#we totally promise to protect you just like we promised to fix you

[satorusugurugurl]

Toji as a bodyguard

Til’ the Day that I Die

Summary: You’re a popstar in need of a bodyguard when you find yourself with a stalker. That’s how you meet Fushiguro Toji, you’re insanely hot bodyguard. Who knows how to push your buttons, and get you feeling flustered. Just how far is he willing to go to protect you? And how far would you go to protect him?

Pairing: Bodyguard!Fushiguro Toji x AFAB!Reader

Warnings: mentions of stage right, performance, anxiety, stalking, panic attacks, language mentions of gun, (eventual smut)

Word Count: 4.5K

A/N: this request is amazing!! It got my brain worms going! Once again, this will be a multi part series, I’m looking at a total of four parts as I have already planned down the whole story. I’m sorry for the lack of content, it’s been a rough few days and I just decided to take some time for myself! But I do have about four stories almost done so you can expect updates for the rest of the week! Love you all!! (Readers' stage persona is highly inspired by several artists! 😊)

Part Two Part Three Part Four

Performance anxiety is defined as an excessive feeling of fear related to being able to perform well. Symptoms of performance anxiety include pulse racing, rapid breathing, dry mouth, and throat tightness. Dealing with performance anxiety when you're a rising star is brutal, and you begin to regret all your life choices. You aren't sure if you want this to be your life. You were attending nursing school, but your sister posted a video of you singing online. Reading all the sweet comments was fun initially, but it's funny how fast things change.

One second, you were posting a few videos of you singing, and the next thing you knew, you had a record deal, your songs were on the radio, and you were performing at concerts. All in the span of six months. The attention was overwhelming, and, at times, your anxiety even worse. But the more you performed, the more you were able to bury the stage fright down, masking the fear with a persona you made until you were home in your apartment. In the confines of your home, you could cry and tremble; dealing with those attacks was something you’d gotten used to.

But your stalker was a whole new fucked up mess you never dreamed about dealing with.

It had started as nothing more than a couple of love letters that turned into more descriptive letters detailing information about your personal life you had never told anyone. Anytime you saw a letter come in with ‘M’ written on the front and dark gray ink, your stomach twisted. You at first thought you would be okay. You could handle something like this. This was the kind of thing that came along with the territory of being famous.

That was until a bouquet of roses was dropped off at your door in your guarded apartment building. That whole situation sent you into a full-blown panic attack. You left your apartment and went to stay with your friends. That incident caused your manager to contact Kong Security Services and hire you as a bodyguard. One, you were anxiously waiting to meet as you sat in your dressing room before your show.

“It’s going to be fine, I promise.” Nanako, your makeup artist, assured you as she fixed your blush. “Geto said this agency is the best in the business.”

You shot her a skeptical look while her twin sister fixed your hair. “Are you just saying that because your dad’s are my managers, and they told you to say that?” When both twins had ceased their movements in obvious shock at your to-the-point accusation.

“W-What—?”

“No, never!”

“Uh-huh—I don’t believe a word either of you are saying right now.”

Nanako steps back, looks you over, and bites her lip. “They really are the best, whether or not we get to go out for Boba after this. It’s not like sweet milk tea is on the line if we don’t ease your nerves.” Just as your sweet young makeup artist finishes, the door to your dressing, eyes darting towards the door as it swings further open. Suguru and his husband, Satoru, enter, displaying their matching black-and-white wedding rings. They were the best management company in the world, the power couple of Tokyo. Satoru, who was in charge of your social media accounts, types viciously on his phone while Suguru grins up at a man walking in with them.

If you could even call him a man.

A fucking mountain of muscle is a more appropriate way of describing him. He’s tall, has dark hair and navy blue eyes, and he’s fit. The mountain wore a tailored jacket and white button-down shirt with the first two buttons undone. His eyes leave Geto’s for a minute to watch you sinking further in your chair, his pink tongue running over the scar down the corner of the right side of his mouth.

“Hun, this is Fushiguro Toji,” Suguru announced before glancing at his phone. “He’s your bodyguard and will be with you everywhere you go.”

“E-Everywhere?”

“Yes, to rehearsals, your shows, meet-and-greets, he’ll even escort you home.” Your eyes rammed back over to the mountain of a man standing off to the side. When you have time off, or he needs a day away, his work partner Tsukumo Yuki will take over for him.”

You swallowed hard, fingers twitching, a subtle action your new bodyguard noticed immediately as you dug your fingers into your skirt. It was part of Toji‘s job to see behaviors and be observant. He could tell you were on edge from how your fingers twitched to how your pulse raced in your neck. His handler, Shiu, had warned him that you were an anxious mess after finding out about your stalker. But this anxiety didn’t come from just having a stalker. This anxiety was deeply rooted in you. It was probably something you had suffered with for years.

Without being told, Toji stepped forward, kneeling before you, giving you a gentle smile like a father would give a frightened child. He had to put your nerves at ease to let you know you would be okay. “I know you’re scared, but I can assure you that I am very skilled. You won’t even notice I’m around.” You weren’t sure about that. How could you not notice the handsome man who would always be around you?

“Right, thank you.”

“You’re welcome--”

“Ugh! We gotta get going; they expect you on stage in five minutes.”

“I-I s-shou—” you stuttered as the performing anxiety began to root itself into your already anxious demeanor.

“Yep, let’s get going.” Toji stood motioning towards the door of the dressing room. “After you, Miss.”

Being a bodyguard and a security escort for so long had allowed Toji to pick up on specific cues from people, like how their eyes moved around the room or how their body language told him what they were feeling. The way your fingers were twitching, he knew you were nervous and scared, and he wasn’t sure if it was stage fright or something to do with your stalker.

Regardless of whether you wanted to go up there, it didn’t change the fact that thousands of people were already waiting for you to perform. As you both walked down the hall, Tojo noticed you took a deep breath and exhaled through your nose, and as you turned the corner, you put on a huge smile. The way you put in a mask so fast nearly sent Toji stumbling back. He was usually prepared for the unexpected, but seeing this scared, shaking woman shift into a bubbly pop star rocked him back.

Everyone you encountered smiled wide at your perky voice and demeanor. You truly lit up the whole room. “Alright, guys! Thank you for all your hard prep! Now, let’s have a great show tonight!” You were handed a jeweled microphone and placed on a platform to lift you to the main stage, but before you gripped the handles to steady yourself, Toji grabbed your hand. “Oh, Fushiguro?”

“I'll be on the side, watching you. If you need me or notice something's off, you should give me a sign.”

“A sign? Like a signal?”

“Yeah, something easy and inconspicuous.”

You thought for a second, that perky look still on your face, but Toji could see the anxiety behind your eyes. “Well, I wink a lot during my shows and throw a heart sign up.” Toji hummed, pursing his lips together.

“Well, if you don't want to alarm your fans, how about this.” he took your hand, putting your middle and ring finger down. Your thumb, pinky, and pointer finger were left extended.

“Oh, the sign for ‘I love you’!”

“Only use this if you need me on stage. Otherwise, do what you normally do, but know I’ll be right there if you need me.”

There was a flicker of fear in your eyes, which probably would go unnoticed by many different people, but it was one that he could see clearly as day. “Right, thank you, Fushiguro.” Your new bodyguard looked at you as he scoffed, shaking his head.

“Toji, just call me Toji. There is no need for formalities. Have a good show, Miss.”

“R-Right, thank you, Toji.”

Your new bodyguard watched as the platform began to lift, taking you up to the stage where fans were screaming your name. Taking a deep breath before smiling, your bodyguard watched you reach the top before the band blaring music as you began singing into your microphone. The beat of the music rang in his ears; Toji ran for the stairs that led him to the stage, where he could watch you from the side.

There, Toji found your managers standing on the sidelines, watching you. Upon looking at you, he met a woman who looked nothing like the girl he had just spoken to moments before. You danced, sang, smiled, and winked at the crowd. Multicolored lights flashed as fog from the fog machine flooded the stage, and the backup dancers moved in sync with each other. I think this is poor, who was shaking upon meeting him.

“Yeah, crazy to see her shift, isn’t it?” Geto asked before pulling his phone out and snapping a few photos of you as you sang. “She’s like a different person.”

“Like? I hate to be the one to break this to you, Geto, but that woman is a completely different person. Why the fuck is she masking?”

The white-haired man glared at Toji, his sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. “She’s not masking; it's called a stage persona.” The annoyance was clear in the other man’s voice, a tone that crawled its way under his skin.

“Look, buddy, keep your terms to yourself. I don't care about the different terms. All I know is that woman—” he jabbed his thumb in your direction as you twirled around the stage. “is masking; that’s not who she is.”

“You don’t know a lot about the entertainment industry. This is something that a lot of celebrities do. It’s completely normal, and she knows that. That’s how she adapted so fast.”

Toji wasn’t sure if that was the case. He had seen you firsthand, shaking in your dressing room. To see you change drastically for the sake of a show? Toji could see why you would be nervous to go up on stage. There had to be a fear of your mask slipping, revealing your true persona to the world.

But Satoru was right; Toji’s job was to protect and ensure you were safe. It wasn’t his place to judge how you lived or worked your career. In the end, you were just like all the other popstar divas and clients he had had before. Rich people with too much money to throw around and fame led them to believe that they were in danger all the time, which is how he managed to keep a steady income for himself and his kids as long as they were rich snobs like you, Tojo was guaranteed to have a job.

Instead of continuing to argue with your overzealous manager, Toji crossed both arms over his chest and watched you closely. The sooner the show was over, the sooner he could get you back to your apartment, where he could call to check on Megumi. He just wanted to relax, and for all he knew, you and your managers were overreacting to this so-called stalker you had. If anything, this might’ve been some cruel prank; receiving a note to roses wasn’t that big of a deal, and this was way too easy for as much as he was getting paid, so he wasn’t going to bitch about it.

What he did want to bitch about was how fucking long your show went on for. Performed for about two hours straight, only taking breaks to change costumes throughout the performance. It was in those moments when you were changing that your mask slipped. He could see the exhaustion in your eyes and how you wanted to do nothing more than take a break. But as fast as that mask slipped, you had it back on instantly. When one costume was off, and the other slipped on, you were back on stage to sing the next song.

After about two hours and thirty minutes of this bullshit, you gave a final bow and blew kisses out at the crowd of strangers who were cheering your name. While the two hours he got to stand up to the side and watch you perform was easy, he only had to look for your signal if you needed help; getting you out of the arena safely was a whole different story. Everything moved so fast The second you stepped off that stage and towards your bodyguard.

After every show, the goal was the same: get changed as fast as possible, collect your stuff, which Nanako and Mimiko had already packed, and get in your limo before the crowd started heading towards your exit. Toji gently placed his hand on the small of your back, ushering you through the maze of halls that led you back to the dressing room, where, just like you knew, the girls had packed all your stuff.

“You got five minutes to change,” Suguru announced as Satoru snickered behind his husband. “Thanks to Satoru, you’re trending again for your newest song.”

Toji could see the minutey, perky personality shift into your more anxious state. You frowned, literally frowned, at the news. Most people would be jumping over the moon to hear it. Seeing such an ungrateful expression on your face had Toji resist the urge to roll his eyes into his skull.

Spoiled little brats, you rich folks were all the same.

“Did you make sure to tag the—“

“Are you insinuating that I don’t know who to tag or which hashtags to use? Babes, I've got you covered. When have I ever let you down?”

“Never.”

“Right, so let the best PR manager handle this.”

Toji sighed, glancing towards his watch. “Two minutes,” he announced to the room of people bouncing off the walls and collecting items to clean up the green room. How could your managers be talking about more brand deals at a time like this? Brand deals were bullshit, but knowing how popular you were with the teenagers and you probably had some make-up deal or some other shit that would make you all the richer, you had to make sure the right people were tagged so you continued to be sponsored. But there was a time and place for that, and now wasn't the right time!

“I know you're the best Satoru, but I still wanna make sure the word gets out there.” You stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in black leggings and a simple T-shirt. Completely different from the baby doll dresses you were wearing on stage. “It’s imperative—”

“I know. I’ve already posted it. Everyone’s been tagged accordingly, and the hashtags are in place. You’ll get lots of people to see this, trust me.”

You were slipping on your baseball cap and sunglasses when Toji’s large hand gently grabbed you by the shoulder. “We gotta get going,” you sighed before nodding, waving off your team, and falling Toji down the hall to where your car awaited you.

Thanks to your quick change, nobody was waiting for you outside, making your getaway from the arena smooth as butter. You just wished you felt as calm as your exit from the bustling stage had been. You were beginning to regret going back to your apartment. You hadn’t been back there since the roses were delivered to your door. Going back was going to be difficult, leaving your stomach swarming with anxiety. But at least you had a big mountain of a man to protect you if, god forbid, you needed help.

The entire ride back to your apartment complex was thankfully quiet. Toji sat on the other side of you, staring out the window, not making any conversation, which was a blessing. Not only was your throat sore from the amount of singing you had done, but the idea of sitting through a conversation run solely by small talk was almost as bad as your performance anxiety. Sitting in the back of the car, leaning your head against the window without worrying about smiling or acting perfect in front of strangers, was a breath of fresh air.

Being alone with your bodyguard made you feel like you could let your walls come down for the first time in a long time. It was a feeling you might as well get used to. He would be around most of the time, so instead of adorning the perfect, pretty mask you always wore, you could be the introverted true version of yourself. Knowing that you could relax, you shut your eyes, allowing yourself to doze off as the car smoothly headed down the freeway.

If only your dreams were smooth and calm like the car ride. Your dreams were filled with mysterious notes and roses you had once loved. They circled you, drowning you in paper and petals as a roaring crowd rang through your ears. You could fight against the tidal waves, but instead, you let them wash over you, allowing yourself to be crushed by the unbearable weight of being a star at times.

Nursing school wasn’t easy, but at least when you were in school, you didn’t have to worry about a mysterious bouquet showing up on your apartment doorstep or sneaking out to avoid getting seen and swarmed by your fans. Your biggest concern in school was getting good grades and doing everything possible to get your degree. The only things you had to worry about were study dates and pop quizzes, not ominous letters that made you fearful for your safety.

These nightmares were so vivid that you wished your family had heard you singing online. Was it too much to ask for a normal everyday life where you weren't constantly stressed?

You sighed, looking up at the lingering rays of light that slowly began to peek through. More envelopes and roses piled on the cocoon you were stuck in. Perhaps there was no going back. This might very well be the rest of your life. Just as you were shutting your eyes to the casket you were being buried in, a hand reached out from the top of the mountain of dread and anxiety you lived with, reaching for you.

You couldn’t make out who was reaching out to you, but you were sure they just wanted to help you. Without hesitation, you reached for that hand, brushing over their fingertips. Just when they clasped your hand to pull you out of the burial ground, you were jn. You gasped as someone shook you, waking you from the dream.

You sat up quickly, shaking as you met Tojo’s navy blue eyes. He was frowning, motioning towards the rolled-down window, and Ijichi, head of security for your building, leaned in, giving you a weak smile. With a quick rub to both your eyes, you placed your mask back on, going from the sleep-deprived woman you were transforming into the perky popstar everybody knew and loved.

“Ijichi! Hi!”

“Hi yourself, glad to have you back.”

Toji could see how your shoulders stiffened when you mentioned being back. “Oh, yep! It's good to be back.” Toji could see through your facade, while Ijichi was blind to it.

“I just wanted to let you know that we added more cameras to the building, and my security post will be far stricter with deliveries and anything else from this point on. We want you to feel safe here, and I’m sorry we failed to do that in the first place.”

“Oh no, it’s not your fault! Plus, I feel a lot better now that I have Fushiguro!” The man with glasses peered into the car, waving at your bodyguard whose face remained stoic, not returning the gesture. “Okay, uhm Ijichi, Toji; Toji Ijichi.”

No pleasantries were exchanged, not at all. The only thing Toji managed to do was give him a nod before focusing his attention back on the massive building and making a mental note to ask for access to the cameras. That way, he could keep an eye on you and ensure nobody was hanging around who wasn't supposed to be there. Those thoughts Toji was lost in made it a tranquil ride up the elevator to your apartment. He was leaving you feeling even more anxious. Usually, being around someone quiet never bothered you; you felt so relaxed around that person, but Toji’s cold demeanor and attitude toward your friend made you irritable.

“So, uhm, are you going to be that cold and standoffish every time you meet somebody I know?” You asked, finally allowing your heart mind to win over your mind.

“Huh?”

His dark gaze had you swallowing the lump suddenly in your throat. “I wanted to ask if this is going to be normal, you being—.”

“Oh, I am so sorry little star; I wasn't aware I needed to wear a fake ass mask around people too.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, and unfortunately, unlike you, I like wearing my face. I don’t have to be someone I’m not to get people to like me. Because quite frankly, I don’t give a damn if anybody likes me.”

“I don't eit—”

Toji scoffed, leaning against the elevator wall and shaking his head at your words. “Oh, please. You’re just like every other client I’ve had. All you care about is money, your appearance, and what sponsor deals you get.” His words made your blood begin to boil.

“You’ve barely known me for a couple of hours, and you think you know who I am?”

“Oooh yeah, you're some small-town girl that made it big. And instead of showing the world who you really are, you put on this fucking mask, one that hides the true you from the prying eyes of the world. You care only about ticket sales, making your fans happy, and sponsorships like the one you were talking about with your manager not even thirty minutes ago. So yeah, I’m sure I got a good idea of who you are. It’s my job to read people..”

This was the best security in the business; bodyguard your manager had set you up with? Ha! Yeah, right, this man was nothing more than a dickhead that had a lot of opinions that were far from true?!

You laughed, pushing yourself away from the wall to stand in front of the doors before him. “That's the great thing about wearing a mask around people I don’t fucking know. They get to see the real me, but I get to see people for who they truly are.” Toji opened his mouth to continue arguing with you, but only for you to quickly shut him down, holding a hand up before you. “You were right about a couple things; I do put on a mask, I love my fans, but I could give a damn about sponsorships.” Toji pushed himself off the wall, towering over you, gritting his teeth as he tried to control his evident anger.

“Oh, you suddenly don’t give a damn about sponsorships? I just heard you talking to your manager about one.”

“You don’t know anything about me! That whole conversation had nothing to do with this sponsorship!”

Tojo tilted his head back with a laugh. “Oh, right, of course. You don’t care about your amazing condo or all the money you’re making; you don’t care about those so-called nonexistent sponsorship deals.” The elevator rattled like the lid to the rage threatening to explode.

“Alright, yes, I do live in a nice apartment, one with security that sucks, but it’s still home. But for your information, I don’t do this for the money. You don’t know what I have planned on doing with my life, so I don’t want to hear you make assumptions about me! The conversation you so rudely eavesdropped on had nothing to do with a sponsorship deal but a massive donation I’m making to the local Children’s Hospital. The same hospital is well renowned for helping unfortunate children. So yeah, that whole conversation you listened to was me telling my manager to tag the hospital in my video because the hospital inspired the song! It was a public service announcement, a reminder to help those who can’t help themselves.”

Your rant was unexpected. Toji had never had one of his clients talk to him like that; strangely, he liked it.

“And another thi—”

The doors to the elevator slowly slid open with a ding as you reached your apartment. Usually, your automatic lights would be on in the living room and kitchen, leading upstairs. But as the doors opened, no lights illuminated your bodyguard's face. You knew something was wrong, and just before Toy could look over your shoulder into the apartment,Toji’s hand quickly covered your eyes. He pulled you into his chest, and he listened in as he smashed on the lobby button on the button panel.

“Toji!?” You asked, placing your hands on top of his. “What is it?! Is something wrong? Let me see!”

Toji shook his head as if you could see his reaction, his hand reaching for the gun at the holster on his side as the door slowly shut. There was no way in hell you were going to see what was behind the door. Because he knew if you were to see what had happened in your apartment, you would never be the same. As the elevator slowly began to descend, Toji realized that he had been wrong about your stalker. It wasn’t some harmless joke.

This was fucking serious.

(TBC)

Forever Tag List:

@darkstarlight82 @pandoness @nealeart @simp-plague @sugurubabe @chilichopsticks @reap3erslov3 @wil10wthetree @luvsymai

[spinchip]

He keeps ending up in these situations- these soft, quiet moments with Zane where everything Lloyd wants to say is crowding behind his teeth before he swallows it all back down. He never felt bold enough to disturb the piece, or maybe he never felt sure-footed enough to navigate the conversation. The land around the topic of the Never Realm was still littered with landmines and sinkholes. Zane didn't talk to them about it.

They're stargazing. Lloyd was out here first basking in the rare alone time. He'd turned Kai away two hours ago when he'd come to check on him, but when Zane stood over him and blotted out the stars with a weak smile- Lloyd invited him to stay, and promised himself he wouldn't shelve this conversation for another day.

He's look at Ursa Major when he says it, "I'm Afraid you'll never be okay again."

There's a soft pause.

"I am okay, Lloyd." Zane reassures him in a voice that is so much more monotone than before the Never Realm, "Therapy has been extremely rewarding. I feel like myself again."

He sits up, propping himself up on arms that don’t tremble, “You’re not yourself, though.” He feels like he has to force the words out from behind the lump in his throat, “You don’t cook, or meditate, or bird watch anymore-” He stops to center himself, “...I’m scared you’ll never go back to normal.”

Zane is the quiet one this time.

Lloyd lies back down, feeling worse than before. They watch the stars trek across the sky.

“I believe this is the new normal, Lloyd.” He says very, very quietly.

Immediately Lloyd sits up again, twisting to face Zane, “How can you say that? Two months ago you were acting totally fine! Yeah, when you came back from the Never Realm you spent a whole month alone in your room... but then you were Zane again, and now- now you’re…”

“Different.” Zane finishes, “I have changed.”

“Yeah.” Lloyd turn forward, staring down in his lap.

No one says anything. Lloyd feels like he's royally blowing this conversation and making everything worse.

“...When I first returned from the Never Realm, I was... in a dark place. It was easier to hide and sort through things on my own, But I… had not dealt with it as well as I could have. After I spent that time alone and I returned to the team, once more joining with the group socially, I was still a mess. I did not know who I was, and I did not feel like anyone- not Zane, and not the emperor. So I looked in my memory banks and pretended.”

Lloyd looks back at Zane, who’s eyes are fixed resolutely on the moon and not Lloyd's reaction. “You… what?”

“I did not want to worry you. My theory was that If i acted like I was okay, I would be. I hoped I could figure it all out before anyone realized I was wearing a mask, that I could fix myself to the point where I could stop pretending.” He links his hands together on top of his stomach, “Then Cyrus Borg put me in touch with his therapist." Two times a week, every Monday and Thursday. Lloyd knew that. "She helped me realize that this act I was putting on was not a positive move for me and my recovery. It is not that I have regressed, Lloyd- i have simply stopped pretending to be who I used to be.”

“You were trying to protect us?”

There’s another pause, “It was partly selfish, too. I was… afraid. I was scared that if you and the others realized just how much I had changed, you would not see me the same. That the love you had for me would not be able to adapt to who I have become.”

“I- of course we would love you! Always!” Lloyd insisted immediately, “It’s not- I didn’t mean- I was just worried. I’m sorry.” He feels shame curdle in his gut at his earlier words, unintentionally picking at Zane's insecurity.

“I understand your feelings, Lloyd. You do not need to apologize,” He smiles softly at him and its not the same smile Lloyd is so used to, but it has its own warmth, “Change is not… a bad thing. The circumstances leading to this were, but this is what healing looks like for me at this point. I am figuring out who I am again- I do not bird watch or cook or meditate, no, but I think you’ll be surprised at how good my knitting has gotten.” He offers Lloyd another tiny smile, “I am finding my happiness again.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Zane's soft blue eyes flicker back up to the stars and his smile turns gentle, “You are always helping, even if you do not realize it. All of you are.”

[certifiedwhore4slashers]

Kill for you

pairing: yandere! ethan landry x reader

summary: you knew your boyfriend was protective of you, but you certainly didn’t know the lengths he’d go for you. just for you.

warnings: creepiness(not from ethan), violence, murder, , gore, blood, manipulation, perverted men, yandere, implied stalking(if you squint) choking(kind of?).

it is an established relationship but I didn’t want to add that as a warning so just saying that now. also there’s a tlou reference but it’s like subtle and maybe you won’t get it? maybe lol.

sorry this is so short. again fairly rushed so it’s not that long. sorry if you prefer long fics i do have some long ones i promise 😭

When you said you wanted to go to the party by yourself you didn’t mean get hit on by a creepy guy who was much older than you.

The party was pretty nice and since it was walking distance you figured you could just walk him. Apparently Ethan was busy studying and had Econ coming up so you understood why he wasn’t going.

You knew that, being a girl and walking home alone wasn’t the best idea but still, your car was being fixed and you didn’t Feel like taking an hour long bus ride home when you could get home quicker.

Suddenly you hear a whistle coming from behind you. Well, that kind when someone notices someone attractive. And that’s when you knew this couldn’t be good.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing down an alleyway? An voice that made you feel disgusted say, coming into a view.

It was a much older man. Whereas you were only 19. And an alleyway, as stupid as it was, was the only shortcut home.

You’d honestly wish Ghostface would just kill you already. “I’m walking home, You reply coldly. “Don’t be like that, I can show you a good time, The man says, coming closer and you backing up.

“I’ve got a boyfriend, You say sternly.”I’m not available. And even if I was, I don’t like you.” “I don’t see a boyfriend or a ring on that finger, he smirks.

“It doesn’t matter, You snap, but soon your back hits the cold, concrete wall. “We can go back to my place and have some fun, if you know what I mean, The man said suggestively.

“I don’t even know your name, why would I go fuck someone who’s a stranger and a total creep? You spat.”and again, I’m taken.”

“I don’t know, I’m starting to think that this boyfriend of yours isn’t real, the man smirks.”and my name’s David.”

“What a fitting name for a creep, You scoffed, and then his hand was wrapped around your throat. “Shut up and let me show you some pleasure, David said.

You don’t want to cry but you can feel your eyes filling with tears. You prayed for a miracle. That someone would stop this from going on.

“So, listen to me from now on? Got it? He says, his hand leaving your throat. “Mhm, You sniff. “Good girl, he praises, but someone turns him around and punches him right in the face, making him fall.

It was your boyfriend. Thank fucking god. “Ethan, You say. David gets up and says, "what the fuck? Who are you?”

“Her boyfriend, Ethan said, his voice laced with venom. you hadn’t seen that look in his eyes before, and while you appreciated him defending you his look terrified you.

“Oh her? That whore is your girlfriend? David chuckled, Ethan punching him again but more harshly and painful, going down to his level. "Don't call her a whore again." He looks up at you.

He mouths, "Go." You nod, seeing he drove, but you didn't get in. No, You heard David's screams, sounds of someone being stabbed? Curiously, you look over. You witness your own boyfriend continuously stab David Over and Over, even now while he looked dead.

You could see he was covered in blood. the look on his face told you everything you needed to know. You couldn't look any longer, you quickly get in the passenger seat, panting.

"Oh my god, You say to yourself. "He killed someone." Sure, David was creepy. But did he deserve being murdered? Yes. Your mind was telling you this was good. the guy who laid hands on you was dead.

You should be relieved.

But he had stopped hitting on you when Ethan punched him. Could've stopped then. You couldn't think. Especially when he slammed the car door and randomly began driving, still covered in blood.

Playing dumb, You softly said, "What happened, did he hurt you or-" "No, this isn't my blood, but i promise, he won't hurt you anymore, Your boyfriend said coldly, before his demeanor changed to his normal self.

"Okay, You say, shrinking in your seat."Well, what did you do? Will he be okay?" "You shouldn't be worried for him, Y/n, Your boyfriend said. "But really, I just.. punched him a few times but i didn't kill him."

Lies.

But deep down, You were kind of relieved he murdered David. You just would never admit it.

[ipostwhatiwant1202]

Headcanon: How They Comfort You

warnings: none. sfw, gender neutral. mentions of possible panick attack

note: it's sexual assault awareness month. if you are a survivor, it wasn't your fault. your experience is valid and it had nothing to do with something you did or wore. it wasn't your fault. 💙

Leo:

Emotions are not his thing. The only time he really grips on to the gravity of a situation is if it's a mission, or if you're full blown sobbing. Leo, by nature, prefers to find a solution and talk things out. He takes the mature route and offers practical advice to resolve the issue, but then what happens if it's something he can't fix?

You came to him one day after you had just went over the edge. You couldn't stop crying, everything was going wrong, and it was totally out of your control. You found him in his room taking care of his bonsai plant and just fell apart.

Leo didn't know if you were hurt or if something awful had happened, so he went in to big brother/protective boyfriend mode. He was bombarding you with questions until he realized you weren't hurt physically, but emotionally was a different story. He was half tempted to go get Mikey to help with the situation, but you didn't seem like you could be left alone.

He just allowed you to cry and offered comforting strokes against your hair and shoulder. He didn't say anything to you because there wasn't a problem persay, you were just letting out whatever it was you needed to let out. He didn't think you needed a lecture but it seemed you just needed a space to let go.

Once you were done and able to explain what was going on, Leo would listen to you and wipe your tears away. Only when you were calmer would he say anything to you.

"I know I can't really give you any advice. Can I at least make you some tea or hot chocolate? Or would you like to nap? I'll sit with you."

Raph:

We all know he can be abrasive and have no regard for what's going on in other's lives at times. He still, however, can tell by body language or aura something isn't right. You don't have to outright say you're overwhelmed or say that you just can't figure out what's wrong. He can tell just by how you're acting that you're going through a bit of a rough patch.

You aren't touching the dinner Mikey made and you're not talking. You just said you were tired and not hungry, but Raph knew something was up. He hated being left out of the loop, he had to know. Instead of asking in front of everyone, he decided to pull you aside and ask you privately.

At first, you were adament that you were just tired, but Raph was persistent. You cracked and just broke down. He's emotionally aware enough to be dangerous so he became a lot softer. He pulled you to his plastron and rubbed your back. Big brother/soft boyfriend mode would take over and he would just let you fall apart. He prefers listening over fixing in these moments.

Raph doesn't like seeing people cry and depending on the circumstances, he may even cry with you. He doesn't like seeing anyone he cares about in pain, especially emotional pain. He will make it his personal business to get even with the person who hurt you, or do his best to try and make you feel better if you're just having a bad day.

When you calmed down enough, he'd make a joke about how red your face was to try and make you smile. If that didn't work, he would just offer to listen to whatever was on your mind until you felt better.

"Listen, I know it's bad now but I promise ya it'll be okay. How's about we watch a movie? I can make ya a snack if ya want."

Donnie:

Like Leo, Donnie isn't good at emotions. The only difference between the two is that the purple bandana sporting turtle always knows. He always knows when something isn't right, a lot of the time even before Raph. By nature, he's very calm and collected. However, when your world seems to be crumbling, his intelligence seems to fly out the window.

It was something he couldn't fix and you knew he couldn't fix. You just needed someone to listen to you and let you get it out. It was eating you alive and you couldn't take it anymore. You had to tell someone.

You wondered into his lab and told him you needed to talk to him. He continued working and told you to say what was on your mind. He paid attention, he could multitask like a king, but it wasn't until your tone shifted that he turned all his focus on you. Your eyes were becoming glossier and your face was turning red. You were about to start crying and he internally panicked.

He wasn't the biggest on physical affection, but even he needs a hug at times. Depending on the status of your relationship, he would offer you a hug. Donnie's arms stretched out and he motioned for you to come to him. You laid your head on his plastron and cried. He rubbed your back and just let you cry. You seemed like you needed it.

Donnie offered you a tissue and sat back down in his chair. He pulled his extra one over to you and offered you to sit. If he couldn't fix it, at least he could offer a distraction.

"I'm sorry that you're upset. If you'd like, you can help me with the retro mutegen? Or maybe the shell razor? You pick."

Mikey:

He's emotionally intelligent and emotionally aware. He's very observant and can tell when something's up, but will believe you if you tell him you're tired. It wouldn't be until that you yourself stop believing you're just tired that Mikey realizes something's bothering you. He doesn't fix it, but instead he tries to comfort you as best he can.

You had been feeling off all day and didn't know why, you woke up that way. You hated the world and you felt like it hated you too. You told Mikey you were tired but you got tired of that lie really fast.

You and him were playing video games when it hit you all of a sudden. You felt your chest tighten and then the next thing you knew, you were crying. He quickly disregarded the game and hugged you, trying to get you to tell him what was wrong. Naturally, he's a very affectionate guy. He was petting your hair and rubbing your back before you could even start sobbing.

Once Mikey realized he didn't have to go into protective boyfriend/friend mode, he went quiet. He knew that right now, you just needed a minute. You were obviously overwhelmed and he didn't want to add to that by hounding you with questions. He didn't like seeing you this way but obviously you needed to allow yourself this moment, and he would wait until you were ready.

He wiped your tears and kissed your forehead. He kept his arm around you and rubbed your back, letting you know that you were safe with him. He just wanted to show that he was there for you.

"Don't worry, Y/N, I got you. Wanna watch a movie? Or maybe I can teach you some skateboard tricks? Your choice.

[pauking5]

Under the Mistletoe 🍒🌿

Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x reader

Genre: tooth-rotting fluff, mutual pining,

Word Count: 5.3k+

A/N: I did promise you more Zoro so here it is! This one has been sitting in my drafts for a while and I didn't really feel like posting it but something told me to do it now. Merry belated Christmas everyone and happy holidays! Hope you like it :)

ps: Thank you to @jiyaxedits for these really pretty dividers! They put me out of my misery a little 🫶

Zoro wasn't big on celebrations. Birthdays or holidays didn't really exist in his vocabulary for the sole reason that he was happy to drink on any occasion. He didn't need a date in the calendar to tell him when to open a bottle of alcohol.

That was until you joined the straw hats.

You were the total opposite of his detached nature to almost everything that required an extra emotional effort. Even with that, it wasn't long until you piqued his curiosity.

Observing you, he came to the conclusion that you were emotion in pure form. You showed your caring nature for people in any way you could. Whether it was by helping out one of your fellow crew mates with something or just trying to ease their own load, you were always there. He didn't think much of it until he felt self-conscious enough to get involved and help out like you did. He wouldn't admit it but you had an influence on him.

The more time you spent together the more he was drawn to you, seeing things in a different light. Before he knew it, all those random dates in the calendar held some kind of meaning to him because they held a special meaning to you.

Although, he still didn't fully understand why you got so excited whenever one of those dates would approach. You would spend days planning the activities for the day, often going out for your way.

You would go over a special menu with Sanji, making sure all meals of the day and the dessert were covered. Then you would take Nami shopping for decorations wherever you happened to be docked, picking things that encapsulated the occasion. Usopp would also pitch in with helping you put the decorations up and add a tad bit more cheer to the atmosphere.

He noticed you and Luffy made a great team when it came to picking out small attentions for the crew. You both knew the crew better than anyone and it showed not just on those days, but the ordinary ones too.

In short, everyone became an extension of your excitement for the day. Well, everyone except Zoro.

You knew he wasn't used to the whole we are a family thing and you planned on changing that.

When you joined the crew he was really reserved. But after spending some time together, you managed to crack him open. You learned more about him, what he liked and what he disliked.

You tried pulling him out of his stoic bubble and it seemed to work because little by little, he started helping out too. It was small things like helping you fix the table before the food was served or picking the drinks out by preference of each straw hat. That's where you noticed that his love language was acts of service.

As small as they were, those acts were sincere and full of kindness. Whenever someone thanked him for his help, you would catch a glimpse of his face lighting up, the rarest smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

He cared and protected people in that way. It spoke volumes of his love he had for his crew and you admired that. Even if he didn't realise the impact he had, especially on you.

The winter holidays were approaching fast, but it seemed like the cheer was absent on the Going Merry. The latest adventure left the crew exhausted and without a trace of enthusiasm. So much, that it was Christmas Eve and you didn't have a tree up, festive decorations hung around the ship or any food ready to munch on.

Out of all yearly celebrations, Christmas held a special place in your heart. It was a time to get together with your loved ones and celebrate the bond you have.

This would be your first Christmas with the crew and you have been looking forward to it for a while. They made you feel so appreciated and welcomed into their own little family and you wanted to return the appreciation.

So, bracing for your proposal to be rejected and a small hope that it would be accepted, you marched around the ship like an elf and pulled everyone out of their rooms and onto the deck.

Most of them didn't look too happy to be disturbed. Nami was in the middle of working on a map and she almost put her foot through your face for pulling her away from it. Sanji was putting some clean dishes away when you dragged him out, wet towel hastily tossed on his shoulder in the process. Luffy and Usopp were already on deck messing around. They seemed to be the only ones a little ecstatic for what you wanted to tell them.

But before you could start your speech, you noticed a certain straw hat was still missing.

Zoro was the hardest one to find, especially when he didn't want to be found. You searched his room, both the upper and lower decks, including the storage room filled with alcohol barrels and bottles. There was no sign of his presence anywhere on the ship.

You were ready to give up until you remembered there was one place you didn't search in, the crow's nest. And that's exactly where you found him, napping the day away.

Too engrossed in rushing to get everyone on deck, you were about to shake his shoulder. But as your eyes registered the sight in front of you, you halted all movement.

You saw him napping before, but none of those times did he look so deep in restful sleep like he did now.

He laid on his back, one of his hands propping up his head like a pillow, His legs were placed against the wooden mast. His body was angled in a way that the mast cast a shadow big enough to shelter his eyes from the early afternoon sun. His chest rose up slowly in sync with his soft snores, mouth slightly open. The light made his green hair look so soft that it took everything in you not to rake your hands through it.

There was something about him that put you at peace. Maybe it was the way his earrings jingled against each other and you knew he was nearby. Or the way his deep brown eyes changed to a warmer shade of chocolate while watching the sunset with you. You fell for those eyes of his a while ago and you didn't want to stop the bottomless drop at all.

Everything about him was peace to you. Even during battle, when he sliced through enemies and his blades were drenched in dirt. Or when he teased his crew members about something, with anything but good intentions in his head. Despite his hellish reputation, to you it felt like the heavens sent him down to earth. To fight and protect what he believed in with his all, laying down his own heart on the blade of his swords.

Your thoughts were cut short as the man before you stirred awake.

He sensed your presence for a while and contemplated whether he should make you aware that he knew you were staring at him. He wondered what you were sighing so softly at and couldn't hold in his curiosity anymore.

He opened his eyes to find you sitting down next to him. Your eyes locked with his and you just gazed at each other for a while. Adjusting the hand behind his head, he tilted it to get a better look at you.

You had that smile on your face, the one that grew on him the past months you've spent together. One look at it and it made every single one of his worries disappear into thin air.

That's the impact your whole presence had on him. Besides pure emotion you were also tranquility and harmony, while he was chaos and destruction. You neutralised his worst fears when he needed it the most with just that one smile and he couldn't get enough of it.

Your eyes suddenly went wide with realisation. You were supposed to get back to the other straw hats with him in tow a while ago. Wrapping your hand around his free one you tugged him up with you.

"Whoa, slow down. What's the rush?"

"You. Me. Downstairs. Now. Will explain in a bit."

He let you pull him downstairs on the deck where everyone else waited expectantly.

"Sleeping beauty decided to finally join us," joked Sanji.

"Is that a compliment, sandwich maker?"

"We thought you ditched us for a second," added Usopp, wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive way.

You and Zoro were both confused. But then it hit you that something warm surrounded your palm. You looked down to see his hand securely intertwined with yours. Your hand was definitely on his forearm when you left the crow's nest. He probably caught your hand in the rush of pulling him down the stairs to avoid breaking his neck.

His eyes followed your widened ones to see your hands together.

He held your hand before, when he would hand you a plate with food or to help you down from the ship onto land. But not once did he hold it fully like this. His palm was entirely enclosed around yours. Your hand looked so small in his. Like it fit just right with his larger one.

You let go first and he hesitated a little. He wanted to hold it a bit longer. To study all the ridges on your knuckles as his fingers would thread between yours. To just hold them.

But he was conscious of the four pairs of eyes darting between the two of you and he let go of your hand, going back to his serious self beside you.

Shaking the awkwardness away, you turned back to the crew, remembering the task at hand.

"So, I gathered you all here today because it's Christmas Eve!" you said, waving your hands around enthusiastically, though your joy wasn't that well received on the other end.

"Okay and?" asked Nami, rather devoid of the holiday spirit.

"What do you mean okay and?! It's Christmas Eve! We don't have a tree up, decorations or any food to properly celebrate."

"I don't get why we need to celebrate a white bearded old man breaking into people's houses every year," deadpanned Nami.

"Yeah, I kinda have to agree with her on that," said Zoro, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's not just about Santa. We also celebrate the appreciation and love we share together as a crew," you stated. You took to walking around the deck, as their eyes followed you trying to make sense of your behaviour.

"Christmas is about making new memories by spending time together. It's putting up decorations and dressing up silly. We could set up our Christmas tree here," you pointed to the tall mast in the middle. "String a few sets of lights up from the jolly roger all the way down the veils to the decks, like a multi-coloured umbrella," you said excitedly, turning back around to them.

"Christmas is also a time to reflect back on the past year and talk about our best moments over a hearty dinner. It's a moment where we all get to be honest with each other. To share the hope, the joy and the love we hold for each other," you concluded.

You looked at them with hopeful eyes, earnestly wishing they will understand why you were so hellbent on doing something for the day.

But all you got in response to your speech was unsure neck rubs and a sense that you were the only one who wanted to celebrate today.

You felt like your excitement was maybe a little too much this time. Maybe they really just wanted a peaceful night in, doing whatever they had planned by themselves.

None of them were saying anything and it only made your uncertainty grow inside.

Maybe forgetting any of this even happened was better than making them feel like they should be doing something they weren't comfortable with.

Defeated, you took a step back and decided to retaliate.

"Actually, we don't need to do anything extra today. We can just chill out and all," you laughed nervously. "Sorry for bringing you guys out here for nothing."

You mumbled the last part and turned on your heels to make your way back to your room. Maybe not saying anything would have been better than whatever that was.

The crew remained on deck after you left. If anyone felt defeated it certainly wasn't you, but them. Especially the green-haired swordsman.

His mind was stuck on you. On the way your eyes twinkled with joy the more you gestured around you how you pictured everything. On the smile that never left your lips as you spoke of what the holiday means to you. And the fact that you wanted to spend this with them, your current family.

For him, the concept of family was a hard one to grasp. He didn't think he would ever feel as welcomed as he felt with the family he had back at the dojo. With Kuina.

He thought he would never be able to find a place he belonged. Until he came across the straw hats. They annoyed him, pestered him, drove him crazy most of the time. But they cared. They fully supported his dream to become the greatest swordsman in the world, without doubting his ambition or his skills in the slightest. And that meant a lot to him.

They grew on him and they felt like family. That included you too. It was you who showed him how to give back to the people that support you relentlessly. It was you who taught him that opening up to people wasn't selfish. That he should be open to not just giving but receiving too. The straw hats had a lot of love for him and they would stop at nothing to show it.

That's what you did a few moments ago. You put yourself out there, doing everything to convince them that celebrating shouldn't be a chore. That you wanted to celebrate your new found family.

He felt his heart break when he watched you back away like that. He knew you were beating yourself up for it, for thinking you were too much. But that wasn't true. He wanted to tell you that he wanted to celebrate with you. But it took him a while to register everything you said and that was one of the things he was working on.

By the looks on their faces, everyone was questioning themselves now. Searching for some kind of meaning that Christmas could have for them. Somewhere, deep down inside their hearts, they wanted to celebrate this too, just as much as you did.

Something seemed to click in their heads after a while, their eyes connecting in a knowing look. You could consider them convinced because they took the initiative themselves. It just took a while for your words to process.

"You know what, she's right," started Sanji. "I haven't cooked a hearty Christmas meal for ages. I could do with a roast, some eggnog and a cake."

"I can clean up around here a little. Get the table out here and some chairs," chimed Usopp.

"We could go into town and see what decorations we can find," added Luffy, linking his arm with Nami's in excitement.

"All we need is someone to go and get a Christmas tree," said Nami.

All eyes moved to the green-haired man leaning on the stair railing. He was the only one who hasn't pitched in with anything yet and they all looked at him expectantly.

He, on the other hand, did not seem to get the idea, looking back at everyone slightly confused.

"What?"

"You really are an idiot," face palmed Nami.

"Hey! Why are you calling me an idiot?"

"She was suggesting you would go and get a tree that we could put up over here," said Usopp, motioning to the mast. He realised that it was the spot you said you wanted it to be in.

"Why me?"

"You're forgetting you're the more muscular one out of all of us," uttered Nami, pinching his bicep. She thought that if she spoke to his ego he would realise what he needed to do sooner. "You don't expect me to carry it back to the ship now do you?"

"Fair point."

Finally, with tasks assigned and a plan for battle in place the straw hats took to their duties. They decided Christmas would happen this year, though it would take some work. And possibly a miracle.

It's been a while since you retreated back to your room. You stared at the Christmas plan you had written down on several sheets of paper on your nightstand, tracing the colour coded activities as you sighed. Maybe next year.

A knock on your door pulled you from zoning out. The light from outside dimmed down and the sun was just about to set, telling you it's been hours since your Christmas show on deck.

You walked to the door, wondering who it could be. It was probably Luffy, coming to check on you. But you were surprised to open it and find a rather distressed Nami. She had a weird smile on her face that was unlike her. What was even weirder was the silver tinsel hanging around her neck and the red and white santa hat on her head.

"We need some help out on the deck," she smiled wider, holding out a bag filled with different colored tinsel to you.

Your frown was instantly replaced by a smile matching hers as you took the bag from her hand.

"What made you change your mind?"

"You did," she said, pulling you into a hug that you returned. "We were too deep inside of our heads to see the bigger picture. We gave it some thought and realised you were right, so we got down to business."

You separated and walked down the halls. The walls inside the ship were decorated with lights all the way to the doors leading on deck. Nami's smile only got brighter the closer you got to the kitchen because you opened the doors and got hit with the most Christmas-like smell: Sanji's special roast. He just pulled it out of the oven, steam rising in the air spreading a divine aroma. But that wasn't the only thing cooking.

The oven was still working, baking a few batches of cookies in all kinds of shapes. A warm scent of cinnamon embraced you, followed by zesty citrus touches.

"It smelles like heaven in here, Sanji!"

"I'm glad angel," he smiled at you warmly.

Nami beckoned you outside. Luffy and Usopp were up in the crow's nest, struggling to untangle what looked like five rows of lights to hang from the jolly roger down to the veils. Just like you told them you wanted them.

You quickly climbed up to them with Nami in tow to help them before they could get hurt.

"Guys, you didn't have to do all this."

"Of course we did!" jumped Luffy. "You do so much for us and it was about time we paid you back."

"Well, at least let me help with the rest."

"Please do!" cried Usopp. He was tangled in one of the light sets from top to bottom.

"We could use you as a Christmas tree instead," joked Nami. "We just have to plug you in."

Everyone laughed at that. This was the atmosphere you desperately wanted, with the people you loved the most. It was where you belonged.

The only one you haven't seen around was Zoro. No one mentioned his whereabouts. All you heard was Nami complain that he's been gone for hours and that he ahd one of the easiest tasks to do. Maybe Christmas was a little too celebratory for him.

You just finished hanging up the last set of lights from the crow's nest when you heard grunts and enraged thudding of boots on the main deck. You made your way down only to be met with a sight for the history books.

There he was, hidden by a sturdy tree that was a shade of green darker than his hair. He carried it on his shoulders like it weighed nothing. But then again, he was Zoro. It must be something normal for him.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him. The look on his face told you he was a bit annoyed. Well, by the way his jaw ticked, probably very annoyed at the fact that no one rushed to help him with the huge wood angled on his back.

Luffy and Usopp got the idea and rushed to take it off his shoulders. They lifted it up on its trunk and that's when you all noticed the tree was actually massive.

Zoro rolled his shoulders to get rid of the ache in them and proceeded to dust his clothes off the tree's fallen pine needles that were scattered across his body.

"We thought you got lost," said Nami.

"Well, I did get lost," he deadpanned.

A lot of pine needles got stuck in his hair. He shook his head around to get rid of them but there were still some sticking out between his green strands. He raked his hand through them but he still couldn't get them out. He huffed frustrated in defeat and you decided to put him out of his misery.

Walking in front of him, you got on your tip toes, reaching out with your hand to whip the rest of the needles out. He froze in place, hands mid-way to his scalp to do it himself. He let them back down to his sides and watched as you took them out of his hair one by one and threw them away on the ground.

You had your bottom lip between your teeth, focused on getting the little fuckers out. He bent his knees so it would be easier for you to work on finding them without having to stay on your tip toes for too long. Once you were done and your heels were flat on the ground, you clapped your hands to get rid of any leftover pine needles. When your eyes lifted back up you realised just how close you were standing as you were eye to eye with him. You sucked in a breath as his eyes studied your face.

He was happy to see that you had a smile on your face this time, which was a hundred times better than that frown you had when you went to your room a few hours ago. In return for that bright smile of yours you always gave him, he gave you one of his own.

This smile was new, more rare than the smile he usually wore around you. You could literally see his pearly teeth. The muscles in his cheeks pulled the edge of his lips to curve up and his eyes crinkled into crescents. It was like a half smile, half smirk kind of smile. And it drove you absolutely crazy.

Who was he and what did he do with Roronoa Zoro?

"Uh, Zoro? Why does the tree have pine cones on it?" asked a confused Usopp.

His smile fell, eyes narrowing on the straw hat behind you.

"Is that not how it's supposed to be?"

"Where did you get it from?" asked Nami. "It's been hours since you went out."

"The woods," he said proudly, hands on his hips.

Everyone burst out laughing at his words, including you. This was too good to be true.

By the looks of it, he used his swords to chop it down. The few tears in his shirt told you the tree fought him a little for cutting it down.

"What are you all laughing for now?"

"There were trees for sale, already cut up in town," wheezed Nami through her giggles.

"I knew that," he said, hands coming to sit around his chest. You narrowed your eyes at him this time and he scoffed, averting his eyes from you.

"Fine! I didn't. I just wanted to get you the real thing."

"That is the real thing too," said Luffy.

"You know what, next time you can all take goldi-locks over there tree shopping. I doubt he'll do a better job at it."

"I heard you, peahead. And I will take you up on the challenge," shouted Sanji from the kitchen.

Zoro helped you to fix the table and lay down the new silver cloth Luffy and Nami bought. It was so long, but so nicely decorated with white snowflakes falling off the edges and different winter patterns drawn along it. You both lifted it up and spread it across the table, smoothing out the ridges from the middle to the edges. One of the longer corners got caught under the leg of the wooden table and you struggled to pull it out.

Zoro rushed over to you. He dove under the table and saw the material was caught in a piece of wood that was sticking out. He unwrapped it and moved to hand it to you just as your hands reached out for it. Your fingers touched again for the second time today and it caught you both in a daze. He gazed at you and you stared at him, feeling like you were transported to a different world.

He leaned in closer to you and you did too. The way his eyes focused on your lips told you that he wanted to seal yours with his. Your lips almost touched, if it wasn't for the unwanted interruption.

"Is the table done, lovebirds?"

You were snapped out of zoning out into each other's eyes. You both looked to your right to see the rest of the straw hats looking at you. You let go of each others hands and went back to getting the table ready.

Zoro brought over cutlery and plates from the kitchen and you arranged them around the table. He also got some glasses and drinks, placing them by preference to everyone's assigned seats.

Finally, Sanji brought the food over and everyone dove in before the steam evaporated completely from the roast. A tray with six eggnog glasses was then served and you all clinked your glasses together, toasting to the crew. You looked around at everyone sat around the table and it finally felt like the holidays.

Zoro was sat next to you nursing a glass of red wine. He couldn't tell if it was the alcohol, the festive cheer or you that had a strange sense of peace wash over him. Like he did not have a worry in the world.

He looked at you from time to time absolutely enthralled by the way your laugh bounced in his ears. You were laughing at one of Usopp's stories that was most likely glazed with little reality and over the top sarcasm. The origins of the story didn't matter, because you seemed to love it by the way the corners of your mouth curled in a knowing smirk. Your eyes crinkled in delight every time he would reach a point in the tale that was too funny not to laugh at and you would let that laugh out and he would laugh with you. It was slowly becoming his favorite sound.

In the midst of it all he found himself smiling at you and the crew that was now his home. Maybe celebrating things wasn't that bad. Especially if they were things that mattered to him.

After dinner, the crew dispersed to each their own. You wandered to the tree and sat in front of it, staring at it in awe. Multi-coloured baubles decorated it so joyfully, together with random kitschy ones. The tinsel waved around every corner, acting like an twinkling extension of the tree itself. More lights were wrapped around it, carefully placed around the pine cones. You chuckled remembering how badly Nami wanted to take them all off and you argued with her to just leave it be. Despite looking as wild as you could get it, it was the perfect Christmas tree.

Zoro was looking for you and found you in front of the tree. You looked so at peace as the lights twinkled, just like your eyes did as you looked at it. He thought that maybe having pine needles even in his boxers was worth it to see you smile that bright at the fully decorated tree.

"I hope it's to your liking," he said, walking beside you.

"It is," you smiled at him. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I've got one more thing for you."

You eyebrows raised in curiosity as you wondered what it could be. You already opened gifts at the dinner table so it couldn't be that.

"Close your eyes," he instructed.

You did as he told you and waited. He told you to open them and you saw him looking up, smirking at something. You followed his eyes to see a small twig with green leaves and red berries toed to a tree branch above you with a piece of ribbon. You instantly recognised it to be mistletoe.

"Did you just tie that up there?" you chuckled.

"Well, that diminishes the surprise effect."

You wondered if he knew what the plant's meaning was, especially on Christmas. Or if he just got it because it looked pretty in the woods. That was a possibility that kept your heartbeat from rising dangerously.

The confusion on your face told him you weren't sure of his intentions and he decided to make them somewhat clearer for you.

You were busy gauging the meaning of this by staring at the mistletoe. He took a step towards you closer to you, stopping as the tip of your boots touched. You lowered your eyes from the mistletoe only to find him almost nose to nose with you. He grabbed a hold of your hand with his free one, lacing your fingers together and pulled you even closer.

"So, does the man who doesn't celebrate holidays know anything about the mistletoe tradition?" you asked, getting a little closer to him.

"I might be an idiot sometimes, but I do know this much," he scoffed, signature smirk on his face.

"Hmm. You don't look so sure of that," you teased, playing with the hem of his shirt absentmindedly.

"How about I show you then?"

Your breath hitched in your throat as he dipped his head closer to yours. His eyes hungrily darted between yours and your lips waiting for your approval to finally kiss you.

"Want to do the honours?" you asked biting your lower lip in expectation.

"Gladly," he breathed out, closing the distance between you.

It turned out your palms weren't the only ones that fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Your lips did too, moving in sync with desire. Your free hand fisted his shirt to pull him closer as his free one came to sit at the back of your head pulling you impossibly closer. You felt him smile against your lips and you couldn't help but do it too, smilling against his.

You broke apart for air, foreheads pressed flush against each other. Your hands were still laced together, his thumb tracing the outline of your palm.

"This is the best Christmas ever," you breathed out.

He chuckled at that. His hand moved from the back of your head to cup your cheek and your hand came to rest on his wrist. You leaned into his touch, laying a kiss of appreciation on his palm. He smiled at you and that's where you knew that you wanted to spend all your holidays with him. Just like this.

It seemed like you spoke your mind out loud because he grinned widely at you. You buried your head in his chest in embarrasment as he laughed at your adorableness.

"I wouldn't want anyone else to spend them with either," said Zoro, laying your heart at ease.

Thank you for reading! As always, comments, likes and reblogs are welcome!

[oh-stars]

Finally

Parents

a Stobin Month 2024 prompt | Word count: 1520 | CW: referenced pregnancy (but mild) | Rating: T

--

“Are we assholes for not saying something sooner?” 

“They would have talked us out of it.” 

Robin hums as she rocks back and forth, eyes never leaving the sleeping baby in her arms. “Still feel like we should have given them a warning. If only so that they keep the volume down.” 

Steve pauses where he’s unpacking the baby’s go bag. “I didn’t think about that.” 

She glances up at him, eyebrow raised. “You seriously didn’t consider that inviting all of your little gremlins wouldn’t result in a category five sound explosion the second they cross the threshold? If they wait that long?” 

He waves her off. “Eddie’s going to let them in,” he says, “he’ll scare them into acting right.” 

“If you say so.” 

Before Steve can say anything, there’s a little snuffle from the bundle in her arms that has him scrambling to kneel beside her. He peers, eyes wide and voice the softest whisper he can manage as he asks, “Is he waking up?” 

“I think so,” she whispers. She looks at the cloud clock on the nursery wall. “Can you fix a bottle?” 

Steve leans forward and kisses the baby’s forehead. “You betcha. Be back in a flash.” 

He carefully steps away then darts out of the room. Robin rocks back and forth to the sounds of Steve and Eddie in the kitchen, trying to be quiet and failing miserably. They all have to get used to being softer around the house now that they’ve got a new little roommate.

It’s still a bit mindblowing that she and Steve have a baby now. 

They’ve been married since Robin turned eighteen for Upside Down reasons, in case something happened to either of them, they’d be the one in control of the medical decisions – not their clueless parents. And ten years later, the Upside Down fully behind them, it just hasn’t been a priority to undo it – not with the tax break and protection it gives them both. 

Of course, it’s totally platonic. Robin’s a proud gold star lesbian and Steve is… Steve. He tries to date, but his heart hasn’t been in it since he met Eddie. He can deny he’s not in love with Eddie all he wants, but friends don’t usually send you into a multi-year sexuality crisis. 

It was on Steve’s twenty-ninth birthday that the existential crisis hit him. 

“What if we never find anyone?” he said, turning to look at her. They’re laying in the driveway, stargazing as they share a bottle of wine but neither are up for drinking. “What if I never get to be a dad? What if–” 

“Why wouldn’t you get to be a dad?” 

“We’re getting old and I’m hopeless! I could barely get to first base with Sydney the other night,” Steve huffs. “I’m just not… It’s too hard to connect with people who don’t understand why I can’t sleep without a nightlight at fucking thirty–” 

“You’re not thirty yet,” Robin reminds him gently. 

“So not the point, Robs.” 

She sighs and scoots closer to lay her head on his shoulder. “I’d have a baby with you if I could,” she said, not sober enough to really make that kind of promise. And at the moment, they both knew it was just a comment, a throwaway line to try and make him feel better, but it stuck. It stuck with her. 

It was three weeks later when she caught him making faces at a baby in the soup aisle of the grocery store that she realized she could do that for him. She’s never really considered kids before, not as a viable option for her what with the whole gay thing, but the more she considered it, the more open she was. Having a baby with her best friend in the entire world, someone who has been by her side through both literal torture and tax season, seems like the best decision she could make. 

Robin didn’t say anything for another month, letting the idea simmer as she really considered if this is something she would want to do. In her heart of hearts, she knew Steve would say no at first but the second he knew she was being honest, that she really wanted this, he wouldn’t be able to say no. But it would put a huge damper on her romantic life for the foreseeable future and make it difficult moving forward forever. She’d have a kid to think about, because if she commits, she’s doing it right. 

It’s pretty clear they went through with it.

The whole experience has been kind of incredible. Surreal to say the least. 

And only Eddie and her parents knew. 

They still think she’s straight, that she and Steve are married for real. And she does love them, knows that if she ever got the courage to tell them she’s been platonically married for the past decade that they’d be confused but open to learning. So she couldn’t keep this secret from them. 

Eddie had to know, as their roommate it’d be impossible to hide it from him. “I think Uncle Eddie has a nice ring to it,” he’d said when they told him they were going to try and have a baby. He didn’t ask any of the weird questions she expects from the gremlins either, about how they conceived if she was a lesbian and all the whys they’d ask. Eddie understood it, has even been excited for it. 

All these months of preparing and anguishing over her decision and he’s finally here, in her arms. 

Baby boy squirms as he opens his eyes, letting Robin see the murky blue of his eyes once again. “Hi,” she whispers, shifting to run a knuckle down his cheek. “Today’s a big day for you, Bubs.” 

Steve walks back in with a bottle in his hands and a rag thrown over his shoulder. “Want me to feed him this time?” 

“Are you saying I need a break?”

“You smell like baby vomit.” He sets the bottle on the table beside her. “And I’m pretty sure there’s still spit up in your hair from his last feeding. I can take Bubs so you can shower.” 

“Don’t think she’s got shower time, Stevie,” Eddie says from the doorway. “Byers just called, they’re at the corner store for a pee break. Apparently Henderson couldn’t hold it another ten minutes.” 

Robin hands over the baby to Steve, with more reluctance than she anticipated. The hormones have hit her pretty hard postpartum and while she doesn’t have the natural instincts Steve seems to have, the attachment is very real. She heaves herself up from the chair with a wince, body still sore everywhere. “It’ll take me ten minutes just to pee,” she huffs, glaring at Eddie. 

He holds up his hands. “Just saying.” 

Steve sits in the rocker and grabs the bottle, putting it to Bubs lips with a sweet coo. “Eddie can stall them if you need more time?” She can’t help but feel warm at the sight. He looks so at peace holding their son, holding his baby, the one she carried for him and will raise alongside him. This really is what he was meant to do and Robin helped him get to this point. And now, no matter what happens to either of them, there’s a little piece of Steve and a little piece of Robin in that precious boy. Her precious boy. 

“Yeah,” Eddie says, “I made sure the baby evidence was hidden away from the living room.” 

“And I took care of the kitchen.”

“So you won’t miss the surprise on their faces,” Eddie adds. 

She makes her way to the door and nods, then pauses to turn back to Steve. “And you’re still sure letting Erica name our kid is a good idea?” 

Steve shrugs as much as he can without disturbing the baby. “Do you really want to tell her that we’re backing out of the deal?” 

Robin wrinkles her nose. “Not particularly.” 

“Then I think it’s our safest bet. And hey,” he grins down at Bubs, “at least Erica will have a sensible name in mind. Unlike Eddie who suggested Beelzebub.” 

“Beelzebub Buckley is a badass name.” 

Robin swats his shoulder on her way out the nursery. “We’re not naming my son after Satan.” 

“You call him Bubs!” Eddie points out, following her towards her bedroom.

“Yeah, for Bubbles,” she huffs. “He felt like bubbles in my gut and the name stuck. You were there. You should know this.” 

Eddie opens her door for her. “Need a hand?” he asks. 

“No, unfortunately, you cannot help with this next part,” she says as she heads for the en suite. “Just go stall.” 

“Yes ma’am,” Eddie says with a salute. 

Robin rolls her eyes and holds off on smiling until he shuts the door behind him. She takes a deep breath and enjoys the first five minutes of alone time she’s had since she went into labor five days ago. It may be fleeting, but she’ll enjoy every second she has of it. 

So so worth it, though.

--

Thank you @lady-lostmind for beta reading!

Ao3 Link

This is the first prompt I kind of want to explore more in a serious sense, so let me know if you want to see more of Stobin and Bubs (with eventual Steddie ofc).

[smytherines]

I often wonder if I would feel differently about The Staircase Scene if I had seen SAF when it first came out in 2016. The first time I saw it was probably around October or November of 2023, and like... the context is different now.

Whatever we want to say about the personal story arcs of these characters (and I know I'm in a tiny minority because, for me, killing Owen does not constitute a satisfying close to Curt's arc, that's totally fine), there is the very real issue of the sociopolitical context that this scene takes place within- both in their time (1961) and in ours.

One very cool thing about SAF is that, in order to understand these characters better, a lot of younger queer folks end up learning about the Lavender Scare, about Executive Order 10450- which officially prohibited gay people from working for the US government- for the first time. That's an incredible, precious thing to me. Yay queer history! It's important!

The show itself never addresses the fact that both the US and UK governments had very public, very brutal campaigns equating homosexuality with communism with being a traitor to your country. But if you want to understand these characters, and especially write fanfiction, you're really incentivized to teach yourself some fundamentally important aspects of queer history.

In the 54 Below concert, before singing Not So Bad, Brian Rosenthal talks about how when they were developing the show they thought N@zis were more or less a thing of the past, that they're fully aware of how differently that song might be taken now after an escalation into a more open embrace of fascism in the US. And they're absolutely right about that.

But I think that's also perhaps an issue with the staircase scene, or at least it is for me. Obviously homophobia and transphobia were not "fixed" in 2016, they were still massive problems resulting in violence and discrimination and brutality. But institutionally, at least, you could look at the situation and point to some things that were gradually getting better.

In 2016 trans youth in my state were legally allowed to receive gender affirming care. In 2024, they are not. It's not that homophobia and transphobia went away and then came back, but there was a very real resurgence of the use of the media and of governmental power to inflict pain on queer & trans people and chase them out of public life- bathroom bans, gender affirming care bans, Don't Say Gay laws, trying to make drag illegal, equating queer and trans people with pedophilia. There has been a big cultural shift back towards the same kind of violent governmental moral panic that our beloved Curt & Owen would have lived under.

Whatever we want to say about these characters and this story (and there's tons of fascinating debate there), there is still the base of a gay man killing his ex-lover ostensibly to protect US foreign policy objectives. Killing the man he loves- or loved, at least- to protect the secret that he is gay. And that hits different for me now.

I watch that scene and it is heartbreaking on a personal level, but its also heartbreaking as a queer person who just wants to scream "your government will destroy you for being gay, you don't owe them shit!"

Owen tries to explain that the surveillance network is happening, that the future won't wait for Curt to catch up. Barb has been saying she's working on the same thing for the US government the entire show, but Curt just kept ignoring her. And I just want to say "Curt, honey, what do you think your government is going to do to you with that surveillance system? Do you think you're useful enough to keep around even though you have sex with men? Because I promise you they will not care."

It feels tragic to me because on some level it seems like Curt would actually be safer with another gay man having control of all the world's secrets than he will be if the government he has dedicated his life to gets their hands on that same technology.

And the thing is, having a tragic ending doesn't make the show bad. This show is great. This scene is spectacular. It makes you think, it makes you feel things, it does all the stuff that great art is supposed to do. Absolutely none of what I'm saying here is meant to denigrate the show as a musical or a story or even a queer story. I hope it doesn't come off as me saying "actually this show is bad," because I don't feel that way at all.

Clearly I live and breathe this show. That's why I spend all my time on here analyzing every scene, every frame, every facial expression. I love this show so much that I can't help but deconstruct it and look at all its component parts- including the sociopolitical context both now and in 1961. Because that context, despite never being explicitly mentioned, is important to our understanding of these characters.

I love these characters so much that it's actually pretty difficult for me to watch A2P7 anymore, because the staircase scene is so emotionally devastating to me that it's hard to try to swing back into that more comedic tone (even though Spy Dance is a certified bop).

I'm not even sure what my point is with all of this, other than to say that Spies Are Forever is a show that is great and fun and funny as written/performed, and becomes gradually more emotionally devastating when you rewatch it or when you understand the subtext of it. When you can engage with the themes of gender and sexuality, surveillance and technology, trauma and trust, and tease out even more satisfying theories around this show.

So yeah. It's a musical. It's about spies.

[linkspooky]

With all the recent development in the story and Gege's trend of deconstructing the mindset of those who places value in 'strength' over anything else and their overwhelming sense of self, where do you think is he going with Megumi? Especially with how he's been narratively intertwined with Gojo, Toji and Sukuna, all of which are embodiments of 'with strength comes solitude'.

Good question, anon. Gege has been focusing on the mindsets of larger than life characters like Sukuna, Gojo and now Kashimo lately, on people who are so self-centered and egotistical that other people barely register t them as "people." Sukuna imagines them as insects trapped in a spider web's, Gojo calls them plans, Kashimo clods of dirt. They've been getting so much focus as of late some readers are even questioning why we're taking so much time to pity characters like Sukuna for being lonely while he's actively stealing a teenager's body and destroying Megumi's life.

As you said Megumi's connected to this too. All three of these characters, Toji, Gojo and Sukuna are connected to Megumi in some way. His father, his teacher, his violator. They also represent someone Megumi could have been. He could leave sorcerer society like his father and live as a curse user. He could have grown up to unlock the full potential of the ten shadows and surpass Gojo in strength and serve as an even stronger lynchpin to Jujutsu Society. Even Sukuna saw potential in Megumi that Megumi didn't see in himself, hence why he stole his body.

They also all made the opposite choice that Megumi made. Megumi is selfish yes, he even admits so, but he values his connections with people over being strong, his job as a sorcerer, or even himself. While the characters we're talking about made the choice to value strength over everything.

Oddly enough though, Megumi has been punished so far for valuing other people while people like Sukuna keep getting what they want. Why is this? Is the manga advocating for Sukuna's point of view? Is it telling us to sympathize with him?

Twitter user @ det_critics has a good thread [x] on Sukuna's narrative role in thestory, and how the world itself seems to support him because Sukuna keeps winning unhindered continued here too [x].

It is a great thread, and it definitely is a trend that characters with strong egos and self-centered goals tend to achieve what they set out to achieve in the manga. Just to compare quickly with other characters before we dive into Sukuna.

Yuji who's goal is to help others achieve a natural death, fails consistently at every turn. Fails to help Junpei. Fails in his goal to let himself be executed to reduce the total number of deaths in the world by letting Sukuna out at Shibuya. When the option to let Angel kill him come up so she can execute sukuna and then release Gojo as a promise, he ends up letting Sukuna escape and take Megumi's body. In fact, Yuji not counting "himself" as a person that Sukuna wasn't allowed to harm in his binding vow is what allowed Sukuna to accomplish this.

Megumi who's goal is straightforward, stop Yuji's execution and find a way to fix Tsumiki's curse. When he tries to find a safe way for Tsumiki to escape the culling games he is blindisded by the fact that Tsumiki was possessed by Yorozu and he didn't notice which meant there was no saving her from the beginning, and he's also immediately taken over by Sukuna after the fact. Sukuna kills Tsumiki shortly afterwards and will proceed to do the same to his friends.

Kokichi who only wants to rejoin his friends with a healthy body, is butchered by Mahito in the forest unable to meet up with the others and warn them in time about Shibuya. While he had selfish reasons for making a deal, he was also in a way trying to protect them behind their bacs.

Miwa who is only a sorcerer to get money for her family, doesn't put in her 100% and isn't strong enough to be someone who Kokichi trusts, so he lies to her face and by the time she realizes the truth she's helpless to do anything to save him from his fate and he's already dead.

Mai who's goal is to be reunited with her sister also doesn't put her all into training as a sorcerer, and because of that she's unable to help Maki get out of the pity when they're both inside it, and the only way to escape that situation for her is to sacrifice her life to give Maki power.

All of these characters who either have selfless goals, or their actions are oriented around other people rather than themselves are relentlessly punished by the plot. It's like Gege is Gojo, chastising Megumi for making a sacrifice bunt instead of swinging for the fences.

If there are clear plot consequences for every time a character has selfless goals, while characters like Sukuna seem to only ever be rewarded then is the author agreeing with Sukuna? Sukuna whose whole philosophy is just "burn everything to the ground and do whatever you want."

Remember, there's another character who espoused a similiar philosophy before. A character who Yuji aligned with Sukuna as being "a true curse."

Don't limit yourself to just being indifferent. There's no reason to live by such a resitrcting philosophy. If you're hungry, eat. If you hate, kill. I support everything you represent, Junpei...

It's right of the strong. "All inequality in this world come down to the competetence of the individual" as Tokyo Ghoul would put it.

The strong can do whatever they like with their strength, unless someone strong enough to physically stop them comes along. It sounds simple, but Sukuna and Mahito are so poetic they make it sound like pseudo-enlightenment.

This is just me, but I don't think Gege is writing this manga with the message that "If you're strong then you should be able to do whatever you want." If only because that is a little too simple and so far Jujutsu Kaisen is a manga where no character is ever one hundred percent correct, or one hundred percent wrong in their viewpoint. To make one character right above all others strikes me against the trend of the manga thus far towards more balanced look at its characters philosophies.

Rather, I think the world so far favors Sukuna's point of view for two reasons, one Jujutsu Society is a society designed to exploit people for the favor of a few people on top. Therefore people who look out for others like Nanami dying as a cog in that society, as one of the people that society is designed to exploit, whereas people like Mei Mei who are focused on crawling to the top and being the exploiters rather than someone who is exploited benefits... well then, that's showing what Jujutsu Society is like. It's not agreeing with it. It's showing the inherent unfairness of the world and a society designed to exploit and victimized people like Mai, Kokichi and

The second is that by siding with Sukuna so much, the story shows how tempting it is to think like Sukuna. To take before your taken from, to always be the victimizer and never be the victim. The story does invite you to feel sympathy to Sukuna for an extent, but it's sympathy for the devil.

Sukuna's known as the "disgraced / fallen one" and he's being hunted by a clear analogue for a christian angel who claims to be following the beliefs of their god. Gege is likely, taking a miltonian angle with Sukuna.

Paradise Lost is an epic poem written by John Milton depicting Lucifer's fall from heaven, and then his actions in tempting Eve to eat the apple in the garden causing the fall of mankind. It's well known for making Lucifer into its protagonist despite him being the antagonist of you know... christian theology, with most of the story depicting the fall from his point of view.

One of it's most famous quotes takes place right after the fall, where Lucifer has been kicked out of heaven and he tells everyone he's totally cool with this fact. Really guys, it's great here in hell.

The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’n. What matter where, if I be still the same, And what I should be, all but less than he Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least We shall be free: th’Almighty hath not built Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: Here we may reign secure, and in my choice To reign is worth ambition, though in hell; Better to reign in hell than serve in heav’n.

Satan justifies his disobedience because he may be cast out of heaven as punishment, but at least he's king here. It's a little bit like Sukuna's dilemna. Sukuna's philosophy is strength at the cost of everything else, you should burn everything in sight and only care about yourself. The flip side of that is that Sukuna's left all alone standing in a wasteland. He's king where he is, but he's king of absolutely nothing.

Sandman by Neil Gaiman already came up with the perfect counter to Lucifer's "Better to reign in hell"

Who in hell, doesn't dream of heaven?

Anyway, John Milton's epic is often accused of having too much sympathy for the devil, but that's actually the point. Lucifer is the narrator and he wants you to sympathize with him. He's trying to paint himself as a brooding anti-hero, who's suffering in hell because he's in the right. He's painting himself as the hero and the victim. It's about the tempting nature of sin itself.

Lucifer's not the villain of the story because he does bad things or sins however, but because he does bad things and refuses to self reflect and change on them.

In essence, Paradise Lost presents two moral paths that one can take after disobedience: the downward spiral of increasing sin and degradation, represented by Satan, and the road to redemption, represented by Adam and Eve. While Adam and Eve are the first humans to disobey God, Satan is the first of all God’s creation to disobey. His decision to rebel comes only from himself—he was not persuaded or provoked by others. Also, his decision to continue to disobey God after his fall into Hell ensures that God will not forgive him. Adam and Eve, on the other hand, decide to repent for their sins and seek forgiveness. Unlike Satan, Adam and Eve understand that their disobedience to God will be corrected through generations of toil on Earth. 

The theme of Paradise Lost is that any sinner, even Lucifer, can stop at any time and seek forgiveness instead. However, Lucifer chooses not to do that. He could leave hell at any time but he chooses to stay. He's fine in hell after all. He's totally gotten used to the temperature by now. Everything is fine Lucifer says, while everything is on fire.

Lucifer would rather stay in a hell of his own creation because it gives him the illusion of control over his life then admit he was wrong or give up that control. Even though as I said before the king of hell is still in... hell. He may be the king there but he's stuck in hell along with everyone else.

You could also connect this briefly with the budhist idea of impermanence, and the idea unhappiness is inherent to life. Sukuna and Kenjaku are both immortals who've persisted for more than a thousand years, but if from a budhist perspective life on this shithole rock is inherently unhappy for everyone then they're still stuck on this shit hole with everyone else. Neither of them are satisfied with their lives either, despite being seflish people who can take from others and get whatever they want out of life. Which once again, Budhist themes would say that anyone stuck in the cycle of reincarnation will live a life riddled with unhappiness and the only way to truly escape is to break free from the cycle, something neither Kenjaku and Sukuna will every achieve because they're postponing they're lives indefinitely.

Kenjaku's lived for a thousand years but he's bored. Nothing ever surprises him. Nothing ever happens beyond his expectations. He's constantly manipulating others to get what he wants, but he can't even vocalize what he wants.

To illustrate this concept further let's use a character from another anime who is a luciferian archetype. In Revolutionary Girl Utena there is a character named Akio, who used to be the prince Dios. A sort of deity who was once able to save every princess in the world. He was overwhelmed by the number of people demanding for his help and his sister sealed his power away in order to save his life before he worked himself to death.

Now he's reinarcnated as a mortal Akio Ohtori, who rules over Ohtori Academy, a place where children never grow up, where time doesn't seem to pass, a place that may just be purgatory. He's the chairman of the academy who also uses his power and infleunce to control the students, and manipulate them into joining a dueling tournament where they fight over his sister the rose bride, in order to try to find a student strong enough to try to unseal his old power.

WIthin the halls of Ohtori Academy Akio can do whatever he wants, he can sleep with whoever he wants, he's got this really cool car guys and he jumps on the hood and sits like this.

However, Akio may be king there but he's trapped as much as everyone else. Since Utena is about deconstructing toxic masculinity, every lie about Akio that he's powerful, that he's in control, that he's someone special is shown to be false. He's in control yeah, but that's because he's an adult manipulating teenagers. He's a teenagers idea of masculinity, which is just having a cool car, being super attractive and sleeping with wo you want. He's just an empty person, who only has power because he actively takes it away from others. The ending line of the series is his biggest victim just walking away from him, proving how powerless he is.

Akio:  I've got to rebuild the Code of the Rose Signet from scratch. Akio:  I'm counting on you, Anthy. Anthy:  You don't know what happened, do you? Akio:  What? Anthy:  It's alright now. Please go on playing make-believe "Prince" in this comfortable little coffin forever. Anthy:  But I must go. Akio:  Go? To where? Anthy:  That person hasn't vanished. She's merely left your world. Akio:  What're you talking about? Akio:  W-wait a minute! Anthy! Akio:  Anthy!! Anthy:  Farewell.

Ohtori is a coffin and Akio is trapped there the same as everyone else. Akio isn't a prince or a god, he's a corpse. He's willingly choosing to stay in hell rather than go anywhere better because that meant giving up power and control.

Doesn't that sound familiar? Kenjaku may get a lot of victories in the story, but all of his power comes from taking, manipulating, he is like Akio in the end a rapist who gets power from using and abusing others.

Literally, in both Kenjaku and Sukuna's cases because their current powers are stolen from the bodies they stole as well. As annoying as the Fraudkuna memes are theydo somewhat have a point, that Sukuna gained power from violating and taking the body of a sixteen year old boy. Without said sixteen year old boy he wouldn't even have a body to move around in because he's long dead.

They have taken, stolen, and robbed to get wat they want but arguably they are just as trapped as the main characters. Kenjaku and Sukuna get constant victories over the main characters yes, but do they get what they want? Kenjaku is still bored and he's always disappointed with how his plans turn out. As for Sukuna I have a hard time vocalizing what he wants. He lives to fill his apettite but he's always hungry. He lives to fight strong opponents, but he's number one the strongest that means there's no challenge, and number two he'll cheat, to win when he's in a corner so he deprives himself of the satisfaction that say Gojo won when he lost to a stronger opponent after giving it his absolute all.

Sukuna and Toji and Kenjaku and really whoever's philsophy of take before you're taken from and right of the strong only works as long as they are the strong ones. Mahito follows his philosophy of if you're hungry eat, and if you hate kill and it works for him right until someone stronger comes along.

That philosophy only works for you when you're the strnogest. If you show no mercy to those beneath you, then once you're no longer on top why would anyone show mercy to you? Mahito is suddenly no longer the wolf he thought he was, when he's the rabbit he acts just as frightened as all of is victims did.

The thing with all of these characters Gojo, Toji.. The second someone stronger appears they're reduced back into being human. Toji has a hole blown in him, Gojo is cut in half, they even die the same way they both die standing up. They both follow right of the strong, and kill or be killed until it's logical endpoint. They die when they're no longer the strongest.

I can go on about Toji's life and how while characters like Maki and even Gojo hold him up as some kind of paragon because he is strong, he's someone utlimately pathetic. He's so strong, but he shoots a sixteen year old girl in the head. Sixteen year old schoolgrils aren't even that strong dude. Toji is strong enough to ill any sorcerer that's not Gojo, but all the money he makes he gambles away. He jumps form women to women. He just drifts through life unable to grow up or cope with the trauma of his youth in any real way. The one thing he does care about in his life is Megumi, and his connection to Megumi is his dying thought for both of his deaths. He's strong enough to do whatever he wants, but clearly the one thing he did genuienly care about wasn't strength but Megumi considering he stabs himself in the brain rather than continue to fight Megumi once he realizes who it is. It's something that stops Toji who was apparently on a rampage as a puppet of carnage.

Toji, Gojo and Sukuna are all characters who represent who Megumi could be. They even push Megumi into thinking more like they do. Megumi believes his father didn't care about him and he's off living it up somewhere. Toji has modeled to Megumi he should dodge his responsibilities towards the ones he love and only live for himself.

Gojo has pushed Megumi into being a sorcerer with the intention of cultivating a sorcerer that's just asstrong as he is. Not all of his advice is bad "It's okay to be seflish" isn't bad advice, but he's also trying to make Megumi into a mini-Gojo. He wants to push Megumi into someone who can use the ten shadows to surpass a limitless user into taking consideration with what he wants.

Sukuna also pushed Megumi to fulfill his full potential, but that time too he had the selfish intention of you know... taking Megumi's body for himself.

Even Reggie tells Megumi he should learn to fight like a true sorcerer, and true sorcerers are con men. Megumi himself is tempted to act like them at times too. He kills a man while he's already down in cold blood, and then justifies it that it's for Tsumiki's sake when it's really just a power play. He almost mauls the girl with the scorpion hair because he finds her personality to be disgusting, once again lashing out with violence and power.

Megumi has been pushed to act this way, and Megumi himself sometimes embraces his power and uses it like this. To the point where now Megumi has been possessed by someone who is his anti-thesis, if Megumi wishes to use his power for the sake of his loved ones in his life Sukuna has no loved ones and only uses his power for himself.

In Paradise Lost, Lucifer corrupts Adam and Eve so they'll be dragged away from paradise just like him. Sukuna makes Yuji feel complicit in his massacre in Shibuya, and wants to make Megumi feel guilty for Tsumiki's murder. He also makes a point of pushing Megumi from early on to live out to his full potential.

Is Gege endorsing Sukuna's way of thinking, or is he merely showing the audience how tempting it is to think that way?

Yes, so far Sukuna has gotten away with everything while the protagonists struggle, but so did Mahito. So did Toji.

Everything he did against the protagonists in Hidden Iventory went exactly according to plan because they were worrying about protecting someone else and he only cared about wearing them down, looking for a weakness, and protecting himself until Gojo dropped his guard. Everything worked out for him until someone stronger came along.

Why would Sukuna be the exception to this rule? The entire philosophy that Sukuna builds his life around says that if he loses, than he'll be eaten too. Since he's prolonged his life for one thousand years by cheating and taking from others why exactly would he be any more satisfied with his death then Gojo or Toji was?

Is Sukuna really winning? Is he a corpse like Akio? Is he in hell like Lucifer? He's gotten everything he wanted out of life by taking from others but is he really satisfied?

Megumi may be tempted to walk the same path that they did, but I believe in the end just like Toji was saved by is connection to Megumi in his last moments we'll see Megumi be saved from Sukuna's grasp by the one thing that Sukuna doesn't have. A connection to another person, based upon love instead of power.

Because, hey, it worked for Yuta.

[lightwing-s]

Okay so when will either of them have the courage to actually ask each other out for your biker!jason au?

this is an direct follow up to this and you can read pt iii here

The darkness that took over his eyes made your body heat up instantly, butterflies reigniting in your stomach under his intense glare. This total stranger made your body feel all sorts of things from the moment you spotted him from a mile away, and from up close his spell felt so much stronger.

“I’m Jason, by the way.” he extended his hand for you to shake, and when you reached for it, instead of shaking it he gave it a chaste kiss on the back. “And I was wondering if you wanted to be my backpack tonight.”

And a couple of hours later, Jason was picking you up from your home, spare helmet in hand along with a tricolored leather jacket. “Don’t want you getting hurt, alright?”

Stopping his bike parallel to the sidewalk where you stood, he pulled you closer by the waistband of your jeans, making you awkwardly step forward towards him and touch his tight with your own. Slowly, he slid his long fingers through your hair, brushing it into place, as he put the simple black helmet on your head. He buckled it under your chin, fingers lightly rubbing against the skin on your neck. Later, he helped you put on the jacket, even going as far as zipping it himself. It smelled strongly of wood and hot summer nights. It smelled just like him.

He held your hand to help you get on the back of his bike, and you timidly sat behind him, legs wrapping his sides, too shy to hold onto his waist. “You better hold tight, dove. Tonight we ain’t going the speed limit.”

And so you did, wrapping your arms around his body, only for him to wrap them even tighter.

He drove off into the streets all the way into the highway, where he kept his promise and drove faster than you ever thought you would go. The thick jacket protected you from the strong wind hitting your arms, the speed making your heart jump from thrill and excitement. In that moment, you felt free, limitless.

Jason would often check on you, either by just looking over his shoulder or calling out your name between the roaring sound of the engine. Many times, he’d caress your hand that rested on his abs, intertwining your fingers and holding them against his chest. There, you felt his rapid heartbeat matching the rhythm of yours.

You didn’t know how long you’d been on the streets, but they were almost empty when he headed back to your home.

“I had lots of fun tonight.” you tell him, as you excitedly jumped off the bike. Taking your helmet back in his hands, he took off his, fixing his muffled hair but ending up with a messy dark nest. Hot.

“I had lots of fun tonight, too,” he said, getting off the bike. “Wanna go for another ride tomorrow?”

“Don’t wanna lose the backpack again?” you joked.

“Nah, I feel like holding on to this one for a little longer.” he got closer, pulling you by the waistband again and wrapping his arms around your waist. “If you want to, that is.”

Standing on the tip of your toes, you pulled him by the neck to close the distance between you, his lips crashing into yours, tongue soon sliding inside, culminating into the hottest make out session you’d had in a while.

“Huh.” you blurted, foreheads resting on each other. “I’ll think about it”

.

a/n: you wanted a date, a date you’ve got

[starlightandfairies]

Daryl Dixon x plus!size reader: Daryl and the reader are friends (but the reader wishes they were more because she is in love with daryl) and the reader joins Daryl to find more people they run into a bad group and it ends terribly and the reader and Daryl end up in France when they get to the nuns she notices Isabelle getting a little to close to Daryl the reader is jealous of course but she is very good at hiding her emotions so when they find the pre school with the kids that are surviving there before the reader joined Daryl to help get some medication for the kids teacher the reader ask Daryl if there is anything going on between him and Isabelle Daryl said there is nothing going on and why did she ask the reader tells him to forget she said anything but Daryl won’t let it go so the reader tells Daryl about her feelings and that he doesn’t have to say it back because she thinks he doesn’t feel to same way she just rambles on about how she finds herself ugly and Daryl shuts her up by kissing her and telling her he feels the same way and to stop talking bad about her self when they are back on the road taking Laurent (where Ever he needs to be taken sorry forgot the place) Laurent is being stubborn and won't get on the carriage so the reader gets down to talk to him and tells him that the reason he needs to go with him is because he is special and he is the key to curing the zombies and she promises that she won't let anything happen to him and that she will protect him with her life Laurent looks up to the reader because she is very pretty and she is a total badass because she is a good fighter and she puts herself in danger first so the people she cares about won't get hurt and she is very fearless and she doesn't like seeing good people die.

Description: The reader is forced to confess her feelings for Daryl after having suspicions that he loved Isabelle.

Warnings: swearing, fluff, she/her pronouns, twd violence, mentions of injury, insecurities. Based on Daryl's tv show episode 2

*Requests are open, please send through as many requests as you want, check my character list and requesting rules.*

Thanks so much for giving this request!!! I had fun writing it!!!

Key: Y/N = Your Name, POV = Point of view

Word Count: 1623

Daryl and I had know each other for quite a fair few years. After the battle of the Commonwealth, Daryl and I decided to go looking for Rick and Michonne. However, we got fucked over by another fucked up group of people and ended up in the water. I lost track of the days, I have no clue how long we have both been in the water. I felt a slapping against my cheeks, groaning and rolled to my side as woke up to find Daryl hovering by my side. 

After Daryl helped me up, I glanced around, knowing that we were not in America anymore. It was a matter of finding out where we were and what to do. 

“Guess we aren’t in Kansas anymore.” Daryl shot me a look, I stuck my tongue out and gave a smile, sometimes it honestly felt like the best that I could to do. 

“Can’t believe that after all this time you are quoting movies.” 

“What can I say? It’s what you love about me.” God I wish it were true 

After realising we were are in France; Daryl and I began searching for supplies to keep ourselves going for the night. Daryl found an French to English book to help with translations. After a little while longer, these two assholes screwed us over, tried robbing us after we killed two other men that tried attacking all of us. 

A group of nuns brought us in, treated Daryl’s acid burn from the walkers, which I’m glad was treated. Then came Isabelle, I hate to say that it’s been 12 years since the world turned to shit and I still get jealous feelings. Isabelle was too close to Daryl, maybe she hadn’t had a nice man in her life for a while but her beauty and her pretty smile made me feel insecure of my own looks and inability to tell Daryl how I feel made me feel shittier than when I realised I’m going to die before the world is fixed. 

All respect to the nuns; I understand why they did what they did but at the same time, after seeing it go wrong a thousand other times. Keeping a walker alive as a message or just the emotional trauma of losing that loved one is obviously horrible to go through but as soon as we realised that the father was a walker we left as soon as we could only to return and take Laurent, honestly a sweet little boy to safety. 

Daryl and Isabelle were walking ahead, I stayed behind, kicking my feet in the dirt like an upset little kid and carried on as I drowned in my own feelings. 

“What’s going on with you?” Daryl questioned, I glanced up, placed on one of my award winning smiles and shook my head. 

“I’m all good. Honestly, I just want to get back to America.” Daryl nodded believing what I said, turning back to the front and it allowed me to wallow in my emotions again. I loved Daryl, he’s a good man, even if he doesn’t think he is a good man, he is a good man and I wish that he knew that more often. 

Isabelle is gorgeous, more so than compared to me. I mean, I’ve got rolls, even during this shitstorm I’ve got all these skin problems still and I clearly have no confidence in my appearance, even if it doesn’t matter now. I thought the end of the world would mean less problems when it came to appearance and self esteem. But noooo, it still means the same shit goes through my mind like it did when I was dating in college. 

I mean, I can handle the shitty groups that survive off of anarchy. I can handle them, because just a couple of hits to the head and boom not a problem anymore. But my insecurities, they kill me and I hate that I am not strong enough to deal with problems that shouldn’t matter anymore. Staring at what used to be a preschool made me want to cry, the place is being run by children and I wish that these children didn’t have to go through this horrible stuff and could be children in a decently safe world where they didn’t have to deal with no familiarity of what we grew up with. 

“Hey, that teacher needs some medicine, want to come with?” I nodded, glad to finally be getting that one on one time with Daryl again. Walking in the silence became uncomfortable and noticing that Daryl was hanging out with Isabelle a lot I want getting curious to know about where he stood with her. 

“So, Daryl… what’s going on with you and Isabelle?” Daryl shot me a look, as if I really just asked him about something that sounds so childish and like a teenager experience. 

“There’s nothing going on between her and I. I’m just finding out what I can from her that can help us get back home… why?” There it was, that one little question that I wish wasn’t a word. I shrugged slightly, cringing internally as I realised my capabilities to hide my true emotions decided not to work today. 

“No reason.” Fuck my voice is giving me away, all nervous and defensive. Daryl stopped in my tracks, he grabbed my arm, getting me to stop in my tracks. I couldn’t meet his eyes, I insecurely wrapped my arms around my body to cocoon into myself as I always did when I was feeling insecure. 

“Don’t give me that crap. What’s going on?” I tried one more time, hoping that Daryl would give it a reason and not think to ask about it again. That was just wishful thinking. 

“Please, just forget it!” I snapped, Daryl took a step back, shaking his head and grabbed ahold of both my arms gently. I took a shaky breathy, shaking my head and sniffled. 

“What is going on?” 

“I’m in love with you! Okay?” Daryl looked surprised by my outburst, I pushed myself out of his arms and began pacing around the tree covered area we were in.  

“Me! Fat little me, I’m in love with you! And I know you won’t say it back because I know you don’t love me back because I am nowhere near as attractive as the girls I know you’d be with if the world was still normal.” I shook my head, keeping my eyes focused on the ground as my tears fell from eyes and I didn’t want Daryl to see me like this. 

“I’m overweight, I’m ugly, I’ve got rolls and eczema. I’m an insecure little girl who hasn’t changed since high school. My acne scars make me look like I’m a fucking walker. I am ugly and I am not worth anyone’s love, not even in this world because I don’t have that kind of beauty. I am no pretty nor worth anyone’s love and I-“ Daryl grabbed my face in his hands, his lips being placed upon mine and I know it sounds incredibly cliche but it really felt like the world literally stop. Why was Daryl kissing me? I mean I was kissing him back and holy shit it was one of the greatest kisses I’ve ever experienced and I did not want it to stop. I honestly forgot the world we currently lived in is the way that it is but having Daryl actually kissing me until I needed to pull away for air made me feel like I was in a world of a book that I would’ve loved to read in the before. 

“I love you. I love you more than I can even begin to say. I ain’t good with words. But you gotta stop talking down about yourself. You are gorgeous, you are exactly as you should be and I love you. I find you incredibly gorgeous and you have a heart of gold. You are not what that stupid little insecure voice inside your head says that you are. You understand me?” I nodded, smiling as he grinned at me and rested a kiss on my forehead. 

After leaving the preschool, Laurent was angry with Isabelle and wouldn’t get in the carriage that we acquired. It was honestly a very useful invention that made life so much easier. I decided to get out of the carriage to talk to the kid and figure out a way to get him in the carriage. 

“Listen Laurent. I understand that you’re upset and not feeling the greatest in regards to that you feel Isabelle is lying to and I won’t lie to you. Not about something like this. The reason why you need to go with us is that you could be the cure to helping understand a cure for these walkers. But I promise to you I will not allow you to be hurt, I will protect and you so will the rest of us. I will protect you until my very last breath, you’re one of us and we won’t let you get hurt. I promise you and if you feel that I break your promise then you can do whatever you want if it means you feel safe.” 

“I look up to you. You’re… you’re this badass lady that knows how to fight and is a good person because you won’t let bad things happen. You are also very pretty.” I turned to see Daryl watching with a smile, he winked at me and nodded softly as I got Laurent into the carriage finally. 

Daryl took my hand as I squeezed in beside him, resting a final kiss on my cheek before offering his shoulder for me to sleep on. 

[ananke-xiii]

Another dream, always mine (and yes it's still spn s13 related because i have a bone to pick with dabb over that season specifically)

So here it goes. (Part 1)

Spn s13 but kelly doesn't die, cas doesn't die, crowley doesn't die. Lucifer dies for *reasons* but mary, dean and sam are stuck in the AU.

It's still spn so we just have to have mirrors and parallels, okay? Like, this show doesn't care about continuity but damn! They will stick to mirrors and parallels like it's a religion and so we do too.

The thing is that the AU is not the lame-ass AU Dabb or whoever came up with, it's at least an attempt at being an interesting place. So basically the AU is as boring and dumb as our earth, nothing has really changed, people are still trapped in the rat race that capitalism is (see, we have a little bit of critique here too, there is no escape from the capitalist-fascist-heteronormative narrative or isn't it?), the frigging white picket fences are still everywhere like a fucking nightmare BUT! This is an earth without monsters, angels, demons, nothing goes bump in the night but depression, paranoia and suicidal thoughts (now these are the real monsters) and YET this is THE chance for our heroes, this is the promised land, no past, only freedom, the american dream is theirs to grab (but don't worry this place hides a secret, this is still spn everything must be queer, you'll see). Sam, dean and mary are kinda lost cause, surprise surprise! It turns out that's not the things you want that you can't have but that you didn't know what you wanted so how could you have it in the first place? Mary is restless, this was supposed to be her dream, she died for it and now she doesn't want it and she goes through another deep existential crisis (and, really, we all just get mary because seriously? any character named mary who's also a mother has too much fucking weight on her shoulder, just let the woman be). Sam is kinda okay with it, he once again refuses to get in touch with his emotions and flees from them like the plague: they're gonna make it work, they will find a way (i want to convey ross from friends vibes when he's like *in a squeaky voice* i'm fine! Here, that's sam in the AU). The guy lives in his delusion, this is his chance at being normal (and oh boy is he wrong, you'll see). Dean feels just bad, he's supposed to feel happy with his mother and his brother/son (the weird implications of this situation will be explored) but he keeps thinking about that little house by the sea (or was it a lake?) that cas bought as fucking jimmy novak and how the angel spent months there with kelly playing daddy and how the fucking angel played him and dean just went along and repaired his stupid truck as if to thank him for breaking his heart but also, also, dean will never admit it to anyone ever but deep down he knows, he knows, that that was his place, his angel, his chance (we will also have an explorations into the complex theme of mpreg with the due "Junior" references we all deserve and insights into dean's maternal insticts).

Now back to earth.

Kelly gives birth to a baby jack, cas lives with them to protect them from the angels and demons that will sure come for a visit (but once again he will end up being a total agent of chaos, you'll see), the angel is a bit of a mess, though, and his obsession with saving dean winchester is finally making kelly feel quite concerned with her life choices, maybe trusting this guy was a little bit insane, was he always this deranged? (We'll soon see why she thinks that, she might have a point). Meanwhile crowley goes back to hell and we once again have a cheap game of thrones situation (because why not? i can't come up with infinite original ideas to fix this plot, okay? Also this is still spn, i can condone SOME cheap storylines on the side, and anyway mark sheppard makes anything work so we're good) where his varys-like smart brain cells will put him on the throne again (who's this asmodeus guy anyway, prince of hell or not, fuck him, he will not stick around here for a second season while dagon died like after 2 episodes she was in, not gonna happened in my narrative). But, you see, the demon has his own issues, and goes visiting kelly and the angel because why not? He likes kelly she seems interesting enough for a person who birthed satan's son, escaped from a fucking angel of the lord, was kidnapped by a goddamn prince of hell, managed to baby trap said angel of the lord, stole the frigging impala and escaped that menace that the winchesters are. She then proceeded to give birth knowing she might have died. She is something. Something a bit unhinged maybe but crowley digs her, okay? He still also has varys-like smart brain cells so he needs to visit to make sure that baby lucifer is, like, not plotting to take over hell or whatever newborn babies half-made from cosmic entities do these days. Also, also, watching castiel putting baby jack to sleep with those big strong angel gym-bro arms did something to him, his daddy fetish and his mommy issues raised their head and something else too, and he foolishly promises to keep jack safe from hellish attacks and indulges castiel in his winchester obsession. What? He misses the brothers too, those handsome, tall, cruel white boys (we are reminded that, visually, the whole cas/kelly/jack situation is quite similar to the weird crowley/dean/amara thing of s11, mirrors and parallels need to keep happening people, this is spn, we gott have 'em). Castiel is living his tragic destiny yet again, he's seen the AU, has been there, technically knows that dean, sam and mary are safe but he just has to see it for himself, right? Like he has to make sure, it's not like dean not being there is eating him from the inside, it's not like he starts feeling the pang of guilt over the huge betrayal he's forced onto dean,leaving him left behind again and again and playing him that way, no. He copes by sitting in his stupid truck that dean had repaired listening to that damn tape (every time he does that we have a close-up of kelly watching the pathetic scene from her window and sighing as if in "fuck, FUCK, my life"). And oh, yes he also starts researching about archangel resurrection because i may or may not bring back my girls, aka raphael and uriel but this is for part 2, you'll see.

[manic-sapphic]

everything's ok when they just stay together damnit lol

maaan tho, it bums me out that it took till s5 for catra to even be vulnerable enough to admit that w adora actually was where she'd always wanted to be but by that point she'd really come to believe it was too late. that there was no going back for her anymore. doesn't help either though that it takes adora till s5 to fully realize how much she actually truly needs catra and always has. i mean literally, "everything will be ok if we just stay together" adora says it back in s3 during "remember" i think, so it seems tbh like she was already starting to feel like she shoulda tried harder to get catra to come w her in the beginning. like, just made sure she knew how important catra was to her and basically drag her damn ass outta the fright zone. but i don't think she tells catra she needs her till failsafe, and i think atm it's just too hard for catra to hear & believe it, despite just how badly she's always wanted to hear it and wants it to be true, cause she's always needed adora too.

and i def think adora's grappling w regrets in a very big way when catra walks out on prime's flagship. like being clad in a horde prime uniform and opening her green eyes wasn't enough of a shock to her system, the totally emotionless "hello, adora" moment just - i feel like it's written all over adora's face right then and there but also during their entire fight and when she's holding catra after her fall - adora looks riddled with guilt and regret seeing what's happened to catra as a direct result of the sacrifice she'd chosen to make for adora. and all after adora left her behind w the horde and chose to follow a false hero's destiny > her and catra's promise to protect each other. but still after years fighting each other, when faced with the thought of adora truly suffering at prime's hands - esp given catra got to see better than any other character first hand just what a freaky creep prime was and prob felt truly horrified at the thought of what he might do to adora - catra chose to act on the promise for what she honestly thought would be her last chance to ever do so. as sw once threatened her with back at the beginning, "then you will suffer the consequences in her place." but yeah, this time catra fully and willingly chose to take that on w prime if it meant adora would stay far away from him.

-"it doesn't matter what you do to me, glimmer is gone and you will never get your hands on adora" ugh her saying that just kmn ok? the determination and passion in her voice as she protecc her would-be wifey, even tho she's aware that it means she's prob gonna be going through some real bad shit real soon. she'd still rather it be her than adora 💔

and just ugh i'm sure realizing that and seeing catra just consumed adora with grief and utter distress. like i don't think she necessarily felt like she never should've left the horde for the rebellion during the whole save the cat incident, but i can clearly hear her just thinking fuckfuckfuuck how did this happen, how did i let it happen, why didn't i drag this stubborn brat w me kicking and screaming when i left, omg omg what do i do now? how do i fix this?? can i fix this??? it's soul-crushing to watch forsure but at least they fully kick prime's ass into oblivion and get the happy ending they both deserve

<3

[fushigidane]

Personal skills for the awakening kids

i wish awakening had personal skills SO BAD it's not even funny.

anyway. i thought up some personal skills for the 2nd gen. these are all made within the context of 3h as that's the au that's been swimming about in my head for several weeks hence any reference to those mechanics but pls enjoy :) :)

lucina

gee, lucina, how come mum lets YOU bring the overpowered game mechanic to other games--

basically just the engage chain attack feature as lucina there is The Chain Attack Emblem. killassisting killstealing left and right. would serve really well with 3h's love of chunky hp monsters. the weapon durability aspect is kind of incentive to always have her equip falchion (3h regalia should NOT have limited durability and in THIS essay i will--) or a forged training weapon as the damage is fixed.

this probably could transfer to fateswakening where this would proc on top of normal dual strikes, but another option i thought up for her would be the ability to dual strike for anyone as long as the targeted enemy is within her movement range (i.e. she can dual strike without being adjacent to an ally)

owain

i wanted to make the fateswakening trio's skills distinct from their fates counterparts... though i wouldn't be able to use aching blood in a 3h setting anyway as it has no weapon naming feature. truly tragic.

this is probably self-explanatory: owain does extra damage when using any attack that has a name bc He Gets Excited. it would apply to each individual strike rather than the total damage number, and part of me wonders if this would make 3h-astra actually viable.

also, rip to like half the crests in 3h which have this exact effect but separate and worse since they're a non-guaranteed proc. we honour your sacrifice so owain could rise

inigo

3h's authority makes rally skills pretty easy to get, but the fact they only affect one unit means i barely use them and it makes me sad. inigo deserves his funky little rallies and he will GET his funky little rallies.

this skill would also apply to the stat boost from special dance (though not the dance effect itself).

not much else to say. i just think this skill is neat

brady

this is basically the skill stealth, which is otherwise exclusive to the thief/assassin/trickster classes in 3h. it puts the unit at the bottom of the priority list for enemy attacks so they will only be attacked if there are NO other viable targets.

great for a healing brady. i always put him in a support role so this is perfect for me. less great if you want brady to be a combatant as it limits what you can do on enemy phase, but you could still use it to your advantage

i just have this image of enemies seeing a healer on the battlefield, going to attack them, and then being hit by this Stare of Promised Violence that makes them back off and decide to attack,, idk. fucking dedue instead. and brady is sitting here confused bc he didn't do anything (it's just his normal face)

kjelle

She Will Not Be Knocked Over. armour too strong. 10/10. truly a GET DOWN MR PRESIDENT skill of all time, as she has earned

this skill means she takes the damage but doesn't get movement sealed or debuffed or anything after being hit by a gambit. Not Even The Force Of Ten Dozen Men Charging Will Faze You.

a fateswakening equivalent i considered would be preventing specifically armour-effective damage i.e. from hammers or armourslayers, so they just deal normal damage instead (or, in fates' case, the weapons get hit with the non-effective target debuff).

cynthia

basically a stronger but more situational variant of elise's and flayn's lily's poise. all about protecting the vulnerable, plays into her more sensible (read: comparative to owain) idea of heroism.

i personally like this a lot bc i always always go falcon knight cynthia (it feels better) and cynthia with a healer flavour... mwah.

i'm generally a massive fan of aura skills (i.e. buffs to allies within a certain range of a unit) and this is the type of skill that could definitely save your units after an unfortunate mistake

severa

THE COUNTERPART TO BERUKA'S PERSONAL THAT SELENA SHOULD HAVE HAD. NO I WILL NOT TAKE CRITICISM they did her SOOO dirty with her fates personal--

aside from being perfect personality-wise (she WILL prove she is better than others--), this also syncs well with most classes severa will find herself in. swords are pretty much wholly 1-range weapons, so are usually facing a counterattack, except the levin sword...but nobody is rushing to give her that. (she has a 10% MAG growth in awakening, which is quite literally the lowest available...)

i wanted to name this competitive but apparently that's takumi's personal skill name. so rude of him

gerome

local teenager fixates on dragons, more at 6

he's studied dragons + minervikins so hard he knows how to fight beside them in a way that lets them fight to the fullest. also he gets so secretly happy (and it is secret do not tell a soul) to be next to a dragon that he too fights better.

this would apply equally to wyvern units and units that are dragons in non-dragon classes e.g. a mage nah.

gerome <3

yarne

the original name of this skill was sudden brevity until i realised brevity does not mean what i clearly thought it did when i wrote it.

an improved version of strong riposte from fates. poor yarne spends so much time wanting to hide on player phase that any damage he is directed to deal is only mediocre, but when enemies attack HIM on ENEMY phase, he's like oh shit gotta survive--

DONT MESS WITH A BUNNY indeed :)

laurent

3h's limits on spell learning means this basically has a cap of +10 in the late game, but even that is still mega broken. this skill would serve as a really strong incentive to train his reason/faith in the early game and the extra power you get from learning spells would scale well as you progress further.

now that the meta is out the way, this skill is like when a character (not necessarily a fe one) gets a new skill in a game and there's this super exaggerated powerup sound effect and a victory quote, and you're just like... 'all you learned was how to wear heavier armour' but with THIS skill it's actually VALID

knowledge = power and also justification for laurent joining the cast of fodlan characters found near exclusively in the library

noire

it's a little criminal that awakening wasn't able to give us something that reflects noire's blood and thunder state in combat aside from her crit quotes, so this is what i came up with.

the more she fights, the more BLOOD AND THUNDER she gets.

it makes the most sense that her offense would be the one boosted, and even though she's an archer she can fill a good role as a mixed attacker (i WISH awakening had a shining bow), hence STR/MAG being boosted. i briefly considered SPD, but noire has one of the best base speed growths in the game anyway (before growth inheritance; she's on par with lon'qu and a speed-boon robin, and weirdly only beat out by PANNE with 55 base speed for some reason) so it'd be a little redundant when she already doubles everything

nah

this is based off that odd quirk of nah's where she always forgets she can turn into a dragon. i think of her support with f!morgan all the time, where she spends ages trying to learn how to catch a wyrmslayer and in the end realises it was a wasted effort bc she doesn't even fight in her human form and her dragon arms are too small to do what she learned.

"until engaging in combat" applies to combat initiated with nah on either player OR enemy phase. you'd have to have her avoid combat completely for this skill to build up. it would apply to offensive non-damaging magic e.g. silence, but wouldn't apply to healing, so nah could spend her time doing that.

this is a skill you need to dedicate yourself to using yourself, but in the hypothetical scenario where she's a boss, this skill is absolutely terrifying. especially if you took all the limiters off. it would actually make for a very fun map i think--the best fe maps are those that make you go on the offensive IMO, but that's not exactly what this post is about, so i'll move on.

f!morgan

i've made separate skills for the morgans because their supports are different enough that they feel like different characters to me, even if just slightly. it's why i always like them as twins.

what i wanted with the morgans is a skill that hints at what they were before losing their memory and joining the shepherds. for this one, though she is a wyvern lord in future past 2 she is a malig knight in my heart. they just hadn't yet invented malig knights when they made her. this skill is based on its lvl15 skill, savage blow. (to be clear, the 5 extra damage would also apply after combat).

this is a fun one that's good for crowd control and mopping up large groups of enemies, especially with the existence of 3h canto where you can just swoop out of enemy range after obliterating their movement.

it's a very fitting skill if you have morgan in, say, a wyvern class or even dark flier. but if you put her in a dainty little base pegasus knight class... the image of a fragile little pegasus that will fall to like two axes hunting people down is kind of hilarious. sorry morgy

m!morgan

last but not least, the son himself... likewise to f!morgan, i wanted this skill to reflect who he was before the shepherds. he's a sorcerer in the future past 1, which is why i wanted this skill to be dark magic based. both morgans having skills that debuff enemies is another intentional choice.

it's loosely based upon the -taker skills. this skill isn't as powerful as them (you get less stat per proc and the cap is smaller) but you can gain the boosts without delivering the killing blow and you have more variety in what boosts you can get. morgan tends to be a jack-of-all-trades like robin, so an all-round boost is good for him.

past morgan was probably pretty scary with this, but present morgan without a hint of memory now just goes around Yoinking enemy stats. Morgan Says Teehee Mine Now. as he should :)

[maochira]

Ok so we've seen many younger sibling readers, now what of older sibling reader

Like imagine if nagi had a semi protective older sibling, who does want people to use their younger brother, since he is talented. And when they meet Reo, they don't like him, but Nagi is just like, "We're kinda using each other" (he gets money/spoiled & reo get a soccer star)

And a bit after that reader kinda just adopts Reo as their younger brother as well. And when blue lock comes round its kinda sad since instead of saying bye for now to one brother, they have to say bye to two, also with the *fun* aftermath of what goes down in blue lock between the two

Also, older sibling and Nagi having matching cacti just seems very cute

This sounds fun to write!! Thank you very much anon! I'm totally open to writing older sibling!reader headcanons more often if I get requests for it!

Tags: older sibling!Nagi!reader, some fluff I think, idk what else to tag I wrote this after eating a bagel

-you're older than Seishirou by a few years, and you've always been fairly protective of him. You know he literally can not take care of himself on his own so you live with him while your parents are travelling

-you've noticed his talent ever since you were kids and always hoped he would use it for anything in his future, but Seishirou being Seishirou, he didn't (until he met Reo, of course)

-you've always been concerned about Nagi's lack of friends, but he would always tell you making and keeping friends is way too exhausting

-but when he does start bringing a friend home very now and then, you can't help but dislike that guy. Reo Mikage.

-to you, it seems like Reo is only taking advantage of your little brother, so you kind of start shit-talking Reo towards Seishirou

-Seishirou doesn't care for what you say about Reo, though

-and the more often Reo comes over, you can't help but let him slowly grow onto your heart. The older sibling instinct really kicking in

-and soon, you're their biggest supporter when it comes to their soccer careers! Especially after Reo told you about his parents and their opinion on him and soccer

-when they leave to go to Blue Lock, you promised yourself you wouldn't cry while saying goodbye. But that didn't really work because you end up as a teary mess, but reassuring both of them that you'll be fine

-and while they're in Blue Lock, yeah we all know what happens. You've got both of them telling you their side of the story and you try to be there for both of them. You know you really can't make them communicate and fix everything, especially because you want them to learn and collect experience on their own. You do try to give them advice, though

-I struggled figuring out where exactly do put this, but omg I love the thought of Seishirou and you having matching plants. But instead of a matching cacti, I think you would have another plant like a succulent!

[jackieparty]

mcu if thorbruce

hi. i love thorbruce and I think it would be a pretty cool move to have them get together, so I rewrote the plot for all the movies that they are in from the first thor to love and thunder. i don’t want to write it into a full fanfic because i’m lazy (this will be a recurring theme), but nonetheless i still wanted to share my ideas. 

i know a lot of things either don’t make sense and there’s a lot of plotholes, so I’m not looking for critique, but I would love to hear if anyone has any ideas on what they would want to do with the mcu in their hands. 

i am in no way condemning fanfic writers who have the energy to write long, thoughtful fanfics, i am simply not able to do that myself, but i do love sharing my ideas. don’t read if you don’t want to read; simple as that.

timeline we rockin with: 

thor 

the incredible hulk 

avengers 

thor: the dark world

avengers: age of ultron

thor: ragnarok 

avengers: infinity war 

avengers: endgame 

thor: love and thunder

THOR

needs better writing but otherwise this goes off pretty much unchanged. jane and thor still get together etcetcetc

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

mark ruffalo

we lean into bruce banner being a total dick, like he is in the comics, before becoming hulk in the movie

betty can be in the story, just not as a love interest, i am sick of all marvel origin movies having similar romantic plotlines

after the accident and being chased away, he pretty much does a 180 (he’s always a whore in the comics but heroes are likable) and learns how to end the cycle of abuse from his father while also not doing that at all. the result is a more empathetic and kind Bruce but at the same time 1000% more depressed and unstable. he cuts ties with everyone he knew in the film and runs away to kalkota, partially because the us government is after him and partly because he wants to start over and do some good, a sad attempt at fixing all of his wrongs both as the hulk and as shitty bruce banner

not sure if i like this idea but maybe he goes by "robert" until the very end where he thinks going by bruce means hes completely changed

AVENGERS

mostly unchanged

bruce's monologue about trying to die is the focus

more uncertainty and push back from thor about loki just to make dark world even more angsty

THOR: THE DARK WORLD

mostly unchanged

i'm lazy and don't want to watch the movie, but if there isn’t a real breakup scene between thor and jane, have jane explicitly break up with him, kinda unannounced and abrupt. thor makes the promise here to always protect her even when they’re apart right before she leaves

pt two i'll take on age of ultron and some others <3

[brightdarkness-2013]

Chapter 9: Chapter 9! Yes! The Chapter of Destiny!

Summary:Prowl comes face to face with the MWPA.

Notes:I apologize for the delay. My anxiety has been getting the best of me lately. So without any further delay here it is!

I had desperately wanted this place to be horrible. To just give me a reason, just one reason to deny that they were fit to take care of him. Something that shouted they weren’t as professional as they claimed. Yet the back of the facility was way better than the front. There was a fully stocked and organized medical room. A practically glimmering kitchen and cooler/ freezer. There were several rooms for extreme cases and quarantined mers. The main areas where the tanks sat the sunlight shone down through a large glass dome. Each one except a select few fixed with plants and rocks from the ocean to add a more homey feeling. The place was perfect. The staff knew exactly what they were doing and the mers present were totally at ease with the staff. I wanted to curse. I never promised anything though. I never said that I’d tell them where he was. I was tempted to just turn around and never come back, but… I couldn’t be selfish. Prowl needed them. Without help he wouldn’t last.

“Do ya think we could come visit him?”

“Normally I’d say no, but in this case I suppose I could make an exception. But not without someone watching you until further notice.”

I huffed. I suppose that was the best I was going to get. I was doing this for Prowl. I yielded.

“Fine. We’ll show you.”

On the way there I had to keep reminding myself that this was for Prowl. I couldn’t be selfish. We’d still get to see him. He was going to be fine with them. The free ride to the beach was quiet. This was for Prowl. We weren’t betraying or abandoning him. This was for Prowl. He needed them. We couldn’t help him. This was the only thing that we could do for him. We were close. I drew in a breath and let it out.

“Stop here. The cove is hidden there.”

We led them down to the cove where Blaster explained the underwater path that he slipped through.

“Just the one, huh?”

“Yep. It’s just Prowl. We haven’t seen another in the entire time we’ve been taking care of him.”

“Alright lets set up the net barriers. Cliff, Eric, lets go. Do it quickly and quietly. Gale I swear if you rush him I will beat you upside the head.”

“I got it. I got it. Arcee gives me enough of an earful every time she’s on rescue. If you want quiet and careful then you might want Mirage over there to do it. They don’t call me Blurr for no reason.”

Eric let out a soft sigh as he continued to assist in setting up the nets. The orange buoys drifted in a semi circle around the cove. The net rose above the water high enough to prevent jumping over due to the support beams attached to the buoys. However Ratchet didn’t bother answering him.

“Be gentle and careful. We need him out here, but I swear if you put any unnecessary stress on him not only will you get it from me, but I’ll let Arcee and Chromia know as well.”

“Ouch. I get it. I’ll be careful.”

With that Gale disappeared into the cove. Blaster and I stood in a tense silence as we watched them work. It was far too quiet as everyone waited. Eric and Cliff waited on both ends of the trap. There was nothing besides the soft crashing of the waves. The two with the protective armor in the water were watching carefully. Was Prowl really that bad off that he didn’t care or have the will to deal with someone unknown entering his home? That thought was thrown out as without warning Prowl shot from the cove like a bullet. He stopped just in time to not run into the net, water churning and twisting around him. Turning fast he made to duck back into the safety of the cove only to find that Cliff and Eric had swiftly brought the two ends together and with an audible click they let it go. He darted about in the trap in search of an escape he wouldn’t find as Gale left the cove with a grin.

“Well look at that.” Ratchet breathed.

“What? What is it? Is he ok?” Blaster glanced between our pacing mer friend and Ratchet.

“You really don’t know what you’ve found, do you?” Gale asked.

“Uh? A mer?”

“Yes, but what he means is that your mer is a part of a dying breed. Magis Avium if you want to fall on scientific terms. Winged mers are endangered. Since there is never enough of them to form a pod they’ve been joining with other pods with insufficient numbers. Geminus Avium or the double winged mers have it almost as rough, but they’ve survived in groups of three due to their speed. We haven’t seen one of his kind in years. We were starting to wonder if they were all gone.” Ratchet explained.

Blaster looked ready to ask another question when the water started to splash violently. Prowl was darting back and forth in an aggressive line and using all of his fins to make the water rock. The buoys and net tipped back and forth as they struggled to steady it. As soon as it tipped low enough he cleared the trap with a timed jump and I nearly laughed at the looks on their faces.

“Shit!” Eric hissed.

Prowl popped back up further away. For some reason I felt of a spark of pride. No wonder they haven’t been able to catch him. He was careful in staying out of sight and only appearing at hours where people were scarce and now he was apparently clever enough to escape their traps. He scanned the area before disappearing into the deep water. Prowl never came back.

444444444444 The Fours Are Planning to Overthrow the Writing Government!444444444

Needless to say I desperately missed my mer friend and for a while I’d visit the cove from time to time only to find it empty. No bones from the stray fish that got sucked into the current. No shed scales that glimmered under the water. Blaster moved on and eventually I did too. He started volunteering at the MWPA and I followed after a while not wanting to be left alone. I had nowhere to really go. Nothing that caught my eye. No goal to reach. Blaster started working under Percy, the resident zoologist and occasionally Jack. However Jack had a bad habit with things shorting, sparking and lighting fires, and exploding. More or less it was thankful he worked around water. I on the underhand starting working with Eric, Cliff, and Blurr. Eric had the nickname Mirage for basically being as silent as night. Disappearing and reappearing without you really noticing. Cliff adored the underwater plant life and would collect samples for Percy and Ratchet to store or refine to turn into medicine or supplements. Gale was Blurr. Just Blurr and he was a ranger. Patrol the area and be a general look out. First one on the scene with Arcee and Chromia. Ella or Elita as she was called sometimes worked the front desk most of the time, but was more than happy to do field work. Then there was Ethan or Aid. He was one of the main rehabilitators. Assisting Ratchet in treating and working with the mers in the facility.

What started as volunteer work turned into a part time job as I got out of highschool and then a full time job. I just went where life took me. Took the classes and training I needed. I was still as directionless as I’d always been. I was in the middle of once again wondering if this was what I wanted once again when the reports of the boats around the bridge being attacked came in.

Next

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Masterpost