#the guy who--- in hindsight--- hes starting to realize is someone he liked being a lot more than the golden guard

[weirdly-enough]

anyway I think willow used to call hunter caleb sometimes the same way he calls her captain. she stops after halloween.

[nighthaunting]

I know we’re all just clowning here on tumblr dot com but I do think the perception of Morgott as like, ultra-religious and sort of blindly following the Golden Order despite their hatred of Omens is a really contextless reading of his situation.

If we read the description of his great rune it says:

That the Omen King was born of the golden lineage, and that he was indeed the Lord of Leyndell.

Morgott was the rightful ruler of Leyndell, Omen or not that was his golden city full of people who would revile him if they knew of his true origin.

I think his motives are less someone who’s tricked themselves into believing in something that hates him and more someone who’s wanted a place where he belongs for so long that now that there’s finally a place that he provably has a right to he’s never leaving.

Morgott isn’t deluded about what the Golden Order is or he’d never have invented the Veiled Monarch. Even the lines about his becoming the Erdtree’s protector don’t really indicate he had a particularly faith-based reason for doing so, but rather that he found that he came to love the Erdtree despite not knowing love.

Morgott is the gothic heroine who just inherited a big cursed estate but he wants a place that’s his own so bad he moves into the haunted house anyway and starts loving the architecture despite it being full of ghosts that hate him.

Morgott who led the Night’s Cavalry to hunt Tarnished, and beat the shit out of Rahdan, and launched the Seige of Mt. Gelmir and prosecuted the bloodiest and most costly war in the Shattering is not a guy who is getting his blind fundamentalist on, he’s a guy who’s decided that he’ll pile up a mountain of corpses before he lets anyone take away or threaten his place and is willing to be extremely proactive about defending it.

Editing to add:

And see the thing is, I think there’s even more nuance to it than just Morgott finally having a scrap of something to call his own and being willing to defend it with all his might!

In hindsight, I actually think Morgott had a better idea than anyone what the Tarnished would eventually have to do to get to the Elden Throne.

His dialogue as he’s dying makes it clear he’s known about the thorns blocking the way into the Elden Throne and been considering every way anyone might get through them.

In his dialogue as Margit in Stormveil, he says very specifically “the flame of ambition” and speaks of snuffing that flame.

I think Morgott realized that the only way a Tarnished could get into the Elden Throne would be to burn the Erdtree, and not only has he come to love this fixture of the haunted house he chooses to live in, but he knows that burning the Erdtree would destroy the place he calls his own.

Is it any wonder he’s so proactively trying to stop any Tarnished from even approaching Leyndell in the first place, when in his eyes it wouldn’t be unreasonable to view a sufficiently powerful Tarnished as a direct threat to the piece of the Lands Between that he’s carved out for himself?

[tidesreach]

Watching 2x01 and genuinely driving myself crazy with the realization that Buck actually falls for Eddie's personality. He's frustrated by everything else but the minute he sees Eddie being Eddie he starts paying attention. Eddie's intro is everyone else calling him handsome except for Buck. By the end of the episode Buck is cheering for Eddie the hardest and it all came because he likes EDDIE'S PERSONALITY. This following the pattern of him liking Abby before he even met her because he liked her personality?? TO BE SEEN AND FOUND AS A THEME AGAIN!

oh man stoppppp. you are so correct, anon. HE DOES. 2x01 actually makes me crazy. there is so much going on there. buck's immediate feelings about eddie are such a tangled mess. like, there's attraction there, which buck certainly does not recognise is attraction. (the fact that he is the only one who doesn't comment on how attractive eddie is makes me insane. it would have been less revealing if he did actually lmao.) so even though that physical attraction is there, it doesn't even register for buck. and then there's everything else, the feelings deeply rooted in his trauma. that this guy is going to replace him, be better than him, be more worthy than him, that everyone will love him more than buck. thus, the macho posturing and desperate attempts to prove his worth. like, almost immediately he sees eddie as ENEMY because of the perceived threat on his own worth. but then, yeah. eddie is eddie. he's good, he's compassionate, he's competent, he's understanding and non-judgemental. and that's the thing really. THAT’S what pulls buck in.

because EDDIE IS EDDIE. eddie, who sees past buck's knee-jerk reaction of hostility and distrust. like, by all rights eddie could bite back at buck and his deranged behaviour. he could write him off as a dickhead with a big ego and not bother with him, because yeah. buck is being a bit of a dick (affectionate). but he DOESN'T DO THAT because he, well. sees buck. he sees the personality beneath the posturing. he sees that there's more there. that there's some insecurity there. like, buck is constantly trying to provoke a reaction but instead of rising to it with the same hostile energy, eddie's like okay man. what's your problem? then actually listens to what buck's problem is and tries to reason with it. and there's a distinct shift after that. like, even before they pull the grenade out of that guy. there's a moment where eddie's explaining the intricacies of a grenade and its components, and that hostility and exasperation is gone from buck's expression. instead, he looks well. a little impressed. and then, the clincher i think is after, when eddie tells buck that he's badass under pressure. like, GOD. the way buck says "me?" like he’s genuinely asking "wait really? me?" and yeah. THAT’S IT. that's where he falls for eddie's personality, because he's been nothing but hostile towards him and eddie's just like. man, you're great. you can have my back any day. INSANE ACTUALLY.

in hindsight, it really sets up their entire relationship. the way buck just wants to be seen (eddie seeing beyond buck's hostility). and the way eddie just wants someone to be there, to have his back (buck getting into an ambulance with him where there is a live fucking grenade). WILD.

[gammija]

idly thinking about an AU where Jon and Martin do manage to land in the same world, in roughly the same location, but separated by time.

Lots of time.

Jon arrives in Britain, in 1988. Martin also arrives in Britain, also in the 80's - the 1780s. Maybe it's the Web putting the pieces in new starting positions, maybe it's just happenstance. Who can say.

The first thing Martin does is look for Jon, of course. Unfortunately, he realizes pretty quickly that, if Jon is here, he's not anywhere near him. But Martin's not giving up that easily. If he's going to find him, he needs resources. So, with a knack for lying to wealthy old men, and using a minimal amount of historical knowledge, he makes a modest name for himself. Hopefully enough so that Jon will be able to find him, when he looks for him -

Because Martin hasn't been able to find a trace of him yet. Not as a real person in the world, and not as a reference in any old texts or stories about odd appearances of men with alien clothes, lots of scars, or piercing eyes.

A few years pass, without Martin finding any sign of Jon. Slowly, he has to come to terms with a few facts:

Firstly, that the Fears are definitely also in this world. In his search for Jon, he's come across far too many accounts that sound eerily familiar. Though they seem to have popped up in the world around the same time he did; He doesn't have any earlier records that consistently line up with the patterns he's familiar with. Which most likely means that they - he - are responsible for their existence in this world... Martin tries not to think about it.

Secondly, thankfully, this must mean that Jon didn't arrive centuries before he did, living and dying without anyone taking notice, which Martin had gotten more and more worried about. He wouldn't have arrived without the Fears being there too. No, if Jon is going to appear in this world, (and Martin is not going to think about the alternatives), he'll arrive in his future.

Maybe so far into the future that Martin won't even live to see him. In which case, however much he'd like to avoid thinking about it, Martin has to create something here and now. Something that will last beyond his lifetime. Something Jon will be able to find as soon as he looks for Martin, so at least Jon won't have to wonder what happened to him, will know that he did not arrive completely alone, that Martin did not abandon him.

Thirdly... through his search for Jon, Martin has amassed quite a little collection of esoteric and weird stories. And, though he did it 200 years in the future, he does have some experience running an organization that ostensibly researches the supernatural, which would also be a good way to keep track of any potential new Jon leads. He thinks of naming it after Jon, of course, but it's not like Jon is going to look for his own name first, is he? And it'd raise more questions than if he named it after himself.

Cue the bittersweet ending where Jon falls out of the sky on a sunny day in the middle of London, asks for someone named Martin Blackwood, and finds Blackwood Organization, a public collection of ghost stories dating back to the 1800. He is given a set of personal letters from the founder, to be hand delivered only to a man called Jonathan Sims as soon as he would walk in the door.

...Or -

After yet another few years, in which Martin has set up his organization and is part of a decent network of people with similar interests (though he dislikes most of them), he bumps into someone. Jonah Magnus. It's an incredibly odd experience, though in hindsight, it was bound to happen, considering the information he's after. Martin has the urge to kill him right there, but the man doesn't seem to be from the future. He's just a creepy guy. Younger than Martin, too, which is also weird. But he manages to shake it off, and doesn't see him again.

Though he does keep tabs on him. Seeing him has set Martin thinking. He's been getting older, and his modern constitution isn't faring great in Georgian times. The organization is doing okay, but he's not sure yet if it's really going to survive after he's, well, gone, which would defeat the whole point. With a few more years, could he make it stronger? Could he maybe even reunite with Jon in person?

Furthermore, with the Fears being now well established, it's only a matter of time before someone tries a ritual. No, Martin isn't going to try and do one first, that'd be really stupid, not to mention evil. He just has to make sure that the world actually survives for Jon to appear in it.

A plan begins to form. One he really doesn't like. But one that, the more he considers it, is very possible. He's quite sure now the Fears mostly operate on vibes. Sure, he's maybe not a full avatar, but through letting the public read stories about the fears, hasn't he kind of spread awful knowledge? Hasn't he seen a lot of terrible things in turn? The Eye was already fond of him, according to Jon.

And even if it were to go wrong... Martin would die in either case, and the only other person suffering would be Jonah. He can't find it in himself to feel too awful about that.

Jon falls out of the sky on a sunny day in 1986. After a short and panicked search, he walks through the doors of the Blackwood Organization, Hilltop Lane 148, Oxford. The receptionist greets him. She seems somewhat shocked as she does so, tells him to take a seat as she makes a call. He doesn't know what else to do, so he sits. The chairs are surprisingly comfortable.

A few minutes later, someone he doesn't at all recognize enters the foyer. He looks at Jon, stops, freezes. Jon stills as well.

The man is unfamiliar in every way. He's short, for one, his skin a darker complexion, hair curling in a way his never did. But those eyes, as soon as he sees them, he recognizes. Those are the eyes of the man he trusted to kill him.

[taylortruther]

I actually agree with you 100% on all long-term relationship breakups being pretty much the same. When you've loved someone for so long, it means they're also part of your routines, part of your comfort, part of your home and part of your family. Their family becomes your family, their friends become your friends, their hopes and aspirations become things you care about as well as their struggles. The reasons why the rs starts falling apart aren't as simple as one or both parties no longer "being in love", but rather a combination of issues: career ambitions intolerable to the relationship for various reasons, incompatibility of personalities or of extended families, growth at different paces, the goals and wishes agreed at the start of the rs changing with time, loss of trust and connection, etc. I thought of this the other day when an anon mentioned the movie Blue Valentine, and I think the reason why that film feels so realistic (and devastating) is because all long term relationships slowly desintegrate in similar manners to what happens to the couple in the movie. And piggybacking off the discourse we had on The Alcott, it's quite desperating and frustrating to slowly realize that things that once were profoundly sacred have come to feel like a curse; you no longer feel like you're choosing everyday to be with this person out of love, but rather that you're emprisioned to them.

What we know about TTPD department so far makes me think this will be explored but not in the way many fans seem to be expecting (not you guys lol but I have seen ppl that expect the songs to be sassy, petty, and accusatory). Instead, I think we will see her show and deconstruct all the ways she fought for it to work, compromising, committing, twisting herself into a pretzel, and making herself smaller, not because he was "forcing her" like some fans think but rather from her own decision bc that's just how much she loved him. Which is even more devasting if you think of it: she locked herself away, tried to dim her shine, beared emotional burdens alone because of her own conviction and desire to make things work, not as a result of him "making her" do all of that. So imo one of the reasons this album will be particularly devastating is bc we will learn in a very raw manner just how much she loved this man and how much she was willing to give up for him, and how much regret she probably has about things she did for him that at the time felt like a no-brainer but in hindsight seem ridiculous (which is a very common thing for everyone bc that's simply what you do when you love someone; love isn't usually rational). And this will undoubtedly be very relatable for ppl who have been in ltrs that ended bc, as you say, most of them end in the same way and most of us realize how much we actually sacrificed for it only after the fact.

i agree!!! also, we know taylor never does anything by halves. we know love is basically a religion of drug to her. we know she felt that he believed in her and loved her for her at a time when she felt she was distinctly unlovable. we know she fought hard to deal with her baggage. we know she was reflecting on fame, how fickle it is, and why she wanted it so badly (miss americana doc, mirrorball, midnight rain, to name a few.) we can look at midnights to see the things that were haunting her and they were things like: dealing with fame, choosing the hard way, reckoning with loss of self, wanting to protect love that felt fragile, blocking out noise, the empowerment and loneliness of relying on oneself. midnights feels like a very honest and logical progression past folkmore, which discussed those topics as well as infidelity, taking up space, confronting depression and pain and other sticky human desires. ttpd feels like it will further touch on these complicated and sticky and dark topics, with the added "bonus" of the specter of a breakup, and the breakup itself, haunting them. anyone whose ever lost a part of themselves to try and save a relationship of any kind will understand, i think. love is a beast that way.

[anthurak]

One detail I really like about ‘Queen Bee’ is how it essentially provides a ‘missing piece’ of Loona’s character development, and in turn makes Seeing Stars an even more impactful episode for her.

Because Queen Bee gives us a first-hand look at Loona’s attempts to make friends, and by extension shows us why that is so hard for her. This episode showed us that Loona’s extreme awkwardness around Vortex back in Spring Broken wasn’t just a case of ‘not knowing how to talk to your crush’ awkwardness but rather how she acts in just about any social situation. As it turns out, Loona is a lot more socially awkward and introverted than a lot of us probably guessed. Which probably shouldn’t be all that surprising in hindsight given what we saw of her background before Blitzo adopted her in Seeing Stars.

With this in mind it’s pretty easy to guess that Loona’s normal response to this social awkwardness is to fall back on her tried and tested psychological defense mechanism of getting sarcastic/abrasive/angry and possibly hitting something or someone in order to get herself to a safe distance. Something we both see inferred with the ‘Lunatic Loona’ comment and see in action with Loona’s response to the poodle who brought it up, and later when Loona gets angry at Bee. In hindsight, Loona acting super shy and awkward in Spring Broken is the result of her for once not being able to fall back on getting angry to avoid an awkward or uncomfortable social situation because she actually wants Vortex to like her.

As an aside, I think this is something many people don’t recognize about Loona. That her general abrasiveness and ‘anger issues’ are almost certainly a defense mechanism that she’s developed over what clearly seems to have been years of trauma and likely abuse before being adopted by Blitzo. It’s a way for Loona to protect herself by keeping anyone who could possibly hurt her at a safe distance. A defense mechanism that’s become so ingrained for her that it’s pretty much reflexive at this point.

For example, this is why I think all the claims that Loona is somehow ‘abusive’ to Blitzo are seriously missing the point: It’s pretty clear that Blitzo has little to no respect for personal boundaries, as we see with both his stalking of the M&Ms and showering Loona with overcompensating affection. So is it really so surprising that Loona would be beating the crap out of him so often when Blitzo is likely constantly triggering Loona’s deeply engrained and reflexive defense mechanism? All while Blitzo himself is entirely oblivious to what he’s doing because as we’ve seen, Blitzo would sooner chew off his own leg and arm before confronting emotional/psychological problems/baggage, ESPECIALLY his own.

Which of course is not to say that I think it’s somehow a good thing or justified when Loona beats the crap out of her father. Rather, that ‘Blitzo constantly invades Loona’s personal space and Loona responds with a brutal ass-kicking’ is a symptom of their respective issues and dysfunctional relationship. Not some banal ‘Blitzo is a poor helpless victim and Loona is a terrible person’ excuse.

Going back to Loona’s development in Queen Bee that leads into Seeing Stars, all this demonstrates to us that Loona doesn’t really have any friends and why that is the case. Like at the start of Queen Bee, we can’t even really call Vortex a friend to Loona, at least from her perspective. For Loona, Vortex isn’t so much a friend as he is a crush. It’s clear that Loona’s initial reasons for coming to the party were mostly just to hang out with this one guy she has a crush on. As evidenced by how Loona immediately wants to ditch the party upon meeting Bee-lezebub, and by extension, realizes that she has absolutely ZERO chance with Vortex.

Now of course, by the end of Queen Bee, we see that Loona seems to have at least started making a few friends among the other hounds at Bee’s party. It’s clear that getting invited back into the party by some friendlier hounds and imps as well as, ironically enough, Blitzo’s presence did help Loona get past some of her social awkwardness. At the same time though, we don’t see enough of them with Loona to really call these much more than ‘good acquaintances’/cool-people-she-met-at-a-party-once.

Which, going into Seeing Stars, is what makes Loona’s scene with Octavia so MASSIVELY important for her.

As I discussed in a previous post, Loona didn’t need to put in effectively ALL of the legwork in finding Octavia. We see that she was at first perfectly content non-verballing telling Blitzo to fuck off and just chilling out around L.A. Instead, it seems that the real reason Loona decided to track down Octavia was because she related to what Octavia was probably going through, which spurred her to go and help her.

Octavia is so much more than just some guy Loona had a crush on or someone Loona had fun with at a party once. This is someone that Loona clearly relates to on a very personal level. Someone that Loona clearly sees a lot of herself in. And because of that, for the first time we see Loona let down all the guards and defenses she normally puts up and really connect with someone else.

A connection which is clearly something special. Loona, who has spent the whole show making it clear she does NOT like people getting in her personal space, and proving she can, will and has beat the utter crap out of anyone who does, offers Octavia to take her hand. And when Octavia goes for a full-blown hug instead, Loona is only briefly surprised and clearly not uncomfortable in the least, even returning and enjoying the hug herself.

I’ve stated in the past that I don’t particularly like how much of the HB fandom has really latched onto treating Loona and Octavia as sisters. And one of the big reasons is that I feel like it rather cheapens the bond and connection these two are actually forming. It paints these two more as kids whose relationship is simply an extension of their fathers’ relationship, brought together simply because those fathers became are a couple.

When what we’re actually seeing is Loona’s and Octavia’s friendship developing largely independent of whatever Blitzo and Stolas have going on. I mean let’s not forget that Stolitz as a relationship is nowhere close to even dating, let alone marriage. Blitzo and Stolas never encourage their daughters to spend time together either, the closest thing to that we see is Blitzo telling Loona to go find Octavia while everyone else is getting sidetracked by shenanigans, which Loona initially blows off completely. Instead, Loona and Octavia clearly seem to be becoming friends due to shared interests, likes and a deep understanding and empathy to the problems the other is facing. And is really in no way dependent on Blitzo and Stolas being a thing, again considering the fact that Stolitz could at this point be charitably be described as a ‘vaguely-defined and very shaky fling’.

Moreso than Vortex, Bee or any of the hounds Loona met in Queen Bee, Loona’s friendship with Octavia feels like something very significant and special for both of them.

[banamine-bananime]

AITA for trying to save my friend and keep the rest of my asshole friends safe from their bad decisions?

I (M26) just went through this real shitty breakup. So basically, my ex C (M lmao man fuck if i know his age idek if knows it. or has one i guess) has this god-fucking-awful habit of deciding to solve every problem by dying about it and/or fucking off without so much as a word to the people unfortunate enough to give a shit about him, except maybe his sister (unhelpful for the rest of us because she also inherited the "fucking off without a word" gene. man fuck this whole family for making me care about them. whatever). Also, killing himself inside peoples brains thats like a whole hobby for him. like okay either ghost us OR kill yourself in front of us altering the trajectory of our lives forever PICK ONE like a NORMAL person.

Okay wait im not explaining this well. So years ago C and W (M37 now) were partners but C was, uh, in a really bad place mentally (S is telling me this is more diplomatic to say than "crazy af") and that situationship ended as badly as a situationship can end. I mean W's told me he pretty much had his sense of identity as someone separate from C totally destroyed by that for a while, which like, in hindsight its kinda an accidental dick move that our team made him take C's legal identity, but in our defense a) the fuck were we supposed to know?, b) tbf he really did need it not to go back to prison, c) it's not like C was using his identity, on account of the fucking off and effectively-dying-as-a-solution habits, and d) i mean. i gotta admit it's also pretty funny in a really fucked way.

aw shit derailed on a tangent again

recently its just like, we just get so focused on one thing its hard to remember anything else, you know?

S is so good at getting us back on track though. thank god because you would not believe the number of irons weve got in the fire to keep track of, its ridiculous. (i love making my partner be the planner in the relationship lol. highly recommend being a passenger princess in the body sometimes. fuck massages, i'm telling you THIS is what you need after a long day getting shit DONE and taking care of everyone else's messes)

So I met C 6 years ago, right out of basic, when we were privates stationed at the same base. middle of nowhere. shit, this is gonna be hard to explain, just realized i should use different names for C to keep them straight. I knew "A" and W knew "E", i didnt meet E until years later. theyre alters and also the same guy but also not the same guy. dont worry about it if you dont get it bc ive dated both of them and i dont think i do. my life is stupid.

Bunch of bullshit happened, A ghosted (lol. you'd be high-fiving me if you knew him) and then found a problem to solve by dying. you get it by now.

Then i meet E, E encounters a problem and tries to die about it round one (i guess round two, after exploding in W <- LOL. you should be high-fiving me right now), E's sister drags him back to the land of the living, E ghosts, W and i start dating, W tries to martyr himself and disappears because i guess E rubbed off on him (dude i am on a fucking roll. you should be high-fiving me out of pity for my glamorously miserable soap-opera life if nothing else. homophobic not to), our team gets W back, E strolls back like he has no idea why im mad at him, we fight about it, makeup-makeouts about it, and E tries to die about it round two: in my brain boogaloo.

So thats how S and i meet. oops, guess i never introduced S? Feels weird to have to introduce ourself twice, people dont really meet us separately anymore LOL. S (M, ageless) is also C's alter, my partner in life and badassery and brain and body. and obviously freaky sex stuff, that goes without saying but i'm saying it anyway to brag. the swish swish to my stabbing people who really deserve it. Not really interested in your opinion on our relationship, it's not what i'm asking about. we're aware its not conventional, because we're not fucking braindead. Im so sick of all the "oooohhhhh this isn't healthy", "he's a male manipulator and youre codependent i know bc i learned psychology from tiktoks by girls with green hair", "why are you wearing your ex-boyfriend's armor colors while wearing his dead ex-boyfriend's armor while dating and sharing a brain with your dead mutual ex's alter", "have you considered going to therapy instead of a quest against death itself" blah blah blah. If youre so bored you need to judge our life then just get your own 🙄🙄🙄

we've been really on that sigma grindset the last few weeks. S has got our sleep optimized down to a tight triphasic 3.46 hours and we're minmaxing the fuck out of the rest of every day. Biohacked to shit over here. too much to do, so we have to make there be enough of our time to do it. who else is gonna? my teammates? the REDS? we're half batman half babysitter to a gaggle of idiots who can barely be trusted to wipe their own asses, let alone fight their own battles and make decisions like "wah wah wah A is dead let's just give up and cry about it or whatever".

Don't even get me started on W. Oh youre all about character-building wake up and grind self-improvement and taking leadership until we're making decisions you dont like, i guess. WHATEVER. this is why we dont listen to you.

its hard, okay. like, you cant understand the sheer fucking stress were under trying to keep all our plans going smoothly while keeping these guys safe while they're basically actively trying to unravel every carefully-laid thread and also strangle themselves in them. im probably going prematurely grey and also losing some time. its hard to remember when we need to hold back and use the kiddy gloves. i really didnt want to come to holding - uh, we'll call him MC (M25) - by the throat, passed-out. he's like a brother to me, been through thick and fucking thin together, so yeah, i feel really bad about that, my bad, we were the asshole there, but like, maybe stop throwing yourself in the way? like run out into the road you're gonna get hit by a truck no matter how hard they slam the brakes. mfw the conses quence. but im NOT asking about that. everyone's been on our dick about "please god stop doing all of this" and abandoning A and trying to break us up way before that, and THAT'S what im asking about

Anyways tl;dr are we the asshole for getting shit done when it takes methods that all our monday morning quarterback friends dont like

_____

OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:

it really was a dick move to dangle my teammate's limp body in a chokehold even though it was basically an accident and also not even directly relevant to the question

OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might not be the asshole:

okay but we're right

[carlsangel]

GOOD TASTE

carl grimes x reader

(you and carl bond after terminus.)

tags: fluff? maybe? idk i just exist

masterlist here!

You’ve been alone for quite a long time. Maybe not technically because you’ve had Rosita, Abraham and Eugene, but you’ve felt alone for quite a while. You don’t particularly let it get to you though, you’ve always had some sort of entertainment to enjoy. It helped you stay yourself, the same person you were when this all started.

You traveled very far with your group, you’ve lost a lot of people however. Someone you stuck with throughout all of it was Rosita. She was one of the people who stayed with you after losing your family and the others of the group. Abraham was always sort of standoffish. He gave you advice and was aggressive with you when he needed to be. Yelling at you to avoid you getting hurt, all that. Eugene…he was just there. He was just…yeah, there. He was helpful when he needed to be though.

The four of you have met and parted ways with many people and many groups. It all changed when you met one group in specific. You’d met Glenn and Tara and you saw their determination to find their people. You’ve never met others that dedicated. Usually they would accept the fact that their family was gone, but they were different. Even after finding Maggie, Sasha and Bob, they wanted to look further.

You believed Terminus would be the end of it all. You thought your story ended there.

You were surprised to find out that this group of people were successfully able to find their way back to each other; they had such a strong love for each other that even after being separated tragically, they figured it all out. And they got you out.

You were now on the road, you’d been smart enough to hide your bag with all your entertainment inside on the outskirts of Terminus. You noticed a guy your age, Carl. He’d seemed sweet, but very worried all the time; he made you remember who you used to be after your family died. You didn’t feel like bothering him, he’d just reunited with his baby sister who he’d presumed was dead. So you let him come to you.

You were walking along the railroad, listening to music. Trying to process everything you’d seen at Terminus.

“Hey.” You feel a tap on your shoulder and you pull out the headphone in your right ear, turning to see he’d approached you. You smile. “Hi.” You pull your ipod out from your back pocket to pause your music. “Whatcha listening to?” He asks, pointing at the ipod as you shoved it back in your front pocket. “Uhhh just Everlong.” He gives you a curious look. “Foo Fighters?” You add, not realizing he didn’t know what you were talking about.

“Oh, yeah I know who you mean now. Sorry I’ve forgotten the names n stuff.” He smiles. “Don’t worry about it. Wanna listen?” You pull out your left headphone and stick it out to him. He looks at it and thinks for a moment before taking it to put it in his ear. You scoot a little closer to him so it’s easier to listen and you put the right headphone in your ear.

You turn up the volume a little and smile as you press play.

You guys walk like that for a while, just listening to music together peacefully. He smiles at you sweetly throughout, and you begin to feel less alone. Like you felt before. The group stops for the night and you settle into a tent with Rosita. You go and sit next to Carl around the fire and he seems happy you chose to sit with him. “Soooo what do you have in there?” He points to your bag. “Just stuff for entertainment, which probably isn’t that smart in hindsight but…maybe it is. I dunno.” You both giggle and you unzip your bag.

“Well I’ve got these, I’m not too sure you’re into comics but-” He cuts you off. “No way, you have Science Dog? I haven’t read this since- well since…you know.” You nod in response. “Yeah, yeah I know.” You hand him the comic and continue digging through your bag, grabbing Invincible and some Spider-man comics. “Wow, you’ve got good taste.” He says with a smile, flipping through the selection of comics you have. “Thanks.”

“So which ones your favorite?”

“It’s gotta be Science Dog.”

“Really? Same…reminds me of before.”

You guys blabber on about it for the rest of the night, eventually being yelled at to separate and go to bed by Rick after dinner.

It’s funny how a friendship can form from your “good taste.”

a/n: so sorry about this ITS SO BAD not to mention how short it is, i’m so so sorry. ALSO would you guys call me a nerd if i told you i have a science dog shirt and the actual science dog comic? (i’m just a girl btw pls don’t call me a nerd) also hope u like the banner for these next three fics bc LAWD HES SO FINE.

[engie-ivy]

(Short fic of Remus being a disaster😋 for @wolfstarmicrofic)

2nd: Rogue

Remus only dates so-called 'bad boys', because he isn't interested in falling in love, but also doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, and with those types, he doesn't have to worry about either. When he goes on a date with Sirius Black, however, Remus quickly realizes he's made a huge error of judgment.

Wasn't Looking For This

“You need help,” Mary states as she’s scrolling through Remus’ Tinder matches.

“Don’t you dare start swiping for me!” Remus warns.

Mary shakes her head. “No, I mean like professional help. Have you considered talking to someone?”

“Please.” Remus plucks his phone from her hands. “I don’t see any use in paying a ton of money to have some therapist psychoanalyse how my dating life is problematic.”

“I agree,” Lily says, sprawled out on the couch flipping through a magazine. “You don’t need to be a licensed therapist to psychoanalyse what’s wrong with your dating life. Instability during your childhood that lead to an insecure attachment style, causing you to develop a great fear of commitment, and resulting in you only dating men you know you’ll have no risk of falling in love with. Men I would describe as rogue bad boys. Overconfident, narcissistic, inconsiderate, too full of themselves to care about anybody else’s feelings. Men who definitely aren’t looking for an emotional connection, so you don’t have to worry about not only you getting feelings for them, but also them getting feelings for you.”

Remus glares at her. “Rude.”

Mary sighs. “So, is tonight’s guy a rogue, self-centred bad boy with too much confidence?”

“We actually haven’t spoken much,” Remus admits. “But he definitely has the right vibe. He was wearing a leather jacket in the bar, everyone was throwing themselves at him, but he hardly seemed to care, and he had this haughty air about him. Plus, the reason we didn’t talk much is because he had his tongue in my mouth five minutes after saying hello.” He grins. “So I’m hopeful.”

Lily rolls her eyes. “You’re an absolute disaster.”

Remus gets to his feet and presses a kiss to Lily’s cheek. “Love you too, Lils.” He turns to the girls before going out the door. “Don’t wait up,” he says with a wink.

Lily groans and Mary shakes her head. “You have issues.”

Remus made a huge mistake.

He realizes this immediately as he wakes up in a bed that is most definitely not his. He’s relieved that Sirius isn’t there, which gives him some time to think.

Yesterday, Sirius had taken him out for dinner at a nice restaurant. Afterwards, some drinks and a lovely stroll through the city at night-time and its beautiful city lights, ending at the front door of Sirius’ apartment.

Sirius had been charming and funny, and sure, that happens sometimes. With his habit of dating vain bad boys, Remus isn’t surprised anymore at how charming they can be when they want to. But then Sirius had also been kind and caring and actually interested in what Remus had to say, and that most definitely wasn’t what he signed up for!

Sirius had been a true gentleman, holding out Remus’ chair as they got to their table. He had smiled at Remus with a smile that was so much brighter than Remus remembered from the badly lit bar after a couple of drinks. As soon as they sat down, Sirius had said that his resting face was often interpreted as haughty, and how that ‘so not was who he was’, and that he was glad Remus wanted to give him a chance anyway.

Remus had wanted to scream.

In hindsight, he should’ve fled right there and then. But no, he had stayed. And of course Sirius had offered to share a dessert and then let Remus eat all of it, of course he had insisted that he’d pay for dinner, of course he had asked ‘is the okay?’ when he took Remus’ hand in his as they were walking side by side.

And if that hadn’t been bad enough, it turned out Sirius loves animals. He had shown Remus pictures of his dog, beaming with fondness as he told Remus about her.

The cherry on top of this miserable pie that Remus definitely didn’t order, was that Sirius is a doctor. A bloody doctor. He works in the ER and he loves his job, because ‘it’s just so rewarding’.

When he had gently pulled Remus close and kissed him under a streetlight, Remus’ stomach did this fluttering thing.

It was awful.

Remus gets out of bed and starts putting on his clothes. He’ll shower at home. Right now, he needs to get out of here. He should’ve left yesterday, he shouldn’t have stayed the night. Maybe he shouldn’t have gone home with Sirius in the first place, but he just can’t bring himself to regret that, because holy shite. He’s only human, after all.

He’ll do the awkward goodbye, where Sirius might mutter something about breakfast and maybe having some yoghurt left in the fridge, which Remus will politely decline. He’ll leave and forget all about this. Forget that guys exist who are actually interested in what he has to say, forget that guys exist who look at him like he’s actually worth something, forget that guys exist who can make him feel like he’s actually worth something. Forget that Sirius Black exists.

As he enters the living room, though, he stops in his tracks at the dreadful sight in front of him.

The table is set, and Sirius is in the kitchen, wearing only his boxers and a t-shirt, his hair haphazardly tied in a messy bun, baking what appear to be pancakes. Sirius turns around and smiles at him, and Remus is floored by how he can look even more gorgeous like this then he did yesterday in his dress shirt and suit jacket. His stomach does that weird fluttery thing again, and Remus hopes against his better judgment that it’s due to yesterday’s wine.

“You’re awake, good,” Sirius says. “Since you told me yesterday how you have quite the sweet tooth, I couldn’t let you go without trying Potters’ Perfect Pancakes! Recipe from my chosen mother Effie, and I’m not even overselling when I tell you that they’re the best thing you’ll ever taste. Come, sit!”

Remus’ brain is shouting at him. Run! Get out! Just leave! But Remus’ body moves to the chair, sits down and starts buttering a bloody pancake.

It’s like watching a car speed towards a wall, knowing it’s going to crash, but there being nothing he can do about it.

His feeling of impending doom are interrupted by his first bite of pancake. It’s fluffy, and chewy, and gooey, and smooth, and creamy, and everything in one. “Oh my god,” he says.

Sirius is leaning forward in his chair, looking at Remus with an eager smile, his face brimming with excitement, his eyes sparkling. Remus can’t help but think that he’ll do anything to see Sirius smile like that. “It’s good, innit? I wasn’t exaggerating?”

“Really good,” Remus confirms. “And you definitely weren’t.”

As Remus digs in, Sirius places a mug of tea in front of him. Remus takes a sip, and it’s exactly the way he likes it. A warmth spreads through his body, that has nothing to do with the tea itself.

Then a beautiful girl walks into the kitchen. She has shiny black curls and she’s happily wagging her tail as she barks at Sirius.

“There she is!” Sirius drops to his knees and starts scratching her ears. “You were a little sleepy head, weren’t you? Yes, you were. Yes, you were. Who’s a good girl?” Sirius coos, as his dog starts wagging her tail even more and tries to lick his face.

And that’s just it for Remus.

The car has crashed. There’s nothing for it anymore. He’s done for.

The car has crashed, and all Remus can do now is hope that he’ll make it through in one piece.

Well, at least he has a doctor with him.

[lemonykoo]

let me get my husband for you! - diluc

Pairing: Husband!Diluc x Wife!Reader

Genre: Fluff! Female reader.

Word Count: 1.4k

Notes: You decided to visit Diluc at the tavern as he worked – somewhat a rare occasion – and a new Mondstadt resident has to learn the hard way that you’re not available. Warnings: guys are weird lmao and they say out of pocket things sometimes (also the ending sucks lmao)

It was a typical night at Angel’s Share tavern. It was definitely busy, as expected from a weekend with many of the knights and guild members coming in and out after a long day of work, as the same with regular citizens as well. It wasn’t even close to closing, so everyone was loud and in good spirits and drinks were handed out by, what seemed like, the dozen. You were one of those patrons, though you didn’t exactly spend all day fighting off hilichurls or taking care of problems that were more of a topic for the knights. Much like your husband, you yourself was somewhat of a business owner as you had taken on your parent’s family business that had, of course, been handed down to them many years ago. Today was busy for you, as you had to get up early and deal with meetings and other tasks all day long. With that being said, you also needed a breather from the stress of the day! Not only that, but you hadn’t seen Diluc at all today except for when you two departed in the morning, so you just couldn’t wait until late tonight to see your handsome husband. While you weren’t usually one for loud drunks or even alcohol itself, you did make rare appearances in the tavern just to surprise your husband and say a few hellos to people you knew that frequented the establishment. And even if you didn’t know many of the customers personally, they all knew you as the tavern owner’s wife – or better yet, just that you were married to the Diluc Ragnvinder – so a spot at the bar would be cleared just for you, no questions asked. So when you walked in tonight, your nice clothes still on from your earlier meetings, a barstool that had once been occupied by a member of the Adventurer’s Guild opened up with your name written all over it.

You’d always start off with a glass of wine and it would always been the finest (and on the house) because Diluc would always been delighted to see you. (The shine in his eyes and warm smile would always make an appearance as soon as he noticed you.) Even if he couldn’t always talk to you since he was busy, having your presence was enough. You’d normally chat with someone else, like Rosaria who was seated next to you tonight, so you weren’t alone or just awkwardly sitting and waiting for your husband to find the time to say something to you. And in hindsight, you guess that was why newcomers didn’t always catch on that you and the winery owner were married. The drink he’d slide over to you could just be because you were a frequent customer, right? At least, that’s what the guy that sat on the other side of you thought, because once he saw an opportunity pop up, he struck up a conversation with you.

“I don’t normally see a pretty lady like you in here alone,” he greeted, drawing your attention away from your friend on your other side.

To be fair, you knew it was best to not play along with these people. However, when your husband was just across the bar, lost in his own world of serving and cleaning, you couldn’t help it. After all, it was a little amusing to see the looks on people’s faces when they realized that not only were you already taken, but you were taken by the uncrowned king of Mondstadt. “Well, I decided it was time to finally make an appearance here,” you joked, your voice a little louder than normal so the man could hear you over the other rowdy patrons. You would never explicitly flirt with them or lead them on, but instead answer their questions and engage in what little chit-chat you could before having to play a damsel in distress and have your husband make them aware that you weren’t available. (As if the wedding ring on your finger didn’t already say that, but who was paying attention to it, anyways?)

“Let me guess,” the guy started, very obviously checking you out before smirking. You could tell he was already teetering on the edge of being completely drunk. “Your husband’s out of town? Because any guy with you would be smart enough to keep you at home, ya know?”

You looked off in feign thought, humming. “I’m not sure I do know, actually. Enlighten me.”

He smirked. “Well, obviously. You’re beautiful so every guy is going to want you. Or, are you trying to get away from him? That’s it, isn’t it?” He took a sip from his glass before gesturing toward yours. “Let me buy you drink.”

“Oh, no thank you, I haven’t even finished this one,” you said, showing how your cup had over half still. Besides, even if it was close to being empty, you could only manage about one full glass before becoming a bit too tipsy yourself.

“Listen,” he stated, turning more toward you. “I’d be more than willing to let you out of whatever situation your old man at home has got you tied up in, whether it be for tonight-” he hiccupped, “- or for however long you want it to be. In fact, if you want me to tell him how it isn’t fair that he’s not letting you get out and let yourself go as a pretty lady like you should, I will!”

“You will?” you asked, placing a hand to your chest, giving him a kind smile. “That’s so kind of you. Actually, my husband is here tonight.”

The guy blinked before quickly looking around. “Really?” he asked, his eyes returning to yours. “Well, point him out to me and I’ll give him a piece of my mind and then you and me can have a great night together.”

You smiled bigger, your eyes twinkling. You could feel Rosaria giving you confused looks as you faked searching for this mystery husband of yours before exclaiming a silent “oh!” and leaning toward the bar. “Hey, honey! This guy wants to talk to you!”

And this is exactly why you liked being a little meanie and playing with flirts like this. Because as soon as Diluc turned around from his task at hand, a look of question on his face as he made his way over to you to see what was going on, all life seemed to drain from the man that once really wanted to take you out two seconds ago. “What can I do for you?” your husband, who actually treated you very well, asked innocently, unaware of the interaction you had just been having.

“Uh, I just uh, wanted to you tell you that your wine is fantastic. Best wine I’ve ever had, really,” the man lied, his face beginning to turn a shade of red similar to your husband’s hair. “Unfortunately, I think I might have had just a little too much tonight and I have to go home.” Before Diluc could say thanks and wish him a safe return home, the man abruptly slipped out of his seat and took off out the door. The pyro user turned to see you and Rosaria snickering like someone had told you two the best joke in the world. He suddenly caught on and sighed.

“Y/N, you have got stop scaring my customers like that,” he chided, moving to stand more in front of you. He placed his elbows on the countertop and held out his hands for you to take, which you did immediately. It was a little habit you two had whenever Diluc had enough time to talk to you while working. He’d rub his calloused fingers over the soft skin of your knuckles as you two would talk, dreamily gazing into your eyes as if he couldn’t get enough of you (because, really, he couldn’t).

“I’m not scaring them away. I’m sure he’ll be back,” you giggled. “He’ll just know better than to hit on me next time! If I left it up to you, then they would be scared away and there wouldn’t be a next time.”

Well, Diluc couldn’t argue with that logic. In fact, the customers he had gotten onto himself for flirting with you hadn’t been back since. There were only a couple of them, and those time had been when you had gotten a little drunk yourself and weren’t too aware of the intentions of others. Besides, he found it amusing how much enjoyment you got out of showing off your spouse. But, he wouldn’t outright admit to that, of course.

[superbattrash]

Say My Name (Like You Enjoy The Taste of It)

Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x Vinsmoke Black Leg Sanji 

Summary: Zoro likes the banter thing he's got going on with Cook. It's fun, it's natural and it's- suddenly gone, because for some reason Cook won't even look at him these days. It can't really have something to do with that whole "Try calling my name sweetly" thing Cook was going on about, can it?

A/N: for @princesskazuya. Thanks for encouraging me, my love :3 I had lots of fun writing this; it definitively won’t be the last time I write my boys ~  

"Oi, shitty cook," Zoro calls when his glass (who's he kidding, he doesn't use the glass Cook sets out for him; why bother, when he's going to drink the entire bottle anyway?) is empty. He needs more sake. Cook knows which bottles are good and which are strictly off limits or whatever he usually says. Zoro doesn't really listen. It’s easier to just avoid the boot coming at his head if he picks up the wrong bottle.

"I told you to stop calling me that," Cook snaps and then turns back to making weird eyes at Robin. "Try calling my name sweetly and maybe I'll listen, shitty swordsman."

It’s his usual spew and Zoro merely rolls his eyes and walks into the kitchen himself. It’s not like he’s the only one refusing to use Cook’s name; he can’t remember a time Cook ever called him Zoro, much less Roronoa. It doesn’t take Cook ten seconds before he’s rushed in behind him, yelling something about keeping his clumsy hands off the wine Cook is saving for his precious Nami-swan and Robin-chan. As if Zoro is the one with clumsy hands – he wouldn’t survive two days with his swords if he didn’t have perfect precision.

That should’ve been that. It’s always just that. This is how they communicate. Cook says something stupid, Zoro doesn’t listen, Cook gets angry, they either fight or Zoro gets drunk. It’s a nice, comfortable routine. They’ll repeat it again tomorrow and the day after, just like they always do.

Except it doesn’t go like that.

Because suddenly Cook doesn’t react to any damn thing Zoro tells him, let alone when he calls him. It takes Zoro about two days to realize it, which in hindsight is too slow a reaction for a swordsman, but he’ll use the excuse that this is Cook, damn it, it’s not like Zoro is keeping a watch on the guy every second of every day.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a genuine question: “Oi, Cook, when’s dinner?” or the usual banter, Zoro has grown so accustomed to over the past few months: “You wanna fight, shitty cook?!” There’s no reaction. And while Zoro can brush it off for a day or two – he’s not a child, he can take a hint and leave Cook alone for a bit – he’s starting to grow uncomfortable when a week’s gone by, and they haven’t had a single fight. Or conversation, for that matter.

He can’t seriously be this upset over a damn name? Zoro has never called him by his name, why is it suddenly an issue? You don’t see Zoro throwing a tantrum every time he’s called swordsman by Robin. He doesn’t even flinch when Cook usually calls him Marimo, no matter how stupid the nickname is.

By the seventh day he’s growing somewhat antsy. They haven’t seen land for a while, which is probably why it even bothers him in the first place. He tries asking Nami about it but she’s as helpful as ever.

“Have you, I don’t know, considered just calling him by his name instead of being a little shit?” She asks, voice all sugary sweet, like she’s making an actual helpful suggestion and not just making fun of him.

“Why should I?” Zoro grunts. “He never calls my name.”

“He calls you Zoro all the time,” Nami says.

“Not to my face, he doesn’t.” Zoro knows Cook has to talk about him sometimes, what with how often they got separated whenever something exciting happens – which Zoro will admit is quite often – but he’s never once heard him say his name. Which is fine, it doesn’t matter. It’s just a name. Zoro knows who he is, and he knows who Cook is.

“Well, at least he says it unlike someone else,” Nami says with a judgmental look. Rich coming from someone who’s never given any thought to Robin only ever calling her Navigator for the first month she knew them. “I’m not even sure you know what his name is.”

“Of course, I do. You don’t think I know my own crewmate’s name?” Zoro is starting to get pissed off. Is there anyone on this damn ship who knows him at all? He knows Cook’s name; he just doesn’t need to use it. He respects Cook, somewhat, and that should be enough.

“Oh, so he’s your crewmate now? I thought he was just the shitty cook.”

Zoro huffs and then leaves Nami to whatever it is she’s so busy doing that she can’t give him a useful answer. As he said. Helpful as ever. He considers asking Robin – she’s usually more insightful anyway – but he still has a hard time figuring her out. Besides, Cook is sticking awfully close to her these days and while Zoro wants him to stop being pissy, he does not want to talk about this in front of him like he’s not there. Zoro may not always look it, but he was raised better than to talk about someone right in front of them.

Luckily – he thinks at least – for Zoro he doesn’t actually have to go to Robin because she finds him on the eighth day of her own accord. He’s a little wary when she approaches him on the top deck. He’s training with the barbell because he can’t go in the damn kitchen, and he’s got this irritating itch underneath his skin.

It’s not like he doesn’t trust Robin; they saved her for a reason, after all, and she’s been very helpful. She’s a member of the crew and Zoro trusts her like he trusts the others. She’s just- there’s something all-knowing about her and it makes Zoro feel… a little inadequate. Not that he’s about to tell her that, or anyone else for that matter. Which is also why he doesn’t stop his training until he’s actually done.

He sets his barbell down and turns to Robin. She’s leaning against the railing comfortably; she’s nice enough to wait for him to finish before talking. Unlike every other person on this damn ship. Zoro really needs to set foot on land soon, he’s getting irritable at nothing.

“We’ll reach land before nightfall,” she tells him conversationally.

“Yeah,” Zoro says. He heard Usopp earlier too.

“Would you like to get a drink with me when we get there?” Robin asks with a soft smile. It seems genuine enough.

“A drink?” Zoro says with a frown. “Sure, if you think you’re up for it.”

“Someone has to make sure you don’t get lost again, little swordsman,” she teases.

Zoro grits his teeth at the jab, but she looks so relaxed that he can’t really be mad at her. Besides, Robin’s never wanted to spend any time with him one-on-one before. Maybe she’s finally coming out of her shell. And – the most important part of this entire endeavor – since she asked, she’s the one buying.

Zoro grins.

“I’ll be in your care then,” he says.

Robin looks a little surprised at his response but only for a second, then she’s back to her soft smile and all-knowing eyes. She nods at him and then she’s walking away.

“You miscounted,” she says when she’s halfway down the stairs. Zoro still hears her clearly. “You skipped one thousand nine hundred and eighty-three.”

Zoro very nearly throws the barbell after her. As if he’d ever miscount like that.

He starts over anyway. Just in case.

Usopp’s predictions are – as they nearly always are when he teams up with Nami – holding up; the sun hasn’t set when they dock at one of the biggest islands in the small cluster they’ve come upon. It’s not much more than a handful of smaller towns, surrounding a larger one, but the larger one has three separate bars which is more than enough for Zoro to find a place where nobody screams ‘Pirates!’ at him.

He doesn’t want to admit it but it’s mostly thanks to Robin that they find a suitable place to drink fast. She seems to know her way around any and all towns they dock at, despite her claiming she’s never been here before. It’s that all-knowing thing again.

It’s also thanks to Robin that Zoro is even allowed off the ship in the first place which is both insulting and rude. Like he can get lost less than a mile from the ship; he’s not a child. Usopp is busy with repairs and Cook dragged Chopper off before anyone got to them; Nami is making sure Luffy doesn’t get them into trouble which leaves Robin and Zoro free to roam the town without worries. It’s not like they have a curfew, but it’s nice to know everybody is safe.

Robin, it turns out, is a solid drinker. She’s not Nami but Zoro is kind of thankful for that; he doesn’t need someone to outdrink him, he’s just happy with the company. And Robin loosens up after a few drinks which is nice, although she does start to talk. A lot. It’s not bad, just different. She smiles more too, which Zoro finds makes him smile more in turn. She’s easy to hang around when she’s not hiding anything or running from people. Well, running alone, that is. They’re still pirates, after all.

She does, however, very quickly turn the conversation in a direction Zoro was hoping she wouldn’t. She’s clever like that; Zoro barely notices before she’s dragged him into the discussion. He’s not here to think about Cook; he’s here to drink so he doesn’t think about Cook.

“You could just call him Sanji like the rest of us,” Robin tells him, as if it’s just that easy.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Zoro shoots back in leu of an honest answer. He’s on his fifth beer and he does not want to get into this. Why does Robin care anyway? Why does anyone? Why does Cook?

“The fun,” Robin says as she glares at him. “Is that I don’t have to listen to Sanji complain about you all day and in turn watch you glare at his back like you can set him on fire with your eyes.”

“I don’t-”

“And,” she barrels on. “I would like to see his face when you do it.”

“Why?” Zoro asks with a frown. Granted, Cook does have an entire array of fun expressions (Zoro’s favorite is when his mouth hangs open in horror and his eyebrows knit close together, when he’s all speechless and his cheeks flush bright red in anger), but Zoro’s never thought of Robin as someone who would enjoy watching a spectacle between crew mates. And more importantly, there’s no way Cook will show any kind of entertaining expression just from hearing Zoro call his damn name. Maybe slight disgust or that superior smirk he sometimes shows, but nothing worthy of an audience.

“It’ll be fun,” Robin says easily.

“I really don’t understand you,” Zoro says with a sigh. It’s not necessarily a bad thing; he doesn’t have to understand someone completely to enjoy their company. And he does enjoy Robin’s company. It’s a little surprising but not unpleasant to realize.

“You don’t have to. You just have to trust me.”

“I do,” he says honestly.

“I know.” Robin smiles at him and takes another sip of her beer. She’s keeping up with his drinking nicely. “So?”

“So?”

“Will you do the entire crew a favor and make peace with our beloved cook?” While her tone is mostly teasing, Zoro can tell there’s a seriousness hidden underneath, like there often is with Robin.

“I don’t even know where to begin.” He shrugs even as he feels the weight of his own words on his shoulders. He’s not even sure he should begin. He’s not sure he’s done anything wrong. “He won’t talk to me, remember?”

“I’m pretty sure you know what he wants you to do.”

“Call him by his name, right?” Zoro clicks his tongue. “Shitty cook, I don’t understand him either.”

Robin finishes her beer with a thoughtful expression on her face. “Try it with me,” she says.

“Huh?”

“Try calling my name,” she tells him again, like it’s really that easy. Like that’s all this is about. It can’t be. Right?

“Why?” Zoro asks. It’s not like he can’t say Cook’s name; he knows his name, just like he knows Robin’s and like he knows Luffy’s. Just like he knows everybody’s names. He just- huh. Well, it’s true that he calls the others by their names but it’s not like it’s on purpose. He doesn’t argue with the others, not like he does with Cook. They don’t set his blood on fire; they don’t make him feel like he’s losing control; they don’t… they’re not Cook.

“Because I asked you to,” Robin says, a hint of impatience in her voice. “Come on, say my name.”

“Robin,” Zoro says easily. It’s her name, it’s all he’s ever called her. Almost, anyway. And she did ask nicely, unlike that curly browed bastard.

“Oh that is so not cute.” Robin makes a face and then gestures to the barkeep. They need more drinks for this, even she can see that. “Try again.”

“C- who said I wanna be cute?!” Zoro splutters. He’s not going for cute! He just wants Cook to stop being a dramatic piece of shit and go back to normal.

“Do you want Sanji to speak to you again or not?”

“Tch,” Zoro grits his teeth. “Fine. Robin.” He prolongs the n with an eight of a second and even that makes his tongue curl awkwardly on his mouth.

“No, no, cuter. Like this, Zoro-kun~”

Zoro almost rears back at the sugary sweetness of Robin’s voice. That is absolutely not how she usually calls him. Or anyone for that matter.

“Robin-san,” he tries and immediately feels his stomach turn. God, this is awful. Who talks like this? It’s one thing to be polite but this? Zoro wants to stick his head through the wall. He’s thankful for the beer that’s put in front of him; he downs it in one go and asks for another.

“Almost there,” Robin says, clearly grinning at him now. “Don’t get embarrassed now, swordsman, that isn’t fit for someone with a dream as big as yours. Do you think Hawkeye is above being kind?”

“Yeah,” Zoro says honestly. But then he frowns because no, that’s not quite right. Mihawk may not be kind, but he isn’t cruel either. He’s fair.

“I see the wheels turning,” Robin comments. “So? Do you want my help or not?”

“I want your help.” Robin raises an elegant brow at him. “Please,” he adds.

It’s not like he can explain it very well but having Cook ignore him is irritating. Infuriating, really. Especially since the bastard treats everybody the same as always. Zoro doesn’t expect them to be best friends - he’s got Luffy for that already and Cook enjoys spending time with Nami and Robin to him any day and that’s fine - but he needs their usual banter. He’s stronger because of it, because of Cook.

“Then try again, Zoro-kun,” Robin says.

Zoro is hopeless. At least that’s what Robin’s face is telling him. He goes through seven more beers before she lets up and even then it’s only because he finally forces out a “Robin-chan” that’s somewhat sweet enough for her taste. Zoro nearly gurgles his next beer to get it out of his mouth.

This is so not who he is.

“Names are important,” Robin says quietly. “For some people it’s all they have, Roronoa.”

Zoro can’t remember the last time anyone called him by his first name. Which is probably why he feels his heart skip a beat. He swallows thickly. The last time someone called him by his name… It was probably Mihawk back on Cook’s restaurant. Before that… well. Nobody’s used his name like that. God, it’s been long, hasn’t it?

“There’s no way he’ll be satisfied with that,” Zoro grunts into his twentieth? Twenty-fifth? Into his newly filled beer. Robin is chuckling at him; she’s getting drunk too, thank God, there’s no way he would survive the humiliation otherwise.

“He just wants you to acknowledge him,” Robin tells him like it’s a big secret. “Spend some time with him, compliment him. His cooking at least, I know you enjoy that.”

“Of course, I do,” Zoro huffs. Cook’s food is the best he’s ever tasted, and he always makes sure to make Zoro’s favorites.

“You ever tell him that?”

“He’s never asked!”

“It’s not really something you ask for, Zoro-kun,” Robin says with a laugh. She’s really milking the name thing now. “Do you ever ask for compliments?”

“I don’t need ‘em,” he says, trying not to smirk. He knows he’s great, he doesn’t need anyone to tell him. He’s going to be the world’s greatest swordsman; he can’t rely on something as frivolous as compliments from others.

“Well, maybe Sanji does. Don’t you want him to be happy?”

Zoro frowns. He’s never thought of that. Of course, he wants everyone in the crew to be happy, Cook included. But that’s just how a crew is, isn’t it? It’s not like he’s going out of his way to make anyone else happy.

“He’s… unhappy?” Zoro finds himself asking quietly. He makes Cook unhappy? Angry, sure, irritated, absolutely, but unhappy? That’s not what their banter is about. That’s not why he talks the way he does. That’s not what he wants.

What does he want?

“I’m sure he’ll be alright if you just give him what he wants,” Robin tells him.

Zoro frowns. What is it that Cook wants? What does he really want from Zoro? He refuses to believe this is about that stupid name. There has to be something else, something more. If only Cook would talk to him. Zoro slams his empty glass against the counter a little too hard, but Robin doesn’t comment on it. She’s good at reading him; it’s frustrating in other aspects but he’s grateful for it now.

Especially since the next set of feet through the door belong to a certain curly browed cook.

“There you are,” Cook says, and Zoro nearly whips around to face him. Until he realizes that he’s talking to Robin. Of course. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“I’m just having a few drinks with my favorite swordsman,” Robin says.

Cook makes a noise that Zoro can’t quite categorize. It’s not a positive noise though. He’s not usually annoyed with Robin, so it seems odd that he’d let her hear such a thing. Zoro glances at them out of the corner of his eye. Should he say something now?

“I can see that,” Cook says then. He nearly catches Zoro’s eye but then he’s staring very determinedly at Robin. “Come on, Robin-chan, it’s getting late. Why don’t I walk you back to the ship?”

“Oh, don’t mind me, I can get back on my own. It’s Zoro who could use a hand.”

Cook grits his teeth. “There’s no reason to help a drunkard who’ll just get lost anyway.”

“It’s because he’ll get lost that he needs your help,” Robin says. “Isn’t that right, Zoro-kun?”

“I could go for another drink,” Zoro says. There’s no way he’ll actively ask for help. Despite what they all think of him, he knows how to get back to the ship. Probably.

“See?” Cook sneers.

Robin sends Zoro a look.

“You could join me,” he then adds.

Cook looks at him like he’s suddenly grown another head. Or like he’s lost his mind. Either would probably be better than being on the receiving end of this particular look. Zoro tries not to let it show how uncomfortable he is. At least Cook is looking at him.

“Sharing a drink might help,” Robin chimes in helpfully. Teasingly? Zoro honestly isn’t sure what she’s going for here. “You could talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” is Cook’s quick reply. He’s already turned his back on Zoro again.

It makes Zoro’s chest feel tight. This is so stupid. There’s no reason he should get on his knees and beg for Cook to forgive him when he hasn’t even done anything wrong. Cook is being dramatic, and it shouldn't be Zoro's responsibility to fix something that wasn’t even broken in the first place.

But then he remembers Robin talking about Cook being unhappy… It makes him ache in a way he hasn’t in years. He doesn’t like it. He grinds his teeth together and stares at his half-empty beer. He knows what he’s supposed to do; he knows what Cook wants from him. If there’s anything more to this, Cook will have to tell him directly. But the only way to get him to do that is to call his name.

He catches Robin’s eyes, and she tilts her head at him.

Right. Names are important to some people.

“Sanji-kun,” Zoro calls softly. It feels odd on his tongue.

The reaction is instantaneous. Cook’s back straightens impossible fast, and he turns to look at Zoro with something a little like horror on his face. Oh, no. Not horror. Is that a blush on his face? His eyes are huge and- have they always been so pretty?

Zoro shakes his head. That’s not a thought he’s used to. He knows Cook is pretty, he’s not blind. Or deaf. He heard the whispers whenever they go through crowded places.

“W-what did you say?” Cook – Sanji – asks.

“Sanji-kun,” Zoro repeats, keeping his voice light just like he’s practiced with Robin. He doesn’t want to swallow his own tongue at least, that has to count as progress. It might just be the alcohol talking though. “Won’t you have a drink with me?”

“You-”

“You can’t say no when he asks so nicely, can you, Sanji-kun?” Robin grins at them both. “I’ll go back first; you have fun now.”

“Wait-” Cook tries but she’s already out the door, leaving them alone together at the bar. He looks awkward standing there with his hand stretched towards the door.

Zoro expects him to leave. He doesn’t look happy to hear his name from Zoro’s lips; not that he’d expected him to immediately go back to normal, but then what else is there for Zoro to do? He’s done what Cook asked of him.

Then Cook plops down in the chair next to him with a deep sigh.

“I want wine,” he says grumpily.

“Okay.” Zoro doesn’t say anything else for a while, even after Cook’s wine arrives and he start swirling it around as if in deep thought. He still looks uncomfortable. Then Zoro remembers Robin’s words: show an interest, acknowledge him.

“What did you do today?” He asks.

“Are you drunk?” Cook frowns but at least he’s looking at him and he doesn’t look angry.

“Maybe a little.” Zoro shrugs. “Doesn’t change my question though. What did you do today?”

And despite his confused expression Cook answers. He’s dragged Chopper to any and all meat stores because Luffy needs his meat. He’s found a particular spice he’s been looking for; something both he and Chopper can use although Zoro suspects that might just be Cook trying to convince himself he’s allowed to buy it. If Zoro can see it, then Chopper absolutely can as well. He’s probably encouraged Cook to buy the spice by saying he could use it for some medicine or other.

Cook drinks his wine slowly while he talks. When his glass is empty, he doesn’t argue as Zoro orders him another. And he keeps talking, moving naturally along in the conversation. Zoro listens attentively the entire time, making sure to ask small questions or hum so Cook knows he’s listening.

Ah, the ache in his body is gone. Zoro could listen to Cook talk all day. He’s missed this. He doesn’t care if Cook yells at him or tells him about his day: as long as he keeps talking.

It’s late by the time they leave the bar; far later than they should have probably stayed out but Zoro doesn’t mind. He follows obediently along when Cook threatens him to not get lost on the way back.

There is still something nagging him though.

“Sanji-” Zoro starts and then nearly collides with Cook’s back when he suddenly stops walking.

“Okay, no, stop,” Cook says. There’s a nice pink tint to his cheeks again, although it may be from the wine he’s been drinking.

“What?”

“Stop calling me- stop saying my name.”

“I thought you wanted me to call you S-”

“No,” Cook interrupts, shoving his hands over Zoro’s mouth. “Not anymore, it’s fine, you did good, thank you. Now stop.”

Zoro tilts his head to the side slightly. Huh. This is interesting. “You don’t like it?” He asks, voice slightly muffled by Cook’s hands. He removes them awfully fast when Zoro starts talking.

“No, no, it’s- you’re good, it’s just- it’s not you,” Cook stumbles over his words. They don’t make any sense to begin with.

“Excuse me?” Zoro asks, eyebrows high on his face.

“That’s not how you call me,” Cook tells him, arms waving around in the air like he doesn’t quite know what to do with them. “That- this isn’t how we are.”

“How are we then?”

“Shitty cook,” Cook does an impressive impersonation of Zoro’s voice, scowling while he speaks. “And shitty Marimo. That’s who we are.”

“Why make such a big deal about it then?” Zoro asks, genuinely curious. “If you don’t want me to call you-” Once again Cook throws a hand in front of his mouth. Zoro grabs it and wrestles it away. He keeps a tight hold on it to make sure he doesn’t try it again. “I wasn’t gonna say it, dumbass.”

“See? That’s how you talk to me,” Cook says, ignoring Zoro’s question. Huh. He seems nervous too, although it could just be Zoro’s imagination. It’s not like he’s an expert in any and all things Cook.

He kind of wants to be though.

“You didn’t respond to my usual way,” he says instead of calling Cook out for avoiding his question. He’s got time; he’ll make Cook answer before long.

“Alright, I’m sorry for that, so let’s just go back to normal,” Cook says as he pulls his hand from Zoro’s grip.

Zoro’s hand feels oddly empty. When Cook starts walking again, Zoro narrows his eyes and doesn’t follow along. He wants normal but he doesn’t want to repeat this entire thing in two days or whenever Cook gets upset again. It’s too easy to just sweep it under the rug. Besides he’s been suffering for an entire week. Cook gets to be uncomfortable for a few hours and then forget about this? That’s not fair.

“No,” he says.

“What?” Cook turns around with a frown. He clearly expects Zoro to just pretend like the past week never happened, but he still hasn’t explained anything. He’s even changed his mind about the name thing and it’s frustrating but more than that, it’s confusing.

“I said no,” Zoro repeats. He’s not trying to be difficult – not really, not any more than he usually is – but he needs Cook to actually talk to him. Or at the very least be as uncomfortable and confused as Zoro’s been this week. It’s not about revenge, he tells himself, but there’s a small part of his brain that’s screaming at him to not let Cook get away this easily. He shoves it down, but it doesn’t make it any less true.

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

It’s not just about getting even though. There’s something Cook has yet to do, has yet to acknowledge. Which is why Zoro can’t help but tease him a little. It’s how they communicate; provocation is a glorious tool.

“I think an apology is due,” he tells him and then starts walking. It’s not hard to follow the only path out of the city but Zoro can see the momentary panic in Cook’s eyes when he catches up to him. Like he’s afraid Zoro will somehow lead them directly into the ocean with no way back.

“I already told you-”

“You should say it properly, Sanji-kun,” Zoro singsongs. This is actually rather fun when he isn’t being pressured to say it. Mostly because Cook looks like he either wants to kick Zoro’s head clean off his shoulders or jumps off a cliff himself. It’s endearing and a good look on him. It’s that perfect mix of embarrassment and rage that Zoro loves to evoke in Cook’s otherwise poised head.

“You-”

“How would I even know you’re talking to me?” Zoro interrupts. Cook has barely been able to string one entire sentence together and Zoro suddenly understands why Robin wanted to watch this. It’s fun, making Cook all flustered over nothing. “You’ve never called my name, not even once. It seems a little unfair given how you’ve been treating me the past week, don’t you think?”

“I think that’s the longest I’ve ever heard you speak,” Cook says, sounding almost in awe.

“Well?”

“I-” Cook sighs. He scratches the back of his neck as if he’s trying to buy himself time. Ultimately there’s only one thing he comes up with: “I’m very sorry for how I’ve acted.”

Zoro raises an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Zoro,” he then tacks on.

“Hm,” Zoro hums. He caresses Wado like he often does when he’s deep in thought. It’s a habit he’s had since the sword stopped dragging against the ground when he wore it in his belt. “You should try it out with my first name, I think that’d be better.”

“Listen, you shitty-” Cook is gearing up for a fight, it’s so easy to tell. He’s already shoving his hands deep into his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels even as he walks.

“Alright, alright,” Zoro laughs, holding his hands up in surrender for good measure. He’s teased long enough, it seems. He doesn’t actually want to fight when he’s in such a good mood. Tomorrow though. Tomorrow he’ll say something else, something that’ll set Cook’s blood on fire, and he’ll give just as good as he gets. “You’re forgiven, shitty cook.”

Cook’s smile looks relieved and that- that’s a good look on him too, Zoro will admit. They walk in comfortable silence for a few minutes before he realizes there’s something he’s nearly forgotten to say.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” he says, keeping his eyes on the road in front of them. Was the path always this long? Maybe it’s just because it’s dark now, but it looks different than when he and Robin walked here earlier. Oh well, Cook would’ve told him already if they’re going the wrong way.

“What question?” Cook twists around to walk backwards so he can look Zoro in the eye when they talk. He’s very clearly not worried about where they’re going so it must be the right way. It’s nice, seeing him so relaxed.

“Why did you make such a big deal about the whole name thing in the first place?” Zoro asks. “Especially considering you changed your mind immediately.”

Cook looks like he’s suddenly being put under an interrogation light by the navy. So much for being relaxed. He turns around again but doesn’t stop walking.

“I didn’t know it would be like that,” he says.

“Like what?”

“Like- that it would be so… different.”

“So you, what, just wanted to hear me say your name once? Try it out?”

“Maybe.” It’s not the truth, at least not the entire truth, that much is clear from the teasing smirk Cook throws Zoro’s way. He really does know exactly how to rile him up.

“You could’ve just said that. I’m not a mind reader, you know.”

“Oh, I know.”

“Shut up,” Zoro bites, albeit much less harsh than he intended it. He must be out of practice going a whole week without getting to snap and bite and argue. Nobody does it like Cook does, there’s no reason to start fights with any of the others. He can feel himself starting to smile back; it’s annoying how easy it is to talk to Cook. “Was that really all it was?”

“Well,” Cook mutters. “Robin reminded me that if I keep giving in, nothing will change.”

“I don’t understand.” Giving in to what? To Zoro? It’s not like he’s baiting Cook. Well, that’s not entirely true, but he’s not the only one doing it. Half the time they fight, it’s because Cook started it.

“You’re not supposed to,” Cook says with another teasing smile.

Zoro frowns. That’s suspiciously close to what Robin told him earlier. “So. Robin made you do this, huh?”

“What, no, Robin-chan wouldn’t interfere with-”

Already back to the cutesy way he always calls Robin. Zoro swallows down the rush of emotion he can’t – doesn’t want to – put a name to.

“Bullshit,” he says instead of thinking too hard about the weird knot in his stomach. He’s probably just had too much to drink. “So this is all Robin’s fault?”

“Wait, no!” Cook grasps desperately at his arms but Zoro has fought him off when he’s serious; this is nothing. He’s free within a second. “Oi! Shitty swordsman! Don’t you dare say anything mean to Robin-chan!”

Zoro can’t help the grin stretching over his lips as he dances around Cook’s frantic attempts to get a hold of him. Finally back to normal.

At least that’s what he thinks.

Then Cook grabs his arm when they’re back at the ship. Zoro lets himself be turned around and waits somewhat patiently for Cook to speak. There’s something on his mind, something important enough that he’s got a determined look on his face. Zoro keeps waiting, tilting his head down slightly so they’re eye-to-eye. Cook swallows and Zoro follows the movement of his Adam’s apple with his eyes before he raises them again.

“Zoro,” Cook says.

“Sanji,” Zoro answers, echoing the same tone of voice Cook is using. It doesn’t seem to be the right thing to do because Cook drops his arm and rubs a hand over his face.

“As I thought, I can’t do this,” he mumbles.

Zoro rolls his eyes. “If you want something, open your mouth,” he says, impatience winning out. “I won’t know if you don’t tell me yourself.”

“I don’t wanna say,” Cook mutters.

Zoro sighs again and throws out his hands. How many times does he have to repeat himself? Has Cook learned nothing the past week? “Then, I don’t know, show me instead? I’m not an idiot, I can-”

There isn’t much of a height difference. Not enough to matter usually, anyway. It’s barely half an inch. And yet Sanji is raising onto his toes to press his lips against Zoro’s.

Oh.

Wait, what?

Zoro doesn’t even have time to close his eyes before Sanji pulls back. His entire face is red, but he’s stubbornly keeping eye contact. Zoro was wrong; this is his favorite expression of Cook’s.

“You-”

“You said you’re not an idiot, right?” Cook asks. “Figure that out then.” And then he’s stormed off.

Zoro might have been wrong. Maybe he is an idiot. Because he has no idea what just happened. That doesn’t stop him from running after Cook though. He’s already done the impossible and gotten Cook to talk to him again; what’s gonna stop him from asking for an explanation?

Or better yet, another kiss.

[escapingrealtiylovinginsanity]

Please, write more stories about Joe !!

Joe Velasco: First Meeting

There is now a companion piece to this- Detective Work

You had been working in the Manhattan forensic lab for a little over a month and it had been nothing but chaos since you started. You had barely given your supervisor your name when a badge had been handed to you had been swept into the fold. There was a scandal about a group of people who had been stealing narcotics and skewing evidence for narcotic-based crimes and some homicides. It caused a full investigation into the entire facility and a lot of people were forced on leave. You had been pulled into the whirlwind. Over time your first week and more that kept coming. The lack of people and the forcible rechecking of samples for a wide variety of narcotics and homicide cases had left everyone more than a little on edge. 

You blamed that for losing your temper at an SVU detective, who in hindsight was probably just trying to do his job. He had walked in as you were trying to slip away to the vending machine to get something to snack on. He caught you hangry and irritable to ask about forensics for a rape case. You had looked it up and had politely informed him that the labs were backed up. He would have to wait. He pushed advocating for the victim and requested a rush on the samples. Any other day it probably would have been endearing. The man was confident, passionate, and exactly your type with his Latino features and leather jacket.  

While talking to him your work phone kept buzzing, making it hard for you to concentrate and it needled your frustration. When he made a comment about rape cases being important even if the women didn’t come from the rich side, indirectly implying that you did not agree with that statement you lost your temper. His passion for the case collided with your overwhelmed frustration. You realized somewhere between telling him that your hands were tied and that unless he was planning on running labs, he should focus on his own job and do some detective work instead of micromanaging yours, you realized that perhaps you had misplaced your frustration.  

The was a moment where time seemed to stand still as you both stood silently processing the events. You closed your eyes sighing before opening your mouth to start an apology when the door to the labs swung open. You then found out why your phone had been obsessively vibrating, a warning about your supervisor heading your way. Your supervisor glared at you before cooly asking you if you knew the meaning of all hands on deck was- all these case convictions were trying to be overturned. The supervisor swung his arm gesturing for you to return to the lab. You sighed, pushing your wallet back into your pocket before heading to the door. 

You saw the same guy walking back up to the front desk a couple hours later. You had come out when you heard the ding of someone entering. The leather jacket man was back, and he was holding...a frozen Boba tea? You paused because he seemed like the type that liked coffee, probably black. Not to mention, it was from the place you always went logo proudly stamped on the side. The lid was still sealed, a thick obnoxiously bright yellow straw between the fingers of the same hand. He held the cup up and his other hand in a gesture of surrender. “I come in peace.” He sent the drink down on the counter before sliding it towards you. “With an olive branch.”  

“That’s,” You pause eyeing him and then the cup, “That’s my drink. How...?” 

“Right, well I saw the boba charm clipped to your wallet. Two places sell boba in a five-block radius. This place had better reviews, so I went there first. Described you to the lady at the counter, knew you were who I was talking about immediately, said you were a regular and this was your go-to.” Guilt gnawed even harder at your insides as you bit your lip.” 

“Why? I was awful to you.” 

“We were both pretty fired up. Anger can be misplaced in stressful times. After talking to your supervisor," He whistled shaking his head in distaste. "I can imagine yours has been for a while now. Besides someone told me it might be beneficial if I do some detective work while I was waiting.” He gives you a charming smile stuffing his hands into his pocket.  You close your eyes grimacing at your words being tossed back at you.  

“Yeah, sorry about that.” He held that straw out and you took it from fiddling with it in your hands. “I actually have something for you too.” You start clicking on the computer, “After our... talk I ran the evidence for your rape case.” You looked back into his eyes trying to get the seriousness across but getting transfixed into how green they really were. “You can’t tell anyone that I skipped the line on this. I did it on my lunch break but with all the extra scrutiny, they are just fishing for problems right now.” 

“I understand. I won’t.” You feel something simple lock into place with his affirmation. Not friendship, not yet, but understanding. A thread of trust that could be built upon or snapped.  

“I’m still waiting for the DNA and touch evidence to finish going through all the databases, but it should be back soon. And I just want to let you know. I believe this girl matters, they all do.” He says thank you, but you could see it shine more through his eyes. “I can send the results directly to your email as soon as they process. I just need your last name.” He tells you and your eyebrows furrowed as you started to look him up. He takes the hint and starts spelling it out for you. “There you are. Okay, all set. If you need anything else done that is time-sensitive message me. I’ll try my best to get it in for you.” 

“I appreciate it. Thank you.” You smile for the first real time in days unwrapping your straw wrapper.  

“You’re just lucky I have a thing for boba tea, passionate men, and leather jackets. Not necessarily in that order.” You slam the straw through the airtight lid and suck humming in delight as the balls burst flavors into your mouth. “Thanks again, Jose.” You say lifting the drink as you press the badge to unlock the door back to the labs. He stands there for a minute still looking slightly stunned with a half-smile pulling at his lips. 

Okay so here is the second one for Joe! I'm one of the rare ones who doesn't like coffee so this might be purely self-indulgent, but I had fun writing it. Let me know if you guys want to see anything in particular. I'm thinking about doing an NSFW Alphabet for Joe or maybe another of my favorite SVU men.

[chibimui]

The Apothecary Diaries LN1 Thoughts - Part 3 (ch25 - End)

[Part 1] [Part 2]

The final part of my thoughts on the first volume of The Apothecary Diaries. We'll go through the remaining chapters and wrap up with my overall thoughts on this novel on it's own, as the beginning to the story.

Without further ado, here we go!

(Warning: spoilers for the rest of the light novels up until LN15, for English-only readers please be mindful if you don't want to be spoiled!)

Last part we had Jinshi finally realizing Maomao is a human being at the garden party and now we get Maomao finally realizing Jinshi is actually a human being after seeing how he reacts to Sir Kounen's death. Of course, all of this is only possible because Jinshi increasingly stops putting on his mask around Maomao. I'm not sure if this was necessarily a conscious decision on his part or if it was something that just happened as he grew to like her more.

In general, throughout the remaining chapters of LN1 we get more and more observations from Maomao about how youthful and childish Jinshi frequently looks. I'm not going to screencap all these moments, but it's a clear sign that Maomao is starting to observe Jinshi more closely! Although, childish Jinshi still infuriates Maomao - she hasn't warmed up to him just yet, mostly because she still thinks he's a bum who keeps skirting his job to mess with her (and she's not entirely wrong - once again, my condolences to Gaoshun).

I also need to highlight this moment because this is them flirting, trust me:

No, but for real - this is both Maomao and Jinshi letting their guards down and showing their real selves around each other. Jinshi being a little shit, and Maomao not holding back her absolute disdain/horror at potentially not being able to drink.

Next in Ch26 is when we get another teaching moment from Maomao to Jinshi about the differences in there status, but before I jump to that I want to highlight this little detail first:

This is a thought Maomao has at the fact that whenever she is officially called to meet Jinshi, it is always in someone else's office - usually the office of the Matron who is in charge of the serving ladies. It's a small detail, but upon hindsight I realize this is a pretty big hint that Jinshi is not simply someone who works in the rear palace and actually has a greater role outside of the rear palace (where his office presumably would be).

Now. The conversation Maomao has with Jinshi where she requests that if he were to order her death, she would prefer to be poisoned. Once again, I want to give props to the anime for doing such an amazing job with this scene.

It was interesting to see how this scene was written in the novel because we get Jinshi's reaction mostly from Maomao's point of view and she only... sort of picks up on the fact that Jinshi is upset. She notices his demeanor, but she doesn't understand what it means. Thankfully with what Maomao observes, we as readers can discern that Jinshi is probably waaaaay more upset and disturbed than Maomao is realizing, but I feel like the weight of Jinshi's horror is a bit lost through this lens, which is somewhat unfortunate.

To give Maomao a pass, she also genuinely doesn't realize that she's actually teaching Jinshi a really hard lesson here. Jinshi is young. We the reader, and Maomao, don't know this yet - but the guy is only nineteen and he was incredibly sheltered for the majority of his life. At this point, he also mostly seems to assume that people only listen to him because he's attractive and not because, you know, he's royalty (of clearly just someone of importance), but Maomao painting it out for him in such a stark way really gets to him. Partly because he genuinely cares for her, but also I think because he has truly never had to consider just how powerful he is... until now.

Moving on we get to the "Honey arc" - Lishu's part of the story. Sharing a few notable moments I highlighted on some things I've already touched upon:

Maomao comparing the rear palace to a prison/cage.

Maomao being affected by others being afraid of her

This one was just hilarious to me because Maomao is being so mean, but also I love how she is so used to being rude to Jinshi she legit forgets that she's not supposed to treat him like that!

Now the last snippet is the one that is most interesting to me because for all the progress both Jinshi and Maomao have made at warming up around each other, it is clear that there is still very much still a clear boundary between them. Jinshi very much does not know that he doesn't need to be seductive because he assumes that's actually the only reason people listen to him and Maomao obviously is still acting under the role as a servant who has no say in what is requested of her. It's also this exact miscommunication and misunderstanding between the two of them that results in what happens at the end of the novel - Maomao being fired.

Overall this final arc of the novel is really fascinating to me, both because Lishu and Ah-Duo play somewhat significant roles later on, and because what Maomao learns from this part of the novel brings her a teensy-tiny bit closer to discovering who Jinshi really is... except for the fact that she staunchly refuses to acknowledge this until basically LN9 after she actually sees Jinshi and the Emperor interacting. She clocks everything in LN1! And ignored what she knew for TWO YEARS. Maomao truly is the queen of compartmentalizing and denial.

I also just want to point out that in the novel Jinshi does actually acknowledge his little honey trick with Maomao as being a bit overboard. I've definitely seen a lot of anime-only folks who were very uncomfortable with that scene and use it as a reason to either dislike JinMao as a ship, or Jinshi entirely as a person. Honestly, that judgement is fair. I like how with the novel's acknowledgement thought, it shows that Jinshi isn't stupid or unaware of his actions and the affect he has on people - he's unfortunately still just really immature, lol.

Anyway, skipping ahead to share our first actually somewhat intimate JinMao moment!!

Honestly, I think this moment really just shows Maomao's overall kindness. It definitely belies the fact that Maomao doesn't dislike Jinshi as much as she acts, but I don't think she has necessarily started liking him yet either--but she recognizes he's upset and she is willing to give him a break for it because what Maomao has always appreciated most about JInshi so far are the moments when he's human, and this is undoubtedly one of them.

I'm not going to share screencaps of all of Maomao's 100% correct theorizing as she watches Ah-Duo exit the palace, but this girl literally gets it right all the way at the start. What a genius. I do want to highlight the final line of ch30 though:

I actually have so many thoughts about Ah-Duo. I'm not going to get into all of it because that will come later, but I do like how, right from the start, the novel highlights how maternal Ah-Duo is. It's interesting because she's frequently described as manly and presenting very masculine, and I feel like in a lot of other stories the assumption would be she has zero interest in children, but that is not the case at all here. Love it. Love the example that a woman can act "masculine" and still be maternal. I just love Ah-Duo so much. She may never have wanted to be Empress, but I think she did want to be a mother (and were this an AU, I think she'd have been damn good at it!)

Jinshi's immense sadness at her leaving does also make me wonder what exactly were their interactions like while they were both in the rear palace? It's very obvious from later novels that Ah-Duo absolutely acknowledges and sees Jinshi as her son and wants the absolute best for him, but I assume she doesn't actually show that too Jinshi. Maybe that's why she kicked him out after drinking, lol. I assume she was somewhat sad too--she won't get to see him as much now after all. I also wonder if the rest of Ah-Duo's Ladies-in-Waiting also all know who Jinshi is. I wonder how often he would go see her just to get a bit of a break. Gah, so many questions about these two!!

Anyway, we finally get to the last bit of the novel. Maomao's departure!

In this chapter we get to see how seriously Jinshi has taken all of Maomao's little lessons for him regarding his status, the power he wields, and how that affects her as a commoner with no power. It leaves him in quite a conundrum as he is in a position where he has the opportunity to use his power to get what he wants, but is rightfully worried about doing so.

I want to point out that I like how the novel explicitly states that what JInshi is worried about is how their status, and him using his power to order Maomao around, could ultimately ruin their relationship. When Jinshi said he was worried about their gap becoming wider in the anime, I'll admit, I had no idea what he meant because their relationship seemed to be going pretty well at that point.

Now. We all know how Maomao's negotiations with Jinshi actually end up going, which is they fail terribly. It's actually really unfortunate because the crux of this miscommunication is that Maomao cannot see past their noble-commoner relationship, which is actually 100% fair! That is totally valid of her! It's just really unfortunate because Jinshi is genuinely trying to be understanding and meet Maomao at her level, he just misses the mark because he still doesn't fully understand that he can't meet her at her level (yet). Him, a person in power, asking someone lesser than them "What do you want" won't work because most will see that as a trap. A trick question.

This is something Jinshi will come to realize later on, but he actually cannot ignore the power he has and it would be detrimental of him to do so. At the end of the day, his word is law. He cannot change that for himself. Maomao knows this, Jinshi is still grappling with this. So Maomao acts accordingly to her station, given the situation as she understands it to be - which is that she has no say, and Jinshi has all of it.

I do like this observation later on from Gaoshun though:

First, Gaoshun has now officially become the second member of the JinMao ship (first was Gyokuyou). Secondly--and more seriously--while Jinshi may not have a say in how much power he wields, one thing he can do is listen to Maomao and respect her wants. Which is what he was trying to do. The undoing there is that Maomao sucks at saying what she wants! So it's not just Jinshi still fundamentally misunderstanding the power dynamic that exists between them, but definitely also Maomao being shit at communicating when given a golden opportunity to do so.

Which leads us to the epilogue, and I just want to say I love the title for the epilogue: The Eunuch and the Courtesan. I love it because both of these titles for Jinshi and Maomao respectively are incorrect descriptions. Jinshi is neither a eunuch and Maomao is neither a courtesan. They're both playing roles that don't actually suit either of them.

Can I just say, Jinshi doing that thing with his finger on her lip was honestly so smooth. I mean. Just look at Maomao's reaction:

If she truly hadn't liked it, she would not have stopped herself from looking at him like a piece of dirt--but no. Maomao is flustered. She was charmed. Unfortunately this is basically the moment Jinshi uses up all his rizz because I feel nothing he ever does after this flusters Maomao to this extent, and once they get together Maomao is the one doing the flustering. Don't worry Maomao, you'll get your revenge with a single finger of your own in LN14 *snorts*.

And then we end with Jinshi buying Maomao out which will take us to LN2 which means this is it folks! That's a wrap for Volume 1 of The Apothecary Diaries light novels!

I didn't explicitly mention this at the start, although you probably noticed if you read this whole thing - but I purposely tried to avoid talking about the overall plot of this novel, and part of that is because the influence from the anime is too strong for me.

My goal for sharing my thoughts on LN1 (and upcoming LN2) is really to focus on the extra details and things that stood out to me outside of what we already know from the anime. Some things still overlapped, but otherwise I would've just been gushing about the anime which isn't the point! When I get to LN3 and 4 (assuming S2 hasn't released by then) I will touch on more plot related things. Especially because OH BOY the plot related things in those novels is huge.

Anyway, as a novel - I really liked how this book is separated in a way where all the mysteries and tasks Maomao ends up doing ends up focusing individually on each of the four consorts one after the other. We start with Gyokuyou, then Lihua, then Lishu and then we finish with Ah-Duo. I also don't know if this is purposeful, but this progression goes from the consort who ends up being the most "trapped" (I would argue becoming the Emperor's main consort is the most trapped you can be), to the one who is able to "escape" (although it's arguable whether Ah-Duo is ever really free given her specific circumstance).

I'd say Lihua and Lishu are the ones in the end who actually get the best end of the stick. Lihua still gets a kid and remains in the Emperor's good graces, but is able to stay out of all the politics and focus on just being a mother, and Lishu gets to leave entirely and nets herself a future husband! It is unfortunate that out of all the consorts, Lihua basically disappears from the narrative after a certain point. She's so sweet. I love the anime adding in the scene of her patting Maomao's head <3.

You can really tell this is an introduction to the story too. The mysteries in this novel are presented in the most episodic way compared to later novels. Basically every chapter is a new case, and there isn't really an overarching narrative behind them compared to Vol 2. The mysteries do a really great job of bringing the reader into the setting though, and each case Maomao solves ends up teaching you something about the environment, and the way the world Maomao lives in works. Nothing feels rushed, nothing feels lacking. A solid start to a slow-burner of a series.

I also want to say it was refreshing to see Jinshi and Maomao at their early stages of interaction again. There really is such a difference in how Maomao and Jinshi interact in this novel compared to later ones Heck, I feel like even by LN3 she's already way less cagey around him. I genuinely kind of forgot she sees him like a dirty bug for a decent chunk of time. Yeah, she still finds him annoying in later novels, but the amount of times the narration describes Maomao glaring at Jinshi in this book alone is hilarious (also goes to show she sucks at hiding her emotions, lol).

Now onto LN2! I'm still in the process of reading it, but here's hope I can post part 1 soon. :)

[Light Novel 2 Thoughts - Part 1]

[aritany]

sorry to be nosy, but do u have any insights as someone who went through a divorce at a young age?

don't be sorry - what a fascinating question! it's STORYTIME. i don't know if this is so much my 'insights' as it is ruminations, but i digress.

i guess my number one tip would be: don't marry a bigot,,,

i'm kidding. mostly.

i'm very transparent about why i got divorced (if you know me in real life, you know how true this is), but that's what it boiled down to. i got married VERY young, 95% due to deeply religious family on both sides, 5% because i truly believed i had found the person i was going to be with forever. if you're going to be together forever, why not just bite the bullet and get married young, right?

i came out to my ex-husband as bisexual super early on in our relationship (i think 2 months into dating) because i obviously needed him to a) know i was queer and b) be cool about it, and he was. if i recall, he said, "oh. ok, good for you."

(later, he told me that that moment was almost a dealbreaker for him. i NEVER would have known, based on how he reacted in the moment.)

as a married couple, we were awesome roommates and very good friends and overall a wonderful team. then i started properly deconstructing christianity around the same time i started thinking about gender, and covid hit immediately after. i didn't come out to anyone as nonbinary until march 2021, and when i did, he was the first person i talked to. he was... significantly less cool about it than he was with bisexuality.

here's the thing. he LOVED having a wife. in hindsight, it's really easy to see that i could have been anyone, and he was really ready to settle down. i have to give myself some credit, because i think i'm excellent, but i do think that to some extent i was in the right place at the right time and checked off a lot of his boxes. if that sounds a little cold to you -- a SHOCKING amount of cishet men do this. it's weird.

anyway, i was His Wife™, and while i was by no means a traditional christian wife, i was still a very she/her slay queen girly.

then i started committing sins. (got some tattoos. started writing about The Gays. started speaking out against the church. Cut My Hair Short [cue gasps]. started dressing more androgynously.)

he couldn't get his head around using gender neutral language for me. to his students (he was in education at the time) i was His Wife. to his family, i was His Wife, even after i came out to them too. classic wifeguy stuff.

my current partner (who is SO wonderful) was in the process of becoming that best friend you have really confusing gay feelings about, and had to deal with me talking about this and how i was just going to have to settle for being with this guy who wouldn't respect my gender, even when that disrespect started actually making my skin crawl when he'd get close. because hey, marriage is for life. it didn't even occur to me that we might get divorced until about 4 days before The Conversation. i was genuinely ready to stick it out with this guy who refused to really See me, because i thought that was what i had to do.

then came The Conversation. i'd been invited to be a bridesmaid in his sister's wedding and had agreed to wear a dress, because hey, it's her wedding. if she wants bridesmaids in dresses, sure. (i was still very much reeling from my own wedding, but that's another story i'll tell if anyone's curious.)

anyway. dresses. i go to a fitting. i stand there numbly while wearing the most godawful dress i'd ever seen, feeling like Garbage. i go home. i step in the door, i burst into tears. sobbing, on the couch, i tell him that something's not right. i can't wear a dress to this wedding.

i think that was when he realized i wasn't going to grow out of being nonbinary. we had a really long, brutal conversation, mostly about how i was probably going to want top surgery one day, that ultimately resulted in him ending our marriage.

"i can't make you be somebody you're not," he told me. "but you can't make me attracted to you."

that's right, folks! the thing that ended my marriage was my tits.

we'd sat through and endured many conversations in which i shared my feelings about the church, about christianity, about the patriarchy, about gender as a whole, but in the end, the thing he could not get his head around was a version of me that didn't have a chest.

i won't lie, that shit stung. the constant rejection of my gender expression had sort of eroded any romantic love i felt for him at that point, but he'd been my closest confidant for so long by that point that i really had to work through some shit about worthiness in the weeks after. it was just surreal to me that me With tits was good and worth being married to, but a hypothetical version of me with a flat chest was so repulsive that he'd rather end a marriage than endure it.

and like, i get being a boob guy (trust me), but damn.

p.s. some really interesting notes: he waited to have this conversation with me until literally the week after i received the first 5-figure portion of my book deal advance, which meant when we were settling affairs, it counted as "marital income" and he got half, and then he hired lawyers behind my back after we said we wouldn't do that.

in hindsight? maybe it was never about the tits at all. ;)

[bamdelune]

In Hindsight 🎼 bonus chapter: "never mind, never mine"

notes. character study-ish narration, not beta-read

Kunikuzushi was one who had the habit of tiptoeing around the depths of his emotions. Either he never bothered to scrutinize them at a closer angle or he was too afraid to do so. See, that was the problem with Kunikuzushi, he was one for fear. He wasn't fond of uncertainty but never liked knowing about his deepest thoughts too much that it allowed him clarity to his intentions. Unfortunately, the somewhat comfortable silence between the two of you gave him the chance for him to slip into a dreaded thought process about how exactly he ended up falling for you like this, at the worse time he thought was possible.

This revelation only took four phases to come into fruition, to the finding that he actually liked you more than just a medical practioner to a patient, more than a friend to another.

One, jealousy.

Kunikuzushi was confident. His life was sufficient, he was living, save for the few major regrets that sat at the back of his head. He never had a reason to be jealous of anyone. Now that the envy he felt for you wasn't coming from a malicious place, no, god forbid he'd ever think of hurting you.

Kuni liked living with no regrets, he always thought about his next move. Much contrast to the first impression of being the impulsive and tempermental guy he was set by people who set their eyes on him, he was considerate of the consequences that his actions bore. Maybe that was why he absolutely loathed the idea of having a puppy crush on you, someone who was supposed to be just a mere patient, someone who he was supposed to forget once you either passed or got better. But that's what you wanted to do too, right? To live with no regrets, only except you were free to do it and he wasn't.

You were aware that he didn't exactly have the best mother-son relationship. He didn't like talking about her. All you knew was that she was the director of the hospital you check into. Kuni thought that his mother should be lucky he still finds the love to call her "mother" when that was the last thing she was. The hospital director liked having control in this one, she believed that everything would be a little better if she oversees what needed to be managed the most. Control was something that Kuni wasn't granted in the major parts of his life. He envied the way you were so free to do anything that you wanted, he felt bad that you were this sick, of course but he was jealous that you had an outlet for that. But thank the archons for you, for you were able to teach him that it was okay to ask for a little.

Two, admiration.

Kuni was someone who took pride in being meticulous. He was picky. He didn't like touching certain textures, he hated certain flavors. Just like that, he also goes through a process of thinking about who he truly admired and respected. Lucky to say, you were one of them. He greatly respected how you continued to live as if your health wasn't worsening day by day, he admired how passionate you were about music. He admires how the lights in your now slightly sunken eyes looked so bright whenever you talked about writing and producing, how you break out into the biggest smiles when you find that some of your songs magically (allegedly, as Kuni says) found their way into his playlists, plural.

Three, denial

You see, Kunikuzushi didn't come to the realization that he liked you romantically on a whim. It's been roughly a month since he started shying away from the idea. Again, he's a meticulous person, someone who thinks before he does something.

He thought it was selfish of him, to ask for such a relationship with you when your life was on a timer. He denied countless times about what he truly felt for you. He blamed it on the thought that he was feeling this things for you just because you were going to be gone in roughly ten months. But with that reasoning, he found it funny on why he would actually put his time and effort into emotionally staying arm's length from you. The day on the beach, he finally just… let himself feel it. It was way easier than hiding it after all. It was easier to accept and act around you, and it was easier to find ways to keep himself in check.

Finally, acceptance.

What else can one say? Kuni has already come to terms with himself. Maybe these four phases are yet to be added to based on what he does next. Would he let you know? Would he keep his heart to himself again like he always did?

He's scared, again. Kunikuzushi feels scared that he's going to lose you inevitably, he doesn't want to go through the pain of standing before your headstone. He fears that a part of his heart will be buried along with you once you pass. He wants to move on with his life, without you being a significant figure in his memories. Kunikuzushi wants to treat you like a patient. Being his friend was enough to already blur the lines of the boundaries Baizhu set beforehand, what more a lover?

Maybe being yours wouldn't be so bad, either. He would feel the traces of the little stars you drew on the skin of his palm. He'd be able to have the pleasure of feeling his heart skip a bit because of you at least a few times everyday.

But as the both of you sit down on the grainy sand, with the waves of the shore caressing the pairs of your feet, he wants to wallow in the silence with you for just a little while. He wants to relish in the silence before the storm.

synopsis. You are a singer-songwriter. Music has always been a part of you, it's a part of your identity that no one can ever take away. However, there's always a catch: you are diagnosed with a chronic illness that puts your life on a timer. Those who have heard your countless melodies have grown to notice that the notes on the sheet played a gloomier tune. Would the snarky and capable medical student you've met be able to bring life back into these melodies? Even as life begins to seep out of your own body? (scaramouche x gn!reader)

tags. gender-neutral reader, angst, fluff, crack, heavy contexts of death and illnesses, friends to lovers, slowburn, profanities, drinking (characters are in college), suggestive themes but no nsfw.

taglist. — @beriiov @alatusorrow @br0oke96 @ohmyfinggod @itzblazekun @featuredtofu @sketcheeee @lazy-sanns @sakurapeach @sheraffim @vxmp-loml @sukunasrealgf @sleepning @yukiipc @thenightsflower @aqvvas (comment/send an ask to be added or removed, please let me know if i forgot to add you since my notification feed can be flooded sometimes!)

masterpost ★ masterlist © bamdelune 2023. do not repost, translate, plagiarize any of my works without permission, thank you so much! reblogs, notes, and comments are always appreciated!

[cynthiav06]

idk if you take asks but enchanted is such perachel (esp from rachel pov on how like she was so wonderstruck by him and his life/world)

Enchanted is definitely Perachel coded, and some sections work for both Percy and Rachel pov.

Percy pov:

Percy is sure his fatal flaw could have been hindsight. The number of times he has lamented the choices he has made, more so on the fact of whether he could have done it better differently; much like now that he's finished regretting his Nico conversation his thoughts finally return to one Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Yes, he remembers her full name, he has a good memory and even if he didn't she would be hard to forget.

For one, she saved his life despite him running her through with Riptide (he had never been more glad that his sword didn't harm mortals).

That and her face was a bit too memorable to ever forget. It's logical, too; he remembers Annabeth telling him the statistics for facial features. Red hair and green eyes were the rarest pair, and of course, Rachel Elizabeth Dare had both. It's not his fault he was enchanted, the sort of enchanted you get when you see a once in a lifetime thing cause that was what it was. He hoped, however, desperately that he would see his red-headed nightmare again; after all he had a debt to repay. Given that she probably lived near Hoover, chances were he would never see her again.

He shouldn't have doubted how much the Fates love proving him wrong because he sees her just a few months after the orientation of all places. He's equal parts glad and embarrassed, for he certainly couldn't apologize enough, and that makes him do something insanely stupid like run away. She finds him like she did last time, and he is so caught up in staring at her that he forgets he needs to run mostly cause he can't give her the answers she wants.

It starts out as he knows it would with her wanting an explanation. He wants to explain, too, but he's always been bad at it, and it's not like he got a good one from Chiron. Then came in the demon cheerleaders. They were so well disguised that he wouldn't have known if not for Rachel screaming. So yeah, it's now the second time he's gotten her involved in something dangerous. The empousai, something women, seemed to have it out for his blood, which wasn't new, but he drew the line at them attacking Rachel. He killed the first one and was almost on the second one when Rachel realized her scheme. Now Percy could definitely say thinking on his feet was his strength but between Rachel being attacked and Paul Blofis showing up he was a bit slow on the uptake. Rachel, brilliant Rachel gets them both out of there, they are almost out and he is half ready to drag her with him so they could both talk and so he could apologize again right until Annabeth shows up. So yeah, that ruins almost all his plans. Annabeth's in a hurry, and he should be too given the burning school, but he couldn’t just leave Rachel Elizabeth Dare on her own. If not for her insistence, he would have taken her with her. Deja vu is quick to catch up to him as he flees with Annabeth, leaving Rachel to deal with the mass chaos he left behind yet again. This time, though, he has her number scrawled on his palm, and he memorizes it for good measure because now he wouldn't need the Fates to run into Rachel.

Rachel pov:

Rachel can't stop thinking about Percy I-am- not -a mortal- guy weeks after her trip had ended and the cold was long gone. Made sense. After countless years of thinking herself insane, she finally met someone who knows all the answers to her questions. Perhaps that's why she is so ridiculously obsessed with him. What's more ridiculous is that she can't stop sketching. No matter what she starts with, she always ends up with the same visage of a sea-green eyed boy. The only reason she remembers his face is because she's good at that sort of thing; being an artist requires good memory, not because he was excessively good-looking even in that awful lion fur.. Had he not run her through with his stupid sword, she would have gawked at him. Listen, she was an artist, and she could admire a good face. She was almost at the point of hiring a P.I. under her father's nose to look for Percy something. She was sure he was from New York , call it a feeling. But if so, New York could have like hundreds of Percy and what if he lived in some strange place only people like him,no, people like them could see.

Rachel had a barrage of such weirdly eerie encounters, but something about this one was far more enchanting than any other. He had seen what she saw and heard what she heard, and when she told him to hide, he listened to her no questions asked. Nobody had done that ever before, but just before he slipped into the stall, she was sure that the uncertainty he felt was less over hiding and more over leaving her alone. "I owe you one, Rachel Elizabeth Dare," he had said to her with so much belief in the fact that they would meet again that she almost believed him as vain as it felt.

Turns out Rachel didn't have to believe in vain for too long. She saw him at this new high school she had picked against her father's wishes. It was so random that she thought she was hallucinating. She almost doesn't catch up to him, which makes her next words angry, and then he just stares at her as he blurts out her full name, and she's forgotten entirely why she was angry. The fact that he remembered her name made her weirdly happy until she remembered he tried to kill her. He had finally begun answering her questions until demon vampire things came along. Percy couldn't see them, so she had to ask him to run. Even now, he believed in her without any hesitation. Percy was negotiating. She could tell when Kale something and her trainee cornered them. Negotiating to get them both out. Then the trainee lunged at her. Faster than she could process her fear, she lay dead sliced clean by Percy. It was gross to be covered in monster dust, but she was happy she was alive. The Kelli one attacked now, and Percy swiftly put himself between us . For all her bragging about being thousand years old, I had a feeling Percy could defeat her. Maybe that's why she didn't feel any fear, just adrenaline and awe. Percy was extremely good with the sword, and the demon thing probably caught that cause she tricked us into ducking as she exploded and started a large fire. Even that would have turned out fine is some professor who knew Percy hadn't interrupted and made Percy freeze.

As she called out about the fire he seemed to recover as he quickly counted his options and settled for jumping through the broken window. Because she was now certifiably insane she jumped after him into the alley. By the time she caught up to them some blond girl was standing with him. By the looks of it she knew him but Rachel hadn't seen her at orientation; as soon as her grey eyes settled on Rachel her smile disappeared but Rachel didn't much care about that. Percy had gotten her into this he was going to pay her back with at least a fee explanations.

She ignored the pang she felt when he told the blond girl Annabel something that she was a friend. But friend was good it was better than nobody. As Annabel was about to drag him away, possibly preventing them from meeting ever again, she scrawled her number on his hand in permanent marker. Contrary to her thoughts, he didn't call her crazy nor did he back away. It might have been her speech about him owing her, or maybe just maybe he was just as enchanted by their first meeting. As she ran away to make up some story, she could still feel his eyes on her. This time, it was he who would look for her maybe, just maybe as fixatedly as she had.

This turned out to be rather long but it's such a good theme it might deserve a part two. (Yes I do take asks , just takes me bit of time to deliver.)

I will never get over the fact that Percy Jackson called Rachel his redheaded nightmare. I can't-