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chenziee · 4 months

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Of Murder bunnies and stray marimos

Second of my @zosanauzine fics! This one is a part of the digital NSFW add-on~ (Even though they only kiss and say fuck a lot, sorry xD)

The aftersales are still going and B/C grade books are in stock now too so check it out if you haven't!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

[ READ ON AO3 | KO-FI ]

—————

The sun was setting.

The sun was really fucking setting.

They were supposed to have met up hours ago; even Luffy had made it back to the Sunny on time—if only because Nami had told him to be back an hour earlier than everyone else—yet, the stupid swordsman was nowhere to be found.

Not that anyone was surprised but hunting for his… directionally-challenged ass all over the island was always such a waste of time. Not for the first time, Sanji wondered whether they shouldn’t just get a leash for him and tie him to the Sunny’s main mast. Limit his area of unsupervised operations.

Sadly, knowing the Marimo and his track record of making Chopper cry by removing his bandages, he’d just end up chewing through the leash and getting lost anyway.

“Nami~! Let me go explore more,” Luffy whined, drooping over the railing with a pout.

“No,” Nami refused without even looking up from her cartographic notes. “We don’t need two lost children to worry about.”

At that, Luffy stuck his bottom lip out even more. “But I’m so bored!”

“Let’s just leave Zoro here,” Usopp sighed from where he was laying sprawled on the lawn.

“I second that,” Sanji joined in without missing a beat.

More and more voices of agreement started joining in, including the Heart Pirates who had accompanied them on the journey between Wano and the next island, and Nami groaned, “I wish.” She paused to rub the bridge of her nose. “Anyone wanna go look for the idiot?”

“Sanji,” Usopp decided immediately.

Sanji froze in the middle of serving coffee to Robin before he turned to stare at the sniper. “Why the fuck should I go? Do it yourself,” he hissed, then turned back to the most important matter at hand. “Here you go, Robin-chan.”

Robin smiled, accepting the cup. “Thank you. But Usopp is right. You do have the uncanny ability to somehow find Zoro every time.”

"It's not like I—"

"Please, Sanji," Nami said then, giving Sanji an adorable pleading look.

Sanji knew it was on purpose.

He knew she knew he couldn't say no to a lady's request.

But somehow, Sanji couldn’t bring himself to care. He was a proud slave to love, after all. "Of course, Nami-san."

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Usopp quickly covering his mouth to stifle his snort; Sanji simply clicked his tongue and threw his serving tray at his head. He was only slightly disappointed when Usopp barely managed to avoid the projectile before finally bursting out in uncontrollable laughter.

Bastard.

—————

Sanji grumbled to himself as he made his way through the jungle. It wasn’t that hard to follow the trail of cut off branches and dead or unconscious animals but he couldn’t help but wonder; why him?

Why did he always have to be the one to go look for Zoro?

“Man, this is so fucking annoying!” he snapped, throwing a kick at the next animal to attack him. As if the stupid wandering mosshead wasn’t enough, why did he have to deal with the aggressive wildlife on top of that?

He was really quite done with this island; it had offered a nice variety of cooking ingredients but the bloodthirsty, man-eating bunnies got really old, really fast.

“Oi, Marimo! I know you’re around here! We need to set sail already!”

Silence. Sanji couldn’t say he was surprised.

He lit himself a cigarette, taking a few drags before he tried again, “Hey, Number 32!”

“What did you just call me, shitty Cook?!”

There we go, Sanji thought to himself, quickly wiping the smile that pulled on his lips off his face. He did not just think Zoro was cute for immediately raising up to the challenge.

Absolutely not.

So, instead he put on an annoyed expression before making his way through the bushes in the direction the voice had come from.

“There you are, stray Marimo,” he sighed when he made it to the other side and the Marimo in question came to view.

He was standing there, a few of the murder bunnies lying at his feet, a defiant look on his face as he asked, "What do you want, Curly?"

Sanji raised an eyebrow. "Do you realise what time it is? We were supposed to be long gone by now."

"It's not my fault you moved the ship," Zoro snapped.

He obviously tried to sound angry, but at the same time, his eyes veered off to the side, the man refusing to look at Sanji as his ears turned red—although that might have just been the setting sun playing tricks, Sanji chose to believe otherwise. Zoro crossed his arms over his chest before he grumbled something about hopeless crewmates who always got lost the second Zoro took his eyes off them.

Sanji rolled his eyes, biting back the laugh that threatened to bubble out of his chest. Always the same story, always the same excuse.

"The ship hasn't moved since this morning," Sanji said matter-of-factly. "Can't you just admit you're completely fucking lost?"

"No." He sounded so much like a petulant child that this time…

This time Sanji couldn't hold the laughter back. Shaking his head, he sighed, amusement still clear in his voice, “You’re hopeless.”

“Shut up! I’m gonna cut you,” Zoro growled, obviously not happy with Sanji’s teasing—or his glee—while his hand reached for Enma.

Sanji snorted before taking a slow drag of his cigarette, his lips twisting into a challenging smirk as he stepped forward, coming to stand right in front of the swordsman. “As if you could even find me, with your sense of direction.”

“As if I need to look for your ass when you’re right next to me!” Zoro shot back just before the tell-tale metallic sound of a katana leaving its scabbard reached Sanji’s ears.

Taking that as his cue, Sanji moved quickly. He bent his knees slightly, lowering his centre of gravity before shooting forward. Quickly taking his cigarette out of his mouth, he stepped far into Zoro’s personal space, then straightened up, pressing his lips to Zoro’s in a quick kiss.

Zoro froze, his reaction making a smirk pull on Sanji’s lips. “I win.”

Finally, Zoro woke up; resheathing Enma in the most unhappy fashion that he possibly could, the Marimo clicked his tongue in annoyance before he hissed, “That was dirty.”

“I don’t remember there being any rules against it,” Sanji said with a shrug. “Now come on, the others are waiting.”

Turning around, Sanji started heading back the way he came but before he could so much as reach the nearest tree, a hand on his wrist stopped him. He paused, his eyes dropping to where Zoro's fingers held onto his hand before slowly looking up at Zoro questioningly.

He was looking straight at Sanji, an unreadable expression on his face as his grip only tightened. Sanji wanted to ask what was wrong but as soon as he opened his mouth, he closed it again. Seconds passed while the two of them simply stared at each other, neither saying anything, unspoken tension rising until Zoro finally moved.

Or more accurately, pulled on Sanji's hand until he stumbled forward, nearly tripping over his own feet and tumbling to the ground.

Catching himself at the last second, Sanji glared at Zoro. "Oi, Marimo, what the fuck are you—"

Before he could finish the sentence, all words were stolen straight from his mouth when warm lips pressed against his own. Sanji's eyes widened in surprise; for a moment, he couldn't even process what was happening, much less react in any way. He simply stood there, letting Zoro kiss him, the hand that had been gripping his wrist releasing its grip to instead slide down Sanji's palm to lace their fingers together.

It was only when Zoro’s tongue ran over his lips that Sanji’s mind caught up. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice deceivingly level considering the speed at which his heart was racing.

“What do you think?” Zoro said while rolling his good eye. He didn’t move away the slightest bit either and Sanji could feel every word, every breath on his skin, sending shivers down his spine. “If you were going to do it, you should have done it right.” As soon as Zoro finished talking, he leaned forward, closing the distance again.

This time, Sanji didn’t protest.

He returned the kiss easily, a small laugh escaping him as their lips moved against each other with practised ease, his cigarette slipping through his fingers and falling to the ground when Sanji’s hands automatically wrapped around Zoro’s shoulders. He’d have to remember to pick it up later… but right now, all thought escaped him.

The shitty swordsman was the only thing on his mind; the taste, the smell, the feeling of Zoro against him was familiar, warm and comforting, and it was something Sanji would honestly never get tired of. Just like he would never get tired of the butterflies that fluttered in his stomach every time Zoro touched him like this—not that he'd ever admit to there being any butterflies.

Sanji welcomed the hand that soon found its way on his hip, pushing him back and guiding him until his back hit a tree. Sanji gasped at the impact, a curse on his lips that got swallowed by the tongue that slipped past them. Sanji couldn’t say he was complaining.

Not breaking their kiss, Zoro let go of Sanji’s hand to instead reach upward. Seconds later, warm fingers brushed Sanji's cheek; he had to stop himself from moaning when Zoro buried his fingers in his hair, scratching the scalp slightly.

Zoro was absolutely doing it on purpose, Sanji knew.

When he cracked his eyes open a little to glare at his partner only to see the cheeky glint in Zoro's gaze, Sanji decided it was high time to push back.

He pulled away slightly, just enough for Zoro to let him go, before going straight for Zoro's neck. Weak point for weak point, right?

Sanji relished in the gasp that Zoro couldn't bite back as soon as Sanji started sucking and licking at the skin just below the swordsman's ear.

But that wasn't enough for Sanji.

He let his hands trace the hems of Zoro's coat before finally slipping them inside, running them over the warm skin of his stomach, then his sides, pushing Zoro's coat open more and more.

Every sharp breath Zoro took, every slight tug on his hair… it was all just making him feel hotter, his skin tingling all over.

If they didn't stop soon…

Suddenly, something rustled behind them.

“Fucking seriously?!” Zoro groaned and Sanji could do nothing but agree with the sentiment.

Moving in tandem, both Zoro and Sanji pulled away from each other, Enma leaving its scabbard at an impossible speed while Sanji’s leg shot out, scalding blue flames licking at his foot. It took only a second for all the fucking bunnies who had attacked all at once to fall to the ground, whimpering after the pirates’ joint attack.

A single second… yet even that was enough to completely murder the mood.

Sanji sighed deeply, pulling out a new cigarette and lighting it, taking a long, long drag. Then another and another. Finally, after most of it was gone, he felt the frustration subside. He turned to look at Zoro, who was still standing there with his katana in hand, looking like he was about to slaughter the entire bunny population on this goddamned island.

Sighing again, Sanji took the few steps that separated them now. Closing his hand into a fist, he sharply knocked Zoro over the head. “Let’s go, Marimo. Or the ship will leave without us.”

It took Zoro a moment to move, but then he slowly put Enma away, his face twisted in annoyance as he looked back at Sanji. “You’re making this up to me later.”

“For what, the fucking bunnies? Forget it,” Sanji hissed before he turned around to lead the way back.

“For getting me all worked up for nothing, you ass,” Zoro grumbled and Sanji could only roll his eyes. "You're worse than the damn bunnies—"

“Not my fault you’re such a horny Marimo. Also—where are you going?”

Zoro froze at his words, slowly turning around, obviously searching for where the hell Sanji was talking from. Only when their eyes met, did he open his mouth to reply. “To the ship.” He sounded so confident when he said it, too.

Sanji wanted to rip his hair out.

“I’m literally leading the way! What are you, a toddler?!”

“What did you just say?!”

—————

It was almost dark already by the time two animal noses twitched on the decks of the allied pirate ships.

“Captain, Black Leg and Roronoa are back!” Bepo called from the Tang.

At the same time, Chopper rushed off from where he was playing with Usopp and Penguin, jumping onto the Sunny’s railing to look out towards the island, waving one of his hoofed hands at the two. “Sanji! Zoro! You’re late!” He sounded entirely too cute considering the scolding tone in his voice.

“Fucking finally,” Law muttered to himself, prompting Straw Hat and Nico Robin—who were the closest to him—to snicker at his suffering. As if it was his fault that he had been forced to sit there doing nothing for hours.

“Chopper, can you throw us the ladder?” Black Leg called toward the little reindeer who immediately tapped his forehead with his hoof and ran off.

“What, not gonna show off with your Sky Walk?” Zoro asked.

As expected, Black Leg immediately snapped back, “Are you asking me to carry you up there, princess Marimo?”

Law couldn’t help but roll his eyes. These two really couldn’t go five minutes without fighting—or flirting?—awkwardly, could they?

Before the exchange could escalate, Chopper interrupted the starting fight. “Sorry, here you go!” he called as he dropped down the ladder. “By the way, are you holding hands so Zoro doesn’t get lost again?”

Immediately, complete and utter silence settled over the two ships. It was almost as if even the ocean froze in its tracks, the crashing of the waves fading away while eyes went wide and mouths fell open. Holding hands? Those two?

The same two idiots who had been dancing around each other for as long as Law had known them, the same two idiots who kept making their fighting look like foreplay, the same two idiots who had been filling the Thousand Sunny with unbearable sexual tension constantly? Without ever doing anything about it?

Were the innocent, uninvolved people like Law, the people who were forced to watch them… finally free?

The rope ladder creaked, and the sound echoed around the deck like thunder. No one moved, just waiting quietly in a trance until finally, Black Leg’s head poked out from behind the railing. First his hair, then his face.

His red, burning face.

He looked like a tomato with blond hair and if he wasn’t so stunned, Law would have laughed in his face at the sight he made. As it was, he could only follow the Straw Hats’ lead and stare blankly as the man reached the deck, his eyes glued to the floor; he still refused to look at anyone when he muttered something about dinner and all but ran to the kitchen.

“Impossible,” Nami whispered and suddenly, the spell broke.

“Oh my, I can barely believe my eyes! Although I don’t have eyes!” Brook said.

“We’re getting drunk tonight, oh my god! The tension will finally be gone!” Usopp shouted, his fists shooting high into the air with a relieved laugh and everyone else cheered in agreement.

Just then, Zoro hauled himself over the railing. “Oh, shut up,” he snapped, a highly annoyed expression on his face as he glowered at his crewmates one after the other.

“Hey, man. It’s your own fault we’re super happy about it!” Franky shot back, pointing an accusing finger at Zoro, then at the kitchen to indicate Sanji. “It was high time you two got together.”

Zoro rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to growl something back, but Chopper interrupted him.

“What happened? Why is everyone acting so weird?” he asked innocently.

A few glances were exchanged before Penguin oh-so-helpfully explained, “Because someone finally kissed and made up.”

“Eh?” Chopper let out, his face scrunching up in an adorable, confused frown. “But Zoro and Sanji have kissed before…?”

And the heavy silence was back as this time, everyone stared at Chopper in shock.

“What? What?!” the poor reindeer cried, completely panicked, looking around as if begging for answers.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Usopp groaned, burying his face in his hands in despair. “Are you telling me we’ve been dealing with all this sexual tension even while it was being resolved? Is there no hope for us?!”

Nami, on the other hand, strode over to Zoro, poking at his chest angrily. “Why didn’t you tell us? When did this start? Do you know how much money I have riding on you idiots?!”

“It’s not my fault you bet on stupid shit!” Zoro hissed back, slapping Nami’s hand away. “And it’s not like we were hiding it when none of you asked!”

“Are you listening to this asshole?” Penguin said, strangely frustrated for a man from a completely different pirate crew.

Law raised his eyebrow while shooting Penguin a look. “You bet on this, didn’t you?”

Penguin only shrugged, not even having the decency to look ashamed. “What can I say, I can never resist drama that doesn’t involve me in any way.”

Law sighed. He was surrounded by idiots.

At that, Straw Hat started laughing. The sound was loud and carefree, reverberating around the entire ship and through Law’s chest from where Luffy was leaning against him, sounding like a happy chime that slowly made everyone relax.

Nami threw her arms into the air and huffed before leaving Zoro alone. Usopp let go of a deep breath and shot Zoro one last glare. Nico Robin only chuckled at the crew’s reactions, looking so relaxed the entire time that Law wondered whether she had had an inkling about Zoro and Black Leg’s relationship.

Even Law felt a tug on the corners of his mouth, a smile trying to force its way on his lips.

But then, something else dawned on him.

“Oh my god,” he groaned, his head falling forward until his face was buried in the crook of Luffy’s neck. “I’m never setting foot in the crow’s nest ever again.”

“Why?” Luffy asked.

Law marvelled at his innocence. “Why? Because they definitely fucked in there!”

“Torao, don’t be a baby,” Nami said, and Law could basically hear her eyes rolling.

“Well, excuse me for not wanting to touch anything that anyone might have fucked on,” Law snapped back, not even bothering to look up and simply hoping his voice would convey the disgust he felt.

A beat of silence passed.

“Torao…” Franky started slowly. “Luffy’s literally sitting on your lap right now.”

“I don’t see your point,” Law muttered back.

Law felt Luffy nod in agreement. “Yeah, we’re not fucking anywhe—mmmfff!”

“Not one more word in front of Chopper,” Nico Robin said firmly, a clear threat in her voice.

“Nico-ya, he’s a doctor. I’m pretty sure he knows how this—” Suddenly, a bodiless hand slapped over his mouth, probably in the same fashion as it did over Luffy’s.

“I don’t care. Not. One. Word.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake…

When Law finally looked up to give her an unimpressed stare, he startled at the glare she was giving him. Suddenly, he remembered who she was—Nico Robin, the Demon Child; someone who had been on the run from the entire world all alone for twenty years. This was a woman who had definitely killed before… and who certainly didn’t look like she was above murder now.

Law was ashamed to admit he was too scared to protest her demands right then.

Thankfully, before anyone else could notice how he froze in fear, a loud yawn attracted everyone’s attention. “If we’re done here, I’m going to take a nap.” Zoro announced, then took a step forward.

Immediately, Nami, Usopp, and Penguin turned to him, identical sharp, positively greedy looks in their eyes.

“Not before we find out who won that bet, you don’t!”

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confused-much · 7 months

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Ahsoka ended and all I can say is that I feel empty and unsatisfied.

I expected something better, you know? I guess that's on me for having expectations about a Star Wars show.

I liked the early Hera scenes with Chopper. I liked the visuals, I liked Thrawn and I adored Ezra but the rest? Nope, big no no.

Ahsoka is terrible here. Where is her personality? Her fire? All she does is pretend to be a wise sage. First she says that they have to stop Thrawn and that includes destroying the map and at the end of the show praises Sabine for her selfish, terrible choice and I'm like what???

What the hell happened with you, Ahsoka???!

Don't let me start about ignoring the fact that Anakin was Darth Vader and did terrible things. Nope, he's a good master now. He's always supported Ahsoka.

Especially when he tried to KILL her in Rebels, remember that? Or when he KILLED the Jedi and younglings in Jedi Temple? Yep, perfect master material.

And seriously it's pissing me off because Anakin had his dark moments in Clone Wars too and suddenly they are irrelevant. Suddenly Anakin is good and when Ahsoka tries to even imply how he terrorized the Galaxy for years, he's like "Is that what this is about?"

And to be fair, I don't blame Anakin here. If they want to make him an unlikeable asshole who doesn't try to make amends with his padawan, cool.

But why the narrative suggests in every way that Anakin was good? Or, for that matter, that attachment is good?!

Guess what, you can love someone and also not be obsessed with that person. You can love and not let that love consume you and twist you into someone terrible and selfish.

I wish we got a scene in which Ezra learns what Sabine did to get to him. I want to see him disappointed in Sabine and hurt that with her one selfish decision she undermined his sacrifice.

Also, come on, that fight with zombies was terrible.

Sabine having suddenly the force is so stupid and unnecessary that I can't even comprehend it. Seriously, I just ignore it because what the fuck.

You can diss Kenobi show however much you want but at least it's portrayal of Obi-Wan was good and Anakin was the monster he was. Oh, and Reva actually had a story unlike Shin who was just there I guess.

I miss Clone Wars Ahsoka. I also miss Rex and the rest of clones but with the direction this whole shitshow is going maybe it's better if I don't see them again.

#ahsoka critical #ahsoka negativity #ahsoka series #ahsoka tano #dave filoni critical #seriously what was this show #sabine wren critical

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equizona · 2 years

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Zoro, Ace, Sanji, Luffy, and Law x healer fem reader! S/O’s powers are similar to a waterbender, except it’s focused more towards healing. She needs any source of water for healing, but side-effects for healing includes major headaches and a sort of electrical pain. The worst the injuries, the worst the side effects. But, S/O is just too nice and stubborn to stop whenever anyone is injured. HCs?

˗ˏˋ DAUGHTER OF THE MOON ´ˎ˗

— CHARACTER'S?: Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Sanji, Portgas D. Ace, Trafalgar Law

— A/NOTE?: Water-bender S/O who focuses on healing and overworks a lot coming right up!

— AFAB READER | SHE/HER

➸ MONKEY D. 'STRAWHAT' LUFFY

Luffy doesn't really care that you're overworking yourself that much. It's your life, and they're your powers, so he thinks you have every right to decide what to do about it.

On that note, if you do it so often you never have any time for yourself he will start getting bothered. He thinks it's admirable how determined you are, but he doesn't like the idea that you'll throw your life away because you can't say no.

If it's something that a doctor, like Chopper, can easily fix and won't cause problems, and someone asks you then Luffy will answer for you as he pulls you away, telling them no and sticking his tongue out at them like the childish person he is.

➸ RORONOA 'PIRATE HUNTER' ZORO

He knows the feeling of overworking well. And he knows the feeling of you healing him well, too, because of how often he gets injured or overworks himself. However, he also knows it's important to slow down and relax sometimes.

You don't seem to know that, and you don't seem to have the ability to tell anyone no. Something that bothers him greatly. Zoro doesn't quite know how he should go forward on that, but he settles on telling people with small injured to stop whining and go fix it themselves. Much like Luffy, he'll reject people who don't really need your ability for you.

On that note, he also admires your dedication, and he thinks your ability is very neat.

➸ 'BLACK LEG' SANJI

This man adores both you and your ability. It's water themed. How cool is that? And the fact that you focus on healing? You must be an angel sent from the Gods above to save the people of this world, he is convinced. And he could spend ages telling you and others about how wonderful and amazing both you and your water-bending is.

Even so, he worries about you. You need to remember that taking breaks is important for everyone, especially on a chaotic ship such as the Thousand Sunny! And Chopper is here, so there is no need to worry over tiny injuries.

If he believes there is someone bothering his beloved S/O without actually needing it, he will be quick to tell them no and direct them to either Chopper, someone else with medical knowledge or a first aid kit so they cab handle it themselves. His wonderful angel needs rest too.

➸ PORTGAS D. 'FIRE FIST' ACE

He finds it really cool that you have control over water. That makes you really good against someone with a devil-fruit. He's shocked to find you direct such a powerful ability towards healing, but he also knows how important the role of healer is. He'll watch you heal people with the most starry eyed look ever, in awe at your skill.

He doesn't really feel like he is allowed to comment that you're overworking yourself. Would you even want to hear that from him of all people? It isn't until other people start mentioning that you're working too much and how they're worried before he steps up. He'll speak to you about it, and there really isn't any winning against a D. He will start redirecting people to the ship's medical devision if it isn't fatal so you can have your rest.

If you direct your abilities towards Ace, he will go bright red and possibly set himself on fire. It isn't on purpose! He just.. doesn't know how he should act when someone is trying to help him, even now. He will watch you work on him very happy. If he had a tail, he would be wagging it.

➸ TRAFALGAR 'SURGEON OF DEATH' LAW

Honestly, Law is probably the most over-worked doctor the series has. He's also tired all the time. But as a professional doctor, he is amazed with how your ability works. And he is also pushy about your health. You won't have the ability to overwork with him around you. And if you think you can win against him in arguments, think again. He may not look like it, but he is a D at heart and you can't win against him and his stubbornness.

Honestly, direct your healing powers towards Law since he will be handling all other injuries that he doesn't feel he needs your immediate help with. He is the only one who truly needs you to use your ability. And if you do? He will be putty and soft and wrapped around your finger in a matter of seconds. Despite your powers revolving around water, his physical weakness, he feels so at ease when you do it. Probably because it's you.

Together, you're both a medical team that can not be bested. Your both the best doctors anyone can find,

And if someone comes to you about something they need you to heal when Law is there, he will tell them he can handle it in your stead. You won't even get a chance. He will drag them away from you. People aren't allowed to overwork his S/O. Not on his watch. And well.. would you really wish to oppose someone like Law?

#one piece #one piece x reader #op #op x reader

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percervall · 11 months

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Hi Mar! We’ve talked a lot about reading and so I wanted to know what your favourite tropes are, and an example of a book or a fic which does that trope really well! 💛

Thanks babe! I love talking about books, although tropes always trip me up somehow. According to the internet, these are some of the most common ones in romance novels and I have been reading a lot of those lately (trying to make up for lost time apparently, but that's a conversation for a different day)

Please check the content warnings before reading (had to include a read more because this list got a lot longer than I anticipated)

Friends to lovers - Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams. I absolutely adore her series and this was such a lovely take on the friends to lovers trope.

Enemies to lovers - I'd say Triple-Duty Bodyguards by Lily Gold fits this trope. I loved the inclusion of struggling with PTSD and the impact of that on a relationship. (there's a reason for the triple in the title, please check content warnings) Also think The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon had an interesting take on this. Oh! And From Bad To Cursed by Lana Harper is another great portrayal of this trope. Guess I love me a good enemies to lovers huh.

Secret identity/billionaire/royal - Her Titans by Genevieve Jaspers. For the love of God, heed the content warnings. She accidentally hooks up with a member of one of the biggest gangs (3-piece-suit, money out the wazoo type of gang. I think they dealt in real estate?) in Ironhaven, but someone's out to get her. Oh boy, this was spi-cy

Grumpy/sunshine - This is probably one of my favourite tropes, and the best portrayal I've read was in Everything For You by Chloe Liese, which is also a queer sports romance

Stuck together - Three Swedish Mountain Men by Lily Gold. They rescue her when she's skidded off the road in Middle Of Nowhere Sweden and then they all get snowed in. Only one way this can end.

Best friend’s brother/sister - I loved the brother's best friend angle in Hero by Jolie Vines (also some of the hottest spice) where he saves her from an evil uncle. With a chopper. He is also ex-military so, you know, there's that.

Second chance - The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams or The Winter Of Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss also has a lovely spin on this (the book club in that book holds my entire heart). Another good option would be Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, absolutely adored the backstories of these characters.

Fake relationship - Isn't It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams does this really well (although the conflict resolution felt rushed)

Holiday romances - I am a sucker for Christmas-themed romance novels. I treat myself to a couple of new ones every year. My favourite ones have to be 12 Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss (which also fits the friends to lovers trope), Duke, Actually and So This Is Christmas by Jenny Holiday, and The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish (this one left me in absolute tears which I did not see coming)

did I really expose my entire e-reader history in this list? Uh, yes I did. Oops. I don't know what to tell you, the inspiration for my smutty fics had to come from somewhere and if you feel the need to judge me, please do so elsewhere. We do not yuck other people's yums on my page

#ask #kostasstsimikass #book rec #mar's emporium of lists #ivy asks

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roydeezed · 11 months

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One Piece-Chapter Round-Up(Chapter 1086)

Ahhh, what a cute colour spread! Chopper is adorable as always but Luffy’s reflection in the pond reminds me of Ponyo’s adorableness. And look at Oda being an ally with that rainbow! Such a pleasant spread to leave us on before a void month. I wish Oda all the best with his eye operation! The man deserves his rest, even if it is mandated by surgery. So I was stuck on some really stupid theories for the last little while so that’s why I didn’t post this right away with the scanlations and instead am posting with the official release. I’m still using scanlations for the screengrabs for this latest chapter so if the official translations take things in a different direction it won’t reflect here. I’ll do some analysis and then leave the theories for the end. It gets weird so you'll definitely have to hold on to your butts for this one. Catch it below the cut!

So like right away, Oda drops not only the Figarlands, who have been teased since Film Red, but also the Nerona Family. The only relevant thing I can think of that even comes close to Nerona is the emperor Nero. The emperor Nero is often seen as a monster with wildly evil deeds attributed to him, whereas history suggests the truth was a bit more muddled. I doubt Oda would take into account such an ambiguous detail, so I’m left believing that if Nerona does refer to Nero, it refers to Nero’s horrible and petulant reputation. Which certainly does match up with what Imu does in this chapter. Imu destroys an entire country based on its proximity. These aren’t the actions of a cunning leader carefully repelling rebels. It’s impulsive and horrid. Which, if it was used to characterize the Gorosei’s unquestioning obedience, still leaves room for Imu to be somewhat complicated. But I believe it’s also used to show Imu’s disregard for life. So far my theory towards Imu is that they’re probably in some stage of arrested development, maybe having made Lili give them the ope-ope-no-mi operation as a show of loyalty when they were young. And that their rule has largely been due to their overwhelming power and not because of careful rule.

Now we can assume the Figarlands have a connection to Shanks as he was found in a chest in God Valley, with Garling possibly being his grandfather or even Father. Also does he have one arm like Shanks too? Anyways, the family connection could explain why Shanks is able to talk to the Gorosei so casually. Though something about all of this seems off, they do seem important. Garling, with his Mac Tonight looking ass, seems to be every bit the scumbag the Celestial Dragons have been. So why is he here and working as an enforcer and not being a king? He’s ruthless so we can assume that the God Valley incident was triggered by his mistreatment of his citizens. So he must have been the King of the island back then.

The God’s Knights arriving as a new power also gives some credence to something I’ve been thinking about for a while. While Sengoku did say he was dead, I’ve always felt like it was such a weird way to end Rocks D Xebec's story. Especially considering the fact that Blackbeard seems to have a connection with him as he named his ship the Sabre of Xebec. So here’s what I’m thinking (code for:the theories are about to get weird), Rocks D Xebec is a part of the God’s Knights. And here’s why I think so: First of all, the God’s Knights seem to be a secondary calling to it’s members. Garling was a king and then became a knight after God Valley disappeared. Secondly, I think Rocks D Xebec was based on a Real Life Pirate called Benjamin Hornigold. Whitebeard was partially inspired by him too. At least I believe so. Benjamin Hornigold was a pirate that had many famous pirates work under him during his career, including the IRL Blackbeard. His two most defining characteristics, which he didn’t share with Whitebeard, were that he didn’t attack Government Ships, and that he became a Privateer. And those are the two qualities I think Rocks shares. Mostly because it would parallel how Blackbeard doesn’t have the will to fight the government head on and would rather live in their system, like with how he wants Fullelead/Beehive/Hachinosu to be a government sanctioned island. Fullelead/Beehive/Hachinosu is also another connection as that’s where the Rock’s Pirates were also formed and is a direct parallel to the the Republic of Pirates created by a one Benjamin Hornigold. Rocks did attack Celestial Dragons but I believe because of the Hornigold connection that he probably avoided Marines until his last confrontation with Garp. That could also be why he didn’t win the fight as Hornigold himself was mutinied against for seeming weak for not attacking Government Ships. This mutiny part is something that Whitebeard somewhat shares as Ace saw him weak for not going after Blackbeard and Squard attacked him for seemingly abandoning them in favour of Ace. In the case of Rocks D Xebec, The Rocks Pirates may have left him as they saw him as weak for not attacking the government ships. Oda puts forward the idea that Dreams eventually clash against the powers that be in reaching their goal. If both Blackbeard and Rocks had dreams that never clashed against the system, it could show how their desires are not as strong. Obviously this is heavy speculation. But it’s also why I think he might share the second characteristic with Hornigold too. That he became a privateer. Which for those who don’t know means to be essentially a government sanctioned Pirate. And while that program, the Warlords, has ended in the One Piece world, Oda did make a point to introduce the God’s Knights in the same chapter as a reminder of their end. Which I believe is another reason for the introduction of the God’s Knights. I can see them being a powerful force for the Celestial Dragons and the Government, who have some overwhelmingly strong opponents in the Yonkou and the Revo’s. And who better to stand against them than someone as powerful as Rock D Xebec? Okay, that was the first of my overly reachy theories. Hope you enjoyed my red stringed detective board. One last thing on this theory is that I also wouldn’t be surprised if Doflamingo pops up as a God’s Knight. It seems the perfect place to bring back unredeemable villains.

Another thing that is important to note is how Oda used the Revo’s this time around. Not only were they used to cement what was actually going on for the future readers and people who don’t spend their free time obsessing over it like us, but also to cement what the Revo’s actually knew. For the longest time, people had speculated that Dragon was Uranus or the Big Egg on the Oro Jackson had hatched into something that was Uranus that let Dragon control the weather. But with how unsure they seem of the Ancient Weapons existence, it shows that they don’t possess it. So Uranus is now pitched back to Saul, Loki, or Scopper. Since Poseidon was a natural occurrence in a person and Pluton is a weapon, it’s likely Uranus isn’t a devil fruit. Which could mean Devil Fruits were inventions after the Void Century. Perhaps Nika was a real person with the Ancient Kingdom and in an effort to fight him, the devil fruits were invented and inadvertently passed down his will through his powers. This chapter didn’t seem like a huge info-dump but there’s so much to read in between the lines here that I’m having a hard time knowing when to stop. Anyways, the Revo’s discussing this also shows that Robin shared information with them. I’d be very curious to know exactly how much she shared with them because she does seem like she’s playing it pretty close to the vest.

The Mother Flame is another interesting thing too. And the disappearance of God Valley. We know God Valley’s dissappearance wasn’t the same as Lulusia as that was an invention by Vegapunk. But Vegapunks inventions largely draw inspiration from existing artifacts. And we saw a mech on egghead powered by a dynamic power source. That coupled with Lunarians, who were also similarly wiped out, who can produce energy with FLAMES, paints a picture I’m not fully sure about. But God Valley disappearing makes me believe it might be the work of Uranus. And if Scopper is the man with the burn scar who’s ship sucks things into whirlpools, perhaps Scopper sucked God Valley into a whirlpool after the Roger and Xebec fight? It would be an interesting mirror to Imu’s Mother Flame that attacks from above. And if that is what Uranus does, though it’s be weird if it wasn’t air based (Greek/Roman Sky God), it could also be how the Ancient Kingdom disappeared. Though, the Ancient Kingdom has gotta be something that’s known already as Clover wouldn’t have been shot just as he was about to say it otherwise. A people forgetting their purpose, that would be a great parallel to the D Clan. Though a dream being tied to a piece of land doesn’t vibe with me much either. Doesn’t feel right for One Piece. I really love the theory floating around that the Ancient Kingdom was a freeform nation of Pirates. Which would make the 20 Kingdoms the minority. And thus be why they’re so intent on keeping their rule. Though how would that translate to a word that could be said to reveal the meaning? I’m sure there’s something salvageable in that jumble of thoughts but I don’t think we have enough information to know what.

Okay some final thoughts before I get into the big one. With the Revo’s all but confirming that Imu had the immortality surgery, I see it that Imu probably had Lili give them the surgery as a show of loyalty, hence why Imu is still suspicious. And why that name meant so much to them. The Gorosei could also potentially have had the surgery done on them, taking turns having people sacrificed to them. Kind of like the Mangkyo Sharingan where your closest friend has to die. Though with their obedient relationship to Imu, that probably isn’t the case. And with Imu being so irredeemable but the common plot structure of Princesses being rescued (Nami, Vivi, Ace Shirashoshi, Rebecca) still in place, I could see Imu having a child like Lord Spiral and Nia in TTGL (if you don’t get the reference, Spiral was an immortal who had mortal kids that he tossed aside after he got bored with them). Though the final princess could alternatively be Bonney as she needs to save Kuma and his kingdom. But maybe also Nami because of a theory that I don’t want to get into too much here. Though it’s mainly about how the Toki Toki No Mi exists and she was found in the middle of a war torn country. Possible Ancient Kingdom Princess? Anyways, huge stretch, no evidence and not the focus. I just like the idea of it looping back around.

Okay, now the big one. This contradicts other theories and my main thorn is the fact that Enel could breathe on the moon, but the gist of it is that Humans are Aliens on the One Piece World.

So yeah… It’s a little bit intense, I know. But bear with me. So I’ve thought that was a possibility for a long time. Ever since the Celestial Dragons began walking around with Bowls on their heads and Enel’s cover story on the moon, whichever came last. But the thing that bothered me for the longest time was this model below from Ohara, of the Earth being orbited by celestial bodies.

Enel wanted to go to the moon, Fairy Vearth. That was his dream. And this model seemed to suggest that many moons orbited the Earth. And I took that as evidence for the One Piece world’s messed up ocean currents, completely forgetting about a thing called the Geocentric Model, where the planets themselves orbited the world. Mainly because there were six celestial bodies circling the earth, a number that didn’t make any sense as something other than a moons in my tunnel vision brain. Back then I also believed the reason for the bizarre land formations was because the Celestial Dragons had crashed moons onto the surface and terraformed the world using continent pullers and Ancient Weapons. And some of that still stands but it’s been utterly recontextualized by these geezers. The Gorosei!

Each one is named after a planet. Which contextualizes the geocentric model we saw in Ohara. There’s five geezers and if we subtract one of the Celestial Bodies orbiting Earth as the Moon, then we have five planets! Named after each of the Gorosei. Or more likely the other way around. The Planets being Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and and Saturn. Which leaves the other three/two planets, Neptune (which can also be referred to as Poseidon for Ancient Weapon Purposes), Uranus, and Pluto (Did you hear about Pluto? That was messed up). Now, it seems like the latter three planets are missing from the geocentric model. Could it be that they no longer exist? Another thing I want to point out is Enel’s whole journey to the moon cover story. In it, we get evidence that the Birkans, Shandians, and Skypieans also were on the moon at some point and descended to earth after they used up their resources on the moon. And those three races would’ve fit the three missing planets in the planteray models very well, but then we got the reveal of a fourth winged race in the Lunarians. If a fifth winged race gets revealed then this theory would be really strong.

The way I see it, the original humans, who were winged folk as shown on the moon with the automatons, crashed Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto onto earth after escaping to the moon from the five other planets. Keeping with the themes of Skypeia and the land being taken, the Earth was probably only water, with the fishmen being the native species. Potentially a republic of Pirates with species such as the minks, zou, giants and others also thrived on the water. The original humans had probably exploited their various planets, if we’re going by the Gorosei, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter, of all natural resources. Maybe all of the original humans each had different types of wings depending on where they came from, with Skypeians, Birkans, Shandians, and Lunarians and a secret fifth thing all coming from different planets and each shedding their wings as they settled on land. Landing on the moon, they created automata to do the work for them and after exploiting all the resources there and discovering earth with it’s natural resources and living labour, they set about creating their own perfect world, crashing Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto on to the surface to create islands for them which they moved around as they liked using their technology and Continent Pullers. Perhaps the Ancient Weapons were born as a desire to counter this as just how continent pullers can pull land, Shirahoshi as Poseidon was also shown to be able to pull heavy things using Sea Kings. Alternatively Neptune could have provided the Sea, Uranus the atmosphere and Sky Islands, and Pluto the Land to a barren Earth. And possibly they brought the life forms along with them. The original humans could have overseen this from the sky islands and once the world was carved out to their liking, most of them descended to the planet below, losing their wings in the process. This could explain why Rayleigh talked about the Straw Hats coming to a different conclusion as they were all human when that conversation took place. If humans were the ones responsible for the state of the earth, it would be a tough pill to swallow for the strawhats. It would also mirror the heavy themes of colonialism in Skypiea and the themes of imperialism all throughout. And also why heavy secrecy is mandated, with a shrouded past in the void century. So that’s my theory in a nutshell: The humans of One Piece, if not all the races, are Aliens to the Planet.

Before I finish I have one last thing. In the process of writing this, I think I might have figured out something about Rocks and Blackbeard. So a part of Blackbeard's dream is to have a republic of pirates. I believe he inherited that dream from Rocks, who was a historian just like Blackbeard and Robin. Sabre of Xebec and what not, right? But that could be because that is what the Ancient Kingdom really was. A loose nation of pirates. But where Rocks and Blackbeards dreams get twisted is that they wanted to do it in the confines of the World Government, and let the oppressive system perpetuate itself. And thus defeating the freedom of such a nation. If you’ve read this far, thank you very much. I hope it made the tiniest bit of sense, I am very aware how rambly this was. Honestly it's very weird how much it sent me into tinfoil hatted theory crafting but it it such a specific spot in my pet theories that I just had to spend time with it. Going forward it's gonna be a lot more coherent. Probably. Hopefully...

Anyways,

#one piece #one piece chapter 1086 #op 1086 #one piece spoilers #one piece 1086 #one piece 1086 spoilers #one piece chapter 1086 spoilers #op 1086 spoilers

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1akira-b · 2 years

Text

One piece characters with a sick s/o:

This is a little bit self indulgent... okay maybe a lot bit self indulgent. I can't help it though I'm sick and in need of a pick me up! (Even if I provide it myself) Anyway This is just a bunch of little drabbles for who even my brain came up with if you have any requests for someone I didn't include feel free to send in an ask<3

Luffy:

You have been locked in your room for two days at the request of Chopper. The sore throat and headache refusing to leave you alone. Bored and in pain you wait in the room and do everything in your power to get better, but there is a certain someone on the crew who is even more upset about this than you. Yes its true your loud energetic happy go lucky boyfriend Luffy has been causing quite the disturbance for the time you have been locked away from him. It started with him trying to sneak into your room then became an all out attack against anyone who would enter it (hes not allowed in because you need rest and he is not helpful) poor poor chopper. Its noon of day 3 and Chopper came in to bring your lunch and make sure you took your meds. Little did anyone know that someone had stunk in behind him, hiding behind the door till he left. "Okay (name) please make sure to eat atleast 3/4 of your lunch, nutrition is very important to you getting better even if food doesn't sound good to you at the moment!" With that the tiny doctor set your food down and left the room shutting the door behind him. "Shishishi" the familiar sound makes your head shoot up as your eyes dart around the room landing on your boyfriend who is stood by the door. "I missed you (name)!" He sends himself flying towards the bed you are laying in. Having known him for quite some time you know to get up and move to the other side of the room while he makes his crash landing. "Luffy I missed you too but what are you doing in here you're gonna get sick!?" He gasps "WAHH ME!? I never get sick!" He sits down in the bed comfortably while you walk over to the other side sitting down aswell but keeping a distance. "I don't like when you don't feel good (Name)" he pouts you nod your head in agreement. "WOAH WHAT DO YOU HAVE THERE!?" Luffy just now noticed your lunch and you have to push him away with all your might. "Hey this is mine I have to eat if I'm supposed to get better!" You flick his nose and he pouts looking off to the side. You roll your eyes and start to eat "(Name) please get better soon I hate it when you feel icky, you don't look happy and I love when uou are happy" He continues babbling sweet nonsense as you smile happy to have the company of someone who loves you and you love in return. "OI LUFFY GET THE HELL OUT OF (NAME'S) ROOM!"

Oh shit.

Nami:

Your girlfriend will never admit it but she'd do anything for you free of charge. The unfazed and annoyed act she puts on does little to hide that fact. So when you are sick you slowly see this demeanor crack. "(Name) would you please just hurry up and finish that soup I dont want to get sick from being around you too long." She pouts and looks away as you roll your eyes. Eating the last few bites you pass the bowl to her "love you Nami thank youuuu." You give her a wide smile and she blushes pouting again as she moves her gaze to anything but you. "Yeah whatever it's gonna cost you." She turns around and as she walks out the door she says a quick "I love you" at this you laugh a little causing her heart to melt and the corner of her lips turn upwards.

Ace:

Your boyfriend is possibly the most adorable human you have ever met. He loves you unconditionally and is eternally grateful to you. You gave him the love he never thought he deserved, so when you get sick and Marco says you have to stay in bed and advises the crew against visiting you it absolutely breaks poor Ace's heart. He pouts. He whines. He pouts some more. Eventually he gets his way because Marco can only handle so much. Now Ace is allowed to deliver your meals, your meds and quickly check up on you. Here's the problem Ace wants more. He wants more time with you and so he doesn't just deliver but FEEDS you your meals, helps you take your meds (even though you don't need help) and he starts a conversation rather than just asking the quick "are you alright?". "(Nameee) I have your dinner" the loving voice of your boyfriend fills the room as he walks in with your dinner shutting the door behind him. You sit up and smile as he makes his way to you pulling a chair to your bedside. "Thanks Ace!" You smile warmly at him as he gets a spoon ready with some soup on it. You take the bite and he smiles happy to see you eat so willingly after having been fussy about it the last few days. That's when you hear it. The small sniffle. Ace sees your reaction and his face goes blank. "Shit" you look him directly in the eyes "MARCO ACE IS SICK" Ace deadpans "Fuck (Name) I wanted to take care of you" he pouts and frows his brows "at least we get to be stuck in here together now" you smile cheekily he rolls his eyes a smile settles itself on his handsome features.

#straw hat pirates #portgas d ace #monkey d luffy #ace x reader #one piece scenario #luffy x reader #nami #straw hat nami #nami x y/n #one piece fluff #luffy fluff #one piece #op x reader #i am sick #sick reader

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imaeraser · 3 years

Note

Hello!

I really love your headcannons about Strawhats with Teen reader, that's why...

If you don't mind - Can I ask for Platonic Strawhats with Female! Teen reader that tend to be the quietest in the crew because of her shyness?

I also had and the next idea after this one- but I don't want to overwhelm you with it. Take care of yourself!

Have a nice day!

Sorry for the wait, here you go!

Luffy

He was intrigued by you

That’s why he forced you onto his ship. And then he realized that instead of having a convoluted backstory, you were shy

And quite honestly it was refreshing

Even though he likes being around Chopper and Usopp and be loud as heck, he likes spending time with you

You balance him out

And even though you’re not an adult, he’ll go to you for advice. This makes the rest of the crew confused (and low-key mad) because he doesn't want their advice

But most of the time he doesn’t take your advice anyways

I think that you two are close, seeing as he is endlessly extroverted and will break through your walls no matter how hard you try

Most of the time he leaves you to your own devices, but he will drag you to large parties and make you feel as welcome as possible

He does the same on the ship, but that was never a problem anyways because everyone likes you

Feels the need to protect you, not only because you’re a member of the crew, but also because you’re the youngest

10/10 I can see him giving you some of his food (only some)

Zoro

Ultimate big brother vibes

Likes to go to you for a quiet space because the ship can be loud

So he spends a lot of time with you… sleeping

He also half-asks questions to fill up the space and gets to know you pretty well

He also feels a need to protect you since he sees you as kinda weak (but almost everyone is weaker compared to him)

He will also feel the need to shield you from the craziness of the ship

Like sir, it’s nice that you care, but they can take care of themselves too you know?

Doesn't incorporate you into the crew since… he’s mostly sleeping. But he would try, and he would fail because they already like you

Cue him being shocked that he wasn’t your only friend on board, but to be fair he is sleeping most of the time and not watching you

He likes the calmness you bring to the ship, good for his meditation sessions (but I don't think you want to just sit there why he meditates)

I can see you having fun with him and Chopper, maybe play a board game

8/10 calm down sir, they can take care of themselves

Nami

She’s like the cool and fun older sister

She likes to dress you up in her old clothes, and then gush about how cute you look (no, not her super tiny bikinis)

She takes it onto herself to guide you through… whatever I guess

Also feels the need to protect you from dudes

I think that she gives good advice, but when combined with Robin the two of them give life-altering wisdom

You can go to her for anything from how to sew to how to manipulate people

Always gives you juice when the crew starts drinking

If the ship starts to get too rowdy she will shout at everyone to keep it down, and then turn to smile at you as if her actions were for you

She will share her tangerines with you

I think that she wants to protect you, but is frustrated at the fact that she can’t be as strong as the Monster trio (but everything works out in the end)

If you borrow money from her, she will reduce the interest (only by a little)

9/10 only downside is the interest (if you ever borrow money)

Usopp

He was high-key suspicious of you

To be fair he is suspicious of anyone and everything, and seeing as you were quiet he was on the edge

But after you saved his life, he gets all buddy-buddy (really Usopp? You got saved by a teenager)

I think the two of you would get to know each other when he’s working on a new invention, and you guys are having idle chatter

Now he tried to act like a cool older brother. Always ready to swoop in and talk about his “accomplishments”

He will do just about anything to make you laugh

I can see some crazy (but fun) times with him, Chopper, and Luffy

He would give bad advice, but occasionally he does have some piece of wisdom

He would try to protect you, but… yeah

He ends up feeling bad, and incompetent. But tell him that he was amazing or something and he’ll be fine

I think he would get frustrated when you beat him at a game of cards

10/10 he is just so fun to be around

Sanji

Also acts like an older brother

He tries to protect you from guys, saying that they’re all dogs (but then you point out that he’s a guy)

This also means he tries to limit your time around Zoro, saying that he’s a bad influence

Then the two start to fight and right as they pull you into it, Nami hits both of them and carries you off to eat or something

Gives you more food because you’re still growing

He is a surprisingly good listener and when he chimes in his advice are always good

And like all of the crew, he will try to protect you from danger (ma’am you are still a teen, why are you on this ship? Oh wait, Luffy…)

I said he acts like your older brother, but he also acts like a proud dad sometimes

Like sir, why are you crying? All they did was perform twinkle twinkle little star on the piano (Brook taught you)

He also tries to restrain his pervert tendencies around you, but when they inevitably happen he can’t look you in the eyes for several days (he also smokes more. It gets to a point where you have to confront him)

He also teaches you how to cook

8/10 he can get a little extra sometimes

Chopper

If things get too crazy on the ship, he likes to go to you

I feel like he would try to act like a big brother, but you would just pet him (sorry Chopper)

I can see Chopper trying to get you to socialize more with the crew. Just drags you out with his tiny Reindeer paws

I can see you confiding in him a lot because it’s kinda like venting to a stuffed animal (again, sorry Chopper)

He gives (almost) child-like advice, but it’s so simple and it always works

I think you would beat both him and Usopp at games, and then they would proceed to chase you around

He would try to protect you, but he also knows that you need to push yourself to get stronger, so he lets you fight some of your fights

When you end up hurt, he always makes sure to be extra vigilant with your care

I believe that you would also try to protect him, but his pride would end up hurt

I think you two would spend a lot of time in his office for a quiet place to read (and for him to do work)

He makes you help him organize stuff

10/10 a great duo

Robin

She is the kind older sister

She is such a good listener, and her advice would solve all of the world's problems

If things get crazy on the ship, you go to her. She has the presence of calm around her that just soothes you

I think she would also like to participate in dressing you up with Nami. That means you get to wear Nami’s old clothes and Robin’s old clothes

Robin always has an extra book and cup of tea reserved for you. Tea times are when you two like to ramble about anything and everything. This is also the place where you can vent and the both of you talk about your past

She would like to teach you about world history, while you listen and ask questions

She would try to teach you how to read one glyph, but if it’s too hard she stops (and low-key gets sad)

Robin also lets you help her garden. She enjoys having a person keep her company while she does the things that make her happy

She thinks that you are too adorable, and that also makes her go into a momma bear mode when she thinks you are in danger

She will yell at crew members, and she will annihilate the enemies

Robin sees you in a similar way to Chopper, so if you say something dirty or cuss, her image of you will be ruined

10/10 she is perfection

Franky

I see him as a weird uncle figure

He mostly hides in his workshop and creates weird but cool inventions while you watch him and ask what he is doing

I don’t see you two talking about important things, just you two having fun and making jokes

He is fun to watch, but when he tries to get you to participate— it’s even more fun

I can see Robin trying to shield you from him (hey, he says he’s a pervert)

He would share his cola with you (I can see some very fun crew bonding time when everyone gets cola and huddles around Franky’s new invention)

Franky is the opposite of shy, so sometimes it gets to be a bit too much

Like sir, please leave them alone for one second

I think that Franky and Usopp would try to teach you how to make things

And if you like to prank people… they’ve created a monster

Expect all three of you to get yelled at

8/10 pretty good, but he does say some stuff that you don’t get sometimes

Brook

Another weird uncle

When he asked to see your panties, both Robin and Nami slapped him so hard, he had flown off

He never asked again

I can see him joining in on the Robin history over tea, and add things in he knows from living during the period (dang he’s old)

He occasionally makes the tea you three drink

I think he would try to teach you how to use a sword, and then get yelled at so he teaches you to play instruments instead

He’s a surprisingly easy-going teacher, if you don’t practice he’s not mad. He just assumes you don't want to learn. That means he won’t teach you, which leads you to practice

He would let you peek inside of his skull and then jumpscare you. It works every time

Brook would tell you about what he did during the two-year time skip, all while you’re laughing at the fact they called him Satan

I think that being around you and Luffy would make him remember his days as a teen

Starts to get all weary like a dad (and just like Sanji)

7/10 rough start, but good ending

Jinbei

He is the dad (not like, is)

He is always concerned for your health, and whether you should be fighting or not

He told Luffy that it was ridiculous to bring a teen on board, but then he realized Luffy is only 19…

Jinbei is always there to make sure you feel included, and will often leave the crew’s festivities just to hang out with you

Honestly, his old man self likes the quiet you bring

If you ask him, he’ll tell you about Fishman history (also over Robin History Tea Times)

100% tries to protect you. I think that can make you frustrated at times, but he has saved you so you can’t be too mad

So he teaches you Fishman Karate (it gets Robin’s stamp of approval because there are no sharp objects)

Jinbei gives the best advice, again dad and old man

He’s able to see different perspectives and tell you the best course of action (that gets annoying when you just want him to take your side, but you have Nami and Robin for that)

Also is proud of you when you achieve something (part of the tears dad group)

10/10 every group needs a parent figure

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deathmetalunicorn1 · 9 months

Note

Strawhats with Himiko Toga!reader.

-You remember being an outcast as a child, not only by your peers, but your parents, the ones that were supposed to love you no matter what, because you liked to see the blood of others, thinking it was beautiful.

-When you ate a Devil Fruit, not knowing what it was because it looked like a blood red apple, and your ability came into light, you were ostracized even more, chased from your home, called and treated as a monster.

-You cried as the sky poured down upon your village, the rain washing away the blood of your parents after they attacked you, telling you to be normal, and your powers lashed out, killing not only them but everyone else in your village.

-You hadn’t meant to kill them, you just wanted them to stop hurting you, you wanted them to be proud of you and love you, like how you saw other parents treating their own kids. You were such a pitiful child, just wanting someone to love you.

-Years passed and you honed your skills, discovering you could take on the form of those whose blood you ingested, for a short while, and if those people had Devil Fruit abilities and you had the basic idea of how they worked, you could mimic those as well.

-This made you very dangerous, as you had become a pirate, as you were constantly treated like a villain, so you became one, and if any were to accuse you of being a monster, you would just smile brightly, showing off your fangs, “But you’re the ones who made me like this!”

-Everything changed when you met the strangest person, a young man wearing a straw hat, who had seen you fighting against the marines on the same island he and his crew had been on and you were thrown off when he caught you after you were thrown off a building and he beamed brightly at you, “So cool! You have fangs!!”

-You had never had someone tell you that your fangs, the results of your Devil Fruit, looked anything other than evil or monstrous before and when he asked you to join his crew, you immediately agreed.

-Other members of his crew were very comically afraid of you, like Usopp and Chopped, showing you their crosses and holding garlic up to you, as you were known as Devil Vampire Y/N, but you just laughed at them before taking the garlic and handed it to Sanji, who was fawning over you, and you asked for something made with garlic.

-Robin felt a kinship with you, as you had both been called monsters and were raised as such, but you were bright and bubbly, trying not to let anything get you down but there was something about you, telling her that you weren’t to be underestimated.

-You adored Brook, your eyes bright and sparkly when you first met him, as you loved creepy things like skeletons, but when he talked, sang, and played the violin as well as cracking jokes, you immediately glued yourself to him, adoring him.

-Nami had to rescue you, leaving a lump on Brook’s head when he asked to see your panties, and she warned you about the perverts on the crew. Nami was friendly to you, being almost like the big sister you never had but always wanted and she loved to drag you out shopping, something you always hated doing because you were never welcome anywhere.

-Franky was so nice to you, saying that your fangs and abilities, once he had seen them, were SUPER!!! He had never met anyone like you before and he appreciate you hanging around him because you were curious about his work, asking him all sorts of questions about the machines he was making.

-Luffy was self-explanatory, wanting to know more about your skills and while some were against it, you bit Luffy, taking just a tiny bit of blood and you transformed into him, being able to mimic him exactly including being able to stretch your body. This had led to some shenanigans with the rest of the crew, pulling pranks.

-These pranks are what got Usopp and Chopper into trusting you, as you were easily able to make them laugh after you and Luffy, using your own ability, went and asked Sanji for meat, acting identical. Sanji was furious because he couldn’t give either of you lumps because he didn’t want to risk hurting you.

-Sanji was so sweet with you, not at all bothered by your blood related ability, saying that it was just another part of you that made you the beautiful Y/N he knows and loves. His words meant more to you than anything as they made you truly happy.

-Jinbei was a bit thrown off by your enthusiasm, as not many humans were all that willing to meet with a fishman, let alone sit in his lap and ask him a ton of questions about the ocean, since you were one of the many ‘hammers’ in the world, due to your Devil Fruit.

-Zoro was the only holdout, like normal, not trusting you, thinking you were dangerous and he didn’t even hesitate to threaten you if you were to hurt any of the others on the crew, right before Sanji and Nami left lumps on his head for threatening you.

-You proved yourself to Zoro after using your abilities, creating a whip made out of blood, to catch Chopper and Nami after they were thrown from the ship in rough waters before taking a hit for them after you pulled them back onto the ship. That night, after your crew’s victory and after everyone was patched up, Zoro was the one who handed you the first mug of ale.

-You loved your crew, your family, calling them as such, calling them all by either big bro or big sis, as they were your solstice, your safe space, they treated you like Y/N- like a person, rather than a monster and they all fiercely defended you if anyone was to call you by such cruel titles.

-By joining the Straw Hat Crew your bounty went up, something you enjoyed as your crew insisted on a celebration for it, which made you laugh, but you never said no, especially since you were finally over one hundred million!

#one piece #luffy #zoro #nami #sanji #usopp #chopper #robin #franky #one piece brook #jinbei #toga himiko

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a-small-batch-of-dragons · 3 years

Text

Come Now, Little Prince

Prompts: Hey uh... *brushed off dust from crashing in through the roof* Could you write something about Roman or Remus having Agoraphobia and them getting trapped somewhere? My brain just wants to relate. If not that’s fine! Love your writing! - anon

Might I suggest,,,, writing trope where the severely hurt person goes to their nemesis and says “sorry, I just didn’t have anywhere else to go” but it’s with Roman and Janus - 1namelessalien1

Ahh, yes, the inevitable. Honestly a lil surprised I haven't done this sooner but here we go! Finally...

Read on Ao3

Pairings: roceit, dukeceit, creativitwins. can be platonic or romantic you choose save for creativitwins. they brothers

Warnings: roman gets stabbed and has to get stitches, agoraphobia

Word Count: 7611

Cities are full of bright lights and shadows alike. Those that live in the light, the heroes, the 'good guys.' Those that live in the shadows, their grisly work only illuminated when the sun deigns to show its face again. Sometimes the shadows are too deep. Sometimes the spotlights are too much.

The Prince, Roman Prince, is the Golden Boy of the city. The newsreels, the cameras, the public adore him. But they don't see the winces when the bulbs go off right in his face, or whispers to be better, do better, perform better from the people that pull him aside after every daring adventure.

No one knows the name Janus, but they know his work. They don't shout, they whisper. They huddle together in the dark, searching for the light so as not to get caught in his coils.

But sometimes, when spotlights are too bright and shadows too flat, a little prince will make its way into the snake's den.

He didn’t mean to.

It just—his hand slipped and they fell and they—they—

He didn’t mean to drop them. They weren’t—they weren’t supposed to fall but the knife hurt too much and he flinched and he—he—

The choppers roar around the roof, battering his head with their noise, noise, noise. The wind whips up around the concrete railing, whistling, whining, wailing as the body falls down, down, down. The searchlights glint off the knife as they pull it down with them.

And then he is alone, in a crowd, on the top of a roof, king of the clouds.

The lights glare in his face as their body disappears. Then…then…

Then fear.

———————————

One of the best things about being seen as a ‘super villain,’ and how gauche is that term, is that no one wants to ask too many questions when you rent an apartment. There are really far too many landlords that want to get to know you, want to be your friend, while knowing full well that they participate in a system where there is no ethical consumption or behavior. Really, if he ever starts renting his own property, there will be no illusions on his end.

But hey, at least these ones know not to put their noses where they’ll get bitten off if they poke too far.

Janus sighs, opening the cupboard and taking the teacup down. The kettle whistles merrily on the stove as he reaches for the tea boxes.

Black, green, white, herbal…really, there are so many options. What to have for tonight, then? It is awfully late in the evening, there’s no real justification for consuming caffeine. Then again, he’ll do what he likes.

His phone buzzes. His real phone, not the one everyone sees him carry when he’s out and about. He rolls his eyes and takes the kettle off the heat as he spots the name on the text notification.

R. Sanders: 1 new notification

“What’ve you done now, Remus,” he mutters as he slides the message open, “and which one of your messes am I cleaning up now?”

The message opens to a report. Brief, as is the style of all the reports Janus demands, but the thing that gives him pause is just how brief.

Remus, as one can very well imagine, is…not exactly compliant when it comes to following the rules. And while that can be useful in its own special way, it does mean that Janus occasionally has to factor emojis out of Remus’s reports.

Well, more than occasionally.

But this time the report is two sentences. Janus pours the water into the teapot as he glances over the words.

R. Sanders: Slaughter down at 85th and Marilyn. The head of the beast is cut off.

Well, on paper, that should be a fantastic report. The rival infringing on Janus’s turf has been, ah, taken down a few notches.

That’s undermined considerably by the fact that this report lacks any of Remus’s enthusiasm.

Janus sighs as he settles on the loose-leaf blueberry mint tea, placing the cup aside to brew as he wanders toward the window. Perhaps Remus is simply tired from all this work today. It wouldn’t be the first time the man’s manic energy had been tempered by a good amount of strenuous activity. And cutting off the head of the beast was never going to be a simple job to begin with. True, it was always an issue with causing more collateral damage than Janus was personally comfortable with, but what’s done is done.

The city starts to slumber, the last of the pleasant natural light fading from the sky, giving way to the horrid stained brown of the light pollution. The skyscrapers barely flinch in the oncoming night, instead choosing to stand firm as the workers inside slave away. The smaller shops close their doors, the nighttime crowds vanishing into subway tunnels and bus stations. Janus leans against the window, the glass reflecting the elegant lines of his suit alongside the angles of the buildings.

If he were slightly less himself, he’d say it looks like he belongs here.

When the light fades further, he sighs, turning away and fetching his tea. He drops into his favorite chair next to the window and raises the cup to his mouth.

The head of the beast has been cut off. He has no appointments, no reports, no debriefings to attend. He has his cup of tea, Remus will handle anything that blows up on the networks. It is the perfect evening to be alone, secure in his apartment.

So of course, there has to be something that sends a prickle up the back of his neck.

Why is Remus’s report sitting with him like this? This should be fantastic news, he should be willing to open the bottle of champagne that’s sat in preparation for this moment. And yet, as he raises the cup to his mouth again, his teeth hit the rim and he jolts, spilling a little more than he meant to into his mouth. He swallows, thankful that there’s no one else here to see it, and sets the cup and saucer aside.

He folds his gloved hands behind his back and goes to the window again.

If there were something wrong, someone would tell him. He has eyes all over the city, ears everywhere, and those under his employ know better than to try and cross him. Remus is alive and well—clearly, given by the way the evening’s progressed so far—and wouldn’t hesitate to gleefully drag anyone he suspected into his rooms or an abandoned warehouse.

He spares a glance over his shoulder. The phone stays silent.

Fingers tap against his hand as he looks down. Not for the first time, he wonders what it must be like, down there, scurrying about, without the faintest idea of what it looks like from up here. Oh, he’s walked on the sidewalk outside his building, who hasn’t, that’s how he gets into the building in the first place, but…not like that.

The outside world is so…temperamental. So many people, so many things. There is no better place to be alone than a crowded city street, but there is no more dangerous a place to be yourself.

When he’s finished his cup of tea, and the prickle has not left the back of his neck alone, he stifles a curse and turns. Remus will listen to him. Or, more precisely, Remus will ramble and scheme and reassure him that nothing is wrong. He might get a strange look—because while everyone else can underestimate how much Remus sees at their own peril, Janus never has—but he will do it.

Janus opens the door, idly wondering if he needs to bring his coat, and abruptly stops walking.

There is someone on their knees right outside his door.

Well.

That would explain the feeling he’s had of something being wrong, how on earth his security system didn’t alert him to their presence is beyond him. He doesn’t bother to hide his sigh as he pulls his cane from the holder and tilts their chin up.

“I’m certain that you must be…”

Janus trails off as he tilts up a chin to reveal a bloodstained, agonized expression of someone who should not be here.

“I’m sorry,” Roman Prince says in the voice of a lost child, “I didn’t—I didn’t know where else to go.”

Janus’s fingers twitch on the cane as he watches the roll of Roman’s throat.

“Y-you said if I—if I—ever needed help one day to know better than to—to try and go back to th-them.”

Remus’s report is beginning to make more sense.

Janus remembers. Janus remembers this upstart pain in his ass getting in the way of many operations, from transports to exchanges to hostage negotiations. He remembers the crooked smile straight out of a movie as this little shit got in the way of everything, including his resolve to not get involved with any of the so-called heroes that ran around in this city in their spandex and naiveté.

He remembers shaking his head at this shiny new one and saying that when he realized the world was much, much grayer than he wanted to believe, Janus would be there to watch. He remembers a softer offer, after a rescue had resulted in a building—abandoned, but a building—blowing up and the poor thing looking like someone had kicked his puppy.

He remembers watching the rival’s henchmen carted off to jail as the hero of the hour was reprimanded for causing too much collateral damage by the people who supposedly adored him.

“You were right,” Roman continues in that lost, lost voice, “I’m—I’m sorry.”

It takes Roman reaching for him for Janus to remember what is going on and the cane jerks his head up higher, forcing him to stop. Janus narrows his eyes at the hero kneeling on the floor, takes in the blood on his face, his neck, his hands.

“Why are you here,” he asks, wrenching that chin just a little higher, “why did you come to me?”

“You said you would help,” comes the reply, “if I—if I didn’t want to do this anymore.”

Has the perfect prince killed someone for the first time? Is that what’s brought on this little display?

His eyes trail lower, looking for the weapon.

The light from his apartment shines on a tunic stained with blood, cut and torn, and a dark, ugly stain that is not getting any smaller.

Roman’s head lolls forward, almost nuzzling Janus’s thigh as it slips off the cane. His hair sticks to his face, too soaked with blood.

Janus’s eyes go wide.

Roman Prince is here, on his knees, bleeding out because he has nowhere else to go. He came to Janus, the person he should trust the least out of everyone in this city, and he’s here on his knees, pleading.

The hand not on the cane twitches, then slowly reaches forward to find the least bloody spot on Roman’s head. It runs gently through his hair and finds its way to his chin, lifting it up once more. Roman’s eyes, full of tears, stare back at him.

“Come inside, little prince,” Janus says, his voice far softer than he would normally allow, “you’re bleeding all over my carpet.”

There aren’t many places to go that aren’t carpeted inside Janus’s apartment, but they make it over the threshold before Roman’s state begins to truly worry him.

How did he even get here? By how much blood there is, surely he would’ve passed out by now? Roman seems oblivious to his inside questions, simply looks around for wherever Janus is leading him before he notices how much blood he’s leaving behind him.

“It’s alright,” Janus says, surprising the both of them, “I can have the floor cleaned.”

Roman just blinks at him. And oh, if it doesn’t hurt to see that innocence still in the eyes of the little lamb, even as the wolf goes to take his arm.

“The bathroom is through this way,” he says softly, “come now…”

It is an odd experience, surely, to have one’s own nemesis bloody, wounded, completely at his mercy, as he strips off his suit jacket and rolls up his sleeves, and want to do nothing but hunt down the people that made him this way.

Roman sits like a broken doll, he realizes as he watches the man ease himself down and wait as Janus pulls on a pair of plastic gloves. He is not uncooperative when Janus pushes his limbs to the side, snipping away at the fabric, trying to figure out what precisely is going on. He does not protest when Janus finds the stab wound and presses a cloth harshly on top, nor when Janus grabs his hand and bids him to hold it there, hard. He is not unfeeling, just very, very quiet as Janus begins to douse the pads in antiseptic.

He doesn’t flinch when Janus cleans the wound as best he can—he’s no doctor, after all—before muttering that it’s going to need stitches.

“Oh,” he mumbles instead, “okay.”

“Yes, so—hold still,” he barks, forcing Roman to sit back down, “where do you think you’re going?”

Roman blinks. “You said it needs stitches.”

“Yes, which is why you shouldn’t be moving.”

“I was going to go get the stitches.”

Now it’s Janus’s turn to blink. “I will stitch you up, Roman, now stay.”

And there’s that lamb-like innocence again as Roman tilts his head. “You will?”

“I may not be a doctor,” Janus mutters, twisting to grab the first aid kit, “but I do know how to suture a wound.”

He takes a few more wipes and cleans the blood he can, pointedly ignoring Roman’s attentive look.

“You could be a doctor,” comes the mumble, “you seem…good at it.”

Janus huffs. “Less a doctor, more a medic.”

Roman’s brows furrow. “What’s the difference?”

“A doctor fixes you, a medic makes dying more comfortable.”

There’s a moment of silence. Janus half-expects the poor thing to seize up in fear, tremble before him, or—god forbid—try and fight him, but he does none of that. Because that would make sense.

Instead, Roman just closes his eyes and lets his head fall to the side against the tiled wall.

“You don’t have to make it comfortable then.”

Janus’s hands falter for a moment. His eyes flick to Roman’s bloodstained face before refocusing on the wound in front of him.

“You’re not going to die here,” he says firmly, and if he starts to work a little more quickly, that’s his business, not yours.

“Oh.”

“I imagine you wouldn’t’ve come here with the intent to die on my doorstep, that’s quite rude, you know.”

“…no.”

Now, see, as the best liar in the city, Janus knows when he hears one.

The absurdity of the situation strikes him once again, fainter this time, but still there. Roman Prince is here, bloody, wounded—fatally so if Janus hadn’t started tending to him right when he did— forced to roll over and show his belly, Janus’s teeth at his throat, and yet Janus reaches up to turn that pretty face to his.

“Tell me what happened, little prince,” he commands softly.

Roman swallows. “I didn’t mean to.”

Janus simply raises an eyebrow and starts to stitch up the wound. Roman doesn’t flinch but accepts the silent chide.

“I-it was the building security guard,” he mumbles, “they called in that someone was firing shots in the upper stories and couldn’t—couldn’t get away in time. They were—they—the call wasn’t completed.”

They died while they were on the line, Roman doesn’t say, but Janus hears it.

“Wh-when I got there, there were—they must’ve thought there was a mole in the—on the inside and they started—they were—“

They were killing their own people, Janus realizes, hiding his disgust behind another tied-off suture. He’s starting to have an awful feeling about where Roman’s been tonight.

“Something went wrong in one of the labs. They made a toxin, and it—it—“ Roman swallows— “it drove them insane.”

It made them homicidal, they killed each other.

“I...I think they were going to flee from the roof.”

As Janus ties off the last suture, he freezes.

Oh.

Oh, no.

“I tried to stop them,” Roman whispers, “I was holding onto them, it was windy, they were going to fall, they ran too fast out of the door, I caught them, I—I had them, they—they were going to be safe but then they—they—“

Janus presses two fingers to the warm chest next to the wound. He can feel Roman’s heart jumping. He rubs in slow circles.

“They stabbed me,” Roman finishes, “and I—I—I—“

A small noise that sounds too much like a sob swallows the rest of his words.

Oh, this poor little prince…

Roman swallows another sob. “I’m sorry.”

Janus tilts his head. “What’re you apologizing to me for, little prince?”

“Well, I can’t imagine that this is how you imagined spending your evening.”

“No,” Janus says, folding his hands in front of him, “but I can’t imagine this is how you imagined spending yours either.”

The little prince bruises as easily as ever, only this time he doesn’t bother to hide behind his bravado.

“Off,” Janus says softly, tugging lightly at the remains of Roman’s costume, “the rest of you needs to be cleaned.”

He watches unashamed as Roman follows his instruction, eyes traveling over the scars littering the body revealed to him piece by piece. Too many scars. When he stands bare, Janus takes his hands and deliberately cleans them of the blood.

Roman doesn’t stop trembling until Janus has cleaned away every last bit.

The costume will need to be disposed of, there’s no saving it. The floor in the bathroom is littered with bits of blood and the carpet near the door will need to be cleaned quickly. Luckily the cleaner that Janus employs is well-accustomed to such a request. Instead, Janus walks back to the bedroom.

There the little prince sits, looking far too much like a lost child. Janus pauses at the door, tugging his normal gloves back on.

The little prince looks far too good wrapped in Janus’s colors.

“Why did you come to me, little prince,” he asks after a moment, “you had no way of knowing that I wouldn’t kill you.”

Roman lowers his head and the lie from the bathroom plays uncomfortably in his head. Janus tilts his head as Roman clears his throat.

“I thought—part of me thought you would.”

A harsh laugh tears out of his throat before he can stop it. “So what, I was to be your confessional? You would fall on your knees, repent, and I would put you out of your misery? Or put you down, like some misbehaved dog?”

Roman hunches his shoulders. Janus’s mirth disappears in a flash.

“…maybe.”

Roman Prince dragged himself from the roof of 85th and Marilyn, all the way across the city to Janus’s real apartment, disarmed his security, and did not once tend to the stab wound in his chest.

Roman Prince witnessed a slaughter, watched people be driven out of their minds, and dropped someone who did their very best to kill him off a roof by accident.

Roman Prince fell to his knees in front of the one man in this city who he knew would be capable of killing him without a second thought.

“…do you want me to kill you?”

There’s a softness in his voice again, one that slipped unbidden into the words to make the blow seem more like a caress.

“I would make it quick,” he murmurs, still leaning against the doorway, watching the little prince, “it wouldn’t hurt.”

Roman looks at him. The child is lost, so lost, and so, so tired. He opens his mouth.

“Don’t you want to?”

…well.

Does he? Certainly, the little prince has caused more than his fair share of mishaps, messes, and mistakes, and putting him out of the equation permanently benefits Janus in more ways than one. And it’s not like it would be difficult. No one knows Roman is here, let alone anyone who would care, and even fewer that wouldn’t expect him to never be seen alive again. Janus could kill him in half a dozen ways in the next minute that Roman couldn’t possibly fight against, a dozen more that would take scarcely any longer.

Unbidden, his mind begins to list off the possibilities. The gun in the cabinet, the knife tucked into his shirt, the poison stored in the bathroom, even snapping the little prince’s neck.

But he takes one more look at the little prince and all of them vanish in an instant.

“Why did you come here?” he murmurs again.

Roman lets out a long breath. His hand on the borrowed shirt tightens and loosens, tightens and loosens.

“You’re the only one I trust,” he tells him quietly, and it’s the saddest thing he could’ve possibly said.

Janus crosses the room and cups the back of the little prince’s neck. Roman just bows his head, the little lamb waiting for another hand to come up and twist. Janus bites back the snarl of rage at how resigned Roman is to dying tonight and brushes his thumb along the curve of his cheek.

Stroke by stroke, he coaxes the tears from the little prince’s eyes and wipes them away.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he murmurs, leaning his weight against the edge of the bed, “there’s nothing you could’ve done.”

“I could’ve held on.”

“You’d just been stabbed, flinching is a perfectly understandable reaction.”

“But I’ve been stabbed before.”

“It’s not like you build up an immunity to knives going into you.”

“But I—“ Roman cuts himself off, curling his fist tightly in his lap.

“What is it, little prince?”

He just shakes his head firmly, lips pressed tightly together, red blooming on his cheeks.

Well, at least there’s blood flowing properly again. “We’re well past the point of embarrassment, little prince,” Janus remarks gently, “and if you’re worried about sharing weaknesses with me now…”

“I got scared,” Roman blurts, sounding every bit the reprimanded child. Janus pets his hair absentmindedly, encouraging him to speak again. When he won’t, Janus hums quietly.

“You were stabbed,” he reminds again, “that’s understandable.”

“Not of being stabbed.”

Janus frowns. “What then, little prince?”

“I…”

“I won’t harm you, little prince,” Janus murmurs when he hesitates.

“…I got scared of being outside.”

Janus’s hand pauses in Roman’s hair before gently lifting his chin. “What do you mean, little prince, that you were scared of being outside?”

“There—there was nowhere to go, I couldn’t get out, I couldn’t escape, there were too many people, the choppers were so—so loud and I—I didn’t know what to do—“

Fucking hell, Janus realizes as he shushes the little prince tenderly, he’s agoraphobic.

Flashes of their fights and altercations start to make more sense now. Why Roman prefers fighting in dark, cramped warehouses, why losing the hero on public transportation was so easy, why he almost never confronted Janus in public in broad daylight even though he clearly knows where Janus lives.

The weight of the expectations on Roman…how difficult his chosen occupation must be…how little support he gets for something that makes it infinitely harder for him…

Janus doesn’t realize he’s cradling Roman’s head until he strokes his thumb down his cheek and feels the soft brush of hair against his forearm. He looks down and sees Roman’s eyes all but flutter shut, lulled by the gentle touch against his face.

Trapped under the spotlights of the world, laid bare, stripped by their merciless eyes, unable to look away, escape from what they would only see as a colossal failure…

No wonder Roman sought out a denizen of the shadows where he could be sure no one would look for him.

What should, by all rights, feel like a cage to Roman might just become a den.

The snake tightens its coils protectively around the little prince and leans down to whisper in Roman’s ear.

“You’re safe, now,” he soothes, “there is no one else here but me, and I will look after you. There are no expectations here, you cannot do something wrong. I’m here to help you.”

The snake hisses in contentment as the little prince slumps into the coils, letting it pick him up and deposit him gently in the mass of the den, leaving only for a brief moment before returning to his side.

“Shh, shh,” he soothes as Roman blinks about in confusion, “you need to rest, I’ll be right here.”

“Why—what—“ Roman’s head hits the pillow and Janus almost laughs at how quickly his eyes close— “why’re you…helping?”

“You came to me for help, little prince.”

“But you…care?”

And oh, if that doesn’t make the snake’s cold black heart beat warmly in its chest.

“You may be surprised, little prince,” it hisses, drawing the little prince closer and closer, “but you’re not that difficult to care for.”

No, Janus decides, resigning himself to a night of little sleep as he watches Roman’s breathing begin to even out, stroking a hand through his hair, the little prince isn’t so hard to care for after all.

The snake has never been one to spare those that wander carelessly into its den, but this little prince did not do it carelessly. And it is surprisingly easy for Janus to soothe the remaining prickle on the back of his neck by scratching his fingers lightly along the back of Roman’s, to gentle the furrow in Roman’s sleep with a murmured reassurance into the little prince’s ear. The night passes slowly as the little prince dozes under the snake’s coils.

Only later, when the sun has begun to rise, does he realize he’s left his phone on the counter. He sighs, extricating himself gingerly from the sleeping Roman and going back to the kitchen.

R. Sanders: 1 new notification

He glances toward the bedroom and opens the text.

R. Sanders: if you don’t get your security system back online yourself in the next 30 seconds I’m coming over

Well, considering this message is from two minutes ago, Janus simply sighs and opens the door.

“That,” Remus snarls as he stalks inside, “is not the point.”

“I was about to reboot the system, Remus, do calm yourself.”

“I’m not the one who spent the entire fucking night in an unsecured location!”

Janus raises an eyebrow. “By all means, Remus, do keep shouting about my security system at the top of your lungs while the door is still open.”

Remus mutters angrily to himself but has the decency—or perhaps, the self-preservation—to quiet down while Janus shuts the door and turns the security system back on.

“Now then,” he says easily, setting the kettle to boil again—blueberry mint really was the correct choice to make last night— “what would you like to drink?”

Remus regards his tea boxes like he regards the new bottles of bleach.

“You still don’t keep coffee in your house, do you?” At Janus’s look, he sighs. “Just hot water.”

“Splendid.”

Janus takes his time setting up his teapot. Looseleaf black tea, a new teacup, the honey laid out just so, all while Remus’s tapping gets more and more impatient. But Remus is a good dog, he’ll wait until he’d given leave to speak again.

“I imagine you must have a reason for infringing upon my privacy this morning,” Janus says as he stirs the honey into the tea, “if not just to turn my system back on so that a corpse could not be tampered with.”

“I didn’t know if you were fucking dead, Jan,” Remus snarls, and oh, the poor thing was worried. How touching.

“I’m fine, Remus,” Janus says, softening his voice just the barest amount, “and it certainly speaks to the faith you have in me.”

“Yeah, yeah, faith in your something.”

“Come now, dear, let’s not be crass.”

“You like me crass.”

Janus hides a smile behind the rim of his cup. There’s the Remus that was missing from the report. Though as he looks at the loyal minion sitting across from him, he sees that something is still bothering him.

“Well, if that’s all then?”

Remus takes the bait. “Wasn’t us.”

“Pardon?”

“The beast,” Remus mutters, still glancing around the apartment, “wasn’t us.”

Then he spots the blood.

In Remus’s defense, Janus did open the door right as he arrived and he was definitely given time to look around before Janus swept him into a conversation. Still, the fact that it took Remus this long to spot the blood is…well.

“Shit—“ Remus springs to his feet— “are you hurt? How many?”

“Keep your voice down,” Janus murmurs, “I’m not hurt.”

“Then explain to me why there’s blood everywhere—“

“Keep your voice down.”

“Why the fuck should I keep my voice down? Someone was here, there’s fucking blood—“

Both of them freeze as a rustle of covers comes from the other room. Remus’s eyes widen and his hand goes to the gun at his side. In two quick steps, he’s almost to the bedroom.

Janus catches him by the arm.

“Don’t.”

The steel in his tone finally gets Remus to settle, the man glancing at the door once before allowing himself to be held in place.

“What the hell is going on here,” he hisses, finally keeping his voice down, “what aren’t you telling me?”

“Stay out of that room,” Janus orders, even though it’s a redundancy at this point, “and tell me what else you know.”

Remus opens his mouth to protest but a look quells him. He glances at the door one more time before sighing.

“By the time we got there, everything was over. There were network choppers crawling over every inch of that place, swarming with civvies. We had to fence to get in. Janus, they—“

If Remus has to take a breath, what the hell happened?

“God, Janus, it’s like someone gave a neurotic thirteen-year-old a hallucinogenic and a sledgehammer and told ‘em the building was a giant whack-a-mole.” Remus shakes his head. “Heads bashed in, eyes gouged out, like they—they—“

“Like they did it to each other,” Janus finishes.

Remus nods, his face pale. He looks up at Janus and it’s the second time in the last twelve hours he’s been caught off guard by someone’s expression.

“Jan, it’s bad,” he says quietly, “if they—we’re lucky it only got into that building.”

“And you’re certain it’s contained?”

“Someone tripped the quarantine field. The building locked down. Only way out was the roof.” Remus shakes his head. “The head of the beast was splayed out on the street, spine snapped in half, bloody knife. Like he was pinned up like a butterfly.”

He quirks his brow.

“Gotta admire the craftsmanship.”

Janus nods. Remus notices his silence and steps a little closer.

“So who the fuck is in that room?”

As if on cue, there’s another muffled hiss.

“Don’t,” Janus says when Remus’s hand goes to his gun again, “you’ll scare him.”

Now Remus looks at him like he'd grown another head. “Who the fuck is in that room?”

Janus bites back a curse when there are more noises.

“The person who cut the head off.”

“If you think that’s gonna stop me from getting in there—“

“Remus.”

Remus subsides, looking at him carefully. Janus sighs. Remus knows better than to directly disobey an order, and if Janus pushes, Remus will leave.

And yes, part of the snake wants to wrap around its den and keep its precious charge safe from anything else.

A larger part of Janus knows that keeping this information completely under wraps will become a liability quickly.

“Watch the door,” Janus says, letting Remus go.

Remus hasn’t worked for him for this long without picking up some of his observational skills, so he goes without complaint. Janus opens the door to the bedroom and has to stop the fond smile on his face as he sees the little prince trying to feign sleep. As if it’s going to work.

He crosses the room and leans down.

“You can stop pretending now, little prince.”

Roman’s eyes open and the snake hisses gently, noticing the pressure the little prince’s position is putting on his stitches.

“By all means, ruin the work it took to suture you up,” he remarks dryly, chuckling as Roman quickly—and carefully—rolls onto his back, “better.”

“D-do—I can go now,” Roman mumbles, “if—if you—if you want. I can leave. You don’t have to see me again, I’ll—I’ll go.”

Janus quirks an eyebrow. “And let you leave without breakfast? How rude of me.”

Roman’s eyes widen. “N-no, I didn’t mean—you don’t—I—“

“Hush, little prince,” Janus murmurs, petting Roman’s hair again, “none of that now.”

Roman’s eyes keep darting around the room, from the closed door to Janus’s hands to his face and away again. Janus frowns.

“Oh, little prince, have you always been so afraid of me?”

“Yes.”

The honesty takes Janus by surprise. Roman Prince has never been afraid of him, at least not like this, like some creature constantly bracing for a blow. He’s responded brilliantly to whatever jibes Janus throws at him during one of their altercations, always ready with a quip on his tongue or a pretty blush to a flirtation. He’s not—he’s never been this.

Perhaps the little prince is a better actor than I gave him credit for.

There are not many people in this city capable of doing that.

Then there’s the sudden realization that the reassurances from the night will no longer work. Roman was safe because he was alone with Janus, there was nothing he could do wrong that would hurt him, there was an easy way to escape if need be. But now Remus is here, there’s another variable to worry about.

And Roman is no match for the both of them.

“Let me have a look, little prince,” he says instead, leaning down to gently tug the shirt up and out of the way. Despite the hero’s movement, there’s no blood, no popped stitches. The wound will still be tender for a while yet, but there’s nothing to worry about. Not at the moment. He says as much, ending with a soft: “sit up, let’s get you something to eat.”

Roman glances at the door again.

“Remus won’t hurt you,” Janus reassures, “not while I’m here.”

Roman’s head whips around so quickly he frets that the little prince will snap his own neck.

“R-Remus?”

Janus blinks. “Yes, Remus, he’s who’s here, he works for me.”

“Remus Sanders?”

He quirks a brow. “And here I thought you didn’t bother to learn my staff.”

“N-no, Remus Sanders, he’s—he’s not dead?”

Not dead?

Judging by the sudden silence in the other room, Janus has about three seconds to brace for it before Remus slams the door open.

Remus’s eyes are giant, his face almost drained of color. Three quick steps and he’s got a fist in Roman’s shirt, wrenching him away from Janus and slamming him up against a wall.

“Remus,” Janus barks, “put him down.”

It says something about Remus’s state of mind that he doesn’t even register Janus’s command. Instead, the man has a knife pressed to Roman’s throat, every muscle in his body bunched up like a clenched fist.

Roman hasn’t flinched. He’s just staring at Remus, his hands sliding and scrabbling uselessly at Remus’s shoulders.

“Y-you’re alive,” he keeps mumbling, “you’re not dead, you’re alive, you’re safe, you’re—you’re—“

Remus abruptly lets Roman go, shoves him further against the wall and yanks the shirt out of the way to see the stitches. The knife goes back in its holster as Roman keeps babbling about how Remus is alive.

“Was it him,” Remus asks in a soft, dangerous voice, cutting through Roman’s babble, “did that bastard stab you?”

Roman jerks his head up and down.

“…well, at least you finally learned how to stand up to your bullies.”

Ah.

Janus must be getting rusty.

“As much as I hate to interrupt the family reunion,” he says, startling the brothers, “I believe there is still business to attend to.”

Remus has the decency to look a little ashamed at directly disobeying several orders now, but the little prince is still staring at Remus like his life depends on it. Janus shakes his head, crossing the room to gently take his chin again.

“You need to eat, little prince,” he murmurs, “come now.”

He doesn’t have to ask Remus to help the little prince to the kitchen. By the time he’s followed them out—and made sure his tea isn’t ruined—Remus has Roman sitting on one of the bar stools, stood next to him, every bit the guard dog as Roman clutches Remus’s tactical vest. As Janus starts to get something together for Roman to eat, Remus doesn’t move once. Instead, he lets Roman cling onto him, mumble to himself, and absentmindedly rub his cheek against Remus’s chest.

Janus sets a plate of food in front of Roman and picks up his tea again, taking a sip and staring at them over the rim of the cup.

This could be a problem.

Remus’s loyalty is not easily won, nor is it easily lost. The man’s been dragged behind a truck by his fingernails and not squealed once. And yet as Remus lifts his head—finally—and looks at Janus, it’s the first time he’s seen that loyalty waver.

Janus stares back. Remus knows better than to try and cross him. Remus himself has been the blunt instrument that disposes of those who did. Remus knows the extent of Janus’s influence better than anyone else, aside from Janus himself.

And still, that loyalty wavers.

The little prince, oblivious to the staring match happening over his head, mumbles a small thanks as he starts to eat. His hands are still shaking. Remus steps closer, pressing Roman further into the counter and the little prince lets him. The message is clear.

This is the one thing of Remus’s that he won’t let Janus take.

Which would be a problem—or wouldn’t be, depending on how quickly Remus cooperates—if Janus weren’t currently dividing his attention between Remus and how his hands are itching to wipe the last speck of blood from the little prince’s hairline.

It takes barely a glance for Remus to understand that Janus would never.

“Little prince,” Janus murmurs, coming around to the other side of the counter once Roman finishes, “I need to have a talk with Remus, do you think you can sleep a little more?”

“I can try.”

“Let’s have you try.” Janus glances at Remus.

“C’mon, Ro-Bro,” Remus says quietly, one arm around Roman’s waist, “back to bed.”

“Re?”

“I gotcha, Roro, I’m right here.”

How adorable.

Remus closes the bedroom door and there’s a long pause.

“Fuck.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Janus takes another sip of his tea. “Does anyone else know what happened?”

“The networks have a hold of the main story, they won’t know what happened inside until the lockdown expires, but Jan—if he was there—“

“The choppers saw him.”

“Shit.”

“They saw him drop the beast’s head but him fleeing the scene won’t look good.”

“I’ve got the team scrambling the data, the location of the beast’s head won’t reach the airwaves.”

“Good.”

Another pause.

“…why’d he come here?”

Janus settles the cup back in its saucer. “…he said I was the only one he could trust.”

Remus snarls. “As if we needed more proof that they treat their people like shit.”

“Believe me, I’ve got quite the list of people I’d like to question.”

Remus bares his teeth. “Don’t do it without me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, dear.” He watches Remus stare at the door. “So…you have a brother?”

“Don’t act like you didn’t know that from the extensive background check you did.”

Janus accepts it, setting the teacup aside. “The famous Roman Prince…oh, how the mighty have fallen.”

Remus’s head flicks sharply around to stare at him. But Janus says it with none of his usual flare, dragging his gloved fingertips along the counter.

“Has he always been so…” He fumbles for the right word.

There isn’t one.

Thankfully, Remus understands what he’s trying to get at.

“It’s hard not to,” he mumbles, “even when I hated him—and I hated him, he was always…”

Remus trails off into silence too.

“There was never a moment where I didn’t know that he was still my fucking brother.”

This is dangerous.

The closest thing Janus has to a weakness, up until this point, has been Remus. And Remus is a loyal man, but even he knows Janus will watch him die and feel only the slightest bit of remorse that a useful tool will no longer be in use.

But not anymore.

“I think he wanted me to kill him,” Janus murmurs, noting the way that Remus jerks in surprise.

“Do you think that’s why he came?”

“He told me that I was right,” he says, “that I was—that he remembered I’d told him if he ever realized he couldn’t do it anymore, if he ever needed help, that he should know better than to go back to the people that pretend to care about him.”

“You basically told him you’d be his suicide gun?”

“I didn’t mean it like that, Remus,” Janus says lowly, looking up.

Remus regards him. “Would you have?”

“Killed him?”

“Yes.”

Could he have killed Roman Prince? Yes, easily.

Can he kill the little prince in the bedroom?

“My God,” Remus breathes, “you can’t do it, can you?”

Janus shakes his head. Like it or not, the snake can’t kill the little prince.

“So what now?”

Janus stands up straight. “The city isn’t just going to let Roman Prince disappear, not like that. They’re going to look for him. He’s going to have to make another public appearance.”

“And we have to clean up the rest of the mess.”

“That we’re used to,” Janus sighs, “that I’m not worried about.”

“You’re worried about Roman’s people trying to look for him.” Janus nods. “We’ve got feelers out, we can keep tabs on that.”

“Good.”

Remus spares another glance at the door. “Are you gonna keep him here until then?”

“Yes.”

He lets out a low whistle.

“Go. Get to work.”

“Aye aye, boss.” Remus fixes him with one last look before he disappears out the door.

Janus walks to the bedroom. This time the fond smile crawls across his face unhindered.

“You don’t have to pretend, little prince,” he says as he crosses the room, “if you can’t sleep, you can’t sleep.”

Roman blinks up at him as Janus sits on the edge of the bed. “Sorry.”

“No need for apologies.” He tilts his head to the side. “I never offered you painkillers, are you alright?”

Roman nods.

“Roman,” he asks softly, “why did you come here?”

There’s a pause.

“You said that you remembered me telling you that you could,” he continues, “and that you…trusted me, and yet you seemed surprised that I was—I am willing to help.”

“Still am.”

Remus’s words play in his head again. “You said you remembered what I said—and you be honest with me now,” he says, giving Roman a look, “did you want me to kill you?”

Roman swallows. “I don’t know what I want anymore.”

And oh, Janus has waited so long to hear those words from that pretty mouth but not like this.

He pulls a tissue from the side table and tilts Roman’s head just so to get that last speck of blood, pausing at the way Roman shudders under his touch.

“When was the last time someone touched you,” he asks gently, “before this?”

Roman just shakes his head.

“What is the point,” the snake hisses, “of people pretending to care about you when they don’t give you what you obviously need?”

“You were,” the little prince mumbles, still a beat behind, “I think you were the last person to…to touch me.”

“Before…?”

“Yeah. When we…when you…”

When he had the little prince tied up in the factory downtown, another attempt to persuade him to back off. When he cupped the little prince’s chin in his hand and chuckled as a pretty blush spread across those cheeks. When he let gloved fingers run through his hair and smirked at how easily the little prince lost track of the conversation.

Now, though, Janus cradles the little prince’s face in his hands and lowers himself onto the bed.

“You can have it,” he whispers, running his fingers through the little prince’s hair, “if touch is what you need, you can have it.”

Roman’s eyes flutter, lost on the sensation of Janus’s touch, all but floating on the bed. He starts to curl unconsciously towards him, pliant and still. Janus lets him, moving to wrap his arms around the little prince as he tucks himself under Janus’s chin.

“Why didn’t you tell me,” he asks gently, “that you were hurting so badly?”

He feels the roll of Roman’s throat. “Didn’t want you to think I was any weaker.”

Janus bites back a curse. “Well, I’m afraid you’re about to witness firsthand how weak I am.”

Before Roman can ask what he means, Janus cups the back of his neck and gently, gently kisses his forehead.

“If no one else will do what needs to be done,” he murmurs into Roman’s hair, “then I will.”

If no one else will take care of the little prince that sacrifices so much to protect this city, then the snake is happy to oblige.

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#dragonbabbles #sanders sides #roman sanders #roman angst #janus sanders #deceit sanders #sympathetic deceit #remus sanders #sympathetic remus #agoraphobia #tw agoraphobia #fic

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buckttommy · 3 years

Note

If you could write one S5 scene for 9-1-1, with a song playing in the background, what would happen in the scene and what song would be playing? (also, hello!)

hiya!

in the spirit of us allegedly getting the scene of eddie crying tonight, i do actually have this scene in my head (that includes a lot more swearing) where eddie is standing in the locker room, changing out of his clothes for the day.

his movements are short, jerky, fingers fumbling over the buttons on his shirt. he's angry, but when isn't he these days? it seems like it takes nothing for latent fury to rise up in his bones. most of the time, it never goes anywhere, always rising just to fall again, but this time, eddie's anger has a source.

a tall, stubborn, annoyingly attentive source.

buck stands at the door of the locker room with his arms crossed over his chest. eddie doesn't even have to turn around to know he's there. of course he's there; eddie's so attuned to buck's body he thinks -- knows -- he could pinpoint his location just from the way his hair stands on the back of his neck, the way buck's gaze on him feels like a warm hand stroking down his spine.

it's comforting, most times. especially when they're out in the field. tonight, it just makes him feel exposed.

the locker room empties out one by one until it's just him and buck, and the silence that descends upon them is thick and charged. eddie remains turned toward the lockers.

"what do you want, buck?"

"i want you to talk to me."

talk to him, he says. eddie almost laughs. like it's that easy.

"there's nothing to say."

"bullshit," buck hisses. "you had a panic attack at work. when the helicopter--

"i know what happened," eddie says quickly. too quickly perhaps, if the annoyed little huff buck gives behind him is any indication. seeing that chopper go down brought up enough bad memories to last a lifetime.

"you know what happened," buck says, voice flat. then, "jesus christ," he mutters.

eddie hopes, perhaps foolishly, that that's the end of it. that buck will be so angry, so disgusted with him that he'll just walk away and let the conversation drop until the next time it inevitably comes up again, but eddie should know better, really, because buck's never been a quitter even when he should be.

buck steps fully into the room, and it's like every molecule of energy between them comes alive. eddie almost imagines he can feel his warmth.

buck stands in his peripheral vision. "you don't get it, do you? do you know what this is like for me? do you get that? seeing you walking around every. fucking. day like nothing's wrong, when i know you're dying inside?"

"i'm fine, buck."

"you're not fine!"

eddie freezes. it's the first time he's ever heard buck raise his voice like that. they've argued, brutally, but he's never heard that note to buck's voice--shaky and desperate and infuriated and... scared, yeah. there's a whole lot of fear there too. he doesn't know what to do with it.

"you're not fine," buck continues. "or did you think i wouldn't know that you haven't slept in two days. yeah," buck says when he catches the startled look on eddie's face, "you can thank christopher for that little tidbit since he called me yesterday past midnight wondering if a person could die from not getting enough sleep. that was a fun conversation to have."

eddie sharply turns to face buck. fuck. he'd thought--he'd thought he'd been keeping it together, thought that he'd been keeping himself in check so that at least chris didn't have to see. especially not after the suit shopping thing.

he swallows hard. "what did you tell him?"

"i told him that he had nothing to worry about. that i'd be over this weekend to make sure you were getting your rest."

it's a non-answer but it must have been enough to assuage chris's worries.

eddie clears his throat. "i--thank you. i didn't--know he'd been... worried."

"he's not a little kid anymore. he sees more than you think he does."

"yeah."

"and if he knows you're not okay, why don't you?"

it's the wrong thing to say.

eddie can't say why it's that little sentence that does it. even later, when he thinks about it, he can't say for sure--whether it was the inflection in buck's voice, or the fear behind his eyes, or the disappointment eddie was sure he must have felt, or maybe just a miserable combination of all three. but one minute eddie's standing in front of his locker -- their locker -- waiting for buck to say his piece so the conversation can end, and the next...

the next he breaks.

eddie slams the locker door shut. "is that what you think this is? you think i don't know that i'm not okay?" he can hear the note to his own voice -- flat and cold and numb all at the same time. "you think i don't know i haven't been okay since well before the shooting, or the tsunami, or hell, shannon? jesus christ, buck, it's all i know. i wake up every morning surprised that i even woke up at all. it's like i can't even breathe without thinking something's going to kill me, whether it's this... this fear i can't shake, or the job, or something else. every morning i wake up and i'm surprised that i get to see my son one more time. my son, who i can barely let my son out of my sight, by the way, because every time he leaves the house, i don't know if it's the last time i'll ever see him. and then once i get started on that train of thought, it's like i can't stop. what's the last thing i said to him? if something happens, does he know i love him? and sometimes i'm right, and i do good, and the last thing i said is 'i love you' but then other times it's 'don't forget to tell your teacher you have a dentist appointment friday' and i feel sick because the last thing my kid will ever hear from me is nothing that tells him how much i adore him, and how proud i am of him, and how he's saved me in more ways than he knows by just existing."

eddie's eyes burn hot with tears. it's like his brain has detached from his mouth, but the words keep coming and he's powerless to stop them.

[this song starts playing]

"but i'm fine, right?" he continues. "it's fine. i'm not going to be that dad who keeps my kid caged in a house because i can't control my fears, so i let him go to school, and hang out with his friends, and maybe if i'm lucky, both of us are going to survive the fucking day. and then i get to work, and it's like it all starts over again. hen's late, and the first thing i think is that she's dead in an accident. chim comes in looking exhausted and upset, and i think, oh god something's wrong with maddie and the baby. and you--" eddie lets out a dark laugh. "goddamn you. i let you out of my sight and it's like my heart fucking stops until i see you again. i let you out of my sight, and i think the next time i see your face, it'll be covered in blood, or the next thing i hear will be you scream in pain, and it scares me because i don't know who i am or who i'm going to be if i lose you. and it never stops. it never fucking stops. all the voices, and the pain, and the fear, it's all there, and it's choking me. so no, buck, i'm not okay. i'm not fucking okay, and i need help."

his voice cracks on the last word, every bitter fear and anxiety now spilled into the open, and there's a moment, just a moment, where all buck can do is stare.

he feels torn open from skull to sternum, eddie's pain is so sharp visceral he swears he feels it mirrored in his own body. swears that if he looks down, he'll see nothing but a mess of blood spilling from all the open wounds in his flesh, and it feels like death.

so there's a moment, where buck stands and he bleeds and he dies.

but then. then, he grabs eddie into his arms. it's almost violent, the way he grips him -- too rough and too tight and too fierce, but eddie grips him back just as tight, face buried in his neck.

"it's okay," buck chokes, "it's okay, it's okay, we'll get you some help, it's okay, we're okay, you're not alone, it's okay" and he presses his lips to the top of eddie's head, to the side of his face, anywhere he can reach, just so he can touch and soothe as much of him as he possibly can. and they just stand there holding each other, shaking apart in each other's arms until the scene fades to black.

#this got longer than i meant for it to!#oh well #jack answers mail #i know you sent this yesterday but i didn't have time to write all this yesterday lol #my fic

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rueririn · 2 years

Note

So I was reading some of the fics that you recommended in that one ask, and I gotta say that you have excellent taste *nod nod*

Klabautermann Franky is my new headcanon and I cried at that one Sanji angst fic. Also, I just finished reading A Coward's Redemption and I blame you for the fact that I can never read anything about Usopp without thinking he's blind ever again jdhshsjw

Anyway- if you wouldn't mind me asking for more fic recommendations? No pressure of course jxbdjs just a thought ><

Link to the other part of this rec list.

asjldkaj thank you that makes me feel very flattered xD ❤❤❤ I'm glad you enjoyed them! The One Piece community is so well fed with so many amazing writers. We're blessed to be among them today.

Hmm, I haven't been reading much recently, but here we go!

Long/incomplete fics:

The Cowardly Trio by MissHowdoyoudo. I adore this. Nami, Usopp and Chopper travel back in time. Stuff goes haywire, including somehow Usopp's a girl now.

Diabolus Ex Machina by TheSkyIsMyHome has been an amazing read thus far. Everyone that died came back to life-- set during the Impel Down arc. Chaos ensues, of course.

(I'm Gonna) Light Up The World by UKiDrakii, the Strawhats pick up X Drake on Little Garden and he joins! I love this a lot.

Now some blessed little reads (completed/oneshots):

It's for You! by probably_notcrying, or you know what, the whole Luffy makes Friendship Bracelets series. It is so wholesome.

What's Your Favourite Food? by WinglessCrows. Just a short, introspective piece about each Strawhat and their favourite foods, in the perspective of Sanji.

I'm a dad! by Lucynda_Raciak always, always, always brings me immense joy when I read it. When Dragon was born, Garp decided that the whole world needed to know how cute he was.

make a choice (turncoat hero) by Whirlybird70. Garp makes the choice that changes everything, and raises Ace like a proper grandfather.

Mutiny by VIKAN. This story is kind of an old find, but damn is it amazing. Zoro and Luffy argue.

By the same author, Ode to Pain Thresholds. Zoro gets badly injured, but he's an idiot, so, yeah. Genuinely so beautifully written I always come back to it.

a sailor by any other name by SkyGem. Shoutout to SkyGem, all their fics are amazing. This is a story where Luffy and Ace grew up to be marines-- but well, piracy was always where they were meant to be.

Super Drake by anubislover is one of my staple 'I need something to cheer me up' reads. Ready your insulin, because here we have our precious Chopper who mistakenly believes Drake's a superhero.

To You, Formerly Me by Trixree. Sanji meets little Sanji, and well-- there are some tough conversations to be had. The Boy in the Iron Mask by DigitalGuardian has a similar idea, but differing execution. If you would like to read about the Strawhats interacting with little Sanji and giving him all the love he deserves, these are both definitely worth a read.

Alright, long enough! Hope you find something to love in these. Give all these authors a cheer! If anyone's got something to recommend as well, or even a self-boost, go right ahead and reblog/comment!

#personal #one piece #rec list #one piece fanfiction

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 3 years

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Psycho Analysis: Suicide Squad Team A

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS! Seriously, as soon as you click that read more, you’re gonna be smacked with SPOILERS! Don’t say I didn’t give you ample warning this time!)

The world’s in danger yet again, and Amanda Waller is in need of some expendable forces to take on some dirty jobs in the name of preserving peace. Last time she did this, it seems like she hired the wrong people. Nice guy Will Smith Deadshot? Bland, boring Killer Croc? El Diablo, who became attached to a bunch of reprobates after spending a couple hours with them? The only one who was useful in that squad was Katana. She had their backs, could cut all of them in half with one sword stroke just like mowing the lawn, and her sword traps the souls of its victims. Unfortunately, she was decidedly not expendable, so what is a girlboss like Waller to do?

Easy: Assemble a brand new squad of criminals to do the dirty work. Harley and Boomerang are the only ones she brought back, because let’s be real, they’re the only ones we give a damn about. Filling out the rest of the squad are the stoic, craggy crackshot Savant; the handsome, German spear-thrower Javelin; the alien warrior Mongal; the frothing, psychotic animal Weasel; the confident and all-powerful TDK; and Blackguard, who is literally just a guy. Together, this team gets deployed to Corto Maltese to do what no one else can do, and with skills like theirs, they are absolutely unstoppable!

They all fucking die before the opening credits.

Motivation/Goals: Considering the goal of the squad is to shave time off their prison sentences by going on the mission, it’s ostensibly the reason every single one of these goons accepted the job. Savant and Weasel are pretty well established in this regard; we get to focus on Savant for much of the opening, so we can get a sense of him, and Weasel is stated to have murdered no less than 27 children. So, yeah, they need to do this mission.

The rest, though? Who knows! Why are Mongal, Javelin, and TDK in prison? How did they even get an alien like Mongal? What did they do to land in the position they’d need to go on a suicide mission? Why doesn’t this movie have flashy, intrusive cards explaining everything to us in a throwaway gag in a montage?!

Blackguard, at least, has some other motivation. He sold out the entire squad to the military of Corto Maltese, which is why they’re ambushed. Now, there’s actually some ambiguity here: Did he do this of his own volition, and was this a complete surprise, or is it, as it is heavily implied, all part of Waller’s plan and she let this happen as a diversion for the other team to get in unnoticed?

Honestly, though, it doesn’t matter what their goals are. They’re all dead within five minutes of the movie starting, with one exception.

Performance: So, the reason these guys are even worth talking about is because, despite their minuscule screentime, all of their actors manage to cram in enough humor and characterization that they’re all pretty fun and likable. Michael Rooker is as stony and stoic as ever as Savant (until he hilariously isn’t), Flula Borg’s Javelin is really sweet and charming in his interactions with Harley, and Pete Davidson’s Blackguard is just amazingly douchey and pathetic. Special mention goes to Nathan Fillion’s TDK, who has an utterly endearing and unwavering faith in his astoundingly crappy ability to… detach his arms. It’s honestly kind of beautiful. Then there’s Weasel as portrayed by Sean Gunn, who is just a hilarious crackhead of an animal man.

Final Fate: Literally every single one of them die horribly thanks to Blackguard’s betrayal. He’s the first to go, because as soon as he walks out saying “Hey guys, it’s me, the one who contacted you!” he literally has his face blasted clean off. The rest go soon after. Mongal, in one of the most astounding moments of idiocy I’ve ever seen, leaps on a helicopter despite Rick Flag telling her specifically not to. Her weight and strength send it careening out of control, which leads to it shredding Captain Boomerang to bits before exploding, burning her alive as she painfully screams and writhes in agony. TDK gets his arms shot into Swiss cheese, leading to him bleeding out since even detached they still are part of him. Javelin is also shot, but gets a dying moment with Harley where he passes her Checkov’s Javelin. Finally, after witnessing all of this carnage, Savant completely loses his shit and tries to swim away, leading to Waller blowing his head up.

You may be wondering what happened to Weasel. He appears to drown as soon as the Squad deploys, because despite being actually smart in this movie, Waller forgot to make sure everyone on the Squad could swim. Thankfully, this lovable child-murdering crackhead rodent was just sleeping, and wakes up in the first credit scene.

Best Scene: Obviously, it’s their one and only scene. It’s a magnificent slaughter that puts the X-Force scene from Deadpool 2 to shame.

Final Thoughts & Score: I’ve gotta hand it to James Gunn. Even though these losers are only onscreen for a few minutes, they all get to cram a lot of charm and personality into that time, to the point it’s actually kind of sad seeing them all die. It’s a beautiful mix of comedy and tragedy. Since their screentime is so limited, though, I’m mostly going to be grading them on style, performance, and so on rather than on villainy like normal. They are all bad guys, as they don’t really get a chance to redeem themselves like the other Squad, so I’m still counting them as villains, which means they could potentially score above an 8 (which is the highest score I’m willing to give heel-face turn villains, because they end up being better as characters in general than as villains).

I’m also not going to talk about Boomerang (I’ll talk about him when I review the original Squad) or Harley (because she not only lives, but deserves her own solo Psycho Analysis). Now here we go, from best to worst:

TDK

If you thought anyone but TDK would get top marks, you’re sadly mistaken. Seeing Nathan Fillion proudly wield the insanely lame power to detach his arms to lightly tap soldiers on the head and gently grab their guns is a sight I never knew I needed to see until this movie. The fact he just seems so darn proud about this power that he doesn’t even bother to use in any way that would be remotely useful is honestly really endearing. Frankly, the sheer fact they adapted Arms-Fall-Off Boy in any way is enough for me to give him a 10/10.

Weasel

Weasel is just disgustingly delightful. He’s just a horrible, nasty, ugly little bastard… But he’s kind of adorable? He clearly has no idea where he is at any given time and is just so goddamn freaky that I can’t help but love him. The fact that, despite being a character who in the comics is noteworthy only for dying on his first mission with the Squad, he manages to survive the entire movie is pretty impressive. Hopefully he comes back in the future, but either way he gets an 8/10 from me.

Javelin

Honestly, aside from Boomerang, his death stung the most. He’s just so cute and charming, and he doesn’t even get to fling his javelin at anyone! Thankfully, he passes it on to Harley, and boy does she ever get to use it! He’s so cute, I have to give him an 8/10. I just wish we got more of him.

Savant

Savant is just an absolutely hilarious bait-and-switch. We follow him through the prologue, with everything seeming to point to him as our main character and the Squad leader. He’s stoic, he’s cranky, and he has impeccable aim… and then we get to the beach and he just freaks the hell out and starts screaming and crying and running away like a little bitch. Seeing Michael Rooker act like he’s shitting his pants after playing a badass like Yondu is just the sort of hilarious subversiveness that James Gunn loves to do when you let him loose. The fact that he looks like, to paraphrase the TVTropes YMMV page for the movie, a “cyberpunk Tommy Wiseau” is the icing on this 7/10 cake.

Blackguard

I was prepared to hate this guy just based on how lame Pete Davidson’s costume was, and you know what? I do hate him. But I love to hate him. He’s just an utterly pathetic scoundrel and a coward, true to his name. The fact he is the first to die, as just about everyone predicted, and is killed absolutely gruesomely makes any annoyance he could provide moot, and his freeakout over being seated next to Weasel on the plane is actually kind of funny. I was originally going to give him a 6, but you know what? He can have a low 7/10. He’s like the only member of this particular Squad to actually do anything evil, so I gotta give him props for that.

Mongal

Let me make this perfectly clear: I do not blame James Gunn or actress Mayling Ng. I’m not actually mad at either of them for what they chose to do, because it is ultimately hilarious and sad. It suited the narrative of the film, and I’m not actually, genuinely mad.

With all that out of the way, Mongal is one hell of a stupid cunt. It is one thing to cause your own death with your stupidity, it is something else entirely to cause the death of a beloved character with your poorly planned attack. The fact she didn��t take into account how her weight and strength would effect an airborne helicopter makes one wonder if she is really supposed to be based on a character who can take on Superman and live to tell about it.

Let’s compare her to two similar characters to really show how bad she is. Like Blackguard, she is directly responsible for a death on the beach, Blackguard being responsible for everyone by selling them out and leading them into an ambush (and yes, I’m including him as well), and Mongal killing Boomerang with the chopper. The difference is, Blackguard’s betrayal was deliberate, he meant to sell the team out, he was actively doing something evil there, while Mongal killed Boomerang out of sheer idiocy.

Now, let’s compare her to Zeitgeist from the similar bloody massacre that occurred during X-Force’s deployment in Deadpool 2. Like Mongal, he accidentally kills a teammate. The difference is, in the case of Zeitgeist, he only accidentally melted Peter, it was a freak accident, and ultimately it does get undone by the end. Meanwhile, Mongal made a conscious, stupid decision and ended up killing her squadmate with her own idiocy. She sucks, hardcore. I don’t do this lightly, but I’m giving her a 1/10. Villains just don’t get much stupider than her.

I will giver her this, though: the makeup work on her is good. She’s lowkey kinda hot if I’m being honest. But being hot and having good makeup does not a good villain make.

#Psycho Analysis #The Suicide Squad #Savant #Michael Rooker #Javelin #Flula Borg #TDK #Nathan Fillion #Weasel #Sean Gunn #Mongal #Mayling Ng #Blackguard #Pete Davidson

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