother quickly stood between between Y/n and the cookies with her hand on her hips.

"Nu uh!" Wanda exclaimed, "Did you get the thing I asked you?"

"What thing?" Her child looked at her, confused. Wanda merely raised an eyebrow, "Ohhhhh... Ughhh fine, I'll be right back." They quickly grabbed their wallet from their backpack, leaving it open on the countertop beside Natasha's laptop, and went back out to buy the eggs their mother had requested.

"You know if you need it that badly, I could've gone out and get it for you." Natasha said while leaning against the counter with her infamous smirk.

"And you say I spoil them too much?"

Natasha chuckles and moved to stand beside her wife who was now preparing to chop some onions. "It's almost time to do some groceries shopping anyway, if anything, I'm spoiling my beautiful wife."

"Mmmm, what would I do without you?" Wanda said while giving her a kiss.

"What are we cooking next, Malysh?"

"Well, there's this recipe I've been wanting to try. And-" As the two woman chatter, unbeknownst to them, Julio the frog had popped out of it's prison. Hopping out of the bag, Julio took in its surroundings.

What a weird place?

Decide is not necessarily the right term, but the frog jumped onto Natasha's laptop. Causing the random keys to be pressed, it continued its journey around the surface before it decided to hop across.

Natasha suddenly felt a notification on her phone, she checked it and her eyes narrows in confusion. "What the hell?" She quickly went back to her laptop to check on the email she was writing, "Why did it sent??"

Hearing her wife's frustration, Wanda glanced at Natasha. "What's the matter?"

Natasha cursed under her breath, "I need to check my laptop for virus. It's opening a bunch of weird apps, and sending gibberish emails."

Wanda's face scrunched up in confusion, "I thought SHIELD would provide you with top of the line anti-virus software?"

"Precisely my point, if it's a virus, whoever it is they're up to no good."

While Natasha did her thing, Julio manages to reach Wanda's prepped ingredients. Wanda however was still focused on Natasha, feeling a slight anxiety that someone something might be trying to attack them.

"Find anything?" Wanda asked.

Natasha's eyes was still fixated on the laptop, "No, I can't find any trace leading to them. They're sloppy, but good."

Meanwhile the culprit was still hopping around the kitchen counter, "Well maybe you should call-" Wanda's sentence was cut off with a yelp, hearing her wife's sudden squeal, Natasha glanced in her direction.

"What, what's wrong?"

"Ew! shoo- SHOO!!" Wanda yelled in disgust, "No- NO get away from there!" Natasha was quick to be at her side to asses the situation.

"Honey, what are you-"

"Ge- GET THE FROG!" Natasha quickly saw it and almost burst out laughing.

"Lyubov, It's just a-"

"Tasha, get the damn frog before I make you sleep on the couch!" Wanda said strictly, Natasha quickly obliged, she darted forward but Julio continued to hop around. "Don't let it touch my cookies!"

Natasha manages to pull the trays of cookies away before the tiny frog could jump on it. However despite the tray having some time to cool down, after holding it for a while Natasha's hand started to burn. "Ouch!" She hastily dropped it on the kitchen island.

"Tasha, TASHA!!!" Wanda squealed as she kept an eagle eye on the frog. Watching it continue to hop around like nothing matters.

"Honey, relax I got it." Natasha tried to calm her down and tried to move swiftly to catch the frog. But damn, the fucker was too good. Even for the Black Widow.

It took them a few minutes to finally catch the culprit. It was mostly spent on Wanda pointing and shouting, while Natasha tries to figure out a way to catch the little bastard. Julio was now trapped inside a container box, yet this son of a bitch is just chilling there as if nothing happened.

"What's... going on??" They heard a voice asked, the two mothers glanced at their child who was was standing on the entrance of the kitchen holding a carton of eggs.

Natasha let out a long breath, "We're alright honey, just a little kitchen accident."

Y/n's face quickly twisted into concern, "Are you guys hurt?"

"No, Detka, it's not that. There was a frog."

Y/n snorted, "A frog?" then realization hit them. Y/n quickly moved to check their bag whilst putting down the carton of eggs on the countertop. Surely enough, Julio was gone.

Natasha, knowing her own child, quickly pieced the puzzle. "Detka... Explanation, now." She said while crossing her arms.

"Hehe, Julio caused this little incident?"

"Christ you even gave it a name-" Natasha rubbed her temple, she loved their child. But holyshit, a damn frog?

"Y/n, you can't just keep bringing animals here!" Wanda scolded them.

"But it looked so adorable!"

"Detka..." Natasha sighed, "Put this frog outside please."

"But Momm-"

"No buts!" Natasha said strictly, Y/n begrudgingly approached the trapped Julio. Who is still sitting calmly, slimy bastard. They carefully slipped the cover underneath it to carry the little frog outside.

"And you're going back to the grocery store after this." Wanda said.

"Why didn't you just text me the extra things you needed?"

"I initially didn't need it until your little friend here decided to jump on my food."

Y/n sheepishly smiled, "Hehe, love you mama." They put on an innocent face.

Wanda sighed, she really can't stay mad at them. "I love you too. Now get that frog out."

Y/n walked out to the backyard while mumbling, "This frog has a name..."

Once Y/n was out of earshot, the two mothers stared at one another and laughed softly. Truth to be told they found the whole thing amusing.

"I think it's time we consider getting them a pet to take care of." Natasha said.

"Are you sure they're responsible enough for that?"

Natasha shrugged, "Only one way to find out. Beside, I'd rather have them being too busy taking care of a pet than suddenly bringing home a bunch of cockroach."

Wanda shivers at the mention of that, "I see your point."

They glanced outside the window to see Y/n ever so gently letting the frog out of the container. It seems like they're... talking to it. Wanda wrapped an arm around Natasha's waist and leaned her head on her shoulder. "It's so adorable how gentle they are with it."

"'This 'it' has a name, y'know?" Natasha joked slightly, Wanda pinched her wife's side causing Natasha to jump a little. But they both had a huge smile plastered on their face.

Natasha wraps her arms around Wanda as well, making Wanda nestle to her even more. "I guess a little puppy doesn't sound so bad."

"Mhmmm..." Natasha hummed in agreement. "Or a cat."

Looks like there will be a new addition to the Romanoff-Maximoff family.

Here you go! I hope you liked it, im so sorry it took so long to make :( But I love writing about Wandanat x Child!Reader, it brings me so much comfort!!!!

[sportswriters]

please a trent fic (smut) morning sex after you both wake up surprisingly h0rny??🩷🩷🩷

hey, thank you for requesting! sorry it took so long to be posted, i really loved writing this scenario with trent. hope you enjoy it as much as i did, have a good read! ;) - ella

a morning off - t. alexander-arnold

pairing: trent alexander-arnold x female!reader | s, f | established relationship | wc: 3k+ | warnings: unprotected sex (wrap it up, everybody, be fr out there)

WHEN THE LIGHT COMES IN, brightening the room, greeting the morning sun to wake us up, my mouth moves in a low, involuntary curse, because any bit of light bothers me and wakes me up almost instantly. I roll over in bed, bumping into Trent's heavy body, not daring to open my eyes, but I know I won't be able to go back to my previous sleep in the same way. He's a heavy sleeper. The world could fall, the light could blind us, Trent won't wake up.

The bad mood reverberates through me for a moment. I lift my hand to scratch my burning eyes and feel his heavy hand on my stomach, an involuntary moan escapes my lips when I realize that he's completely glued to me, our legs tangled together, I couldn't tell where I started and where he ended.

"Trent," I whisper, the complaint taking shape. He doesn't move and I snort. “Damn, you forgot the curtains open again.”

I finally open my eyes. For a week now, the exhaustion of work has taken over our bodies and our routine and we've barely spent any quality time together. The demands of the office have left me stressed and the pressure he felt to get better from his recent injury made him shrink into his own world, but he tried not to add his stress to mine, so we always had dinner together and went to bed afterwards, this being our routine for the last few days and the closest thing to physical contact we had with each other. I can't remember the last time we had sex.

More awake now, I stare at his face, almost too close to mine, serenity taking over his soft expression. Neither of us has to wake up so early or get up for the next few hours, as we finally got the morning off to adjust our sleep and rest our bodies, but my plan to sleep late was ruined by him forgetting to close the curtain so the light wouldn't get into our room.

My lips move involuntarily in a smile. I roll over so that I can lie on my side, facing him, a little closer to his body, and his chest rises and falls in regular breathing. He's shirtless, which gives me a privileged morning view of his body and I start to feel warm. My body has been craving his for days, but exhaustion always overcame me. Now, without the rush that used to surround us almost every morning, I feel compelled to enjoy the moment.

“Darling.” I snuggle up to him, throw my leg over his waist and kiss the tip of his nose, which makes him smile, but he still won't open his eyes. “Wake up.”

I run my hand over his face, admire his beauty in silence and feel my heart skip a few beats. I'll never get used to the feeling of loving this man and that it's all real, because it feels like a dream. A dream that I expect to wake up from every day, but he lives to show me that it's real, that he loves me just as much or more.

Trent starts to wake up. The english player squeezes my waist a little too tightly, forcing me closer and that's when I bump into something hard, quickly realizing that he's aroused. That's great. That makes it easier for me to play.

I kiss his face, move down his chin and onto his neck. I rub against his hard cock and he gives me a husky moan, his hand moving down to my ass, where he squeezes and presses me against him.

“Trent,” his name comes out of my mouth in a moan.

My clit throbs and he finally opens his eyes, staring at me with that sleepy expression of a person who's just woken up, the sideways smile messing up the butterflies in my stomach and I hate that he's so effortlessly handsome. I understand all those girls who insist on sending him DMs on his Instagram profile.

“I've been missing this," he murmurs.

His body pulls me into a hug and he takes the opportunity to kiss the sensitive spot on my neck. I can't remember the last time we woke up so horny like this and I was missing it as well. I'm missing his whole body, his kisses full of ulterior motives, the vibration around my belly that he always made me feel, yearning for more.

“I'm not kissing you," I warn.

The sound of his laughter vibrates through the room and he places one last kiss on the skin at the nape of my neck before turning his face towards me, staring. His fingers smooth the skin of my ass, covered only by a thin pair of panties, all that covers me from then on is just an old shirt of his. He knows I don't like morning kisses before hygiene, so he never objects, although he never fails to tease me.

“But you're going other things, right?” he teases.

His obscene smile gives away his whole idea. There was only one intention for both of us there, and it wasn't the least bit pure. As encouragement, he rubs his hard cock against me again, the friction making us both moan at the same time. Trent's hand slips between my legs and slides down to my panties, teasing me over the cloth.

“Your panties are dirty, baby.”

His thumb swirls against my sensitive clit, the cloth of the panties wet with my moisture. It doesn't take much effort for him to get me like this and, the first few times, I used to be embarrassed by how quickly I got wet because of him, but I've abandoned my shyness. Beads of sweat begin to drip from my back and forehead. I crack a feline smile.

“I am dirty," I tease.

His eyes shine with something I can't identify. The emotion passes through his irises and disappears as quickly as it appears, but the smile has frozen on his handsome face and, taking me by surprise, he gets up and turns me over, leaving me on my back.

“I'll sort it out for you," he promises.

Trying not to throw the full weight of his body on top of me, he starts trailing kisses down my skin, at the same time as his hands go up the shirt I'm wearing by the hem. He does all this slowly until he pulls the cloth over my head and leaves my breasts free, the nipples already stiff with his touch.

“I don't know how I've gone almost a week without this sight," he says, a sigh escaping through his parted lips. I rub my thighs against each other, a bit bewildered by the pleasure taking me, and he smiles. “I'm happy for this morning off.”

“Trent…”

He leans over and bites the nipple of my right breast. The sensation takes me over completely and I thrust into him, wanting more. His tongue circles and sucks and I can't hold back the moans. I want to wake up like this every day. I even forget that a few seconds ago I was angry with him because of the curtains. Now nothing matters more than his mouth causing me indescribable sensations.

I moisten my lips and adjust myself underneath him. His mouth is still busy on my breasts and I want to tease him as much as he's teasing me, but he makes it difficult. His hands slide down to my waist and he spreads my legs further apart, wedging himself in between.

It's a better position and one I take advantage of, crossing my legs around his waist, pressing myself against his cock, feeling it harden. I want to feel him inside me, the morning boner overwhelming me, the longing to be with him like that consuming me and I've never been so grateful for a morning off.

He starts to lower his mouth to my belly and makes a trail of kisses down my skin, sending shivers down my spine, the anticipation moving to the one spot between my legs and I don't mind moaning out loud with his mouth causing me all these sensations so early in the day.

“You're so hot, Y/N” he mutters, kisses my thigh and starts to pull my panties down, getting rid of them by my legs. “That's it, baby, spread your legs for me.”

I obey. He gives me a look before leaning back on the bed, moving his body back a little and leaving his face right between my legs. When his tongue finally touches me, I grip the sheets tightly, gasping, my clit throbbing.

Trent slips his hands under my ass, holding me down, moans escaping me and I'm so immersed in the pleasure he's giving me that I can barely think, sweat dripping down the side of my forehead.

“Oh, that's it,” my moan rises and my hips buck against his mouth, begging for more; a scream almost escapes me when he bites and sucks hard, reaching a spot of mine that drives me crazy. “Trent!”

He laughs against my pussy and tries to make me come. I'd forgotten how delicious it is to wake up like this. I think from today onwards we should think of a way to have some time for both of us in the morning, before we face the day. Maybe it would be a separate exercise to help him with his recent injuries.

A few minutes later, I come in his mouth, my back arches and my breathing quickens. He pulls away and gets rid of the last piece of clothing, his hard cock visible and his mischievous smile mirroring mine. I prop myself up on my elbows and stand halfway up the mattress, admiring him, while he stands by the bed. His curious eyes catch up with me.

“What's wrong?” he wants to know.

My smile widens and I make a point of looking him up and down, proud to be sure that this man is mine and no one else's. If it weren't for my stupid rule, I wouldn't be able to see him. If it hadn't been for my stupid rule about not kissing on the mouth before morning hygiene, I would certainly have pulled him to me at that very moment, but there were still other things we could do.

“Come here," I demand.

I lie back on the bed and he readily comes to me. His body rises on top of mine and he struggles not to let all his weight fall on me, his eyes staring at me with lust. I touch his face, caressing his cheek.

“Make love to me," I ask.

Something in his eyes changes and he adjusts himself between my legs. His smile widens and I know he likes my request, something we haven't done for a while too, although we both enjoyed it very much.

I cross my leg over his body so that he can fit inside me more easily. He moans as he thrusts his cock inside and I hold onto his shoulder as he begins a slow back and forth movement.

“I'm sorry I haven't paid much attention to you over the last few days," he says, his voice a little hoarse, his hand caressing my back, moving up to my face, where he brushes my hair away from my face. “I didn't realize that maybe you were missing me or feeling left out.”

Our bodies move together and it feels so, so good. It's even better than our first time or every other time we have sex. I thrust against him, demanding that he increase the speed a little, his cock sliding in and out easily with my wetness.

"Take this off your mind, Trent," I whisper, kissing his cheek, hugging him as tightly as I can. “There's no way you can make me feel like this.”

There really isn't. He gives me all the attention he can and I understand that our routines can be exhausting, as they have been lately, which has influenced our sex life, but he has never stopped giving me attention because of that. And he always finds a way to reward me. Like now.

“You're amazing, baby," he mumbles, biting my chin to hold back his desire to kiss me, and I smile at his effort.

He increases the speed of his thrusts and my body is still sensitive from the first orgasm, but I don't mind, enjoying being totally intoxicated by the pleasure he gives me. We play a teasing game with each other as he surrenders inside me, our moans and giggles mingling, my nails scratching the skin of his back, his hands squeezing and spreading my buttocks, our sweaty bodies together.

God, I want to wake up like this every day.

“Y/N…” his hoarse voice echoes through the room and I know it's a warning of how close he is.

When Trent mentions pulling out of me to cum, I stop him, wrapping my legs around him. He looks at me with a mixture of confusion, his eyes narrowed.

“Come inside.”

“But…”

I roll against his cock and he moans eagerly. It's enough of an attitude for him to understand that it's okay with me. It's not the first time we've had sex without a condom. Trent turns our bodies, taking me by surprise, and gets on top of me, adjusting himself better. His thumb starts to massage my clit and he wants to speed up my orgasm so that we can both climax at the same time. My back contracts, my toes stretch out and I surrender to him, admiring his beauty with him there, on top, thrusting his cock into me with a speed that’s overwhelming.

My pussy squeezes his cock and he gives me a reproachful look, pinching the skin of my thigh on purpose in silent protest at my teasing him like this. My lips draw into a wicked smile, victorious and satisfied. When I feel him shudder, I know he won't last much longer before he collapses over me with his cum.

He splits my legs even further, pulling them away from his waist, his hands firm against my thighs as he increases his speed, our bodies colliding, the sound echoing in the room. My breathing becomes irregular and I hold back a moan as I feel his thumb continue to caress me, sensitive to his touch.

“Darling, are you sure?” he asks once more.

“Stop holding back and cum already, Trent.”

He laughs at my impatience and fucks me a little harder. My mind can't think of anything else but this, the two of us, his cock inside me, his fingers teasing me, his lips reflecting my smile, our bodies sweating together, our rapid breathing matching the fast, almost erratic beats of my heart.

I push myself even harder against him, I feel him shudder again, his eyes roll back in pleasure and it's when he softens that he finally lets his body reach the apex of orgasm, spilling inside me. I feel the hot liquid and gasp, a thousand sensations reverberating through my body at the same time, all because of him. Trent doesn't pull out immediately; instead, he throws himself over me, without putting his full weight, and I hear his shallow breathing.

“We need to do this every day," he decrees, which makes me laugh.

I put my hands on his shoulders and he pulls out of me, but just when I think we're done, Trent throws himself to the side, but lowers one hand back to my pussy and begins to masturbate me slowly.

“It's your turn," he says.

I meet his mischievous gaze at the exact moment he thrusts two fingers inside me unawares, making sure I come for the second time that morning. He pinches my clit, a moan comes out of my mouth and my eyes light up in his direction. Trent increases the speed of his thrusts, but I don't need much stimulation, the sensitivity of the first orgasm was still present in my body. A few more minutes at that speed, with his mouth now teasing one of my breasts, I reach climax for the second time, my pussy contracting against his fingers.

I feel completely limp, my knees lose their strength and I mentally thank myself that I'm already lying down, or I'd lose my balance. He removes his fingers from inside me and brings them to his mouth, licking up our mixed cum. I'm still recovering, trying to regulate my breathing, but my heart won't calm down at the sight of him.

He pulls me to him, my back against his chest and his hand on my stomach. Trent places a kiss on my shoulder and it's in that position that I forget the world outside, because there's just the two of us, between four walls. It's inevitable not to want to stay in that embrace forever.

“We need to find a way to adjust our routines," he starts. ”I'm a lucky guy that you're understanding of my stresses and all, but I can't not pay attention to my girl.”

I moisten my lips, an affected smile on my face. I place a hand over yours and intertwine our fingers.

"You know I don't mind, Trent," I whisper, reassuring him. “As long as you reward me.”

“Like now?” This time, he bites my shoulder lightly, teasing me.

I turn around, facing him, without letting go of our hands. He looks at me with something in his eyes that looks more like adoration. I love everything about him: the way he always makes me feel safe with his feelings, the way he looks at me, touches me, loves me. I've never even had an excuse to suspect or doubt that. From the start, he's always been transparent.

“Like now.” I touch his face, smiling. “But much more so.”

He laughs, kisses my nose and squeezes my waist. This time, his eyes shine with pure lust and I know what he's going to suggest before his mouth even forms the words.

“Round two?”

[pulisicsgirl]

take the pain away - mason mount

summary: Y/N gets hurt, and Mason is immediately at her side, doing anything he can to take the pain away

pairing: Mason Mount x reader

word count: 3.1k

warning/tags: hurt/comfort, mentions of an injury, sickeningly sweet, tooth-rotting fluff, established relationships, also I wrote this in an airport and it all feels like a fever dream, so tbh I have no idea what any of this says... enjoy!

requested: yes!!

notes: here is another request! so sorry it took so long to get out - nursing school has been kicking my butt these last couple of weeks. thank you so so much for requesting! (and I'm already working on your other one :) )

It was a beautiful day at Cobham as you stood pitch-side, a rare warm March day in London. Your camera was raised to your face as you watched the Chelsea boys practice through its lens, snapping a few photos. Due to the nicer weather, both the men’s team and the Academy players were outside training in the afternoon, and you had jumped at the opportunity to get a few photos that could be used later on Chelsea’s Instagram.

These were your favorite days, when you got to spend time around the teams, watching them interact and doing your best to capture the chemistry between them with your camera. It surely beat the alternative: spending the day indoors, in a corner office, your time consumed by editing photos and sending various emails.

Plus, you would never turn down getting to watch your athletic boyfriend work his magic.

You panned your camera to the left, catching a few of the boys standing in line to wait their turn for a shooting drill that Potter was having them run. Your lens found Mason standing in the back of the line, and your heart fluttered as he looked straight at you, pulling a silly face to try to make you laugh.

You dropped the camera from your face, giggling slightly as you pressed a couple buttons to look at the pictures you had taken. Maybe you would keep those for yourself.

You looked back up at him, shaking your head slightly at his antics. Mason, with a satisfied grin on his face at succeeding to make you laugh, turned back to the line of boys in front of him, bouncing on his toes to prepare to run the drill.

After a few more minutes, Potter divided the boys into three groups, running a new drill with only a couple of the groups at a time. This left one of the groups to take a short rest, and Ben and Kai approached you, after grabbing their water bottles, to greet you.

One of the things that you loved about both working for Chelsea and dating Mason was that you had developed a close friendship with many of the players, having been able to hang out with them outside of work more and more as time went on.

Ben greeted you with a short pat on the back, refraining from hugging you so he didn’t get his sweat on you (which you greatly appreciated). Kai placed his hand on top of your head, ruffling your hair as he laughed mischievously. You scowled at him playfully, attempting to fix your hair as they began asking how you had been recently. You quickly got lost in conversation with them, raising the camera to your face intermittently to get a few photos of the boys still on the pitch.

Behind you, the Academy boys were practicing, running a scrimmage before they concluded for the afternoon. With your back to the group, you hadn’t seen the Academy player dropping to the ground in a slide in order to keep the ball in-bounds. You hadn’t seen the way that he misjudged his speed, sliding far beyond the ball and the sideline of the pitch, right toward where you were standing.

Ben and Kai saw it, though, as if it was happening in slow motion, but still too quickly for them to do anything about it. The only warning you had was a split second where the their eyes both went wide, reaching their arms up to try to pull you out of harm’s way. They tried to shout a warning to you, but it was too late.

The young boy slid into your ankles and you heard a sickening crunch as he knocked you to the grass.

Mason’s head whipped around quickly as he heard you cry out, a chill rushing down his spine as he immediately recognized it as your voice. He saw you on the ground, along with the Academy player as Ben and Kai rushed to your side.

You were confused—disoriented to say the least. Your back had hit the ground abruptly, knocking the wind out of you and leaving you gasping for air. You saw the boy getting up to his knees next to you, rushing out some apology you couldn’t focus on. You saw Ben drop to his knees at your side, and it felt like your head was spinning. You tried desperately to regain your breath, draping your arms over your face as you lay on the ground.

It was then that the brief rush of adrenaline wore off, and the pain set in quickly. A shooting pain tore through your right ankle, causing you to cry out again. In the frenzy of the whole thing, you could hear people trying to speak to you, but they seemed distant, and you couldn’t make out anything that they were saying. You grit your teeth, hating that there were so many people here to see your vulnerable state.

A pair of hands on your sides grounded you back to reality, and you moved your arm, squinting against the sunlight to see that Mason was at your side, kneeling next to your face. His eyes were wide with concern, and his voice started to pierce through the ringing in your ears.

“You’re okay, baby. You’re okay.”

You tried desperately to blink back the tears you could feel springing to your eyes. In most any circumstance you refused to let anyone see you cry, determined to maintain a tough exterior, but the throbbing in your ankle proved to be more than you could handle.

The Academy player that had tackled you was now on his feet, still desperately trying to apologize for his actions. Mason turned and shoved him away from you, shouting something about backing away from you. You saw Reece grab the boy by the shoulders and talking quietly to him, no doubt trying to defuse the situation while also reversing any damage done by Mason’s shouting. He was, after all, just a kid, and he hadn’t intended to hurt anyone.

“Mase, please.” You grabbed a fistful of his training shirt, bringing his attention away from the young player and back to you. He looked back at you, his eyes softening as he heard you whimpering in pain. He helped you sit up halfway, pulling you into his chest. You buried your face in his neck so that no one could see the tears that slid down your cheeks, still holding his shirt tightly in your fist.

Mason slowly stroked his fingers up and down your arm in an attempt to soothe you as Ben explained what had happened. Your leg was still throbbing, leaving you unable to focus on anything that was happening around you. Mason pressed a kiss to the top of your head, whispering soothing words in your ear. He desperately wanted to take the pain away from you, but he didn’t know how.

You felt Mason’s muscles tense up, as he suddenly felt that there were too many people crowding around you. “Everyone back up!” he shouted, startling you. “Back up! Give her some space!”

Several people took a couple steps back at his sudden outburst, but Kai rested a hand on Mason’s shoulder to calm him. “They’re the physios, mate. They’re trying to help.”

When Mason lifted his eyes, getting a better look at the two individuals who were now coming to your side, he realized that Kai was right, recognizing the physios from times that he had spent in recovery after being injured.

One of the physios, a middle-aged woman with a reassuring, gentle look in her eyes, told you she was going to take your shoe off and waited for your short nod before she began undoing the laces.

Mason’s heart clenched in his chest when you gazed up at him with red-rimmed eyes. He did his best to give you a comforting smile, despite the sickening feeling in his gut at seeing you in so much pain.

The physio did her best to removed your shoe without causing you any more pain, but the slight movement of your foot still caused you to whimper out in pain. You grasped Mason’s bicep, and he hissed slightly as your nails dug painfully into his arm, but he didn’t dare to let on that you had hurt him.

When your sock and shoe were both removed, Mason could see that your ankle had already become swollen, beginning to flush a deep shade of purple.

“We’ll need to bring her up to the facility and wrap this,” the physio spoke, more to Mason than to you. She placed a hand gently on your knee, trying to bring your attention to her. “Do you think you can try to walk on it? I don’t think it’s broken.”

You nodded, trying your best to be tough. You let go of Mason’s arms, and he untangled his arms from around you, moving to stand in front of where you were sitting. You took his hands, letting him pull you to your feet as you kept all of your weight on your left leg. The breeze chilled the thin layer of sweat that had formed on your neck.

Mason still held tightly to your arms, standing in front of you and intensely watching your eyes as you tried to settled your foot to the ground, putting some weight on it. Your face contorted in pain immediately as a shooting pain radiated from your ankle up your leg, and your knee gave out. Mason was quick to catch you before you fell. You shook your head vigorously, letting out a quite “I can’t”.

Mason swept you up in his arms, carrying you bridal style as he followed behind the physios and walking as gently as he could so he didn’t cause you any unnecessary pain. With your arms wrapped around his neck, you instinctively buried your face in his shoulder again, finding comfort there.

When you finally made it into the training facility, Mason followed the physios into the treatment room, setting you down on a cushioned table so they could wrap your foot. You noticed then that Ben had followed you all inside, carrying your shoe and camera, which had, remarkably, remained unharmed in the clash. You smiled at him in thanks, and he walked over to you on the side that Mason wasn’t standing to give you a short hug and a kiss on top of your head before he went back out to rejoin training.

The whole ordeal had drained you of any energy, and you let out a sigh as you dropped your head onto Mason’s shoulder. The pain had faded slightly, into a dull throbbing, and his fingers rubbing gentle circles into your back was helping to calm you.

“You doing okay?” he whispered, checking in. Your eyes slipped shut and you nodded into his neck, too tired to say anything in reply.

The physios looked over your ankle, deciding it wasn’t a break, but rather a very bad sprain. They gave you some pain medication, put your foot in a boot, and instructed you to take it easy for a couple of days before you returned to your normal routine.

Mason took you home, waiting hand and foot on you for the rest of the day. He even took the next day off of training to look after you, despite your insistence that he didn’t need to. Though the pain had been miserable, you couldn’t pretend you didn’t enjoy the extra attention that Mason gave you as a result of your injury. He was already a very touchy and affectionate person, but it had been dialed up to 10 ever since that day at Cobham.

That Friday, several days after your injury, Kai and Sophia were hosting a game night at their place. The boys didn’t have a game that weekend, and they wanted to use it as an opportunity to get together and just spend a chill night hanging out.

After reassuring Mason numerous times that you were still up for going, the two of you walked into the house, you wobbling slightly as you were still getting used to walking in the boot. The room erupted with noise as everyone shouted greetings as you entered. Several of the boys came over, patting you on the back or pulling you into a hug, saying how they had missed seeing you at Cobham since your injury. Your heart swelled with affection as you returned their hugs. Sophia came over, pulling you to the couch so that the two could catch up while the boys were talking to Mason.

The night went on, and you learned several new card games and board games. Being with everyone did wonders to lift your mood after a fairly dull week following your injury. Mason was still attentive, constantly touching you in some way at all times, whether than was an innocent hand on your thigh, or an arm wrapping securely around your shoulders and placing a kiss to your forehead every couple of minutes. But you could tell that he was glad to be out with his group of friends.

The rest of the group didn’t miss the extra protective air surrounding Mason as he kept an eye out for you the whole night. It was endearing to see how much he cared about you and the comfort that seemed to wash over him at being able to have you around with the rest of the team again. None of them had ever seen Mason be this way with any other girl—you all definitely had something special. But although they were happy for him, it didn’t stop the boys from poking fun at him periodically for it anyway.

The evening continued, and you began to grow more tired, but you refused to say anything to Mason because you truly didn’t want to leave.

Sophia brought out a new game as the time passed 11 pm, and the game night was showing no signs of slowing down. You opted to sit this game out, waving it off when Ben asked if you were alright.

Despite your best efforts to hide your exhaustion, Mason still noticed, ever the attentive boyfriend. He leaned back on the couch, wrapping his arm gently around your shoulders as Kai and Sophia set the game up on the table in front of you. You sighed in content, resting your head on his shoulder.

You closed your eyes as Mason pressed a kiss to your forehead and mumbled a short, “you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” you nodded, turning so you could look him in the eye.

“Are you sure? Do you want to go home?” you could still see the concern in his eyes as he searched your face.

“No, no, I’m okay, really,” you smiling to try and reassure him. “I promise.”

Mason searched your face for a moment more, seeming to finally accept your answer as you laid your head back on his chest. He turned and continued talking with Ben, and as you looked back toward the table, Sophia held your gaze with a knowing look. She grinned at you, and you felt the blush rushing into your cheeks. You hid your face in Mason’s chest and suppressed a giggle.

Despite having been in a relationship with Mason for several months, he never ceased to make you giggly and giddy with his affectionate gestures. Sophia was always the first one to tease you about how flustered he made you.

The game night resumed as soon as everyone understood the rules, and you untucked yourself from Mason’s side so he could lean forward to play the game. You sat quietly, content to watch as everyone else played and joked with one another. But the longer you watched, the more your eyes began to droop. Like there was a magnet pulling you, you felt drawn toward Mason as you began to slump over from exhaustion, and you laid your head on his shoulder blade. Without turning from the game, he reached behind him, pulling your arms so that they were wrapped around his waist.

You held to him tightly, soothed by his breathing and the sound of his soft laughter every now and then. Mason kept one hand on your arms, where they met in his lap, stroking his thumb softly over the back of one of your hands.

After several minutes of silence from you, he grew suspicious of the fact that he hadn’t felt you move in a while – not even a slight shift.

“You doing okay back there, Y/N?” he asked softly.

He was met with no answer. He furrowed his brow, turning his head to look at you, but he couldn’t move far enough to see your face without shifting you.

“Y/N?” he repeated.

“I think she’s asleep, mate,” Ben commented, sitting on your other side, where he had a clear view of your face. Your cheek was slightly squished from where it was pressed against Mason’s shoulders, lips parted as the muscles in your face relaxed completely.

Mason couldn’t help the warmth that flooded his face as he unwrapped your arms from his waist, pulling your legs so that they draped across his lap and he could hold you in his arms. He kissed the top of your head as you stirred before settling into his side.

“You lovebirds can’t keep your hands off of each other, can you?” Kai teased, grinning at the smitten look on his friend’s face.

“Oh, give it a couple years,” Ben chuckled from the other side of the couch, jumping at the opportunity to get under Mason’s skin. “They’ll be sick of each other soon enough.”

Some of the guys laughed at his remark, knowing he didn’t mean it at all. Mason just kept looking down at you as you laid on his chest, a loving look in his eyes.

“Nah, a couple years from now, I’m gonna marry her,” he replied matter-of-factly, not an ounce of hesitation in his voice. The rest of the group smiled, silently coming to the decision to let you all be and continue playing their game.

With your face tucked into Mason’s chest, he couldn’t see the smile that curled your lips as you heard his words just before you fell back to sleep.

[angel-eyes05]

What's In A Name

pairing: roronoa zoro x fem!reader

summary: as a master thief, you pride yourself on never getting caught. that is until you're caught by the straw hats as you try stealing from their ship. unable to turn you in to the authorities just yet, they'll have to make due with storing you on the going merry in the meantime. but, your time in confinement has allowed you to get particularly close to a certain swordsman. how close the two of you get is to be decided though.

warnings/info: nsfw mdni, oral sex (fem receiving), alcohol consumption, drunk/tipsy sex, face riding, my own sex headcanons for zoro are VERY clear here lmao ,takes place in between jaya and skypiea (please pretend theres more time at sea in between those arcs cause this will not work otherwise OK THANKS), this is for the pre-time skip zoro girlies (he's 19 pre-time skip dont come for me), no use of y/n, the first half of this is just cute shenanigans between reader and the straw hats. its a lot of character building stuff but i like it.

word count: 6.3k

notes: HI GUYS IM BACK IVE MADE MY RETURN I FOUND SOMETHING TO WRITE ABOUT!!!! and its the longest fic ive ever written too god damn what a comeback lmao. ok so i started watching one piece and im head over heels in love with this man...but i'm only up to water 7 rn so i only know how to properly write for pre-time skip zoro so thats how this is gonna go. i was looking for zoro/one piece fics to read but theyre literally all established relationship ones which aren't my cup of tea so im doing it myself lmao. also i didnt proofread i got too lazy sorry if some stuff doesnt make sense sorry sorry sorry but im a simple lazy tired girlie lmao enjoy!!

dividers by: @cafekitsune

You didn’t know any of their names.

You had been aboard the Going Merry for about three weeks now, and you still hadn’t learned anyone’s names. Granted, your reason for being there wasn’t to make friends anyway. That wasn’t particularly easy to do, being tied up in some storage closet and all. 

Being one of the few residents who actually lived on Jaya had allowed you to pick up a skill or two when it came to stealing. Pirates with big bounties and even bigger treasures left their ships unattended at the docks, leaving you with some perfect quick heists from time to time. Some steals were easier than others. As much as you believed in your talents, most of the time your ability to get out unscathed was based purely on the luck of the draw. It wasn’t an easy life, many recent nights leaving you with more injuries than berries and gold pieces, but it was all you knew having lived here for so long. 

After having taken a break from heists for a bit, you finally laid your eyes on a ship worth stealing from. A pirate ship with a goat out in front and seemingly orange trees next to the helm. Most of the ships at the dock had been there for a while, leaving the pirates on board used to your tricks already. Being low on cash was another factor. So, after a bit of planning, you made your way onto the ship.

Earlier, you had found that one of the windows to a cabin had been left open, so you decided to make your entrance through there. You gathered your things and dove into the crystal blue water by the dock. Once you made it to the back of the ship, you took your rope, with your own handmade grappling hook at the end, and swung it to hook on the window sill. Luckily for you, it stuck the landing on the first try. You smirked to yourself and used the hook as leverage to climb up onto the ship. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the ship’s bathroom. Not super ideal. You’d have to venture more out into the ship. But with this came the risk of getting caught. Given your dire circumstances though, it was a risk you were willing to take.

With an attempt to make as little creak as possible, you slightly opened the door into the rest of the interior. Coast was clear so far. Suddenly, a shake rattled throughout the interior. You tumbled onto the floor, pushing open a door due to your unbalance. What the fuck was that, you thought to yourself. It quickly became no matter though, when you noticed the door had opened up to a room with a treasure chest tucked away in the back. Jackpot. You slyly made your way into the room and shut the door behind you. 

The room was neatly kept, with bookshelves, a couch, two sleeping hammocks, and a desk with navigation tools on it. There was even a bar. Though temptation pursued at you, you had to stay on task. While making your way over to the chest, you heard different creaks vibrating across the walls of the ship. You prayed to yourself that it was just the wood’s reaction to the waves. As you had predicted, the chest was locked, so you searched your bag for anything that could key the lock. 

Time became of the essence quickly as the thuds and creaks on the ship grew louder and louder. Finally, the lock to the chest made a perfect click, as the chest unlocked. You lifted the roof of the chest to find a sight for sore eyes: jewels and gold galore. This was it, you were set. You were so in awe with the vision before you, that you had failed to notice the woman standing behind you. The image you saw in one of the emeralds was a tall figure, with jet-black hair just below her shoulders, and dazzling blue eyes. “Looking for something?” the woman questioned, almost sarcastically. You seemed to have forgotten rule number one of thieving. Remember to lock the door behind you.

Quick on your feet, you whip around to throw a punch in her face, but her reflexes seem to be quicker than yours by the way she catches your fist. You then attempt to kick out her legs. The image you see next shakes you to your core. A hand, seeming to appear out of thin air, attaches itself to your calf. The hand then slowly raises your fear-frozen body into the air, dangling you upside down like a party toy. You attempt to throw more hits at her, all seeming to be in vain though. You kick and scream, like a child throwing a tantrum, in an attempt to get out. The woman looks out into the hallway and signals over another one of her companions. Fuck, this is turning sour fast. Before you can make out any other features of the man, besides his cartoonishly long nose, he uses his slingshot to pelt a rock towards your forehead. Your vision goes black as the rest of the pirates rush into the room.

The rough fibers of the rope tying your wrists together were the first thing you felt as you woke up. This was quickly followed by the underlying nausea from the waves rocking the boat, reminding you why you preferred to stay on land. You attempted to stand up, but your dizziness and the rope tying you to the floor weren’t letting you get very far. Suddenly, the door to whatever room you were in swung open, and the group of 7 pirates living on board entered the room. You slinked yourself along the back wall, attempting to disappear into your skin. You weren’t sure what felt worse: The fear of what they were going to do to you, or the embarrassment that you had been doing this for so long and still got caught.

Nope, definitely the embarrassment.

The man, no boy was a better word to describe him, standing in the middle of them attempted to speak to you before a woman with short orange hair cut him off. “If you think we’re gonna let you get off easily just because we’re also pirates, you’d be sorely mistaken!” she spoke, fiery anger lacing her words. The tall woman from earlier put her hand on her shoulder, calming her down, and walked out towards you. You tried to scoot away as much as you could as she crouched down to your level. 

“Listen, we want this to be over as much as you do. We would love nothing more than to get you off our ship and drop you off at the nearest island. But unfortunately for us, that would mean having to find a group of marines to hand you over to, who we aren’t the best of friends with right now. And we can’t drop you back off at Jaya since we’re too far by this point. So, for now, we’ll just have to keep you tied down here if that works out with you.” You began to speak before the woman cut you off. “You don’t have much of a choice in the matter by the way.”

She stood back up and began to exit the room, the other pirates following her except for two. The boy with the straw hat and another man, with striking green hair and three swords lying in a holster on his belt. The boy looked somberly at you as if he was against this whole idea. But the green-haired one just stared at you. As uncomfortable as it made you feel, you couldn’t help staring back into his piercingly soft eyes. “Come on, let’s go,” the green-haired man said to the boy, finally breaking eye contact and turning his back to leave. The boy followed him shortly after. As he closed the door, you had nothing left to focus on except for the itchiness of the rope, the empty stuffiness surrounding the storage room, and your worsening seasickness.

The following weeks had the same routine. Each of the pirates on board took individual shifts watching you during the day when they were just out at sea. The strange reindeer creature would watch you when they were out on islands. The first shift was taken by the tall black-haired woman. She would come in at the break of dawn to make sure you didn’t find some way to escape at night. You two would sit in silence for a little more than two hours, asking and answering some questions before switching spots with the blonde one. His company was strange, with him hitting on you at random points in your conversations, but he always brought you breakfast in the morning. As much as he made you uncomfortable sometimes, you couldn’t deny that his cooking was the best you’d had in years. He’d even let you take a hit off his cigarettes if you ever asked, so his visits had its perks. 

The next shift was taken by the orange-haired one. The first thing she would always do when walking into the room was ask you how creepy the blonde one was. The answer varied on the day. Once she warmed up to you, she would bring you tangerines from the trees out on the deck. As the days passed, she eventually explained that the treasure you attempted to steal belonged to her, which you begrudgingly apologized for. On some level, you felt bad. These seemed to be small-time pirates, just trying to get by like you were. The more you learned about each of them, the worse you felt about your actions towards them. 

Around lunchtime, the long-nosed one would bring you your meal, cooked again by the blonde man. This member would go into detail about his next invention he was working on in his workshop. You admired his passion and energy towards his craft. His rants and rambles were normally interrupted by the reindeer creature coming in for his shift, causing intense, yet entertaining, arguments to break out between the two of them. The reindeer was the sweetest of all the crew members, always checking in on your health and helping you with your seasickness. He would talk about his home and his experiences there. You developed a pity for the creature. His presence was calming, and you felt as if you could let your guard down around him. That would change as soon as the straw hat boy would come bouncing into the room, scaring both you and the animal. You would soon come to learn the energetic boy was the captain of the ship, which shocked you. But you soon came to understand why. His crew had a massive respect for him, even if he was the root of half their problems.

Being on the ship, you got extremely close to all the pirates. Even the tall woman from before seemed to respect you in some way. You enjoyed all of their company. There was something strange about them though. One morning early in your stay on the ship, you could’ve sworn you’d heard the tall woman say something to the rest of the crew. 

“Whatever you do, don’t tell her your name. Your name is your biggest secret.”

You didn’t know any of their names. You had thought you heard some of them speak it to each other in passing conversations, but not enough to remember who was who. You had bonded with them, but if someone put a gun to your head and told you to name your prison guard pirates, you’d be dead in seconds.

Except for one.

Zoro seemed to be his name. He would come in for the last shift. His presence didn’t frighten you, but it slightly intimidated you. His habit of carrying his swords everywhere he went wasn’t helping. He was silent his entire shift, normally dosing off halfway through after spending around an hour sharpening his swords You didn’t even attempt to make conversation with him. You found out his name when the captain would yell for him to get back to his sleeping quarters. “Zoro! Your shift’s done, you can sleep for real now!” he shouted across the hall the first time it happened. Zoro almost bounced up from his sleep and gave you one look before bolting out of the room to catch up to the captain. You could hear the echoes of their bickering from down the hall as you giggled to yourself. At least he didn’t seem to always be that stern.

It seemed crazy to you. His name was the only one you knew, yet you knew the least about him. He had hardly said 5 sentences to you in the three weeks you had been on the boat. His stoicism was one of the things that drew you into him though. Something about his demeanor, how intensely he would sharpen his swords, how his worries seemed to melt away the minute he escaped into a slumber, and how alive he seemed when he was with his crew. It was enticing. You wanted to know more. You attempted asking him questions about himself, but the most you would get were one to two-word answers. The most you got from him was when your seasickness finally got to you, causing you to puke up the dinner the blonde one made for you. “Woah, are you okay?” he asked concernedly, shooting up from his seat. When your only response was a cough and more puke, he ran out of the room to go get the reindeer. One thing he failed to do was close the door behind him. 

You speculated your options. You had no idea where you were. You could be out in the middle of the ocean. Or you could be right about to dock at land. If you managed to scrape yourself about the ever-loosening rope and sneak out, you’d be free. You’d never have to worry about these pirates again. 

At this point though, did you want to?

You took too long to decide, the reindeer rushing into the room with his medical kit, the blonde one short behind him. As the reindeer gave you a dose of medicine and cleaned up your mess and the blonde one held your hand and consoled you, your attention stayed by the doorframe. Zoro leaned against the wood, watching the work from afar. What shocked you most of all was his face. For a man who seemed so disinterested in you and your existence, his brows were furrowed, his cheeks had a light pink stain on them, and a slight frown invaded his face. He was concerned. Maybe even a little nervous. But why? He’d never shown any sort of emotion towards you before other than sleepiness. Once the reindeer and the blonde one left, he continued with his shift. You noticed something though. He sat closer to you than he normally did. 

You couldn’t tell, but you were blushing the rest of his shift.

Once he left, you sat in silence, thoughts racing through your mind, until you finally fell asleep.

You noticed a change in his behavior in the next few days. When you would ask him a question, he would respond now. And with more than just a “yes” or “no” too. He had more energy around you and wouldn’t spend his whole shift asleep. He would even let out a chuckle now and then. You didn’t know what you had done differently to get him like this, but you liked him like this. He was sweeter than he let on. 

Something had changed in you too though. On the occasions, you would catch yourself looking over his appearance. The more you observed, the more you realized how handsome he was. His clear, warm skin, his hypnotic eyes, his striking hair. You caught his appearance giving you butterflies when he would walk into your storage room. Your heart skipping a beat when he would give you even the smallest smile. You would stare even more when he would nap during his shift. Noticing certain things. The way his breath would hitch sometimes. How he always slept with his mouth open and would wake himself up sometimes with his dry mouth coughs. How his chest rose and fell with his soft breaths. How fighting with a sword in his mouth probably made his tongue stronger than other men you’ve met. You felt weird about it sometimes. Almost like some freakish stalker. But you would feel better about yourself whenever you would catch him staring at you out of the corner of your eye. 

As time went on, the crew began to give you some more freedom. The tall woman began leaving some of her archeology books in the storage room to keep you entertained. The orange-haired one would show you all her marked-up maps. The long-nosed one would even let you out of the rope to test his inventions from time to time. With the door locked of course. And then, the big display came. One day, during everyone’s shift, they told you their names. The blonde one was Sanji. The orange-haired one was Nami. The reindeer was Chopper. The long-nosed one was Usopp. Their captain was Luffy. And the tall woman, who initiated your imprisonment, was Robin. It was a small gesture, but it meant the world to you. With each passing shift, you grew more excited for the next. To learn the next pirate’s name, and with that, their story. Until the last shift of the day came. And you realized.

You already knew his name.

“My name’s Zoro,” he said quietly. “I know,” you replied, bluntly. 

Something felt different about this shift. You didn’t feel the same excitement you normally felt when seeing him. Without your connection to him before, his being the only name you knew, something about him just didn’t excite you as much. Now he noticed your behavior change. “You okay?” he inquired. “Mhm,” you responded in monotony. The rest of his time there was spent in silence. 

You felt bad about what you were doing. This wasn’t his fault. Yet you were acting like this. It was almost as if the two of you swapped places. He was now the one trying to dig information out of you. And you gave him nothing more than blank faces and empty words. You wished you could figure out why you were acting like this, but you had no clue.

Today though, the crew was going to take an extra step towards including you. Throughout your time on the Going Merry, you had only left your little storage room prison a few times. To go to the bathroom and visit the kitchen on special occasions. But you hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. After proving to the crew you had changed, they planned a little surprise for you.

Robin woke you up earlier than usual. “Is everything ok?” you asked, still half asleep. Robin just smiled at you. “Come on, get up.” You looked at her confused, as she walked over to your restraints, untying you from the hook keeping the rope down. She took you by your restraints and walked you out to the room. The mix of drowsiness and confusion left you slightly panicked as you realized she was walking you out to the deck. She opened the door to a still-dark morning. 

The rest of the Straw Hats were sitting out on the deck, just conversing and eating an extra early breakfast, courtesy of Sanji. They all turned to you once you and Robin walked out. “What’s going on,” you asked, still very confused. “On Thursdays, we all like to get up early and sit out and watch the sunrise. And we were talking about it, and we felt like you should join us this time,” Nami smiled. She stood up and pranced over to you, mouth slightly agape and speechless, and took you over to sit in between her and Zoro. You turned to Zoro, overwhelmed with emotions. 

It had been so long since you felt a part of a community of people. You never exactly fit in with the ruthless bands of pirates coming and going on Jaya. Finally feeling connected to people, especially after you wronged them so horribly, brought you happiness you hadn’t felt in ages. 

A singular “I-” was all you could manage to get out, a tear trickling down your cheek. “Just enjoy it. They’ll be at each other’s throats again in a minute,” he joked, getting a soft laugh out of you. He smiled gently, brushing the tear off your cheek. His finger lingered there longer than expected. You blushed. The butterflies were back and you caught yourself staring again.

“What’s that supposed to mean!” Nami interrupted. “Well, it’s true!” Zoro retorted, leaning over you to yell at Nami. The two began arguing as you noticed the sun starting to peak out over the horizon. “Shut up you two, you’re gonna make her miss it!” Usopp and Luffy yelled. They stopped bickering once they also noticed the sky begin to turn orange. 

The pinks and oranges mixed together in a beautiful watercolor painting as the sun reflected its image on the ocean. The soft waves bobbed the ship up and down in a calming hypnotic motion, almost putting you back to sleep. The beauty of it all was so serene. Against popular opinion, you always preferred sunrises to sunsets. The representation of a new day beginning. It gave you hope in your most dire situations. 

You lifted your head back to see the colors slowly spreading to the rest of the sky. Everyone to your right was in the same headspace you were like they were in some sort of trance. They were all cuddling against each other, Robin holding Chopper in her lap, Luffy and Usopp mimicking each other’s smiles, and Nami resting her head on Sanji’s shoulder. They all seemed so close to each other. Like a little family. Connected. You turned to Zoro to see if he was doing the same as the others, but all you found was his eyes softly gazing into yours, and his hand slowly inching towards yours. The minute he snapped out of it, he sharply turned his head and hand away and cleared his throat. You couldn't help but laugh at his schoolboy behavior. With your ego controlling your actions, you took his hand and slowly intertwined his fingers with yours. You could see a smile float onto his face out of the corner of your eye. You did the same.

The rest of the day was spent out on the deck. The feeling of the sun on your skin for the first time in weeks was euphoric. All you wanted to do was soak it all in. The Straw Hats must have been in a good mood today, because, with some extra convincing, you got them to finally take off your shackles. You spent most of the day sunbathing out on the deck with Nami. She had let you borrow one of your bikinis. You two were slightly different sizes though, so the suit was a little tight on you. You didn’t mind very much. You were just happy to be out of the same clothes you had worn for 3 weeks. Sanji didn’t mind either, ogling both you and Nami and basically worshipping the two of you. “It’s ok, he’ll get over it in a few hours,” Nami consoled. You circled the deck a few times to see if Zoro was anywhere in sight, but you couldn’t seem to find him. He probably went inside to nap away from the heat. Part of you wanted him to get the rest he deserved. The other really wanted him to see you in your outfit. 

The day really took a turn when Usopp brought out the liquor from the kitchen. “I was saving that asshole!” Sanji yelled. “Oh come on, this is a special occasion!” Usopp pleaded. With some more convincing, Sanji finally gave in. You and the crew got increasingly drunk throughout the evening, Zoro eventually coming out from wherever he was napping to join the party. You all had even decided to jump into the ocean and swim around for a little bit. All except for Chopper, very sober and very nervous for any incoming sea monsters. He had managed to get you all back onto the ship with some very convincing pleading.

You and Zoro caught each other catching glimpses of one another throughout the rest of the day. Zoro admiring your figure in the swimsuit, and you ogling at the way his damp shirt hugged at his muscles. One by one, as day grew into night, crew members began to pass out on the deck, deciding to sleep outside for the night. You and the other members who wanted to go back into the cabin, Zoro and Robin, made your way back down into the ship. “Make sure you tie her back up. No hard feelings but we can’t be too careful.” Even slightly tipsy, she was still her stern old self. “Yeah whatever whatever, goodnight to you too,” Zoro drunkenly pushed off. You giggled and blushed as he took your hand and led you down the stairs into the cabin. Robin sighed to herself as she watched the two of you scamper off.

You felt your heartbeat get increasingly faster as he led you to your room. For some reason, the air in the hallway got thicker as you got closer. You blamed it on your tipsiness. But your heart slowly sank as you got to the door, realizing you had to say goodbye to Zoro for the day. He opened the door and stumbled into your room, leading you in behind him. He closed the door behind him, hesitating for a moment before going to wrap the rope back around your wrists. 

He seems distressed for some reason, breathing heavily and avoiding eye contact. You look down at your hands, as he so gently maneuvers the rope around them. The butterflies begin to well up in your stomach again, the alcohol fueling their ferocity. His hands. So calloused yet so gentle. You can smell the remnants of sake exuding from Zoro’s heavy breaths. You looked back up at him. Were you two always standing this close together? You the butterflies keep rising and rising. You don’t know what to do with yourself. You’re not sure if you should run, kiss him, punch him, but you have to do something before you implode. Until. He stops.

The rope undoes itself in his hands as he freezes. His hands are shaking, his breath is heavy, and his eyes avoid yours like the plague. You were just getting antsy but Zoro seemed in distress. “Hey?” you ask, lowering your hands and dropping the rope to the floor. “Zoro?” You take your hand under his chin and lift his eyes to yours. You might throw up at any second. His eyes are so softly intense. 

He brushed his thumb against your cheek, sending chills down your spine. You both want the same thing. Both of you are just too scared to take the chance. “It’s ok. You’re okay,” you reassure him, placing your hand over his heart. His heart, which happens to be underneath his bare chest, him having taken off his wet shirt earlier. His breathing slows, and his eyes move down ever so smoothly from your eyes to your plump lips. You catch yourself doing the same to him, and you inching closer to him. “You’re fine.” Closer. “We’re gonna be…fine.” Your lips barely brush each other. The gentleness of the kiss is calming though, as you notice Zoro’s breath slowing. 

You brush again. And again. And again. Lips touching a little more with each meet. Until they fully interlock. The two of you melt into each other as Zoro wanders your back into a wall for support. Your kisses are structured, made to get the most out of each meeting. You’re both ravenous for each other, but you know if you go at each other like mad dogs, you won’t get what you want. So you both take your time getting to know the feeling of the other person’s mouth. You slip a moan out as Zoro’s tongue seeps between your lips. His kisses get slightly more sloppy as he runs his hands down your body. He feels the underneath of your breasts, the curves of your waist and hips, and finds a nice resting place under your ass. Your hands roam his cheeks and jaw, making their way to tug slightly on his moss-colored hair. 

“Needed this,” Zoro whispers in between kisses. “Needed you so badly. But I didn’t know how.” He separates his lips from yours and plants kisses and hickeys along your jaw and neck. “I was always just too nervous for some reason. You make me so nervous.” His hands find their way into your bikini bottom and fondle your asscheeks, getting a low moan out of you. The alcohol must’ve given him a confidence boost. “Good to see you found your footing now,” you whisper in his ear. He chuckles, the butterflies speeding up in your stomach. 

The two of you stay here for a little bit. Hell, you could stay like this for hours. Just soaking each other in. Feeling his warmth brought a fire into your soul. You could tell Zoro was getting a little antsy though, one of his hands moving from your back to your front, beginning to slowly circle your clit. The other hand went to your bikini, untying the back and letting it fall to the floor as his mouth moved to your breast. Waves of pleasure crashed through your body as you let him do his work. “God, you sure this is your first time?” you moaned out. He removed his mouth from your nipple to talk. “Never said it was, sweetheart. You just assumed it.” “Well from the loner vibe you got going on mixed with being on this ship 24/7, you can’t blame me for thinking that.” “Well the loner vibe worked on you, so who’s to say it hasn’t worked on others?” he smirked. You laughed to yourself as he got down on his knees.

Zoro slipped off your bikini bottom, completing the set on the floor. He kissed your v-line with the same softness he treated your lips to. He sat back on his knees for a moment to catch his breath, looking up at you, as if to ask for permission. You held your hand out to his cheek and rubbed it with your thumb. His eyes closed as he placed his hand over yours, as if you would ever take it away from him. God now this was a sight you could get used to. He was so infatuated with you it made your heart ache. He was right here at your disposal, yet you wanted more of him. So you bent down and gave him a sloppy forehead kiss. Once you were back up, he decided to go in. 

Like most things he does, he started slow and controlled. He kissed and sucked on your inner thighs. Once his hand finally left your clit, you knew he was ready. He kissed your cunt, using his tongue to lick up your wetness. You could pass out right now if you had less self-control. Whimpers and moans left your lips, your hips naturally starting to grind against his nose, relieving the ache in your clit. You let him know what felt good by the tugs and yanks you put in his hair. He was a natural. Your guess about his tongue earlier was right too. “You taste so good, just as I imagined,” Zoro breathed onto your lips. You could tell he was starting to lose his composure with the way he continued to bury his face into your pussy. Your cunt naturally tightened around his tongue as he tasted you. Your hips began to buck into his face as your grinding pace increased, the butterflies turning into a white heat you felt getting stronger and stronger. Your bud was becoming more swollen by the second. Your grip on his hair tightened to make up for your failing knees. 

You wouldn’t be able to take much more. Zoro wouldn’t either, his hand making its way into his pants to relieve his own bulge. His pace got faster to match your grinds. The smack of your lips against his tongue, mixed with both of your moans, was pornographically loud. Suddenly, the situation of Robin or another crew member hearing became an apparent one to you. That worry quickly left your mind once one of Zoro’s hands made its way to fondle your nipple. If he asked you to follow him anywhere right now, you might just do it if it meant this every other night. You felt he knew your body better than you did. “So pretty. So good for me. You make this so easy,” Zoro groaned between licks. “Zoro god fuck me please!” Your final whimper sent you over the edge as you wailed and came all over his perfect face. He licked up your juices as he finished his own job as well. Your knees finally gave out as you fell on top of him, into his arms.

He brought you down gently, straddling you on his lap as you wrapped your arms around him. He traced his cum soaked hand across your back and kissed your nape. You were more exhausted than expected, almost passing out in the crook of his neck. Even now, he was so gentle with you. “You did so good, darling,” he praised, kissing your earlobe. “Want…more…want you…inside me,” you managed to get out. He just laughed and pushed you up to look at you. “If you took me right now, I don’t think you’d wake up tomorrow morning. Look at you, you can barely keep your eyes open, sweetheart,” he teased. You pouted. “Oh, you feel that proud of yourself?” your drunkenness fueling your frustration. “No no no, sweetheart,” he chuckled. Once your frown didn’t change, he stopped laughing and pressed a kiss deep into your forehead. “I’m sorry. What I meant was, if I fucked you with everything I have left right now, which is the only way I would want to do it, this floor would leave us with sore backs for weeks.” You stayed frowning. “I want to fuck you right, the way you deserve. And I can’t do it for you right now.” You pouted more at him. He smiled up at you and leaned in closer to your ear. “If you trust me, I promise I’ll make it worth your while. You’ll be walking funny for weeks.” God, you almost came again just now. You didn’t notice how much your jaw dropped until Zoro laughed at you. You couldn’t help but laugh back in tune with his infectious laughter. 

He kissed you with a fever behind his lips, then scanned the room around the two of you. “What’s wrong?” you drowsily asked. The exhaustion from you coming, the sleepiness brought by the alcohol, and how late it was getting was starting to overpower you. Zoro didn’t respond. He just grabbed your swimsuit and helped you put it back on, tightened your legs around his hips, and hoisted you up as he stood. You decided to ask questions once you had a clearer idea of what was happening. He opened the door and walked with you down the hallway, passing the girl’s quarters and into the men’s room. He checked inside quickly before bringing you in and signaling you to bring your legs down. You confusedly followed him to his bed as he groaned, rubbed his back, and sat down on the edge of the bunk. “Wanna explain to me what you’re doing?” you asked, slightly more awake. “If you think I’m just gonna leave you to sleep alone, tied up, on that dirty floor after what we just did, then you must think I’m a really shitty guy,” Zoro quipped before getting under the covers and trying to pull you down. You put some resistance towards him though. 

“B-but Zoro, I’m not supposed to be in here.”

“I know.”

“If someone catches me in here we’re both fucked.”

“They won’t catch you.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’ll wake up before Robin starts her shift.”

“Are you sure, I mean I just don’t kn-.”

“Hey.”

You stop your nervous rabbling and look at him as he sits back up. “Do you want to go back and sleep on the cold, dirty, hard floor?” You really didn’t. “No.” “Then stay here with me.” “But what if-.” “Do you trust me?”

You sure hope you did after all of that. His kind eyes reassured you in the darkness surrounding the two of you. You took a deep breath and nodded. “Do you trust me?” he asked again. “I trust you, Zoro,” you confirmed. He smiled kindly at you. “You’re fine. We’re gonna be fine.” He steadied you by placing his hands on your hips, running his hands along your waist, and pressing his lips into your tummy. You loved the way he looked at you. Like you were his whole world. It was comforting.

He took your hand and helped you into bed. You bundled yourself under the covers and wrapped yourself around his frame. He kissed your temples one more time before slipping into sleep, his light snores hypnotizing you into a slumber of your own.

The last thing you remember before dozing off was the feeling of his hands on your waist.

Everything you wanted was right here. In front of you. Straight out of a dream. Your only fear was that it would be gone once you woke up.

a/n: THIS TOOK FOREVER GOOD LORD. anyways thanks for being here for my comeback era lol. my upload schedule is NOT going to be consistent this is just a little splurge i wanted to write lol. thank you for reading i really appreciate it (i also really appreciate engagement lol please like repost comment etc im greedy). i love one piece and i love zoro. once i meet law expect all hell to break loose im gonna write so much fanfiction about him its concerning hes so fine im so excited. anyways lol thanks love you bye.

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Homework

Masterlist - all my work!

A/N - Hi everyone! First off I'm sorry for not posting for a few days, I haven't been feeling well and schools been alot especially now that I have a job. I also want to say thank you so much for the reblogs and follows recently, I couldn't be more greatful that you guys are enjoying my fics! Please enjoy this next one as well.

Warnings ⚠️: invoulintarily regression, reader has anxiety/panic attack, Stucky helps reader to get through the attack.

Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes x GN!little reader

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You slam your pencil onto the desk before throwing your head back in frustration as the homework sits there heavy on your desk. You'd been staring at it for hours and every time you attempted to do it, everything would just blur and your regression would began to spiral further and further.

It had been a extremely long day with starting a new job, and college exams coming up soon, which means you were stressed beyond belief and nothing was helping. You had music going through your headphones, it only did so much to help you focus. 

Your caregivers weren't here as they were on a mission for the last month and youve been completely isolated due to college and your job and everything else inbetween.

You shakily pick up your pencil again as silent tears fall from your eyes and you feel sick trying to get these stupid notes done. You get through a few sentences before you feel the pencil taken from you and your headphones carefully taken off of your ears and your chair spun around.

You freak and almost smack whoever is touching you until you see Bucks face and every emotion you've kept inside breaks and you fall into his arms balling.

Bucky carefully but quickly picks you up, shushing you and repeatedly reminding you, your safe and loved. Gentle kisses were placed all over your head and your tears were wiped as you continued to sob into him.

Steve is next to you guys, rubbing your back, trying not to cry himself. Bucky and him came into the apartment and with your headphones being on, they could hear your tiny sniffles the moment the door was open. They immediately took off their shoes and put their bags down, before practically running down the hallway to find you.

When they saw the homework scattered all around the desk and your sitting form almost crumpled in, they knew you weren't doing okay, and swooped in to help.

They walked around with you crying for about a hour, ranting about everything, the exhaustion of how you feel starting to feel lighter after having the two people that mean the most to you back with you. 

Steve and bucky help get you into more comfortable clothes, sliding a pacifier into your lips as your tears die down and you begin to completely regress invoulintarily. You mumble around your pacifier about the homework, and bucky just gently shushes you and tells you they’ll help you do it tomorrow. 

Homework was the worst and there was times where everything feels like it's crushing around you but at least you had your caregivers to help crack down the walls you make and to help you out into the open. 

Steve takes you out to the living room while bucky gets some food made for you three, and holds you close as your tucked safely under his chin, watching cartoons. 

After the duo made sure you were fed well and had your bottle, you all eventually fell asleep on the couch, your favorite movie on and in the safedy of the two people who knew you best and loved you even more.

[talaok]

Hi🌻

Can you please write a pedro×reader where they are fighting really seriously and suddenly kisses the reader and things get spicy...

And if it's no bother can you please make it long

Pairing: Pedro pascal x reader

Warnings: angst and allusion to smut

11:32 pm

Another day, and another night alone.

Something was playing on the tv, but you had stopped paying attention a while ago.

The streetlamp across the street felt more interesting than anything a screen had to offer.

The road was deserted, and the house across from yours had all the lights off,

It's a Friday night, they're probably out. You can almost picture them at that cute bar in town, holding each other's hands while talking about their respective days. 

It must be nice, to be a perfect couple, to have someone to go home to every day, to not wake up and go to sleep in an empty bed.

But there you were.

Yes, you knew what you had gotten yourself into, you knew about the long hours, the need to move every six months, the hectic lifestyle, you knew about all of it... but still, nothing could have ever prepared you for the loneliness that came with it.

And what angered you was that maybe it wouldn't have been that bad, if he only talked to you once in a while, a real talk, a conversation starting with a simple "how are you doing?"

So that you could tell him how you were really doing.

But no, every time you were together now, you either had sex or both of you were too tired to finally have that conversation.

It had been a whole month now of that god-awful routine, and you were sick of it.

Tonight you were gonna talk, whether he wanted to or not

A click sounded to your left as the door opened.

"Hi," he said more like a question, a clear hint of his confusion.

You were never awake when he got home.

"Hi" 

"what are you doing up?"

You stood from the couch, as he took off his jacket and tossed it on the hanger.

"I was waiting for you"

"yeah?" he smirked, his eyes glinting with a suggestive tint.

"We need to talk"

"oh" he breathed, clearly disappointed "about what?"

You were now in front of him, taking in the scruffy beard that had just recently gotten some streaks of white matching his hair. 

The evidence of the years passed could be seen all across his face, except his eyes, of course, the same big hazel ones you fell in love with.

"Scarily expressive" you had told him the first time you met, and never a day had gone by that you hadn't stood by it.

You were sure that he could stop talking any day and his eyes would do the rest without any problems whatsoever.

And now, now what they conveyed was tiredness, mixed with confusion.

"You're never home Pedro" 

there, plain and simple.

He sighed now, getting where this was heading, he could have acted clueless all he wanted, but he too, knew this conversation was long overdue.

"Y/n I'm tired, can we do this another time?"

"When?" you scoffed "We never see each other! It's like I live alone Pedro, how do you think that makes me feel?"

"Listen it's not my decision, I have to work" he muttered, walking to the bedroom and leaving you behind like a useless piece of trash.

"I know it's not, but do you even try? How long has it been since you've taken a day off? Hell, even a morning off?" You trailed behind him.

Once again: You were gonna talk today.

"What would you rather I do? Stop working?" he asked, condescending as ever, turning to face you as he took his shoes off.

"No! I'm just saying you could try a little harder to be home more often"

"I was home yesterday!"

"Yeah at 5:30 pm and you invited Mike over"

"what's wrong with Mike being here?"

"Nothing just- we never have a moment to ourselves anymore"

"Well I'm sorry if I want to see my friends too"

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't, just- God, you never listen to me!" you snapped, throwing your hands to your sides

"When was the last time that we had breakfast together? Or that we went on a date, huh?"

This time he stayed silent

"exactly" you sighed "We're supposed to spend time together Pedro, for fuck's sake we're a couple!"

"Once again y/n, I have to work"

"Are you kidding me!?" you closed your fists by your side as you shut your eyes trying to calm down "Pedro have you listened to a fucking word I sai-"

What the fuck?

His lips were on yours.

"what are you doing?"

"Did you know you're really hot when you're mad?" he smirked, holding your waist

"shut up. I'm trying to have a serious conversation"

"nobody's stopping you" he murmured sultry, his mouth founding your neck.

God, you hated the whimper leaving your mouth

"A-All I'm trying to say is that you could try to be home more o-often"

"Mh-mh" he hummed against your neck, his beard scratching it ever so deliciously.

"Y-you're not-" you let out a sigh as he began sucking the skin beneath your ear "You're not listening to me"

"I am. go on" he urged, biting at your earlobe and causing a gasp to your throat.

"fuck-Pedro..." you warned 

"What sweetheart?" 

"I know what you're doing, t-this is not going to work"

And at that, the bastard chuckled, the vibrations of his voice going straight to your core.

"Funny you say that, baby," a wicked grin pulled at his lips as your eyes met his "'cause I think it already has"

"No it hasn't"

"no?" he whispered "Then how do you explain this?" he asked as his fingers reached the wet patch on your panties.

"God you're really..." you gritted, a mixture of anger and arousal coursing through you.

"What angel?" he ghosted your mouth "What am I?"

"you're an asshole"

A huffed laugh fled his mouth "And yet, you're gonna let me fuck you"

You bit your lip, trying to clear your mind

"We're still gonna talk later"

"Sure, sweetheart, whatever you want"

... 

(I just proof-read this and I realized I might have interpreted the request kind of wrong. You meant an enemies to lovers kinda thing didn't you? If you did I'm genuinely sorry)

[shadesslut]

hiiii! could i suggest a fic thats kinda been on the top of my head recently?? soft ethan landry originally tried to get close to the group by getting with amber freemans ex whos the adopted daughter of dewey and gale. originally she died alongside her dad, but the doctors brought her back. so now, she lives in constant ptsd from it and has a bad episode after having a nightmare of deweys death, though even though she tries to not bother ethan about her past, hes there then and helps her thru it

IM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE THIS. I HOPE YOU ENJOY🫶

haunted

Pairing: (Ex-Amber Freeman x Ex-Fem!Reader, Fem!Reader x Ethan Landry)

Content Includes: (Angst, fluff)

Main Masterlist

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Her mouth was stained with a taste of metallic. Her vision was blurred, everything tinted by a bright white light, but she knew what was happening. Her father was dead, staring coldly at her as he laid on the white tiles of the hospital. Was all of this for nothing? All those years of fighting not only for himself, but for his daughter. All those years of winning those battles against Ghostface. All of the sacrifices he gave, it was taken away by a simple kitchen knife. Taken away by her. 

Amber Freeman. The one who finally got Dewey. The one who haunted Y/N’s dreams, and the one who haunted her nightmares. Tonight was a nightmare. 

She knew she was dreaming, she knew it. But the way Amber pulled off her mask as she laid there bloody, it hurt just as much as it did that day. 

“Please, Amber,” she pleaded in pain. Blood spewed out of the freshly cut wound on her chest. “I love you.”

Amber looked coldly down at her, and at that moment, Y/N realized. Realized all of it was fake. All of the words and kisses Amber gave her; none of it was real. She wished she could apologize to her dad, she wished she could tell him how much she loved and appreciated him. She never did that. And now she never could. 

She prepared herself for the knife to sink into her side. She knew the routine by now, it was like clockwork. It would hurt, it would feel real, but every time, Amber would kiss her. And maybe, just maybe, that made up for the pain. 

The knife sunk into her stomach, and she arched up as she screamed in pain. Amber kissed her, just as she anticipated. Her vision started to grow black, like spilled ink staining a painting. Amber was a painting to her. Her beautiful work of art she loved looking at, even if Amber wanted to hurt her. 

Then, she awoke. 

First she shot up, then she breathed heavily. Her breaths were sharp and quick, and her hand went to her chest as she felt it tighten. Ethan stirred as she started to cry. 

His eyes fluttered open as he looked to the source of noise. His eyes widened, and he immediately sat up to wrap his arms around her. 

“Shhh it’s okay, I’m here,” He whispered. 

She turned her head to look at him, and all she focused on were his eyes. Dark, brown like hers. She hated how sometimes she would get so lost in his eyes, she would think of Amber’s eyes. How they darkened as she looked down at her in excitement. 

“It’s just me,” he said. It was just him. There wasn’t any evil in his eyes

She only let out a choked sob, and Ethan moved her head to rest on his chest. He pulled her to curl in his lap, her legs pulled up to her chest as he cradled her. 

“You're okay, I've got you.” 

She steadied her breaths. Don’t think of her, think of him. 

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. This was the fourth time this week. He shook his head and shushed her. He kissed the crown of her head and started humming her favorite song. The same song Dewey sang to her when she was little. 

“I miss him.” She whispered under her breath. 

“I know.” He whispered back. 

She didn’t know how many more nights of these she could take. She knew Ethan would leave her soon, that he would grow tired of this. 

“I’m sorry for waking you, again.” 

“It’s okay,” He cooed, playing with her hair. “It’s not a bother. I just want you to be okay. I love you.” 

She looked up at him, eyes glossy. She opened her mouth to respond. To tell him she loved him too. 

“You don’t have to say it. I know it’s hard for you.” 

She let her head move against his chest as he breathed. They sat in a blissful silence in each other’s arms. Her nose whistled as she breathed softly, and Ethan smiled down at her. He was the only thing that made her feel happy. He protected her, just like Dewey did. 

“You know,” Ethan started as he wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “The moment Chad pointed you out at that party, I knew I was done for. I knew that you were the one for me, and I didn’t need to look for that perfect girl anymore.”

“Ethan,” she choked out. 

“Let me finish,” he gently interrupted her. “I knew what happened to you last year. Chad told me that he’d kill me if I hurt you, but I knew you could do that yourself. You’re so strong, Y/N. You’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever met. You are so much more than what happened to you that night, so much more than her. She wasn’t good enough for you, and even if she was she didn’t deserve you. No one does, because you are perfect. I love you. I love you with everything I have.”

She grabbed his hand, and she placed it over her heart. I love you too. 

He kissed her. He kissed her so many times that she forgot about her dream. And for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel bad about her father’s death. 

That night, Amber wasn’t in her dreams. Only Ethan.

[sunnybunnyy2]

Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right

Daryl Dixon x platonic!reader

Negan Smith x daughter!reader

WORD COUNT: 4.0k

TIME: season 7

Warnings: imprisonment, talk of rapists(briefly), talk of murder, mentions of Abe’s and Glenn’s deaths, arguments, mentions of saviours, mentions of what transpired in season six and seven, spoiler warning and bad writing.

CHAPTER 2 of the Dark Cell series

Series Masterlist Official Masterlist

This is long awaited! I'm sorry that this has taken so long but I have been making fanfics on Wattpad recently and if you are a fellow fanfic writer you understand how much unnecessary time it takes to come up with ideas and lines to make your character come to life. Thank you all for being so patient with me! Also, requests are open, and I will be redoing my master list, so look out for that. I have been influenced so yes, this is going to become a series so stay tuned! Now that I finished this part I have more motivation to actually write for this! I’d you want to be tagged in the series let me know! Thank you so much for reading<3

(if there is third person slip ups I’m sorry, I’m just so used to writing in third person :( )

The exchanges took place every night at around 1 a.m., and it had for the past seven days.

You would arrive carrying a plate or bowl of whatever leftover food you had managed to swipe from the kitchen or some dinner from the meals you would share with Negan. 

You had aimed to make the food before you went down so that it was still hot but it was risky as, there was a large chance that one of Negan's men would notice and alert your father, which would raise suspicion. 

The food consisted of Sandwiches, chicken, pasta, fish, soup and wraps. 

You wished you could do it more often, but you knew that it would largely increase the chances of you getting caught. 

You knew your punishment wouldn't be anywhere near how severe Daryl's would be. You also knew that as much as you pleaded your father would allow his pawns to have their fun in harming the long-haired man. You weren't quite sure why your father's men were so willing to starve and beat a man senseless to appear strong. Men and their egos you supposed. 

Your father could preach all he wanted about how he would do anything for his daughter, how he would move mountains to appease you. How he would kill anyone who dared to disrespect you (he had) but yet he couldn't try and be a better man. He couldn't put his rage and grieve the wicked world had caused him and help people instead of torturing broken people and turning people who wanted to survive into heartless killers. Turn them into him. 

You couldn't say you hated your father. You never could. But that certainly didn't mean you agreed with half the things he did. 

You could tell he cared what you thought of him. You were the last thing he had of your mother, but that didn't mean he listened to you when you expressed your opinion. 

You and your father were close before all of this happened, well before you found out about his affair. After that day you hated everything about him. Even when your mother got sick and he stood by her, did everything for her. You weren't sure if it was because of how guilty he felt for betraying her or because he loved her. 

Normally you would insist on it being the first but now she was at a loss. 

Since your mother's demise, your once childish but thoughtful father had turned into a power-hungry greedy man. At first you gave him the benefit of the doubt. He was grieving and was trying to find a way to cope with the loss of the woman he loved but it was as though he was forgetting that his daughter had lost her mother.

He wanted to make you happy, so he gifted you the biggest room in the sanctuary and allowed you to purchase whatever you desired without working, though you often helped with the growing crops in the back of the sanctuary. Your father never really liked the idea of her around the fence but he backed down after a heated argument between you. He did send some of his men to keep an eye on you, he tried to be discreet but his men were less than. 

You always made sure to bring a large glass of tap water from your room down to his cell, wanting to at least make sure he didn't die of dehydration. 

You knew that his physical health wasn't as bad as it was before but you knew that his mental health was still declining. He had been locked in the tiny cell for weeks on end, the only sound filling his ears was the constant lyrics of the song 'East Street'. 

The bags under his eyes were proof enough of the lack of sleep he had been receiving. The way his eyes could barely focus on one thing when you would bring him his meals was another important factor in your conclusion. 

Since your visits had become more frequent he had uttered his name quietly into the comfortable silence that had filled the cell as he hastily inhaled what was in front of him. It was so quiet that you had barely heard him, but once you realized that it wasn't your imagination you smiled softly to yourself before muttering your name as well. 

In your mind, you were friends. You knew his name, he knew yours, you would bring him food, he would be thankful and you were both the highlight of each other's day. 

Daryl- because he wasn't rapidly dropping weight as he had been before from his lack of food, which in turn kept his brain running so he could coax his thoughts into coming up with a plan to escape his captivity. Plus your company wasn't so bad he reckoned.

You- because you got to meet another survivor from a rivalling group, you had heard your father angrily ranting to his soldiers about how this mysterious group had taken out one of his many posts and killed everyone in it. 

You were shocked at how brutal this group could be but you knew that your father could be even more heartless and it was proven when a week later whispers were passed along through the sanctuary that your father had partaken in another one of his lineups and had bashed in two members of Daryl's groups heads in with Lucille. 

You knew that Daryl's group had killed countless people, saviours but at least their families and friends didn't have to see it, as apparently the people from the outpost were killed while they slept. It was a very cowardly way to kill but it was better in a way, they didn't see it coming. 

You clutched the tray of food which consisted of a slice of ham from a pig the saviours had recently slaughtered as a way to celebrate the new community they had under their control, standing with the other few that they had taken over. With a side of carrots that you had picked herself to give him some energy. 

Then finally a generous helping of mashed potatoes to fill him up, as you knew that a small sandwich was going to get him through the day. Well, you guessed it was two, as Dwight had made sure to feed him a dog food sandwich every other day to keep him going. A dark pork gravy from the brand Bisto (clubhouse is better but whatever) that was covering a large portion of the potatoes. Your father did always say that you made it taste even better when you made it.

Your eyes peeked around the sharp corner to make sure Arat was on her way to her break that she always made sure to hide, always quick on her feet to head to her room to get several strong minutes of shut-eye. 

Your eyes caught sight of Arat quietly creeping her way further and further away from Daryl's new home. You waited a couple of minutes until you were sure she was in her room, possibly already captivated by sleep. You placed one foot in front of the other as you too, crept down the hallway, the fear of getting caught burning fear into her veins.

You balanced the tray on one hand as you reached into your left pocket, to pull out the cell key that you had stolen from Laura, well it wasn't quite stealing, she had dropped it and hadn't even noticed. You could still remember her confused face when she caught you on the ground after catching you mid-grab. You smiled at her and played it off as if you were tying your shoe, which she bought as she shot you a smile and continued on with her ranting. 

You turned the key clockwise into the rusting metal, smiling in satisfaction when the lock clicked quietly as a sign that it was now unlocked.

The creak that was loudly pulled from the door as it was opened left you cringing as you quickly shuffled into the room, closing the door until there was only a fragment of it for a little bit of light but it wasn't large enough to draw suspicion towards your meetings. 

You could already see Daryl gazing up at you as you pulled the door closed, before lowering yourself to the floor, holding your hands out as a sign for him to take the plate which he did. He had loosened up a large amount since you had started being him food a week ago. 

He was still stand-offish and didn't like to talk about his group which you didn't blame him for, you were with the enemy, you were his daughter. You weren't sure if he knew of your status at the sanctuary but if he did, it didn't come from you. It had already taken a great amount of effort to gain his trust and you wouldn't want it broken just because of who your father was. 

If he brought it up, you would talk to him about it, but for now, you didn't want to risk losing one of the only people that didn't just suck up to you because they wanted more points or because they were scared to face your father's wrath if they hurt your feelings. 

"Hey, sorry I was late, Arat took longer than usual to hit the deck." You quickly explained as expected the food in a curious glint in his eyes. "It's ham. Sorry, I didn't know if you liked it but they just killed a pig and me and my-... I had some for dinner earlier, it was good... and there's potatoes obviously, there's some cheese in them too with carrots and gravy." His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at you in question just as he had been since you had almost slipped up. "Don't worry, it's not poisoned well... at least I hope it isn't because I ate the same thing but I guess we'll find out."

He let a harsh breath out of his nose that sounded similar to a laugh before he picked up the metal fork before shoving a large bite of potatoes in his mouth, a barely audible groan fell from his lips as he continued to inhale the food, not even bothering to use the knife that you had brought to cut the meat, opting to just pick it up with his hands. 

If it was anyone else you would find the wild eating disgusting, but you understood. He was being starved as a torture method to force him into submission. You had seen this countless times, but nearly all had caved within the first few days. It was shocking to you how strong he was. If it had been you... you weren't sure how long you could last if you were in the same position. 

From how wild he was eating you could only assume today wasn't the day he got fed from Dwight. 

You assumed you did well with the amount of food you had given him. 

You kept your eyes trained on the opened part of the door to make sure the coast was clear still. Normally this side of the sanctuary was almost always deserted, but since Daryl as been held here, you had noticed a lot of working people wanted to catch a glimpse of one of the Alexandrians who had killed numerous soldiers. You weren't sure if was from fear or awe. 

"Why are you doing this." He asked as he looked up from his half-eaten plate of food, to examine you while you spoke as if to see if you would lie to him. 

"I don't like how he's handing this. I mean... what your group did was wrong. Really wrong. But what he's doing to you isn't right. No one should have to deal with this. I mean other than rapists, pedophiles, or child killers. I mean murder is really bad but there are some ways to excuse it, like self-defence but I mean the worlds over. People kill each other every day to survive. Don't make it right but it makes sense. You did what you thought you had to, to 'save' your group." You ranted slightly as you looked down.

"So you're doing this because I deserve better?" Daryl asked with a quiet snort as though he couldn't fathom the thought of someone actually thinking he was a decent guy. 

"Everyone deserves better in some way. But no, some people just need a little help sometimes. You do, so I'm trying to help you." You said as watched him proceed with eating.

He looked up at you after he took yet another bite of his food. "I ain't need no help." He dismissed with a huff as he finished the last of his food.

"Obviously you do. Everybody does. You're no exception." You disagreed as he watched for any signs of Arat possibly returning earlier than usual.

"So why ya helping me? I'm sure the big man has more bitchs." He all but growled as he thought about your father causing your face to drop slightly as he kept your eyes away from him, in hopes of him not being able to see your full life story from just the shine in your eyes. Daryl looked like the type to be able to, you thought.

"He has some other... people in cells-" You were cut off by Daryl as he let out a dangerous scoff that should have had you scared. You were in a closed space with someone who wanted your father dead, I mean sure he didn't know that you and the man he hated most shared the same blood but it didn't matter. You were a Smith and that would never change. No matter how much you hoped and prayed that your father would suddenly turn a new leaf, it never seemed to happen. So at some point, you just saved your previously wasted breath. 

"Ya mean prisoners?" He spoke sharply, his words not a question but a statement, showcasing how enraged he truly was with her father. 

"Yeah...prisoners. There is some down here, yes. But they deserve it." You said while shaking your head as you thought about the awful people that were locked down here.

"Ain't nobody deserve this shit." He said with his whole chest as his eyes scanned your face with a mixture of hate and disgust at your words. You couldn't blame him though, he was locked in a cell and you had just said that the people locked in them deserved it. 

"They're awful people. Rapists, child killers, people who kill without reason-"

"I ain't no rapist and I ain't no child killers. Me and my people had every righ-"

"Nobody has a right to take someone's life. Who made us god? When did we get to choose who got to live and who got to die?" You argued as you furrowed your brows at the man's words.

"How bout' ya tell yer buddy that? He killed my friends." He raised his voice louder than necessary which earned him a dirty look from you as you peeked out of the sliver of the door that shined light into the cell and once you were sure no one was coming with guns raised you turned back to face him. 

"You killed dozens of his men while they were sleeping. You do realize that, right? I'm not saying what he did was right either, but you're lucky he didn't kill more of your people." You ranted slightly as you looked at him in confusion, he was so stuck in his own misery that he wasn't thinking about how other people were affected by his and his group's actions. 

"Lucky? He bashed my friend's heads in." He said angrily but it was quiet. As if trying to scare you into submission but you didn't back down.

"And I'm sorry for your friends. I really am. But you couldn't have thought that your group could get away with slaughtering- and it was a slaughtering,  his men and get away scot-free. You killed his soldiers. He takes that shit as a personal attack. So when I say I'm surprised he didn't kill more of you I mean it." 

"One of my friends' wives was pregnant' ya think she deserved ta see that? Now tha' kid's gonna grow up without a father."

"Of course not. That's awful and I'm so sorry...but some of the men and women you slaughtered had kids. Wives. Parents. They had people who loved them too. One of the men, Mike, had a pregnant wife at one of the other outposts. She was eight months and gave birth to her baby girl two days after he died. Alone. And a woman, Mel, just got married to the man she loved, they were trying for a baby... He killed himself last week. Hung himself in his room all alone." You paused for a moment to see if he was going to speak up but when he didn't, you continued.

"An-and a woman named Willow had a baby at another outpost. Now that baby has to grow up without a mother. Another man named Carlos was an only child and had to work for points to provide for his parents. They're old and can't do it themselves. Now they're barely eating and are so depressed that their health is deteriorating, we're not sure how long they have left. So I'm sorry that your friends lost people they cared about but you didn't just get your group hurt with your guy's actions. You guys ruined so many lives that night." 

You finished your rant as you shook your head, looking up at him only to see him looking down at his hands, his overgrown hair hung low to cover his eyes, masking his true reaction.

"I'm not trying to say that your friends' deaths don't matter but you can't just go around acting like you didn't kill people either. Like everyone else's pain doesn't matter to not feel guilty. But it does." You said quietly before deciding you had spent long enough in the stuffy cell. You reached over, grabbing the plate from in front of him before pulling yourself to your feet. You waited for him to speak again but he didn't bother and once you turned around he noticed that he hadn't moved from his place. 

"Good night." You shook your head before he pulled the creaky door open a little more so the gap was large enough to fit your body through, closing it until you felt the metal clank quietly against metal. 

You pulled out the key and shoved it into the lock, twisting it quickly before you heard quiet footsteps walking down the hallway from where Arat had left from. It seemed like you had left at the perfect time, you supposed.

You quietly but hastily quickened your pace until you were at the same corner you had looked over from around fifteen minutes prior. 

You watched as Arat ran a hand over her short black and bleached blonde hair as she let out a yawn, swaying on her feet slightly from the over-tiredness she was experiencing, which was probably in full swing by the shortness of her sleep. 

You let out a quiet sigh of relief before you quietly made your way in the direction of her room, the plate held tightly in your grasp as you walked past the mostly deserted sanctuary, sending a small smile to some of the saviours on watch duty. Most sent one back your way, while others seemed annoyed at the fact that they had duty at all, leaving them too aggravated to bother.

You were about to turn the handle of your door when you heard a voice stop you.

"Baby? What are you doin' up? It's late." Your father's voice stopped you in your tracks. A part of you wanted to run into your room and pretend that you had been sleepwalking but you knew your father knew you better than that and could almost always tell when you were fake sleeping. It was an odd talent if you were to be frank. So you turned around with a smile and spoke.

"I couldn't sleep. Decided to take a walk." You lied.

"With an empty plate of food?" He asked with raised eyebrows a sarcastic smirk on his face.

"...I got hungry on the way. Just heated up some leftovers from dinner. Didn't know that was a crime, Dad." You huffed in an attempt to sound believable.

"It's late. You could have woken me up. I would have walked with you." He said as he studied you. 

"Seriously, dad? Literal armed guards are crawling the place. I think I'm okay walking to the kitchen. Plus you barely sleep as it is." You rolled your eyes at his mindset.

"I always have time for you, hunny... so who's the boy? Or girl. I don't discriminate. Hell, ya could be in love with a goddamn pumpkin and I would still approve. Maybe a little weirded out but hey, we all have our kinks." He smirked but his nose scrunched up slightly as he realized he was talking to his daughter and not one of his henchmen. 

"Oh, wow, you figured it out. His name is Donteatmyseedsplease. I didn't want to keep it from you but I don't think you would approve. I'm so very glad I have your support, father dearest." You said in an overly happy voice even your eyes rolled with almost every word you spoke. You turned back to your door and turned ten knob, not going in as though to not give your father the opportunity to join you.

"You'll have to bring him over for dinner sometime we'll have squash." 

"That wasn't funny Dad." 

"Damn, you know how to wound a man's ego. Good girl, I taught you well." He said in a proud tone.

"I'm exhausted. Can we talk tomorrow? I wanted to talk to you about something actually..." You spoke as you pushed your door open even wider than it had been and started to make her way into your large room.

"That's never good." He groaned before he leaned over to land a kiss atop your head. "I'll see you tomorrow, baby. I'm busy but I always have time for you." He pulled away and sent a smile your way which you returned before closing the door and leaning against it. A sigh of relief left your lips as you realized you were in the clear.

TAG LIST: @cult-of-norman @book-place @ilovespiderpeople @kazunish @mysouleaten

(let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list for the future chapters!)

[beatingdrumspouringwine]

Hi there! I've recently taken more of an interest in Hellenism, but I don't at all know where to start. I've never really been religious before, only really knowing the basics of Christianity. I did see you created a post of advice for beginner Hellenists, but I was wondering, if it's not too much trouble, if you had any additional information for someone like me who's just starting out.

Hello anon! Sorry for how long it took to write this up, I definitely went a little bit wild on this one :)

First off, welcome to Hellenic Polytheism! It's definitely a wild ride, but depending on what sect of Christianity you come from, it's not completely and totally foreign.

Starting off with a list of some websites, general resources, and accounts that I have found helpful:

theoi.com

Apostolos Athanassakis translations of the Orphic and Homeric Hymns

Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship by Labrys

Hellenion.org

@khaire-traveler's Subtle Worship Master List

@thegrapeandthefig's Wordpress

And now breaking them all down, because I love when people justify their choices to me :)

theoi.com The nice thing about this website is that it's about as much information about the Gods as you can possibly want in one place. Not only does it seemingly have just about every possible deity in the Greek pantheon, but it has an incredibly good collection of historical references, family trees, and even artwork from ancient Greece.

Apostolos Athanassakis translations While theoi.com is good, I'm not the biggest fan of the version of the translations that they use for the Orphic and Homeric Hymns - they're a bit too "translated" for me. This meaning that the translations in question don't sit too close to the original text, and in my opinion, if you're trying to understand a deity through some ancient work, you want to get the closest translation to the original, even if that means sacrificing some of the flowery language. And Athanassakis' translations are some of my favorite for those "close translation" hymns. You can find his work on the Internet Archives.

Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship I think this is one of those staples that every Hellenic Polytheist should take a look at at least once. It's pretty dry, but within it, there are plenty of rituals and general information on Hellenism as a religion. I don't use most of the rituals in it, but even still, I keep a copy on hand for the future when I'm able to practice more freely.

Hellenion.org This is a pretty good resource for more modern Hellenic Polytheist prayers, as well as rituals. This is a more heavy reconstructionist lean (which focuses on an accurate recreation of Hellenic Polytheism, as opposed to revivalism, which focuses on recreating it for the modern day), but still incredibly helpful, and a bit easier to understand than Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship.

@khaire-traveler's subtle worship masterlist Honestly, if a resource like this existed when I was first starting out, I would be light years ahead of where I am now. Stag has managed to fit just about every idea you'd need to get started with worship/offerings into an easy-to-digest format, and I find myself going back to it time and time again when I start incorporating a new deity into my practice.

@thegrapeandthefig's Wordpress I don't even think I could summarize how amazing Aurora is into one little paragraph. There's everything on her Wordpress from historical offerings, to modern festivals, to dissections of various ancient customs. One of the things which has helped me the most from her blog has been her Attic calendar, which shows the schedule of the various religious observations throughout the year (and there are a lot).

Finally, a few extra words of advice that I might not have included in my original post that you mentioned in the ask:

Try to have one prayer memorized for each deity, if you're easily able to memorize things. Chances are, after about a year or so, you'll probably have a prayer or two that you really like and will have memorized because you've said it enough (I definitely have my fair share). And there's definitely something nice about finding yourself in a situation that reminds you of your deity and being able to just rattle off a prayer.

Try to avoid TikTok for your spiritual knowledge. But, if you want to add a bit of Hellenic flair to your FYP, I'd recommend Bria Melitta and hesiodic (who's also on here and maybe on TikTok as well [I might be wrong, haven't been on TikTok in a hot minute] under the name @olympianbutch). Both of these creators are really good, and I especially love Dagan for his devotion to Zeus, who often gets a bad rap from new practitioners because of behavior attributed to Him in myths.

Other than the resources I mentioned, some good stuff for casual reading would be: the Iliad and the Odyssey, any ancient Greek plays (I'd recommend starting with Aristophanes, if the tragedies are a bit too heavy), and Hesiod's Theogony.

And that's about all I can possibly think of throwing at you right now! I hope this came in handy, and as always, if you have more questions, please feel free to drop more in my ask box :) I'm always more than happy to answer questions and help to the best of my ability!

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼 baby Jane is almost here!!

🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️ Eddie is such a disaster here

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲here too

🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️🧜‍♀️ Eddie’s just generally a disaster

⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️ Buck is stuck with a particularly unpleasant warlock patron here

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️baby!!! They’re gonna have a baby!!!

AHH love this!

30 for 🔼:

---

“The plan?” Shannon echoes. 

“The birth plan,” Maddie says. “What’s Chris doing? Which hospital? What do you need?”

“Buck was supposed to take care of him,” Shannon says. “But since he’s working, Pepa. Eddie’s aunt. Um, Southern California Hospital. And… And I don’t even have a bag packed yet. Oh god.”

“We’ll figure it all out,” Maddie says. “If you haven’t been having contractions, then we have time.”

“I haven’t,” Shannon confirms. 

“Okay, keep me posted,” Maddie says. “Let’s get you ready, alright?”

Shannon nods. As ready as she can be. The first time taught her, that’s not very ready at all.

“I need to call Eddie,” Shannon says. “He can’t miss this.”

But the first time she tries, Eddie doesn’t pick up. Buck doesn’t pick up. And when Maddie tries Chimney, he doesn’t pick up either. 

“On a call,” Maddie guesses. “But we have time. They’ll answer.”

By the time they get into Maddie’s car to drop Chris off at Pepa’s, she has a contraction. 

---

30 for 🌤️:

---

“Because then I’d be home, and you and Buck would be together, and this all wouldn’t be so confusing. Maybe just the Nico of it all, but… I mean, I think you guys had that in mind for a bit.”

He might as well just have exploded Eddie’s brain with his mind. This is so much information. 

“You come home… When?” 

“By Christmas,” Chris says. 

Eddie feels his face crumple. 

“Dad, it’s okay,” Christopher says. “Really, it is. It feels like so long ago-”

“Not for me,” Eddie chokes out. 

“Yeah, okay. Not for you,” Chris replies. “But it’s behind us, okay? Dad now and I. It’s in the past.” 

Eddie’s eyes start burning with tears again. He wipes them with his sleeve. 

“God, I’m sorry,” Eddie says. “I’m sorry, Chris.” 

“Please, don’t-”

“You deserved a good father the whole time,” Eddie continues. “I don’t… I don’t know what I did to earn your forgiveness, but-”

“Stop,” Chris begs. He looks genuinely distressed. 

Eddie freezes, mouth snapping shut. 

“You’re not a bad father,” Chris says. “You never were. Okay? Never.”

---

30 for 🌲:

---

“Yeah,” Buck exhales, feeling breathless. “Yeah, I can hear you.”

Eddie crosses the house and smiles at Buck. It’s such a beautiful smile. Buck has always thought that. And more recently… He realized why he thought that. Oh god. He’s really thinking about it now. 

“That’s fantastic, man, I’m glad that they…” Eddie trails off, staring at Buck. “It is happening to you, isn’t it?”

Buck nods. 

Yeah. Yeah, it is. 

“You can hear the song?” Eddie asks. 

“No,” Buck mumbles, somewhat robotically. Like Eddie could compel to tell him anything, spill any secret, do whatever he wanted him to do. “It’s just… It’s just your voice.”

“My voice?” Eddie asks.

Buck nods. “Your voice.”

“Should I stop talking?” Eddie asks, looking a little frightened. Like he’ll have to be silent or lose Buck’s help.

“No!” Buck says quickly. “No, I can… I can control myself.” 

---

30 for 🧜‍♀️:

---

Until the LSD. 

Eddie’s never been under the influence of anything stronger than marijuana. So an unknown hallucinogen he didn’t realize he took? Kind of fucks him up. Makes him feel looser. Sillier. Nothing feels very serious and everything is pretty fun. Well, okay. Not the getting arrested part. Which turns out not to be getting arrested at all, but being cuffed for his own safety. Who invented that premise? Eddie hates it. 

They’re taken back to the station. Apparently there’s a lot of commotion happening. Eddie can’t really follow. He and Buck end up in a bunk room together, to ride out the high. Hen was high, too. But he’s not sure where she is. 

Buck is sprawled on is back on one of the bunks. He keeps lifting his legs up and down, staring at them. 

“Wow,” he mutters. “My body never feels this normal anymore.”

“Normal?” Eddie asks, confused. 

Then he remembers. He remembers what he suspects about Buck. And, oh! Oh, does Buck not think his body is normal. It is! It is a normal body! 

---

30 for ⚖️:

---

 He thinks he’s going to like the former much better. People who have given far more than they could take; who have not had a lot of good happen to them. He doesn’t like what he did today, even if it felt good. 

All this to say, Buck isn’t obligated to chase down Tommy and discover why his aura is red. He isn’t obligated to punish him. At least not until he sees him again. And Buck doesn’t have to see him again. What’s worse? Divine retribution or your boyfriend of nearly six months ghosting you? Really, Buck would be doing him a favor. Maybe he could make Eddie tell him some lie about Buck having a permanent personality change after the hospitalization. Make it hurt less. Maybe it wouldn’t even hurt that bad! 

Yeah, okay. That’s the plan. That’s his plan. He’ll get Eddie’s take on it tomorrow, when he comes over after his shift. He’s literally the only person Buck can properly ask for advice anymore. He can’t tell anyone else. They’d institutionalize him. As would Buck, if someone approached him and said a mythical goddess has decided I must assist her in enacting justice on people who glow red. Pretty insane sounding.  Buck crawls back into bed, feeling suddenly nauseous. He thinks it’s just anxiety and maybe a twinge of grief. Whatever Nemesis called a gift, it has stolen something from him. Ignorance, maybe. Especially in regards to Tommy. Freedom, definitely. And the ability to confide in almost everyone he loves. None of that feels fair.

---

30 for ⚡️:

---

“So, it’s all okay?” Buck asks. “Or, well… It was…”

Stupid. He feels stupid. 

Bobby smiles graciously. “It was. But… I was so convinced Brooke had gotten hurt anyway. It was like, until I saw every child on that bus, and until I went home and saw her and her brother, and I just thought she was in danger. She was so small. So excited to ride the school bus. Real brave kid. And so I was terrified for no good reason.”

“So what did you do?” Buck asks. 

“Nothing healthy, as far as coping goes,” Bobby answers. “Not that that was why I drank. But it was the only way I knew how to handle the anxiety.”

“Oh,” Buck replies, a little uneasy.

“This isn’t a cautionary tale, Buck. I’m not saying you’ll be driven to the bottle.”

“Oh,” he says again. “Okay?”

“I’m saying, the fact that you’re spiralling a little bit about nothing is just par for the course,” Bobby says. “That’s the price of loving someone that much.”

“I haven’t even met her yet,” Buck whispers. 

“Right now, you love the potential,” Bobby says. “The future. Just wait until she’s right here with you.”

[covid-safer-hotties]

this might sound stupid or like i'm making it up, and i'm really sorry about that, but i have genuinely no one else to talk to about this. i live in a very conservative area in florida. i don't leave the house often (i can probably count on one hand the amount of times i leave the house per month) because i'm disabled and can't work. i'm also mixed, fat, and nonbinary, so i kind of have a target on my back in public already. i've been threatened multiple times for masking in public. there was even one time where an older white woman followed me around in the grocery store and started coughing at me on purpose. i honestly don't know what to do at this point. do you have any advice for this? it's okay if you don't, i just figured i would ask. i just feel generally very unsafe. i couldn't even get the most recent booster because i made an appointment at CVS (the only place that takes my insurance) and when i showed up, they told me they were all out of it and to leave. i'm scared.

It may not be what you want to hear, and it may feel odd to comprehend, but Florida has permitless consealed carry, right? If that's so, it's your constitutional right to own and carry a firearm for self defense. I know theres some Socalist Rifle Associations out that way that would be willing to point you to resources and maybe even help you get armed if that's a course you decide to take. Put simply, loudmouths and braggarts tend not to mess with someone with someone who has a pistol holstered in their pants.

Taken from the Black Panther Party's Ten Point Program:

Self Defense The Panthers decided to take up their constitutional right to carry arms and to implement Malcolm X’s philosophy of self-defense, by patrolling the police. They did this at a time when severe police brutality was common – the police would beat down and kill Blacks at random. They would even recruit police from the racist south to come and work in the northern ghettos. On one occasion, whilst on patrol, they witnessed an officer stop and search a young guy. The Panthers got out of their car and went over to the scene and stood watching their guns on full display. Angrily, the policeman began to question them and tried to intimidate them with threats of arrest. But Huey P. Newton had studied the law intimately and could quote every law and court ruling relevant to their situation. Huey stood there with a law book in one hand and a gun in the other and told the “pigs” about his constitutional right to carry a weapon as long as it was not concealed. He told them about the law and said that every citizen had the right to observe a police officer carry out his duty as long as they stood a reasonable distance away. And he told them about the Supreme Court ruling which defined that distance. A crowd gathered and watched this whole scene in amazement. The Panthers made it clear that they were not looking for a shoot-out and that they would only use their guns in self-defense. They took the opportunity to distribute copies of their ten point program, inform people of the Panthers ideology and invite them to their political meetings. Meanwhile, the flustered and nervous cop took the opportunity to get the hell out of there. The gun had a huge psychological effect, both on the Black community and the police. For the police, it reversed the fear that they so enjoyed creating in others. But for the Black community, it fired their imagination, people felt empowered by seeing Black brothers and sisters protecting their interests. There were two sides to the carrying of guns though, most people saw it as a positive move but others were put off by the militaristic image. On the other side, many brothers in particular, came to the Panther office purely for the gun, the Black uniform – the whole image. When this happened, the Panthers would simply explain that the Black struggle was about a whole lot more than just picking up the gun: it was about educating yourself and then others, about organizing the community programs, selling the newspaper and serving the people. At the same time, they would get the brother to work in the nursery for a while, looking after the children while other members went out on party business. In this way, they tried to make sure that people understood the Panther ideology and that they got a balanced view of what it was all about.

While Newton is discussing their ends here to fight and defend against racism, you can apply some of the same philosophy of self-defense for yourself in regard to covid safety. The biggest part is being brave, and that can be tough, but it can be learned.

I want to be clear, I'm not asking you to go shoot people who give you shit. I am saying that the presence of a firearm will temper their response. Someone gives you shit about your mask, you just casually let them get a glance of the grip of your gun. Having to deal with simliar shit as a trans woman, it's amazing how many jerks turn into cowards when they see something weapon-shaped in my purse. Non-lethal options include pepper spray, knuckle-dusters, extensible batons, and stun guns. Wasp spray is a cheap and painful option as well, but a bit clunky to carry. It makes up for that with range: Some cans spray up to 30 ft. Aim for the eyes. Find what works for you and keep it on you.

Also practice: Be sure you can use your self-defense gear when you need it. Especially if someone puts hands on you, do not be afraid to use it. The threshold for assault begins at unwanted contact. Some preperation will help to keep you safer if you're ever attacked again, and having the ability to deal with escelations will give you beter capacity to endure people's childish abuse. Even if you go the non-lethal route, the SRA would be a good place to find self-defense community that won't assault you for protecting your health.

[project-sekai-facts]

idk if I can ask u this but what is ur opinion on arata and kotaro

hello first off SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO ANSWER but no i don't mind giving my opinions on the side characters

Arata and Kotaro are actually two of my favorite side characters! I didn't like them that much at first to be honest but they've definitely grown on me a lot recently.

I think Kotaro is really overlooked actually. Like I still see people bring up his actions in the main story when he’s moved on a lot past that, and then just write him off because of it. And I mean, it’s probably because he never got too much screentime between then and Power of Unity, but since he’s been making more regular appearances I think they’ve taken his character in a really interesting direction. He initially became a singer because he wanted to be a cool older brother for his baby brother and just happened to see RW at that time, which pushed him into street music. He just did it as a passtime because he was sort of good at it. However, RW did have a big impact on him, just like it had on An and Akito, even if he was only sorta casual in the street music scene. He admits in POU that the reason he never went further was because he was afraid, and seeing VBS putting their all into it inspired him.

It’s sort of subtle up until Light Up the Fire, but Kotaro doesn't have a lot of self-esteem or confidence in his singing. I think the first time it's ever brought up is in Power of Unity as far as I remember, where he asks once or twice if he's holding everyone back. LUTF makes it really clear that he has a lot of insecurities: he believes he's holding everyone back and he believes that he has no talent compared to the others. And that's what sticks out to me, because 3/4 of VBS have felt the same way. Kohane, Akito, and Toya all at some point or another believed they were holding everyone back, be it because they were a rookie, lacking talent, or had no resolve. Kotaro has been all of those and it’s obvious that he is written the way he is to serve as a mirror character to those three. He's had the same insecurities but the way he goes about dealing with them is totally different. While VBS had each other to rely on, Kotaro doesn't have a singing partner or group. He's a solo artist. And while he works with VBS, Arata, and EVER, he isn't part of any of their groups. Even Arata who also works alone still has Souma, but more on that in a minute.

(Also just an aside, I think he’s a mirror to Kohane slightly more than the others, and that slightly being the fact that VBS is what got him inspired to take this seriously, because that’s how Kohane got inspired she saw the others and wanted to be just like them, she wanted something to throw herself into and give her all to. The fact that she’s the main one who tries to call out to him when he breaks down in LUTF I think also plays into this, like it seems to hint that she’s able to relate to him.)

I really think Kotaro is much more than how he was presented in the main story and could definitely become a pretty strong side character if he ever got an event with a bit more focus (like how Vivid Old Tale gave Nagi a lot of screentime or POU had a lot of focus on Arata). Also clpl have you ever considered giving Kotaro a partner please give him a partner. Considering you rubbed in how important singing partners are before now why haven't you even tried to give him one?

Arata has definitely been given more development than Kotaro and I genuinely think he has one of the best arcs of any side character. Like he starts out as a rival for Akito, a foil to Akito. He's basically everything Akito wants to be, and also kind of a dick. Him getting beat by Taiga though, even though it was a small moment, was definitely an important turning point for him because it put him on the same level as everyone else. Because even he has someone better than him.

Oh and his development in POU was so good I'm probably gonna go on a little tangent about his relationship with Souma now because it's so important to his character. Arata's doing all of this for Souma. Souma was the one who wanted to do street music, Souma was the one who took Arata to RW, everything was Souma's dream, but it was still important to Arata. They were partners after all. But that's what it is. Were. Even if Arata wasn't the one who was in that car accident, it still took a toll on him. Souma has been forced into a position where he isn't going to be able to achieve his dreams, so Arata has to carry all that weight on his back. Surpassing RW suddenly has become so much more important to Arata because he wants, needs, Souma's dream to become a reality. The thing is, with how caught up he was in doing everything for Souma, he approached everything on his own. Surpassing RW isn't something he can do alone; the original was a collaboration between several groups, there's no way Arata could do it alone. He needed to work with people again, which he finally realised in POU.

Actually I think one of my favorite moments in his arc has to be his showdown with Taiga in LUTF. Because he's been able to overcome what was holding him back, he's actually able to get closer to Taiga's level. That is, until Taiga drops the "we're not so different" bomb. Because that moment is so powerful. Because at that point we see Arata as less of a foil to Akito and more of a parallel to Taiga. Both of them went through a similar loss of a partner, and Taiga uses that to get under Arata's skin and he goes for a deep cut. Souma is incredibly important to Arata, and Taiga knows that and had a similar experience of losing someone important to him, and is able to see exactly what’s still holding Arata back from reaching his full potential. Arata is doing all of this for Souma. For Souma. Taiga points out that Arata isn’t carrying Souma’s dream, he’s clinging onto the idea to cope with his grief. The thing is, Souma can’t surpass RW anymore. Arata’s loaded that responsibility onto himself, without even considering his own feelings on the matter. As Taiga says, Arata is good, great even, but he can’t be the best unless he asks himself if he wants this. Arata can’t even say that he is carrying Souma’s dream, that he does want to do this and he isn’t just clinging onto the idea to cope, and it crushes him to the point of leaving Shibuya.

Honestly I think leaving was what was best for Arata in that moment. Because he does need to take a step back and just let himself actually process his grief. Because even if Souma is still alive, that partnership was still lost and Arata had dedicated everything to that partnership and to Souma, and really he still does. And honestly I think this is what he wants even if you take Souma’s dreams out of the equation, but he needs time to himself to think about what he wants. I don’t know when we’ll next see him again honestly it might be a while but I’m interested to see how that goes. Arata is surprisingly developed and nuanced for a side character and the fact the devs managed to do this across 3 events, two of which he only appears in for a couple chapters is insane. Oh yeah also I like him a bit more than Kotaro if the wall of text wasn’t obvious.