#tw mistrust
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Modern Medicine
-
I pointed.
Shouted.
I wasn't myself,
I was outside of myself;
I was braver than normal.
Bold to accuse,
Lined with resentment
And burning with one too many
Broken promises.
The way you leaned back and watched me.
Letting the silence that followed
Linger.
As if this was normal.
"How did you become a doctor?!"
I choked.
"Tell me. And be honest."
The air was heavy,
But you moved closer to me.
Leaned in as if whispering a secret.
Spilled blood at my feet,
Tears in your eyes.
You don't have to trust me.
You said as we parted ways.
But you have to find a way to stay.
x
#poets on tumblr#writing#spilled ink#poem#spilled thoughts#original poem#mental health#sad thoughts#trust#tw sui ideation#suic1de#doctors#fear of doctors#mistrust#poems#poetry#free verse#personal vent#vent post#vent poetry#vent poem#tumblr writers#writers of tumblr#tumblr is my diary#spilled words#spilled poetry#spilled writing#prose poetry#prose#poets
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Apart from upper body surgery, Roman didn't require much else to maintain such a masculine figure. When he was dropped as a baby, the resulting fall damaged the pituitary gland in his brain, causing his growth (and aggression levels) to go haywire the day he hit puberty. Before then he remained a very small child, one easily pushed around by his parents but remembering every strike, every insult and slap he suffered at their hands until he was old enough to fight back. It came as a nasty shock to Mr. and Mrs. Sionis when the child they resented for years as being slow, ugly and unfeminine seemingly transformed overnight into an uncontrollable monster hellbent on tormenting them at every opportunity.
#💀 || musings#💀 || headcanons#gender dysphoria tw#gender dysphoria cw#child abuse tw#child abuse cw#I just remembered I never really talk much about Roman's issues as a trans man?#He does take testosterone injections to maintain his musculature but that's about it#He's very inclined to mistrust doctors and medical procedures after getting locked up in Arkham#Treating him like a freak in his opinion#The rest of his body though? All natural#And his parents HATED it#It's all their own fault for dropping him on his head the day he was born#Otherwise he might have turned out very differently#But yeah Roman's angry for REASONS#He literally can't help it due to the injury his brain sustained#Frankly it's amazing he survived to adulthood bc of repeated neglect#Like letting him suffer from a rabid racoon bite bc they'd rather not be late to the big bash the Waynes are throwing#Leaving Roman at home alone to suffer all weekend and nearly DIE#So yeah Roman is a modern marvel as to how durable the human body is 😂#Can I force myself to do one response today let's see#Wope up very late and very tired bleh
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#12 – Help me
(❗TW: Implied torture, Wounds❗)
"Why should we help you?", [Sidekick] asked, looking at [Henchperson] suspiciously, "The last time we met, you tried to kill us."
[Henchperson] winced, like they were reminded of an awkward detail of their teen years instead of their attempt to murder [Hero] and [Sidekick] a few weeks ago.
"It's more complicated than that", they muttered, avoiding [Sidekicks] and [Heros] sceptical gazes. They nervously fumbled with their hands. [Sidekick] frowned. Their foe looked jittery. They had dark circles around their eyes. Had they lost weight...?
"I don't see anything complicated here", [Hero] retorted, never tearing their gaze away from [Henchperson], "You are working for [Villain]. You kill people in their name. You are our enemy-"
[Henchperson] made a frustrated noise. "Oh my god, would you just fucking listen for one goddamn second?!", their enemy cried out, angrily throwing their hands in the air.
They took a deep breath, apparently trying to calm themself. "[Villain], they..-", [Henchperson] started again, looking around nervously, "They hurt people..-"
"Yeah, no shit", [Hero] deadpanned, "That's why we fight them, you know?"
"No, you don't understand...", [Henchperson] whispered faintly. They looked haunted. Scared. A weird feeling started to rise in [Sidekicks] gut. "What do we not understand?", they asked mildly, growing tense when [Villains] subordinate shuddered.
With shaking hands, [Henchperson] grabbed their own shirt and slowly rose it to show lacerated and broken skin.
"Shit-", [Hero] swore, eyes wide with shock.
[Henchpersons] torso was covered with dark bruises, cuts and burns. Some of them looking like they had been inflicted just a few hours ago. A choked sound escaped their foes' mouth as they looked up to [Hero] and [Sidekick] through tearful eyes.
"Please...", [Henchperson] whispered, tears falling freely now, "Please help me."
#superheroes#supervillain#villain#whump writing#writing prompts#villain prompt#henchperson#sidekick#hero#evil villain#mistrust#creative writing#whump#henchperson whumpee#writblr#emotional whump#tw implied torture#tw wounds#is it real?#Or just a trick?#who knows#whump tropes#whump prompt#villain whumper
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"So... I should have called you when Kathryn came home sick. I just hate this every-other-week mom thing, you know? So when Kat needed me, I just had to show up for her. And I know it doesn't make sense-"
"No, it- it does make sense. Why do you think I let them eat ice cream at midnight? And look, I overreacted too, because of my weird-ass relationship with my father..."
#cbs matlock#matlock reboot#matlock 01x02#olympia lawrence#julian markston#julympia?#olympian?#olympia x julian#please... not the cheeky little eye squint they both do at each other in the second gif! that felt the teeeeeeeniest bit flirty to me#he knows her moves!!!#he stared at her for quite a bit in the 4th gif and i like that he doesn't hold her back from doing her job but that's a low bar#the way she laughs with him in the last gif! it makes me feel like... in a weird way she's most vulnerable with him(and elijah)#her smile when she says ''seems like we know each other pretty well''#and the way he got her to break into a laugh when she was trying to maintain a straight face#also the way he nudges her leg with his hand#i love them being friends... but i mayyyybe sense something more#i think maybe julian was close to turning his dad in and that's why his dad doesn't trust him??? but maybe i just have a jason ritter bias#matlock spoilers?#skye has said that daddy dearest is trying to pit them against each other... so i feel that that's why there's some mistrust going on#i love that in both episodes it sort of ends with him being there for her so i'm scared of when that won't happen#they kinda make me miss don and nyla#skye also said that one of the biggest reasons olympia loves julian is because he gives them both have the space to work and be a family#matlock spoilers#they kinda are giving parent energy in the last gif#tw: food#they're both just trying their best tbh#skye p. marshall#jason ritter#i changed the third gif because i liked that you could sort of see olympia smiling and REEEEEALLY see julian just shaking his head
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Being as you are someone who writes about Anne Boleyn, I must ask you, which are your favorite portrayals of Anne Boleyn? I mean fiction (novels, film, tv) but also non-fiction. And, do you feel your fav portrayals have influenced you in the way you write Anne and her story? Your least favorite ones, do they have an influence too? Which ones are they? Thanks
If there's one with zero merit and/or minimal entertainment value I won't include it on the list, I'll say I'll ** = my absolute favourites and * = my compelling in some aspects, but tread with caution, and those sort of in between I'll leave alone.
Or rather, let's put it another way...* is worth a library rental or free Kindle borrow, whichever you have available, and ** is worth an actual purchase. Those without *...eh, I'll leave it to you.
The Challenge of Anne Boleyn, Hester Chapman*
Adultery, Heresy, and Desire, Amy Licence*
Raven's Widow, Adrienne Dillard**
Jane Boleyn, Julia Fox**
Among the Wolves, Lauren Mackay*
Queens of Henry VIII, David Starkey*
The Story of the Death of Anne Boleyn, Translation, Edition, and Essays by Joann DellaNeva**
The Lady Elizabeth, Alison Weir*
Renaissance Prince, Lisa Hilton*
Hunting the Falcon, John Guy & Julia Fox**
The Life & Death of Anne Boleyn, Eric Ives**
Tudors in Love, Sarah Gristwood
Tudor England: A History, Lucy Wooding**
Children of Henry VIII, John Guy*
Henry VIII by Lucy Wooding**
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory*
The Lady in the Tower, Alison Weir*
The Lady Anne (Book 2 of 5 of Above All Others series) by Gemma Lawrence**
Judge the Best (Book 2 of 5 of Above All Others series) by Gemma Lawrence**
Threads by Nell Gavin*
In the Shadow of Lions, Ginger Garrett*
Tarnish by Katherine Longshore*
Brazen by Katherine Longshore
Anne & Henry by Dawn Ius*
Wife after Wife by Olivia Hayfield*
The King's Mind by Christopher Rae**
The Concubine by Christopher Rae**
VIII by HM Castor
Queenbreaker by Catherine McCarran
The Tudors (2007-)**
The Lovers Who Changed History (2014)**
Anne Boleyn miniseries (2021)**
Blood, Sex & Royalty (2022)**
I Am Henry: A Compelling Novel of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII (2023)
And, do you feel your fav portrayals have influenced you in the way you write Anne and her story? Your least favorite ones, do they have an influence too? Which ones are they? Thanks
Pieces from everything influence me, Christopher Rae's and Gemma Lawrence's novels, for example, both had some of the best and credible portrayals of Henry Norris I've ever read, both in credible unrequited love (tying into, Anne's wariness thereof) that was forged into a weapon against him and for why he became such a favourite of HVIII's in the first place (would've included Jeff Lavender's thesis of Norris also, had you asked for beyond fiction and non-fiction books). The best parts of all of the above have inspired me to craft AB as a character at turns, sympathetic and unsympathetic: proud, courageous, intelligent, zealous, prudent (more in the 16c sense than 21c), fierce, jealous, sensitive, vindictive, unyielding, talented, compassionate, bold, spirited, pious, impassioned, loyal, loving ...somebody who inspired either complete devotion or implacable hatred, with very little in between, and felt comparable extremes towards her own family, friends, and adversaries.
From my least favourite...I try to remember that every choice she made was morally defensible and/or justifiable, from her own perspective, regardless of whether or not it actually was (and of course, they weren't always). I try to remember also that fear and insecurity can best explain some of her less palatable choices, as enumerated here. Basically, just that she was human and flawed, but also that there were many people personally (and often, religiously) invested in magnifying her flaws and reducing, or even outright omitting, her strengths. Obviously, that misogyny can also be a factor in some of her portrayals, is a salient remembrance to keep in mind, as well.
#pls don't judge me for some of these lol#they are all my choices for entertainment and readability#and there are actually elements of tobg i really enjoy wrt anne's characterization that if excerpted i might actually love#i love how clear-eyed ; erudite ; ambitious and passionate she was#the film adaptation is sort of like a pale reflection of that in many ways . until the one horrible SA scene the film was actually like...#not bad i just think hviii was poorly cast . the physicality but not the charisma#or just loving the dialogue#and you did specifically say for understanding /enjoying ab as a figure/ character. not necessarily the the others in her sphere#threads im going to add sa tw and also it's really only the chapters of 16c AB which had any merit#and the same sa tw for dawn ius#also technically tobg novel even if not the same as in film#she portrays mary as 13/14 so..#in some of these like TLE and HVIII her appearance is VERY brief or ancillary but i still loved#also sa tw for TLE . damn . why is this so prevalent in tudor fiction....#anon#i mean jealous in two senses of the word also:#protective and mistrustful of unfaithfulness#both understandable traits for her to have in the circumstances she was in#my least favorites are ig TOBG even tho it's technically on this list-- lol-- altho it's way more entertaining than like#TKO by alison weir and honestly also TiL in some aspects#but somehow TLE and TiL both were better than TKO and her six wives book and also her hviii and court book#the king's damsel by kate emerson.... the concubine by norah lofts...jean plaidy...margaret george
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Imagine being a 50-year-old straight cis man and feeling threatened by a post politely requesting a reblog in a tiny act of solidarity against a marginalized group, a request that literally says you don't have to though 👉👈 right beneath it
like bro if you can't handle being politely asked to reblog as solidarity without feeling attacked, you do not belong on tumblr of all platforms good ol sir
Could you maybe reblog this post if you think respecting trans peoples' names and identities is a basic right and not a political opinion?
No pressure. Just seeking some validation of my sentiment. Due to some. people
#blocklist#like bro if you saw how these posts are normally framed you would have a fucking heart attack on the spot dude#not even gonna unpack their gRiPe wItH CiS. confident the audience that sees my posts can quickly identify the many. MANY issues there#go talk to your fully adult children or harass people to join your religion or something i d k 💀#i think the appropriation of terms like virtue signaling and cancel culture by the right is unfortunate.#there are real issues to be talked about that those terms are 100% suitable for#but instead I have to become guarded and mistrusting when I see somebody say ViRtUe SiGnaLiNg or CaNceL cULtUrE#because people like this dude use it so often in this way that he uses it#transphobia tw#queerphobia tw#transheterophobia#queerheterophobia
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𝜗𝜚 Hide & Seek.
Post prison Reid x Reporter!reader
Read part two here!
Summary: The night with your boyfriend is going perfectly, and you couldn't be happier, until he receives an unexpected call telling him that information about an important case has been leaked to the press, and many doubts about you appear.
Words: 2,5k.
TW: mentions of crime. established relationship. angst without a happy ending. mistrust and lack of communication. english isn't my first language (sorry for my mistakes, be kind please).
Note: Again I apologize in advance for this, but I love exploring Spencer's character and his changes. It's so funny to know that the one from the first seasons would never do this but I love him anyway.
♡ Enjoy! ♡
Your smile couldn't have been bigger at that moment.
After several weeks of work and no time to see your boyfriend or send him more than two text messages, you finally find yourself humming cheesy love songs next to him and hugging him whenever you want. You had only been in his apartment for a few hours after the universe and all the stars had aligned so that neither of you had to work that night and you could have your long-awaited quality time together. It was certainly much needed for both of you and could be a bit of a celebration for finally getting a raise.
The sweet smell of the candles you both had placed on the table mixed with the ingredients on the countertop, creating a much more homey atmosphere. After much thought, the two of you had decided to make some homemade cookies with different fruits to eat yourselves and give some to your friends. You had always loved baking, especially when it came to desserts, and being able to do it with Spencer was even better. Although you knew he was only doing it to make you happy because he was pretty clumsy in the kitchen.
“I think you have some flour here, sweetheart.” You could feel him running his finger over your face, laughing as he smudged you, then stepping back a little to look proudly at his handiwork. “You look so cute.”
“Really? You want to play, Dr. Reid?”
You raised an eyebrow and gave him a menacing look, and made a quick move to smear some flour on him and get on the same terms. But you barely managed to mess him up a bit when he gently grabbed your wrists and planted a kiss on your lips, pushing any thoughts of revenge from your mind.
“You cheated, it's not fair.” You murmured against his lips as you both pulled away from the kiss.
“I didn't do anything.” He replied in an innocent tone, kissing you briefly before pulling away to feed the cat. “I think this kid has been eating cookie dough because he doesn't want to eat his food.”
“He's an unruly kitten, just like his daddy.” You said as you watched Spencer pet him and laugh at your bad joke.
The two of you had officially been together for almost a year, but you had known each other for much longer. A coffee shop tucked away in the middle of town was the best place for an FBI agent and you, a news reporter, to meet and start talking. From the beginning, you knew there was something different about Spencer, and it was much more than the fact that he was the only man in the country who didn't know you because he didn't watch television and therefore the news you had anchored for years. He didn't care that your face was what people saw every day and that put you in the spotlight, he liked you for who you were and how you thought about the world.
“I think they'll be ready in a few minutes.” You reported after putting a tray of cookies in the oven.
You were about to ask your boyfriend where he kept the dishes, but when you turned around, you noticed he was still playing with the cat and you couldn't help but smile at how relaxed he seemed. It had been a good idea to convince him to adopt the animal that always followed you home and peeked out of the fire escape. Nothing made you happier than seeing him happy, so you followed your instincts and noticed that the kitchen was still organized as usual. You may not have lived with Spencer yet, but you spent more time in his apartment than yours and had already memorized how a couple of things worked, though you were afraid to tell him because you knew he had trouble opening up too much and taking such big steps in a relationship so quickly.
All your attention was on picking out the prettiest plates and pots for the cookies when his phone rang over the counter. Your hands were still dirty with flour and dough, so you didn't hand it to him and could only read that it was Penelope before you saw him answer.
“Yes, I'm with her now. We're making cookies, and yes, I'll bring you some. Yes, she says hello to you too.” You listened as Spencer repeated into the phone with an encouraging tone.
You barely listened to his conversation because you were nervous it was about work and that he would have to leave so soon.
“You're out of milk, I'm going to the supermarket downstairs.” You informed him quietly after checking the fridge, not wanting to interrupt his conversation. “I won't be long.” You finished, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips before leaving.
He couldn't help but smile like a fool at the kiss and stopped listening to his friend's voice on the other end of the phone for several seconds.
“The full profile was leaked to the press, along with details about the crime scenes.” Garcia's voice brought her feet back to the ground.
“What? How?” He asked blankly, needing to sit down to process the information. “We were very careful.”
Spencer thought the case was already closed, he had filled out the profile himself, they had everything they needed to make the arrest, and Emily had insisted on giving him the night off for it.
“We don't know, but it was on the evening news.”
Wait, the evening news? They were the ones you presented every day. It was strange that you hadn't mentioned it, since you'd just come home from work a few hours earlier, happy about your raise.
“Which channel was the first? Who gave the scoop?” His voice trembled slightly, as if he was a little afraid of the answer because his mind was telling him something he didn't like.
There was a long silence for a few seconds and his anxiety increased.
“You need to calm down and not jump to conclusions.” Penelope tried to be the voice of reason at the time and sugarcoated things a bit. But he insisted that he wanted to know. “She said so...she broke the news a few hours ago and I think that was the first network to do it.”
His whole world seemed to crumble before his eyes again and everything was a blur amidst the feeling of betrayal and bitterness that gripped his body. Every thread in his mind began to connect in just a few seconds, and for the first time in a long time, he hated having that ability.
“Reid, listen, I don't think it was her. Emily said we'd fix it, but you should know before you watch the news.” She tried to defuse the situation, but his words only made them feel more betrayed. “I forgot to tell you before because I didn't want to ruin anything, you looked so happy.”
Since meeting you, Spencer had watched at least a minute of the evening news every day just to see you, and everyone knew it. Only today he hadn't because he'd been busy trying to finish the damn profile so he could get off early and spend some time with you.
“We don't want you to jump to conclusions, we all know her and I don't think she would do this. Maybe it's a mix-up or...”
“Don't do that, don't try to make me feel better when she's the only one I tell about the cases.”
And about absolutely everything. He always talked to you about his dreams, his deepest fears, his hopes for the future, his worst moments, and even things he never thought to say out loud, even to his therapist. All his life he had felt silenced until you showed up to listen to even the most complex thought and his mental discussion of possible names for the cat you both shared and treated like a son.
Since his release from prison, his view of the world and himself had changed. He no longer felt worthy of love or anything good until you came along and insisted on entering his heart and saving him from the emptiness he faced every time he woke up in that dark, lonely apartment that you came to fill with light and the smell of cookies.
It weighed heavily on his heart that the bad thoughts that always haunted him made sense.
“I'll be there soon.” He finished, not paying attention to the thousand and one possible explanations and theories Penelope had given him so as not to blame you for everything.
He ended the call and walked quickly to the bedroom to find your computer for answers. You had been staying with him for several days and always used it for work, so it was on the nightstand. He was about to turn it on when the sound of the front door startled him and let him know you were back.
“Spencer? Where are you? Do you want to play hide and seek?” Your voice echoed through the apartment, coming closer and closer to the room.
There was no movement or sound from him, just silence, until you entered the room and saw him sitting on the bed with your computer in his hands. You couldn't help but be a little startled by his expression.
“Are you okay, love? You scared me.” You spoke as you approached him and took his hand lovingly. “Do you need to use my computer? It's out of battery, but the charger is in my bag.”
The strange thing was that Spencer didn't return your affectionate squeeze, he didn't even kiss your hand like he always did. He just froze in place and looked at you as if he was waiting for you to confess to a crime.
“Is something wrong?” You sat down in front of him and grabbed his chin to force him to look at you.
He looked at you for a few seconds and clenched his jaw, pulling away from your touch as if it burned him. “You tell me.”
Confusion washed over you and you bit your lip, trying to think of something that could have changed everything so suddenly. For a second you thought that maybe something had happened at Spencer's work and he had to go now, but his expression and his teary eyes said much more than that. Something serious had happened, you even thought it might be his mother and your heart shrank.
“I know what you did.”
You frowned at his words, trying to find some trace of a joke in all this. “What have I done?”
Once again, the room was filled with silence and his piercing gaze. You made a feeble attempt to approach him to give him some comfort as he looked like he was about to cry, but he rejected you and moved further away from you. He got up from the bed, put the computer down and looked at you as if he expected you to be the one to give the explanation.
“I don't understand this, baby. I really don't know.” You got out of bed and tried to get closer to him.
At your action, he backed away from you.
“Don't call me 'baby'. Don't pretend you don't know what you've done.”
The problem was, you didn't know what you'd done to give him that attitude. It had only been a few minutes since you left and everything was fine, so it didn't make sense that he was suddenly angry.
“I should have seen it coming before, how could I not, why would someone like you notice me? You obviously wanted this, you wanted to use me to get that raise and have all the fresh information.” Finally he seemed to react and started to blurt out everything that was on his mind without any filter. “I was an idiot to think you loved me.”
The confusion in your bright eyes only made things worse for him. His defense mechanism told him that you were an actress, that you must have known him well enough to manipulate him for so long and not even flinch. It made all the sense in the world that the whole perfect relationship you had was a sham, because he never understood how you, who had the fame and beauty to be with any man in the world, could have chosen him, a former addict who had spent months in jail and had more trauma than happy memories, to be your partner.
You took a step toward him, trying to process what he had just said. “I do, you know I love you.”
“Come on, you don't have to pretend anymore, I already know that you leaked the information I gave you about the profile.” He said after pacing the room a few times, trying to control his anger. “And maybe how many times you did the same.”
“Wait, you think I'm some kind of spy or something...you're joking, right?” You tried to make sense of his words, wanting to believe again that it was a joke. It had to be, or the pain you felt in your heart at his rejection would definitely kill you.
The silence that followed his words was enough to know that he was serious.
“You're the only person outside the team I talk to about cases all the time. And you magically get a raise when there's a big leak.” His every word was like a knife in your heart, digging deeper and deeper. “You even broke the news a few hours ago, you're unbelievable.”
That was too much, and it was the move that pierced your heart with the knife.
“Do you really think the only way I can get a raise is to betray you? That I've been pretending for almost a year that I love you for my own benefit? Do you really think I can stoop so low and that my job is worth so little?” You asked him almost pleadingly, as if begging him to tell you no, but in vain. “Tell me it's not so, please. Tell me you don't distrust me.”
Silence. Lots of silence.
“Please...”
He said nothing again and that was answer enough for you. You loved Spencer Reid like you'd never loved anyone before, but you weren't going to let this go. You weren't going to keep begging him to believe you when you told the truth and never gave him reason to doubt.
“Fine. I hope you don't have to come back to me when you realize you made a mistake and ended up with the best you had.”
The pained look you gave him and the tears streaming down your cheeks stayed in his mind as you left your apartment keys on the table and walked away, closing the door behind you at the same time as the oven beeped.
His smile could not have been more nonexistent at that moment.
#criminal minds#criminal minds fanfiction#criminal minds x reader#spencer reid#spencer reid x reader#spencer reid x fem!reader#spencer reid imagine#matthew gray gubler
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{TW: my opinion}
It hurts to know that nearly all members of the Order mistrusted Severus for years and didn't give him a chance until the very end of the war...
Do you know how it felt when they kept on blaming him and throwing those unwelcomed glances at him every chance they got? All for a past mistake he himself regretted the most and probably never forgave himself for.
Oh my goodness, did Sirius ever realize that Severus had sacrificed more than anyone else and didn't deserve the nasty remarks he threw his way? Did Remus ever find out his true intentions before he died?
Remus had to know how it felt to receive those dirty glances that makes you feel like an open wound wherever you enter. He was a werewolf for goodness sake. He had to know how Severus felt all those times.
They had to give this man a chance for redemption. Do you know how cruel that actually is? I also love Remus so much and this situation is equal to how he was treated in the Wizarding community for his lycanthropy, no matter who he really was deep inside. Unfair, isn't it?
I stand by the thought that Severus is the bravest of them all. None of the members of the Order would've dared to take the risks the way he did. If you don't agree with it, you can fight me.
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Eleven to One: Scandalous Shooting
Male Reader x Ahn Yujin
Length: 3140 words
Tags: quickie sex, semi-public sex, might get caught, sex toys, toy use in public, a tiny bit of feet kink/admiration, standing sex, from behind, hard sex, very wet, very close to squirting, very close to losing your career, megalomaniac!you
TW: semi-public sex, I guess lol
Inspiration: the GIF below. Pure sex.
Credt: @sooyadelicacies, my wonderful co-writer in this series. You can find more parts here!
(A/N: After almost three weeks, I'm finally back! Eleven to One is far from being over, view this as sort of an interlude with a big plot point and some nice, good fun with our hot af Ahn Yujin. Enjoy!)
“Excited for my new shoot? Yujin has sent a video.”
#
"Fuck you dumb bitch, suck it just like that."
Your cock was currently slamming the throat of a gagging Kim Chaewon for what could be between one minute and one hour, anything in between really, but either way, her salvation has just arrived. You pull out of her huffing and puffing mouth and with no further thought wasted on the training session, you prepare to leave.
"What? Where are you going asshole?" Chaewon shouts, baffled, furious, most importantly baffled when you instantly have your hands around her neck and glare down at her, petite and small, kneeling on the floor, one could almost mistake her for a good girl. Chaewon is not yet there though.
"My desire and cock is needed elsewhere. You're not a priority, only a cheap convenience. Yujin is demanding my attention, rather, I demand her body right now."
Chaewon's face further contorts to a scowl, as you expected. There is the spirit to fight, fight back, fight you, fight whoever opposes her. This spirit is slowly but surely bending to your will and the best part about it: Chaewon has no clue.
"I'm better than she is..."
Left to right, you cross her messed up face with your cock and scoff at how pitifully desperate her expression is. A little fingering with Minju, a quick blowjob, a facefuck, and she is already demanding you to stay; over your beloved girlfriend, mind you.
"Don't kid yourself, Chaewon." You get your hand in her hair, comb it then mess it up again. "You are so far behind, it's not even funny to compare yourself to her. Like I said: not a priority.
"Minmin, I need you to tie her up. Chaewon's been bad again."
"Yes Daddy!" Minju says naked before you, she is always in the next room, ready to adhere to your commands with glee and joy, even as she puts ropes around her friends ankles and wrists.
"Oh and Minju,” you add, pants not yet around your waist. “How about you suck me off and I'll blast it all over Chaewon's face before I leave. If you are fast, I’ll allow you to lick it off of her too."
Minju’s eyes brighten and she nods furiously. Soon she’ll nod on your cock.
#
It always fascinates you how easy it is to get into certain areas as long as you look determined and wear the appropriate attire. You dart into the building where Yujin currently still had her shooting for the 1000th magazine her stunning face will be featured on.
Is this an issue for you? No. Yujin is yours, ready to go the extra mile for you every single day. She accepts your craziest desires, the family of lustful friends around the two of you, hell, she risks her entire hard earned career and reputation for you. No reason to mistrust her or be envious because people get to see her face or shoulder or feet—
Okay, this is where you draw the line. Yujin just looks too good; her curvy, willing body on the drawer, hair done to tempting perfection, gaze full of sex and then she sticks her bare feet out. You have to stop it, though it's already on camera, they can’t have more of that.
Behind a group of staff members you come to a halt. Get on your toes and look over their heads to find Yujin, in talks with the director. You hear whispers about some reshoots, Yujin handles the small, direct criticisms like a professional. Of course your eyes also drop from her face to her hips, then even lower to her feet, which are currently hidden in two ugly slippers.
Blending in with the crowd, you make a mental note to speed up plans for your next merger, which is right around the corner, only some stupid, posh guys in suits hesitating, because they don’t want to lose face to Hyewon’s non-nonsense negotiation tactics. After this final chess move, there is no more sneaking around after that. It's a checkmate for any and every doubt. Nothing can stop your fantasies from coming true.
You wait for Yujin to notice you, but then grow impatient. Tapping on your pants pocket, you push a button and notice from a distance a twitch of pleasure on her face as she quickly scans the room to find you.
Perfect, she still has it on her. Whenever Yujin goes out, she has the option to take a small bullet vibrator from her purse and use it to relieve some stress or make a boring schedule more fun. The vibrator is connected with both your and her phone, so you can always test if she knows that you are nearby—and also have your way with her, of course.
Yujin’s libido is great enough for such a bold move and of course she has found you immediately, but instead of going straight towards you, she continues her duty. After all, the reshoots have to continue.
"This scene right here, on top of the drawer," the director says. Yujin gets into position, and thank God she kicks off the slippers.
You lick your lips a little before turning into a scowl. You push the button again, only this time on a higher setting. If you arrived, you were the top priority, not some wannabe director having his eyes look at the most sex-oozing woman to ever walk on this earth. Watching Yujin squirm, you decide to pull out your phone and make a call. The call.
"Hyewon, plans have changed. I want the merger motion to go forward right now. I'm done waiting."
"Yes, Master!"
You only had to wait as you watched Yujin continue to try and control herself under the power of the toy inside her. As the minutes and poses went on, it became harder for her to withstand the buzzing pleasure, though the constant background noise has everyone except you blissfully unaware of the vibrators presence. You have to admit, waiting is the thing you hate the most in this world, but with Yujin on the edge, in public, right before your eyes, it’s more than bearable.
"Miss Ahn, is everything okay?" the cameraman asks, worried and puzzled by Yujin's expressions and the increasing redness on her cheek.
"Hm? Oh yeah, I'm gu-ud. Should I try a different pose?"
"How about you put your legs up on it, like you did earlier?" the director suggests.
When it comes to poses, magazine shoots, and being in front of the camera in general, Yujin is a goddess in every aspect. Cute, thrilling, hot, seductive, cool, she can do it all—and today she decided to give the people what they want.
This tease cannot go unpunished. You continue to let the vibrator do its thing on a low setting to not elicit any unwanted moans and just wet her crotch more and more. It might not be noticeable on the black dress, but she is about to soak it, let her juices run down her legs and pool at her marvelous feet. You are insatiable, not even stopping when she looks at you with begging puppy eyes—
Yujin is at your mercy; only you can get her out of this.
A message from Hyewon lights up your phone. It is done, Master. Well spoken, she must have really pushed those otherwise tenacious executives around hard to get it done this quickly. Smiling, you decide to make your presence known, startling the crew.
"Mr. Director, you should be getting a phone call any moment now, I'm here to supervise the rest of this shoot. You're all doing wonderful, but I want to make sure Yujin's health is prioritized. Could we go for a lunch break now?"
"Sir, who are you—" The shrill ring of his phone interrupts the bewildered director, though his bewilderment only increases with every second the phone call continues. He hastily runs from set to set, gathering staff members, phone still pressed to his cheek.
"What have you done now?" Yujin snarls, her body not on the drawer anymore, unstable next to you. She grabs your suit, but elect to You ignore her and watch the staff flock out, the directors face full with sweat, an apologetic gesture towards you.
"So-sorry, Sir, we of course take the health of the idols very seriously. I didn't know you were managing her."
"It's alright," you say reassuringly, hand in a pocket, and in the thrill of the moment, you push the vibrator to the strongest setting. "Are you~ alright, Miss Ahn?"
Yujin cries out, her shriek startling the director. He tries to react quickly, but you put on your sternest, most serious face, really, the feat of a great actor, though that is par for the course in your business.
"Lets not waste any time. Mr. Director .I'll need everybody off the set. I'd rather not have anyone see Miss Ahn like this. Thanks for your understanding."
"I-I, of course, I'll—"
The director throws his hands in the air. His face is pale, he is unsure where to run, left, right; he needs time to catch himself and find the exit as does everyone else. He closes the door with an apologetic bow and you can hear him shout in panic and frustration.
"How the hell did you do that?" Yujin mumbles, her hands on your side to keep herself upright. Look down to find her legs drenched in her own juices, the dress ruined, her hair in a wild mane.
You lick your lips.
"Oh baby girl, you're mine now. I had Hyewon seal the deal. I bought your company, which means, personally and professionally, every part of you belongs to me."
Yujin's puppy eyes have never been bigger—except for maybe the time you first penetrated her tight pussy—though this time you find it hard to make out any clear thought she might have; is it pure bewilderment at the boldness and timing of your move? Is it anger because you purposefully got her into trouble, took things too far, just because you could? Or is it—
"Now what?" Yujin grits her teeth and looks to the wet floor. "This was too risky! Reporters will ask questions, some are going to spy on you, rumors will spread—they will find it out! You can't hide this forever."
You gently rake your hand through Yujin's raven hair and watch her toes tense up. Her entire body radiates tension, stress, like she can see everything crumble. The future looks bleak, nothing but darkness. The ‘young you’ can relate strongly, the bottom is usually dark—but as long as you fight, you'll reach the light. Even in the poorest of areas, someone is able to reach for the stars and create a better place for himself, his family.
A better place, even better than what you believed was already perfect.
"Trust me, Yujin," you coo to her and gently pull her hair back to look down at that concerned face of a beautiful goddess. "This is going to lead to moments greater than you could've ever dreamed of."
She looks at you with a swirl of conflicted emotions, but you don't let her dwell on it for too long as you move in to kiss her, prodding your tongue into her mouth too. You subtly position your left hand's fingers near her wet snatch.
"We don't have—"
"—a lot of time," the two of you whisper simultaneously. It's teamwork, alright, how she finishes your sentence with her needy voice, how you hike up her dress while she fiddles with your zipper, how you both find a bit of cover in the far corner of the room. If someone were to come in, you'd at least not be seen, but by the way Yujin squirms when you pull at the cord of the oval vibrator, her voice will make the situation blatantly obvious, even for a blind person.
"You need to stay quiet," you growl in Yujin's neck while you still try to get the plug out of her tight cunt. "This is some serious business, don't disappoint me. Do it like you did last year, on the red carpet.
"Why the fuck—"
The vibrator is still stuck inside her, the walls of Yujin's pussy clamp around it, not ready to let go of the pleasure the constant vibration brings. If it wasn't for your arm around her waist, Yujin would've dropped to the floor already. She is unable to resist it, it's deep inside her, it's snuck and comfortable.
A conflict for you, for her: Can you really let her cum just like this again? It would not be the great, immediate release for your cock you were looking for, but the humiliation, Yujin's embarrassment would make you ascend to a new level of all-powerfulness. It's the same for her, just the other way around. It seems that she has made up her mind before you though:
"Daddy please, you-you need to leave… let me finish the shoot and—"
But you keep kissing her neck.
"Baby girl," you growl. "Either you cum on my cock after I pound your tight little pussy or I turn that toy in you on maximum for the rest of the day. You'll squirt like a fucking fountain, make a mess and then what? What will the headlines say then?"
"Daddy, please! At home… I'll do whatever you want, just not here."
"You know it already don't you, baby girl? I'm your salvation—my cock is your salvation—with it inside your walls, it will keep your cum from spilling out and save you from becoming breaking news."
This much convincing, with Yujin convulsing, is really confusing, but in the end, she is unable to conceal her desire for you to plug her. Her neediness is an issue and your neediness is the solution.
There is no need or time for a blowjob, you are ready to enter right away, so you grab as much of the black dress as you can and pull it up. Yujin's help would be appreciated, but the horny thing can barely stand on her own, both her hands on your back to find security.
"You're the prettiest when you are this needy, baby girl," you tell her as her large, watery eyes are unable to look anywhere but you. A couple of tears spill over, then down her cheeks when she finally presses out the vibrator from her pussy. "Get your leg up here, on this couch."
The angle is perfect, your throbbing cock aligned—you still need to dive in her delicious full lips with that strawberry flavor to deafen her moans. The dive was almost too late, the draw of her cunt is too strong for your manhood to resist, and of course you fill her fully.
"God, you're so tight, you're always tighter when you're so needy.” Your words come pouring out when you disconnect your lips from hers; it’s like disconnecting from the world and ascending to a place of unknown, unbound, unending power. “I get it now. These shoots, these long and stressful hours. You're so hard working baby girl, but now we can fuck anytime. Isn't that a good thing?"
You thrust harshly and stroke Yujin’s pretty hair. Anytime, anywhere, it all doesn’t matter anymore. What it matters is you in her, above her, all over her. This is what your love is "Tell Daddy how it feels."
"Y-you're so greedy," Yujin huffs out, even after years of almost daily pussy pounding she is unable to control her breathing during sex. "Where, fuck, where will this end?"
"Answer my question, baby. And keep your moans down. I might make you cum, erupt like a pent up volcano. I can already feel the tsunami building up. Admit that you want me this greedy, because nothing can satisfy—"
"Fuck, okay, okay." Yujin grabs the sleeve of your suit with one hand and your nape with the other. "Daddy, own me. My entire life, my career, my social circle—take it." Her eyes are daggers, then a concoction of bliss, devotion and insurmountable expectations. "Take re-responsibility, and I'll be the best baby girl ever."
"You'll be that either way."
Slam her against one of these many thin, unstable decorative background walls, watch it sway dangerously backwards, but fuck her with the same recklessness as before. Yujin's teeth dig into her lower lip, her body losing all it's grip, except for the grip of her cunt, which you have fucked from every angle, sure, but standing has her the tightest. At least, you believe it right now—maybe it's the setting, the chance to get caught, the career ending thrill.
"I'm your good girl, good girl, Daddy, I—"
"Go on and cum. My cock will save you."
A fleeting moment, a moment of silence, no movement, as if time itself freezes. A moment where Yujin truly is powerless, where she can't just walk out and break up with you or throw everything away and live a different life. She is about to scream her orgasm out, and with her arms uselessly hanging on the sides of her convulsing, climaxing, prime body, nothing but you can stop her from getting caught.
And she submits herself to it, the scream never making it to anyone as you silence her with a strong palm on her luscious lips. Yujin shakes and shakes, only hints of juices making their way past your shaft, your base. She is plugged and both her legs and dress are saved—at least from being ruined entirely.
The orgasm continues in waves. Yujin's eyes water, her moans echo back, her knees melt like ice cream in the summer—she has to admit, she is waiting for your cream inside her, though it never comes.
"Good girl," you coo to her and start fixing her hair while still balls deep in her cunt. "I have some spare panties for you. Don't worry, I soaked them in some perfume, they won't smell anything. Remember, Daddy is right here. Just follow my lead."
"Y-yes." Out of breath is an understatement. You suffocated the poor girl to the point of exhaustion. Maybe that is the point, to make her look exhausted, weak, hell, she can barely walk. You support her, watch her put on the panties, swipe away some messed up makeup that would look too wild, too suspicious.
"Hook your arm underneath mine," you tell her. "I'll tell them your ankle is hurt, that we'll go to a doctor, something like that."
"Daddy, why do you go through such lengths for, for this?"
You grin and look down at your girlfriend, mere moments before the photography director comes rushing back onto the set.
"Why are you so tight whenever we might get caught doing this?"
#kpop smut#female idol smut#girl group smut#male reader insert#izone smut#ive smut#male reader smut#yujin smut#ahn yujin smut
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hi! I've been reading your opla!zoro stuff and I wanted to tell you your writing is so gorgeous! it's truly breathtaking, you're really talented ❤️ i've looked through your prompts tag, im not sure how requesting works, but could I ask for "edge of falling" or "the spaces between us" (whichever one you like the most) with zoro and fem!reader? i'm a goner for longing and feelings realization and the prompts give me those vibes, but i'm sure anything you write will be lovely <3
reqs are open!
the edge of falling
opla!zoro; 7,475 words; fluff and angst, hurt/comfort, passing mentions of: cult!, physical violence, & trauma/cult-programming, ex-cult member!reader, strawhat!reader, traumatized!reader, protective!zoro, healing from past trauma, learning to trust etc, angst with a happy ending!, a metric TON of plot
summary: "Lie to me," Time said to Love; Love smiled and said, "I promise, I'll never let you slip away."
a/n: thank u for the request anon!!! i uhm idk what happened with this fic tbh. there's def uh -- longing of SOME kind here??? welp. pls read the tw list! there's some dark-ish content in this. but i promise it ends well u__u
prelude: in which a fox teaches you to speak
Time is the greatest liar, so you are told, over and over and over. For the longest time, you think it’s the only truth you’ll ever know.
But we will live forever…
So long as you do the things you’re told. So long as you make the Fox happy. So long, so long, so long.
There is no way to mark the passage of time in the compound; with no sunlight to guide the way, you are left to other, more primal ways of keeping track — that elusive, silver-fish creature — time — always slipping through your fingers when want to hold on most.
You measure it in wounds, in the time it takes for a fresh wound to seal over, for the scab to break and reveal the soft, tender pink flesh beneath. You measure it in gulps of water, in bites of cold food, in the droplets of artificial rain that they let fall through the ceiling sometimes. You measure it in rewards too, in long baths and hot meals, in the evenings when the Fox would tell you stories in his low, lilting voice instead of leaving you in his seething silences.
And he is ever so good with stories. If you stay still and keep quiet, and let his voice wash over you like a hungry tide across a rain-starved beach, you can feel the words seeping into your bones, ringing out till they feel like nothing but god’s given truth.
As long as you’re good… I promise I’ll make you live forever.
Like this, you learn the weapon of words, the power of speech, how to listen for lies, and how to tell them, and tell them, and tell them.
The Fox is good at lying; you’ll just have to learn to be better.
act i: yet another sad, desperate soul
Roronoa Zoro has never been a man of many words, but it would be remiss to say that he isn’t a man of his word — you see, when he does speak, he speaks with intention. And always, with conviction.
“Hey. No one’s gonna hurt you anymore.”
This, then, is the first lie he tells you.
“Liar.” You spit out the word, drawing back, your body a tangle of livewire nerves, your eyes darting back and forth, an entire life’s worth of fight and flight caught on the hair-pin trigger of his breath as he jolts back slightly and blinks at you.
“Y-you — you can’t know that,” you say, your voice still ragged. But Zoro sees it for the attempt it is — an olive branch, however tentatively extended. And he takes it, wordlessly.
He nods once, reaching out to help you up. The compound crumbles around you, and you unconsciously wrap your arms around yourself, as if to hold yourself together, to keep from shattering into a hundred million tiny little shards of pain and mistrust.
“The fox-guy’s dead! But it looks like this whole island’s gonna blow!” Nami races out of the massive, temple-esque structure just as it starts to collapse from the inside out.
Luffy slingshots passed, cackling as Sanji and Usopp bring up the rear. On the Merry, Robin and Chopper are waiting, and the second Zoro manages to hoist you onto the main deck, the ship careens off into the dark tumult of waves.
You skitter away the minute Zoro’s arm slips from around your waist, and he turns to find you pressing yourself back against the railings, staring at them all with wide eyes, your expression caught halfway between fear and consternation. He takes half a step back, crossing his arms just as Luffy bounds forward with a bright, unassuming smile.
“Don’t worry! You’re safe now!” He makes to slap one of your shoulders but you duck out of the way, chewing on your bottom lip.
Robin clears her throat gently and offers you a smile, “We’re not going to hurt you.”
You narrow your eyes, your gaze darting between them like a trapped animal, but after another beat of stillness (punctuated only by Nami swearing softly to herself as she steers the Merry around a particularly difficult formation of rocks), your entire body seems to soften, and Zoro uncrosses his arms again, resting a hand casually on the hilt of his blades.
“Th-thank you…” you bob your head once, swallowing hard passed chapped lips and a raw throat. Your white linen dress is stained with blood and dirt, a tear at your collar making it slip from your shoulder.
“’S alright now, darlin’ — how bout we run you a nice, hot bath? I could cook you just about anything y’like. Fancy a drink as well? I think a bubbly would be good for a —”
“Lay off, cook.” Zoro cuts Sanji off with a scoff, barring Sanji’s approach with an arm in the gut.
You watch them with dark eyes, your expression curiously blank.
“Will you let me look at your wounds?” Chopper offers.
You jump a little at his voice, piping up from your left side. You glance at Zoro once before looking back at Chopper and nodding.
Sanji tucks his hands into his pockets and watches as Chopper leads you beneath the deck, Zoro following a few steps behind. He lights a cigarette as soon as the trap door clanks shut.
A beat of silence, and then —
“Wow, that island really, really sucked!” Luffy says, turning back to his crew.
Sanji lets out a puff of smoke as Usopp slumps down against the main mast with a groan.
“You can say that again.”
“What happened?” Robin asks.
Sanji sighs, shaking his head, “Trust me, you don’t wanna know.”
Below deck, Chopper dabs at your wounds with expert ease as you sit very still on the kitchen island and Zoro watches from the sofa, arms crossed loosely over his chest.
“These surface wounds aren’t that bad but…” Chopper trails off, his eyes running over the network of old scars that mar your skin, layers and layers of them — down your arms and along your torso.
“It’s fine,” you say, your voice smooth as polished marble, “I’m —” you swallow, “I’m fine.”
And if it weren’t for the hiccup, the slight hitch in your breath, you would’ve been utterly convincing. Your expression is flat, your voice, even more so.
Across the room, Zoro makes disbelieving noise, “If it hurts, just say so. Chopper’ll fix it.”
“I’m… I’m fine,” you say again, tugging at the sleeve of your torn shift, your tone now a bit more honest, your words tired and resigned. Zoro looks to Chopper, who gives a faint nod of acquiescence before Zoro stands up and jerks his head towards the door.
“Cook’s right — you should wash up before dinner.”
You follow him down the hallway, through a small door that leads into a washroom that’s much cleaner than one might expect a ship’s bathroom to be. A large, wooden soaking tub sits in the middle of the room, and a clean change of clothes has already been laid out on a bench next to the bath.
Zoro grunts after he takes a once-over of the room, satisfied that all’s in order, and makes to leave.
You tug at his sleeve, head lowered.
“Can you…” you lick your lips, “can you stay?”
Zoro glances down at your fingers curled into his shirt sleeve before his eyes flick up to find your face. You’re looking at some indiscriminate point over his left shoulder, but your lips are trembling and your jaw is set.
He lets out a long breath, slowly twisting his body towards the room and you.
“Sure.”
He makes a show of turning around to face the door as you slip off your clothes and sink into the steaming bath water. A long exhale and the light slosh of water is all the indication he gets that it’s safe to turn back around.
He leans himself against the door, his swords propped on his shoulder, his head lolled back, his eyes closed.
He listens to the soft sounds of the water, to the faint splashes as you rub the grit and grime from your skin, inch by inch.
“We were only allowed to bathe as a reward for doing a good deed.”
Your voice makes him open his eyes, his gaze focusing in on the shape of you, nearly submerged in the bathtub, your hair slick and sticking to your pale shoulders. Even in this dim lighting, he can see the patterns your scars make against your skin. Water glimmers along the contours of your face as you run your palms along your cheeks, rubbing at them till they’re ruddy with color.
Zoro ticks his tongue against his teeth, “Quit bein’ so rough,” he moves forward without thinking, reaching out a hand to help you with some of the more stubborn pieces of dirt but he pauses, realizing how utterly still you’ve gone.
You stare at him for a long moment before relaxing back into the water and shifting towards the edge of the tub to allow him better access.
He runs a callused thumb along your cheekbones, wiping away the remaining dirt there.
“What was a ‘good deed’?” he asks, letting the tips of his fingers skim the warm water’s surface.
You shrug, “Mostly anything that made Mr. Fox happy… so all of us would —” you take another breath, your hand opening and closing beneath the surface of the still bath water, “we’d spend all our waking hours trying to think of something — anything — that’d please him. No matter how small… no matter how… terrible.”
“This Mr. Fox… what was his deal, anyway?”
You stare down into the dark water, now rapidly cooling from warm to lukewarm.
You take a deep breath, lifting a hand out of the water to distort the image of your ghostly reflection.
“He… was a liar. Except… he could make all his lies sound like the truth.”
“It was uncanny, really,” Sanji says, now at full throttle in the kitchen prepping for dinner service, Usopp lounging on sofa, his feet propped up on the hanging table.
Chopper and Robin both frown.
“What do you mean?” Robin asks.
“It was like… the guy could say anything and make it sound like the truth — even though you knew somewhere inside you that it can’t be real. Like — he could tell you the sky was green and every single part of you would believe him, even though you’re outside and starin’ up at the sky.”
“Yeah! Like he said I’d never be able to beat him and… for a second, I kinda almost believed him!” Luffy offers, munching on a bushel of apples and spitting out the seeds.
Robin’s brows furrow, tapping at her chin with a thin finger.
“It sounds like the Uso-Uso no Mi…”
“Ugh, what a weird, scary power…” Chopper shudders, shaking his head, his tiny hooved hands coming up to cup his cheeks, “I’m sure it’d mess with people’s heads!”
“It sure did. But he also used it to feed false information to the Marines,” Nami says, slipping through the half-opened door to join the rest of the crew on the sofa, “ran a series of taverns that just so happened to be situated in major Marine towns.”
Sanji glances up from a huge, steaming pan of paella, a cigarette caught between his teeth.
“So what was his end goal then? Just to fuck over the Marines?”
Back in the bathroom, you run your fingers along the edge of the tub as if playing an invisible piano.
“Power, domination… I don’t think he had a goal or purpose… I think… he just got off on it…”
Your voice is light, conversational, almost as if you were talking about the weather. But Zoro sees the glazed look in your eyes, the tightness at the edges of your lips.
“You called me a liar,” he says, reaching into the tub and flicking you lightly with a bit of water.
You blink, a smile threatening the corners of your mouth.
“Yeah… guess I did.”
“I wasn’t lying.”
He pulls out his hand and wipes it on a towel, leaning back to stare at you.
You shrug, “Sometimes… people lie to others, and sometimes, people lie to themselves. It’s the ones we tell ourselves that are always the most convincing.”
“I don’t lie. ‘Specially not to myself.”
You let out a tiny laugh, “But I guess… sometimes, if you believe in something hard enough… it’ll just start to be come the truth.”
There’s a note of… something in your voice that Zoro doesn’t like, but he can’t put a name to the feeling so he stays quiet as you continue the laborious work of scrubbing your skin clean, till all the water in the tub’s gone cold.
The rest of the evening passes as most evenings on the Merry do after a big fight — with a lot of food and even more booze. With music and laughter, and new crew member, sitting in the corner, watching mostly and smiling occasionally. No one pushes you, though Sanji does make a valiant effort in getting you to admit to your favorite foods, and Luffy tries two or three times to drag you into the more raucous celebrations (mostly involving way too much meat being roasted on a spike).
No one questions the way Zoro never wanders too far.
No one questions the way your eyes track him around the room, or how, even when Robin and Nami finally get a laugh out of you, you still instinctively searched for Zoro’s figure till you’ve found it in the other corner, a bottle caught between his lips, his eyes half-shut but his gaze caught on you like a fish to a seaman’s hook.
act ii: everything and nothing
A week passes, and then another. And you slowly, but surely, come out of your shell — it’s a strange sort of blossoming, the way you reveal yourself in shards and pieces, jagged and jarring. The shrapnel bits of your personality peaking out amidst the flotsam and jetsam of all your manifold defense mechanisms.
You’re a brilliant liar, but even better at spotting a lie, and it’s a thing that none of the crew had ever really thought about until you’d come along, casually poking holes in their daily deceits.
“Mm! These pancakes are perfect! Just the way I like them!”
“The new dress looks beautiful, Nami.”
“I absolutely did not finish the last bag of popcorn… Luffy did it!”
You clear your throat.
“Okay fine… the pancakes were really good but… but I like them… sweeter.”
“The dress is… well, everything looks gorgeous on you, of course, you know that Nami! But — the color… clashes just a tiny little bit with your… hair.”
“I might’ve uh… taken a few bites out of the popcorn bag… last night… but I was keeping watch and I needed to keep my energy up!”
Robin titters, a sphinx-like smile spreading across her lips.
“Apparently, 60% of people lie at least once every 10 minutes,” she says, casually taking a sip of orange juice as Zoro runs through his daily training regime, seemingly unbothered by the chaos currently taking place on the main deck regarding the “popcorn incident”.
“Dunno why people bother,” Zoro says, working through a set of single-armed burpees.
“I suppose it’s just human nature. We want other people to like us… so we say what we think they might want to hear, instead of what we really think. It’s harmless, mostly,” Robin remarks, leaning back against a white planter box, basking in the shade of the tangerine trees.
“Till it isn’t,” Zoro says, finishing up his workout and pushing himself up for a long stretch. He casts his eyes once more towards where you’re now laughing as Usopp tries to think of some new tall tale to tell.
It only takes you half a second to turn your head, and Zoro wonders at the kind of life you might’ve led to make you so sensitive to another person’s gaze. What must’ve happened to warrant this kind of alertness? But then again, he’d been a hunter long enough to know exactly what being hunted looks like.
He caught a glimpse of it at the compound but — still, his fingers itch toward his swords, his jaw clenches tight enough for Robin to cock her head and raise a brow.
“Yes… until it isn’t…” she echoes, her eyes also trailing towards you.
Zoro holds your gaze for a second before rolling his shoulders and looking away, squinting at the far horizon.
“Oi. Looks like trouble.”
Robin straightens, and a second later, Chopper sounds the alarm from the crow’s nest.
“Marines! Marines!”
There is the shink of swords being drawn, the gentle echo of Robin’s voice as her arms multiply. There’s canon fire and a lot of yelling. But at the end, there’s only bodies and blood and the tattered remains of the Marine’s ship, bobbing in the stained sea below them.
“Should we go after them?” Sanji asks, lighting up a cig, watching as the tiny emergency boat rows off into the distance.
“Nah. We’ll be alright!” Luffy says, wiping a hand across his nose.
Zoro turns towards you, sheathing his swords.
“You alright?”
“I’m fine,” you say, your voice immediately taking on an unctuous sheen that makes Zoro take a step closer.
“You hurt anywhere?” he runs an appraising eye down your form and nods in the knowledge that at least you don’t look hurt.
“No… I —” you chew down on your bottom lip, fingers digging into the bare flesh of your arms. But you back away from him the moment he tries to take a step forward.
“Hey — quit that,” he taps at your wrist with the hilt of his sword, the touch hard but not harsh, forcing you to pull away.
“It’s — I’m — I’m alright,” you say, insistent and mollifying. Zoro runs his thumb against the hilt of his blades and scoffs.
“Liar,” he says, tossing the word casually back at you in a way that makes your breath hitch. Then, he turns, and marches below decks to tend to his own wounds.
A deafening silence rings out around you as you stare down at the ships blood-drenched planks before Robin places a gentle hand on your shoulder.
“C’mon now — lets get your back looked at.”
Below decks, you find Zoro dabbing gingerly at a large slash on his right arm.
“Here, you’ve missed a spot —” you reach out to take the iodine soaked cloth from Zoro’s hand, only to have him jerk away. You flinch back, wide-eyed.
Zoro softens, if only ever so slightly.
“I’m fine,” he says, a harsh edge to his voice as he goes back to trying to twist around himself enough to see the spot he’s missed. You purse your lips, watching him for a second, two seconds, three — before you glance back at the place Robin had been only to realize that she’d gone.
“May… I?” you reach out your hand, palm up, tentative and imploring. But you hold yourself still, waiting for Zoro to make the next move. And he does, eventually, sighing as he turns back around to drop the piece of cloth into your palm.
You reach forward as he turns to his side, offering up his arm as you slowly start to wipe away at the bits of dried blood caking his skin to reveal the raw, red gash, the angry, raised flesh around it. You lean forward, blowing slightly as you daub at the wound, making your way down his bicep till the entire cut’s been coated in iodine.
“There. All done.”
You lean back to toss the cloth into the sink but Zoro stops you. He catches your wrist in his good hand and with a slight tug, has you toppling forward towards his chest.
“Turn around.”
His voice is soft, but firm. And it leaves no room for protests as you stare at him for a long moment before sighing and resigning yourself to your fate. You turn to show him your back.
A disgruntled huff is all you get before you hear the distinct sounds of Zoro rummaging around the first aide kit for a fresh piece of cloth, and the pop of the iodine bottle opening again.
“Who did this?” he asks as he slowly reaches out to tug a thin spike from your skin, small as a needle and just as sharp. You bite back a wince.
“The porcupine guy…” your voice trails off as Zoro grunts.
“Right.”
He tugs out another spike; it tinks against the metal of the sink as he tosses it away. A brief sting, and then the cooling feeling of the iodine cloth.
After a few minutes of working in silence, Zoro sighs.
“Geez, he really got you bad, didn’t he?”
“Not really,” you say, and you feel Zoro’s hands pause.
“No?”
You shake your head, “I’ve… been through much worse… and lived to tell the tale so…”
Zoro doesn’t need to ask to know that you’re talking about your past on the island, inside that windowless compound. He can see it in the scars that mar nearly the entirety of your back, the criss-cross lines of what looks like knife-wounds, the occasional puckered marks that look suspiciously like burns. He steels himself then, and continues to work — plucking out a spike and cleaning out the wound.
“You were right,” he says, when he finally finishes cleaning up your back and you both straighten to face each other. He wipes his hands clean and winces slightly as he flexes his newly bandaged arm.
“Right about what?” your voice is innocent, but the flash in your eyes tells him that you know exactly what he’s talking about.
“That first day — I couldn’t protect you. I couldn’t… make sure that no one ever hurt you again.”
His fingers curl into fists at his sides and you can see the muscle ticking in his jaw as he clenches his teeth.
You reach out, tracing a thumb along his jawline. When you pull back, there’s a small daub of blood on your finger and you wipe it away without breaking his gaze.
“No, you couldn’t but… you tried.”
Zoro scoffs, “Tryin’s not good enough.”
“No,” you jerk up to glare at him, your voice harsh in a way that he’s only ever heard right after they’d rescued you, the edges of your words raw and ragged as a serrated blade, “trying is everything.”
interlude: truth or dare
It gets better after that, and you grow and bloom and grow some more. Zoro does too, though in his own way — he gets stronger, gets faster, hits harder. And though you two never quite agree on anything, he is always by your side, and you’re somehow always by his.
“’M not even a lil drunk —”
“Liar~” you singsong, giggling as Zoro shakes his head, tipping the remains of a bottle of sake back down his throat before wiping at his lips with the back of his hand.
“Mm… ‘s that all I am to you? Just another guy who lies?” Zoro swings lazily on the hammock hung on the main deck, his eyes half-lidded and alight with the dancing firelight.
“Stupid question — drink,” you answer, bringing our own bottle up to your lips.
Zoro laughs, quiet and pleased as he reaches for a new bottle.
“Alright then — truth or dare?” he asks, uncorking the new bottle and reaching out to offer you some. You bat him away, your movements languid and heavy, your back pressed against a heavy wooden barrel, one leg propped up to support your arm, the other stretched out long and lithe in front of you.
“Truth,” you say, your voice easy, your smile even more so.
“Alright then — do you trust me?” Zoro’s voice dips, and your eyes flash up. There’s a sobering light somewhere behind the alcohol soaked haze clouding his gaze and you can tell by the steadiness of his hands that he’s not nearly as drunk as he might seem.
“What do you mean?” you ask, casually evading the question.
Zoro tuts, “’S not an answer.”
“I’m asking for a clarification.”
Zoro shakes his head, taking another soft swig, “Simple question — do you trust me?”
You purse your lips, mulling over the myriad answers you could provide and make it sound like the truth. But that’s not really how the game goes. So instead, you take a deep breath.
“I — I want to,” and it’s the way your voice breaks that makes it honest, the way you can’t hold the truth in by the seams of your careful cadence, no matter how hard you try to smooth out the ragged edges.
“So… that’s a no,” Zoro says, keeping his tone even. You can’t help reaching for him — imploring.
“Not yet but —”
“Why?”
“Why… what?”
“I guess…” Zoro leans back, casting his eyes up at the wild, dark sky, careening above the ship in an ecstatic spread of stars and, long sinuous, moon-silvered clouds, “why d’you want to trust me? Doesn’t seem like something you’d be eager to do after… y’know, everything.”
You lick your lips and stare into the empty bottom of your glass.
“Honestly?” you say, “because you’re kind of a shit liar —”
Zoro lets out a soft, rumbling laugh, but doesn’t deny it.
“But… also because you’re the only person I’ve met who… who treats words so carefully — I mean…” you swallow, leaning forward slightly as Zoro drops his gaze back down to you, “it’s like — my whole life has just been people saying things they don’t really mean, and never meaning what they say, and then trying to figure out what’s really happening — trying to say the right thing, not the thing you mean but the thing you think they’d want to hear —” your breath quickens, “and — and if you don’t or if you’re bad at it, then bad things happen to you and the people you care about —”
“Hey.”
A hand presses down on your shoulder and you gasp, your breath knifing through your chest as you clasp your shaking hands to your sternum.
“Breathe. You’re okay.”
You nod, unable to say anything as Zoro sits in front of you, his hand like an anchor in a summer storm, keeping you tethered.
You breathe and take stock of your limbs — feet, legs, hands, arms. It’s then that you realize Zoro’s crouching in front of you, your drink glass resting by his side.
“Thanks,” you say, nodding as he gives your shoulder a slight squeeze before pulling away. Physical touch has never been one of your strong points, and it seems Zoro’s learned that without you ever having to tell him.
It’s strange — the sudden knowledge that somehow, his understanding of you has been wordless and implicit. Complete, from nearly the day the Straw Hats had picked you up on that island. You’d never had to explain, never had to draw your boundaries.
And yet somehow, he knew. As if he’d always just known.
“Truth or dare?” you ask him, your voice barely a whisper, shifting to make more space for him on the dark deck of the ship’s forecastle. Zoro sits down in front of you, crossing his legs.
“Dare.”
You don’t fight the grin as it lifts the side of your lips.
The quiet pulses between the pair of you like a heartbeat.
“Tell me a secret.”
“Gotta be more specific,” Zoro’s grin lilts to mirror your own.
“Any secret,” you say, “something you… something you wouldn’t otherwise say out loud.”
“Isn’t that what a secret’s supposed to be? Something you don’t say?”
You laugh, tasting the sound like a mouthful of champagne, bubbling up through you and spiraling towards the endless summer’s night.
“Quit stalling!”
“Think I wanna kiss you.”
A gasp slices through the air between you. You feel the weight of it in your throat, the white-hot flicker of his gaze as he glances down at your lips. You wet them without thinking, and as Zoro lean’s in, you can sense the night around you slowly coalescing into something warm, something solid. Like a marble clutched in a child’s palm, or a pearl held on an oyster’s velvet tongue.
“Truth or dare?” he asks.
He stops just short of your lips, his nose almost grazing yours. You can nearly taste the sweet sake on his breath —
“Dare.”
“Close your eyes.”
Your lashes flutter and for a second, an eternity revolves in the space between your heartbeats. Faintly, you register the gentle rocking of the ship as an indolent wave catches her starboard side.
You close your eyes.
For a second, there is space. For a second, there is breath. For a second, there is gravity. And then — all of that disappears. All of it eclipsed by the kiss. And then, the kiss is all there is.
All there was, and ever will be.
There’s a graze of fingers against skin, the bump of legs against legs against thighs against knees — there’s knuckles and noses and hair falling, hair being tugged into closing fists. There’s the clink-clink-clink of earrings, and the clatter-clap-clat of swords and hilts and rough, wooden planks.
There’s the dull thunk and baseline rumble of a glass being knocked over and rolling away.
But all of that is afterthought. All of that is supplement, a postscript, marginalia and footnotes.
Because there, then — there is only the kiss, and nothing but the kiss: a catastrophe of inevitability, smooth as a secret, and whisper-sweet.
When the pair of you pull away, there’s a chaos of wings against your ribcage.
There’s the honeyed, lambent light in Zoro’s eyes as he grins down at you.
“Truth — or dare,” a breathless gasp punctuates your words.
Zoro’s grin only grows as he tips your chin back between his thumb and forefinger.
“Dare.”
It’s only then that you realize his cheeks are wine-flushed, his chest rising and falling nearly as fast as yours. You swallow slow and track his eyes as he watches the pale bob of your throat.
“Kiss me again.”
act iii: fool’s gold
It takes all of three hours for Sanji to get something out of Zoro, and three days before Robin and Nami manage to wheedle something out of you.
“No seriously! Things have been different since that one party we had —” Nami presses her palm to the kitchen table, here eyes wide. Robin sits on the couch, her expression one of mixed amusement and near academic interest.
“Different how?” you reach into the cookie jar and fish out a crumbled corner of what used to be a double chocolate chip cookie.
“Ugh! You know what I mean!” Nami turns to Robin, motioning towards you, “Help me here!”
Robin laughs, tossing up a graceful hand, “I suppose something does seem… changed.”
“Something?” you ask, licking at a smudge of chocolate on your thumb.
“Well…” Robin says, drawing out the syllable and making to examine the nails on her long, thin fingers, “it’s definitely not nothing.”
You allow yourself a smile, “Something’s definitely not nothing.”
Nami lets out a frustrated groan, but she’s smiling too.
It’s been long enough that you’d learned to relax around them, and you’d since also learned that nothing is so sacred as the sanctity of sisterhood. That bonds between friends might be forged in fire and brimstone, but bonds between women are forged in cinder and smoke — in the wreckage of after, when the fighting’s been done and all that’s left is the mending.
“What’s all this giggling about?” Zoro ducks into the half-ajar door, staring at the three of you.
Nami cocks an eyebrow; Robin shrugs.
You, for your part, smile and bat your lashes.
“Oh nothing,” you say.
“Just girl-talk,” offers Nami.
“Nothing to interest a legendary swordsman like yourself,” Robin polishes off.
Zoro’s eyes narrow, his gaze jumping between the three of you before it lands on you and he scoffs.
“Yeah, whatever. We’re docking soon.”
And that’s all he offers before sauntering back out of the room, leaving the door swinging behind him, but not before you catch sight of the redness at the tips of his ears as he hurries away.
You give it a beat of three seconds before pushing to your feet and following after, humming to yourself. Behind you, Nami and Robin share a knowing look.
“Definitely not nothing,” Robin says as she stands to follow you.
The island, if it can even be called that, is nothing more than a rough conglomeration of steep cliffs strapped together by a thin band of land barely wide enough to be categorized as a beach.
“Well! This is something!” Luffy declares, his arms akimbo on his hips as he stares at the island.
“Yeah… it’s uh… something for sure,” Usopp agrees, making a face as he squints at the cluster of rocks that look more like the jagged edges of a broken bottle than any kind of proper land formation.
“We’ll just anchor here for the night… get some good rest, and then...” Sanji’s words trail off, interrupted by a ghostly wail that rises from the gathering of dark cliffs, turning them into an echo chamber until it seems to rumble through the sand beneath them.
“… gold, all gold! — no, not a liar — please!”
A shiver etches itself up your spine and instinctively, you wrap your arms around yourself.
Zoro steps out in front of you, as if to shield you from whatever might come. His thumb presses against the hilt of his swords, his shoulders tense as corded wire.
“Uh… everyone else heard that too, right?” Chopper asks, peaking out from around Robin’s legs.
“Yep. Definitely not just you,” Sanji confirms.
Luffy grins, “Seems like there’s someone else on this island! Maybe they can show us around!”
Time passes by strangely on the island — one minute, the sun is still hanging low on the far horizon, and the next, the sky is the color of a bullet wound, darkness seeping in around the horizon.
“Whoever’s here on the island — they sure aren’t making it — easy —” Sanji grunts as he hoists himself up a slippery piece of rock face, sweat glistening on his forehead as he squints into the looming blackness.
“Luffy? You sure you know where we’re going?” Nami shouts, her voice ringing back in a way that makes everyone wince and cover their ears.
Zoro grabs your elbow a second before you slip, fingers digging into your flesh even as you steady yourself against him.
“Sorry — thanks,” you say, unsure of which one you really mean.
“Yeah! I can smell something — like a campfire! And… cooking!” Luffy’s voice calls back from somewhere in the gathering dark. Everyone shares a glance before bracing themselves and trudging on.
By the time you all catch up to Luffy, no one is certain of what time it is, only that it’s dark. But the kind of darkness that seems to cling to the skin — a darkness so dense it starts to take on shape and weight.
It presses in around you and you feel your breaths shortening in your chest.
Beside you, Zoro reaches out to brace a hand at the small of your back.
“Oh! I see a light ahead! C’mon!” Luffy’s voice rings out from somewhere up ahead, followed by the patter of sandals on stone. The rest of you follow, and then all too suddenly, light flickers to life in what seems to be a huge, subterranean cave deep within the cliffs of the island. It casts stark shadows against the slick, cavernous walls.
You frown, goosebumps rising along your arms and legs.
But before you have time to dwell on the wrongness of something there, Luffy’s voice snags your attention like a thread on an errant splinter.
“Hi! Oh, wow — that looks delicious!”
You turn a corner to find Luffy hunkering down over a blazing campfire and the silhouette of someone sitting opposite him, a sharp spike held out in front of them, turning slowly over the flickering flames.
“Oh… please… come join me — sit and listen to a story — I have so many stories — so many adventures to share!” the figure across the fire seems to quiver with the dancing flames, his voice filling up the whole of the cave, loud and boisterous and eager. But strange and hollow too.
You frown, chewing on the insides of your cheeks.
Ahead of you, Usopp and Chopper both take tentative seats next to Luffy, who had cheerfully plopped down next to the fire.
“Wow, this looks great! Are you here by yourself? I’m here with my crew! Are you a pirate too?” Luffy asks, his endless enthusiasm pouring from him like a spring.
Robin, Nami, and Sanji all hold back, but you take a step forward, and then another. Something compelling you towards the voice, pulling you closer. There’s a desperation, a loneliness with which you’re all too familiar — you inch closer, and then closer, till you’re almost level with Luffy, and you lower yourself to the ground next to him, Zoro dropping down beside you, his knee pressing against your leg in a silent reassurance.
“Come… come closer! It’s a good story — I promise!”
“Truth,” you mutter, just beneath your breath. Beside you, Zoro lets out a puff of breath, though his stance doesn’t loosen.
Behind you, you can hear the distinct sounds of the rest of the crew drawing just a step closer.
“Once upon a time… there was a city on an island where everything, and I mean everything was made of gold!”
The figure across the fire sounds cheered, elated even. Behind you, you feel Nami take half a step closer. Cold seeps into your veins despite the warm, dancing flames, and your fingers dig into the hard packed earth beneath you.
“I found it — I did! With my crew — the best sailors and seamen around! But the king… he was greedy! And he wanted his own men to take the treasures, so he forced me to lead them to the city again —”
“Truth,” you say again, but something in the tone of the figure’s voice makes you frown.
“Except… the city had gone… and there was nothing left… nothing but lies!”
You shudder back, swallowing hard. All around you, the darkness presses in with long, thin tendrils like so many loving fingers. The fire flares up, casting sparks up towards the cave’s ceiling, where stalagmites hang like broken teeth in a petrified monster’s maw.
“Oh… don’t be scared… come back — I won’t hurt you —”
“Liar!” you spit, the word scraping its way out of your throat.
Zoro leaps to his feet just as Luffy does the same. The fire flares again, a second before snuffing itself out, but in that second, you finally catch sight of the figure, hooded in shadow, sitting across from you — it has the shape of a man, tall and broad, but the limbs of a spindle-legged monster. It wears the darkness like a cloak, with beady, red eyes and a too-wide mouth.
“Don’t! Call me a liar! That’s what they called me — that’s what they called when they killed me! KILLED ME FOR TELLING THE TRUTH!”
You scramble back, Zoro nearly lifting you off the ground in his haste to pull you away. Luffy whips back his arm and swings it forward but all it catches is tendrils of shadow.
“Hey! That’s not nice!” he shakes off his fist, frowning as he stares at the bits of wriggling darkness still clinging to his skin.
“Run!” you shout as everyone bolts for the lightless path you all took to get to the heart of the cave.
“NOT A LIAR! NOT A LIAR! I FOUND IT! THE CITY! BELIEVE ME! BELIEVE ME!”
You clap your hands around your ears and race for what you hope is the exit. Behind you, you can hear the distinct sounds of Zoro’s blades whistling through the air*.*
“Damnit! How’dyou fight a shadow? There’s nothin’ to hit!”
“Quit tryna hit it and just run!” Sanji’s voice answers a second before he breezes passed you.
“Why don’t you believe me? Why?!”
“We — I believe you!” you shout, your chest a thundering mess of footfalls and scrambling bodies, and against all instinct, you turn around to face the darkness again, cupping your hands around your mouth, “I believe you! I know — I know you’re telling the truth!”
“What’re you doing?” Zoro asks, leveling himself by your side, his arm pressing against yours. Behind you, the thinnest sliver of light is creeping into the cave from what you assume is the entrance.
Morning. Has it really been that long?
Time is the greatest liar, you remember, suddenly, violently, the thought tearing through you like teeth.
“I — he’s telling the truth,” you say through gritted teeth, even as you take a few steps back. Inside the cave, the figure seems to shrink back from the encroaching light.
“What truth?” Zoro asks, his blade held aloft, his stance wide and ready.
“All of it,” you say, forcing your voice to be gentle, turning your face back towards the darkness, “I know, I can hear it — I know you’re telling the truth — about the island, the city — all of it!”
“Yes… all I wanted was to get back to the city… but… no one believe me… and I died… I died for it!”
“I know, and I’m sorry… no one should be punished for telling the truth —” your voice cracks.
“I tried!”
“I know…” you say as the figure shrinks and shrinks and shrinks and the light behind you grows and grows and grows, until you can feel the warm seeping into the skin of your back.
“And trying is everything,” you say, biting your lip as Zoro wraps an arm around your waist.
“Come with me… I’ll take you to the city — we can go together!”
You shake your head, heat prickling at your eyes as you turn away from the darkness of the cave and towards the light of the oncoming day.
“Liar…” the word falls from you like a rock, or a tear, cast off the cliff that greets you and Zoro as you both stare over the edge. The rest of the crew is nowhere to be found, but Zoro’s arm is still around your waist, and you can feel his warm breath by your cheek.
“Hey — do you trust me?”
You look up; in the dawning, morning light, Zoro, with his sun-kissed skin and dark moss hair appears to be limned in gold.
And maybe it’s the air, or the sea, or simply the angry pieces of this jagged, left-behind island of shadows like broken teeth trying to tear apart the sky, conducting his voice into a cacophony of echoes that sing and scream through the crags and eves of the valley beneath — but the whole island seems to reverberate with the question —
Do you trust me?
You close your eyes and breath. When you open them again, your heartbeat is steady. And when you speak, the rising sun streaks the tips of the saw-toothed peaks in strokes of molten gold. The valleys beneath you conduct your answer into an entire single-syllabled symphony —
Yes.
You feel his arm tighten around your waist, the wind as it tangles soft fingers in your hair. All around you, everything is light, and light, and light.
“Jump!”
You close your eyes, and jump.
-----
footnotes/appendix
uso-uso no mi translates to "lie-lie fruit"; i made it up bc it would be too op to have in the actual animanga i think
the "acts" refer to a classical 3-act structure that most movies/plays/scripts are written in: setup, confrontation, and resolution... with a smattering of other things sprinkled in for ~vibes~
in much of classical japanese and chinese mythology, foxes are associated with trickers and lies, often turning into beautiful women to deceive men, luring them into forests and mountains before taking their lives
the "figure" in the last scene is... can you guess? noland! kudos to anyone who figured it out as they were reading *\ (>o<) /*
did i absolutely take the "do you trust me" line from disney's aladdin??? HELL YEAH i did !!!! tru trust is my kink u__u
#one piece angst#roronoa zoro angst#one piece#opla roronoa zoro#roronoa zoro#roronoa zoro x reader#one piece x reader#roronoa zoro x you#x reader#zoro x reader#zoro x you#opla#one piece netflix#opla x reader#roronoa zoro fluff#one piece fluff#opla fluff#roronoa zoro imagines#roronoa zoro scenarios#one piece live action#floofy floof floof#writing this was a fever dream tbh i dont rmbr half of it but ITS DONE#i'll give u my heart on a platter if you tell me your thoughts!!!!#or just idk wail with me about opla!zoro that works too
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Yandere Dragon Riders Headcanons (Platonic)
❝ 🐲 — lady l: this turned out longer than I expected, but that's ok. I'm rewatching Race to the Edge and I ended up thinking about this. Hope you like it! 💛💜
❝tw: obsessive and possessive behavior, manipulation, unhealthy platonic relationships, mention of death and implicit torture.
❝🐲pairing: platonic yandere!dragon riders x gender neutral!reader, platonic yandere!dragons x gender neutral!reader.
How you met the Dragon Riders may depend. Maybe you were from Berk and grew up alongside them and thus became one of them. Or maybe you were from a far away place and met them by chance. Regardless of how you met them, you became part of the group immediately.
Hiccup was interested in you and invited you to become part of the Dragon Riders and his friends fully agreed with their leader. You were warmly welcomed and your members and dragons became close to you quickly.
Having your own dragon yourself, you had some fighting experience and knew how to deal with these beasts. So, you agreed to become part of the Dragon Riders and that was the beginning of their obsession.
Hiccup is the leader and is very fair, he has always known how to deal with everything his way and it has always worked out. He is gentle and protective, sometimes becoming suffocating. He just wants to make sure you're okay, always hovering over you and making sure you're happy and safe.
He's fair, but when it comes to you, that disappears quickly. Gods forbid if anything happened to you, he would be ruthless. You can break all the rules and you will get away with anything, Hiccup would never punish you. He is very soft to you and only you.
Toothless is an incredibly intelligent dragon, similar in many ways to his rider. He clung to you the same way his best friend did. It's very common to see him seconding you around, imitating you and just being protective. Toothless will live up to his title as "the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself" when it comes to protecting those he loves. And he loves you.
Very affectionate too, he loves receiving affection from you, lying on your lap, or letting you rub his scales. You swear you hear the dragon purring when you do this. Toothless would love to take you flying with him and Hiccup. Just the three of you.
Astrid was more suspicious at first, wary when you became part of the group, but soon all the mistrust and suspicion she had disappeared as she warmed up to you. She is extremely strong and takes what she wants and Astrid will have no problem taking you for herself as well.
She will love teaching you how to fight and practicing with you is one of her favorite things to do with you. Astrid is very possessive of you and tends to fight with anyone who spends more time than she would like with you. She will have no qualms about killing anyone who poses a threat to you.
Stormfly is very intelligent and protective, very reminiscent of her rider's characteristics. She's not that affectionate, but she shows her affection for you in more subtle ways, like gently bumping her head on your shoulder and allowing you to stroke her tail.
She likes it when you feed her chicken or play with her, as a form of training. Stormfly would never hurt you, however, it is quite common to see her burying you under the snow as a joke.
Fishlegs is extremely intelligent and uses this to his advantage, his limitless knowledge of dragons, science and history makes him very insightful. He was the second, after his leader, to warmly welcome you into the group, pulling you into a loving hug.
He is not that demanding of your attention, but he appreciates the moments you spend together. He would love to teach you all about dragons and meditate with you. He's a real teddy bear, a friend and you know you can trust him with anything. Fishlegs is the kindest of them all and would never inflict harm on anyone, at least not physically.
Meatlug is an especially affectionate and needy dragon, always wanting to receive as much affection and attention as she can get from you and her rider.
She is very gentle and likes to have her belly rubbed, usually lying down in front of you with her belly up to receive pets. Meatlug is very calm and would hardly hurt anyone unless it poses a risk to you or Fishlegs.
The twins are a double package, when one becomes obsessed, the other does too. It doesn't matter which one of them became attached to you first, as they will fight about it and claim you for each other. Tuffnut and Ruffnut are always fighting for your attention and often end up forgetting about other things when they are fighting over you.
But once they both learn to share better, the fights will lessen and they will spend more time by your side. They demand a lot from you, wanting you to participate in their games and stay with them. Tuffnut and Ruffnut will have no problem fighting or killing anyone for you.
Barf and Belch are just like their riders, one body, two heads, and two brains. They are quite playful and like to scare you sometimes, but they are quite protective and will protect you with their lives if necessary.
They are different dragons, despite sharing the same body, and they act differently sometimes. Barf is calmer while Belch likes to mess with you. They are quite affectionate and like to rub their heads against yours as a form of affection.
Snotlout is the very definition of chaos and a difficult Viking to deal with. He accepted you with open arms, smiling at you and his eyes shining. He is very explosive and difficult to deal with at times, occasionally leading him to do stupid things that are fixed by his friends.
He is very close to you and acts kindly way, although he always flirts with you. Snotlout is quite protective and will kill and deal with anyone who dares to harm you. His anger is not to be taken lightly. He constantly gets into fights with the other riders over you.
Hookfang is essentially the version of his rider in a draconic form, the debauchery and bad mood have been with him for a long time. He is quite calm around you, sometimes poking you and asking for affection but nothing exaggerated. He is not a needy dragon, but he likes to receive your attention sometimes.
He is less close to you, but Hookfang protects you with claws and fire, his body igniting when a threat is close to you. He will have no problem burning alive anyone who threatens you, always with the consent of his rider.
Everyone is incredibly protective of you and will protect you from any situation. Especially when it involves a fight with the Dragon Hunters. They can't risk you getting hurt. If something were to happen to you, they will be ruthless and cruel. No one can mess with one of them without paying the consequences.
Becoming a Dragon Rider was a good thing for you, not only did you make friends for life, but an overprotective family that will not allow any harm to be done to you. Loyalty between you is the main trait you all share and there is nothing they won't do for you.
#yandere httyd#httyd#yandere how to train your dragon#how to train your dragon#yandere hiccup horrendous haddock iii#yandere hiccup#yandere hiccup haddock#yandere hiccup haddock x reader#yandere toothless#yandere astrid hofferson#yandere astrid hofferson x reader#yandere stormfly#yandere fishlegs ingerman#yandere fishlegs ingerman x reader#yandere meatlug#yandere tuffnut thorston#yandere tuffnut thorston x reader#yandere ruffnut thorston#yandere ruffnut thorston x reader#yandere barf and belch#yandere snotlout jorgenson#yandere snotlout jorgenson x reader#yandere hookfang#yandere dragon riders#yandere dragon riders x reader#yandere dragons#yandere dragons x reader#yandere headcanons#headcanons
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I finally did it! Thanks to everyone who helped me. Commenters gave me wonderful ideas. :3
I remind. My English is terrible. Feel free to correct my mistakes if you wish.
Yandere!Astarion X Reader Please don't read this if you are uncomfortable with the yandere! tw: obsessive behaviour, yandere thoughts, non-consensual drinking blood, interference in other people's relationships
Astarion leans over your sleeping form and inhales. The sweet smell fills his lungs. He can hear the blood flowing through your veins. He hears your heart beating in your chest. This reminds him of how excited you get when he flirts shamelessly. Astarion runs his cold fingers down your neck. You start to wake up and he is forced to leave.
Shadowheart recoils from the evil vampire. She's a little ashamed that she hurt you. But it's not her fault! You yourself jumped out in front of her during the battle and were hit by a spell. It's just an accident. The girl wanted to heal you, but Astarion suddenly flew into a rage and did not allow her to get closer to you. Shadowheart looked at the man in bewilderment. There was no trace of his usual playfulness left on his face. She decided to retreat. In the end, he will handle such a simple task as applying ointment to your small burn.
Astarion loves it when you describe his appearance and shower him with compliments. However, the hardest part is getting you to start doing it. He's too proud to ask directly. The entire camp sees how needy he can be sometimes. But no one will ever admit it unless they want to die bloodless that night.
You and Gale are standing near the fire and looking at each other. This time the conflict has crossed all boundaries. You sigh in disappointment and ask him to leave the camp. He doesn't argue. This was an obvious result. Astarion will find you a little later to console you. You and Gale didn't get along from the start. Astarion hugs you, hiding a satisfied smile in your hair. Now everything is in the past. No one will remember the phrases spoken by Astarion that sowed mistrust. “He hides too much. It’s dangerous to trust him.” "They would kill you if you were even the least bit useless." “He has no right to demand that you solve his problems, especially in such a tone.” “Hi, Gail. I think they almost told the Followers of the Absolute about you today.”
Astarion successfully repelled an attack that you did not notice. Having dealt with the enemy, he looks at you. You look tired. You can barely stand on your feet and hold your weapon with a trembling hand. You no longer have the strength to pretend to be healthy. Astarion then says that you both need to go back to rest. You complain of itchy bite scars. "It won't heal." Astarion looks at the fresh scars from last night. You don't need to know that he is eating more often than you allow him to. The vampire says casually, “Your body must just be weak from illness.” Astarion takes you in his arms. You try to weakly resist, but you both understand that it’s faster. You fall asleep on his shoulder. Man inhales your scent. Astarion really wants to bite you again, but he restrains himself. Eventually he will have to give you a break or you will die.
#yandere astarion#yandere x reader#yandere bg3#astarion x reader#baldur's gate 3 x reader#bg3 x reader
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tw: workplace harassment, mental illness, gn reader, make sure to read the last paragraph as well characters: Crocodile, Doflamingo word count: 1k
While I may be suffering from "I'm a total newbie and scared shitless of my boss" disease + an anxiety disorder, this would be so perfect for either Crocodile and Doflamingo.
Just think about it… You just started working for one of them - and both men certainly demand respect, can be quite scary when provoked, but you think you can weather any storm that might be coming your way. You’re grown, you’ve got bills to pay, they’ve been professional enough so far, it won’t be too bad, right? Oh, stupid, stupid you - because they can smell your little authority figure issues ten miles upwind.
Both notice that you're green, easily impressed and hurried by their presence, notice how sweaty your hands and furrowed your brow gets - and both definitely corner you; try to get you into a frenzied state, right into panic mode just because it’s fun to see how you slowly fly off the hinges. They both toy with you in their own ways - Crocodile is just always standing behind you, silently watching, only the smell of smoke and his cologne telling you he's right there, looming over your shoulder. He enjoys the way your hands shake with whatever it is you’re doing, how you cough and shift around while he does absolutely nothing. His mere presence makes you so antsy he doesn't even have to say something and his silence is easily interpreted as criticism and mistrust by your anxious little brain. It only gets worse when he never talks about his little staring/surveillance sessions, never explains why he randomly shows up at your desk or workstation, never asks you for a word afterwards - you always feel like you’re not good enough, that no matter how long you’ve been by his side, he needs to check up on you. He’s an imposing man, too - so much bulk and smoke, just the thought of him asking you for a vis-a-vis keeps you up at night. And every day, every week spent fretting over him and his perception of you (coupled with the fact that you really, really need this job) makes you more and more insecure, makes it hard to unwind after yet another long day, makes you overanalyze every single glance, every word and move of his. He slowly creeps into your after-hours, your conversations with friends, your weekends, even your vacations. And he can tell. Crocodile notices the slight, subtle changes. The way you smooth over your clothes before talking to him, how you place an index and middle finger over sternum as if to shield yourself from him, the fucking cold sweat shining on your forehead whenever he does question a decision of yours with a gruff bark. The way you avoid his eyes, stumble over your own feet in a hurry, the way he can see that you sleep worse and worse - that’s how he knows he's got you hooked, fully and wholly. That all you're thinking about is him and work and pleasing him and being good at work and again, him and work and him and- Your job is the only thing in your life now, from the moment you wake up to the time you lay your head down to sleep, everything is consumed by thoughts of him and his opinions about you and your abilities, always aiming to please and so, so nervous to fail. It’s perfect.
Doflamingo is way more vocal about it. He'll throw your work right back into your face, all sneers and acid tongue. It’s just not enough, never enough, reflects badly on him, on his company - whatever it is you do, it hails nothing but criticism and mockery and late nights to fix your stupid mistakes. He doesn’t even give you moments of rest, he just constantly picks on you until you’re seriously considering just resigning for your own mental health. He’s methodically destroying your self-esteem, makes you doubt your own abilities - you know you shouldn’t let him creep into your head as much as he does, but when all you hear is that you’re so fucking bad at your job, how much you suck - it sticks. You’re so stressed because of him you almost have a panic attack over putting your two weeks in and despite your suffering, you keep procrastinating, keep telling yourself you’ll do it tomorrow, when you have had a full night’s sleep. Problem is - you never do. He can tell by the way you’re idling, fiddling with the straps of your bag whenever he comes in for the day that you’re trying to leave - but that you're simply too scared of his reaction to pull the trigger. And that right there; that fear, that pedestal you put him on is the perfect breeding ground for all sorts of unethical things he can push you to do for him. He starts out small; things like getting him coffee in the mornings when you never did that before, a too-warm, lingering hand on your shoulder, a comment about your outfit - every little thing is calculated, tailored to slowly destroy your boundaries while you fear him more and more, give him way more authority over your life than you should. He knows it’s psychological, that someone else might be able to flip him off and leave without ever thinking twice about him. But you… You have accepted him as the one part of your life everything hinges on - you give him all that power in your sick little brain. Oh, he’ll use it well. The fun has only just started, rest assured.
And while Crocodile gets to click his tongue, scoff and tell you that he'll take over from now on because clearly - you're just not capable and you obviously need him (not only at work but also in your whole life, silly), Doflamingo taunts you and tells you to make yourself useful, then, if you can't even do your job right. Maybe sucking his dick is your true calling - come on, let's see if you can do at least one thing right. One man wants to take your life over completely, sees you as the malleable (perfect) mess that you are, with all the potential that comes with it - and the other just wants to fuck you up for the next decade of your life, wants to be reason you wake up in the middle of night because his vicious smile still bounces around in that head of yours
#crocodile x reader#doflamingo x reader#one piece x reader#ah... if only crocodile decided to fuck me up and make me worse.. only for him to swoop in and use it as an excuse to wife me up... hmmmm..#/crocodile#/doflamingo#/one pice
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Broken
The first time Dalton shrinks in front of Bennett. The experience leaves him injured and mistrusting of Bennett, who doesn't quite understand what he's done wrong.
tw: anxiety, uncomfortable touching
character context: Dalton is a size-shifter whose height is affected by his emotions. Bennett frequently gets stuck in time loops and the only way to get the loop to end is for him to survive the day.
word count: 2.1k
-> In Which Everything Goes Wonderfully Wrong masterpost link: Here
-> character introductions and moodboards: Here
Dalton felt an itch begin to spread across his skin. It started on his chest and it felt like his heart was being squeezed. He took in a sharp breath, gaining the attention of Bennett. His eyes snapped over to him.
“You okay?”
The itch was spreading, moving down his arms and his legs. Not now, not now, Dalton thought, his heartbeat spiking. He felt like he couldn’t catch his breath.
Bennett was staring at him with concern, briefly glancing around the library to see if anyone else had noticed his panic. Dalton’s hands were on both sides of his head and he was bent over the table.
He had to focus. Swallow down the itch. This could not happen right now, not in a crowded place like this. Not in front of Bennett.
Bennett reached a hand out to him. “Dude, what’s going on? Are you alright?”
The unexpected touch on Dalton’s arm pulled him out of his concentration, and he felt himself drop down a couple of inches. Once it started, there was no containing the shift in size. Without a word, Dalton stood from the table and rushed to the nearest aisle of bookshelves.
It was just his luck, Dalton thought. The university library was a horrible place for him shrink down. What was worse, was that it was happening in front of Bennett. He had only just met the guy a couple days ago, and he was one of the only two people that knew about his abilities. Rory had left them alone for just a measly few minutes to go and find a book she needed, and now she wouldn’t be around while Dalton was small and unprotected.
He reached an isolated corner in the back of the library—just in time, too—and Dalton felt the world shift before his eyes as his stomach dropped. He fell to his knees in an attempt to lessen the temporary vertigo. With labored breaths, Dalton looked up, seeing the shelves tower high above his head. He was about half the height of a regular-sized novel right now, and he was out in the open for anyone to see. Anxiety gripped at his throat.
Thundering footsteps caught his attention, and without a moment’s hesitation, he sprinted to the nearest bookshelf in an effort to conceal himself.
Bennett slowly came down the aisle. “Dalton?” he called, “Where’d you go?”
Dalton shouldn’t say anything. He shouldn’t reveal his hiding space. He’d never been around Bennett small. He would be completely at his mercy. He had no idea how Bennett would react.
Then again, Dalton was in the middle of a public library at his university. Anybody could find him, and when he was this vulnerable there would be nothing he could do if they decided to do anything to him.
His safest option would be with Bennett, no matter how unfamiliar that territory is.
Dalton peeked his head out from his hiding place. “I—I’m here,” he called. He hated how his voice trembled.
Bennett’s eyes shot down to the ground, and Dalton watched in anxiety-riddled silence as he waited for Bennett to spot him.
He hated the fascination that took over Bennett’s features when their eyes locked. Dalton couldn’t help but to take a couple of steps back as Bennett lowered himself to the floor.
“Holy shit!” A smile crept onto Bennett’s face. “You’re so little.”
Dalton flinched at the volume of his voice, stumbling back a couple more steps. He was nearly totally concealed by the shadows of the bookshelf, and frankly, he felt much safer in there. Even if Bennett hadn’t done anything, he couldn’t help that his flight instinct was screaming at him to run.
“Keep your voice down,” Dalton told him, his own voice hushed.
“What was that?” Bennett asked, leaning forwards. “I can hardly hear you.”
He was close. He was too close. “Step back,” Dalton said, voice brittle. He held out a hand as if that would do anything.
Dalton couldn’t pinpoint the expression that painted Bennett’s face at his words, but he didn’t like the way his eyes softened. “Hey, man,” Bennett said, “it’s just me.”
Yeah, no shit. Dalton did not know Bennett. They had only just met. He had no idea how Bennett would act around him at this size. “I need you to go get Rory,” Dalton told him.
“Why? What’s she going to do that I can’t?”
She would know how Dalton was feeling. Her abilities made sure of that. And even though he would never wish this kind of anxiety on his worst enemy, having someone know exactly what was going through his mind would be better at handling him small compared to someone that Dalton only knew as… sporadic.
“No—nothing,” Dalton responded, too stressed to argue. “Just, we need to get out of here. Like, right now.”
“Okay,” Bennett nodded. “I can handle that.”
He reached out a hand and scooped Dalton into a fist.
The claustrophobia was immediate. Dalton felt like he was being squeezed—no, he was being squeezed—and the air was quickly stolen from his lungs. His ribs felt like they were going to shatter. He was going to tell Bennett that he was holding him too tight, but his world was lurched forwards as they took a giant step forward.
Dalton wanted to yell, wanted to demand that Bennett put him back down because he regretted his request to leave immediately, but the fear of being heard (or worse, seen) by others made him keep his mouth shut.
“I’m gonna put you in my hoodie pocket,” Bennett said as they approached the table they had been working at. “So, I can grab our stuff.”
Without warning he was shoved into his front hoodie pocket. Dalton fought an unmanly yelp as he scrambled for purchase in the fabric.
It was hot, it was tight, it was moving, and there was nothing Dalton could do about it. Where was Bennett taking him? Was he going to tell Rory what was happening? Or would Dalton be stuck with Bennett alone until he was able to grow to his normal size?
The walk felt much too long, or much to short, Dalton couldn’t decide. Bennett’s calloused hands found their way around him again, and Dalton was forced back out into the open. His head spun as Bennett adjusted him right-side up, and Dalton was then—rather carelessly—dropped onto a hard surface. He hit hard, not prepared for the drop, and fell on his side, a hard ough! escaping his lips on impact. He propped himself up on one elbow as he took in his surroundings, afraid to find out where Bennett had taken him.
He was in a dorm room, and Dalton could only guess it was Bennett’s. It was messy—clothes scattered on the floor, loose papers sprawled across the surface of the desk—and as he looked around it seemed that Bennett caught on to what he was thinking.
“Uh, sorry about the mess.” He began to pick up his clothes and throw them into his wardrobe. “I wasn’t really expecting company.”
Dalton, finally free from his fabric prison, took this moment to catch his breath. Not being Bennett’s center of attention and being high off the floor was a lot better than what had happened to him so far.
He couldn’t bring himself to stand just yet. His stomach was still lurching from the jostling movements and his legs were weak with anxiety. Dalton watched Bennett shove his clothing into his wardrobe with enough force to snap Dalton in half at this size if Bennett felt like it. He needed to get up, needed to put himself somewhere he felt a little safer.
Dalton sat up, the pain around his ribs almost immediate. They felt bruised—maybe worse—and Dalton knew instantly that coming here was a bad idea. He should have known that Bennett was just too curious about his abilities, and that nothing good could come from this little unwanted adventure.
Bennett sat down at his desk, towering over Dalton’s pitiful form.
“So, now what?” Bennett asked, harshly propping his elbow up on the desk and cradling his chin in his hand. “How do we make you big again?”
Dalton swallowed thickly as he looked up at Bennett, unable to hold eye contact any longer before he forced his head to look back down. “Time,” he choked out.
Bennett hummed, the fingers of his free hand appearing out of nowhere and grabbing hold of one of Dalton’s arms. His forearm was pinched between two fingers, squeezed just a little too tight. He was then forced to turn his arm over as Bennett examined his too-small limb. “What are you doing?” Dalton asked him, forcing his voice not to tremble.
“Just looking at you,” Bennett answered. “You’re just so small it’s actually insane.”
There was a lump in Dalton’s throat. “Please—please let go.”
“Relax, dude. I’m not gonna hurt you.”
It was too late for that, Dalton wanted to say. But he kept his mouth shut and let Bennett continue to gawk at him. He just prayed that he got bored soon.
“Your hands are so tiny,” Bennett said. “They’re like the size of my fingertip.”
His fingers moved down the length of Dalton’s arm, pinching his hand as he marveled at Dalton’s size. Bennett chuckled. “I can’t help but to laugh,” Bennett told him, “this is just so crazy.”
He then yanked on his arm and Dalton lurched forward. His ribs screamed with pain and without a hand to catch himself with, Dalton rolled sideways onto his shoulder. He hit the surface of the desk with an oof.
“Sorry, man.” Bennett was still chuckling, oblivious to Dalton’s discomfort. “I just…” His voice trailed off. “Wow.”
With each prod and poke and unintentional careless action, Dalton felt more and more broken. Tears began to well in his eyes—tears that Bennett didn’t notice due to his curiosity that overpowered his sensitivity—and a sob caught in his throat.
Dalton bit his lip, struggling with the internal conflict of wanting Bennett to understand and fearing his own vulnerability. Fear left him frozen where he fell, head and shoulder pressed against the hard surface of the desk. Bennett’s touch never relinquished.
As Bennett’s finger lingered on his side, Dalton’s breath hitched, the ache in his ribs intensifying. He wanted to speak up, to tell Bennett to be more careful, but fear held his tongue.
A finger ran down the length of Dalton’s side with the intention to forcefully lift him from his spot on the desk. Finally, a single tear rolled down Dalton’s cheek. A choked sob escaped through his lips, and Bennett’s touch froze in its place.
Dalton swallowed hard, his whole-body tensing as Bennett’s finger pressed against his bruised ribs again. “Bennett, please,” Dalton managed to choke out, his voice trembling.
Bennett paused, noticing the fear in Dalton’s eyes. “Oh,” he said quickly, withdrawing his hand. “Did I hurt you?”
Dalton nodded silently, his chest tight with anxiety.
“I—I’m sorry.” Bennett was cupping his hands together, holding them close to his chest. “I didn’t realize.”
Dalton didn’t move for a few long moments. He allowed himself to cry. To grieve for a loss of normalcy that he hadn’t realized he lost. He waited for the stinging sensation in his ribs to mellow out enough for him to sit up, to look at Bennett with red, tear-stained eyes and demand that he go and get Rory so this nightmare can come to an end.
Bennett was already crying. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I wasn’t thinking and—”
“That’s the problem,” Dalton replied bitterly, his voice barely above a whisper. “You don’t think.”
A silence settled between them, thick and heavy with unspoken words.
“I’m so sorry, Dalton,” Bennett finally said softly, his voice tinged with regret. “I’ll try to do better. Next time—”
“There is no next time,” Dalton interrupted. “Please, just call Rory.”
Without a word, Bennett turned away from the desk. He dialed a number on his phone and put it to his ear.
#wip: in which everything goes wonderfully wrong#bennett haltiwanger#dalton richards#giant#gt#gt writing#gt related#gtfluff#gtcommunity#sfw gt#gt fluff#size difference#giant/tiny#light angst#angst#g/t ocs#g/t#g/t community#g/t au#g/t writing#sfw g/t#borrowers#size shifter#size shifting#sizeshifter#emotional size shifting#giant tiny#gentle giant#borrower#gianttiny
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what bkdk fics have you read and really liked? what other mha ships do you read?
OKAY! Imma do a lil fic rec list rn because I’ve been reading BakuDeku like crazy and have some good bookmarks. Now, I still have a LOT of bookmarked stories to get through, so I'll be sure to update this if people would like me too, but here are my fav bakudeku fics/short stories I've read so far:
From The Sidelines by suffocatingspring
You know this had to be on here, its just,,,,i know people have mixed opinions (mostly the outfit choices which i do agree with are,,,,choices) but this story was beautiful. I loved katsuki's chapters so fucking much, being able to see inside his mind and how he thinks and views izuku was amazing and its just a really fun, angsty, romance filled story. its quite smutty, although i think people freak out about that a little too much on tiktok but thats coming from someone that writes petplay regularly lmao, but i really love this. its so long, its addicting, and my god its CINEMATIC. this was the first bakudeku fic i ever read too, so it really got me into the anime again as well as the ship PLUS IT HAS SO MUCH GOOD 80s MUSIC THAT IVE SAVED AND LISTEN TO DAILY NOW PLS DOWNLOAD THE PLAYLIST FOR THE FULL EXPERIANCE MY GOD
It's Okay Because its You by suffocatingspring
this is the authors only other story and it was another joy! ive never read hanahaki stories before but it was gut wrenching, ilterally, how beautiful and horrifying the fictional disease is. we see a pining, desperatley in love katsuki with such a sweet izuku. they're both silly for not admitting their feelings but we had to have the angst somewhere, it was just another joy to read!
Drop Dead, Gorgeous by thewunderkind
THIS. FIC. its got rpg, its got angst, its got miscommunication, its got childhood friends to lovers, its got the bakusquad being so into this relationship, its got BOTTOM BAKUGO, and its got police officer deku in uniform good lord guys. its so fucking funny and sweet and fluffy and just very lovely, i havent fully finished it yet but im so into the world they've created, i fucking love video games and romance bro UGHHHHHH and katsuki is a DESPERATE man in this one, also the video game lore??? its great
Save Your Tears by starless_skies
this fic has kept me up at night. its not completed yet, the author hasn't updated since june, and im truly praying to a god i dont believe in that they update one day. im so into this story, its got bumbass yo shindo in it (i love him in canon but hes a bitch here) and izuku just doing his best and THEN ONCE AGAIN YEARNING PINING BAKUGO WHOSE ALWAYS LOVED HIM BUT LET HIM GO TO WORK ON HIMSELF PLEASE i love this bakugo guys seriously, and their relationship is so beautiful and they know each other like clockwork, HOWEVER i will say there are a couple TW in this one for what id say is emotional abuse in the marriage, just a lot of mistrust and lying and MAJOR gaslighting so just bare that in mind going into it, Yo is a twat
if anyone has any fic recs for other mha ships pls send them my way! i love kiribaku, tododeku, kirirmina, momojiro, todomomo, kamijiro, and ive been eyeing up todobaku,,,,,i'll read a lot haha
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Late Night Talking || Rick Grimes (TWD)
Dialogue Prompts: “Sometimes I just ... do this. It’s fine.” + “How long have you been sitting here?” + “Is it okay if I touch you?”
Summary: You haven't been sleeping -you can't. You weren't used to this... safety that Alexandria brought. Or, at least, they said it brought. So, instead, you found yourself outside, staring out into the wilderness -with no purpose other than to keep watch. One of those nights, you had a visitor.
TWS: angst, hurt/comfort, mentions of death, mentions of walkers, hints of worthlessness, hints of paranoia, swearing, and crying.
Your nights were much the same within Alexandria walls, eyes locked on the gates as if they could fall any second. You watched on as the others found their places, jobs suiting them with ease. And you knew there was some tension in your group, mistrust with such a calm settlement. But you... you couldn't shake it.
But god, the kids... they were growing up... normal-ish. You honestly couldn't fault the place as you watched Judith in her crib, and Carl with people (friends, even) his age. It was wonderful, you could see the heaviness in their eyes dim, just for a gleam, and nothing could take that break away from them. But still... you couldn't sleep.
Not even with Gabriel on watch, and you knew his skills -hell, you trusted the guy really. It just...
Your fingers trailed across the wood of your porch, the empty streets so calm that it almost kicked in a survival instinct for you. Like you were missing something. There was always a danger. Always. You had to be missing something-
This wasn't possible. Not after everything.
So, when the houses were quiet and the streetlamps lit, you found yourself outside -staring at the faraway fences. It's not like you had a weapon, not since they confiscated them, but you'd rather put yourself in front of the others. They'd deserved life more than you could ever imagine.
It's not like you could turn off the instinct, you truly wished you could, as your eyes fogged up and your breaths hollowed out.
Someplace farther than you were now, you could hear them -the walkers. And no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't close your eyes with them in your ear. Not without a weapon close by. Instead, you sat on your porch, leaning up against the siding of the house you'd chosen just a few down from some of the others -the chill of the night was calming to you. Familiar.
The heat inside the home? The running water, electricity, the working locks, the comfortable couches... they weren't.
You weren't sure they'd ever be.
“How long you been sittin' here?”
The southern drawl was the first thing that took you out of your head, and somewhere distantly, you remembered the footsteps coming up to you in the night. You hadn't really noticed at first though.
You looked up at the man, who was freshly dressed -almost comfortable, in a set of clothes that wasn't unfamiliar but still seemed new. His eyes were solely focused on you, and his stance was one you could recognize -eyebrows furrowed and lips pulled in a way that you'd seen more than once.
"I don't know," you answered, tone gravelly with lack of use.
He pursed his lips, letting out a soft sigh, and took a spot beside you. So close your knees bumped together, and at this moment, it was comforting -grounding almost.
"You out here a lot?" he asked, tone curious but not accusing -he was treating you kinda like you were an animal about to scamper away and maybe he was right for that.
The first thing you'd always noticed about Rick was his stance, authority in the fiber of his being. His presence though, like if you closed your eyes and just breathed in... well, Rick... he was calming, a deep tone of ease could flood your whole system. He was safe, really, at least, he always had been to you.
And based on how the others gravitated towards him, you assumed it was universal.
You clarified, a little curt, “Sometimes I just… do this. It’s fine... It's not hurting anybody."
"Right," he spoke, eying you for a second longer than he should have -he didn't buy it you could tell. You didn't expect him to. You didn't really expect to fool anyone with the laxness of your voice and the dark circles deep under your eyes. They'd catch on eventually, you knew that. Better for them too, than some other group here.
Didn't mean you were ready for them to find out.
"Little birdie says you ain't been sleeping," his tone was soft, a whisper across the emptiness that was currently Alexandria -it was an observation, honest and genuine. You weren't sure how to respond, but Rick always had a way of bringing answers out of you.
You posed, a bite of playfulness on your tongue, "This birdie have watch duty?"
You told no one about your lack of sleep, didn't want to add to the workload, but with Gabriel on watch most nights -you doubted the man could miss you. Especially with how close you found yourself to the gate, some days you wanted to walk out -just to feel something more familiar to your past few years. The chilling fear down your spine, the rush of adrenaline to find a roof over your head, and the groans of walkers everywhere you turned. Yet, here you were... safe.
That's what they said anyway.
"Y/N, I know it's-" he began, before faltering off and turning his head elsewhere -watching the flickering of one of the lamps a few feet from you two, "-I know it's hard, to turn the switch off in your head. But we're safe here. The perimeter is locked down. There's a guard watching the exit all night. I've went through it a thousand times myself-"
"I can't," you interrupted, your voice weak and shaky -when had you gotten this tired? Your hands were shaking now, as they rested against your legs, the chill of the house siding buzzing up your back, "-Rick, I've tried. Every night I do."
His mouth snapped shut, as his eyes fell to your face again, the small beginnings of a frown forming on his lips.
"But, I just can't get them out of my head. W-When," you stuttered out, trying to articulate the feelings when they came, "-when they overran the prison, and I didn't see any of you for weeks, months maybe-"
"Y/N."
"I just can't. I can't do that again, it's like drilled into my head to stay awake, I have to... protect everyone-"
"Y/N."
"Do you know how scary it is?" you continued, eyes everywhere but him, "For them to be out there, and for me to be unarmed? They could get anybody anywhere, god, what am I gonna do if they try to hurt Carl or Judith-"
"Y/N, darlin'-"
You stopped, the deep drawl of his words finally hitting you in the face.
"You here?" He hummed, moving closer to you, and now your mid-thigh was brushed against his -the touch buzzing up to your head like a bucket of cold water, "-Can you hear me?"
You simply nodded, the big gusts of breath stopping your from responding. Eyes watering and the hollowness of the lungs, your eyesight blurred -not this again.
"Breathe, Y/N," he spoke, voice barely a tone above the wind, just for you, "-just breathe, alright? You're doing a good job."
You were barely operating then, the thud of your hear against your chest so horribly loud, and the shine of the lights smudging in your eyes. You couldn't focus not really.
"Look, alright," he spoke, a bit more desperate but still in control of the situation -as his hands raised but stayed at bay as he asked, "-darlin', is it okay if I touch you?"
With a slight nod he caught, his hands went to yours, long calloused fingers trailing around your wrist and bringing the hand to his chest. The flannel there was soft on your fingertips and you almost hadn't even noticed what he was saying.
"Look," he hummed, calm and still solid, "-breathe with me, okay? Follow my lead."
You watched, as your hand rising and falling with his breathing. It was grounding, the warmth under your fingertips and pattern of his breaths.
Inhale, exhale.
Your head stopped spinning, and your eyes cleared of their fog -gradual. You remembered how to breathe, as the rise and fall of his chest lead you into normalcy.
"Ya got it?" He hummed, curious and eyes looking up into yours as if he was trying to read you. He didn't move his hand's grip though, fingers wrapped around yours.
"Yes," you exhaled, tone less shaky, "-thank you."
Still, as you shifted from the mindset, his hand stayed on yours -the bubbling of you skin against his prominent. You pulled his hand toward you, tracing your fingers along the indentations of his palms. The motion was solid and flowing -relaxing in the crowding of your mind.
"Y/N, you have to know," Rick began, a whisper as he stared at your connected hands, the clean skin being a little odd to you. Smelling like a fresh shampoo and aftershave, Rick was a new experience but still, at its core was the very same. Safe.
"Know what?" you asked, details smudging in your own brain at the distance from him. Fuzzy and loose, your heart was in a rush.
"Y/N," he spoke, a tone that meant you should know, but you were preoccupied -detailing the creases in his hands. Like it was obvious, whatever he was addressing.
In a blink, his other hand that was not locked in yours moved to your face -tilting your chin up to have your eyes meet his. Long fingers guiding you up with the gentlest of presses.
His face lit up with a smile, eyes bright and wondrous, his fingers trailing up from your chin to the side of your face -cradling. You let go of his hand, laying gently in your lap between you two.
"Rick," you whispered, asking really.
He spoke, like it was the easiest thing to know in the world, "You won't get hurt here."
His face remained completely serious, as he looked at you -only stating what he knew to be sure. He seemed to be sure, like you couldn't move his opinion.
"You can't be sure-" you responded, eyes darting across his face -trying to find a place of uncertainty.
"No, I am," he interrupted, rubbing his thumb along your cheek, "-I am."
You leaned into him, easily, without any hesitation -you trusted him completely, and although all of this was new territory, you really weren't afraid. Rick had meant more to you, but what he was initiating was new -welcome, sure, but new.
"I-" he began a little distraught, almost as if his own emotions brought him to it.
He sighed, heavily, like it was hard to say. Like everything was fighting him in his own body. You furrowed your eyebrows, taking in his face which was currently screwed up in a sort of concern, nervousness even.
His eyes met yours again, as he pulled his other hand up -mirroring the other on your face, "Y/N..."
Rick's hold was gentle, his calloused fingers brushing against your skin in a way that sent a feeling tossing in your stomach. His eyes stayed focused on you now as if he couldn't even chance to look away. Your face burned at the attention, and the fuzz of the night suddenly became... well, fuzzier.
"Not with me," he finished, making a point to match where your eyes darted, following you, "-As long as I'm here, you won't get hurt. I won't... I won't let you."
"Rick, you can't promise that-"
"I am," he added before you could finish and the tone was sturdy -as if would take everything in your power to change it. It was the way he spoke to others sometimes, serious and non-negotiable, "-I'd do anything to keep you, Carl, and Judith safe, you know that-"
"Rick, I don't-" you asked, staring at him now, "What do you mean?"
"I can't," he began, head falling between you two and there was something missing there, you knew it, "-Y/N, I'm not going anywhere without you, okay? And if that means running into a burning building to get you out, or kickin' someone's ass for you to escape... so be it."
Your voice was lost, over the tides of your stomach -you felt like you could hardly think straight with Rick so close. He was saying so much that your brain couldn't quite grasp, and maybe it was the lack of sleep but it seemed to be avoiding something. His hand moved to trail along your jaw, an intimate move, and suddenly, the situation became much more real.
"You have to know," he reiterated, tone soft and careful.
"I... I don't," you responded, curling your hand around his. The feeling in your stomach only triples at the notion -the flutter in your head. You didn't feel like you were really there.
"Well," Rick chuckled, pulling your head forward and pushing his lips onto your forehead, affectionately, "-maybe you should sleep on it?"
You frowned, the laugh breaking the hypnosis of well... Rick you were in and the heavy tiredness hanging onto you, "Not funny, cowboy."
"Cowboy?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow with a look you knew well -teasing.
"Rick, you really can't be surprised by that one," you hummed, giving him a look that seemed to push your point across and thumping your finger against his boots.
He shrugged, as if to say 'fair point', before pulling himself to his feet; the night was now much later, and you imagined whoever was watching Carl and Judith couldn't stay much longer.
You opened your mouth, faltering a bit, "Goodnight, Rick. Thank you for... everything. I don't know how to even-"
He stared at you, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, before recognizing the thought process you'd gone through.
"Nice try, sweetheart," he doted -his drawl loud and proud, holding his hand out, "-but you're comin' with me."
You pursed your lips, eyeing his hands with a discerning gaze, "What?"
"You're gonna end up killin' me," he muttered to himself before looking to you with a smile that sent your heart into overdrive -as he, without much effort, pulled you to your feet. He didn't let go of your hand then, even as you found yourself settled on your feet -he just stared.
"Rick...?"
"Can I kiss you?"
"You-" you stuttered out, your face flushed beyond any stage you'd ever seen, "You want to?"
Rick smiled, hands now on your face again, tilting your face to his, "Wouldn't ask if I didn't want to, darlin'."
Your words lost again, as you stared into his eyes, your heart loud and echoing through your head -you simply nodded. He didn't waste a moment.
The kiss was soft, careful, like you were almost breakable and he didn't want to chance it. Hands delicately holding you in place, guiding you to him and it was much more calming and natural then you thought it'd be. Your fingers found their way to the nape of his neck, fidgeting with the curls mindlessly in the bliss of the moment.
Still, it was over too soon.
He stared at you, eyes shining in a way you hadn't quite seen before- and the creases by his eyes finding their purpose then. He'd always had a contagious smile, hadn't he?
"That clear some things up?" he hummed, thumbs rubbing at your dark circles like he could just wish them away. And maybe he could.
"You know what," you answered, smiling as the tiredness faded into your skin, "-I think so."
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