#those knife hands are tricky

[yuukirita]

None of them are his own.

[hryniewiecki]

Hi, this is how I made Jinx's chomper grenade, so (maybe) you could (hopefully) make one too (in case you'll ever want to)

With a lot of cardboard and some more paper!

I. GATHER REFERENCE PICTURES I used mostly fanmade 3D models and one or two screenshots from the actual show - that's why my chomper isn't exactly show accurate. I was trying not to go too hard on myself (for a change), so I didn't care about accuracy that much - do as you please.

For gathering refs I use Pinterest and Twitter accounts that share high quality screenshots (eg. this one).

II. PLAN OUT (the hardest part) Time to use refs to sketch the chomper - I started with a rough sketch to get familiar with the structure and all it's elements, to help me better understand how to build it. It was done keeping in mind estimated measurements I was going for (highly recommend using checkered paper), but keep in mind a 2D representation won't fully translate into 3D, so it wouldn't turn out the exact same.

When I was done with the rough sketch, I made a second, cleaner one (in pencil), this time to measure things more exact. Then constructed the "target board" you can see above it. It's representing all the "layers" - the cylinders that once stuck on top of each other would make the grenade - so I know how to space them out. It's basically a top view of the grenade without it's jaws.

III. MATERIALS, TOOLS and how I work with paper (important) List of the most important stuff: - different types of paper* - wood glue and/or any good paper glue - paper masking tape (or any that can be easily removed) - acrylic paints - compass (the one for drawing circles) - hobby knife / exacto knife / box cutter - hot glue gun (optional, but makes things easier) - air dry clay (optional)

*I used 4 types: - magazine paper (super thin, I used supermarket flyers) - cardboard packaging paper (from rice, cookies etc., rather thin but a lot more sturdy than regular paper, easily bendable) - super sturdy cardboard (still looks thin, but it's so hard it breaks easily when bend too hard) - corrugated cardboard (thick, but can be squished to be thinner; a pain to cut with scissors - recommend to use a knife)

Tips for working with paper: - scratch the shiny, printed side of the cardboard packaging to make it easier to glue (you can also try to gently peel it off, but it's not always possible) - another gluing tip: use masking tape or clippers to hold elements together before the glue starts to work, otherwise you may have to hold them in your hands and wait forever - if the paper is thin enough, curl it up to fit before gluing it onto a rounded surface (I mean something like this, except I just press it against a table and not my finger; it can be done with any tool really - scissors, ruler, pencil, edge of the table etc.) - the magazine paper can be used like a sculpting medium (bent, twisted, crumpled into balls etc.) to fill any empty spaces and even things out - I used it to make a "beveled edge" on two of the cylindrical parts, that's why they're covered in colorful stripes

IV. CONSTRUCTION (best part) Time to build some cylinders (how exciting!). I started with the tall middle one. Do I have to explain it? Just remember to add the details (the "bars", aka two layers of cardboard packaging paper spaced evenly) to it before you glue all the parts together.

For the thinner cylinders I simply glued circles of corrugated cardboard together, then covered the sides with a strip of cardboard packaging paper bent to shape. Depending on how tall the cylinder is, one can cut out two circles (top and bottom part), then sandwich (glue) some more scraps inbetween and cover the sides.

Now onto the two tricky parts: 1) Bottom I cut a ring out of the sturdiest cardboard I had and built an armature on top of it. It was then covered with magazine paper strips dipped in glue to create a half-sphere (basically paper mache). I filled it with even more crumpled paper to help hold the shape.

To make those funky "bolts" I scruffed each of those parts a bit a the bottom by cutting about 5 mm into them, so the paper would bend inwards allowing it to better fit the uneven surface. Then glued on the caps (this is when I run out of patience, filled the "bolts" with hot glue, placed random scraps on top of each one and then cut them into shape ..whatever works).

When you have everything assembled and it doesn't look the best, you can use more magazine paper to try to fill any gaps. Even better if you have air dry clay (that's what I used to even the half-sphere a bit). It's great for smoothing out the transition between parts if mistakes were made. If you want to make it super smooth you can use sanding paper.

2) Chompers (most important) I planned out the jaws on checkered paper, constructing the shape by following the lines or making diagonals, so it would be easy to replicate and make adjustments (super easy to measure).

It was then traced and cut out of cardboard packaging paper. I connected each part using masking tape to shape it into a jaw and check if it fits the grenade - after some adjustments were made I glued everything in place.

I wanted the jaws to be thick, so up to three additional layers of corrugated cardboard were cut out and glued on the inside of the initial "sculpt" - this allowed me to carve the eyes through the first layer.

V. PAINTING (suffering) general tips, because I'm not an expert - I used acrylics and started with painting everything black, then color and simple shading, then highlights (thin, bright lines on the edges), and paint splatters at the very end - the layering allowed me to later scratch some of the paint off to add more texture - follow your refs closely, you can even pic colors of off them (using a graphic software or any color picker online) to hint what to mix (eg. the jaws had a greenish/blue tint, so I mixed a bit of green paint with black and white)

- more on that note: just try not to use only black and white (that's what I did on my first try, when I forgot how painting works) - on the final version even the bottom part (which may seem plain black) has a drop of red or brown added; the highlights are not purely white either - it takes a lot of time and requires angelic patience (took me 2 days); take a break if you get too angry or frustrated

And I think that's it!

It's my first time trying to explain stuff and I wasn't sure how much detail to include, so if anything's unclear or missing I'll update the post. Feel free to ask and point out stuff, I'll be happy to help!

Good luck have fun

[dreamwritesimagines]

Garden of Secrets [26] - Bellflower

A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and support my loves, it made my whole week, you’re amazing!❤ I hope you’ll like this chapter as well, and please don’t forget to tell me what you think, thank you! ❤

Thanks so much to @theskytraveler​ for helping me with the chapter!

Summary: It can be tricky to deal with insecurities.

Warnings: Regency era society and social rules, some gender specific language and terms, mentions of violence, slow burn.

Word Count: 4400

Series Masterlist

This was such a beautiful morning.

You woke up quite early, still feeling giddy after last night. It seemed to be one of those days where you just knew it would go well even from the beginning of it, which was quite surprising because it was becoming more and more of a usual mood for you, contrary to how you used to wake up before.

“You seem rather happy,” Paula commented as she finished your hair.  “Have you had nice dreams?”

“Something like that,” you said as you put on your earrings. “How about you? How was your night?”

“Uneventful I’m afraid,” she said but before you could reply, the knock on the door made both of you turn your heads.

“Yes?” you called out and the door opened, your heart skipping a beat as soon as you saw who it was.

“Good morning,” Benedict greeted you from the doorway and you felt a smile warm your face.

“Good morning to you too,” you said, standing up from your chair in front of the vanity, “Come in please. Paula you may leave us, thank you.”

Paula left the room and Benedict stepped inside, the four-leaf clover peeking from the front pocket of his waistcoat catching your attention immediately. Your smile widened when you noticed that he was holding something behind his back and you tilted your head.

“What’s that?”

“For my beautiful wife,” he said with a grin and held out a bouquet of flowers, making you let out a gasp.

“Oh my God!” you said and took the flowers from him, nibbling on your lip. “Thank you!”

“Likewise,” he said, motioning at the clover and you looked down at the bouquet that was not tied together by any kind of ribbon yet carefully cut and placed together, then up at him.

“Are these from our garden?”

“Mm hm, and Mr. Binsted has been a great help.”

You hummed, taking a look at the stems. “Thankfully,” you said with a teasing smirk. “I doubt you know where to cut the stems.”

“Yeah see, I was planning on just ripping them—”

“Don’t you dare!” you exclaimed, holding the flowers to your chest as if protecting them and Benedict chuckled.

“Then I remembered you have a knife so…”

“Two knives.”

“Ah yes, I stand corrected.”

You buried your nose into the flowers to take a deep breath, then raised your head.

“So I take it you’ve been to your studio already?”

“Mm hm, first thing in the morning. Painted a little.”

“Oh that’s wonderful!”

He shrugged his shoulders and heaved a sigh.

“I don’t know if it will turn out wonderful but…” he trailed off and you thought for a moment.

“You know, if you need help painting roses, I could help you,” you said with an air of exaggerated arrogance, making him let out a laugh.

“Oh really?”

“Mm hm. To share my rare gift and everything.”

“Much appreciated,” he said, that playful glimmer shining in his blue eyes and you nodded in a solemn manner.

“Talent only grows when it’s shared,” you said, walking past him to step out of the room into the hallway, still holding the flowers to your chest as he followed you out of the room. “Everyone knows that.”

“Well—” he started but was cut off when a very familiar and excited voice rang through the hallway.

“Y/N?” Teddy called out. “Can I see my gift now?”

You and Benedict exchanged confused glances before your aunt’s voice reached you as well.

“Teddy!”

“What on…?” you muttered as the butler entered your sight.

“Ma’am, your aunt and your brother—” he started but Teddy wheezed past him, running to you at full speed to crash into you.

“Thank you,” you told the butler with a laugh before handing him the flowers and asked him to put them in the water, then crouched down to wrap your arms around Teddy.

“Good morning,” you said, pulling back to see him better. “This is a nice surprise.”

“Where’s my gift?”

You hummed, tilting your head. “What gift?”

“You said—Benedict!” Teddy exclaimed, looking up at him as if asking for his help and Benedict chuckled.

“Don’t mind her Teddy, you definitely have a gift in the house as we speak.”

“Can I see it now?”

“Good morning to you both,” your aunt said and Benedict bowed.

“Good morning Lady Thorne.”

“My apologies for the intrusion and the very early hour.”

“Oh no,” you said, shaking your head fervently. “Please. You are always welcome here, so is Teddy.”

“I have this urgent meeting with Lady Wesley for the ball she’s planning to throw and all the Social Picnic Club is invited.”

“Social Picnic Club?” Benedict asked and you raised your brows.

“Think of it like a mini parliament among the ladies,” you said helpfully. “Actually, I take it back. I’m sure the actual parliament has fewer requirements to become a part of it.”

“It’s not so bad,” your aunt defended herself. “It’s a great honor, and when the time comes—”

“I will absolutely not be a part of it auntie, we’ve had this conversation before.”

“Anyway,” your aunt said while Benedict tried to repress his chuckle. “Teddy insisted that we visited you two on our way there.”

“For my gift!”

“And here I thought you missed me.”

“I did miss you!” Teddy said and you ruffled his hair, then turned to your aunt.

“Can he stay here while you have your meeting?”

Teddy gasped and looked up at your aunt. “Can I please, auntie?”

“Oh of course,” she said and turned to you and Benedict. “Are you two sure?”

“Absolutely!”

“We’d love to,” Benedict said. “And Teddy’s gift is going to take some time, so it’s even better.”

Teddy giggled and your aunt smiled at you.

“Very well then,” she said. “Teddy my dearest, we’re going to be on our best behavior hm?”

Teddy nodded fervently. “Yes.”

“I will be back in two hours tops.”

“Take your time,” you said and she kissed you, then bid you and Benedict goodbye and walked away from you. Teddy looked up at you, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Can I see my gift now please?”

“Did you eat yet?”

“I did, eggs and toast and jam,” he said impatiently, and turned to Benedict. “Can I see my gift?”

Benedict winked at you, then hoisted Teddy up to place him over his shoulders, making him let out an excited laugh that echoed through the hallway as you took a step towards him immediately.

“Benedict—”

“Yes?”

“Be careful,” you said and looked at Teddy. “Uh, Teddy maybe you should—”

“No!” Teddy cut you off. “It’s fun!”

“It’s just that,” you told Benedict, “You’re very tall so if you drop him he could get hurt—”

“I won’t drop him, don’t worry.”

“Y/N it’s fun!” Teddy insisted, his eyes shining with excitement and you heaved a sigh, then held up your hands.

“Alright then.”

“Ready to go?” Benedict asked and Teddy giggled.

“Yes!” he said and Benedict started walking to the studio with Teddy still giggling, and you shook your head slightly, then followed them with a smile on your face.

                                              *

You asked the maids to bring a vase, some soil and the little bag of geranium seeds that Benedict had gifted you earlier. Since you did not hold any artistic talent or anything of the sort, you figured you could spend time with them by doing what you had wanted for a long time.

Digging your fingers into some soil and planting flowers.

Teddy looked like he was having the time of his life. Benedict was teaching him how to make the clay before they would model it around the simple figures made out of wires. He was listening to everything Benedict was saying, his whole attention on him, his tongue sticking out a little from the corner of his mouth as he tried to mimic what Benedict was doing.

You knew you were supposed to focus on your own work but it was a bit difficult when Benedict was sitting not far from you on the floor with his sleeves rolled up, letting you steal glances at his strong arms.

“And then we’re going to mix it, alright? Put some water in,” he instructed him and Teddy poured a little water into the mixture, looking up at him as if hoping for his approval and Benedict smiled, butterflies fluttering in your stomach. “Very nice, see? You’re going to be the next Donatello at this rate.”

Teddy nodded with a proud grin and you tilted your head.

“Do you know who Donatello is, Teddy?” you asked as you put some soil into the vase, sitting on the floor with your legs tucked underneath you. Teddy thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“No,” he said, turning to look at Benedict. “Who is he?”

“He was this incredibly talented sculptor,” Benedict said as he checked out the clay Teddy was mixing, “He was born in Italy, and he worked really really hard to be a sculptor, and now his works are everywhere, just like yours will be one day.”

Teddy giggled, the happy sound making you smile.

“Can I see his works?” Teddy asked and Benedict nodded.

“How about your sister and I take you to Italy one day so that you can see his sculptures?”

He gasped and nodded fervently. “Yes please!” he said. “When did he—when did he make his sculptures?”

“Oh so so many years ago,” Benedict said. “Like five hundred years ago.”

Teddy’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“Mm hm.”

“And we can see them now?”

Benedict nodded with a grin, obviously happy with Teddy’s curiosity and excitement.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Because that’s what art does. It lasts for centuries and centuries, so that people can see it forever.”

“If I become a sculptor,” Teddy said. “Will people see my works as well? Five—five hundred years in the future?”

“They will,” Benedict said. “And they will admire all your works.”

Teddy turned to you, excitement shining in his eyes.

“Y/N, did you hear?”

“Mm hm,” you said with a grin. “That’s wonderful isn’t it?”

“It is!”

“Alright future artist,” Benedict said. “Are you ready for the next stage?”

“Yes!”

“We will put this clay around these wires, hm? So that we can have the shape we will follow and then work on it.”

Teddy nodded and got to it immediately, and you carefully put the seeds into the soil, pressing with your fingers.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join?” Benedict asked and you looked up from the vase, then grinned at him.

“Oh I think I’ll let the artists cover the art front,” you said. “I’m fine over here.”

“So wait,” Teddy said as he worked on putting the clay over the wire model. “Will people see your paintings five hundred years from now as well?”

“They will,” you said before Benedict could even answer and he gave you a smile before turning to Teddy.

“Your sister says so.”

“Will they see that painting?” Teddy asked, pointing at the half-finished landscape on one of the canvases and Benedict shook his head, then pointed at the covered painting at the corner.

“That one.”

“What’s on it?”

Benedict grinned and nodded in your direction, making Teddy gasp.

“Y/N?”

“Mm hm. Her portrait, or at least it will be once it’s finished.”

“I’m very excited for that one,” you commented and Teddy shifted his weight.

“It’s for future people?”

Benedict nodded and turned his gaze to you to smile at you softly.

“So that people will get to see what true beauty looks like even after five hundred years.”

You could swear your cheeks were on fire but you narrowed your eyes at him playfully, then made a face at him, making him laugh.

“That’s exactly how your portrait will look,” he told you and you gasped.

“No it will not!” you protested and poured some water on the soil. After making sure it was damp enough, you pulled your hands back, very much aware of the smile on your face.

“Too bad those flowers won’t last five hundred years,” Teddy commented and you shrugged your shoulders.

“No they won’t,” you said. “But they’ll be beautiful either way.”

                                                *

Towards the afternoon your aunt came to get Teddy, and you spent the most of the day reading but when the night fell, you and Benedict decided to go to a party.  It had been a while since you last did that, and you always had such fun in them so you were rather excited.

It was only when you were in the carriage that you had asked where the party was and to hear the answer “Lady Margery’s” was less than ideal, but it wasn’t as if you could tell Benedict to turn the carriage around and go back home so you had tried not to let it affect your mood or your expression.

Lady Margery’s house was very impressive. It was surrounded by a huge garden full of different flowers on the outside, and the inside was full of artworks adorning the walls of many hallways leading to various rooms with different types of entertainment.

“Do you think Felix will be here?” you asked Benedict and he shook his head.

“I think I heard him say he had plans with—” he paused for a second, then turned to you. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“So Andrew and Josie,” he said, making you look up at him.

“Yes?”

“Andrew and Josie are married right?”

You tried to control the grin threatening to curl your lips. “Yeah they eloped. Got married in Gretna Green, Bess was there as well.”

“Right,” he said. “And uh…Josie and Bess seem very close.”

You had to bite at your lips, feigning innocence. “Yes they’re best friends.”

“They are—” Benedict swallowed thickly. “They seem to be very close best friends.”

You tilted your head, blinking up at him in a completely naïve manner. “Yes. Your point being?”

“Nothing at all,” Benedict said. “I was just wondering if they were—best friends.”

“They are,” you said. “They’re such best friends that most of the time they share a bed.”

Benedict raised his brows. “Oh?”

“Uh huh.”

“And when—when that happens, where is Andrew exactly?”

“Probably finding his own best friend to share a bed with,” you said, now letting a grin split your face. “It seems like his best friend might be Felix nowadays.”

Benedict gasped, looking at you in complete shock. “You did this on purpose!”

“The look on your face—how naïve do you take me for, honestly?” you asked with a laugh. “Do you think I wouldn’t be able to notice my sister being with her lover?”

Benedict shook his head, pointing at you. “Diabolical.”

“I seem to like seeing you beat around the bush, that was rather adorable,” you said, still giggling and he shot you a playful look.

“So you knew all along?”

“Of course I did,” you said. “I was there when they planned it—Benedict, if you so much as utter a word of this—”

“You know me better than that,” he said and you smiled at him.

“I do,” you admitted. “But anyway, yes. It’s an arrangement where everyone is happy, and you can’t say that for many marriages in the ton.”

Benedict thought for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. “I suppose?”

“Well well, isn’t this Adonis and Venus?” a teasing voice reached you and you turned to see Henry grinning at you. “Welcome.”

“Oh hello Henry,” you said. “Is Lucy here?”

“She’s…occupied at the moment,” Henry said before grinning at Benedict. “I may have a surprise for you.”

Benedict tilted his head. “What surprise?”

“One of my friends is coming to London,” Henry said. “Sometime this month, but considering how impulsive he is, it could be within the week as well. And it is someone I think you would love to meet.”

“Who?”

“Lord Easton.”

Benedict’s eyes widened and you looked between them. “Who’s Lord Easton?”

“He’s one of my absolute heroes in art,” Benedict said, still gawking at Henry. “Are you serious?”

“Mm hm. I did tell him I had a very promising artist he should meet.”

“Henry!” Benedict hissed. “You can’t tell him that, I don’t even…I’m not even applying for the Academy this year, and my paintings are not even close to be ready, let alone to be seen by—”

“They’re good, Ben,” Henry said and you squeezed at his arm in an assuring manner.

“You’ll be fine.”

“No no, Easton is a genius,” Benedict said and Henry shot you a grin.

“I don’t know if I should be offended about the fact that I’m not his hero in art.”

“One can have multiple heroes,” you teased him but before Henry could joke back, you heard a silky voice.

“Welcome to the party.”

You looked over your shoulder, then turned around to see Lady Margery better and Benedict and Henry bowed their heads. There was no wonder why she had so many admirers as Lucy had informed you earlier, she really was breathtaking. Her nonchalant smile fit the gleam in her eyes perfectly as she stole a look at them, then turned to you.

“We meet at last,” she said. “Mrs. Bridgerton, I’ve heard so much about you.”

You smiled back. “Likewise.”

“I hope you won’t mind that I’m stealing her Benedict for drinks,” she grinned at him and you arched a brow at the first name basis. “We’ll be back, excuse us gentlemen.”

She linked her arm through yours and gently led you away from them so that you could pass through the hallway, and you looked around at the paintings hanging on the walls.

“You have a lovely home,” you said and she turned to see what you were looking at, then waved a hand in the air.

“Thank you,” she said. “It took me a while to get rid of all my late husband’s belongings and it included a lot of portraits of him and his family, but now there are finally paintings I enjoy looking at.”

You blinked a couple of times, then followed her into the room where there was a long counter with two footmen making drinks. It was such an unfamiliar sight that for a moment you just stared at them, then remembered to turn to her.

“My condolences for your late husband.”

She scoffed a laugh and motioned at a footman who quickly grabbed two glasses of drinks to bring you.

“No need for any condolences,” she said. “I’ve always dreamed of being a widow.”

Dear God, she really was what you had hoped to be before getting married to Benedict.

She clinked her glass with yours and took a sip, urging you to do the same. You could feel the drink burn your throat, but you cleared your throat and smiled up at her.

“Well then congratulations on getting what you dreamed of.”

“Why thank you,” she said. “I find the idea of marriage quite absurd if you ask me, especially within the ton. It’s the worst prison to be.”

“Not for everyone,” the words left your lips before you had any chance to stop them and she tilted her head.

“Oh obviously,” she said. “Benedict and you are the exception, Henry says so. Did you like the geraniums?”

Your eyes shot up to hers and you paused for a moment. It was almost like looking in the mirror, Margery was so good at keeping her cards up to her chest that you could not tell whether she was being friendly or not.

If it were a couple of months ago, she would have been your absolute hero in life, but now…

“Ben says you told him where to get those seeds,” you said and she nodded her head.

“Well I’m glad they worked,” she said. “Though I don’t believe in love, it’s quite pleasant to see the couples that do.”

“And what do you believe in?” you asked and she shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m a bit of a…hedonist I suppose,” she said. “What we call love is merely a name to cover what we truly desire. I don’t believe love lasts, so we should get all the pleasure we can get from this short life.”

Well it was no wonder why she and Benedict got along well. Though Benedict believed in love, his whole life had been nothing but a hedonistic existence up until very recently.

“And when I said that to Henry, he said I sounded like Lord Easton,” she said with a laugh and your brows furrowed. “Can you believe that? All this time, I’ve been unknowingly leading my life according to the ideals of my most favorite artist.”  

Oh.

Alright then.

The insecurity crashed over you so fast that for a moment you couldn’t even understand why your mood had changed. Lady Margery was everything you had wanted to be before getting married and you had a feeling that she was also what Benedict had wanted -and perhaps still did- in a partner. She was gorgeous, carefree, mysterious and well educated, she knew all about art and apparently they even had the same favorite artist.

And to make things even worse, she wasn’t even trying.

“Sir Granville says Lord Easton will be in London in a month or so,” you managed to say and she nodded.

“Oh yes I’ve heard. I’m rather excited to meet him—” she started but was cut off when someone called out her name, making her look at the person.

“The duty of a hostess even during a party,” she muttered and turned to you. “Will you excuse me please?”

“Of course,” you said and watched her walk away before letting out a breath, that heavy feeling still at the bottom of your stomach. You downed your drink, then put the empty glass on the nearest tray and made your way out of the room.

Everyone seemed to have fun, laughter and chatter echoing even in the hallway as you passed through it, then stepped outside. The chill weather was like a balm to your burning face, and you took a deep breath, then made your way down the stone road to approach the nearest bench to sit down.

It wasn’t even her fault. By all means, Margery sounded like someone you would be such good friends with, if you could extinguish this fire of envy in your heart and you knew it was nonsense, and yet…

You groaned and leaned down to bury your face into your forearms, taking deep breaths. You had no idea how long you stayed like that, but soon enough your ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps coming closer to stop in front of you.

You pulled out your knife and flicked it with one hand without even lifting your head.

“Walk away.”

“I thought you changed your mind about being a widow,” Benedict replied and your head shot up, and you tucked the knife back into its place before putting it back into your cleavage.

“Hello.”

“Hello there, potential murderer,” he teased you. “Is everything alright?”

You nodded your head, then stood up from the bench. “Sure. What are you doing here?”

“I saw you out of the window.”

“Ah,” you said. “Yeah I’m alright. I just felt like getting some fresh air, so…”

“Are you sure?”

You nodded again and took a step to walk past him but he caught your hand before you could walk away, your name leaving his lips again. You stopped dead in your tracks, sparks of excitement rushing through your veins before you bit down on your lip, then laced your fingers through his, your heart doing a happy flip. You could swear the simple gesture made his breath hitch and you stepped closer to him to rest your forehead against his hard chest, standing there completely still like a statue. His pleasant scent filled your nostrils, making you take a deep breath as discreetly as you could.  

“Hey,” Benedict said, his deep murmur vibrating in his chest. “What is it?”

You shrugged your shoulders without pulling back.

“Can we stay like this for a moment please?”

Benedict’s voice was soft; “We can stay like this for as long as you want.”

You nodded against his chest, and he dragged his fingertips up your spine to cradle the back of your head, probably messing up your carefully coiffed updo but you couldn’t care less. You closed your eyes as he nuzzled to the top of your head, burying his nose into your hair.

“What is it?” he murmured, his thumb caressing the soft skin of your hand and you swallowed thickly.

“Inside my head is not peaceful I guess,” you said. “It happens sometimes.”

“Do you want to go back home?”

“No,” you muttered. “I just…it helps. You being here.”

“I’ll always be here,” he said, his words like the sweetest promise and you felt a smile pull at your lips.

“Ben?”

“Hm?”

“Can you say that nonsense thing that I don’t believe in?”

He paused for only a moment before a chuckle climbed up his throat, coaxing a smile from you as well. His fingertips stroked over the back of your neck, sending a fire down your spine, raising goosebumps on your skin.

“I love you,” he murmured into your hair and heaved a sigh. “God, you have no idea how much I love you.”

You could almost feel your heart melting inside your chest and your smile widened, his words washing away that small insecure voice in your head. You squeezed at his hand, nudging at his chest with your nose before pulling back to look up at him. For a moment, you both stared at each other, your eyes locked in his, desire spreading through your veins like wildfire before you took a deep breath, trying to pull yourself together.

“Let’s go back inside,” you managed to say and he tilted his head to shoot you that lopsided grin, his eyes gleaming even under the moonlight as if he was amused.

“You are the most confusing woman I’ve ever met, did you know that?”

You gave him a mischievous smile, then tugged at his hand and started walking with him following you.

“I have no idea what you speak of,” you said, your heart still pacing in your chest, excitement making you nearly giddy. “I’m quite simple if you ask me.”

Chapter 27

[azzumei]

ღ a plus !

ღ summary: how would hsr men be like as parents? ღ

° characters: blade, danheng, jing yuan

° warnings: afab!reader, mentions of pregnancy

° genre: headcannons, fluff with some suggestive texts

when danheng found out you were pregnant, he still had that cold, unfazed face- but on the inside he was indeed suprised and baffled.

you could've sworn you saw his entire body shaking, his face pale as the snow in belobog.

but to be honest, i feel like having a family for him would be planned- he sure isn't the type of man to just knock you up accidentally.

i'm betting you both would have twins, YES. son and daughter- I also bet danheng's genes would be super strong, so both of them would probably be the splitting image of your husband.

he would be the best at taking care of you!!, oh you're craving ice cream? he's on it. does the dress he bought for you during his and your 2nd anniversary doesn't fit you anymore? he's buying you a new, and more beautiful one.

he would be right there by your side whenever you feel nauseous or uneasy, whispering words of affirmation and whenever you doubt being a good mother- "you will be the best mother alive, i promise."

also, whenever you both are planning for the children on the way- he definitely gets excited and buys every single thing that can ensure safety for your children and cute things that would suit them too.

when theyre born, 100% he would be a strict, but caring dad. not letting them even touch a plastic knife or his spear.

and if the twins inherit their dad's dragon genes, he would look after them even more for the time being (he doesnt wanna lose the three of you ok)

overall 10/10 dad

okay, this one is kinda tricky uhm-

when you told blade, he just chuckled and kissed you on the forehead- also not the type of man to just get you pregnant without expecting/planning it.

''thank you, my love.'' he would whisper, as he hugs you softly as he buries his neck in your neck.

during the pregnancy, because of his job, he can't be with you 24/7, but he'll try to spend as much time with you as he can. sending you sweet messages, and he would also hire a helper to help you through those days.

im thinking.. maybe a daughter- and yes he would also be a strict dad, but of course he would let her enjoy her life.

adores seeing the bump on your stomach getting bigger- perhaps you both might have another before the other is born....

def would spoil you!!! dresses, cardigans, the food you crave? hes buying them all.

during soft nights he would rub his hand in circles around your bump, you swear you could see hearts in his eyes whenever he does

overall, 9/10 dad

jing yuan wasn't surprised, at all. though- he was proud and happy.. a miniature version of him and his beloved? how exciting!

since he sees yanqing as a son, jing yuan would definitely let your child(ren) be with yanqing whenever youre both not around- like a big brother. (but no swords yanqing...)

overprotective. yes- even if you just want to cut apples he'll do it instead. a minor cut on your finger makes him tense up, so- assure him you'll be just fine.

would spend more time with you, and certainly stop napping around and finish his work quickly so he can be with you.

i see him having triplets, but their looks are half and half with yours and jing yuan's. when theyre grown up- he would def train them to become stronger to protect themselves

somewhat strict, only if it contains having to wield something dangerous or going somewhere that has numerous monsters unsupervised is a big no. he doesnt wanna lose anyone again.

overall, 9.5/10 dad

[writings-ofthe-heart]

Blue Lips

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

❀ ; König had never really known you, but after a tricky mission and being left alone with you for a whole night, he might want to know more ...

or

❀ ; After being terrified of your colonel, you gain the confidence (and privacy) to talk to him once more, things go unplanned when you're attacked by a rogue soldier.

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♡ Warnings? : None! Just some fluff, idk, xd

♡ Word Count : A little over 1.6K words

♡ POV In : First person, I got lazy rewriting all the pronouns to "you," soz :(

♡ Author's Note - Umm sorry I haven't done anything atsv i swear its rotting in my brain rn but i just did this one shot in under a couple days during my travelling :3 i hope you enjoy !!

(p.s my next writing thing WILL be ganke related x3)

(p.p.s.s? I hope the formatting is ok I'm new to tumblr xD)

"Sorry, we'll try to reach-- morning--" The radio stammered out, I shook it frustrated as we walked. The mission had gone successfully but we were left behind. Unfortunately, I was left behind with the Colonel. He was silent, the sound of his steps barely noticeable. My hand was shaking, upon realizing, I shoved it into my pocket. The Lt had told us to reach the safe house and stay put. It was 4 KM away from where we were so we have been walking most part of the evening and the sun had just set. A blanket of quiet settled over the forest, the only "loud" sounds being my footsteps.

The Colonel and I were never close, it could've been because of my general fear of authority and the such or just how eerily quiet he was, never awkward just silent. The only time I had really spoke to him was during missions and those fleeting moments never told me much about him, all other information about him I heard from rumours, that he was a cold blooded soldier and a weapon for KorTac. He had bouts of going far away for weeks and months at a time, on so called "private enlistings." I never got curious, too frightened by him to try and find out more about him. But that's changing now, as he walks behind me I can't help but wonder about him.

My voice breaks the silence. "Where are you from, König? You have quite the accent,"

He seemed a little startled when I spoke, and he flatly replied, "Austria, German is the national language there."

I clicked my tongue, teeth chattering. "Cool." The next few minutes were silent and I veered off into the trees, hearing a creek bubbling. I called out to König quietly, "I'm going to fill my canteen. There's a creek over here." He hummed his acknowledgement. I got to the body of water and crouched down. Unscrewing the canteen, I put it down in the water. It was freezing, I tried to ignore the stinging in my knuckles and the tips of my fingers. From behind, I heard a knife unsheath. I tried to turn swiftly, grabbing my pistol from the holster but the attacker was too fast, pinning me down on the hard rocks.

They held the knife to my throat, breathing heavily. As my eyes adjusted from the stars in my vision, I realized it was a man. He had a beard, a mustache accompanying it. The man didn't need to speak for me to understand his intentions, a savage glint in his eyes. He seemed to be injured, desperate for anything. I look down at his tactical vest, but my movement provokes him and he shoves me under the water. I kick and thrash but he's taller, bigger than me. My pistol is taken and my knife is in my pant leg. The coldness grips me tightly.

König had been surprised I had even talked to him, after all, he knew I was scared of him, everyone was. It gave him a rush, but sometimes he wished they weren't terrified of König. He was sitting at the base of a tall, frosted tree, sipping at his own canteen. The Austrian man took note of the time, realizing I've been gone for longer then he felt comfortable with. Even if he had no feelings tied to me, he was a colonel and had to take care of his soldiers. König dusted his jeans off and calmly made his way to the creek. Upon seeing me being forcefully submerged in the creek by a strange man, he went livid.

Everything was a blur already as the man had started to choke me, shaking me and throwing me on the rock bed again and again. A vignette settled around my vision and I weakly yelled out in pain. Blood swirled in the water I was shoved in, my attacker showing no sign of stopping. König ran in long strides, ripping the man off me. With his bulk and strength, he had him easily in a chokehold.

The man fought him, as he had grabbed his knife I wrestled off him from the dirt. I could only sit up and take gulps of cold air, they were like daggers in my lungs but I couldn't help it. I was shaking violently, standing up and wobbling over to help König. He had already taken out his pistol and after shoving the man to the ground, he aimed point blank. His eyes were narrowed, and if he had no mask on, you'd be able to see the haunting smile as the bullet wrecked the mans head. Blowing his brains out was nothing to König.

I had barely been able to register the gun shot as more than the ringing in my ears after. The snowfall was heavier then ever, cold wind freezing my clothes and along with it my body. After the kill had been delivered, König rushed over to me. He crouched down the slightest bit, his accent thick in his words, "Liebe, are you okay?" I wrapped my arms around myself, teeth chattering. I could barely mumble a reply without stammering half the sentence but I tried. "N.. No." My scowl at him took all my remaining energy and I nearly collapsed on him.

"Oh, sheiße!" He hissed, holding me in place. The only sound being my grunts of pain, the cold feeling like I was shattering into pieces.

"We've got to get you to the safe house. It's so close to here! Can you walk schatz?" He panics, holding my frozen hands. "Ah, you're like ice." König comments. I take a couple steps with him, another breeze blows by and my knees give out. I cry out painfully, grabbing Königs arm. He hushes me sympathetically, pulling me close.

"Ok, meine liebe, i need you to listen to me, ja? I'm going to carry you, but you can't, please, you cannot," He firmly talks to me taking a breath, making sure my lidded eyes stay open. "You cannot fall asleep, stay awake, ok? We'll get to the safe house in no time."

König knew he had a timer, it started to tick down as soon as I got out of water, breathing heavily. It was now or never, or else I'd slip into the afterlife. He couldn't let that happen. Now he was running as quick as he could, his long legs lunging forward. If their lieutenants information was correct, the safe house should be around the corner from these birch trees, and like the heavens opened for him, there was a run down, abandoned looking house covered in sheets of white.

König slammed the door open and kicked it closed as he rushed in, his heart pounding and the blood roaring in his ears. I was shivering in Königs arms, fighting every nerve in my body begging me to let go, but I knew I couldn't, I couldn't leave him alone, alone here. Those were my only coherent thoughts as König set me down in front of the fire, rummaging desperately through each drawer in the living room. My puffs of air coming out as thick clouds in the room, I could hear Königs quickened breathing as he searched around. When I heard him sigh out a noise of victory, it was a telltale sign he found matches.

I looked at him through my heavy eyes, König flicked it and it caught on fire. He tidyed the logs in the fireplace and threw the match in, blowing it softly so it'd grow faster. My teeth chattered vigorously but I couldn't feel my lips, or my legs. König carefully peeled my tactical vest off, looking at me gently. "Schatz, I need to take your clothes.. off..." His eyes seemed to be pleading with me and all I could do was nod slightly. König worked fast while still being so gentle with my freezing body, and in a matter of minutes, I was bare, stripped to my undergarments. He swallowed, trying to stop his eyes wandering.

König took his vest off, basically stripping himself as well. Now, I couldn't help but stare. He was built like an ox, along with being huge, his muscles were just daunting. I screwed my eyes shut to keep out the indecent thoughts.

"You're tired, no? It's ok, meine liebe. Let me get some blankets and we will sleep." He reassured me and I could only nod, whimpering quietly trying not to tremble with everything in me. My arms were wrapped around my body tightly. After a few minutes, he came back with a pillow and blankets. König sat down next to me, gently sliding a blanket below me and then the rest on top.

His hands were warm.. so warm. I could feel my mind shutting down and König noticed, of course he did. My sleepy eyes, the red tint of my cheeks and nose. He could hear me mumbling, but was too dazed in my appearance, "Sorry, what'd you say?"

"Can you come closer? You're really, really warm." I whisper. König looked at me, silent like always. After a long pause, he nodded.

Shifting closer to me, he (awkwardly) put his arms around me. I leaned on him, contently sighing. He couldn't believe what was happening, König was never typically a 'ladies man' and now that it was happening, he froze up. König looked down at me, feeling a warmth touch his chest. I had fallen asleep on him. He couldn't do anything but sit there, cocooning me in his arms with his gun by his side in case of an emergency.

He didn't sleep at all, if only to keep me safe.

[pinkthrone445]

~I need a favor~ Part 2

Part 1

Pairing:Brienne of tarth x Reader

Warnlings : (+18) None I think.

Gender: mostly fluff.

Summary:Returning from a big battle, your friend Brienne has news that will change both of your lives forever, your relationship and your lifes.

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It had been a few days since Brienne brought the baby home, several days in which the blonde had not left your side or your house, days in which she spent thanking you for your help whenever the opportunity presented itself. Every day that passed, the more you learned about life and the less you slept, the baby was a big responsibility and had strong lungs to cry and scream whenever something didn't agree with his standards.

It was a little tricky to manage the work and care of the baby, but when you went out to work or buy stuff, Brienne stayed behind to take care of him. The only problem was that when you got home, it was a complete chaos, the baby was probably asleep, but there were toys and clothes everywhere, some splashes of food, milk or water that you would have to clean up in the morning, and Brienne was full of stains that you didn't want to know where those came from.

However, that night when you arrived it was different, the house was clean, tidy, and quiet. The only light that illuminated the place was the brightness of the moon that came in when you opened the door, not a single candle was lit. Worried you took a knife from your bag, you knew how to use it thanks to Brienne teaching you, so you could defend yourself. You walked to where you usually let the baby sleep, but he wasn't there either, there were only his blankets. You kept looking around the house until it occurred to you to look at the cozy chair you had by the window, there was Brienne with the little baby asleep and lying on her chest. The blonde looked absently out the window, she conveyed a peace and tranquility that you had never seen in her before, she looked so happy and calm that you didn't want to interrupt the moment. You carefully lowered your knife letting out a sigh of relief that you didn't know you were holding, your friend smiled and turned to look at you, it was obvious that your presence could not go unnoticed by the trained knight

-"Good evening, how was work?"- She whispered very calmly to avoid waking up the little boy who was sleeping on her

-"It was good... I managed to bring more milk from the kitchen at work, the good quality kind so it doesn't give the baby diarrhea"-You also whispered and stood in front of them-"You want me to take him to his blankets?"

-"No, it won't be necessary anymore, I brought a gift" -she said, pointing with her head to a beautiful and delicate wooden crib-"we can place it wherever you like, preferably near your bed in case he wakes up at night or drowns... You like it?" - she smiled seeing how you inspected the crib, it was a great job of a craftsman carpenter, something that would surely be very expensive

-"Did you pay for this? It's beautiful but it's sure to be very expensive..."-You looked at her in surprise and she laughed softly

-"I had it made by a carpenter who owed me a favor after having saved her family... She even made us a wooden rocking chair for the baby, so we can put him to sleep..."-The blonde commented looking at you with a relaxed smile, you were surprised to see her so peacefully and so committed to the baby.

-"It's really a beautiful job, thank you for bringing it..."-you whispered and she handed you the baby carefully, smiling you laid him on your chest and smelled the scent of his little head instantly relaxing, you hadn't realized how much you missed him and how important he was to you until you held him in your arms again after a long day. Even though you hadn't seen him for just a couple of hours, your arms had felt empty at not having him. Delicately you caressed his little back and saw how he smiled asleep and relaxed and snuggled more into your chest making tender little noises. When you looked up, you saw how Brienne was watching you affectionately, smiling like a fool, you laughed and raised an eyebrow-"What?"- Your voice brought the blonde back to reality, she cleared her throat shaking her head

-"Nothing... I'll go put the crib next to your bed"-she whispered blushing and lifted the crib marking the muscles of her arms, leaving you and the baby alone in the dining room.

After a few minutes, when everything was settled, you put the baby on the crib carefully and covered him, relieved he didn't wake up. Brienne must have been playing with him for a long time if he was so deeply asleep. When you started to change your clothes, the blonde was about to retire to go to sleep in the living room, but you took her hand and stopped her, your friend blushed when she saw that you were in your underwear

-"Don't you want to sleep here in my bed? It's more comfortable than blankets on the living room floor and I know you're tired after taking care of the baby all day..."- You whispered a little embarrassedly and saw the doubt in her eyes thinking an objection, but before she could say anything, you interrupted her again-"I don't want to sleep alone, and if I fall into a deep sleep I'm afraid I won't hear the baby if he wakes up... Please..."-You pleaded in a whisper and she sighed nodding

-"Okay..."-she agreed. After the two of you put on your pajamas and went to bed you tried to sleep but couldn't, sleep had left your tired body. Instead, your head had begun to reproduce everything your life had changed in those few weeks since the baby arrived

-"Bri... Are you awake?"-You whispered and the blonde babbled tired but awake-"You know, I was thinking maybe it's time for us to give him a name... If it's going to be our family we can't keep calling him baby or little one, he needs a proper name"-You spoke in a whisper and turned on the bed coming face to face with the blonde who was looking at you with a sleepy smile

-"I think it's a great idea, have you thought of any name?"-she asked curiously

-"Gisli..."-You barely whispered

-"Why?" - she asked

-"'Cause it means ray of sunshine, and you are the sun, the sun that brought this little sunshine home and into my life..."-You whispered and she stared at you - "if you think it's silly we can choose another one..."

-"I love it, it's a very beautiful reason for choosing it... It's cute... Like the baby and like you" - she whispered and kissed the tip of your nose making you giggle and blush. In what little light there was, you could barely make out any shape, but you could feel the heat her body radiated so close to yours, the only thing you could make out was the reflection of the moonlight on Brienne's hair. The moment you shared was very intimate, the whole last weeks you had spent together had been intimate. The two of you were very close, her breathing was very near to your lips, so much so that if you leaned in just a little you were sure you could kiss her. She and you had kissed before on a night when the two were drunk and made embarrassing decisions, but this was different, you were both very aware of what was going on. Slowly you grabbed her hand, Brianne's lips brushed against yours, as if some sudden movement would break the magical bubble you were in, where no matter what life she led, you could be together, where you could truly be a couple, a family, where anything was possible. You didn't know who closed the distance, you or her, but finally your lips connected with hers letting out a big sigh of happiness, it was as if every cell in your body woke up one by one just to think about her, to feel hee. Your hands grabbed her cheeks and she took your hips, gently tickling you under her touch. Your body began to rise in temperature and all you wanted was to be closer to her, for your body and soul to become one with her, not necessarily sexually, but in every sense of the word, to be hers and for her to be yours, for the two of you to give yourself to each other without fear of the future and without any restrictions. To get closer to her, you wrapped your leg around her hip while still kissing her and she held your thigh possessively, making you gasp from the force with which she was holding you. Her leg slipped between yours, brushing her thigh at your crotch which made you feel hotter and more restless, letting out a soft moan on her lips . You had no idea where that could go, but no fantasy was fulfilled that night as the baby cried while still asleep, dreaming about something, breaking the moment and bringing you two back to reality. Your breathing was ragged and so was hers, neither of you knew what to say or do. After checking that everything was okay with the baby, you went back to bed and the blonde was turning her back to you, compared to the heat that her body radiated minutes before, now a shiver ran through your body because of the distance you felt from her

-"Brienne..."-You whispered but she ignored you—"do you want to talk or..."-You insisted, but she interrupted you

-"It's too late, we have to sleep. Good night" - She replied curtly and you sighed turning and hugging yourself to keep warm, trying to relax a little so you could stop overthinking and sleep even a little.

The next morning when you woke up, it was still very early but Brienne wasn't in bed and the baby wasn't in his crib either which made you sigh sadly, you could still feel the ghost of her kisses on your lips and the rejection when she realized what she was doing. Without much desire, you got up and walked to the dining room where you found the two of them sitting while the blonde fed the little one, you couldn't help but stare at her, she looked and felt very good at your house and next to you, as if she belonged there with you, but you also knew that if you talked to her about that and about what had happened the night before, if it didn't end well, it could make everything very complicated, not only because of the friendship you had but because now you were taking care of a child together. You sighed, running your hands over your face watching as she gently patted the baby's back to get the gas out, the little boy laughed every time a small burp came out of him

-"Good morning Brienne... Can we talk please?" - You spoke determined to put an end to the insertitude that was in your head, Brienne carefully left the baby in a blanket with a stuffed animal you had made for him

-"No good conversation ever started with that phrase" - she joked as if to make you laugh but it didn't work - "look, If this is for the baby or me being to much at your house, I'll try to make things easier for you or take him with me a few nights... Anything that you want... You have done so much for him that I can't ask you anything else..."-She whispered a little embarrassedly and you sighed

-"It's not for him, it's for us, for what happened last night... The kiss, the electricity, the connection... I know I didn't imagine that feeling..."-You replied and this time it was her turn to sigh

-"We've had this conversation before... You know no matter how many feelings we have for each other, we can't be together, I don't want to hurt you..." - she said, avoiding your gaze

-"But you hurt me anyways, that's what you don't get it... Being with you feels good and this house feels like a home when you're with me, I'd rather have nothing but having you and the baby, than having all the riches in the world, because if I have you two, I have everything I need. I know you're afraid to do this because you're scared of the future, because you don't want to make me suffer if you get hurt in battle and don't come back. But I suffer more every time you're with me putting up a wall to keep your distance from me, I suffer more in those moments, than when I have to wait for you to come back from the battles... I suffer anyway waiting for you whether we are a couple or not, because even if we are nothing, I still love you and for me you are everything...I'll suffer more if I don't have you, than if you're mine and I have to wait for you to come back"-Brienne looked at you in surprise as she listened to you

-"You what?" - she asked

-"I said you like it or not, that I love you...I love you both and our little and unconventional family, because that's what we are, a family, even if you don't admit it"-You said more confidently and she smiled at you making you a little uncomfortable for not understanding why she was smiling - "Why are you smiling?"

-"Because you love me..."-she replied in a mocking tone

-"Look, if you're going to laugh at me for what I said, I'll get you out of the house and I won't let you in even if you're freezi..."-You said with a frown but the blonde grabbed your waist tightly and pulled you closer to her by sticking you close to her body, causing a small cry of surprise to come out of your mouth. Brienne was still smiling and caressed your cheek looking into your eyes, making you blush a little from the intensity of her gaze

-"I love you too... A lot... I love you, the baby, and our little unconventional family... And I'm terrified of hurting you if I ever get wounded in battle and I can't come back... But I'm more afraid that if I try to avoid a relationship with you, someone else will come and take this little piece of heaven away from me... So scared or not, I want to be with you if you'll let me... I want to be with you and the baby, I want our little ray of sunshine to grow up with both of us... "-she gently kissed your lips smiling, making you smile too-" I'm yours, and if you let me, I want you to be mine..."

-"I wanna be yours"- You whispered and hid in her chest, taking advantage of the warmth while she hugged you. The little baby, seeing how the two of you were together without including him, started screaming making you laugh. Carefully you picked him up and hugged him, putting him between you and Brienne, the little one curled up in your chest and frowned at Brienne-"I think you're already late, you'll have to fight for my love with him"-You whispered laughing and the blonde started tickling the baby making him laugh a lot

-"It will be a tickling fight until someone gives up, the winner will stay with you and your love, everything is allowed"-She said jokingly and the baby took advantage of the blonde's closeness and grabbed her golden curls with great strength, pulling them roughly-"Okey Okey, I give up"- the blonde said and you carefully opened the baby's hand to let go of her hair and she breathed a sigh of relief - "Cheater"- She muttered looking at the baby

-"You said everything was allowed" - you laughed and she pouted at you, carefully you gave her a little kiss on her lips-"You don't have to fight, there's enough of me for you both..."-Brienne smiled hugging and kissing your foreheads, her heart full of love and happiness with her little perfect family.

[harrywavycurly]

Sarah can I just ask for some random Eddie conversations please ❤️ love you

Hiii lovey!! Awe love you too!! I hope you enjoy these extremely random conversations between you and Eddie💖

“Eddie can you hand me the creamer?” “Uh…we are..out.” “I beg you’re fucking pardon?” “Don’t look at me like that…it wasn’t on the list.” “Wasn’t on the list? Edward it was the first thing on the list!” “What? No it wasn’t…oh…shit….where are you going?” “Wayne’s…don’t follow me.” “Oh come on baby it’s just creamer…don’t be mad.” “I’m not mad…I’m annoyed there’s a difference..I’ll be back.” “Tell him I said hello.” “Whatever.” “Love you…” “love you too…and if you’re smart there’ll be a full thing of creamer in the fridge when I get back.” “Yeah yeah…of course.”

“Eddie my sweet sweet precious ba-” “what do you need princess?” “Don’t be rude Edward James.” “Baby…” “my car won’t start and I’m late for work.” “Let me get dressed I’ll take you.” “I was kinda hoping you’d just let me take the van…” “not happening you know she’s tricky.” “I’ve driven her before and it was fine.” “Oh yeah that time you drove into a stop sign or the time you ran a red light or that one time you popped the curb on the way to Bennys…” “those were all learning experiences and besides if I take the van you can just work on my car and figure out why it hates me so much.” “It doesn’t hate you it’s just…finicky.” “Can I please take the van? Pretty please…” “oh I kinda like it when you beg.” “You’re so annoying I’ll just walk.” “You ruin all my fun…the keys are on the counter.” “Thanks honey! Love you!” “Love you too baby.”

“I’m not arguing with you baby I’m just saying Freddy has a cooler power that’s all…he also has knife hands.” “Freddy is a bitch who has to put you to sleep to kill you…Michael doesn’t need you to be asleep he will just squish you to death with his bare hands…that’s way more terrifying.” “What? How are lame human hands scarier than knives for fingers?” “Because they are normal! That’s the creepy part he’s just a man…who can end your life anytime he wants not just during nap time.” “I…guess…you’re kinda right but…Freddy can turn into things so that’s cooler than walking around in a blue jumpsuit with a mask on.” “The jumpsuit and mask for his personality.” “His personality? Baby he doesn’t even talk.” “Sometimes words aren’t necessary.” “It should bother me the love you have for this serial killer…but it doesn’t.”

[differentpostrebel]

Lost and Found: A Pirate's Promise

The first gif, is cause its the standoff, and also Caesar with the heart eyes for Joker, and the second gif because I cant find a gif of them running. Dressrosa really do be bringing out the passion and action.

Chapter 26: Doflamingo’s Deadly Game

A/N: We are back with another chapter! I truly cant wait for you guys to read this one, Chapter 27 is done and Im currently working on chapter 28. Thank you guys so much for liking, commenting, reblogging, and interacting!. I also have a special chapter cooking for Sabo and Y/N and what went down during those two years... We have some good stuff coming up, also dont forget to like chapter 25 also! And without further a do lets get to it and let the adventure begin!

Word Count: 5.1K 

Sanji x Reader, Sanji x Y/N, One piece x Reader 

Laws POV… 

Doflamingo laughed softly, his voice dripping with mockery. “Better hurry, Law. She won’t last much longer.”

We stood locked in a three-way standoff: Admiral Fujitora and his men on one side, Doflamingo opposite me, and Caesar still pathetically at my side. The air was thick with tension, a clash waiting to erupt. Caesar turned, frantic as ever, babbling in a desperate plea.

"Joker! Make him pay for this! And also the prin—"

Without hesitation, I grabbed him by the scarf, choking off his words as I dragged him closer. “The deal’s off, Doflamingo!” My voice was sharp, resolute. There was no going back now.

Doflamingo’s menacing laugh echoed through the battlefield. “I haven’t seen you in ten years, Law. Show your old boss some respect.” His grin widened, dark and unforgiving. “As for Caesar, you know how valuable he is to me. I need him back.”

“Ohh, Joker, you do care!” Caesar swooned beside me, completely missing the gravity of the situation.

One of the Marines spoke up, eyes shifting between the parties. “Admiral, it appears Law brought in Caesar Clown for a trade-off.”

Fujitora nodded, the weight of his presence almost palpable. “Ah, yes. The scientist responsible for that poison gas. A tricky situation... If he works for one of the Seven Warlords, he might be granted amnesty.” His brow furrowed as he weighed the situation. “This is delicate.”

Doflamingo chuckled, his voice cutting through the air like a knife. “They say you and Ryokugyu are forces to be reckoned with on the battlefield.”

“Sir, you flatter me,” Fujitora responded, calm but wary.

“Cut the crap. I don’t need praises,” Doflamingo spat, growing impatient. His smile twisted into something more sinister. 

“I’m having a little trouble unraveling the situation here, but it seems to me that as a Warlord, you’re doing things that go beyond your authority... like this fellow over here calling you Joker.”

Fujitora’s voice remained steady, though there was a hint of warning beneath it. 

“If you’re really trying to take me down, be ready to dirty your hands. It’ll take a mountain of evidence. Now... what do you plan to do about Law?” 

Doflamingo’s eyes glinted with dangerous intent as he turned his gaze back to me. His laughter stopped, and the battlefield grew even colder in his silence. “If you’re referring to the news about your alliance with the Straw Hats, then yes, he’s guilty.” Fujitora’s voice was calm but firm, the weight of his words unmistakable. “So tell me, Law—is he simply your subordinate, or an ally? The answer will determine whether you both are guilty. If so, that means we’ll arrest you... and the Straw Hats.”

“What kind of excuse is that?!” Caesar shrieked, his voice trembling. “So all he has to do is lie, and he’s scot-free?”

My mind raced. Damn it. My plan had completely fallen apart. The Navy was here, and now I was the target. I glanced around, feeling the weight of every decision. I can’t let the team in Dressrosa get caught up in this. If I lie, it’ll only make things worse. I have to make a stand, here and now.

I took a deep breath and shouted, “It’s true! The Straw Hats aren’t working under me. We’re equals in this alliance!”

“You just have to make things more difficult, don’t you, Law?” Doflamingo’s laugh rang out, filled with cruel amusement. “Well then, it’s settled. You’re guilty. But that won’t be the only thing making headlines tomorrow.”

Fujitora’s face remained unreadable, but the air around him shifted. Suddenly, an immense pressure bore down on us, the ground beneath us trembling. “Consider this your sentence,” Fujitora said calmly as the sky darkened. From above, a massive meteor hurtled toward us.

The Marines scattered in panic, and Caesar scrambled for cover, but I stood my ground. “Room!” I yelled, extending my hand. The space around me warped as I sliced the meteor in half, the debris crashing harmlessly around us. When the dust settled, all three of us stood in our original spots, a deep crack running through the battlefield like a scar.

“Even a blind man couldn’t miss that,” I muttered, still catching my breath.

“Ah, pardon me,” Fujitora said with a calm smile. “Just a small test.”

My heart pounded, but there was no room for hesitation. Fujitora continued, “Now, Law... you’re a criminal, which means I’ll have to arrest you.”

Doflamingo's grin widened as he watched the chaos unfold. “What now, Law? You’re not going to run, are you? You won’t get far in my kingdom.”

I gritted my teeth, my mind scrambling for a solution. I’ve got to think of something—fast.

Sanji POV… 

The streets of Dressrosa were a blur as I raced forward, the pounding of my heart drowning out everything else. Violet was right behind me, her soft footsteps barely audible over the chaos. But even with her so close, my mind was elsewhere—on Y/N. I couldn’t stop picturing her trapped in Doflamingo’s web, and it was driving me crazy. Every second I wasn’t with her felt like a second too long.

With shaky hands, I grabbed my transponder snail and frantically dialed. “Franky,” I called out the moment he picked up, my voice tight with urgency. “Where’s Y/N? Have you seen her?”

Franky’s voice came through, calm but direct. “I’m heading to the flower field.”

I stopped dead in my tracks, confusion mixing with my frustration. “The flower field? Why there of all places?”

Franky’s tone sharpened, clearly not in the mood for my questions. “And where the hell have you been, huh?”

I hesitated, casting a quick glance at Violet, her presence reminding me why I’d been gone. “I was… falling in love,” I admitted, my voice barely a whisper. Violet smiled at me, her eyes filled with a quiet understanding that almost made me forget the urgency of the moment. Almost.

But Franky’s laughter brought me crashing back. “Ah, so you’ve moved on, huh? Guess Y/N’s not on your mind anymore? I’ll be sure to let the others know there's less of a competition now!”

His words hit harder than I expected, and I could feel my chest tighten. Even with Violet by my side, Y/N was still there, lingering in my thoughts. No matter what Franky thought, I hadn’t forgotten about her. I couldn’t. Not with the danger she was in.

“Franky, cut the crap,” I snapped, my voice cold. “We’ve got bigger things to deal with. Just tell me if you’ve seen Y/N.”

“Honestly, I haven’t since we separated,” Franky admitted.

“Crap, we need to find her and fast!” My mind raced with the possibilities of what Doflamingo could be planning. Franky continued, “By the way, I also know where the factory is, but it won’t be easy. There’s a whole thing about it.”

“We’ll be lucky if we even make it out alive,” I muttered under my breath, frustration and urgency mixing together.

“Yeah, I’ve heard about Doflamingo’s plan,” Franky replied. “We walked right into that trap. But just because we’re in deep now doesn’t mean we can’t salvage the operation. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. We can still do some serious damage.”

"Alright," I said, trying to focus, “just meet me at the flower field, and we’ll work things out.”

Franky chuckled, “What the hell is that place? Sounds like something out of a fairy tale!”

I couldn’t help the irritation creeping into my voice. "By the way, I’m worried about Y/N. With Doflamingo’s plan, things are getting worse. And I’m also worried about Nami!”

Franky’s voice softened a bit. “Don’t worry, Y/N’s tough as nails. And so is Nami. They’ll be fine, Sanji. You’ve got to have some faith. We just need to find Y/N before Doflamingo does. As for Nami, she’s got Brook and monster Chopper watching her back.”

I opened my mouth to respond when a commotion broke out around us. A crowd had gathered, watching something on a large screen. I glanced over and froze. “Hey! What’s going on there?” I spotted Luffy on the screen, inside the Coliseum, fighting.

“Franky, why the hell is Luffy fighting?!” I demanded, my frustration spiking again.

“Oh, yeah,” Franky said, as if just remembering. “He’s fighting in some big tournament. I forgot to mention it.”

I groaned, running a hand through my hair. “Why the hell did you leave him alone? You know damn well he can’t be trusted on his own!”

Franky didn’t miss a beat. “Hey, you’re one to talk. You lost Zoro and Y/N!”

I clenched my fists, frustrated, but Franky wasn’t wrong. Violet, standing close to me, tensed. Her eyes darted around as if sensing danger before she spoke. "Blackleg, I have to leave. My men have found me. You and your crew are focused on getting to the factory—here, take this." She quickly handed me a folded piece of paper. “It’s disguised as a toy factory.”

I grabbed the map, my heart pounding. "No, you can’t go! If you’ve helped me this far, there’s no turning back!" I protested, desperation creeping into my voice. The thought of her walking away now—after everything—was unbearable.

“It’s too late for me,” she said quietly, her voice carrying a weight of resignation. “The executives already know I’ve betrayed the family. I’m doomed.”

“Violet, wait!” I reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. “The western gate—meet me there and stay hidden. That’s where our crew’s rendezvous point is. I swear, I’ll get you out. No matter the cost.”

She looked at me, her eyes softening, filled with both care and sorrow. There was something deeper in that gaze, something that made my chest tighten. “Hopeless... you’re just hopeless,” she said with a small laugh, a blush creeping across her cheeks.

My heart raced, my mind split between saving her and focusing on the mission. But just as the tension hung in the air, a familiar voice shattered the moment.

“Pardon me, sir, but please fight! Don’t be hopeless!” It was Kinemon, and he was standing right in front of me, completely oblivious to the mood.

I groaned, my hand dropping from Violet’s shoulder. "Way to kill the mood, Kinemon. When did you even get here?"

Violet was already starting to slip away, her urgency returning. “Violet, wait!” I shouted, but Kinemon stepped in front of me again, blocking my path.

“Fight those men!” Kinemon pointed toward a group of thugs trailing behind him, completely unaware of the delicate situation he was interrupting.

“Really, Kinemon?” I muttered, exasperated. With a swift spin, I kicked the nearest thug square in the face, sending him flying. One by one, the rest followed, collapsing like dominoes. After a few seconds, it was over. I took a drag of my cigarette, feeling the familiar burn in my chest. “They’re just thugs, Kinemon. Why the hell did you need me for this?”

Kinemon straightened, brushing off his robes as if he had just finished an important task. “I was informed that the toy factory is holding my dear friend, Kanjuro,” he said gravely, his face lined with worry.

I raised an eyebrow, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Oh, is that so?"

Kinemon’s eyes widened, desperation creeping into his voice. “Do you know the way?”

I couldn’t help but smirk, pulling out the small piece of paper Violet had handed me earlier. “Sure, you’ve got it,” I said, unfolding the map in front of him

Y/N POV…

"Alright, I think I lost them," I muttered to myself, finally stopping after what felt like hours of running. My heart pounded in my chest as I bent over, placing my hands on my knees to catch my breath. My muscles ached, and I was heaving like I’d just finished a marathon.

"When we get out of this," I breathed heavily, “I’m definitely gonna work on my cardio, because… man, I’m out of shape.” I chuckled to myself between gasps for air. "Then again, I was injured for the most part, so maybe this counts as my workout."

My eyes landed on a bottle of water, abandoned on the side of the street. It was probably someone’s, but I didn’t care. I snatched it up, unscrewed the cap, and gulped down the cold water. “I needed that,” I sighed, wiping my mouth.

Suddenly, a loud voice echoed from the nearby broadcast. "The crowd is going crazy, folks! Lucy is destroying the competition… in pursuit of the Flame-Flame Fruit!"

My heart nearly stopped. "Lucy?" I straightened up, my mind racing. "Flame-Flame Fruit?" My eyes darted to the transponder snail broadcast, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. "But that’s… Ace’s fruit. How did—"

My breath caught as the camera panned to the fighter in the arena. It was Luffy—no, Lucy—fighting like his life depended on it.

"Luffy?!" I whispered, eyes wide with shock. "What the hell is going on?!"

The crowd around me was roaring, cheering for "Lucy." It all made sense now. Luffy was after Ace’s fruit. My stomach twisted with a mix of emotions—relief, worry, and confusion. But more than anything, I knew I had to get to him.

“I gotta get there, and quick,” I murmured under my breath, already gearing up to run again. I glanced to my far left and spotted the massive structure of the Coliseum in the distance.

"I’m close!" I whispered to myself, my legs already moving. The pain in my body didn’t matter now. All that mattered was getting to Luffy before anything went wrong. “Hang on, Luffy, I’m coming!”

With renewed determination, I pushed through the streets of Dressrosa, weaving past the citizens and sprinting toward the Coliseum. My mind raced just as fast as my feet, every step bringing me closer to whatever chaos awaited inside.

Law POV.. 

“Room!” I yelled, slicing through the second meteor Fujitora had just sent crashing down. My heart pounded in my chest, but I kept my focus sharp.

“Strength truly admirable for a warlord,” Fujitora said, his tone calm but unwavering.

Before I could respond, I heard Doflamingo’s chilling voice cut through the air. “Don’t interfere, he’s mine to kill, and mine alone,” he declared, launching a barrage of string bullets. One of them grazed my left cheek, drawing blood.

“Damn it,” I hissed, my mind racing. I couldn’t afford to get bogged down here, not with Y/N still in danger. I leaped away from my position, darting into the dense forest, hoping to gain some distance. But Doflamingo wasn’t far behind, his maniacal laugh echoing through the trees.

“You’re not getting away that easily, Law!” Doflamingo taunted, his strings slicing through the air as he pursued me. “Stop playing me for a fool! All this running around… it’s just to buy yourself some time!”

I gritted my teeth, pushing forward, trying to ignore the growing dread in my gut. I have to keep stalling. There’s no other option.

Doflamingo’s voice cut through my thoughts again, more venomous this time. “I will soon have her, Law. You can’t protect her forever.”

“Y/N...” The sound of her name made my blood run cold, and my eyes widened with fear. I had to keep him occupied. If he got to Y/N—no, I couldn’t let that happen. I had to keep moving, keep stalling. My only hope was to delay him long enough for the others to handle the situation.

But just as I thought I might create some distance, I skidded to a halt. Fujitora now stood in front of me, his immense presence blocking my path. My heart sank. And as I glanced behind me, Doflamingo emerged from the shadows of the forest, cutting off any chance of escape.

“Come on, did you really think I was going to let you have it your way?” Doflamingo sneered, his voice laced with malice.

“Damn it,” I muttered, my mind scrambling for a plan. I was trapped between two titans—Fujitora in front, Doflamingo behind.

Sanji POV… 

Kinemon and I made our way toward the flower field, hoping to meet up with Franky so we could make our next move on the toy factory. My mind, however, was racing with concern for Y/N, who was still unaccounted for.

“Folks, we are down to two competitors for this round!” shouted the announcer over the video transponder snail. Kinemon and I paused for a second, looking at the broadcast. My eyes widened in disbelief.

“Luffy? Sir Luffy is there?!”

I clenched my fists, a mixture of frustration and worry bubbling to the surface. “Can’t he stay out of trouble for once?”

Kinemon, oblivious to my rising temper, waved his sword in the air. “I say we go to the toy house, rescue Kanjuro, and deal with this situation after!”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to rein in my frustration. “I’d love to, but we have two major problems. One, we don’t know where Y/N is, and two, there are Marines everywhere,” I said, gesturing toward the streets swarming with navy personnel. “It looks like they’re trying to surround the Colosseum.”

“To no end,” Kinemon added, tightening his grip on his sword.

I nodded, scanning the area. “It seems like a lot of pirates and criminals entered the tournament. The Marines are just waiting to scoop them up as soon as they step out of the arena.”

“Y/N... where are you?” I muttered under my breath, the anxiety gnawing at me. I couldn’t help but think the worst. Every second that passed without finding her made the knot in my stomach tighten.

“Well, a society can only operate properly if criminals are apprehended,” Kinemon said with a straight face, completely missing the gravity of the situation.

I didn’t hesitate to smack the back of his head. “Do you even realize you’re working with pirates right now? And one of them is standing right here!”

He blinked a few times, rubbing the spot where I hit him. “Ah, yes. My apologies.”

I sighed. “We’ve got to figure out a way to warn Luffy without drawing attention to ourselves. But the entrance to the Colosseum is heavily guarded, and there’s no way around.”

As we scouted the area, my eyes landed on a group of Marines stationed near the gate. Among them stood a towering figure—a Navy Vice Admiral, waiting outside the Colosseum.

 Law POV… 

“Run as much as you like, you’re just delaying the inevitable,” Doflamingo taunted, his voice dripping with malice as he pursued me relentlessly. His confidence was almost maddening, each step echoing with the promise of impending doom.

Fujitora wasn’t far behind either, his presence a looming threat as he prepared another assault. With a sudden motion, Fujitora commanded the ground to rise up and attack, sending debris flying at me. I barely managed to keep my footing, my landing almost causing me to trip.

Desperation clawed at me as I fumbled for my transponder snail, trying to reach Nami. “Come on, come on, pick up!” I pleaded, my voice tinged with urgency.

“Nami, what happened?!” I shouted into the transponder, but there was no response. Panic surged through me as Fujitora launched a third attack, his Meteor technique crashing down towards me. I tried to dodge, but the sheer force of the blast hit me with brutal impact, sending me sprawling.

“No mercy for the wicked,” Doflamingo’s laugh echoed ominously through the chaos. It felt like the world was closing in on me, each second dragging out with unbearable tension. I clutched the transponder snail tightly, desperately hoping for an answer.

The transponder snail continued to ring, each unanswered call heightening my frustration. “What are you waiting for, Nami? You were attacked, weren’t you?!” I shouted into the device, my voice cracking with desperation.

Another meteor descended, its fiery trail lighting up the sky as it hurtled toward me. The explosion was deafening, the shockwave nearly throwing me off balance. I barely managed to dodge the blast, rolling out of the way just in time. My body was heavy with exhaustion, each breath coming in ragged gasps as I tried to stay one step ahead of Fujitora’s relentless attacks and Doflamingo’s mocking taunts.

Y/N POV… 

"Sir, there are no signs of any pirates or criminals in the streets," I heard a Marine's voice echo from nearby as I crouched, hidden in a shadowy back alley. My heart raced as I kept as still as possible.

"Alright, come back to the Colosseum. We may need backup just in case," the voice of a Navy Vice Admiral responded.

I let out a slow breath as the Marines moved away, leaving the streets quieter, at least for now. Finally, I allowed myself to relax enough to make a sound.

"I need to think of a plan," I muttered under my breath. But first, I had to get rid of this disguise Kinemon had put me in. It had helped me stay hidden, but now it was more of a liability. The Marines, along with the men who had been chasing me, were probably out looking for me. I couldn’t afford to stay in one place for too long.

As I was about to stand, someone grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back down. I hit the ground with a loud thud.

"And just where do you think you're going?" one of the men sneered, his laughter making my skin crawl. “The boss is going to be pleased about this.” said the other man.

Crap. They found me.

I clenched my right hand, preparing to throw a punch and send them flying, but before I could strike, a familiar figure appeared, already handling the situation.

"Now, now, why don’t we let the girl leave?" a smooth, calm voice spoke. "Besides, you're not going to lay a single hand on her."

In swift, precise movements, Sabo took out all three men with ease, knocking them down one by one until they were left sprawled out on the ground, unconscious or close to it. He hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“Sabo?” I whispered, relief flooding through me as I stood and walked toward him, my heart pounding for a different reason now. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around him in a grateful hug. "You always know how to show up just in time."

He chuckled softly, his hand resting on my back. “What can I say? I like being there when a beautiful woman needs rescuing.”

I pulled back slightly, smirking up at him. "Oh? So you’ve made it a habit of saving me, huh?"

He gave me that familiar cocky grin, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Well, what can I say? It's one of my favorite pastimes. Besides, you seem to find yourself in these situations often. Lucky for you, I don’t mind being your knight in shining armor."

I rolled my eyes playfully, but I couldn’t hide the smile tugging at my lips. “If you keep this up, I might start to think you’re following me around on purpose.”

Sabo leaned in slightly, his voice lowering, teasing. "Maybe I am. You make it worth the chase, after all." 

I was about to close the gap between us, the tension thick with unspoken words, when a groan interrupted the moment.

“Ugh... what happened…” one of the thugs muttered as he slowly regained consciousness.

Sabo sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes. “Way to kill the mood,” he muttered under his breath. I smirked, crouching down to meet the thug's groggy gaze, grabbing him by the collar.

"Hello there," I said sweetly, my voice carrying a dangerous undertone. "You and I are going to have a little chat," I added, tightening my grip slightly as the thug’s face drained of color.

Minutes later, Sabo had tied up the last of the thugs while I took the opportunity to change into one of the outfits I “borrowed” from one of the sellers here in Dressrosa—an off-the-shoulder white mesh cami and a black mini skirt. When I stepped back, I caught Sabo looking at me, his gaze trailing slowly from my feet to my face. He let out a low whistle, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Well, well, well,” he said, grinning as his gaze lingered a bit too long. “You’ve certainly outdone yourself, haven’t you?”

I felt a blush creeping up my neck but tried to stay composed. “Oh, this thing?” I said with a mischievous smile. “Just something I borrowed from a seller. Figured I’d spice things up a bit.”

Sabo’s eyes sparkled with amusement and admiration. “Borrowed, huh? Seems like you’re making quite the impression. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to concentrate with you looking like that.”

I stepped closer, crossing my arms with a playful smirk. “Distracted, are we? I thought you were the one who was always so focused.”

Sabo chuckled, his gaze lingering appreciatively. “Focused, yes. But you’ve definitely raised the stakes. It’s hard to keep my attention when you’re dressed like that.”

I leaned in slightly, my voice dropping to a teasing whisper. “Careful, Sabo. You might just get a little too distracted if you’re not careful.”

Sabo’s grin widened, and he leaned in, his lips brushing near my ear. “Oh, I’m definitely up for the challenge. But you should know, being this close to you is making it a lot harder to stay focused.” 

I playfully pushed Sabo away and made my way to the thug, grabbing him by the collar. “Now, why were you chasing me? Who sent you?” I demanded, my voice firm.

Sabo, arms crossed and grinning, watched with amusement. The thug sneered at me, trying to muster some bravado. “Bite me!” he spat, attempting to land a headbutt. I dodged effortlessly and released him, Clenching my right hand and connecting it with my left palm letting my hand spark with electricity.

“Now, are you ready to talk? Or are we going to do this the hard way?” I said with a smirk, electricity crackling between my fingers.

Sabo whistled appreciatively, “Yeah, you don’t know what you signed up for. You really don’t want to get caught in that.”

As my hand drew closer, the thug’s bravado faltered. He squirmed, his face paling. “Okay, okay! I’ll talk!” he pleaded, trying to back away.

“Start talking,” I said, my voice laced with barely contained rage.

“We were sent by Joker to capture you and bring you to him,” he stammered, trembling.

“Joker, huh?” I muttered. “Well, looks like you’re going to have to make a call to Joker then.”

“I refuse!” he said defiantly, though his voice wavered.

“Well, I tried doing this nicely.” I grabbed him with my left hand, lifting him up, and connected my right hand, electricity flowing through my left arm. “Now, Bolt,” I said, as the electricity surged through him.

The thug convulsed under the shock, his whimpers echoing as I let the current flow. After a few agonizing seconds, I dropped him to the ground, his body twitching as he lay there, groaning.

“Now let’s try that again,” I said, smirking, as I readied myself for his response.

Laws Pov.. 

I kept running, my breath heavy, my mind racing. Doflamingo was closing in fast. I glanced over my shoulder, just as he appeared in front of me, blocking my path with that twisted smile.

“Well, how about that? Nowhere else for you to run, Law,” Doflamingo taunted, his voice dripping with amusement as he started walking slowly toward me.

Before I could react, Caesar’s voice cut through the tension. “Joker, wait!” Caesar shouted, waving his hands frantically. “Kill him if you want, but there’s something important I need you to do first! And don’t forget about the Princess!”

Doflamingo’s attention flicked toward Caesar, and I used the brief distraction to gather my strength. My mind was spinning, and in that moment, I couldn’t help but think of Y/N. Wherever you are... I hope you’re safe and far away from all this.

Caesar’s whining continued. “That bastard ripped my heart out and stole it from me! I shudder just thinking about what he’ll do next!” he said, his voice trembling with fear.

I can’t stop here. I won’t let him win!

“Room!” I shouted, raising my hand. “Shambles!” The world around me shifted as I teleported away from Doflamingo, creating enough distance to continue my escape.

As I reappeared farther away, my body aching, I kept running, not daring to slow down. I just need to stall. Keep him away long enough... Y/N, stay safe. I’ll deal with him. Somehow.

I fumbled with the transponder snail, my heart pounding as I called Nami’s line again. Instead, Chopper answered, sounding frantic. “Hello! Who is this?! Whoever you are, we need your help!”

“Listen, Raccoon, I don’t care what your situation is!” I barked, still sprinting and narrowly avoiding another barrage of Doflamingo’s strings. “Take the ship and head to Greenbit, now! I’m leaving Caesar with you! No time to explain—just do it!” I cut the call before he could protest.

I could hear Doflamingo's mocking laughter echoing closer. Just as I glanced back, pain tore through my side—a "bullet string" hit me dead on. I crashed to the ground, gasping for air, my vision swimming.

“This is the end of the line, Law,” Doflamingo sneered as he loomed over me, his voice a twisted blend of arrogance and sadistic joy. “Who did you end up calling? Was it the princess?”

His cruel laughter sent chills down my spine as I struggled to push myself off the ground. Every breath felt like knives in my lungs, but I forced myself to glare up at him.

“I set a trap for your partner,” Doflamingo continued, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “I knew he wouldn’t resist the prize in that gladiator contest. Strawhat doesn’t stand a chance!” He laughed again, like a predator toying with his prey.

I clenched my fists, trying to ignore the searing pain. My mind flashed to Luffy, Y/N, and the rest of the crew. I couldn't let Doflamingo win.

“So, are you ready to give up, Law?” he asked, his voice dripping with false sympathy.

.

.

.

.

.

[babybluebex]

Billy Knight craves your touch so much that it physically hurts, but he's too scared and insecure to initiate. (Please think of 14k and give Billy/this blurb a happy ending? ILY, congrats on 13k!)

UNLUCKY 13 ANGST NIGHT ugh YES billy my beloved boy cw brief mention of childhood abuse

He's always been told that it's rude. That asking for something like affection was bad, that it showed that you were ungrateful for what you had. Growing up, Billy never had affection, but he learned that asking for it only led to trouble. So he never did. He shut down those feelings and locked them up and threw away the key. He was a grown man; he didn't need paltry things like hugs.

And then he met you, and the need for affection grew. He loved you— God, he loved you— but affection was a tricky thing. He wanted to love you like any other man would love you, but he wasn't able to just hug you or kiss you. He always needed to justify it, and he never could come up with a viable reason why he needed to be affectionate with you. So, he never did, but it was starting to weigh on him.

You looked beautiful as you stood at the kitchen counter, doing nothing especially remarkable. You were cutting vegetables for dinner, and Billy stood at the doorway as he watched you do your work. He likes watching you be all domestic, and the urge to hug you came back. But he couldn’t possibly act on that, as badly as he wanted to. It hurt him inside his chest with the urge, and he suddenly cleared his throat.

“Darling?” he asked, and you turned to look at him, pausing your chopping. “Could you, erm, come here? For a moment?”

You put down the knife and advanced towards Billy, taking his hand in yours once you reached him. His hands were so big and you loved them, and you pressed a kiss to his palm. “Is something wrong?” you asked, and Billy swallowed thickly.

Slowly, his arms stretched outwards and he enveloped you, and you gasped. Billy wasn’t very affectionate with you, for reasons you weren’t quite sure of but knew probably stemmed from a bad childhood, and every bit of affection was welcome and surprising. Your arms flew around his neck quickly and you held him close, and Billy sighed as he nestled his face into your neck. "I love you," he whispers. "M'sorry I don't show it often enough, but please believe me that I love you."

"I love you too, Billy," you whispered. "It's okay, baby, everyone shows affection differently."

"But I want to show you affection the regular way," Billy said. "Hug you and kiss you, do everything I want, but I... I just can't. But believe me, I wish I could."

"I believe you," you whispered. "Maybe we can take baby steps... And this is a big first step."

"I love you so much," Billy whispered quickly, and you squeezed him tightly. "Thank you for not leaving me."

"I don't want to leave you," you told him. "I'd never want to leave you. We can work on this together, but please know I'm proud of you for hugging me."

"Thanks," Billy mumbled. "I just... When I was little, if I asked for a hug or a cuddle, my dad would hit me. I learned that wanting affection was bad, so I learned to never ask. But I guess I need to unlearn that."

"And I'll be here for all of that," you told him. You rubbed his back and stepped away for a moment, and you leaned back and kissed his soft lips for a moment. "I'll always be here."

[lilyinavalley]

Tropical promise 🪷

Sylus x reader Fiction for the Misty Invasion fan art contest 4,248 words

Ao3

CHAPTER I

A call, a message, a letter, also a gift, Sylus used a lot of ways to lure me, usually it was for an auction, sometimes he needed a partner to rely on in tricky “deals”, or maybe, he just wanted to spend some time with me in places thousands of kilometers far from the city.

It was almost the end of summer when I finally managed to get two weeks off, being a hunter was a really fulfilling job, but as a lowly human being I really needed a pause, and also a change of air, so as soon as I decided the destination, I booked everything in advance.

When the last day of work ended I said hello to my fellow hunter colleagues and I sprinted home, excitement was literally expanding from my body, like an aura of some sort. As soon as I crossed the threshold of the house I rushed to the bedroom, opened my wardrobe and started to pull out suitable clothes for the trip. With a sundress in hand I was looking at myself in the mirror when I heard the doorbell ring.  

I wasn’t expecting anyone nor did I order anything, so I had no idea of who it could have been… or maybe I did…

I laid the dress on the bed and jogged until I was in front of the door; I asked who it was but I didn’t receive any answer, so I tried to look through the door peephole and I could only see the empty hallway and my neighbor’s closed door.

“What the hell is going on now?” I whispered in an annoyed tone.

Too curious to leave, I cautiously opened the door, only to find a long black package with a red ribbon laying on the mat, some nail scratches on the top…

“Those really look like something a certain crow would leave, is he a courier now? Hah” I sneered.

With no more hesitation I took the package and put it on the coffee table of the living room, I untied the bow, opened the lid and then I saw “... a machete?”.

The large knife blade was immaculate, shiny and sharpened to perfection, the black sturdy handle was carved with golden sinuous lines, they reminded me of climbing ivy, little rubies adorning it like flowers. As for the material, I really had no idea, I liked weapons, but I wasn’t that passionate about it.

Without wasting any more time I called the real weapon freak.

After only two rings a familiar deep voice came out of my phone.

“Good evening sweetie, I was anxiously waiting for your call”

“Yeah, of course… So Sylus, what is the meaning behind this extremely well crafted and fancy piece of knife?”

“Why do you always think I have ulterior motives? Maybe it’s just a gift, it’s not the first time I gifted you a weapon”; after a short pause he continued.

“You are not wrong this time though… Are you sure you checked all the contents of the box?”.

I furrowed my brows and immediately removed the velvet support of the machete from the box; laying on the bottom there was a handwritten sheet of paper, it just said:

<< 7.30 - Linkon city’s international airport → Manaus international airport

10 days trip - tropical weather, bring suitable clothing

I will think of the rest, we will also use our private jet

-Sylus >>

After reading that a long silence descended, the expression on my face was unreadable.

“Sylus”

“You don’t sound enthusiastic at all, is there something wrong?”. It was almost unperceivable, but you could see a hint of doubt in his words.

“I was literally packing for the trip I planned weeks ago, I have the plane tomorrow morning and I have paid everything else in advance!”

“Oh I see, it’s not a problem, I’ll refund you, give me the accommodation contacts and I’ll take care of everything…” I interrupted him immediately.

“Wait wait wait, hold your tongue, I didn’t say I was okay with this, did I? I was waiting to go and relax on the beach since summer started, you know, laying on a beach lounger with a cocktail in hand, sunbathing, swimming a bit, taking a walk on the shore when it’s not too hot… those kind of things”

“It sounds extremely boring, did you really want to spend two weeks living like a granny?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I need right now”

Sylus continued with a softer voice.

“Did you not enjoy our last outings? In ten days we can do a lot of things, the little gift I gave you will be used, of course, but I don’t want to spoil anything. The choice is yours sweetie, either way I’ll be waiting for you, you already know where to find me.” And the call ended.

I remained still for a minute.

“Who do I want to deceive, there wasn’t a day when I didn’t enjoy my time with you”.

I sighed.

“I guess I’ll have to make some calls” I finally said with a soft smile and a resigned expression.

After changing some of the clothing I already packed, I had dinner and went to sleep.

The day after, I woke up early and went to the airport with a taxi, as soon as I got out of the vehicle I saw currents of people going in and out of the building, in the middle of them there were lovers and families reuniting, it was a literal chaos, it resembled a raging river whose billows crushed against the rock surfacing from the bottom. A messy entangle of feelings.

Suitcase in hand, I went through the crowd, their emotions reached the person they longed to, mine were still in the middle of their search, eyes looking everywhere for him, heart too.

But it didn’t take long, maybe his feelings were searching for me too; in all his imposing height, he was leaning against a pillar, arms crossed, his silver hair adorning his sharp features, crimson eyes scanning the crowd. The people that were passing by couldn’t help but feel intimidated, even if he wasn’t doing anything in particular, his presence emptied the area around him; if the entrance was an impetuous river, the crowd just inside the airport could be described as a compact school of fish that swam madly in a circle, them staying on the circumference and a shark in the center.

As I looked at him in the distance I tried to guess what was going on in his head, what he felt by being avoided like this, was he lonely, pained even?

Suddenly I felt my chest aching, it was like a needle slowly penetrating the tissues of my beating organ; following this new sensation, my hand reached the skin right above my heart, and it vibrated with the rhythm of its pulsations.

I sped up my pace, gaze locked on his stony face, I got closer and closer and the moment he saw me I could see the sudden change of his expression. It happened so fast that if I wasn’t staring at him so intently I would’ve missed it. The pupils of his eyes expanded, eating the red sea in which they were immersed, his eyelids softened and his lips that were previously pouting, raised and opened a little, giving a glimpse of his smile, but nothing more.

When I was just one step away from him, he moved from the pillar and stood completely straight.

With his new height I inclined my head a little higher.

“Were you so sure I would have come?”

He curved his back so that our eyes were on the same level, with his palm facing upwards he gently lifted my hand toward his lips and gave my fingers a single feather light kiss.

“I wasn’t… Sometimes the outcome overweights the risks”

Sylus said while never leaving nor my hand nor my bewitched gaze.

Escaping the trance I suddenly found myself in, I regained possession of my hand and swiftly moved my fingers that were previously embraced by his to his ear, my index finger traced its outline from the helix, then descended slowly to the lobule. Never leaving his crimson eyes I got close to his face, lips barely touching his cheek, hot steady breath tickling his skin; getting even closer, I whispered to his ear.

“Say the truth, you just can’t be without me anymore, can’t you?”

A light scoff reached one of my eardrums.

“Your presence here tells me you are in the same situation though”

My lips curved in a complacent smile and so did his.

He lifted a strand of my hair and gave it a final kiss. After that the tension was broken and our little bubble popped. He stood up.

“Follow me”.

He led me to the by then already familiar jet and we departed.

Machete kept on the bottom of my suitcase, fortunately we didn’t have to pass through the security…

CHAPTER II

The flight seemed to be endless, but I really couldn’t complain at all. In the jet we were the only passengers present, excluding the pilot and the two hostesses that attended to our every caprice.

When we arrived it was already evening, the sky was strangely clear, stars so bright they looked like diamonds; my eyes were inevitably attracted by the pure beauty of its immensity.

Apparently I stayed in a daze a little too long, because Sylus flicked me on my forehead.

“Are you planning to turn into a statue?” he said with his usual ironic tone.

Maybe because of tiredness, or maybe because I was distracted by the night sky, I spoke with sincerity.

“We are nothing but tiny spots in the immensity of the universe, it’s quite terrifying isn’t it?”

Sylus remained strangely quiet, so I continued.

“Even if it’s so scary and mysterious I can’t help but feel this attraction, I wonder why? Is it the charm of the unknown?”

After I asked the last question I moved my gaze towards Sylus and I stared intently in his crimson orbs.

His expression was very peculiar, almost indecipherable, I could distinguish only a tiny shadow of sorrow; but it lasted only for a moment, a sprout of weakness nipped in the bud.

He immediately returned to his usual demeanor.

“I don’t think it’s terrifying, it just makes you understand how little and powerless you are when you are faced by fate”

Without giving me the time to answer, he took my hand and started to walk towards a luxurious car that was parked close to the jet.

“Let’s go sweetie, or you won’t get enough rest for tomorrow”

So I got into the passenger seat and Sylus started the engine, not after long, the exhaustion and the sleepiness took over and I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up the morning after in an unfamiliar room, loud noises coming from the open window, a gentle breeze that moved the curtains reached my now well rested body, as my brain started to slowly gain its self awareness, I got up from the bed I was resting on and reached the source of the gentle morning wind.

With the hands on the window ledge I leaned a bit outside.

Right under my room there was a street bustling with life, children playing football on the corner, stalls that sold all kinds of things, from fruit to strange handicrafts, on the sides of the road I could also see many street performers, some played odd shaped guitars, others were doing magic tricks and so on. The festive atmosphere and the happiness coming from the people below enveloped my heart, finally I really felt on holiday.

The sound of a door opening startled me from that joyous bliss, I turned around and found no other than my travel companion, with sunglasses, a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts on. It was an unusual sight to behold, as he usually wore those dark and imposing clothes, kindred to the role he held in the infamous N109 zone.

With just three strides he was already in front of me.

“Good morning kitten, did you sleep well?”

With the back of his index finger he traced the outline of my face.

“Yes I did, thank you for taking me here, I blacked out as soon as I got into the car”

“No problem, get ready, today’s going to be a busy day… Oh also, bring along my little gift”

And he got out as fast as he entered.

By then I was already fully awake so I got ready really fast. After going to the bathroom and getting dressed, I packed my adventure backpack and secured in the “little gift” Sylus gave me. Fully ready I got out of the room and I found him already waiting for me.

“Took you long enough sweetie, let’s go eat something in the stalls nearby, otherwise you’re not gonna make it with an empty belly”

He said while gently pinching my tummy.

“Yeah yeah let’s go then” and I rushed out of the hotel.

All kinds of exotic smells reached my nostrils, sweet, salty, spicy even, the warmth of the sun embraced my figure, but I didn’t really know where to go; suddenly I felt something on my head, apparently Sylus put on me a white straw hat.

“Take my hand or the crowd will separate us”

So I put one hand in his and the other held the hat steady on my head, scared of losing it in the general chaos.

His large body strode forward, the only thing I could see was his broad back. Thanks to him paving the path in front of us, we arrived at the food stall in no time.

The booth had all kinds of sweets in display, cakes, biscuits and also what appeared to be muffins. Sylus exchanged some words with the smiling middle aged seller, then she put two pieces of everything in a small tray and gave it to him while waving goodbye.

“Aren’t you gonna pay for it?”

“She’s an acquaintance, I helped her with something a long time ago. She really wanted to exchange the favor, even if she didn’t need to”.

“You have connections all around the world huh”

He took a little square shaped cake and brought it to my mouth.

“Try it”

I took a bite and a delicate coconut flavor imbued my mouth. 

“It’s amazing, give me something else”

Sylus looked at me tenderly and gave me the entire tray, we sat on a bench nearby and together we finished all the food.

With the belly finally full I leaned on the backrest, the man next to me had his legs crossed and was looking at me intently with a sly smile.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“Yes, actually you have a bit of sugar powder on your cheek”

Without giving me time to wipe it off, he removed the stain with his thumb, and then licked his finger clean while looking me in the eyes.

“That was smooth Sylus” With an almost invisible red tinge on my cheeks and a playful smile I looked away.

He laughed a little and I jumped up with energy.

“Soo, where are you taking me today?”

“We are going on a little adventure in the rainforest, are you up with it?”

“Well…” I put on a thoughtful expression “It would be a first for me. Is it going to be just the two of us? Don’t we need a guide?”

“I’m the only guide we need sweetie, trust me”

He stood up, put on his fancy sunglasses and started walking towards a narrow road that led off the main street, I followed him straight behind.

At the end of the dark alley there was a bright and spacious parking lot, it was really full, probably because of the high number of tourists of the period. Families and groups of friends were taking their luggage out of their cars, some kids were crying because they couldn’t wait to play in the resorts, others were silently waiting for their parents to finish. In the midst of all that, there was us.

“There are a lot of families here”

I said while taking his hand, a bit surprised by my initiative Sylus was startled for a second. He knew all about my childhood, his though, was still a mystery, the only thing I knew was that he didn’t have a good one either. Whenever I inquired about his past, a dark veil would descend on his expression, and most of the time, in the end, I wouldn’t get anything relevant out of him. 

He squeezed my hand in return.

“Yes, there’s the summer break in schools” 

A faint sense of anguish started to hover around my heart, not too strong, but also not weak enough to not reach my eyes. They say the eyes are the mirror of the soul, and that must be true, because as soon as that gloomy feeling occupied my mind he patted my head.

“Don’t worry, our future little ones won’t suffer the same fate as us”.

And every negative feeling faded away.

“What are you talking about!” I gave his arm a little nudge and laughed the tension away.

“Here we are, this is what will accompany us on our little adventure”

In front of me a brand new black cross-country vehicle, and also a proud man leaning on its hood.

I raised my eyebrows and took off my backpack to put it in the backseats.

“Let’s not waste any more time then”.

CHAPTER III

The road to the rainforest wasn’t long nor boring.

When we departed Sylus turned on the radio and we did a bit of karaoke together, so his singing alone made the trip hilarious.

After just 15 minutes every human trace disappeared from the scenery, only tropical plants and trees on the view. From the rolled down car window the wind ruffled my hair and the air that filled my lungs was cleaner than ever, the remoteness of the city could already be felt.

Not too long after, we reached our destination, Sylus parked the car in a plain grassy area and we hopped off the vehicle.

“Are we just going in?” I said while looking at the block of leaves in front of us.

“Yes, but we’re here for a reason, around this area there’s a place I want to show you”.

After saying this he swiftly removed the machete in my backpack and walked towards the tropical plants leaves.

“Wait a second!” I stopped his swing by holding his shirt. “Should I be particularly careful about certain dangerous animals? Like snakes, felines …” I got interrupted immediately.

“You are a hunter sweetie, and I have a pretty useful long distance Evol… are you maybe  scared?” He said while sneering.

“You know what, nevermind, you’re right, let’s go”

So the man before me cleared the area in front of us with rapid machete swings, and in no time we were immersed in the rainforest.

We could hear animal sound coming from afar, and every now and then we could hear the rustling of leaves of the vegetation near us, probably little mammals or amphibians were the cause; even so, all this disturbances didn’t make Sylus hesitate for a second, he was really focused on finding the way to the place he wanted to take me. 

While going on and on the environment started to become more and more wild, the humidity seemed to rise at every step and sweat covered every inch of my body.

“Hey, how long until we arrive? You didn’t stop for a second and I’m all sweaty here”

The man stopped his movements and turned around. His face was also covered in salty droplets and his silvery strands were stuck to his forehead.

“You stopped me on time, the destination is right behind this wall of lianas, I’ll give you the honor”

And he gave me the machete.

Curiosity took the better of me and with some swings I quickly opened the path ahead.

What appeared before my eyes was in complete opposition to the landscape seen until that moment, there was a large circular body of water, a little waterfall on the far end and colorful parrots flying.

Utter awe was displayed on my face.

“How did you find this place?”

“A man has its secrets… and another pair of eyes”

Mephisto cawed from the sky and descended on Sylus’ shoulder.

After giving him a little scratch on the head, the black mechanical bird flew on one of the tree branches where the parrots were resting, the tropical animals were weirded out by him, but instead of flying away, they stayed to study him.

While I was distracted looking at the birds I heard a rustling noise extremely close to me, so I turned around and I found Sylus with only his underwear on.

“Sylus, what the hell are you doing?” I screamed, I was shocked by the sudden view.

“I’m going for a swim, I’m too sweaty and hot, strip off and come with me”

“Are you serious? Isn’t it extremely dangerous, there might be alligators on the bottom!”

I said while being genuinely worried about the possible dangers lurking in the water.

“Don’t worry, there is no longer a single harmful thing in this pond, I wiped it clean”

So I looked intently at the surface of the water, and only then I noticed the thin black fog hovering over the entire area.

“Oh, I see”

Without waiting for me the man had already soaked his legs, the water reached his knees.

“Okay, okay I’m coming, wait for me!”

I quickly removed my clothes and I remained in my underwear too. I slowly dipped my feet in the crystal clear water. Sylus said the truth, no living being could be seen, nor on the surface nor on the bottom, only rocks and algae tickled my feet soles.

Seeing the man with his back facing me a few steps ahead, suddenly gave rise to a naughty urge within my body; so after taking a little jog to give the push, I jumped on top of Sylus.

The surprise attack succeeded, and together we fell completely into the deep water.

Air bubbles and distorted colors took over my view; after the bubbles disappeared on the surface I could clearly see Sylus pouty expression in front of my face, happy to have pulled a prank on him I started to smile. Probably softened by my expression he got closer and pulled me in his arms, my hands squeezed his shoulders for stability.

And in this position we floated to the surface. 

Water dripped down from our hair to our shoulders and it returned where it belonged to. 

Our chests were glued to each other, we were at the same level, the Archimedes’ principle helping the cause.

Sylus’ hand slowly moved from my back to my under tight, leaving goosebumps all over the path they traced.

Our hearts were beating together, with every second that passed the pulses increased in frequency in a beautiful crescendo.

And at last, our eyes interlocked, his fiery rubies were burning, his flame bore into my orbs and burned every inch of my soul.

I moved one hand from his shoulder to his cheek and with my thumb I caressed his cheekbone with circular movements.

The affectionate nature of this gesture made his passion subside, now only vulnerability and tenderness transpired from his eyes.

“Sylus, I want to tell you something, but please, don’t say anything until I’m finished”

I said resolutely while still caressing him gently.

He looked at me and gave me a look of tacit consent.

“I don’t know anything about your past, but I just wanted you to know this”

The vision I had when I retrieved the aether core still vivid in my head, pain and sufferance plunged my heart, there was so much blood that I couldn’t even distinguish where the ground started; in front of me a creature similar to a demon, a sword stuck in its chest, the handle in my hand and an inhuman one holding mine in place.

“It doesn’t matter what happened in the past, the causes of the scars that lie invisible on your body…” I traced the line that divided his pectorals with the hand that was still resting on his shoulder “and what you really are”.

“Even if you say that in the past you were a monster scarier than a wanderer, I accept you. My heart always seeks yours, and I decided to trust it”. 

“Even if fate is against you?” Sylus said in a melancholic tone.

“Even if fate is against me”

The passion in his eyes reignited its flame, but this time instead of being burnt I decided to match his heat, so I took the initiative.

I captured his lips in a sweet but steady kiss, I didn’t want him to take the upper hand, not this time. This exchange was my seal to our promise. And Sylus accepted it with vigor.

The shadow of our intertwined limbs was trembling in the uneven surface of the body of water, but remained whole nonetheless. 

A lot was still unsaid between us, but for the first time, in that little paradise far from everybody, our hearts finally found each other.

End

[sneakingsuspicionbooks]

Finished my Player Piano rebind, which is also my first completed binding project! There are several imperfections, and I came *this close* to casing in upside down despite marking front and back on the paste down, but I'm pretty happy with it for an inaugural bind.

Some details:

Cover design made with public domain icon art from The Noun Project, edited in Photoshop and Canva, printed on Cricut HTV with my Silhouette Cameo 4

Bookboard is precut davey board from Colophon Book Arts Supply

Bookcloth is linen Brillianta in lime

Endpages are Astrobrights cardstock in Plasma Pink

I used rebind tutorial videos by Abound Bindery as my guide

Some reflections:

I'm really glad I decide to do some rebinds to practice casing in before attempting to bind any self-made text blocks. My first attempt to glue board to bookcloth went poorly, but it gave me a sense of how much PVA to use as well as how fast I had to brush it out to prevent it from soaking into the board or drying in place, which resulted in a distinct impression of where I'd initially put the glue down through the cloth. I may switch to using a container I can dip the brush in to prevent that, and keep the squeeze bottle for narrow spots

I'm really glad I used silicone 'brushes'. Being able to rub the glue off after each use ensured it would be clean and dry for the next use and gave me a nice even distribution I don't think I could have gotten otherwise with my tremor

Making straight lines, whether with a knife or glue, is really tricky when you have a tremor lol

The extra expense of buying precut board was so so worth it, especially with my hand issues, and doubly so with my vision/vertigo issues that make it impossible for me to eyeball anything close to straight lines. When I do my next project I may splurge on custom size cutting to save me the frustration and pain even just trimming the boards caused.

I tried out cutting bookcloth with both my olfa knife and my rolling blade, and using the roller makes a real difference as it keeps any of the individual threads from pulling

Cork-backed metal rulers were so essential for any kind of cutting, but not being able to have the ruler flat against the material and mat did make it a little harder to get straight lines

Using a mechanical pencil vs a regular one also matters

I'm apparently one of those people who enjoy weeding HTV. So satisfying.

Also, those little silicone weeding scrap collector rings are much more helpful than you'd think. I used this one.

Doing any of this when you have a cat that wants to get into everything you do is a challenge of its own

I'm now working on the second of the three Vonnegut novel rebinds I set out to do, and it's going much faster than the first now that I've got a sense of what to expect and what does and doesn't work.

[dumskullexpress]

I don’t usually make these but uhhh

🍾🥤💥Madness Combat: Restaurant Etiquette Edition🔥🍔🍖

From order of best to worst.

AUDITOR

Physically incapable of leaving a mess

Orders most expensive meal available

Knows how to use a fork and knife

Wears a bib and a puts a napkin on their lap

Offers critique to the chef directly

Invests in the local business

Pays in full

Leaves a $100 tip

JEBUS

Orders something small but modest

Keeps cutlery neat and tidy on the table

Cleans up after himself

Compliments the chef, waiters, and dishwashers

Pays in full

Leaves a generous tip

SANFORD

Orders the spiciest option available

Chats up the waiter

Tries not to leave too much of a mess

Stacks the dirty plates

Has desert

Pays in full

Might leave a tip

DOC

Orders whatever looks good

On his phone most of the time

Not really involved with the restaurant staff

Wipes crumbs onto the floor

Pays in full

Doesn’t tip

DEIMOS

Orders the weirdest or grossest food on the menu

Stabs everything with a fork, spoons are for pussies

Chews with his mouth open

Smokes in the restaurant despite no-smoking signs

Trash EVERYWHERE

Didn’t bring his wallet

Pays in pennies, or forgets to pay entirely

Forgets to tip

TRICKY

Gets junk food

Uses his hands, completely ignoring the utensils

Screams at the staff

Staff is too terrified to oppose him

50/50 chance pays in Chuck-E-Cheese tokens or sets the restaurant on fire.

Murders a customer on the way out

Leaves a tip

and last but not least...

HANK

Doesn’t order, just grabs a random customer’s meal and swallows it whole

Doesn’t chew

Drinks directly from the soda dispenser

Smashes kid’s birthday cake

Shoots the waiter when asked to leave

Uses a hostage as a meat shield when law enforcement arrives

Throws a grenade into the kitchen

Massacre

Steals money from the register

Leaves

Doesn’t tip

Honorable mentions:

MAG Agent Torture

Accidentally squishes the waiter when ordering

Too big to fit inside

Has to order 20 different meals

Agency pays for damages

Church and Jorge

Orders biggest thing on the menu

“I’ll have what he’s having.”

Has a food fight

Leaves without paying

Phobos

Smites the waiter for addressing him as “sir” and not “god-emperor”

Won’t eat food that doesn’t meet his standards

Expects the entire restaurant (including customers) to kowtow before him

“What do you mean the meal isn’t free?! I demand to see this ‘MANAGER’ of yours.”

Gestalt

He fucking eats you

So yeah! Those are my silly restaurant hcs! :D

[gorbalsvampire]

𝖃𝕴𝕴𝕴 𝕿𝖆𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝕱𝖊𝖚𝖉𝖆𝖑 𝕭𝖔𝖍𝖊𝖒𝖎𝖆

𝔄𝔠𝔱 ℑℑ, 𝔰𝔠𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔰 𝔳 𝔢𝔱 𝔳𝔦

Our story arrives at the traditional two-part end-of-season finale-type wham episode. It wasn't planned this way, but it turned out I'd overplanned slightly and there was a knot of "I know what you need to know but I can't tell you what to ask for" we needed to pick our way past to resolve things and we were all too sleepy, so we split this session right down the middle and it was the correct decision to make. Oh lord, was it ever the correct decision to make.

This is gonna run long. Put a brew on. Make one for me while you're in there - Earl Grey, oat milk, no sugar. Big mug. No, the big mug - there you go. Perfect.

We begin in the monastery of St. Lawrence, on Petrin Hill, where Brother Marsillius is tending to the wounded knight and also sipping from his dressings because the Lord helps those who help themselves. Said knight has regained consciousness, and introduces himself as Christof, a second son on his way to join the muster of the Sword Brethren for crusade into pagan Livonia.

Alas, he was waylaid in the woods outside Prague: some demon, with great paws and a scaled hide and baleful red eyes, set upon him and gouged him without mercy. Marsillius recognised this as a vodnik - a water creature that comes in many forms and does not usually attack travellers without provocation. Christof confessed he might have swung first, but - he is here to fight the enemies of the Lord, is he not?

Christof thanked him for his ministrations and asked if, perhaps, now that he could walk again, there was some small duty he could do? Even if not the sword, some work to which he might put his idle hands?

Marsillius also saw an opportunity, or perhaps experienced a craving. Seeking permission from his sire, he produced a potion of sorts - a muddle of herbs and vitae that would, he swore, aid noble Christof in his recovery. In return, said Garinol, Christof was to visit the Cathedral of St. Vitus and transcribe the inscription from a reliquary that Garinol could not bear to handle.

Marsillius and Christof experienced a very godly and heterosexual moment. That's what the notes say.

We needed a brief moment of OOC time here, to re-establish exactly why everyone was going to Vysehrad. It helps to keep everyone aware of all the threads and stakes going into a resolution, and also to refresh the memory of decisions made weeks ago in real time.

To summarise: Marsillius' premonition suggested he should go to the mountain and Alzbeta was going too, to pray with him. Theodericus was worried about his friends, and Libussa, and Shaagra. Mariam needed to prove there was nothing evil in the ghetto, and to confirm her Compulsion-induced belief that All This Shit Was Connected, and also her cat was up that mountain somewhere.

As Mariam and Marsillius had an awkward conversation - she can't read him at all, but no doctrine on either of their parts says they can't be friends. This was the first time, I think, that she'd admitted these people were her friends. She wanted to make right what she'd done to Katya, or caused to be done - nobody deserves to live forever as a tongueless, silent possession. Alzbeta arrived, and then Theodericus, and gosh, when he walks up with his travelling cloak and his chainmail, his long sword and his short sword and his eating knife with their lion's head pommels, suddenly it's possible to take him seriously. The age of chivalry is almost upon us, and the stories are already starting to be told; Mariam was genuinely awed by the sight of this actual knight.

The coterie made their way along the south road, by the banks of the Vitava, sneaking out of the city without lights to avoid the Prince hearing of their departure. A mist was rising off the river, and the going was hard. I should add, at this point, that it's a long and tricky enough walk to Vyserhad, on a short summer night, that nobody had a chance to feed before they left - so Alzbeta was sharply hungry at 4, and nobody was below 2.

Along the road they passed a decrepit watermill, and the two Cainites leading the way - Mariam with Eyes of the Beast, Alzbeta with Heightened Senses - pulled up sharp. Something was watching. Something in the rafters with eyes as red as either of theirs. Mariam stared it down, sheer heft and silent fury incarnate, and when she showed a Messy Critical, the watcher's will broke first; something tumbled, and fell into the stream, and was gone into the river proper in a flash. Some vast and terrible fish. Something Marsillius also recognised; the vodnik is said to take many forms, among them a pawed and scaled fiend, an old man with a ragged beard and a green felt hat, and a pike of unusual size.

The lights of Vyserhad were visible, ahead and above - so many lights. Torches and candles lining the crenellations, the battlements carved from the living mountain. A path, winding to and fro up and up. A gatehouse, and atop it a grotesque, a winged shape with vast owlish eyes, seven feet tall and not even standing upright, and - it was moving. It knew they were coming.

In the end, it was Theodericus that stepped up: they were guests and, as such, must introduce themselves. Such courtesy (and dots in Etiquette, dump skill my ass) did not go unrewarded. Szarka, warlord of the Fiends, descended with a powerful leap and greeted the visitors; trifold jaws and a foot-long tongue choked out a welcome. Mariam's lack of respect for the Prince, and Alzbeta's talk of visions, were the deciders; Szarka took them in.

Through the winding streets of Vyserhad, the Citadel; dense and shuttered, flickering candles and restless dreams all around. To the square before the immense Gothic basilica, the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, the most nodular and extravagant architecture in the city: as though the stone itself wished for a more outlandish shape.

In the square before it, a dead tree hung with climbing orange flowers. At the foot of the tree, bare earth, and on that earth a throne, and on that earth, barefoot and languid, Libussa. Theodericus took a knee and Alzbeta dropped a curtsey before Mariam and Marsillius could even ask who this was.

She was attended by guards - orange surcoats and splinted leather, or the wide hats and staves of the wandering Chods - and by a second Fiend. This Depolt, tall and rangy, arms hanging a foot longer than is normal and four more twitching within his robes, bade them welcome in a voice semi-consistently resembling that of David Warner, and extended to them the hospitality of Clan Tzimisce.

Nervous, Marsillius chose to Sense the Unseen, and lord, did he ever sense it! The comforting light-without-light, warmth-without-warmth of the Basilica ahead, and all around, all around, beneath and below, the mountain - dark, watchful, aware, seeing him and them through every flame. Our poor boy bare shat himself, had he but been living, and tried to sneak into the Basilica to be with his God.

Libussa's head snapped round, and a voice not quite her own asked what he was about. He spoke to her of visions; of a calling from God that brought him to this mountain, and his need to pray. Alzbeta spoke of experiences much the same. And Libussa asked them if she was the royal nun the rumours spoke of (she is not; that honour belongs to Sister Agnes), and if he had seen what she had seen; been seen by what saw her.

Here follows a break between sessions. We wrapped up by establishing everyone's immediate Desires for next time. Alzbeta was discovering things about herself and God, and she wanted to know more of the Tzimisce and their ways. Marsillius was afraid, mortally afraid, and wanted to get onto consecrated ground where he was safe. Mariam was disgruntled; none of these people save for Szarka spoke plainly, and she wanted to speak to Szarka, protector to protector. Theodericus was concerned: although the Tzimisce didn't seem as monstrous and horrible as he'd been warned, Libussa still seemed ill-treated, and he wanted to ensure her well being. She was, after all, a queen. And everyone wanted more meat crimes; it was felt that I could be going harder. I still find Koldunic Sorcery more interesting than Vicissitude, but let it not be said that ol' Relleytrots doesn't take feedback...

To ease the pressure and create some better scenes, oh some absolute scenes, we (I) divided the coterie. Depolt sensed the Hunger radiating off Alzbeta, and invited her and Theodericus to dine with him; what kind of host would he be if he did not?

Libussa rose from her throne and expressed, to the air at large, that she was so tired, may she rest now? thus confirming to Marsillius that she was not in control of her own form. He recalled that she often slept on sacred ground, and asked if they could see inside the Basilica. Alas; no. Ground sacred to the White Christ is not for Tzimisce to walk upon. But Marsillius was free to try, and the Tzimisce looked... expectant. Anticipatory, even.

This left Mariam alone with Szarka, whose form imploded on itself, buckling and collapsing into a body more human, a little shorter than Mariam, patagia wings indistinguishable from sleeves, that furry mass behind her shoulders merely a fine stole, ignore that her dress is the flushed red of a blush and that her tongue is still a foot long.

Marsillius first, inside the Gothic magnificence of the Basilica, seeing and feeling Libussa's steps become lighter and more hesitant with every stair they climbed. He ended up carrying her to the altar, laying her down before Peter and Paul and Christ, and asking her, in hesitant tones: who is doing this to her?

And Libussa answered, clearer than she'd ever been before: magna mater, blood of my blood, queen of my world, the goddess Shaagra, the Dragon of Prague. She who gave Libussa the gift of prophecy; she who claimed two older sisters and two eldest sons. She whose blood was the Premsyl blood, and the secret of Libussa's four hundred years of life. And Libussa was - is - so old. So tired. May she not rest? Is there not more toil?

Marsillius, tormented - for this is how he preys, and this is the Lord's work that he does, to feed upon the dying and ease their passage from the world - asked: can she be stopped? If she is waking, can Shaagra be stopped?

Libussa does not know why you would want that. Libussa must sleep, now.

Smash cut. Mariam and Szarka, outside. The realisation that I've fucked myself with Szarka and Shaagra and, in everyone's consciousness, Sorcha. I should have used Valasca, but I got so hooked on the murder valley...

Mariam and Szarka had their heart to heart. It was a beautiful conversation: long silences and long thought, speaking true and from the heart. Mariam wanted to know if there was evil in the Josefov, or threat to it and to her people; to those she called friends; to the people of Prague. Szarka took her time to answer carefully, for hers is the Road of the Beast - she does not dissemble.

Evil in the Josefov? Not of her doing or her family's. Threat to the Josefov? Not by her will; no grievance there. Threat to the city? To others? Who can say? When the Dragon wakes, she will be hungry, but her hunger will be sated first in Vysehrad.

If it comes to blows, these two will be enemies, but they were able, here and now, to talk as kindred spirits. Mariam expressed her concern that Prince Brandl thought the threat to Prague was coming from her clan and people, and Szarka explained that he has always feared and mistrusted Zvi and the Jews; that if he spilled their blood it would not be on the hands of the Tzimisce.

There followed a discussion of who owns the city. Szarka, maiden of Valasca's revolt, warlord to Libussa the first princess of Prague, saw the city as theirs - that is to say, the Tzimisce's. Mariam, a farmer's daughter, saw a continuity: those lands she grew up tilling would never be hers again, they are her father's, and will be his son's, and their son's. What was is passed. What was built by you is not yours forever.

Both of them acknowledged they sounded like their sires. Perhaps there's something there.

For now, their conversation was over, and Mariam went inside the Basilica.

Meanwhile, by the Devil's Column on the north face of the mountain, Depolt and Alzbeta shared stories - Depolt told the tale of how the Devil was cheated and threw down this pillar on the mountainside in rage, and Alzbeta explained how her mother, in madness and fear, had pushed her into the fire to make her form less desirable to men. There was some sympathy there; perhaps she was merely mad.

Depolt explained that he could take those scars - if she wished it - but he understood if she did not wish it, if the body was where the memory was written. There followed a discussion of Disciplines, of moulding the mind and body, and a demonstration of the particularly visceral Feral Weapons to which Depolt had access. These two also have a spark between them - a tendency toward philosophy.

But then the men in splinted leather brought out a family from their home; a woman and her adult sons. A test for both visitors; Alzbeta, the Consensualist, and Theodericus, the Ventrue. Both took their lumps; Alzbeta two Stains, for doing what she did even with a prayer for the prey and letting Theodericus do the same, and Theodericus two Willpower hits, for the weight of his Bane descending. He confided, as they walked back to the square, that he found biting people like that - just like that - rather cruel, and rather crass, and most untidy. Alzbeta, shaking, could not discuss it, and fearing she would have another vision, Theodericus bore her with haste to the Basilica.

Here was Marsillius, and here was Libussa, so very tired. Would he do what he felt bound to do? But here was Mariam, walking in alarmed, saying he and Alzbeta had been right. There was something waking in the mountain, and it was dangerous, but was it something they did not want? Would they let whatever came come, and deal with the aftermath? Would fighting only make things worse?

Marsillius wondered aloud if they should warn the Prince, evacuate the city, at least warn him to quit the city - but if he did, said Mariam, he would come back and find it in others' hands and besiege it, and that would be worse. Prince Brandl was bound to do something stupid, and to blame his rivals, and the visionaries - Alzbeta and Marsillius - were complicit in that, to a degree.

What if they simply removed Prince Brandl? Would they be better off, asked Mariam?

Marsillius looked down at Libussa, maddened and weary, ancient and possessed, and asked in answer: "do you think this is better?"

Stirring in her sleep, Libussa seemed to recognise that Mariam was Jewish - they'd mentioned the rabbi in their conversation - and murmured something about that poor old man, about the Prophet of Kupala, about what she'd seen that night in May-time. That got Mariam worked up, and she strode out, intent on asking the Tzimisce which of you is Kupala's prophet -

Instead, she found Theodericus and the worrying Alzbeta, and as they hastened back inside to confer, Alzbeta dropped her bombshell: "the Prophet of Kupala is my sire."

She described him as resembling Brother Marsillius in passing - older, more haggard, less well kept - and as Marsillius spoke of his desire to save Libussa somehow, to take her from this place or grant her rest with the Kiss, Alzbeta broke down fully. She had already fed here. She had not been able to quiet that scratching dry Hunger in her throat. She had fed upon the unwilling, and - was she damned? was she evil?

That question, in this place, and the concurrent loss of Humanity? That changed things. Libussa rose, and intoned her prophecy in a voice they had not heard before:

Faith defiled shall lead you to me. Innocent blood shall lead me to you.

And within the foundations of the Basilica, within the bowels of that sacred place, they all heard it - crack.

Exit coterie, pursued by a fear. Mariam racing to warn the Jews. Alzbeta and Marsillius, clinging to each others' hands in fear of God and something worse. Theodericus, with Libussa in her arms, convinced at last that she needed to be saved - and, as the players remarked as the tension bled, they'd need her.

Here ends Act II - She Only Speaks In Exposition

Join us next week for Act III - We Gotta Kill The Prince Yesterday

[rachi-roo]

Raichiii your writing is so gooodd!!! You're talented hehehe. Anyway I have a sudden funny idea that i'll be very grateful if you can turn into fic. I'm thinking the league of villain kidnap bakugou (just like in the anime), to persuade bakugou to join the LOV. Luckily the pro hero hawks is there (in disguise just like in the anime also)! Because hawks scared that LOV will use persuasion method that will harm bakugou, hawks adviced & suggested tickling instead because it's harmless lol Lee bakugou, lers hawks & LOV (platonic & no foot tickling if possible), have a nice dayy!!

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My Hero Academia: An alternative solution.

You lot just loooove seeing him suffer, don't ya? XD Same 0-0 Sorry for the lack of some lov characters, I'm not sure about writing for those guys just yet 🫣

Summary: Tiggle fic. Bakugo has once again been captured by the LOV, now under the name Paranormal Liberation Front. Things look dire for the teen until a certain familiar bird-looking hero shows up to subtly aid the kidnapped victim.

Lee Bakugo, Lers Hawks, Dabi, Toga, Twice.

Tw: Mild swearing, possible spoilers, mentions of knifes, restraints, over-stimulation

12/02/23

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"I say we drain him dry~ After losing a couple of pints I'm sure he'd be more willing to cooperate." Himiko grinned, pressing the flat of her knife against Bakugos chin, lifting his head towards the light. He was still a little groggy from whatever they'd managed to shoot him with. It could have been another quirk, but that didn't matter right now.

"Naaah, after the trouble he caused last time, we should burn the message into him. Make sure it leaves a lasting reminder of who he's up against if he doesn't want to join." Dabi chuckled, raising a small ember to the side of the ash blonde's face. The heat just licking his skin.

Bakugo just glared back, unable to move. They had the poor boy strapped into a different kind of chair this time. The seat part was normal, but the upper half of the chair was 'T' shaped, with his arms stretched out to the sides along the frame. Buckles along his upper arms, elbows and wrists held him firmly in place, with his hands trapped inside some kind of quirk nullifying blocks. They must've gotten this tech from ReDestro. He felt exposed. Only wearing his black tee, pyjama shorts and sneakers.

There were more straps, one across his chest, one on each thigh and another one holding each ankle. He was stuck good. They definitely had more painful plans for the boy this time.

"No!" Twice joined. "Let's just break every bone! Start with his toes- No this is far too cruel- He has it coming!"

"Woooah, woooah, everyone just take a breather, hey?" A cool voice interrupted, Dabi giving an irritated huff as he turned towards the voice. "The fuck are you doing here, Hawks?"

Hawks? Bakugos eyes snapped wide open, staring in disbelief. It's Hawks. He's really here. With the PLF. Why? What's he up to?

Hawks stepped in, smiling casually at the boy. "Long time no see, Bakugo." He waved.

"Hawks... The hell are you doing with-"

"All will be explained later, kid. Now, this is quite the tricky situation you've found yourself in, ain't it?" He chuckled, circling the chair in which Bakugo was bound. "Naww, look, they really did a number on you didn't they? All sleepy. Bless." He placed a hand on Bakugos back, pressing gently in a pattern, using code to let him know he was safe.

Toga frowned, pointing her knife again. "We just wanna convert him. He should be on our side! He's not as cute as Deku, but he is strong."

"Convert and befriend him by.... hurting him?" Hawks questioned with a raised brow. Bakugo gave him a side glance, wondering what he was up to.

"Uh, yeah? How else are we supposed to make him join us?" Twice hummed.

Hawks chuckled, ruffling Bakugos hair. "Well, what's one thing 99% of teen boys have in common that we could use?"

"No fire resistance."

"They need most of their blood?"

"Lack of oxygen will turn them blue!"

"All correct, but I was thinking something a little more, harmless." Hawks smiled, circling the blonde again, stopping behind him this time.

"Something, to reeeally make him regret not joining~" Two gloved hands flexed by Bakugos exposed sides, making him tense up.

"Hawks? What the fuck are you- Ghk!" He flinched, immediately trying to hold his breath as he felt the awful sensation of fingers skittering up and down his sides. He pulled on the restraints, desperately trying to stifle his giggling.

Dabi tilted his head. "Tickling? Are you serious?"

"Ah-hah~" Hawks nodded, resting his chin on Bakugos shoulder, casually continuing to lightly tickle the boy. "Think about it, you want him to join you, right? So, instead of using pain that will just make him sour towards us and our goals, why not use something that will, instead, make him smile?"

Toga crouched between Bakugos legs, leaning in to see his flustered expression as he tried to hide. "Hmmm... Good point." She nodded, a small grin growing on her cheeks. "I do like watching him wriggle like this. It must be humiliating." She rested her head on his knee, starting to drag her nails up and down the inside of his bare thigh, making his leg shudder.

Bakugo couldn't believe what was happening. This wasn't real. It had to be a dream. He shook his head, scrunching his eyes shut, still desperate not to laugh. "Rh- S-Stop it-!"

"What was that? You're gonna have to speak up a little buddy." Hawks cooed, blowing into the blonde's ear, making him yelp as he bundled his shoulders up. "You're so dead!" He threatened, biting his lip again.

Toga smirked, bringing her other set of nails to his exposed knees, reverse pinching on the caps. "You look silly~" She grinned.

"The sooner you give up, the sooner this will stop." Hawks nodded.

"Lemme try!- I'll kill the brat, with laughter!" Twice hopped over, standing by the side and started to poke at Bakugos tummy, enjoying the muffled giggling that followed.

He won't break. He won't! Not now. Not ever-!

"Coochie, coochie, coooo~ C'mon buddy, we're all friends here." Hawks jeered, holding two of his longer feathers, slipping them into the short sleeves of Bakugos shirt, ever so lightly brushing and swirling against his vulnerable underarms.

"Gh-! Shihit! Ah- Mmh! No! Rh! Noho! HahAH!" He was on the edge. Right on the brink of bursting.

"You guys are so bad at this." Dabi smirked, standing over Toga, leaning in and starting to claw at Bakugos ribs. He wasn't starting soft like the others. He wanted to crush this UA student.

"AAAAH! Nahaha! Aha-! No! Nohohoho! AHAHA!"

"There she blows~!" Hawks teased, continuing his underarm torment.

"Ahahaha! S-Stahap! Hawks! God danm ihihit! HAHA!"

Toga switched up her tickling, matching Dabis ruthless energy as she pressed her thumbs on his inner thighs, feeling the muscles tense and wobble in panic. "Hmmm, not as cute as Dekus thighs. But this is still fun~"

"Gehet off! Get off my thihighs! StAHAHA!" This wasn't like any tickling he had experienced before. All these spots being attacked at once, it was crazy. Maybe a little enjoyable for the time being. But crazy. Twice rolled up Bakugos shirt, tucking it under the chest strap, leaving his belly and ribs exposed.

"Wow, he's buff!- And all ours." The two-bit man smiled, starting to shake his fingers into the exposed tummy, earning a bout of boyish giggling before the hysterics descended again. "Stahap! I-I'll never-! AHAHAHA! NEHEHEVER!"

"Oh yes you wiiiill~ Or we're just going to tickle you pink!" Hawks smiled, glad that he'd managed to make sure they at least didn't hurt the boy. He looked at Bakugos face, red as a tomato, tears pooling in the corners of his tightly shut eyes and a big smile on his face.

"Move your hands, Twice!" Toga suddenly yelled, licking her lips as she took a deep breath, plunging against Bakugos belly, blowing a round of short, fuzzy raspberries.

Bakugo all but melted, unable to do anything but flinch and squirm, his entire body filled with a flurry of tingles. "Stop, stop, stop! Stahap! STAHAHAHAP!"

Hawks sent out a few smaller feathers, all starting to tickle around Bakugos ears, neck and collarbone, freeing his hands for other places. "Let's seeeee. A little birdy, not me another bird, told me that there's a little secret spot. Bakugos off button. Where oh where was it?" He teased, knowing exactly where it was.

"Don't! Hawks, Hawks plehease! I can't tahAHAHA! AAAAAH-!"

"Bingo~" Hawks chuckled, drilling his fingers into the so-called off button. Just above his ribs, below his underarms. It did indeed turn the poor boy off. His laughter fell silent, only growing loud again when he needed to inhale.

The tickling went on like this for a while. Tears dripped onto Bakugos rolled-up shirt as he cried with laughter, his body drenched in sweat. With Hawks taking care of his vulnerable spot, Twice on his tummy, Dabi wrecking his ribs and Toga squeezing at his thighs and knees, along with Hawks damned feathers. He wasn't sure he could take much more.

"Okay-.... Ahaha! O-Okahay! Stahap! Hawks! Please! Plehehease! Please stahap! AHA! MEHERCY!" He cried out, feeling himself start to panic. His hair sticking to his forehead, getting in his eyes. They weren't stopping. They really weren't stopping.

"Fuhuhuck! AHAHA! PLEHEASE! STAHAhahap!" His throat became hoarse, his mind filling with fog.

Finally, after almost an hour, the tickling finally stopped. Bakugo's head slumped forward as he gasped for air. Exhausted. Hawks stayed with him after the other members left. He gently brushed the hair from Bakugos eyes. "You did great kid, you just rest, we'll talk later."

Bakugo was too tired to argue, he just gave hawks a glare before closing his eyes, still trying to catch his breath.

What happened after that was a mystery, next thing Bakugo knew, he was waking up back in his bed at the dorms. He didn't care what Hawks was up to, he knew there was a reason he was with the villains that night. And he was still too tired to think about it right now. He sighed, curling up underneath his warm blankets, drifting off to sleep again.

[autumnrainwrites]

A Blade Discarded

Durrest, 896 VAE/VC, Late August, Night

She moved carefully even now, stepping cautiously through the copse of trees as her ears caught the distant staccato of gunfire and the occasional burst of spell or rocket overhead. The crescent moon left only a bare trace of light to see by, augmented with the occasional burst from those loathsome rockets, yet she stepped surely and with purpose. Her prey was close, and her mechanical body and mind knew what was required. 

Her partisan’s steel head was their only warning. It caught her first target in the torso, parting maille links and cleaving porcelain and sinking into the machinery of the core below. The poor thing never knew what hit it.

Three against one became two against one. Still risky, but Nettles had surprise on her side. The doll with a caliver in their hands fired at where she had been half a second earlier, letting panic overcome purpose just enough to matter. Nettles already had her harpe in hand, drawing the sickle-sword from its sheath with a flourish even as she lunged for the halberdier doll. Up close, the short blade had the advantage, yet her strike met only the hard wood of the haft. 

Silently, Nettles stepped in, grabbing ahold of the other doll’s coat with porcelain fingers, turning to keep her between Nettles and the reloading gun-doll. The scuffle didn’t last long. Where a halberd is too unwieldy, a knife can be of service. When the bodies parted, Nettles came away with a crippled left arm. The other doll didn’t rise again.

There was no time to bask in success. The last of the enemies raised their firearm just in time for Nettles to bat it aside with her blade and step in for the kill. In all, three dolls of Vistria fell slain by one of Beldavia in a quarter of a minute.

Another rocket lit the sky for a glorious incandescent moment, and Nettles took stock. Her left arm hung limp and useless, the ball joint at her shoulder cracked bad. She wouldn’t be able to use her partisan, even if she could get it unstuck from the first of the dead dolls’s body using just one hand. With no other choice, the harpe she held would have to suffice.

She left the trees, moving even slower now. There were others about, friend and foe, dolls and men. In the open, alone, down here at the bottom of the escarpment, she would be easy prey. 

The day had started off… not well, but as expected. An enemy army atop the slope leading to the pass, an allied army in the town at the base. And naturally, Queen Greta had insisted upon where to commit her regiments. It was a defile, a shallower slope cutting the escarpment. An easier climb than the one facing the rest of the left wing, but the host arrayed in that narrow way were not humans or their kin like the rest of the battle line. No, Queen Greta IV, the Grasping, the Witch of Tyranny, self-proclaimed Queen of All Witches, meant to reclaim her country’s rebellious lost toys. 

It was a simple plan, and relentless. Successive waves, alternating between her mortal battalions and combat doll companies, would hammer the little band of free dolls at the top of the slope. When the mortals grew tired, the dolls would swoop in to cover the retreat and inflict the real damage. Human meat was only meant to dull the blade.

Nettles had been in the second wave, one of sixty-eight combat dolls rushing to the relief of the Glenrood Militia who bore the honor of first assault. A tricky maneuver, charging into battle in loose formation straight through a battered force of tired and frightened men with their axes and harpe swords and long stabbing spears, and at the end she crossed steel with hostile dolls for the first time, all under the cover of magic and missiles from both sides.

A friend, a doll she had shared tea with, took an iron bolt from some kind of field artillery right through the core.

A stranger in a black uniform that matched her own reeled back against her, its arm shattered to nothing just a few inches below the shoulder. 

An enemy, a pretty thing in their navy blue uniform, rolled screaming on the ground as green flames consumed it, hurled by the Royal Kinswoman commanding this wave. 

The enemy had magic of their own. A witch-doll peeked out from behind a low stone wall, raising a blue crystal stave in hand, and smote the Royal Kinswoman to the earth in a crack of lightning. But she did not die from that. She rose again, cackling, her body scorched and ward runes forming around her as she conjured phantom snakes that bit dolls on both sides with a poison of the soul even they could feel. Again and again the witch-doll hammered the Kinswoman with lightning and fire and wind, eroding her defenses just enough for an archer-doll to sink a rowan shaft into the witch’s royal throat.

And then the Padureni Highlanders hit the line, wild men with falxes flying, and Nettles and sixty-one other dolls fell back under witch-fog and cannonade.

Three more times, she made the ascent. It was not the same mortal brigades each time. And there was fighting elsewhere. All along the escarpment, from the steep north where the defile lay down to the shallower southern slopes, men of the armies died. In the south, the flames of a burning orchard lept so high that they could be seen from across the battlefield, as the maddened witch Duchess Chirmoneptas gyrated in hellfire above and her kin of sundered lines of a proud Imperial house butchered each other amid scorched roots below. 

Greta gave orders that attacks would continue through the night. They never got the chance. At sundown, when all battle ceased save for in the defile and the orchard, the dolls of Vistria charged after their fleeing foes.

Nettles had not been supporting that wave, and felt glad for it. As dusk settled over the slopes, the men of Stremt and Harlen fell back as planned, yet even as the covering screen of dolls maneuvered through their ranks the somber silhouettes atop the crest surged down upon them. At the sudden onset, the mortal men broke, fleeing down the defile in blind panic. The relief company, caught in the onslaught, fell back in disarray, and the battle moved from the slope to the camps below.

Now, night lay heavy over the town of Durrest and the woods and fields at the foot of the pass. Chirmoneptas burnt herself out shortly after sunset, and the pyre of the southern orchards slowly dwindled. Shadows hunted shadows: dolls and witches and men grappling in the darkness. 

After the Vistrian charge, others followed, units of light infantry from the mortal contingents of the defenders, lightly armored men kept in reserve throughout the day to act as raiders or as rearguard as the situation demanded. It was a small band of these that Nettles came upon next in her own hunt. Five of them, a couple lightly injured, with bows and hatchets and short spears. Unguided by purpose and with inferior night sight, they would be easy prey for the combat doll.

And sure enough, they were.

As she cleaned her harpe of the men’s blood, a strange dark light fell across her crouched form, illuminating the blood on cloth, steel, and porcelain in a horrid greenish glow. 

Nettles looked up sharply, searching for the source, and almost gasped. In the night above, she saw an angel.

The winged woman wore a cruel smile and a long dark gown, and in her hands she held a bow whose string glowed purple in the night. That same unsettling violet shade formed a halo behind her head, its intricate designs entwined in runes of bondage and sorcery. Slowly, the angel’s eyes scanned the field, until finding what she sought. Then, with a casual perfection born of purpose, she drew back a bolt of that same strange black light and shot into the distance. 

Nettles felt the angel’s eyes upon her, and could only hope that her black uniform and sickle-sword stood out enough from the navy blue and broadswords of the enemy dolls. That must have been enough, for the angel’s attention turned elsewhere.

She was about to start the search for her harpe’s next victim, when the night lit up like a fiery day.

The dark angel fell from the sky, entangled with an angel whose leathern wings burned golden, whose arcane halo hung over draconic horns. The toys of warring goddesses tumbled down to the rocks, the crash rolling over the field, drowning out the sound of rockets and cannons and spells. 

And darkness returned.

An hour later, Nettles neared a trio of men crouched over a body. Red cloaks, black bows, harpes through their belts. 

“Rangers,” she said, voice soft. “What word?”

They turned to her sharply, hands reaching for hilt or arrow, but relaxed as she stepped openly into the moonlight. The nearest nods to her and said, “The queen lives, as of half an hour past. We came from her with orders to find General Clementine and, if practicable, eliminate her. Have you word of the general?”

“Not this one, no. This one has been hunting the raiding parties up and down the slope and through these fields, in accordance with its witch’s last order.” 

The man grunted and shrugged. “Very well. Carry on then. May the hearth goddess see us all home.”

Nettles nodded in response and faded back into the shadows. 

Hours passed. She could feel her springs winding down. She’d been tended to shortly before the sunset assault, but a night of heavy combat left her in need of another rewinding. So, as grey twilight heralded the end of the long night, she made her way across the stony fields in the direction of the Beldavian camp, and her attention slipped just enough.

The arrow’s steel head was her only warning. Only a lucky turn of her body as she stepped over a corpse saved her, the arrow catching the maille rings of her battle uniform at an angle and lodging itself there.

Nettles turned, harpe raised just in time to parry the sabre of a Vistrian doll, its face impassive and its hair scorched and burnt. Winding low and with her left arm crippled, and fighting two against one, it took no time at all for her to know that she wasn’t getting out of this. But she could at least take the sword-doll with her-

Another doll appears from the side. How did she not see them? They were already in motion, halberd swinging on a wide arc. 

The heavy blade took Nettles in the midriff, shattering porcelain through maille and padding, smashing the delicate machinery below. She toppled back, little chain links falling away as she landed hard upon her back. Her core screamed, her mind blank of all except white hot agony. Then she could see again, through the pain, as the halberdier doll loomed above, point raised to finish the job they started… and then something crossed their face, something Nettles could not identify, and her would-be-killer disappeared from view.

She could not stand. She could not move anything but her head and right arm. And her mainspring was almost spent. There was nothing to do but lie still and wait.

Figures shuffled through the growing light, battered survivors of the night assault. Dolls with missing limbs, men carrying each other as they stumble from the bloodloss, trained wolves whose mistresses lay dead somewhere on the field…

As the red-gold sun rose over the mountains, Nettles saw two delegations approaching under white banners.

The larger of the two delegations came from her own side. Elite combat dolls, members of the Cotillion of the House, flanked the party. Within stood witches, and a handful of bureaucrats, an armored knight, a frightened comfort doll, and the queen herself: Greta IV.

Opposite them came just three dolls, each in a blue jacket with silver decorations and swords at their hips.

Two stepped forwards: the queen and General Clementine. 

And Queen Greta bowed as low as her stiff back would allow.

“The field is yours, general. You… have the best of us this day.” The queen’s voice is hard, choking back rage. Nettles wondered if she had even been so humbled, but set the thought away as improper. “And by our count, eighty-three of my own Royal Kinswomen lay dead upon the field. I have come before you to… to beg for leave to retrieve our dead and our wounded and return home.”

A few seconds only of silence, and General Clementine smiled. “Very well, Queen Greta. The battle is over, and we must both tend to the fallen.”

The general turned to leave, but the queen stood there a moment longer, seething in anger. Then, she turned back to her party and took hold of the comfort doll. The poor thing merely whimpered as its mistress forced it to its knees and pushed down upon its faceplate until the porcelain cracked and its polished eyes popped out, but the general flinched and gave one last look back. 

Nettles herself could not bear to watch.

Morning sun shone down upon the fields and the defile, where so many lost their lives. Nettles had barely anything left to give. She conserved the last useable energy of her mainspring for when the salvage teams reached her. It would not be long now.

At last, a team reached where she lay, a handful of support dolls and a common witch leading. She raised a hand to wave, and the witch approached.

“Designation and status?”

“Nettles. Under Miss Sylvain until she died in the second wave, then Miss Tessa until she died just after moonrise. This one is… damaged to the left arm and the core. Can’t move its lower body at all.”

The witch pondered for a moment, then shrugged and said to her crew. “Leave it. Not even worth salvaging. It’ll take me so long to repair, I might as well start from scratch.

Nettles wanted to protest, wanted to beg for another chance, but her energy was wholly spent now and the crew was already moving away. Time began to distort around her as her mainspring finally ran out, time passing by faster and faster. Sounds became a low constant drone to her ears. The last thing she saw before her sight became a mere blur of colors was a face smiling down at her, blue sky behind it.

And then, from that terrible entropy of slow panic, the world returned to Nettles in the form of a rocking wagon.

She was nude now, her undecorated and badly damaged body exposed. Someone behind her turned the key winding up her spring once more. She could move again… at least her head and right arm. The rest of her was still just as useless. Even if her limbs were replaced, she could feel the crack in her gyroscope. Until that was repaired, she knew she’ll barely be able to walk without falling over.

“Almost done,” a soft voice said, and that bright face reappeared, peeking out from behind her. It was another doll, smiling at her. Wavy blonde hair framing gentle porcelain features, set with polished hazel eyes, and her accent was strange. With a start, Nettles realized that this doll is of Vistria.

“I- You’ve made a mistake. This one-” 

“That one is quite alright,” the foreign doll said, finishing the final turn and gently pulling the key from Nettles’s back. “You were abandoned on the field, but this one saw that you were not dead.”

Glancing away a moment, she added, “Actually, I was told that you were there, by one of the soldiers. They weren’t willing to just let you die for no reason, and this one… and I agreed to check. I got there just as your salvage teams were leaving.”

Nettles said nothing, rattled by the news. It sat there, still and thoughtful, gathering what was left of itself together. Finally, she asked, “Is this one a prisoner then?”

“Yes, for now. But once you can move again, you’ll be free to leave. We… we don’t keep dolls who want to leave, not unless they’ve done something wrong.”

“This one fought… killed…”

The foreign doll raised a finger to Nettles’s lips, silencing it. “This was war. But if you feel so guilty, a magistrate can hear your case when you are well.”

They rode in silence a bit longer, in a wagon piled high with weapons, supplies, empty vessels of the slain. Finally, the other doll spoke again. “This one is named Marjoram. I’m a civilian assistant to the magistrate overseeing the army. What are you called?”

A pause, then, “Nettles. This one’s name is Nettles.”

“Nettles? What a pretty name.” 

Nettles never thought her name was pretty, but if Marjoram said so, she was going to trust that. She said nothing else then, but sat in stillness, leaning slightly on Marjoram’s shoulder. The other doll didn’t seem to mind.

Cast:

Nettles (She/Her, It/Its): A combat doll from Beldavia.

Queen Greta IV (She/Her): A cruel witch and ruler of Beldavia.

General Clementine (She/Her, They/Them): A doll general from Vistria.

Marjoram (She/Her): A doll acting as assistant to a magistrate of Vistria.

Various dolls, witches, rangers, and soldiers.

Author's Note:

Another dollfic, but this one is not tagged Empty Spaces because it takes place within a broader fantasy setting this one has been working on, called the Patchwork Lands. It is maybe not the most original of names for a fantasy world, but this one is rather fond of it. It hopes to write more in this setting soon. Meanwhile, it will also continue to post other dollfics, as well as some things it wrote about things other than dolls.

[warmcoals]

If there was a nettle doll toy line what entries would the collectors go really insane about. Which ones were assigned peg warmer at birth

oh this is a tricky question for me to answer, as the nettle...im not rly keeping track of the metrics or popularity polls. but if i had to guess, based on what girlies n such like lately:

-Grumpy Princess Nettlegloom line would probably be huge. the gap, you know. sneering, extra droopy bang over her eye, full extravagant sissy princess regalia, frilly petticoats and stockings and such rendered in detail. there'd be a statue of her doing a furp, gloved fists and all, and a nendo with yowling, side-eye unamused, and queasy smile expressions, plus nettlewand and kitchen knife. these would make money

-Clown Car Rally Gal Nettle kit, on the other hand, woulda had 100 copies made back in 20xx, and sold 4 of those ever. you have to build the beat up shitty pt cruiser, and tho the plastic is purple u still had to paint most of it by hand (no decals either). and after all that it's not even posable except for doors opening, and the wheels dont go. plus, the cool looking rally dress nettle mini that comes with just isnt the appeal for anyone. deblog