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penkura · 7 days

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last forever [6/13]

Summary: Zoro only offered to marry you to keep you out of an arranged marriage with a man much older than you. You agreed with the caveat of ending it via annulment once you received word from your parents regarding the original engagement, despite your growing feelings for your close friend.

Pairing: Zoro x Fem!reader, mentioned Sanami later (like epilogue later so chill)

Warnings: Marriage of Convenience, Fake Marriage, referenced sex (waaaaaay later on), mutual pining, Zoro is bad at feelings but what's new there, eventual romance I promise, mention of past attempted assault (I'll warn in that chapter), creepy older dude later on

Note: This got away from me, it's over 6k words, I'm so sorry. But, here's Robin and a bit of development between our lovely couple, I suppose. I do love Zoro, I promise.

[Ch. 1] ● [Ch. 2] ● [Ch. 3] ● [Ch. 4] ● [Ch. 5]

“Looks like we've shaken them.”

A round of whines from your crewmates is heard, making you smile slightly.

“You guys should be happy.”

Another whine, this time making you giggle while Zoro stares at everyone else.

“Stop that. What's wrong with you all?”

“I miss her!!”

Leaving Alabasta the way you did, barely able to say goodbye to Vivi and Karoo, with her decision to stay in the kingdom rather than join you all at sea, it was rough. You missed her greatly too, but understood her choice and accepted it. You still had Nami, at the very least it wasn't just you and a bunch of boys.

“If you wanted her to stay, you should've taken her by force!”

Hearing the insults everyone throws towards Zoro makes you laugh, even as he looks up at you on the upper deck in annoyance. You wave with a smile still on your face before he looks away. Strangely, things haven't changed much between you since he told you nothing romantic would be happening. Sometimes you feel an ache in your chest when you look at him, thinking about it, but you've come to accept Zoro probably would never take back what he said or try to court you. Once you had some kind of response from your parents, you two would sign your annulment papers and move on, living as crewmates instead of faking being husband and wife for your safety.

“I do agree with Zoro, you guys,” your smile softens as everyone looks up at you in surprise, “I love Vivi too, but if we wanted her to come along, we should've just kidnapped her.”

“[Y/N]!”

“Of course, that would've made us worse criminals,” jumping down from the upper deck, you stand beside Zoro with your arms crossed, “so it's better we let Vivi stay like she decided to. We'll see her again.”

While the rest of the crew agrees with you, Zoro is surprised you're being so agreeable with him after your discussion the other night.

Well ‘discussion’ is putting it lightly and in more positive terms. Sanji confronted him the next morning and mentioned how you'd ended up in tears over what Zoro said to you, making your temporary husband feel bad for a bit. He hadn't meant to make you cry, he was just telling you the truth. Romance was the farthest thing from his mind, it shouldn't even be in yours right now. There are too many other things to worry about, your goals and helping Luffy become King of the Pirates were the main ones. Helping everyone else with theirs was secondary, romance or anything like that was so far out of his mind, he never thought of it being a thing he'd have to worry about.

When he looks at you, all you do is smile, before Zoro shakes his head to move on and get those thoughts that you're still upset out of his head. You probably are, but it's not something to worry about right now.

“Looks like we finally escaped the firing squad.”

“Yeah, finally.”

“Excellent work, swordsman.”

The newest voice makes you all freeze in shock before everyone starts to freak out. Your hand is on your sword but Zoro is in front of you before anything happens, the rest of your crew moving into position against the dark haired woman on board. You barely recognize her as Crocodile's partner Ms. All Sunday, and you're curious about her reasons for being on your ship.

While Sanji swoons over her, Nami and Chopper start to hide behind you behind Zoro, Usopp is shouting warnings, and Luffy is shouting questions, Nico Robin does little more than smile, before saying she wants to join the crew, giving her reason being that Luffy saved her life back in Alabasta.

“I was determined to die, and you saved my life. That's your crime. So I decided I would join you.”

“Well,” Luffy nods and crosses his arms, “Guess it can't be helped. Welcome aboard!”

“Luffy!!”

The next little while is spent with everyone quickly changing their minds about Robin, for the most part. Usopp interrogates her but still believes her to be dangerous, until she pulls a trick with her Devil Fruit powers making him, Luffy, and Chopper burst out laughing. Sanji is smitten simply due to her being a woman, and Robin handing over a bag of jewels to Nami has them in each other's good graces.

Zoro intends to hold out, he's not going to trust her so easily when she was out to get you all until just a few minutes ago. He halfway expects you to do the same, though he doesn't expect the next exchange between you and Luffy a few moments later, once everyone has settled and you're able to pull your captain aside.

“Luffy,” you stay quiet, only he and Zoro can really hear you while Sanji continues to fawn over Robin as Usopp and Chopper ask her to show more of her powers, “Do you really trust her? I mean…she did work with Crocodile.”

Luffy gives you a bright grin and nod, which you return slightly. “Yeah, it's fine! She's not a bad person! You can tell too, can't you?”

“Mm.” You nod, deciding to trust in Luffy and his decision. You climb up on the railing beside him, taking the extra fishing rod to help him get something for dinner. “I'll trust you then, Luffy.”

“Great! Now let's get something good for Sanji to cook for dinner!”

“Haha, right.”

No, you don't miss how Zoro doesn't say anything, instead turning away from you and Luffy, avoiding Robin as she attempts to speak to him before looking at Luffy and asking if he'd gotten any bites yet. She was trying to fit in with you all, Luffy trusted her and she seemed to trust him. You're willing to give her a chance, even if Zoro isn't.

You're sure there's going to be a discussion about this later, and you definitely aren't looking forward to it.

+!+

“You can't be serious that you trust her.”

“Zoro,” you sigh and shake your head, rubbing your forehead a bit. Your head is starting to ache at the thought of a possible argument, “I didn't say I trust her.”

“Oh, and what's your reasoning for not being skeptical? She was our enemy not even three days ago!”

“I get that…but it sounds like she trusts Luffy.”

Zoro sighs heavily and shakes his head at you this time. He's not sure what to do with you, he doesn't want to fight with you about this, but it seems to be the way it's going to go.

He just doesn't trust Robin and doesn't get why you, who seemed to have worse trust issues than he did, ever would.

“And when she betrays us?”

“She won't, Zoro.”

“You don't know that! She could be using Luffy saving her as an excuse to get information and take it to the government or another pirate crew!”

“Oh good lord,” You're nearly glaring at Zoro while he almost snarls at you over the situation, “you are the most untrusting, stubborn man I've ever met! I don't trust her yet, who I trust is Luffy!”

“Luffy doesn't know what he's doing with her! She said something she knew he'd like to hear, she's not safe!”

“Luffy is our captain!” You didn't know your voice could get this loud, nor did you think Zoro's ever would. The rest of the crew must be getting one hell of a show if they could hear you from the storeroom right now. Though, if they could, you're certain Sanji would have run in to defend you and Robin by now.

“What does that have to do with this?!”

“He makes the decisions! If he thinks Robin is safe, I'll trust Luffy!”

“You're being as much of an idiot as our captain is!”

No, he doesn't really mean it, but Zoro wants to get his point across. You should be cautious, wary of this new person who, yes, was your enemy just a few days ago. You get that, you really do, but if Luffy thinks she's a good person, then…

“Yeah, sure! I'm an idiot because I trust our captain's choice!”

“Yes you are!”

“And you're a stubborn, untrusting dumbass!”

Well you've never called him such a name before, and that's more surprising to Zoro than anything that's happened today. You've both said too many things, probably things you don't mean, but it's enough now that he's done with it all. Done with yelling or trying to talk to you about it. He knows you won't listen, you'll both just end up trading insults and he doesn't want that anymore than you do.

So instead, Zoro pushes past you to leave, stopping briefly for one more thing.

“I want those papers later. We don't need to wait on your parents anymore.”

Zoro doesn't let you respond before he's heading back up the stairs, Luffy calling him for something that he's more than willing to do if it means being away from you for now.

You, however, do feel bad for the names you called him, and wish you had stopped him quickly enough to apologize. Had you been able to properly get your words out, maybe Zoro would have listened instead of fighting with you about Robin's recruitment. Instead you both let your emotions take over, said things you didn't mean, and now he was wanting the annulment papers.

Way to go, [Y/N]. You're getting an annulment and probably losing your closest friend.

+!+

Robin finds you with the logbook a couple days later, while everyone else is off the ship checking out the latest island you've docked at. She's not that surprised that you're the one who's keeping track of your adventure, you just seemed like the right person to write out everything that happened. If it wasn't you, she would've expected Nami to be keeping track.

“Anything interesting to record, Miss Logkeep?”

Humming a bit, you nod and finish the sentence you were writing, leaning back as Robin sits across from you. You're still recording all the events of Alabasta, trying to find the words to put everyone's perspective into the log appropriately. Making sure you had all the information meant having to speak with everyone, and with you and Zoro at odds for the moment, it felt like somethings were missing, and you likely weren't going to get anything from him until you two made up somehow.

You haven't taken your annulment papers to him, he hasn't asked again since your argument. Honestly you hope he's forgotten and will let things be until you hear from your parents or he changes his mind entirely. Maybe it's useless to hope for that, but until he asked for them again, you're going to hold onto that hope.

“Yeah, trying to finish Alabasta but…”

“Need someone else's side?”

“Mm…” You nod again, and Robin gives you a smile.

She had heard the argument you and Zoro had, so she knew very well that you two weren't really speaking. Even though it was due to her presence, she didn't say anything to let on that she knew, instead deciding to keep that to herself to see where things went with the two of you. It sounded like you were extremely close, and she'd like to see what your relationship with Zoro really was like.

“Forgive me if I'm prying, but are you and the swordsman close?”

You bite your lip a bit, wondering if you really should trust her with such information. It's not like you have to reveal your temporary marriage to Robin, Zoro would likely demand the papers again and actually sign them this time if you did so. After a moment of back and forth with yourself, you sigh and nod, closing the log with your bookmark in place.

“Yeah, we traveled together before we met Luffy. About eighteen months, I think.”

While you start to relay your story of how you met Zoro, met Luffy, and came to suddenly be a pirate, Robin just smiles and listens to you. Though you and Zoro aren't speaking much right now, you seem happy to be talking about him, like there's something there that even Robin is missing. She's not sure yet, if you have feelings for him, but the smile on your face and the slight blush you seem to have tells her she's on the right track.

“He's saved me from drowning, you know.”

“Has he now?”

You nod again, still smiling. “Not since before we joined Luffy, but a few times. My parents didn't teach me how to swim, Zoro's tried a few times,” you laugh and look at Robin, “I'm not very good!”

Robin laughs with you and gives you a smile. “Sounds like you really like him.”

She has you figured out, Robin thinks, while you blush a little and smile slightly before nodding. You simply have a crush on Zoro, and it seems he doesn't reciprocate it right now. That might change, because she has seen how protective of you Zoro is, having witnessed it first hand when she showed herself on Merry and he was in front of you almost instantly. Although she doesn't yet know all the details of your relationship, she's keen to see what happens.

When Sanji calls you all for dinner, Robin watches you and Zoro. You may not be talking to each other, but you still stay close, seated by each other without much thought, though you don't say anything to Zoro nor does he to you.

Robin knows you two will make up somehow, eventually. It seems as though you've been through far too much together to let one fight come between you.

And if you all do make it to the sky island, there might be a decent chance of seeing how well you two work together in battle.

+!+

“Come on, it's not water.”

You stare at Zoro from the Merry's deck, unsure if you believe him enough to jump down and join your crew. Finally arriving at Skypiea was a weight off and on your shoulders, with how thin the air was you felt like you couldn't breathe at first. Once you were used to that, you thought you were away from the water enough that you didn't need to worry about drowning, until watching Usopp nearly drown to death in the endless cloud sea.

Even with seeing Luffy, Chopper, and Robin freely walk through the clouds without any effects, you still weren't sure about it. Of course, you had no real fear of the water, you'd be a terrible pirate if you did.

However, knowing your inability to swim, you try to be careful on the ship, and not knowing how the Sky Island was, you were more worried than anything, even with Zoro trying to coax you off the ship and say you'd be safe.

You two have barely spoken since your argument about Robin joining the crew, so seeing him try to help you is a surprise. You're both stubborn but Zoro more so than you, which is what led to you spending more time with Robin and getting to know her, trusting her and knowing that she's no longer a threat.

Zoro's not at all impressed with you and how you've avoided speaking to him lately, but leaving you on the ship was not happening in his mind, not when everyone else had left and others were even calling for you. Luffy shouting for you to hurry up, Nami promising it was safe and you wouldn't drown, and even Sanji calling for you and saying he'd found something for you (likely the same flower you'd seen him give Nami and Robin, but it was a sweet gesture).

After another moment watching you debate, Zoro sighs and sticks a hand out to you, making you tilt your head.

“I won't let you fall. You know that.”

He's right, so you finally decide to go with your friends. Stepping onto and jumping off the railing with your shoes in one hand, the other grabbing Zoro's so he pulls you to him and keeps you from hitting the ground immediately, his other arm around your waist to help with that.

“Told ya.” Zoro sets you down and lets go of you once he sees you're stable, turning to follow after the rest of the crew before you grab his arm and stop him. “What?”

“I’m…sorry, thank you.”

“The hell you sorry about?”

“Not talking to you, calling you a dumbass, and fighting with you about Robin. I…we can…sign the papers later…”

Oh, that's what it was. Zoro wondered for a few days why you hadn't said anything to him about your marriage or your fight, he thought you'd just bring the papers to him later and say you wanted the annulment, not worrying about whatever your parents may think. He would've signed them if you did, but hearing the way you spoke just now, the slightest bit of concern and maybe sadness in your voice, it makes him shake his head in response.

“No, just…just leave it alone for now,” Zoro sighs but places his hand on your shoulder, moving you to walk in front of him, “Let's just join the others.”

Nodding, you don't miss how Zoro slightly squeezes your shoulder, before moving to keep his hand on your back and guide you, likely so you knew he wasn't letting you go so you wouldn't fall. It's a strange but kind gesture, even after he'd told you that he didn't have feelings for you and you two weren't going to be a couple.

Part of you wonders if he's lying, whether to you or himself, you're not sure yet though.

+!+

With all the trouble that Skypiea has brought you all, a night of rest and drinking was greatly needed, in your opinion. You'd all split off the next day to search for the city of gold and make your way to the end of sky island, but for now, you'll indulge in some drinks and laughs with your friends.

While he's still busy making food and handing it out, Sanji does, at one point, notice you grab a couple drinks and almost run back over to Zoro to give him one, before you go back to Nami and Robin nearby. How strange you two still are, in his eyes. You fight to the point of silent treatment, then start speaking again just earlier that day, and you're back to your usual self, bringing the mosshead things whether he asks or not. You're far too kind to Zoro, he doesn't deserve you, even though Sanji knows and understands the two of you aren't together. You do too much for him with nothing in return.

Although, rarely, Sanji has noticed that sometimes, it's Zoro who brings things to you in return. You've asked for a book once, something to drink a few times, and more recently had voiced your want for a snack, and were surprised by it a bit later when Sanji brought it to you.

“I…didn't even come ask you yet.”

Sanji shakes his head, scowling slightly before saying “Mosshead came and told me you wanted something to eat. Said I should just bring it right to you.”

You're surprised, mostly because you and Zoro haven't been speaking since your argument the other day.

“I…see…”

The blond knows of your fight, you'd gone to him shortly after and maybe you cried a little while telling him everything, but Sanji's of the belief you two must've made up if Zoro came and asked him to bring you something.

“Guess you guys made up then.”

“No…” this time you shake your head, accepting the small plate of food from Sanji with a slight smile, “We haven't…but this was sweet of him.”

Sanji was surprised at that, but now, he's more annoyed than anything. While you talk and laugh with Nami and Robin, Zoro stays where you left him, every now and then, Sanji catches him watching you. He's probably drunk, that's the only reason Sanji can think of to explain the look Zoro has on his face. It's something soft and almost faraway, like he's thinking too much about something. It only stops when you look over and smile at him, like you had back in Cocoyashi Village, making Zoro look away quickly and down the last of his drink.

There's something there, Sanji knows there is.

He's just not sure what it is yet.

+!+

Robin fully believes she knows what it is between you and Zoro, after watching you two the next day. You'd gone with her to search for the city of gold, Zoro not thinking that was a smart idea but you convinced him you'd be fine and he relented. He didn't want to have another argument leading into a silent treatment event happen. Seeing you without Zoro around, you seemed extremely interested in whatever history Robin told you. You chose to tell Robin about your situation with your family, explaining up to your meeting Zoro and leaving off your current marriage to him. You'd tell her one day, maybe once you'd come to know her more and trust her fully. Robin, though, knows there's something missing from your story. She can see it in your eyes, but she can't see exactly what it is.

What she does see happens when Eneru is nearly about to electrocute the five of you standing before him, Nami hiding behind a bit of debris. Once again Zoro has placed you behind him, and Robin can hear him quietly telling you to go to Nami, which you deny.

“I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to help you.”

Zoro's trying so hard to get you to safety that he nearly misses Eneru targeting Robin, only really noticing when you'd pushed away from him and ran to her, only to be hit with Eneru's attack after you'd shoved her out of the way.

“[Y/N]!!”

Robin's by your side and making sure you're still breathing, relief washing over her when she sees you've just been knocked out. She's more surprised at your actions and how Zoro's sending the worst glare she's ever seen towards Eneru, placing himself between the three of you.

“Don't you dare touch her again.”

“She's likely dead now so that won't be a problem.”

Eneru’s comment nearly pushes Zoro over the edge before Robin calls him.

“Swordsman, calm down! She's still breathing!”

“Doesn't matter! He shouldn't…she shouldn't have…”

Watching Zoro fight for his words and grip his swords tighter, it makes Robin realize she just might be right.

She believes it more so when you all have defeated Eneru, and are recuperating afterwards during a celebration with the Skypieans and Shandorians. Zoro had stayed by your side most of the time, constantly checking to make sure you were alright despite his injuries being worse. You barely seemed to notice, but Robin definitely did. Eventually she sees the same thing Sanji had the night before. You'd gone off with Nami once again, but also Luffy, Chopper, and Aisa this time, the five of you playing some game the little Shandorian girl had come up with, and Robin sees Zoro watching you all, but mostly you. She sees his eyes soften just a bit, the slightest smile on his face while he watches you laugh, especially when Luffy tosses Aisa to you and you catch her, making her squeal in laughter as well. This was the most peaceful she'd seen Zoro yet, and it was all because of you it seems.

How sweet.

You two are the last to wake the next morning, before your abrupt departure, and Robin is sure her hunch is right seeing you snuggled up close to Zoro with one of his arms around you before Sanji kicks Zoro to wake him up. Of course this causes an argument as soon as Zoro is up and in Sanji's face, you barely awake and rubbing your eyes to figure out what's happening.

“What the hell, I was sleeping.”

“You and the swordsman were,” Robin starts to smile while your eyes widen and you feel a blush creeping onto your cheeks, “but we need to get going soon.”

“R-Right… did um… anyone–”

“Yeah you were really cozy with Zoro all night.” Nami grins and you have to hide your face in your hands, Zoro and Sanji still shouting at each other while Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper are gathering their things like it's a game.

Once you all do take off, as you're running to leave, you nearly trip over the ground to the point Zoro grabs you like the sack of gold everyone has and throws you over his shoulder.

“Wait, Zoro!! Put me down!!” You pound on his back a bit before he adjusts you over his shoulder better.

“Not if you're gonna trip like that!”

You don't even bother to fight him and just hang there the rest of the way to Merry, Zoro finally putting you down once you all get there, Robin hears the quietest apology from him while you shake your head and move to help get everything ready to go.

They're very interesting, those two…maybe he does actually like her.

+!+

Landing back in the sea did not go as planned for you. Your air filled octopus balloon friend let you down easily for the most part, until he suddenly ran out of air and the Merry was being quickly dropped into the water. You grabbed as tightly to the railing as you could while everyone else did the same, or grabbed each other in the case of Luffy, Usopp and Chopper, and Sanji not at all complaining as Nami latched onto him. The splash down flooded the deck with water, but once it drained enough, Merry settled and you were back as close to solid ground as possible.

“Everyone good?!” Luffy shouts a bit, Usopp and Chopper still holding onto him while most everyone states they're fine. He furrows his brow when he doesn't hear your voice or see you. “Where's [Y/N]?”

“Did she get swept out when the water drained?!” Nami feels panic seep into her bones while she looks for you in the water.

The second Nami's question reaches him, Zoro is in the water on the side of the ship you'd been on, making what felt like the millionth rescue from water he'd done in his life, most of them being for you due to your inability to swim. The first time it happened you'd been pushed in by one of your bounty targets before Zoro struck them down, quick enough that he was able to reach in and pull you out by your shirt collar like a cat by the scruff of its neck while you flailed about. You didn't eat a Devil Fruit, your parents simply never taught you to swim. Your brother attempted to, but only for so long before your parents heard and barred you from doing so. A lady didn't need to know how to swim, your mother tried to reason with you.

Zoro's able to reach you in time before you get too far down in the sea, grabbing you by the waist and pulling you upwards, surfacing not even a minute after he'd jumped in, making you gasp for air and cling tightly to him, almost suffocating your constant savior while you spit up water from your lungs.

“Zoro's got [Y/N]!! Let the ladder down!”

You hated this, hated needing to be saved anytime you ended up in the water. It's become so much that you aren't sure if you really are crying while you grip onto Zoro, or if it's just water dripping down your face, despite how hard you're biting your lip and tightening your hold on him. It's not like you had a good excuse, not like those who had eaten Devil Fruits.

Zoro puts an arm around your shoulders and stops for just a second once he gets the both of you to the ladder before starting to climb up.

“Hey,” you almost miss him speaking to you, even once he starts trying to soothe you by rubbing your back, “I've got you. You're all right.”

He's quiet while he speaks to you, whispering reassurances that all is well, you're okay, he's not going to let you go until you're on the deck again. You're alive, he's saved you again, kept you from drowning like he has Chopper and Luffy in the past. Like he always has.

Sometimes it feels like all you do is take and take and take from Zoro, from all of them. You wonder sometimes if your parents were right, when they said you were nothing more than a greedy child still, always taking but never giving back. Despite the fact you do your fair share on the ship, in battles, it feels like you shouldn't be here.

Once you're back on the deck, you still don't let go of Zoro, even when he tells you to at least loosen your grip before you choke him to death. You do, at the very least, release your grip on his shoulders and instead hide your face in his shirt, trying to keep your worried crewmates from realizing you are crying after all. Zoro simply holds your head in place, even with Luffy and Usopp trying to check you over while Chopper runs to get his bag and help you. Sanji is quickly throwing his suit jacket around you and trying to get Luffy and Usopp away so they don't cause you more distress, while Robin suggests bringing you to your bed, and Nami's run off to your room to get dry, warm clothes for you. Despite the slight distrust he still feels for Robin, Zoro nods at her suggestion, bringing Sanji's jacket around you a bit more before lifting you up in his arms, knowing you weren't letting him go anytime soon. You don't let go, not even for a second, until you're in your room and Zoro has laid you on your bed, telling you to wait for Chopper to get there while he tries to leave and change into dry clothes himself. He's stopped only by you grabbing his wrist, wanting him to stay, before Zoro promises he'll come right back. You only let go after that, giving a slight nod when he turns to leave you to change clothes yourself.

“Zoro?”

He's almost out of the room before you stop him, making him look over his shoulder to you.

“Thank you…again.”

He shakes his head, telling you not to mention it.

“I'll always save you if you need it, wife.”

+!+

You're struck with a nasty fever and congested cough the next day, blaming it on the unexpected swim you'd taken and the slightly colder area you were in. Chopper's given you all the medicine you can take for now, to try and bring your fever down, the rest was up to your own body to fight it off. Your crewmates were kind enough to take turns watching you, as you all had done when Nami was ill before you brought Chopper on board. She and Zoro are the ones to spend the most time watching you; Luffy tries to cheer you up with jokes, Usopp tells you more of his tall tales, Robin has taken to reading to you from a book she'd let you borrow, Sanji is mostly quiet so you can sleep, and Chopper is in and out checking on you and seeing if your fever has reduced any. Nami is almost as quiet as Sanji, working on a map while you rest.

Then Zoro.

He continues to reassure you that everything is OK, not constantly while he's there but he can tell, when you trail off in your sentences and look away from him, that you feel bad about something. He's not sure what, but he tells you everything is alright, you're alive and you made it out of a fight against a false god and a near drowning.

“‘M sorry you have to watch me…instead of doing your training.”

If he'd been any closer to sleep, Zoro would've missed what you said entirely. Luckily for you, he's awake enough to raise an eyebrow and shake his head.

“Don't worry about it. It's what crewmates do.”

It's what a husband does too…

“I feel like all I do is take from you…”

You don't look at him, finding your ceiling more interesting as you look over the wood pattern to avoid his eyes. You know he'll try to reassure you again, Zoro was good at that, despite his indifference to your pretend marriage. He'd never made you feel like you were a burden or less than, even if you really did mostly take and rarely give in return.

Zoro's not even sure why he always tries to make you realize things are okay, that you haven't done anything wrong. He knows about your parents acting like you should be seen and not heard, such a crappy thing to do to your own child in his opinion. Your parents were well off, they’d give to you and your brother constantly, then make you feel like you were selfish for not returning the “favor” by marrying who they chose for you. They really seemed to embody the “not every parent deserves a child” belief.

Thank God you had someone who cared for you though.

Before even saying a word in response, Zoro quietly takes hold of your free hand, letting you lace your fingers with his and making you look him in the eye again.

“Take all you want, I'll give you what I can. You can return it another time, all right?”

You want to cry, as Zoro strokes your hand with his thumb, and you nod a bit, swallowing down the tears before they can start. The things he does to you, even after telling you he isn’t here for romance. The way he acts, the way he treats you, it really makes you want to believe he’s lying to himself, lying to you to keep up his image. It gives you the slightest bit of hope that things could change one day.

“O-okay…”

We're not a couple…I don't know why you put up with me…

Once your fever is past, you're back to your normal routine of helping out wherever possible on the ship, spending your free time in the kitchen with Sanji, helping Nami with a map, or staying near Zoro while he goes back to training. He doesn't mind if you quietly sit near him, whatever book you've borrowed from Robin in your lap. It feels almost domestic to him, and Zoro has to brush that thought away quickly, lest he start fantasizing about keeping you as his wife. He stops any random thoughts of you two sharing a bed permanently, of taking you out somewhere on the next island for a date, or convincing you to stay up with him during his night watch, just to talk about your relationship and future. No, those thoughts can't be entertained, not now at least, he can't be distracted by such frivolous feelings like wanting to hold your hand all of sudden, or expecting a good morning hug or whatever. Romance isn't in his plans, it's not on his radar. You being his wife isn't supposed to be permanent.

Still though, a thought lingers despite his pushing the others out, when Zoro catches you dozing off in the corner, still fatigued from your body fighting off that fever.

Would it really be so bad to stay married to her?

He's not sure, even as he sets his weight back in place, wiping away any sweat he can and putting on a shirt before settling himself next to you, gently leaning you against him as you sleep. You stir a bit but he quickly quiets you.

“Just me. Go back to sleep.”

“Mm…’kay…”

Despite the scent of steel and sweat, you snuggle closer to Zoro, him wrapping an arm around your shoulders to keep you still. He lays his head on top of yours, closing his eyes and letting those thoughts come back, not stopping a single one this time.

Thoughts of a possible future where you two stay married and act like it, where you treat each other as husband and wife, where you've both reached your goals, where you're settled down somewhere safe enough to have a child or two perhaps.

Thoughts Zoro never once imagined entertaining, but now they take over his dreams to the point he's started changing his mind.

Maybe not so bad.

#zoro x reader #roranoa zoro x reader #one piece x reader #reader insert #last forever

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avocadorablepirate · 1 month

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What Do We Call This? - 04

previous || mini masterlist || next

Pairing: Trafalgar Law x fem!reader

Summary: On a quest to find what you've been looking for, you acquire the help of the Straw Hat pirates, who've agreed to let you temporarily join them. There are however many challenges that come along with your temporary recruitment - an alliance with a certain Trafalgar Law being one of them.

Word Count: 2.2K

Warnings: fluff, angst, kinda slow burn, swearing, the occasional OP spoiler

A/N: I would be lying if I said I was happy with this chapter :\. Since this story happens during canon One Piece arcs, I wanted to try and stay away from spoilers as much as possible and also avoid changing the original plot, so the chapter kinda ends up feeling a bit rushed, which isn't great...but this is how most of the chapters that include scenes from the anime/manga are going to be like, so I apologise in advance if future chapters feel rushed as well...anyway I hope you still like it.

Challenge: take a shot every time you see the word blue orb/orb ᕙ⁠(⁠ ⁠ ⁠•⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠•⁠ ⁠ ⁠)⁠ᕗ

—⁠☆✿☆—⁠

"(Y/N) are you sure about this?" Robin asked, pulling you aside before you disembarked at Dressrosa, "We might have to fight." She knew that you didn't like using your powers to harm people after what you had been through on Fishman Island. But you gave her a reassuring smile before the two of you followed behind Law, Usopp and Caesar, "I'll be fine Robin, thank you."

Suffice to say, you were not fine. It had all started when Doflamingo had attacked Law at Green Bit. You had managed to stay out of Doflamingo's sight, and had tried to help Law get away from him when he was cornered on the bridge, but before you could focus your attention to use your powers, Law's blue orb had you surrounded and transported to where the Sunny had initially been docked.

"Fuck, why'd he do that!?" you yelled, as you took in your surroundings, almost instantly running in the same direction you had taken when you first reached Dressrosa.

You had managed to get back into the city just as Doflamingo had covered it with his "birdcage", and you had been helping the citizens reach the centre of the island, healing anyone who got injured in the process, which wasn't great for you. The aftermath of using your powers had started to take its toll on your body. Still, you were desperate to keep going. Doflamingo had done some serious damage to Law on the bridge, and you were sure his condition would have worsened by now. You had to find him.

You had run into Usopp's group when Viola, the former princess of Dressrosa had told you that Law was with a pirate named Cavendish. However, when you had found him, the two of you discovered that Law was already gone. Now, you were back to running around the city helping the injured while also looking for Law.

That was when you saw Luffy - he was being carried on the back of a man dressed in gladiator-wear. You were just about to approach them when you saw the familiar orb appear.

You sighed in relief when you realised that Law was still alive. But when he appeared in place of the orb, you noticed just how much damage he had taken - there was a cloth wrapped around his right arm, but blood still seeped through it, there was blood spattered across his face as well, and he was covered in bruises. Despite that, he took Luffy from the man and disappeared even before you could show yourself.

"Where did they go?" you think aloud, and assess your surroundings, looking for the blue orb to reappear somewhere. A second later you see it, it's further away than you expected, but you're determined to reach the two of them. So, you run as fast as your legs can carry you.

Once you've reached the building, you start climbing up to get to the top, but when you're halfway up you see the orb come into view again.

Shit, why's he moving?, you think to yourself, but you can still hear the faint sound of voices at the top. "Law?" you yell out, but there's no response. Deciding to still climb to the top so that you could scout the area, you're relieved when you find Law still there along with Viola.

"Where's Luffy?" you ask as you rush towards Law, and kneel down beside him. His head tilts up and he's slightly taken aback by your presence.

"I switched him out with her," he answers, nudging his head towards Viola just as another orb appears, teleporting a girl with pink hair who you hadn't seen before. But Viola immediately runs to her aid which lets you focus your attention on Law.

"Did Doflamingo do all of this?" you ask as you assess his wounds, but he doesn't respond.

"Fuck Law, I don't know how much of this I can heal," you tell him while trying to be as gentle as possible as you remove his coat to get a better look at the bullet wounds he's riddled with.

"Don't heal anything," he firmly states, and your brow furrows in confusion.

"Don't be an idiot. You've clearly taken a lot of external damage, god knows how much internal bleeding you're suffering from," you say, as your hand hovers over his torso, but he's quick to grab onto it with his own - not completely wounded - hand.

"From the looks of it you've already used your powers to heal other people," he says, his grip on your hand tightening.

"What's your point?"

"My point is that I know how your powers work. Every time you heal or attack someone you hurt yourself." You somewhat lose your balance, falling back, stunned by his words because you were sure you had done well to hide it.

"H-how?"

"I saw you when you attacked Vergo," Law says, as he leans back against the wall and let's go of your hand, assuming that he had managed to stop you from using your powers on him.

Your quick to recover from the initial shock of his words, and before Law can comprehend you place your hands on his midriff to "work your magic". He tries to push you away, but this time you grab onto his arm with your free hand and hold it down.

"I ate the fruit, I deal with the consequences," you firmly state, and try to focus, to find which of his muscles and organs were damaged.

"Wait, is that why you teleported me from the bridge to where the Sunny was?" you ask, but he doesn't answer, instead objecting to your help, "(Y/N)-ya stop," but you don't relent, determined to heal his injured body.

You can sense the strain on your own body increase, but you push through when you feel Law slowly begin to relax under your touch, his protests fading along with his pain. Finally, after what feels like eternity, you finish your work, and withdraw your hand, the strain on your own body slowly starting to weigh down on you.

"I can't heal your bullet wounds until the bullets are removed, and your arm is still in pretty bad shape, but I was able to stop most of the internal bleeding," you tell him as you lean against the wall, letting out a fatigued sigh.

"You shouldn't have done that," he says, and you scoff in amusement, "A simple 'thank you' works too you know."

"Thanks," Law murmurs, when suddenly he feels your body slump against his, and he immediately looks to see what's wrong. Your eyes are half shut, and you mumble something incoherent, the exhaustion washing over you. But before you can succumb to the darkness (i.e., sleep), you let out a soft chuckle - now almost in a delirious state - and whisper, "Cora-san would be glad you managed to stay alive."

Law's body tenses at your words, and his eyes instantly dart to yours again, but your limp body pressed against him tells him that you're already unconscious.

_______________________________________________

When you awake you find yourself sprawled on the bed of a small house. You try to get up, but let out a loud groan because of how sore your entire body is. A pair of hands are quick to grab onto you, and you blink away the reminents of sleep to see Law sitting beside you. He helps you stand up and guides you to the table where everyone is seated.

"(Y/N), you finally got up! You almost missed all this food!" Luffy smiles at you as he chonks down on a piece of meat, and you look to see the spread in front of you, your stomach growling at the sight. You stretch forward to grab yourself something to munch on, but a hand holds you back by the arm. A blue orb instantly appears in front of you, and soon after in its place materializes a plate of food.

"Thank you," you mumble and Law responds with a nod of acknowledgement, his usual impassive manner softened by a subtle hint of concern for you.

"Oye Tra, can you pass me some food too!" Luffy yells, despite already having heaps of food in front of him, and Law lets out a, tsk, only giving a scowl in reply.

You're satisfying your hunger when the peacefulness of the moment is interrupted by the door to the house slamming open, and in walks a man with green hair and a nose ring. You had seen him during the battle, but you weren't sure who he was.

"Luffy-senpai! The Marines are going to come after you soon, even the former fleet admiral Sengoku is here! We need to leave!" he yells, and Law instantly jolts up from beside you, his composed exterior being replaced by a look of agitation.

The man, who you found out was called Bartolomeo, continues to explain the plan of action, but he doesn't hold your attention. Instead, you're observing Law. He seems to be deep in thought, and although he wears his usual frown, he exudes a sense of uneasiness that does not go unnoticed by you.

"I'll meet you all at the harbour," he says, and you look at him quizzically, but he doesn't notice. He strides out the door in a hurry, not waiting for a response, and despite your weariness in his change of attitude, your attention is now back on the rest of the group.

Robin had moved to stand beside you, and she gazes at you with concern, "(Y/N), you still haven't fully recovered, do you think you'll be able to make it to the harbour by yourself?"

"Um....yes...don't worry about me," you say, attempting to give her a reassuring smile, although you yourself doubt the truth behind your claim. Nevermind the harbour, you doubt you'd even be able to walk to the door by yourself. However, Robin picks up on the hesitance in your reply and is quick to offer her support which you were about to graciously accept when all of a sudden you're enveloped in a dome of blue light.

"Huh?" you freeze in your spot, confused by the blue orb that has you trapped within its confines. Robin chuckles at your bewilderment, already having a grasp of the unexpected change of plans, "Well looks like that's taken care of."

When you realise what's going on, you close your eyes shut, in fear of not knowing what to expect. It's the sudden feeling of weightlessness beneath your feet that draws your eyes open, and what you expect to be the harbour is instead someone's back - you're slung over someone's shoulder, an arm tightly wrapped around your waist. You look to see who it is and spot the white fur cap with black spots.

"Law what are you doing!? Put me down!" you yell, as you try to wriggle out of his grasp.

"You're coming with me," Law says, your fidgeting having no affect on his gait, "knowing those idiots, you'll only get hurt if you go with them."

"Fine at least put me down!"

He finally sets you down and you don't forget to shoot him a glare, "where are you going anyway?" His response is cryptic, leaving you with more questions as he grabs your hand in his and encompasses the two of you in his blue orb.

"Where are we-" you try asking again, but he's already transported the two of you, and you're cut short by the surprise that washes over when you notice the presence that sits in front of the both of you.

"Sengoku?" you murmer his name to yourself, the sudden shiver running down your spine instinctively making you seek refuge behind Law.

"Been a while, hasn't it (Y/N)?" Sengoku asks with an amused grin, yet you don't respond.

"Spit it out." Law ignores his remark, and on noticing your change in demeanour, takes a protective stance as he lets you hide behind him. Sengoku lets out an amused sigh this time, but does as Law says - narrating the story of a Marine from years go. You fidget nervously as he recounts the details, anxiously playing with your fingers as you hang on to his every word.

"He didn't save you for your name," Sengoku concludes, the weight of the statement prompting you to glance at Law to get a better look at his reaction. His typical stoic facade falters, a look of shock momentarily replacing it. It's clear that Sengoku's words have struck a nerve in him, but he remains silent.

"'Just keep living on', that's something he would have said, right?," Sengoku says as he turns away from the two of you, ready to walk away, "If you wish to do something in his stead - remember him."

He turns his head to look at you, and with a fleeting smile nods in farewell, "It was good to see you (Y/N)."

"You two might want to get out of here," he calls out as he continues on his way.

The shadows that form on the ground grab your attention, and you look to the sky to see debris flying above you, "What the-"

Law swiftly grabs onto you, encircling the two of you with his blue orb, "We need to leave. Now."

_______________________________________________

A/N: honestly at this point it's just the reader self inserting herself into the One Piece plot....also I think I'm being so subtle with the hinting when I'm really not ┐⁠(�� ⁠˘⁠_⁠˘⁠)⁠┌.

#law x reader #trafalgar law x reader #law fanfic #one piece x reader #law x you #trafalgar law fanfiction #trafalgar law x y/n

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noamm7 · 1 month

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the new boy

paring : peter parke (tom holland) X male reader

cw : fluff

summary : Peter introduces the school to the new boy (you) and a friendship with something more begins to blossom.

You were slowly adapting to your new life since you moved with your mother and stepfather. Today was your first day in a new school, and while you were nervous, you were also excited to meet new people and make friends. As you entered the grounds of the school, a sweet-looking boy approached you.

He was smaller than you had imagined, wearing a shirt with a Star Wars design on it, he had brown hair, and seemed timid and kinda jittery, but in a cute way.

"Hey, uh... I just wanted to welcome you... I'm Peter... Peter Parker, and I've been here since first grade, and I'm considered a good student, so... they They I was asked to show you around and stuff..." he whispers "I'm really not sure what to say"

"Hey, eh… nice to meet you Peter, my name is Y/N… and as you probably know I… am new here…" you say with a brief smile.

Peter suddenly noticed he was lost in your smile. It was so radiant and expressive, like the light of the sun had been repressed and now radiating from your face. Peter was caught off-guard and blushed for a moment before becoming stunned, unable to avert his gaze. He was then able to recover himself and continue the conversation, avoiding the awkward moment.

"Well, uh... yeah, I guess I should introduce you to the school now, right?"

"Ah, yeah, sure, I would appreciate that." Peter nodded his head in affirmation "All right, follow me, I'll show you the classrooms and other areas of the school."

As you and Peter walked around the school, you had a blast chatting about all sorts of things you had in common. You discovered that both of you loved reading and collecting comic books about superheroes, building complex Lego sets and even playing similar video games.

You could feel a spark of friendship igniting between you, and it was so nice to have someone to talk to and forge bonds with over shared interests.

✁ ..time cut..

Finally, you two arrived at the end of the tour of the school. Peter had showed you all the classrooms, hallways and areas of the school. You realized that you two shared many interests and you were feeling more and more connected. It was now time for you to part ways, at least temporarily, since both of you had to head back to class.

“Well, I guess it's a temporary goodbye... I really enjoyed showing you around... and I really liked you... I mean... meeting you... sorry...” Peter says feeling his cheeks start to heat up "Okay that's cute" Peter squints his eyes and turns even redder than he was, you laugh a little at his reaction and then continue talking "I felt the same way, thank you for taking the time to do this” You say with a brief smile "You're welcome... well I should get to class. I hope to see you later!" Peter speaks with a small smile on his face.

Before parting ways with Peter, you quickly thought of something and called him. "Hey, hey, before we part ways, do you think we could go out to explore the city this weekend? I don't know much around here, so if you could go with me and show me some fun places... if you want, of course." Peter looked at you for a moment, seemingly a little surprised, then smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, sure, it's a great idea, I'd be happy to do that." Peter answered, with a big smile.

"Perfect," you say with a smile "Then... I guess I'll see you at lunch, right?" "Yeah, of course," Peter replies, nodding his head and giving a smile "I liked getting to know you Peter." You say with a smile "You're a cool guy." Peter felt a wave of warmth and happiness wash over his mind and heart "Ah, I..." he said, becoming even more flustered "I... I say the same, it was a pleasure getting to know you too, Y/N." Peter replied, smiling and unaware of just how red he was getting.

“See you at lunch, then," you say, glancing over your shoulder with a brief wave and turning to find your class. While Peter stands there, with an infatuated smile on his face, not realizing just how red he was getting.

It was certainly set to be more than just a great friendship between these two young boys.

ac : Sorry guys this was longer than I thought 😭😭 I hope you liked it ❤️‍🩹 who knows, we might have a second part of this story…

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king-paimon · 7 months

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Houseki no Kuni Chapter 105 Thoughts:

Hello everyone. I hope you have all been well, considering the hectic and honestly devastating month this has been for many people across the world. It's sad how awful real life can be. I'm so sorry to everyone who is affected directly and indirectly. Though words can only do so much, I sincerely hope things get better for you all.

Now then... regarding this chapter.

This was definitely a spectacle. So much happened and though we had an idea of where the chapter was going to go because of the last pages from the previous chapter, it still managed to catch me off guard. I don't think anyone saw a literal "deus ex machina" ship to appear, but at the same time... of course that would happen. Ms. Ichikawa loves pulling stunts like this. Whether it's good or not is up for debate. More on this later.

But the one thought that came to mind after reading this chapter was: "Finally." We are truly now in the final stretch of Phos's story, and I couldn't be more happier for them... BUT that feeling got muddied when I saw the bottom of the final page.

Another hiatus.

Sigh. I'll also touch on this in this post. But for now, I'll share my thoughts on this chapter with you. These posts always end up being longer than first intended so sorry in advance! As always, please feel free to share what you think on here too!

(Just so you know, I was extremely tired when I wrote this so it may be convoluted in some areas. I'll likely tidy it up later after I get some proper rest. Hope you enjoy it regardless!)

The Deus Ex Machina Ship: Why??

Was anyone else surprised that the object Brother Eyeball was carrying was a piece of Lunarian technology, that seems to only activate under the extreme heat of a sun that's about to consume the planet? I certainly didn't see it coming at all and I don't know how to feel about it at the moment.

Based on everything up until this point and Phos's comments here, it's evidently clear that Aechmea planted it there for this specific occasion. My question is why? Why did Aechmea bother in leaving this for Phos?

Perhaps Aechmea hoped Phos would take the new remnants of humanity and create a new society once again on a new planet, sort of like what Adamant did for the Lustrous. Maybe this was some twisted/backhanded way of thanking Phos and giving them another second chance of surviving? I don't know, but if it's the Lunarians' weird way of trying to save Phos, it's kind of pointless. Like Phos said, running to another planet would only be a temporary solution since everything was going to be consumed by the dying stars eventually. Even though the little rocks and Eyeball still take the ship in the end just to survive a little longer, I don't really see the point of it either.

(Edit: Made small change here and included the page that I forgot to add.)

The only reason I can come up with for this ship to being there is that Aechmea knew of another place in space that wouldn't be affected by the dying suns and he wanted Phos and their new remnants of humanity to go there. But I honestly I believe that theory fully, so I don't know.

What do you guys think? Is there a reason why the lotus flower ship was intentionally left behind, other than Ms. Haruko just wanting a reason for Phos to be along again? To me, the only thing that was clear was that this ship was left for Phos and whoever else was with them that would only activate when the planet was going to be destroyed.

But this leads me to my next questions and segment...

Burning the Bridge: Phos's Final Actions

Unlike the lotus ship, Phos's actions in this chapter did not come as a surprise to me. Phos had long accepted that they were ready to finally disappear. And before the ship, it looked like the other beings were fine with it as well.

It was only when the ship appeared that the others expressed their desire to exist just a little longer, which completely understandable and I don't fault them for feeling this way.

It's touching and sad how Phos made sure that all those beings, including the final pebble that was introduced in this chapter, made it onto the ship so they could escape while Phos choose to stay behind. More on that in the next segment.

But back to Phos and their final decision to stay behind. So, we know that the ship was intentionally left for Phos by Aechmea and the Lunarians. And though it was used in the end, Phos chose to stay. Now my question is... was Phos's final decision to stay on the planet still part of Aechmea's plan, or was it part of the Professor's plan?

I've hypothesized in an older post that I thought that while Aechmea was a frightfully powerful being who was able to predict Phos's actions and successfully manipulate them, he wasn't truly omnipresent nor omnipotent since he couldn't predict everything and there were individuals that were not totally under his control.

I want to believe that Phos's final actions fall into that category. Part of me really wants to believe that Phos not getting on the ship was a final middle finger from the Professor through Adamant to Aechmea and everything he stood for.

But then again... this could have been an outcome Aechmea expected, too. It's honestly hard to say how much of everything that had happened was still going according to Aechmea's grand plan since it wasn't made clear if Aechmea knew of this memory of the professor that Adamant held onto.

Sorry for the ramble. I'll just say that unless I'm told otherwise, I'll believe that Phos's final actions was their final act of defiance towards Aechmea, in the name of the Professor.

I can only hope that Phos will finally be at piece once that bridge is burnt to the ground.

So, now that it seems like Phos's story is going to end, albeit in several months... there are still some elements in this story that have not yet been resolved. But after re-reading this chapter, I have a theory for one of them.

The Identity of The Last Passenger of the Lotus Ship (my silly theory)

This is a silly theory I came up with to try to explain one of the last mysteries of this story. It's been proven untrue, but I still want to keep it here because I still like it and had fun coming up with it!

One plot point that many others have brought up before, that I've admittedly forgotten over and over again, are the Ice Floes. These mysterious creatures played a unique role in the beginning but had quickly lost their relevancy in the story.

Now that the planet is about to be destroyed, it seems the Ice Floes will forever lose their significance in this story, though they hadn't been relevant in a long while. Well... I have a theory and it relates to the last member of Phos's little pebble family.

In this chapter, Ms. Ichikawa made it a point to have Phos collect this one last pebble and put on the ship. Though all of the pebble beings are unique to one another, this one is the most different from all of them. For one, it's significantly smaller than the other pebbles, almost the size of a grain of rice. And unlike the others, it hasn't spoken once, though Phos could sense its very faint presence, so it is sentient to a degree.

With all of this in mind, I couldn't help but wonder why Ms. Ichikawa included this in the story now? Why did she make pages dedicated to Phos collecting this pebble right when the planet is about to die? She had to have done it for a reason, but why? Why is this teeny pebble important?

Well, here's my theory: This teeny tiny pebble is what's left of the Ice Floes.

I came up with this theory based on a few things.

My first clue is the location where it was found. Judging from the details in these pages, this tiny pebble was in the middle of a dried up ocean.

The second is the type of rock I think it is. Ms. Ichikawa incorporated a lot of rock and mineral information in this story for her characters. I'm not sure if that's the case in this instance, but please allow me to indulge in my rock nerd side for a bit. I strongly believe it is a sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rocks are formed when bits of pre-existing rocks, inorganic material, and/or bits of once organic life forms accumulate and gradually get compacted and cemented together. This type of rock is found everywhere, but especially in the ocean.

The third and most supportive piece of evidence was Phos's comments on page 16.

Phos recognizes that this pebble is similar to the other rock life forms AND it's consciousness had been there since the beginning of the earth, meaning it's much older than nearly everything on this planet, including Phos and Eyeball. To me, this cemented my theory.

Of course, this is just me guessing. And I'll admit, when I went to look up the Ice Floes again, the HnK wiki states that Eyeball and the Ice Floes are connected, so I could very much be wrong. It was still fun to theorize haha

Please tell me what you think!

Edit: Well, it looks like that theory was incorrect. Oh well! I still had fun coming up with it. Thank you @laloyoungblood for letting me know.

The End Is Near and Yet So Far...

I've said it many times before and I'll say it again: I can't wait to see how this story ends. And if the story is going to end at 108 chapters, I'd be so happy, and the ending of this chapter had me excited for the final climax of the story...

Until I saw the excerpt at the bottom of the page.

Houseki no Kuni won't be returning until the spring of 2024... And we just barely came back from the other hiatus...

Now don't get me wrong, waiting through hiatuses is nothing new for me and I'm glad more mangaka are trying to prioritize their health and happiness than trying to rush their stories because of a deadline.

But these hiatuses are a bit annoying, I'm not going to lie. If there's one thing I know I won't miss with this series, it's the many, many hiatuses Ms. Ichikawa had done.

I know it'll be okay in the end. There are more important things going on in my life now, so I know I won't dwell on it for much longer. But at the same time, I just want this story to finally cross the finish line. We're so close to the end, and yet the goal post is moved again.

I just want to see this story end soon. And I hope it'll be worth it.

Okay! That's all for now. Thank you to everyone who reads and responds to my posts. I love all your responses. I don't know how many of you will stick around when I stop doing these posts, but I'm honestly really grateful to you.

Hope the rest of the month goes well for you all! Stay safe out there.

#houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #hnk spoilers #hnk #hnk thoughts #hnk phos #haruko ichikawa #hnk spoiler #lotl #hnk phosphophyllite #hnk theories #hnk chapter 105 #personal thoughts #hnk meta #hnk manga #hnk manga spoilers

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orionchildofhades · 9 months

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steddie swapping soulmate au part 5

---

when he wakes once more, Eddie is back in his body.

he knows because he is not hurting. and thats something.

he shift in his bed, enjoying the lack of aches and thinking over the previous day.

now that his mind is not as hazy, he tries to put the informations he learned in order. he wants to keep everything in, and make sure he understands his soulmate.

for a second he lets himself dream of waking up in his soulmates bed once more. but with his soulmate. with this person, his person, by his side. and it's stupid because they are fifteen, and Eddie is sixteen and they probably won't meet until much later when they both, hopefully, would have moved out.

he frowns. he didn't learn much though.

they can't see well, and they have a big bed in a big room in what is probably a big house.

and that's it.

I mean, they're also sick but that's only temporary, he adds, unless it's not? maybe they have, like, some disease?

he panicks for a second, not sure to be able to just leave their soulmate alone at home while suffering, everyday at every hour, without even company

he breath a little, reminding himself that both of them will be fine and that there is pretty much nothing he can do at the moment.

but it's okay. it's alright because he knows he has a soulmate know and he can carefully plan their wedding while acting cool and collected on the outside.

all thoughts are cut off when Wayne barges into his room, in very un-Wayne fashion.

"Patricia?" Eddie asks, trying to come back to earth from his little daydream

"What? No, son, why didn't you tell me you swapped? I just read over Patricia's note!"

"Patricia met my soulmate?" he jumped out of bed and almost fell over the pile of book that was not there the previous day. or the day before that perhaps.

"Yeah, and barely said nothing about them! she wrote, and I quote, 'it seems to me that Eddie has a very nice soulmate and I hope I'll can spend the day with them sometime again soon'" Wayne said before looking up from the paper he held in one hand.

Eddie on the other hand was walking to his own desk where he looked for a couple of books, which were now in the pile by his bed, before coming back and checking more titles. he could swear the last one was at the bottom of his laundry basket last time he checked. which had been a while, admittedly.

"I think Patricia and my soulmate cleaned my room..." he told Wayne with big eyes, full of both wonder, and terror.

seeing how clean and peaceful his other half's room had been, he couldn't muster the will to wonder about what his soulmate thought of him and the mess - organised mess!- of his bedroom.

with something akin to pity and understanding behind his eyes, Wayne nodded once, "that's tough kid, but at least they made cookies?" he said with a shrug before leaving the room

it's only once Eddie got back in his room, done with mopping about being shamed in his own space, and his belly filled with the delicious cookies Patricia had baked, that he saw the small note on his bedside table.

he was thinking over the fact that his soulmate had cooked him something, relishing in the addition of the sweet taste of cinnamon in the usual recipe, before he made a go for the furniture and took with careful hands, almost worshipping, the tiny piece of paper.

sorry you had to go through my flu, I didn't touch under your bed (that's personal), I enjoyed spending the day with your aunt(?), until next time ;)

Eddie lets a squeal escape his lips before falling, swooning really, on his bed, clutching the thin layer of matter witholding so many of his emotions.

he couldn't wait to meet them, he only whishes he had a name to put on them

#patricia and steve making cookies together #wayne feels for eddie because he himself went through the same thing with Patricia #but she left a lengthy note for him after shifting the first time about how she'd keep cleaning even if he didn't #as the writer #i can tell you #Patricia needs to clean everything #her truck is the cleanest motherfucker on the road #she smells nice #steddie #stranger things #steve harrington #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #eddie munson #eddie x steve #orionwritesthingies

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katelynnwrites · 2 years

Text

pairing: Ona Batlle x f!reader

warnings: big ouch sorry

word count: 1734

summary: ona is the only one who can unlock your heart, even after she left you to go back to play for barcelona. based off sadie jean’s new song, locksmith which i waited months for

a/n: can you feel my heartbreak?

Locksmith

This is the last song I'll write about you

I need to move on, I think you do too

The last of the clothes Ona had left in your apartment was packed up but you couldn’t bring yourself to make the short walk to the post office.

Mailing it to Barcelona would mean losing the last part of her you had to Spain. It would mean finally admitting to yourself that she was gone. No sign of her would be left in your life.

Except in your journal and in your heart. Today, you decided, would be the last time you wrote about Ona in it.

You were all that I wanted, you know that you still are

'Cause I've been alright, yeah, but you showed me better

I know that we're changin' but nothin' feels different

I'm breakin' the silence to say

You never thought you would break up with Ona. Maybe that’s why you didn’t see her breaking up with you as a possibility either. You loved her. You really really did. She made your life better. The Spanish girl came into your life and showed you that you weren’t really living till you met her. She taught you how to enjoy life.

She was your girlfriend for two years and now she was your ex. You didn’t quite know how to process that piece of information.

She was, is the love of your life and now that she had broken up with you, you were just supposed to stop loving her? You didn’t know how to do that.

You always knew that her time at Manchester United would be temporary but you never thought she’d end your relationship when she left. Especially without talking to you about it. She’d just left.

If in ten years time I'm still on your mind

Would you call and say you want this?

You end up mailing Ona’s things to her. Two months later and you mail your journal to her too.

You simply couldn’t stand having it in your apartment anymore. All your best memories of your time together were carefully written in it.

Too many late nights had been spent crying over those pages, your tears smudging the ink. Too many other nights had been spent filling the remaining pages of the journal with thoughts about how much you missed her. With how much you still loved her.

You couldn’t bear to throw the precious journal away so late one night you brought it to the post office and mailed it to Barcelona before morning could come and change your mind.

No matter where we are, you still have my heart

'Cause I locked it, and I promise

You're the locksmith

Ona was more than a thousand miles away from you and yet your heart still belonged to her. Despite the fact that she was the one who had broken your heart in the first place, you locked it for her. Only she could unlock it now.

You saw her life through pictures and it ached that she was so far away from you. Ona looked happy, playing for Barcelona and you were happy for her. You knew that it had been her dream since she was a little girl and you were proud of her achievement.

You just wished you had been beside her when she’d achieved it.

We said forever and said it too soon

At least now I know, nobody feels like you do

‘I want you with me forever.’ Ona murmurs as she kisses the side of your neck. Her hand which is resting under your shirt, begins to rub tiny comforting circles into your skin.

‘That sounds good to me.’ You whisper back, soaking in the feeling of being loved.

Ona can’t help the way her eyes widen. Forever is a long time. A long time to promise.

‘Really?’ Her voice comes out quiet and vulnerable. The girl she loved more than anything couldn’t be saying she wanted to be by her side forever?

‘Yeah. Really.’ You promise, sealing it with a kiss placed against Ona’s lips.

Ona hugs you tightly, burying her nose in your hair and inhaling the beloved scent which she had come to know and love so dearly.

Barely holding back her tears, she moves her hands to cradle your head, kissing you as lovingly as she could.

The feel of someone else’s lips on yours snaps you out of the memory. Drunk as you are, you know that whoever’s kissing you isn’t Ona. Now you know that nobody feels like Ona.

Stuttering apologies at the other girl who you had unintentionally led on, you stumble out of the bar.

You should have known that letting Alessia and Tooney set you up would be a bad idea.

You were all that I wanted

You know that you still are

I'm breaking the silence to say

You never heard back from Ona after you sent her her remaining belongings. You don’t know why you got your hopes up that you would hear back from her after you sent her the journal.

If in 10 years time

I'm still on your mind

Would you call and

Say you want this?

The former Manchester United full back stared at the journal on her coffee table. It had been left in the exact same spot for the last month. Ona couldn’t bring herself to read it and yet couldn’t bring herself to mail it back to you, or worse, throw it away.

No matter where we are

You still have my heart

'Cause I locked it

And I promise

You're the locksmith

Ona reads the journal. She picks it up after a bad game and after reading the first sentence, couldn’t stop. Her fingers trace over your tear stains on the pages. She reads all about the happy memories the two of you had shared, discovers all the little things you adored about her and learns about the love you still have for her.

The sheer amount of pain that had hit her after that, she couldn’t even cry. Entirely broken, the Spanish girl curled herself into a ball on her couch and stayed there.

You're the one that I can see me growin' old with

Build a house, I see it now, you plant me roses

And everything we dreamed about, came into focus

Here's to hopin'

It wasn’t unusual for you to wake up with dried tear tracks on your face. It happened whenever you dreamed of Ona which occurred far more often than you would dare admit out loud.

This time, you’d dreamt of a house. A house that you and Ona had once talked about late one night as she held you in her arms.

A house with a backyard and a mini goal that Ona insisted your future children would make good use of. At the time you could see it focus because you couldn’t imagine spending your life with anyone but your girl but now it was all blurry and out of focus.

You knew that your teammates worried about you. You knew that they were protective but you didn’t know the extent of it.

A couple of months after Ona had left you, Millie found you crying in the empty locker room as you stared at what used to be Ona’s locker.

Right after giving you a big hug and letting you cry on her shoulder, she’d left a rather nasty voicemail for Ona, detailing and blaming her for your heartbreak.

It brings the Catalan to tears when she hears it. She’d never meant to hurt you this badly, had never meant to break you. Ona had wanted to spare you the pain she thought a long distance relationship would bring you. She was willing to break her own heart for you but now the full back wasn’t sure if what she had done was the right decision

And Ona didn’t know how she could fix it.

Not talking to you before she packed up all her things and left you gave her nightmares. That devastated expression on your face haunted her.

She’d wake up sobbing for you, reaching out across the bed only to realise you weren’t there. You would probably never be there again, would most likely never hold her, kiss her or comfort her again. She’d lost those rights when she had left you behind and Ona knew that it was no one’s fault but her own.

If in ten years time I'm still on your mind

Could you call and say you want this?

It wasn’t ten years but ten months. Ten months of heartbreak before Ona can’t take it anymore and picks up her phone, dialling your number.

‘Hello?’

The moment’s silence before you answer makes Ona’s anxiety spike.

What if she was too late?

‘Hi Ona.’ Your voice is measured and calm, hiding just how anxious you are.

Why was she calling you? Did something happen to her? Was she missing you just as you were missing her?

‘Hi.’ She whispers. Ona could cry just from hearing your voice alone.

Hearing it causes words to tumble out of her mouth and she says what’s been on her mind every minute since she left.

‘I want this. I want us. I’m so sorry I ever left mi amor. I’m so so sorry. Please. Please give me another chance. I won’t break your heart again. Please.’ She begs.

There’s a choked sob on your end and Ona takes it as a sign that she’s gone and hurt you again.

‘I’m sorry I shouldn’t be doing this. You probably don’t want to hear this. I should be the last person you want to hear from.’ Ona rushes out.

You stop her before she can hang up, quietly admitting, ‘I miss you.’

‘You do?’ Disbelief colours her words, her heart rate speeding up.

‘More than I ever thought possible.’

Ona is openly crying now.

‘I don’t want to play for Barcelona anymore. I don’t want to play or be without you. Can I come home to you? Please…’

There isn’t any hesitation on your part.

‘Ona come home.’

No matter where we are

You still have my heart

'Cause I locked it

And I promise

You're the locksmith

When Ona walks back into your arms, she unlocks your heart.

Spanish Translation:

mi amor - my love

#ona batlle #ona batlle x reader #ona batlle imagine #woso imagine #woso fanfics #woso x reader #muwfc imagine #muwfc x reader #espwnt x reader #espwnt imagine #spain wnt imagine #spain wnt x reader #katelynnwrites #uswnt imagine #uswnt x reader

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ikemen-translations · 2 months

Text

Morganatic Idol Prologue 3/10

MC: Ugh... I'm sleepy... I stayed up all night

(However, I managed to write the proposal by the deadline)

(All I have to do is submit this...!)

MC: Mori-san! I have created a proposal for a new commercial so please check it out

Mori: Oh, you made it too?

Mori flipped through the proposal I handed her

Mori: ... It's surprisingly well shaped

MC: Yes, I came up with my own idea to convey the charm of perfume to the fullest

MC: It's a big project that will be broadcast to the world but I would like to take on the challenge to improve my own abilities

Mori: ... that's right. Well, this time anyone can submit a project

Mori: But it's too late. It's better to submit it sooner rather than just before the deadline. All full-time employees did that

MC: I'm so sorry...

Mori: Well, that's fine. i'll submit this to the section manager

MC: Thank you!

(I put all my efforts into the proposal. I hope it goes well)

A few days have passed since then. There is a nervous and restless atmosphere within the company

(I wonder what happened to my project... I can't help but wonder... but for now I have no choice but to wait)

After the lunch break when I returned to the office, my team members were chatting in the corner of the room

FE1: I wonder whose project will be chosen?

FE2: It would be great if it was someone from our team. Maybe we could get closer to Exe

They were so absorbed talking that they didn't even notice my return

FE1: Come to think of it, MC-san also submitted a plan, right?

(!)

Mori: Yes, it was on the last minute

FE2: Is it because the Exes are the image characters after all?

FE3: I was so excited because I wanted to meet a super idol!

... My heart made a disgusting sound at the words I heard

FE1: There's no way a project created by a temporary employee with no experience would be selected, Eiko

Mori: Yeah, no matter how hard she try she can't beat us

MC: ...

(No, I didn't try my best because an idol was involved)

I grasp my palms tightly

(... But I have to be patient. It's true that I have no experience and these people and I are in very different positions)

I notice that the full-time girls looked down on me because I was a temporary worker

(It can't be helped...)

Even though I knew it in my head, I was filled with regret

(Let's get some air outside)

I quietly left the office to freshen up

Manager: Hey, Mori-kun!

Mori: Chief? What's wrong?

Manager: Your department's project will be used in the competition! It's a great honot to be chosen out of all the companies!

Manager: Look, this is it. It's the project you submitted just before the deadline

Mori: It's...!

Chief: The presentation will be giving soon. Please brush up on this project by then. Can you do it?

Mori: ...

FE1: Hey, hey, that plan...

Mori: Yes! Let's work together as a team!

Manager: You said it! Now, I'm going to go right away and report to the chief that you will be in charge

Mori: ...

FE1: That plan is.. MC's...

Mori: ... Our team submitted it, so it's our plan

Mori: It's impossible for a kid with no exprience to do such a big job. Isn't that right?

FE1: Oh, that's right

FE2: Yes, she is inexperienced after all

Mori: That's it. Come on, let's get to work. It's going to be busy!

A few days later. That day, the office was hectic since the morning

I was told only that we had a visitor and was sent shopping without any explanation

MC: Haa... I finally finished... It's heavy

I'm exhausted from carrying so many coffee pots and boxes of sweets

(Teito Hotel's high-class tea and sweets set and the cafe's most expensive hot coffee)

(Even though the company already has things for guests, why bother to prepare new ones? I wonder if there will be any special people coming today)

MC: Anyway, I have to get back to the office soon... Whaat!?

Suddenly, someone bumped into me from the side. My body staggered and I almost fell.

MC: Kyaa...!

I closed my eyes unconsciously

But... before I could fall to the ground, strong arms grabbed me

(... who?)

When I opened my eyes in fear...

Xeno: ...

What was in front of me were cold, emotionless eyes...

He has an overwhelming presence that cannot be mistaken

Exe Creed Xeno is staring at me

Previous / Next

#morganatic idol #translation #ikemen series #morganatic idol prologue #prologue

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tathrin · 11 months

Note

Ehehe, hello, I am here to feed the procrastination gremlin! Those prompts all sound fun, but 21 and 28 are speaking to my heart rn.

Maybe 36 to if you feel up for it but it's your writing and you decide how many you wanna do<3

The procrastination gremlin thanks your mightily! Because I tend to Get Too Long when I write thing, I'm going to preemptively separate these out into their own posts and just assume that I'll ramble too much for it to make sense to do them all in one lmao. Also I will definitely do all three because yes more gimleaf yes. This is an ask meme that I will literally always be accepting prompts for (although if somebody sees this in the tag in like a month or so and wants to send one in, maybe include some context so that I know what that random number I just got in my inbox means? lmao). So, prompt taken from this; anyone can feel free to send other numbers in at any time. Literally.

#21....on a place of insecurity.

Gimli stared at his reflection in the round silver mirror, his hands paused even though his braids were still half-undone. "Do you ever wish that we had crossed the Sea sooner?" he asked.

Legolas blinked at him, cocking his head in that familiar birdlike tilt of confusion that Gimli knew so well.

"Sooner?" Legolas repeated. "How could we have come sooner?" A frown furrowed his smooth, beardless face; a temporary crinkling of skin that would never show the faintest wrinkle. "You mean before Aragorn died?"

"You're right," Gimli sighed. He tugged at his braids, their once-bright copper laced so heavily with strands of silver that he sometimes felt like he had just walked out of a snowfall. "We could not have, of course. But...do you ever wish..."

"Leaving sooner would not have spared us the pain of his death," Legolas said quietly. "It would only have meant that we would not have been there for him when it happened; only have meant that we would not have been there for Arwen or their children either. Knowing of his death only from stories brought by later travelers would not have spared us anything, I do not think; knowing of his death without having been there ourselves would, I think, have only made it hurt the worse, my dear."

"Yes," Gimli said, "yes, of course. I did not mean—"

He stopped. Legolas had walked up behind him and bent down to look over Gimli's shoulder into the mirror. It should have looked awkward, the sight of Legolas's long spine arced at such an angle, but elves were spindly, lithesome creatures. Wood-elves in particular seemed to be as supple and spritely as saplings, and Gimli had yet to witness Legolas contort himself into a position that strained his pliant bones.

"Gimli," Legolas said, "what is wrong?"

"Nothing," Gimli said. He lowered his eyes and his fingers both, twisting his remaining braids into place as quickly as he could without mussing the pattern of the plaits or dropping strands. He scowled, even though he knew that doing so would only deepen the wrinkles that already lined his eyes. "Nothing is wrong."

Long, smooth fingers pressed gently on his own calloused ones until they stilled. Gimli looked down at the overlap of those long digits across his own, the one set brown and spindly as twigs yet unblemished by time or strife; the other pale as underground mushrooms and gnarled by both time and heavy forge-work.

"Gimli," Legolas said. "Tell me."

Gimli turned his hand so that he could enfold those long brown fingers in his own and gave Legolas's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Nothing is wrong, my love," he said again. "I am only feeling melancholy this morning, it seems. Think no more upon it."

He raised the elf's ageless hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to those smooth knuckles, then released it so that he could continue with his braids.

Legolas did not rise. Instead he dropped lower to fold his arms across the back of Gimli's chair, his bright eyes studying the sight of the dwarf before him in the mirror. Gimli avoided his gaze, focusing instead on the intricate plaits that hung from his chin, but he could feel the weight of Legolas's eyes passing over his face, searching for the answers that Gimli would not give him.

He did not find them.

"Will you not tell me?" Legolas asked at last. His voice was soft, his eyes full of sorrow. "Please?"

Gimli sighed and let the braid in his hands droop loose and unfinished down his chest.

He looked up into the mirror again at last and met Legolas's searching, worried eyes there. He looked at that smooth, beardless, beloved face waiting there behind him; unchanging and unchanged from the day they had first met so long ago and far away in Rivendell.

His eyes flicked sideways to his own reflection, to the wrinkles that time had carved beneath his beard; to the strands of silver that wove through the bright copper braids that hung before him. He reached out and pressed his fingers to the mirror, to the sight of the lines around his eyes, and sighed.

"I would not be so old," Gimli said quietly, "if we had come sooner; that is all. I only wonder if you wish, sometimes, that we had. That is all."

Time did not pass in Aman the way it did in other places; or if it did, then it did not feel as though it did, and it carried no trace of decay with it. Gimli had not aged a day since they had first set foot upon these white shores—but he had aged two hundred and sixty-two years before that.

He was still hale and hearty, for dwarves—especially the dwarves of Durin's line—often lived many years longer than that, and rarely weakened before the very ending of their days came upon them. But he was no spritely youngster of sixty-two, either, moping because his father had deemed him too young to go along on a Quest; nor was he a mature youth of not quite one hundred and forty, boldly striding forward at last upon a Quest of his own, all bright brown eyes and ruddy copper beard.

Gimli was old, now, and he looked it. He could see it every morning when he looked in the mirror to do his braids, or every afternoon when he caught sight of his reflection in the cooling barrels at the forge or in some clear, still pool that held Aman's crystal waters. He could see it, and he knew Legolas could as well; how could he not, when he was surrounded by the contrast of all the smooth, beardless, ageless faces of his people?

"Are you tired?" Legolas asked, and his light voice was a dry croak. Shadows as thick as Mordor's fogs filled his eyes, and Gimli turned from the mirror with a cry and caught Legolas's hands with his own.

"No!" he cried. He knew that Legolas was not asking after Gimli's slumber, or weariness from working the forge; was not asking about anything as simple as a day's ordinary exhaustion. He was asking if Gimli was tired of life; if he was tired of eternity. If he was ready, at long last, to claim the gift of his own mortality.

"Legolas, no," Gimli said, squeezing those spindly fingers so tightly that had they been the frail twigs they seemed they would have snapped beneath the pressure of his grip—but elvish flesh was strong, so much stronger than it looked. So were dwarven spirits, and Gimli had no intention of ever growing weary of the world, not so long as Legolas was in it. "I promise," he assured his elf, raising first one hand and then the other to his lips. "Never, Legolas. I am here with you, and I always will be."

Legolas's smile trembled, but it was a smile. Gimli counted it as a victory, and pulled the elf up out of his crouch and into Gimli's lap. He had too much leg to fit on such a short chair, of course, but the two of them were used to that problem; it was no effort at all to fall into the long habits that had his ankles curling sideways under the chair, his elvish flexibility making easy work of the awkward position.

"Then what troubles you?" Legolas asked. He snaked his long arms around Gimli's shoulders and leaned his beardless cheek down to rest upon Gimli's head. "My love, please. Tell me."

"I am old, Legolas," Gimli said. He unwrapped one hand from the elf's slender waist to press his fingers to the cobweb of wrinkles beside his eyes. "You can see it plainly on my face. Old, as no one else in Aman ever will be."

"Bilbo is old," said Legolas.

Gimli rolled his eyes. "Yes, all right," he said. "And Sam, too. But aside from them, everyone else here is an elf—"

"Or a maia," Legolas interrupted. "Or one of the Valar. Or—"

"My point," Gimli cut him off loudly, "is that age is writ across my face in ways that elvish faces do not age. I am only sorry, my dear, that I can do nothing to erase those lines, these streaks of silver; only sorry that you cannot spend eternity beside a dwarf in his prime of life, but must instead contend with these wearisome wrinkles."

Legolas drew away far enough that he could gape down at Gimli. "Wearisome?" he repeated. "Sorry? Gimli!"

"I know, I know," Gimli soothed, "it is a little enough thing, I suppose, and I am not ungrateful; I am only sorry for your sake, my dear—"

"Sorry!" Legolas said again. "Gimli, you everlasting fool of a dwarf! Is this what you've been fretting over all this time?

"...Yes?"

"Gimli!" Legolas squawked. "Oh, my beloved idiot! I feared you were growing tired of forever, and were going to have to leave me! Instead you've just been pouting over how handsome you are?"

"Handsome!" Gimli exclaimed. "Legolas, enough. I am sorry beyond words that I made you worry, but that is no call to mock me—"

"I do not mock," Legolas said. His lilting voice for once was as firm as stones. "I adore every inch of you, Gimli. Yes, even the wrinkles; yes, even the silver in your beard!" He shook his head, scowling down at his dwarf. "Perhaps especially the silver in your beard, for it gleams like mithril in the moonlight, even as the ancient lights of lost Trees are said to still gleam in the locks of the Lady Galadriel, oh Lockbearer!"

Gimli sputtered, heat rising fast in his cheeks. He tried to push the elf away, but Legolas tightened his grip upon his shoulders and refused to be budged from Gimli's knees.

"And your wrinkles," he continued in a softer voice, "are the signs that our years together have etched upon your face, even as your clever hands carve beauty into simple metal and plain rocks. How could I help but love them, when they trace our story out upon your face for all to see?" Legolas leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the sparkle of crows-feet that framed first one eye and then the other, then traced the deep tracks that lines Gimli's mouth and nose beneath his beard. Finally he raised Gimli's hand and pressed a long kiss to those ruddy, wrinkled fingers.

"Legolas, I...I feel I've been a fool," Gimli murmured. He found himself once again unable to meet Legolas's eyes, this time because of the blush that darkened his cheeks with a blaze of hot mortification.

"You have been," Legolas agreed, "but fortunately I knew you for a fool long before I knew you for anything else, my love, and so I am not bothered overmuch."

A watery laugh spilled from Gimli's lips, and he could not help but smile. "And you are as irritating and irreverent as ever," he retorted.

"Of course I am," Legolas agreed, and hopped up off Gimli's lap and the low chair upon which he sat and grinned down at his dwarf with a twinkling smile. "Some things do not change with the passage of time—but even though my face does not show it, I have very much been changed by knowing you, my dear Gimli, and I would not trade a second of it in exchange for a single lifted wrinkle or silvered hair."

"Well," Gimli said, "I am glad to hear it, and sorry now that I did not voice my concerns sooner."

"So am I!" said Legolas. "But I cannot hold it against you when I did not voice mine either, although in my case it was because I feared to pressure you into extending your time in life beyond your own comfort for my sake alone."

Gimli stood and took his elf's hands in his and held them tight. "Forever is only barely enough time to spend at your side, Legolas," he said, "but as it is all the time the world will give us, I will take it; but I will accept not a second less than that, and would not see that time shortened for any reason even if it was only for your own comfort, and not my own. I can think of no greater purpose for one's life than to bring comfort to one whom I so love."

Legolas beamed down at him, his pale eyes bright with unshed tears. "Well!" he said. "That is all sorted, then!"

"Indeed it is," Gimli agreed. He knew that the smile spreading behind his beard was the sort of soft, misty-eyed grin that Peregrin Took had always labeled "absurdly sappy," but he could not help himself; he felt as though he was fairly brimming-over with love, and he could not contain himself from letting it show upon his face, erstwhile sappiness be damned.

"In that case," Legolas said, his damp gaze dancing suddenly with dry mischief, "let me get you out of that tunic and into our bed and I will find all your other wrinkles and properly express my love for them, too."

Gimli decided he could finish his braids later.

#first thought on this one was actually going to be legolas being insecure about his ''naked'' chin when visiting erebor or aglarond #and gimli reassuring him that he thinks legolas is beautiful even without a beard and he doesn't care what any other dwarf thinks #but then my fingers started writing this one instead so. here we are in aman again whoops.#also you should know that around about paragraph three or four i was SURE that this one was going to be short #and i was going to eat my ''oh gosh my stuff always gets too long tee hee!'' words on this one #NOPE!#lmaooooo #these fucking idiots just do not know when to shut up! (and neither do i)#gimleaf #gigolas #gimli #legolas #ask meme #send a kiss meme #lotr fanfiction #my writing #my stuff #aman #lotr #anyway fair warning this one gets a little sad but then it's happy again in the end #because these two are so relentlessly untragic they cannot help but have a happy ending always no matter what #and anyway isn't that just the elvish experience in a nutshell? (except happier because it's them and they're Like That)#this ship sails itself all the way to valinor

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pixiemage · 1 year

Text

(Originally an addon to this post about Ao3 not using an algorithm)

There are FOUR WAYS to get people to read your stories on Archive Of Our Own, and none of them include relying on a nonexistent algorithm to get them to interested parties.

Choose a good title! And yes, there is such a thing as a good title, though I'll admit it's rare for me to see a bad one. Even something as simple as "The one where Martyn forgets the milk" is enough to get me wondering what kind of story earned a title like that. Sometimes a song lyric works super well if it fits the vibe of your story, and sometimes coming up with something of your own might work better. Sometimes making a joke in the title draws more attention if you've written a story that will make people laugh, and sometimes choosing a one- or two-word phrase that catches the eye is all it takes. (If I see a fic called "Poppies, Princes, and Paranoia" I might just get curious enough to wonder what in the world is in that story.)

Write a summary! Please. Please, for the love of god, give your story a summary. Every time I come across a fic that says "haha I'm bad at summaries, just read the story lolz" my first instinct is to move on. By saying you're Bad At Summaries, you're also implying that you're bad at writing, and any potential reader won't take the time to click on your fic and give it a chance when it looks like the author isn't confident in their own work. You don't have to write a masterpiece in the summary section. You can say "Tim has a no good, very bad day. Luckily his partner is there to cheer him up." And look! Ta-da! Summary! :D It's short, sweet, and to the point, and it's miles better than saying you don't know how to write one. OR! OR, if you don't like that either, then you can literally take a short and interesting chunk from the story itself and drop it in the summary box. Look! You're doing great! ^^ You've given a taste of your writing, hinted at what's to come, and caught someone's eye. THAT will hook a potential reader far more than laughing about how "bad" you think you are at writing summaries in general. Self-depreciation may work for a social media post, but it doesn't work to sell your writing.

Clearly tag your work! I'm sure I'm not the first person to say this, but putting clear and relevant tags on your story will ALWAYS bring new readers to your story. Many people on Ao3 search specifically by tag to better narrow the massive sea of stories they'll need to choose from. So tag relevant ships and characters (preferably only the ones that are a primary focus in your fic), tag the proper fandoms, define if it's "hurt/comfort" or "angst" or "fluff" or "crack", and add the main plot concepts where needed. (For example, I'm writing an Amnesia AU, so I tagged it as both Amnesia and Temporary Amnesia, because while the amnesia is a lingering factor in the plot, it WILL NOT BE later, and some people are more likely to read if they KNOW the conflict in the plot will be resolved.) And while I understand not wanting to tag certain things for spoiler reasons (though you should add those once they're revealed in a chapter), I DO RECOMMEND tagging relevant warnings, as well as specifying whether the ending will be a GOOD one or a BAD one. Some readers are more or less likely to click on a story based on that alone. I've specifically taken a chance on a sad-sounding story before because the author said it would end happily, and more often than not I wasn't disappointed! I wouldn't have read a sad story otherwise! Tag that shit!***

JUST KEEP WRITING! People will stick around for a good story! It's true that quality of writing will make a good fic stand apart from a great one, and that comes down to skill. That's not to say people won't read a story that's written by a less skilled author, because if you tag and title and summarize your story well, you'll still draw in readers, and most people will stick around to enjoy an interesting story whether it's 2k works or 20k. But the more you write (and the more you READ), the more you'll learn and the more you'll improve. Don't give up just because you're getting less attention than the next writer. If you keep working on your craft, you'll be right up there with them soon enough. I'm in my late 20's and it took me years to get to where I am. I'm not foolish enough to pretend I don't know I'm a quality writer, but I also refuse to call it "talent" because it's much more than that. It's a skill that I honed over years of writing and storytelling. I learned from my peers and I took inspiration from bigger and better writers to work my way up to where I am now. So don't write just to get hits and kudos, write to tell a good story! And when the comments come in, though they may start small, just know that those people are seeing the passion you're putting into your work...and they're just a small taste of the kind of joy you'll be able to share if you stick with your writing. <3

(BONUS: Share your fics on Tumblr and other sites. If you're worried that they won't get seen on Ao3 without help, then feel free to boost awareness by dropping a link and some info elsewhere. I do this every time I post something new, because I know that part of my audience lives on Tumblr! So don't hesitate to utilize the platforms you've got. Tag it properly on here and you'll get a few more reads from folks who are looking for it!)

***Please remember, too, that "Dead Dove, Do Not Eat" is not a replacement for any bad tags. What it actually means is "What's inside is what's labeled on the tin" ...or to put it bluntly: "Please for the love of god, read what I have in the tags, there's probably some uncomfy crap in here, so READ THE LABELS. You have been warned." If you don't add the tags you're Dead Dove-ing, then the Dead Dove tag is pointless and tells your audience nothing. Be kind and be clear. Your readers will thank you for it.

#Writing #Writing Advice #Archive Of Our Own #Ao3 #Fanfiction

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leviathanverse · 6 months

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Chapter 24: Awful truth

The Speedwraiths dug out the cave, making it a bit roomier to accompany another four dragons. Zoha's brothers, you knew.

How did you know that? Easy. Dragon version of google translate. Speedwraiths were really useful when translating the sounds the five dragons made.

Thank goodness you helped them with Sakura, or you'd never know that they were brothers in the first place.

You watched them get along, going as far as to play tag or something. Dragon culture was weird for you. You sat down next to the aquatic dragon's temporary home, listening to it making sounds of different pitches and volumes.

You turned to look at Zika and.... she looked off. Like... she wasn't her usual positive, shy and self-conscious off.

Normally, she'd be positive and jump around like an athlete. But now? It was concerning. Very concerning.

" Are you okay, Zi? You look awfully gloomy today... Did something happen?"

She flinched and looked at you. Oh sweet tea she looked gloomy! Her eyes held so much sadness, something you have never thought you would see from her.

" I- I heard... Yami say something..."

Sakura turned her head from where she was tending to a Speedwraith and its burnmarks. The burnmarks from when Zoha decided to make them their meal.

" Hm? What did Yami say?"

" Did she say something dumb again?"

You glared at Sakura for saying that Yami said something dumb. You didn't like how she talked about Yami, your best friend, and how she said something dumb. It offended you greatly.

" ... N-no..."

You and Sakura noticed the stutter. You both knew that, of Zika stuttered, it meant something had gone down hill back at the base.

" Zika. What did Yami say?"

You felt a chill run down your spine. Sakura had her boss expression on and her voice had gotten serious. Though, Zika shook her head and spoke again.

" That the Blazeworm Queen is almost extinct...."

" Oh... my goodness...."

" Oh no... that- that certainly isn't good."

You hadn't even noticed Zika fiddle with her hands. Or how she had told you two a lie. You didn't focus on how she had told you the lie, only focussing on how the Blazeworm Queen was almost extinct.

That was really bad. Now you had to make sure you could protect those dragons. Those very dragons that had the only known way to help other dragons regain their fire power or even their ability to ignite themselves.

" I'll head to base then."

Sakura got up after patching up the last of the burned Speedwraiths. You could tell she was going to send someone like Hīrā on the mission.

Probably to go chase the ones you assassinate and give them a scare of a life time before killing them. Yeah. Sounds like something he would do.

" See you later, Y/n and Zika."

You saw her wave and you waved back with Zika. You watched as she said her farewell to the dragons before running off.

Typical Sakura. Always using ninja running styles when departing. You swear that she had too many ninja lessons!

You didn't see her anymore and sighed.

" I... I lied... I lied to you and Sakura... I-I didn't want to lie!"

You turned your head to Zika, eyes filled with shock. She had lied? Why? Did Yami say something else? You gently pulled Zika towards you and hugged her, trying to comfort her.

" Hey... sh~ hey... It's okay... It's okay. I got you. Don't worry."

You looked at the aquatic dragon next to you, and saw it stare at Zika with a glint in its eyes that you couldn't place your finger on. Was it empathy? Sympathy? What was it?

" You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

You returned your gaze back to Zika, using your most comforting voice. You really were good with comforting people. Hence why everyone sometimes came to you for comfort.

Except Kujo. That man always kicked your ass whenever you suggested for him to come to talk to you about his stress.

But of course, he didn't literally kick your ass. Not like Wu Lung Itio who used chopsticks, of course. And boy was he good at using those as weapons.

" Y-yami... Yami said- she ordered someone to kill you! And I heard her tell the person to poach the dragons!"

Your eyes widened, disbelief evident. There was no way that Yami would do something like that! Right? She wouldn't betray the team, would she?

You comforted Zika to the best of your abilities while you were in a state of shock and disbelief.

You wanted to convince yourself that Zika must be lying- that it was all just a prank! That it was just a joke!

But you knew that she would never act like this if it was a lie. She was telling you the truth. The awful truth that you had never thought was possible.

Did that mean... That Yami was a traitor? Did that mean she was part of the entire dragon poaching and hunting nonsense?

Mean that she was giving out their plans after meetings? Did she even kill her targets during missions?!

Questions flooded your mind. Questions that had no answers to them. Not until you got answers out of Yami.

You still didn't want to believe it. Your best friend? A traitor? That didn't sit right with you. It sounded and felt so wrong. So very wrong to call her that. To call her a traitor.

You just sat there, quietly comforting Zika as your brain processed the new information. The hurt catching up to you.

" We have to tell the others."

You spoke, voice devoid of emotion. Zika shook her head, clinging to you like you'd disappear if she let you go.

" NO! You'll only get killed! Please! Please don't tell the others! Yami will only try to kill you! I beg you!"

You gritted your teeth as you hugged her, tears forming in your eyes as you tried to deny it.

Zika's words left a sharp pain in your chest. Numbness soon replaced the sharp stinging sensation afterwards.

It made you feel like you were burning in an oven. Alive. You closed your eyes as tears poured down your cheek, heart clenched from betrayal.

" I'll stay. Don't worry... I promise."

The awful truth had metaphorically stabbed you in the heart. And it was an awful stabbing in your heart. Not the "I am shocked" stabbing.

The stabbing like a knife cutting you from limb to limb while you were awake as it happened. As the pain during the weapon cut you.

Betrayal was an awful thing to experience, wasn't it? A real bitch, huh? A pain in the ass, right?

You cried softly, trying to not let the truth get in your way of comforting Zika. Right now, you both needed each other.

Both needed to help each other get through the betrayal by comforting each other. It was the only way to get the truth out of your systems.

You heard the dragon next to you make a trill. She had moved her head under your hand, as if asking you to rub it. You obeyed her command, and she purred.

Her purring helped soothe your pain, but only a small majority of it. Even her purring helped Zika slightly.

At least she tried to help comfort you. That was all it mattered. That the aquatic dragon tried to help you and Zika through the flurry of emotions. Through the betrayal.

Previous <-•-> Next

#demon slayer #hantengu clones dragon au #dragon hantengu clones au #angry oc with a hatred for humans #the hunter assassin book #hantengu #sekido #karaku #urogi #aizetsu #zohakuten

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kayhi808 · 1 year

Text

More Than Our Scars - Part 5

"Mr. Russo!!" You're woken up by a startled scream. You're slow in getting up off the couch where you had fallen asleep. The pain in your ribs throbbing. You see Bill approaching you with his gun drawn, aimed at the woman by the door. He has that wild-eyed look again as he gets between you and the terrified woman.

"Who the fuck are you?!"

"K...Kate. Your assistant," she stammers, frozen in place on the verge of tears.

"Bill? It's ok." You ease up beside him, slowly moving in front of him. "Can you put the gun away, please? We're ok. Kate isn't a threat." You look behind you to the woman & with a nod at the door, you tell her to leave. Bill drops his arm, gun aimed at the floor, Kate quickly leaves pulling the door closed behind her.

Bill sinks onto the couch, elbow on his knees & head in his hands, "I didn't know her. I...I don't remember her." His voice cracks. "I've lost so many fucking years!" He pounds the side of his head.

"Hey, hey, hey!" You grab his fist and hold it within your 2 hands, you whisper, "Stop, Billy." You release his hand when he pulls back. "It's to be expected with amnesia. It's ok. It may be temporary. You need to give yourself time." You gently run your fingers through his short cropped hair, resting at the nape of his neck. "Its ok. Breathe, baby. Slow deep breaths." He grabs you by the hips & draws you close. He leans his forehead against your belly & you slowly rub his neck & shoulders, letting him feel whatever comfort he needs. You stay like that for a few minutes, until he quickly pulls away when there's a firm knock at the door.

"Hey, Billy. It's Frank. Can I come in?"

Bill looks up at you & you give what you hope is an encouraging smile & remove his hands from your hips. You step away & start collecting the bags of food to throw away, while he goes to answer the door. "Hey, man. I didn't know you were coming in to the office. You scared Kate."

"She barged into my office. I don't know who she is." Bill shrugs it off. "I'll apologize later." There's a hardness to Bill that you hadn't witnessed before. There's no trace of how upset he was a minute ago.

Frank scans the office and he lands on you. He looks back at Bill & raises an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Frank tries to pass Bill on his way to you, but Bill stops him with a hand on his chest.

"Frank Castle." He holds his hand out to you. You look to Billy but he doesn't turn to you & he hasn't taken his hand off Frank's chest yet. You don't know what to do. "You going to introduce me to your friend?"

"No. She's none of your business." This makes Frank turn back to Bill and give him a weird look. "You missed your appointment with Dr Dumont yesterday. She called looking for you." Bill is silent. "Sweetheart, do you mind giving us a minute? Go find breakfast or something."

"Of course." You pick up your notepad & pen. You're a little frazzled because you aren't supposed to leave Anvil. Bill said you were to stay to keep you safe from Kingpin, but Frank is frightening looking, you're scared to disobey.

As you pass Bill, he puts a light hand on your elbow & bends down to whisper in your ear, "Have a seat outside and wait for me, ok?" Feeling relieved, you nod & leave.

*****

"What are you doing, man? You pulled a gun on Kate. You missed your appointment. Who's the woman outside? Talk to me." Frank sits himself in a chair across of Bill's desk. He's not leaving until he gets some answers. He notices the file opened up on Bill's desk. "What are you doing with this? Have you remembered something else?"

"It's my file. I'm reviewing it, because I don't remember what happened that night. I don't know why I'm left like this!" indicates his face.

Exasperated with Billy's strange attitude, "Maybe not missing your therapy session would help."

"Ya think?" Cleans up the files off his desk into a stack.

"Hey. Billy. C'mon. It's a problem if you're carrying a gun & pulling it on people." Frank looks around the room & notices the blankets on the couch. "You were protecting her...out there. That's why you had your gun out, because you'd have been too far to reach her in time. You were here at your desk." Looks at Bill for confirmation. "Who is she?"

"I was out walking the other night, and came across some guy beating her, trying to force her in a car. I knocked him out & brought her here. Turns out, she's running from Fisk."

"Why is Kingpin after her?" Billy's silent. "Is it smart to keep her here?"

Leans over the desk towards Frank, "I ran a check on her. I trust her. I may not remember much, but it doesn't make me a fucking idiot."

"Whoa, I never said that. I meant if Fisk is looking for her, is it good that she's here? Fisk may not have connected us to the bust. Why jepordize that? What is she to him?" Bill's silent and Frank is brainstorming. "If Kingpin wants her back so badly, we can use her as bait. Lure him in with her. Leverage!"

Bill hears the exterior door slam. Before he gets to the door, he already knows the reception area is going to be empty. "Shit! Lock down the elevator! NOW!" Bill rushes to the the emergency stairway before making sure Frank is following his orders. Frank quickly catches up to Bill, "She fucking heard you! I'm not using her as bait. She goes no where near Fisk!"

Once in the lobby he goes to the elevator, "Is she still in there? Open it up!" Glaring at Frank, "Her ribs are cracked. Don't fucking hurt her."

****

Oh God! That guy is going to send me back to Fisk. He wants to use me as bait. You feel like you're going to start hyperventilating. Billy's going to listen to his friend. You decide to make a run for it. You run to the elevators, hopefully he won't realize until later that you are gone. You get into the elevator but the doors won't open once you reach the ground floor. You repeatedly press the button, but to no avail, the doors won't open. You really start to panic. Did they stop the elevators? They're going to take you and you'll be a slave again. Your heart is racing & you feel nauseous with fear. You finally got away from Fisk & there is no way you're going to let yourself be used as a pawn or let them trade you back to Fisk. You might as well be dead, because once he gets his hands on you, you're going to pray for death. You won't survive this time. You don't want to survive.

The elevator doors open & you come flying out swinging. No way in hell are you going to let them hand you over to Fisk. You catch Bill by surprise & he's trying to subdue you & calm you down without hurting you. "Y/N, let me explain."

"No! I trusted you! Let me go!" You hit him but you don't know how to fight, it barely phases Bill. You let him pull you close & grab the gun that's in the waistband of his pants. You try to quickly aim it at your temple, but Billy pulls it from your grasp. You're screaming at him, "No! I hate you!" While securing your wrists in one hand, he replaces his gun, all the while you try to knee him in the nuts, kick him in the legs and stomp on his feet.

"Y/N, calm down. Honey, you're gong to hurt yo...FUCK!" You lean over & bite down on his hand holding your wrist & he lets you go. You stumble away, unfortunately running straight into Frank. You fight like a feral cat, swing your fists & flailing about but Frank's able to get his arm around you and gives you a quick squeeze. The pain from your already cracked ribs makes you scream & see stars. You're at the point of either throwing up or blacking out as he lets you fall to the floor.

You see Billy pull back & swing his fist, hitting Frank on the cheek & again on his jaw. Bill sweeps you up into his arms, "I got you, sweetheart" & takes you out to the car. "It'll be ok, I promise," he tries to reach over to brush away your tears but you violently flinch away from him and he pulls his hand back. You look at him like the monster he believed himself to be. It's a quick drive around to the Loft entrance.

Bill doesn't give you a choice he picks you up and carries you back to his place. Once inside he puts you down and leans up against the door watching you. You distance yourself from him. Your chest feels like it's on fire. Pain shoots through you with every breath. You're so tired of this life. You want the pain to end. You want everything to end.

"Are you gonna let me help you, sweetheart? I can't stay here much longer just watching you suffer." You cry harder which just makes breathing more painful. With a growl, Billy pushes himself away from the door & goes to you. He wraps an arm around your shoulders pulling you to him. Fisting your messy ponytail to anchor you against his chest.

It kills you to beg. "Don't let your friend give me back to him. I won't survive. Please, Billy. I'd rather die."

His fingers tighten in your hair. "Listen to me. Didn't I swear to you that Fisk will never, ever, lay hands on you again? That I'd make him pay with his fucking life? It was just last night. You remember that?" You sniffle into his chest and nod. "I gave you my word." He feels you wrap your arm around him and he jerks away from you. His eyes are hard on you as he removes his gun & puts it in a case on the shelf.

"I w...wasnt going to...."

"You & I are gonna talk about that later. Right now, I need you to trust me."

"He's your friend for such a long time. And you only just met me. I was scared he'd change your mind and use me to get back at the Kingpin."

Bill shakes his head, "Won't happen. I'm not letting Fisk near you, understood?"

"Yes, Billy."

"We're in this together," kissing your forehead.

@idaofinfinity @e-dubbc11 @jvanilly

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo fanfic #billy russo x you #billy russo imagine #billy russo fanfiction #s2 billy russo

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bobapplesimblr · 4 months

Text

Devlog #4 - Visuals!!

Hello friends! :D I've been doing a lot of sprite work and visual work behind the scenes, and I thought it was about time to share it with you all.

Before I go ahead and share the images, please keep in mind a lot can still change, and it's possible that a year or so down the line the game visuals will get a rework as my pixel art skills grow.

SO!

The first thing I really worked on was an image for the start menu, something to have behind the options, and I ended up with this:

Now, if you read my previous post you'd know I'll be changing Game Engines soon, so although I did have the main menu set up and mostly functioning this way in GDevelop, I'll likely have to rework it for Godot.

However! This became the base for *most* of my colors moving forward, though they are actively getting changed and swapped out deppending on how they work in certain contexts and applications.

-----

After that I decided to try my hand at making a quick and dirty map layout for the main area, and that's when I started losing the plot a little bit...

I started trying to rework the story I had, cause honestly, I didn't really HAVE much of a story. However, I didn't like any of the ideas I came up with, not entirely, and it lead to an entire day of frustration.

I ended up with a map like this, with grand ideas of having horror elements, many more fighting areas inside certain buildings, etc. But I likely will not use it anymore.

That being said, this is still my art, so please don't take it and use it without permission just because I won't be using it myself.

-----

After all this I took a break from reworking the story. I took a break from the project entirely, writing down a few notes here and there of little scenes I wanted, little dialogue details or mechanics that came to mind. It was nice to take this break, and I think it was very needed, but I cannot be kept from a passion project for too long.

Today I decided to change game engines for 1 main reason: Tilemaps (and procedural generation)

GDevelop, as far as I know, does not have the tilemap tools I wanted to use for this project, but Godot does, and in preperation to transfer over my project I decided to try working on some quick, and possibly temporary, tilemaps. And it was so fun!!!

I had so much fun booting up Aseprite and working on this. I'll have to import them into Tiled and later into Godot, but I am having so much fun working on these, even if the color palette isn't what I expected at first. Still, I'm very excited to make more and begin building environments with this.

-----

And that's about it for now! At least all I can remember off the top of my head right now.

If you haven't heard yet, I have a new Patreon so I can try and stay funded during this process! I trust that I won't be in trouble without funding, but all and any support is appreciated, always!

Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day!!!

#game design #game dev #devlog #game development #non sims #pixel art #2d art #digital art

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braceletofteeth · 1 year

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🎶✨when u get this u have to put 5 songs u actually listen to, publish. then, send this ask/tag 10 of your favourite followers✨️🎶

tagged by @leporschespam 🥰 Thanks!! <3

(I had to go and take a look at the Most Played on my music player, then I took note from the ones I know I actually listen a lot)

Me and My Husband by Mitski

A few months ago I was taking a quiz, as you do, and, in one of those infamous song lyrics questions, there it was. That's not where I found the song, though! (it happened long before that). I'm telling you about this specific moment because, in the quiz, it was classified as a song about codependency, and when I read that I was like “Yeah. Pfff. Alright.”, you know, incredulous, but then... I started thinking about all the ships I relate to it... And, as you can imagine, I went from oh to oh very quick.

Use Me (Original ver.) by PVRIS

The new version with a rap part is good too. Not very necessary, but good.

PVRIS is one of those rare bands I vibe with many songs, instead of just few and far in between.

I ALSO REALLY WANT TO EDIT VEGASPETE WITH THIS ONE BUT I NEVER GET AROUND TO DO IT 😭

Sad Girl by Lana del Rey

I used to think the lyrics said 'He's got the fire, and he talks with flames'. It sounded really cool in my head.

Choreomania (Live At Madison Square Gardens) by Florence + The Machine

The studio version is ok BUT THE LIVE VERSION IS EVERYTHING. I love dancing and being dramatic to the sound of Florence songs.

Also, I was today years old when I finally learned how to spell the title of this one (and what it actually means) 🤡

Baby Came Home by The Neighbourhood

What I like the most about this song is that it's tranquil, relaxed; beach vibes, even. Till you get to the bridge, and then you can't help but scream at the top of your lungs.

That's also a Moonjo/Jongwoo song!! I go completely feral every time someone edits them with it.

+ Bonus! New song I've had on repeat lately:

Bells in Santa Fe by Halsey

The first time I heard it was in the new season of YOU, but back then I didn't care enough to go looking for it myself. However, everything worked out just fine, because a week later I found it again—in the playlist of a KinnPorsche fic, of all things.

The reason why I'm listening to it so much at the moment is, Idk, maybe because I'm under stress, and the chorus feels like a daily affirmation/mantra thing...?

Halsey: All of this is temporary.

Me: Yeah I sure fucking hope so lol

—

I'm supposed to tag 10 of my favorite followers, so, let me see... I'll tag some blogs I see in my notes often, but I may not have interacted with directly yet:

@arson-is-lit @wholesometoad34 @notsocharmy @anamaycrystal @technicallyausername @phant0m-l0rd @knifeyrat @thealmightyawesomegay-blog @blue-ladoo @mayablackwolf

I haven't spoken to most of you before. I don't know if you like games, or to be tagged in said games, and, to be honest, one by one, I feel like this invitation will most likely be politely refused, for one reason or another. Doesn't matter. I may never know what kind of music you're into, but I know about other stuff that you like. And you know about stuff that I like, too.

Both to know and to be known feel nice, and good enough. Thank you for being around. 💚

#tag game #from this list alone you can TELL my head is full of fandom/blorbo thoughts 24/7 #sorry. can't do anything about that 😔#//#guys if you hear me being overdramatic this week please understand that I caught a cold and it does that to people #I really want to reblog stuff but my head is mostly static and I don't have the energy to write coherent tags right now #so I'm saving all your amazing posts/reblogs for when I'm feeling better :')

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clairelsonao3 · 9 months

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Happy STS, Claire! I guess this is a worldbuilding question so feel to save it for another day if it’s a lot/you want to post it on Wednesday. It was around 1950, if I remember correctly, when the current system was established in your world. How much resistance was there when the slavery system was brought about? Were there riots, insurgent groups, etc., and if so, how were they quelled? Any heroic folks whose names have been buried by the powers that be in the interest of maintaining the system? In the present day, if the authorities caught whiff of a huge activist movement (on a mass scale, *if* that were somehow possible—as big or even bigger than the stuff in Erica’s past), how would they respond?

Happy STS!

No worries, I'll answer it now since I have time! Plus, I have too many WBW q's sitting in my drafts already...

First of all, I'm actually shocked that you actually remember this much history of my world, since very little of it was actually mentioned in the story for fear of boring readers to death before the plot even really got going. But I find it interesting, of course, so I'm glad you also did!

Below the cut are some mild spoilers for the later chapters and what is probably the longest, most boring post you've ever read! You were warned.

First off, I should probably mention that I knew going into this that there weren't going to be any wars, riots, rebellions, insurrections, uprisings, emeutes, or whatever other synonym you can come up with. I am NOT the writer for that. Reading about anything war-related bores me, and I'm terrible at writing it anyway. Plus, other than Erica -- who I'll get to in a minute -- my characters aren't really fighters in that way. They'd volunteer to be spies, sure, but are they going to be waging guerilla warfare or hurling Molotov cocktails into storefronts? Absolutely not. I knew there were much more efficient and stealthy ways of fighting back that I would find much more fun to write about, and in the story, we absolutely do see some of those, which I'll discuss more below.

That said, let's talk about initial resistance. First off, a reminder that slavery was almost universally popular when it was first implemented. In fact, it's quite likely that initially, it helped avoid a violent uprising by people who were growing angry and desperate because they had no food and their governments weren't doing anything about it. Most of the people who sold themselves or their children (remember, it also started out as almost entirely voluntary) were relieved because it meant that at least they wouldn't starve. That, and they thought it would be temporary. But they say there's nothing as permanent as a temporary government program.

The movement against it -- once the horrors of the system inevitably started trickling out, and it didn't take that long -- only came in slowly, through the back door. Remember the blacklists of the 1950s? And remember how I said there was no Cold War in this world? You can imagine that the Communists of our world became the abolitionists of this one. They were few in number overall, but they were much more common in more progressive industries, such as literature and the performing arts (although they could be found almost anywhere). But they lived in a widespread climate of fear -- someone would be brought before a government tribunal and compelled to inform on their neighbors or colleagues in an effort to save themselves. Consequently, many of these people -- who consisted of freeborn people and any former slaves who were brave enough to put themselves out there -- though they weren't killed or imprisoned or (re)enslaved, were blacklisted permanently, died in poverty, and have been forgotten to history, their books burned and taken out of libraries, etc. They did occasionally become violent -- there were a few political assassinations connected to the movement, but those were few and far between. The ones that did succeed worked in secret. This was before microchipping technology was developed, and so escaping was naturally much easier. The problem was slavery wasn't just confined to one area or country; it was everywhere -- so they really had nowhere to go, except underground, where they were often easily caught. So there was never a mass exodus of runaway slaves at any point.

Heroes of the time period? Let's see. There was Eloise Yardley, a wealthy heiress who, due to her supportive family's money and connections, could avoid most of the dangers of blacklisting. She became a prominent figure in the movement and traveled around making speeches and writing books on the topic, many of which ended up being banned soon after publication, and even gave public speeches on the topic. The authorities, determined to make an example of her, eventually had her arrested on specious charges, and she ended up being one of the few activists actually put on trial for inciting rebellion during this era. Even though she was convicted, she was never actually imprisoned or enslaved, probably because of her family's intervention. She was however forced to live in exile -- on a small island in the Caribbean -- and continued her advocacy from there. Her case made sensational headlines at the time -- especially because she was also found to have been scandalously living with a male partner, a former slave and fellow activist. Sadly, it's mostly because of this reason that her name is one of the more well-known of the movement; her books still remain largely banned (people like Erica can of course get them, but you're not going to find them in mainstream libraries).

And then there's Palaestrio (a code name; if he ever had a real name, it went unrecorded) -- a freed slave whose owner had been a doctor and gave him significant training in medicine, which he used to provide care for those who became injured or ill during or after their escape attempts, and train others in the same thing. It's unknown how many slaves he actually helped -- like I said, escape was never easy -- but he was ultimately killed in the course of his work. You'll note that there's still a secret communication network that bears his code name, which in itself was likely chosen as a reference to the main character in Plautus' Miles Gloriosus. His legend, still talked of among slaves, has probably outgrown the actual biographical details of his life, but so it often goes.

Although these and others like them were widely seen as radicals, who could be dangerous if their views spread, were not yet deemed dangerous enough to be worthy of a large-scale violent crackdown.

That changed a few decades later. Erica's movement, which had hundreds, possibly thousands of members in loosely interconnected cells at its apex, was as far as the anti-slavery movement ever got in North America and was an offshoot of these early radicals. It was always an underground movement, never open war, although some of her more violent associates hoped it would become one. It is mentioned that in the past, the Slave Liberation Army, which, by the way, was shamelessly and uncreatively inspired by various real-life radical and violent factions that operated in the 1960s and '70s in our world -- is now a shadow of its former self is because of the major government crackdown, which was partially propelled by corporate lobbyists who had an interest in seeing the system remain in place. And once the movement became more violent, they had a perfect excuse to do that.

Erica, a fugitive for years, was one of the lucky ones to survive that. The ones that were caught were convicted of sedition, conspiracy, and/or attempted murder in most cases. When this happens, they're usually sentenced to become slaves but are considered untrainable/incorrigible, and so don't generally get the chance to be sold to a decent owner -- for them, it's always the mines or somewhere equally as bad. By the 1980s, the most radical parts of the movement were long gone -- the ones remaining had either somehow beaten the charges, like Erica, or had fled abroad to a country with no extradition, which included the few countries where slavery didn't exist -- mostly small, remote, less populated and less developed countries (often islands) where it wouldn't make economic sense.

But of course, they're still around in some ways. Like many formerly radical organizations in our world who now primarily operate through the legal system and various forms of advocacy, they now use the tools they have, in the form of more conventional, above-board activism like Erica's. So the remains of what was once considered a terrorist organization is now a registered nonprofit dedicated to legally helping former slaves, which gives them the veneer of legitimacy, even though obviously not everything they do is strictly legal. And of course, on the other side of the spectrum, we also have Jake Wallach's "philanthrocapitalism" approach (which of course goes horribly wrong). Interestingly, his isn't the only corporation that has expressed anti-slavery views or even expressed interest in "disrupting" it, but the actual abolitionists largely see this as a joke and mostly for show, since many of these companies still manage to profit off slave labor anyway. Erica, for her part, has known about his views for a long time, but was already suspicious of him even before the current events, as she's suspicious of all millionaires and billionaires purporting to be "of the people."

And what if the abolitionists did decide to stage an all-out rebellion? Well, as they say in politics, never let a good crisis go to waste. As I've said before, governments and even national borders in this world look different than they do in ours, but I have no doubt that whoever's in power, either in North America or anywhere, would use it as an opportunity to propagandize, stir up a climate of fear and characterize the fighters as an army of violent thugs coming to murder your children. And once they've done that, they would use it as an excuse to crack down on free speech and assembly, spy on the population, rob people of more of their fundamental rights and freedoms, and round up and prosecute whoever they could. And then, most likely, they wouldn't have to go to war, because the people, by turning in and informing on their friends and neighbors, would fight the war for them without firing a single shot.

And closing in on that lovely Orwellian thought, thanks for the ask!

#asked and answered #gsnbtr #sorry for this #kate look what you've done by getting me going on this nerdy history shit lol #my writing #writeblr #sts

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sevilemar · 1 year

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okay, here is a very long list of random things that I thought of

Let's do this!

- I am pretty confident I'm a prep-work secondary; it drives me crazy that my roommate/best friend doesn't think ahead whatsoever. what if you forget something? don't you want to make things easier on future-you???

You can't really predict the future, though, so why invest time now that might turn out to be wasted later? Better to just look at how things are now and work with that 😉.

Yeah, prep-work secondary sounds about right.

- I have ADHD (among other issues) and executive dysfunction problems, and the way I've found best to cope with this is by doing things immediately; doing the dishes immediately after using them prevents food from getting stuck, they won't sit in the sink with food on them, and I only have to do a few dishes now rather than a bunch later

I admire anyone who can keep this up consistently. I tried so many times, and it only worked for a day or so. The only way I can keep my dishes from taking over is to limit them. If I have only one plate for everything, I either use it dirty, or I have to clean it before using it again. Same with bowls, glasses, etc.

- I collect various "tools" (interests, hobbies, skills, people) for fun and/or maybe it'll come in handy later? and I have a really hard time learning things when I HAVE to, even if I want to for practical reasons (this is related to the point above)

Hello there, birdy.

- I used to try to join or build communities; I was THE person who would see separate friends/acquaintances with things in common and introduce them to each other and end up making a group that way. I think I still have inclinations to do this, but I barely interact with people outside my circle anymore due to lower social energy

And badger's here, too, welcome!

- I have been described as "collecting interesting people"; I've also been described as "knowing everyone" and "being able to get government secrets out of an fbi agent" (semi-related to the point above)- people used to trust me very easily and see me as non-threatening (and project onto me/romanticize me, which I wanted?)

Know-a-guy bird? Courtier badger?

- I (both conscious and not) shift(?) my personality based on who I'm talking to, usually by exaggerating specific traits; I try very hard to stay consistent across people I talk to but it feels like I can't help splitting up my identity into more digestible pieces, usually based on what I think the other person is expecting from me (my ulterior motive is that I want to be liked so badly)

I don't think that's shifting. The way you describe it sounds more like a courtier badger highlighting different parts of yourself. But it's not a happy process for you, not something that feels right. I'm comfortable saying you're not snake sec, and you said yourself you don't think you're lion either. Maybe it helps if you think about it as actor bird's masks? Masks you can put down if you want to.

- I have a habit of making sideblogs for specific aesthetic, purposes, and have a hard time not separating "inconsistent sides" of me like that. could be considered a bird collecting (though I think tags are more for that) or actor bird thing?

Yes, collections are a classic bird thing, and I think that's what's happening here. I don't think it's wrong to have separate sides like that, though. Why do you think it's a problem? Where does this fear come from? And if you want to integrate them more, how would you go about it?

- when faced with a problem, I start trying to strategize a solution, or at least a temporary band-aid. I'll think of the resources I have and what options are available. my biggest example is when we got into an accident and no longer had a vehicle; are there areas we can walk to nearby? what people do I know who are able to give me a ride somewhere? is there a taxi available, or uber? back when we had little money, I'd keep track of who I was able to ask for money for help with groceries. etc etc etc.

I'd say that's bird. I would do the same.

- I avoid asking the same person for help repeatedly during a short period of time because people will grow tired and resentful towards you

That's just good people management 😉.

- However, I've relied on others basically my entire life; I don't feel like I've ever accomplished anything important without the assistance of others. I was only able to move out of my family's house because I'd look for friends who'd be able to take me in- another example of a time I solved a problem: when we needed to get passports within a specific period of time, I had to devise an incredibly shaky plan: our ride was going to take us somewhere, so I asked if he'd take us to a passport application appointment instead (he is hard to ask to do things as it is). we had to go to the library, and I also didn't know if they'd accept cash, and we didn't have enough money on our debit card. we also didn't know if we'd even get our passports in time. I hated how unsure everything was, but everything worked out and I was incredibly relieved and proud of myself

I get Know-a-guy bird vibes from this. It could be badger, but something about the planning and the stressing out just says bird to me.

- previously mentioned ride can be hard to convince to do things and my first inclination is to bribe him using gas money or fast food

- my wrists have been having issues for months, causing my roommate to have to do all my chores, and my go-to when asking her for things is also bribery via fast food...

Know your ressources, and how to manage them, right? 😉. Also, hope your wrists get better.

- negotiation is a Big tool I use incredibly often, but try not to unless I feel like it's the best choice to make. is sacrifice or making deals a tool?

I think they are tools, or as I would call them, strategies.

- I've never worked hard at anything important, like pursuing a career (I've never had any ambitions for the future and wish I didn't have to work at all), but when I get into hobbies like speedrunning, I poured hundreds of hours into repetitive practice (this is partially what injured my wrists...)

That's really alien to me. It sounds like badger hard work, but it could be bird planning, too? I really don't know.

- speaking of my wrists, it's been incredibly stressful not being able to do things and only being able to rely on my roommate and others; I much prefer being able to do things myself, as I can trust them to get done and I don't have to constantly ask for help and be a burden. I've come up with some tools to help me cope though; I can use my elbows to do things like turn faucets and door handles, as well as navigate my computer via touchpad, and I can use a combination of Google assistant, voice to text, and my nose to navigate my phone, which at least stresses me out less

You're describing them as tools, which is a bird thing to do, but I would handle it just the same, and I think everyone would? If you have to, you get creative, whether you like it or not.

- another example of a time I solved a problem: I used to not know how to use art programs, but I DID know how to use HTML and I had fun doing it, so I'd use that to make transparent borders for my streaming setup.

It's an I-move thing, I think. So more bird (or snake).

- I also want to get into fostering kittens in the future, and I know it will be a lot of work and responsibility and heartache, but I really want to. I even bought a feral cat trap, and wrote an article for my mother's online newspaper for some money about the TNR program. unfortunately at the moment I don't have the money or energy to pursue this, but I'm excited to in the future

And I bet you've already researched all about it, right? 😉

- speaking of hobbies, I enjoy some grindy things like shiny hunting in Pokemon, since you get to show off how much effort you put into it. however, while I aspire to be able to do hard stuff like SRing for a shiny starter or hunting full odds without a method that makes it easier, I often give up

Trying to be badger but are not? ADHD getting in the way?

- another example of when I solved a problem: we asked a family friend to watch our cats while we went on vacation (another problem I solved), and when we got back we learned that our nervous cat had been hiding the entire time and we couldn't get her to come out, and after we decided to give up temporarily, on the drive home I remembered that I have the aforementioned feral cat trap, so we gave it to the family friend and two mornings later she was caught and brought home!

Resourceful. And more I-move stuff, I think?

- I have a discord server just for myself where I store various things, such as important things (college programs, recipes, etc) as well as mostly hobby related things like speedrunning references and animal crossing inspiration/ideas. I also have a reminder bot in here I use to remember things

That's so birdy, my friend <3

- I feel like I'm bad at coming up with original ideas, but I'm very good at modifying or improving things to make them even better, such as editing an image or tumblr theme. I also tend to learn things by messing around with something someone's made and using their work as a reference

I also can't make something from nothing and need something to react to and work with. But references are really not my jam, I just do the thing and see how it comes out. Difference between a bird and a snakebird, I think.

- I like to keep track of/remember little details about people and use that to surprise them with things they like, like posts or gifts if I'm able to

I could never manage it. It just slips right out of my brain if it's not about my people. I'd say this is badger, but I don't have much experience with know-a-guy birds, so it might also be that

- My boyfriend is definitely a badger secondary, and I feel like he is a lot better than me at working hard at things. I always think that people who are able to work hard at things and accomplish things are very enviable, and I wish I was more like them

I think you're more bird than badger, nonny, but you definitely like the badger way.

my current theory is that I'm either a burned badger with a bird model (as a coping mechanism?) OR a bird with a badger model that I use as a tool

I think you're a know-a-guy bird with either a badger model or performance, who really likes badgers.

- 🍵🐍

#sortinghatchats #ask answers #bird secondary #badger secondary

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