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agender-witchery · 9 months

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On Project Moon

Hey, this is gonna be long, I'm putting most of it under the cut. This post is about the recent firing of VellMori from Project Moon, I know that it warrants some tags for triggers, but I have no idea what's commonly used, so if I miss something, please tell me.

Additionally, I have written this up in a way that if it escapes the target audience of Project Moon fans, it can still be understood, so with that in mind, there will be Library of Ruina spoilers.

The tl;dr for those who don't wanna read the full thing is that Project Moon was put in a very bad position with some violent extremists targeting them and that I'm not happy about any of what happened.

So, for those unaware, Project Moon has fired VellMori, the CG artist for Limbus Company. Now, a not inaccurate statement that can be made from this is "Project Moon fired a woman for being a feminist" but this is... somewhat reductive. Let's immediately get out of the way that VellMori did absolutely nothing wrong. Some people have said she is a TERF. I've seen no evidence of this. Some people have said she wished death on all men. I've seen no evidence of this.

What I HAVE seen is that VellMori thinks sexual abuse is bad. Now, why would this lead to a firing? The short answer is that a bunch of violent incels, one of which was literally dressed as a clown, came knocking at their office doors.

See, Limbus Company has a "beach" event coming up. In this event, we are getting a water themed outfit for two of the characters, one male and one female. For Sinclair, the guy, he has been given an EXTREMELY slutty mechanic's outfit. For Ishmael, the woman, she has been given a very skintight wet suit outfit. Now, I wanna take care to note that VellMori is the CG artist - she had no hand in these designs, a man made them. I would also like to mention that both outfit designs are amazing, and I will be including them at the end of this post for reference.

Now, upon revealing the wet suit design for Ishmael, a bunch of whiny incels on what is basically Korean 4chan got upset that Ishmael, instead of being in a bikini as is usual for gacha games, was wearing a wet suit. Nevermind that the designs in Limbus Company have always been conservative and that the Sinclair design is the most skin we've ever seen and it's just an open shirt. Again, the wet suit is still super revealing, it's skin tight and this is literally the first design of her that doesn't make her look flat chested. They're not rioting over the lack of sex appeal, they're specifically mad that it's not a bikini.

The incels come to the conclusion that the lack of any skin being shown on Ishmael's outfit is a result of evil feminism. No, I'm not exaggerating. They initially begin harassing the artist who is actually responsible for drawing the outfits, but upon learning that he is a man, set their sights on VellMori because she's a woman, and being an artist is good enough I guess. What they do from here is they start digging and digging and digging on VellMori's twitter, making use of archived pages because many of the "offensive" tweets had been deleted.

I'd like to take a moment to point out that VellMori never actually tweeted anything out here - it was all retweets from a 4-6 year old archive, and retweets that have been long deleted. These retweets contain such transgressive statements as "I'm sick of misogyny" and "If being against patriarchy makes me antisocial, then so be it" and just... mirroring back to men what those men were saying to women. Some people would like to have you think she was calling for death to all men. She wasn't. She ALSO retweeted all this stuff while she was a teenager and well before she worked for Project Moon.

Nonetheless, the incels had decided that feminism was the reason Ishmael had a wet suit and not a bikini and they had found a feminist working for Project Moon. It is at this point that we must take a brief detour and talk about Library of Ruina, Project Moon's previous game.

See, in Library of Ruina, one of the protagonists, Angela, has this whole arc about escaping her abuser and becoming a human. Yes, she is literally a robot, but Project Moon isn't exactly a stranger to symbolism in their stories and a feminist reading of Angela is ridiculously easy. The main antagonist in Library of Ruina is Argalia, the Blue Reverberation, and his crew is called the Reverberation Ensemble. Every member of the Reverberation Ensemble is a violent lunatic who each want to reinforce the status quo in their own unique shitty way. In addition to this, typically in order to reach the titular Library, you would need to be invited. The Reverb Ensemble are the "uninvited guests", the ones who managed to reach the Library and knock down the door without an invite.

Why am I talking about this? Well, the incels decided to start calling themselves the Reverb Ensemble, and referring to each other using names of the Reverb Ensemble members such as Pluto, Elena, and Oswald. Having taken on the moniker of the uninvited guests, they then showed up to Project Moon's office to protest. Over the lack of a bikini. Now, remember how I mentioned someone was dressed up as a clown? One of the Reverb Ensemble members, Oswald, is a clown with an extremely tenuous grip on reality. So much so, that his ideal world is one in which there is no meaning whatsoever. That is the character they chose to dress up as. This is either a case of extreme self awareness or extreme self unawareness.

Eventually, the incels were let into the office possibly as a form of damage mitigation to prevent the crowd of protestors from getting any bigger. This was a questionable decision, but they had a group of violent incels at their doorstep either way, and I don't exactly have full details on this. Regardless, Project Moon had on their hands a group of violent protesting incels, who they felt compelled to let into the building, and who had demands including the firing of their feminist employee. (7/28 update: a translation of the transcript posted to DCInside has surfaced. Please check the reblogs for it. Project Moon was verifiably threatened.)

So while "Project Moon fired a woman for being a feminist" isn't inaccurate it also isn't the full picture. More appropriately, it'd be "Project Moon fired a woman because a group of violent incels who weren't satisfied with a form fitting wet suit instead of a bikini showed up to their office demanding that an artist who did not make the wet suit design be fired because she retweeted some feminist stuff 5 years ago while she was a teenager".

I'm not happy with this. None of this is good. People are allowed to be feminists, and Project Moon stories have always presented progressive ideas to anyone with half a brain to do some basic literary analysis. I can understand why they would cave to the demands of people who were threatening them and showed up to their actual place of work, but at the same time, that's someone's livelihood gone and proof that in the future, the same sorts of people can use the same sorts of tactics to bully Project Moon into doing whatever they want. All of this sucks.

For those who would like to see the retweets in question alongside translations: https://twitter.com/danghwangs/status/1683884236888223744

And for people who would like reference as to what the artworks these incels were up in arms about, Ishmael in the wet suit and Sinclair in the mechanic's outfit.

#my nonsense #limbus company #project moon #VellMori #misogyny #library of ruina

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comfortless · 4 months

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syl. *grabs you and shakes you* syl. i woke up in a cold sweat thinking of like… könig. already off to a great start ik. but space opera könig. (not like star wars or anything) but think like 70s aesthetics all bright and colorful. he’s a bandit in a stolen ship, formerly part of a military group making peace with other planets but something went awry and he’s just having fun now!

reader is part of a small research group that has landed on a planet he’s camped out on and he’s just like “ok” followed by “i want that”. steals all of her supplies and then her. doesn’t care how much she protests when he just hauls her over his shoulder, pats her butt bc he thinks THATS going to calm her down and throws her into his ship.

she’s happy he’s not some creepy alien but at the same time who really knows what’s under that hood anyway hmmmm and she wants to hate him but also all that’s playing in her head is that one rah band song. messages from the stars lmao please. there is something in the way you write that is so special to me and if you were to come up with a full blown story for my dumb idea i think i would scream for 20 hours straight.

lil wisp….. you have no idea what this has done to me. i am going to be thinking about this for an eternity. let’s cook.. i see your vision and i would love nothing more than this too!!

content/warnings: implied violence, abduction, dubcon groping?

König’s been on his own, drifting through the stars for so long. Only raiding the ships he comes across for food, supplies, and when he stumbles across a mechanic he puts them to work with a silly laser rifle pointed right at their head (because let’s face it— when you’re a wanted space pirate who in the universe is going to fix your ship for you??). He’s put all of human etiquette far behind him, and now his life is quite literally just one relentless adventure. He wouldn’t have it any other way!

That is, until his ship is fucked up again, displaying about thirty bright red warnings on its silly hologram screens that he just can not make sense of. The thing is old, has been shot at more times than even he can count, and it’s finally failing him if the loud sputtering and incessant orbital beeps are anything to go by. He considers his luck has run out when he lands the damned thing on some hunk of rock out on the outskirts of a galaxy most don’t even bother with, because there’s nothing out here.

Thankfully, his frustration is short-lived because a smaller ship lands only a few days later; painted in the bright, pearlescent blues and pinks of your standard peace-keeping, research vessel. It’s the perfect craft to steal and it wouldn’t even be difficult… the three humans that exit are so much smaller than him and entirely unguarded. They’re just here to study a few minerals, maybe haul some back to their little camp a few worlds over for fuel and research. He won’t even get into too much trouble for it, he thinks, because even his trashed ship could take them back home. See!! He isn’t all that bad…

At least, until he notices her, bent over admiring some silly, little cluster of crystals in her skin-tight jumpsuit that makes him see stars. The heavy boots that rise up to her knees making her look like little more than a fauness, and she’s so pretty he just can’t help but get a closer look while her teammates are off chittering away and exploring the nothing planet.

She isn’t even afraid of him when he approaches. Just straightens up with her hands clasped in front of her and a smile on her face. She hasn’t seen the holograms of him, displaying a sizable bounty for his veiled head, doesn’t take a wary note of the massive rifle he has slung over his shoulder; she just sees another person. He hasn’t been looked at like that since long before he left home!!

This sweet woman has no sense of self-preservation either, because she immediately asks him if he needs food or water; gestures over to her brightly colored ship with that pretty smile ever-present on her face, and that’s all it takes for him to decide that not only is he taking the craft, he’s taking her too.

He doesn’t say a word when he lifts her up over his shoulder, and the poor thing must be shocked because it takes her a moment before she starts squirming in his grip. König does well to remove the little radio strapped to her hip, giving her ass a firm squeeze in the process before tossing it in the dust behind him. That’s all it takes to shut his little prinzessin up before he hauls her back into her ship and demands she turn off any tracking systems. Her knees are a bit weak when she fumbles with the control panels, and he’s unashamed of his own erection when he slides in behind her to lean over the console as the ship starts up.

She whines about leaving her friends stranded, of course, but he’s in a world of his own when he grabs her by the hips and seats her in his lap while she pilots. Never mind the others, he’ll take good care of her, honest!!

#könig x you #könig x reader #konig #könig #messages from the stars… LOL… anon if i had the time to write a full blown fic of this rn i would but my god #i need to propose actually this is such a good concept…

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fmaot · 15 days

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Hey. FMA Fandom. I freaking did it ok.

Lan Fan's *FULL* automail design from the manga? Yeah. It now finally exists.

Please accept this humble offering as fanon:

NOW EVERYONE DRAW HER!!!

ARAKAWA I HOPE YOU'RE PROUD!!!!!!!

Edit: I thought I'd leave some manga panels to point out a few things I don't have the skills to successfully translate in this ref sheet!

Explanations under the cut!

The armor plates on the shoulder are bigger than what I drew (I tried to put them at an angle but they just look smaller lol) I recommend just enlarging the top plate from the middle! It's supposed to hide most of the upper arm.

If you draw her in full uniform, she of course has bandages and that cool spiky leather strand around her wrist. The spiky knuckles appear to be a separate accessory as well.

The automail isn't all open right on top of the forearm, but on its side, as you'll see in the manga panels. I should've drawn the hand seen from the side but I wanted to show the screw on top of it beheheh.

The thought process behind Lan Fan's automail appears to focus on being as light as possible so that she can keep fighting with speed. Compared to Ed's very solid and armored automail to be as enduring as possible, Lan Fan's trades durability for lightness!

The mechanism for the hidden blade is basically just rings inside the fingers, to which are attached wires that are tethered close to a tiny hook. My thought process behind this is that we most likely want to avoid accidentally unsheathing the blade, so LF has to literally reach for it! It's a safety measure, but I also like that it makes her do a hand move kinda similar to Scar's whenever he's about to use his alchemy/alkahestry destruction for an attack!

For the port, have fun with it! I tried my best to give it an interesting look but I struggled with giving it a 3D metal feel. I focused more instead on where the support would be since the port can't be drilled on most of the chest. Drilled on the back it is!

Finally, if you notice the tiny lock I inserted in the simplified design, no it's not made to render the arm immovable; rather it's just there to secure the automail in the port. You know, during the process to connect the nerves. You attach the little wires, screw the bolts, and lock it all in neatly!

With this, I hope everyone will have fun drawing Lan Fan's full automail! It may not be canon, but it's at least better than nothing! So many art pieces just hide her automail because of that lack of reference, so I hope I helped change that!

(Note: the scars I gave LF on her right shoulder and left side aren't canon either. I saw an art piece way back when and somehow convinced myself that I just had never noticed in the show lol. But you can't tell me the bodyguard to a prince that canonically survived a bunch of assassination attempts wouldn't have a scar or two!!)

NOW DRAW YOUR HEARTS AWAY!!!

#everyone draw this #save this as a reference #if you draw using this use the following tag so I can see #altans design #there is no reason to hide her shoulder anymore #lan fan #lanfan #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetalchemist #fma #fullmetal alchimist brotherhood #fma brotherhood #fmab #fma fanart #fanart #reference

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torialefay · 2 months

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Moon in Sagittarius 🚩🚩

toxic-ish!minho x fem!reader angst; (based on astrology) 🔞

✨ synopsis: your boyfriend minho doesn’t do well with being told no. he is objectively toxic, but eventually becomes less terrible.

✨ word count: ~2k

✨ 2nd part in my Minho as Your Boyfriend Astrology Series (check my masterlist for full series)! together, let’s take a look into minho’s natal chart to see what type of boyfriend he would be!

✨ i will give a brief synopsis of what each chart placement means throughout the series (for all my non-astrology friends out there <3) and how that would affect lee know in a relationship

✨ author’s notes:

(1) i do brief compatibility readings w/ skz members! if interested, send your natal chart to my inbox, as well as which member you’d like me to read for OR if i think there is one member best suited to you <3 (i am verrrrry much behind on these, but feel free to send them. may take a few weeks)

(2) the aspects in this reading are based solely on my opinions and interpretations! nothing about a person is set in stone simply because of astrology. please don’t use anything i say as canon :)

✨warnings: toxic minho, slightly suggestive at the end

Moon in Sagittarius:

• The Moon is the ruler of emotions. It is also who you could feel yourself to be, if all was stripped from you. Many people relate it to the “psyche” or the unconscious. It represents the parts of ourselves that are most fundamental, that we may not even understand. It also reflects our “baseline” energy that we radiate while sitting quietly, being content with our own company. It is the part of ourselves that we really want to be SEEN and understood, even if we do not see or understand it ourselves.

• Sagittarius is the mutable fire sign. They are passionate people who are deeply intrigued by the world around them. They are known for needing a sense of freedom and individuality. They do not like to be tied down. In the same regard, they value exploration, adventure, and meeting new people. They see others as unique individuals and can likely meet them wherever they are at emotionally. Sagittarius people are quick thinkers, witty, and fun-loving.

• Long story short: Moon in Sagittarius people can often have light-hearted, often shifting emotions. They do not like to feel like they are pinned down to any one place. They do not like being told what to do. They will, however, bring a fun element to any time of relationship- platonic or romantic. They are fiercely loyal and passionate about those they love. They do not always feel comfortable with their emotions, so they tend to be flighty and try to run away from this. This is not a great coping mechanism and can lead to a lot of problems in expressing themselves emotionally and what they need from someone else.

As your boyfriend:

• Minho takes you on the most fun, most elaborate dates ever. He’d always find cool new things to do. And of course, he’d want to take his favorite person with him.

• He loves going home with you to meet your parents and learn more about where you grew up. He may have a nature that doesn’t come across this way, but he would inherently love getting to understand you better and see new places.

• He wants to travel with you!!! He will take you literally anywhere you want to go. And when you do, it’s just your own little world. Just the two of you.

• You have the most intellectual conversations ever. He has a lot of abstract ideas about life, and he isn’t afraid to talk to you about them. He likes to know the way you think about it too.

• You have a core group of friends that you hang out with as a couple. It’s not too big of a group, but getting together with them and having a night to cut loose is super important to him. And he loves the fact that he gets to do it with you.

• Friday night, you started to get excited as you heard the keys jingle in the lock of your shared apartment with Minho.

• Today had been a really tough week at work, and all you wanted to do was have a nice relaxing weekend with your boyfriend to decompress.

• Well, if we’re being honest, you felt like you’d crumble away to nothing if you didn’t get it. The stress was that bad.

• “Hi jagi,” Minho greeted you as he came through the hallway to the living room where you were sitting.

• “Hey honey! Please come sit with me. I need to rant about my day,” you pouted.

• He pulled a wide smirk across his face. “Well now you sound like me,” he teased.

• He walked over to the couch and plopped down next to you, letting his hand rest on your thigh.

• “Okay, what’s going on?” he asked.

• “So you know how I told you about the girl I went to high school with who just started at work? The one that’s a bitch?”

• Minho laughed. “You think everyone you work with is a bitch.”

• “You do too,” you stared at him.

• “I do not! Jisung is alright,” he smirked again, knowing that one would get an eye roll out of you… And it did.

• “Anywayssss, that girl. I’m already overwhelmed with stuff I have to get done to meet my deadline at the end of this month, and then she strolls up asking if I can help her with all of her shit too. Knowing damn well how busy I am. I see her over there laughing her ass off on the phone all day long. If she’d stop, then maybe she’d get something done. And THEN, after I told her I couldn’t because I had a bunch to work through as well, apparently she went to one of the main managers and complained that I wasn’t a good co-worker. Saying that apparently I should ‘give her a hand since she’s new’… I mean who goes to a manager with that shit and doesn’t even do a damn thing all day? All she does is gossip and talk shit. So NOW, I have a meeting with our manager Monday morning to talk about it, AND she’s spreading this all around that ‘I’m so horrible to her.’ Like genuinely, the only thing keeping me sane right now was knowing that I was coming home to you.”

• “Aww honey, I’m sorry.” Minho took your hand in his and brought it up to his mouth to plant a kiss on the back of it. “I can cook or we can order some food in and have a good night together. Whatever you want to do tonight. Just let me know what you want.”

• “I don’t want you to have to cook. I really just want you here with me. Maybe we could order some take out and then do a movie? I’m just super drained. Maybe tomorrow we could do something more fun.”

• “Tomorrow? I have plans with the boys. Felix, Jeongin, and I planned a camping trip for the weekend. It sounded like fun. But whatever you want to do tonight, we’ll do.”

• You shot up off the back of the seat. Surely you heard him wrong.

• “You’re doing what tomorrow?”

• “Going camping with Felix and I.N…”

• “Well, it would have been nice if you’d talked to me about that sooner… Or, I don’t know, maybe have just asked?”

• “Asked what? Asked if it was okay?” Minho scoffed.

• “Well, yeah?” you replied, furrowing your brows in confusion and frustration. The fuck is he being like this?

• “Sorry, I didn’t know I needed to ask for your permission to hang out with my friends,” he said sarcastically.

• “It’s not ‘asking for my permission.’ I’m just asking you to check in with me first- to talk about it...- is that so awful?”

• “I mean I would say that telling me that I either am allowed or aren’t allowed to see my friends is pretty awful. I’m an adult, y/n. You’re not my fucking parent.”

• Your blood was boiling at this point. The last thing you wanted to do was to “parent” him. But goddamn, wouldn’t it be nice for him to just see if maybe you needed him for the weekend? Or maybe if there was something he forgot was going on? Or to just let you KNOW about it? Jesus fucking Christ, here we go again.

• “I’m not trying to ‘parent’ you. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m just asking that you COMMUNICATE with me what you want to do so that I know in advance… And to be honest, I really don’t want you going.”

• “Here it is,” Minho rolled his eyes with an annoyed smile. “You always do this. The second I mention wanting to spend time with the boys, you’re suddenly all disapproving,” he let out a strained, sarcastic chuckle before clearing his throat. “I’m sorry if you ‘don’t want me going’, but you don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do.”

• Minho let out a deep breath before putting his hands on his knees and using the pressure to pull himself to standing. “I’m going tomorrow. Let me know I guess if you want to spend time with me tonight.” He looked down at you before walking away to the bedroom.

• And then, the house went quiet. For a long time.

• At that point, you’d decided to just give up. Your boyfriend was a conceited asshole and there was nothing you could do about it. You were upset, but you knew that crying wouldn’t help. After all of this shit, you just wanted to sleep.

• Problem: Minho was in the bedroom. You were too exhausted to fight anymore, now not even hungry to think about dinner. Instead, you just balled yourself up on the couch and went to sleep with a resentful heart.

• An hour later, Minho came creeping out of the bedroom to find you lying peacefully on the couch. He bent down next to you.

• “Jagi,” he whispered, brushing his hand along your shoulder.

• “Jagi,” he said again, a bit louder this time. You stirred a little bit.

• “Honey, please wake up. I need to talk to you,” he said as he saw your eyes slowly open, a confused look coming over your face.

• You took your time to sit upright. Another conversation about his little "boy’s trip" was the last thing you wanted right now.

• “What is it?” you mumbled grumpily.

• “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did earlier.”

• You didn’t say anything back. I mean, what could you say? It was the truth.

• “And I’m going to work on that. To work on talking to you about things better, I mean. Maybe I can have a hard time doing that sometimes.” He never would admit when he was wrong. But this was a start.

• You just looked at him, trying to give him a facial expression for him to go on. You weren’t satisfied yet.

• “And I decided I’m going to stay home with you instead. You need me more than the boys do.”

• “Okay, you don’t have to do that, Min. You can still go, but I just needed you to understand where I was coming from.”

• “And I do understand now. That’s why I’m staying with you. I made up my mind. That’s what I want to do,” he said with a proud smile.

• You let out a soft chuckle. “You’re always gonna do whatever you wanna do, huh?” you joked. You finally flashed him a smile. The first smile you’d had all night.

• He just looked at you with a grin, giving a little bit of side eye. “If that’s true, then what if I wanna do you?”

• You tried to tease him by pushing him away, giggling a little in the process.

• “You better cut it out,” he said, pulling himself back to you until he was hovering right in front of your face. “I get to do whatever I want, remember?” He smiled as he inched his lips closer, but stopped himself right before letting them touch yours. “I made my mind up. I’m gonna do you. Whatever I say goes, Jagi.”

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✨ author’s note: moon in sag has a lot of wonderful aspects as well, i just chose to write on the more angsty side of things :)

✨ if you enjoyed, please consider liking, commenting, and/or re-blogging <3

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thecuriousquest · 6 months

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Dabi x reader who attempts suicide ? Love your fics btw, def my fav writer x

Death, Sweet Death

Thanks for the support, homie! Much appreciated!

Tag List: @issamomma @repostingmyfavs @chickennugnugnug

Warnings: Yandere themes, NSFW because of suicide attempt by hanging, branding, abusive quirk use, burning, a bit of touchy-touchy at the end, arson reference, tiny bit of blood

EXTRA WARNING NOTE: I don’t condone any of these actions. You are responsible for the content that you consume. If you are struggling with depression/mental health, please seek the help of a professional. I love all of you darlings very much. Please, for the love of fuck, stay safe in this world. 🖤🤘I understand that this can be a coping mechanism for a lot of people (as it is for me as well), but I just felt the need to say this.

Master List

—————————————————————————

So, you tried to kill yourself. This couldn’t have gone any worse for you. It would have been better if the sweet angel of death had found you but no. Nothing ever goes your way. Instead, Dabi finds you clawing at the rope around your throat as you hang from the shower rod in the bathroom you two share.

He immediately rushes into action, burning the rope until it’s on its last string before roughly yanking you into his arms. He unties the rope from your throat with quick and scarred hands.

The flame thrower crouches down on the bathroom floor, transitioning into a sitting position while holding you in his lap. You open your eyes, gazing up at him.

“Fuck…” you cough.

“Yeah, ‘fuck’ is right. What the hell, Y/N? What the fuck were you thinking?!”

“Oh, I don’t know. I really wanted to see ghosts and shit. The fuck do you think I was trying to do, asshole?” There’s a bite in your voice, prickling with pent up poison. You’re infuriated that he stopped you from finding the sweet release you’ve been craving after two years of putting up with this psycho!

“You really wanna get mouthy with me, doll face? Think that’s a good idea right now? I oughta make you beg for death. Should make you hurt so badly it’ll be all you fucking think about. It’s only fair, right? After you just tried to take the one thing I love away from me.”

He holds your face with one hand right at the base of your jaw. He gazes into your E/C orbs with lightning blue ones. It’s as if an electrical storm is glaring right at you. A deep rumble fills his chest with something akin to a growl.

“You’re mine. You always have been, and you always will be. I’m not letting you go. Quit trying to fight me, quit trying to fight everything I give you and do for you. Just…fucking stop.”

Your hands shake as you try to force his hand off of your jaw. “Please, Dabi, I don’t want to live like this anymore. I don’t want to live like a captive.”

“Well, maybe, if you had been more open to living with me in the beginning, I wouldn’t have had to do all of this.”

You sit up straighter in his lap, your nails digging into burnt flesh. “You burned down my apartment building! There were people and animals that died!”

“I did it all for you!” he shouts back in your face. “What choice did I have?”

You smack the sleeve of his jacket. “NOT THAT ONE OBVIOUSLY!”

Yelling, back and forth. It’s all that fills the air as you two argue about your current situation until Dabi is so fed up with you that he picks you up and takes you into the bedroom only to literally body slam you on the mattress. It knocks everything out of you, and you struggle to breathe as he removes his heavy hand from your sternum.

He picks up something that you haven’t seen in a while, something you’re not keen on being forced on your body again.

The chains. If he can’t trust you by yourself while he’s gone, then he’ll go through extra measures to make sure you don’t do anything to try to escape or hurt yourself.

It’ll ease his worries while he leaves you tormented at home.

You scream, trying to fight him as he wrestles you for your ankle. You kick him in the nose, causing droplets of blood to leak from his nostril. He wipes it away with the back of his hand before lighting his palms on fire and grabbing your calf. You cry out in pain, wailing to the ceiling with how much agony you’re in. You can feel your flesh bubbling, melting like wax as he brands you with his hand.

Then, you hear the clink and click of the chain closing around your limb, and you look down at the chain attached to your ankle. You lie back on the pillow, a quivering hand covering your mouth so as not to give him the satisfaction of hearing anymore of your whimpers or sobs.

He looks down at you, wanton revenge expressed clearly with the curl of his patchwork lips, the metal binders rising with his wicked grin.

“Now, for punishments. How do we make sure you learn that you’re mine and that you’re not going anywhere?” For the third time that night, Dabi engulfs his hand with a cobalt flame. “Any ideas? I’ve got a few.”

This is your only chance to get out of whatever fucked up punishment he has in store for you.

“C-come on, Dabi. Can’t you just hold me right now?”

Something flashes in his eyes, something dark and twisted, causing his lopsided grin to grow even wider.

“I mean, I could really use some affection right now. Maybe that would help?”

“Some affection, huh? Want me to run my hands all over that soft little body?”

You look down at your ankle, a good reminder of your situation. Glancing back up at him, you nod your head.

“I guess I could always just hold off on punishing you until tomorrow. Mental health and all that good shit, right?”

“Yeah…thank you.”

He shrugs off his coat and gets into the bed behind you, holding you plush against his chest. His hands roam, but you allow it.

What good would come of denying him the one thing he truly loves?

#yandere #yandere x you #yandere x reader #yandere x y/n #yandere x darling #yandere themes #triggering content #triggering themes #my hero acedamia #my hero academia #yandere my hero academia #boku no hero academia #yandere boku no hero academia #yandere dabi #dabi mha #mha dabi #bnha dabi #dabi #yandere dabi x reader

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synf3ll · 9 months

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unpopular opinion, apparently, but it is so rude and unnecessary to say that people who consider their F/Os important in their lives are stupid and need to get other hobbies.

recently, a poll went around that asked about whether or not having an F/O is considered cheating to an IRL partner. the poll in-and-of itself is completely fine and respectful, but some of a lot of the notes on it were very disrespectful.

(everyone in this post being used as examples has their usernames cropped out -- they do not deserve direct harrassment, please do not go seeking them out. i don't mean to single out these people specifically, i am only using their comments because i remembered them and feel they're good representations of a larger problem.)

these comments come from a different post which was influenced by the poll i mentioned:

(do i need to explain why calling this sort of mindset "insane" is inappropriate lol)

it is not your place to tell someone where their F/O stands in their life. if, to them, a partners' attraction towards fictional characters feels inappropriate, it is their right to discuss it with their partner and work it out. if someone wants to avoid certain people because they believe their friends would be uncomfortable, it's not your job to tell them they can't do that.

maybe it's ridiculous to you. i can understand how that might be. but some of us have worse social difficulties than you -- personally, i don't have friends. i don't have family. of course my F/O is the most important person in my life; i don't have anyone but them. yes, it's fucking pathetic, but you are not my therapist. who do you think you are to tell people they need to get a life? don't you think i (and people like me) have been trying?

do you not remember that this is a coping skill for some people? obviously, escapism is not the best coping mechanism as it encourages disconnection with reality in vulnerable people, but there's far worse things to use as coping mechanisms. it's only a "not appropriate" coping mechanism when it is directly harming other people -- taking selfshipping seriously does not harm other people. (i guess one could argue it might harm the user, but we all know what the consequences might be and actively choose to continue, so we accept responsibility for whatever happens.)

all of this feels very anti-fictosexual and anti-aspec. sorry we'd rather be in fictional relationships than real ones? and i do agree that it's over-the-top to end relationships solely because of this, but again, it's not our place to decide that for other people.

and i'd argue it's borderline ableist to insist we need to drop fictional characters for real people. i've been trying in the best way i know how, but i still can't form relationships. maybe it's the autism, maybe it's the attachment disorder, but people just don't like me and i don't like them. i turned to fictional relationships because i was tired of putting everything into real relationships and getting nothing in return. it's less exhausting, caring for someone who isn't real, than caring for people who have the potential to care for you and still don't. it's easy for people to say stuff like this when they have IRL relationships to fall back on.

it is fine and okay for people to have different levels of importance in regards to their F/Os. some people are very casual about selfshipping, some are not. that's how it is with literally everything. not everything is important to everyone and that's fine and good, but you don't get to be an asshole to people who have different opinions about it.

#selfship #self ship #self ship community #discourse #fictosexual #fictoromantic #og

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fantasy-mixtapes · 2 months

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Kristen Applebees S3 Playlist: Side A

Here's Part 1 of Kristen's Junior Year Playlist, I am obsessed with it so far and will probably continue to be. Descriptions and key lyrics below. Spoilers for Episodes 1-10

Genres include: Pop-Punk, Alternative, Punk, Folk

1. Lavender Bones, Stand Atlantic

I know I'm out of my depth, but I just float in it I try to do my best, stop picking fights with it I wanna be upset, you're not alright with it I can cover it up, I can cover it Try to speak my mind, wish it was by design But I can only confess to having doubts with it Don't wanna feel regret, I'm not alright with it I can cover it up, I can cover it

So this is a perfect background music for the start of a movie about Kristen's life right now and I LOVE finding those songs. It's perfect on so many layers, it talks about feeling trapped, wanting to fix empty habits, and not to mention how "lavender bones" really hits home to my queer little heart. This entire playlist is really a game of guessing when the "you" in songs chosen mean Tracker and when they mean Cassandra, level: impossible

2. Starchild, Sweet Pill

What do you want from me? I am not a charity Work hard at everything Do it all for free What do you want from me? I am not a guarantee Go all or nothing Lose your money ... Set up to win Wind up disappointing everyone In the end I am disappointing mostly myself In the end Hang your Head

I AM SO NOT NORMAL ABOUT THIS SONG Guys its like it was written for this very specific situation. AND THE TITLE???? FOR A CLERIC OF THE GODDESS OF MYSTERY, DOUBT, THE NIGHT, AND STARS???????

anyways just please please listen to it its so great like even without the connection to Kristen, go support Sweet Pill they have a new album being released tomorrow (March 15th)

3. Uneeda, Deady

What about the bones The bones have no problem Turn them into ash And this never happened Your ashes big asses Your brains on the pavement Oh no! I can feel myself rot Unless I take your hand

Ok so this is kind of a genre outlier on the playlist since it is very very alt punk but for me it represents the rage at the mall, Kristen's relationship to Cassandra, and both of their respective reactions to what happened. It's very chaotic, but it was a very chaotic situation and I stand by it plus I love adding modern bands to things

4. Bite the Hand, boygenius

I can't hear you You're too far away I can't see you The light is in my face I can't touch you I wouldn't if I could I can't love you how you want me to I can't love you how you want me to

Yeah, sorry had to whip out the queer break-up big guns. I don't feel sorry I feel right.

5. Untitled God Song, Haley Heynderickx

When you're drunk near a sunset, look straight in her eyes She's a quick glimpse of heaven, forgetting her headlights are on When you misread her fortune, don't misread the joke She's the note on your lampshade, the honeycomb holdin' you And she spins me around like a marionette Oh, my web is still spinnin' My web is still spinnin', you can't see it yet

Immediately going from having total contact with a divinity figure to having to grasp for straws once again to a memory you hold onto, literally holding onto the shards of your faith. Having to both embrace doubt and faith at the same time. Girlies, I'm ruined

6. C'est Comme Ça, Paramore

In a single year I've aged one hundred My social life a chiropractic appointment Sit still long enough to listen to yourself Or maybe just long enough for you to atrophy to hell ... I know that regression is rarely rewarded I still need a certain degree of disorder I hate to admit, getting better is boring But the high cost of chaos Who can afford it?

I love Kristen, and I think her arc this season is extremely relatable; currently, 90% of what she does are bits, and I KNOW it's a coping mechanism, but STILL, WHY ARE YOU SO MESSY. I love you; keep being 17, but god, keep your clothes on and stop going to the steel plants girlie you're gonna give Riz a heart attack

#dimension 20 #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #d20 #d20 fhsy #fantasy mixtapes #kristen applebees #d20 kristen applebees #fhjy spoilers #d20 fhjy #ally beardsley #Spotify

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chansshands · 9 months

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Stray kids as cars

Author note: okay so, I think that this needs a little explanation, I grew up between cars and motorbikes because my grandpa used to work as a mechanic.

When I was little and even now I see cars as people, I swear I’m not crazy but there’s some cars that are happy, some cars that are angry, some cars that are sad, so I thought that it would be fun to write this thing.

I’ll probably do the same thing with motorbikes. :)

Interactions and reblogs are appreciated! expecially bc I put my blood and soul on this thread

You can find the maknae line here

Please don’t do stupid shit while you’re driving, drive responsibly and DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE

-✉️

I’m so insicure about my English, as I said it’s not my first language and I’m always scared to make mistakes or stuff like that, so if you find mistakes please let me know, I’ll be thankful and also my English will improve!

-✉️

Tags: @ilevaar 💛

HYUNG LINE

Bang Chan: FORD MUSTANG

Expensive and fast

above $58.000

Black it’s THE color for this expensive baby

0-100 km/h in 4.3 seconds

Literally the leader of the road

THE CAR OF MY DREAMS BUT I’M POOR AS FUCK

You need a huge pair of balls to drive this beast

Has a passenger seat but you NEED to trust the driver in order to enjoy the trip, and if the driver was Chris, man I would sleep like a baby, he’s a responsible king and I love it.

Hand on your thigh, or YOUR hand in his thigh is a must, definitely he has blankets in the back seat in case you get cold.

Everyone has their eyes on this car.

It belongs to German highway (Germans highway has no speed limit)

very comfy you can do the naughty naughty things in it

WEAR YOUR SEATBELL👹

Changbin: TOYOTA SUPRA

Once again expensive and fast

above $60.000

Cute and small but has a beast in it

0-100 km/h in 4.3 seconds

Usually used for drifting, but if you drive this on the road everyone it’s going to be like OMG THATS A SUPRA

Purple/pink it’s THE color for this car

Comfortable as fuck but it’s only for two people, so that’s the right car to bring only your s/o in it

as I said it's small but nothing can stop the naughty naughty things

It’s a softie on the road but with the motor that it has, people it’s going to see only your butt cheeks hehe

Once again, belongs to the German Highways and Tokyo (you know Tokyo drift)

as I said It has a passenger seat but since I can’t drift (yet) I’ll let the driver do it

If Changbin was the driver his hand would be GLUED to your thigh and definitely has some good playlists to enjoy the trip and some good snacks

(Yes, he’s part of the snacks)

WEAR YOUR SEAT BELL👹

Hyunjin: LYKAN HYPERSPORT

once again this beauty it's expensive as fuck

this car is RARE

LITERALLY just for a few people, in fact there's only seven examples in the whole world

above $ 3.690.000 (yes, you heard it right)

When I say fast I mean it 0-100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, do the math if you don't believe me

red it's THE color for this car

look at it, mad as fuck LITERALLY a beast

it has a passenger seat but honestly I would rather be the driver even if it scared the shit out me

Hyunjin would let you drive it because he turns on when he sees that you’re able to drive a beast like this

If he’s the driver he want physical contact so you guys hold hands or both of your legs are straight on his lap

not too comfy for the naughty naughty thing

Since this car is rare you have to be careful where you drive it, but definitely once again belongs to the German Highway even if I would protect it with my life✋🏼

WEAR YOUR SEATBELL👹

Lee know: LAMBORGHINI URUS

(Don’t come at me I have expensive taste okay)

I mean look at this its Minho coded

Expensive and of course fast

This car is HUGE since it’s a suv

Above $230.000

0-100 km/h in 3.3 seconds

Black it’s THE color for this car

This bitch it’s fast, and I’m proud to say that this piece of art is made in Italy

Another car of my dreams but I’m still poor af

This car gives me such a big dick energy that I can’t even explain (so definitely Minho coded)

It’s big, spacious and comfortable definitely a place where you can do the naughty naughty stuff

This car belongs to the german highway (yes, once again) and the street of some fancy city like Monte Carlo or Courmayeur

I would love to be the driver of this piece of art but if I think about Minho hands-on-the-steering-wheel fuck it okay? He can drive it.

he needs to touch you so hand on your ties or locked in yours is a must

WEAR YOUR SEAT BELL👹

I spent two days working on this so please don’t let it flop.

As always requests are open!🩷

#skz #stray kids #stray kids x reader #skz hyung Line #bang Chan #bang chan x reader #changbin #changbin x reader #hyunjin #hyunjin x reader #leeknow #lee know x reader #cars #Lamborghini urus #toyota supra #Ford mustang #lykan hypersport

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sopuu · 7 months

Note

I would love to hear your thoughts on the symbolism and game design of omori

This is suchh an old ask im sorry it took me so long to get my thoughts tgt let alone write them down hh everything’s under the cut bc there’s a Lot and tysm for enabling me 🙏🏻

just a heads up I’m not gonna talk much about the characters themselves bc there’s already plenty of analysis out there for them- what I am gonna get to tho is the general game itself and a bit of the music. And bc OMORI is a game that covers heavy topics, please be aware of this before you continue reading!

So ofc I gotta start with the first place omori wakes up in — white space, just a simple rectangle on the floor with the essentials within arm’s reach, no responsibilities and no one to bother you. I LOVE minimalistic stuff like this- something so simple can can make you feel like you’re in both the most peaceful and uncanny place in the world. Also the black bulb being a symbol of repression, opposite of a lit bulb being a symbol of a new idea (thank you fandom wiki for this point) is just 👌🏻. And the fact that omori’s friends are right next door (literally called neighbour’s room) if he ever gets lonely shows how they’ve always been there for him, and in turn how much he depends on them.

I think the game does a wonderful job of depicting what escapism is like- Daydreaming of a world full of your own ocs, adventuring through it with your best friends and being the hero of the story where everything goes right for you. But of course this fantasy can’t hold forever as the real world starts to catch up, with stuff like Something appearing in places reminding omori of what happened, red space entrances throughout the story (the ones before the main red space debut as omori sits on the throne), and ofc the moment basil drops the photograph at the start. Side note, I like how Something always disappearing so quickly shows how desperate omori is to repress it, like quickly shoving problems under a rug. Or maybe im reading too much into it and it’s just to add to the creepy factor lol. Also this is one of the games that does mixed media SO well- combining digital 2d art with real life materials like sketching and scanning the animations, clay models for Somethings, real life photos drawn over and filtered etc, it really suits the theme of having to balance the fictional world and the real world if that makes sense. Also the way some scenes deliberately leave in the crumpled paper texture!! Especially for messages about not friends giving up on each other-- its almost like those were thrown away in the trash and picked back up again. Quite the parallel to how sunny locked himself away for four years due to depression and guilt for what he’s done, thinking his friends would never forgive him, then eventually finally coming out of his house and giving himself a chance with reconnecting with them.

Ok here’s where the heavier themes come in so please please stop reading if you’re not comfortable with them! [tw: suicide (or at least implications of it)]

game design time! i absolutely love it when games use the game mechanics themselves to be a part of storytelling- and this game does it with the stab function. I actually got to know this game through watching playthroughs, and at the first forced transition usually people do whatever they can think of to avoid having to press the button, before very reluctantly realising that they don’t have a choice. As the game goes on, players start getting more and more familiar with it, using it to get back to the real world or bc of forced resets and so on. Before long this basically becomes routine and players get so used to it that they don’t even hesitate to press it anymore. After all, nothing bad actually happens, right..? This mechanic gets used so much more in black space, but this time it’s very prominently presented as an escape route, something to get out of stressful situations, something that helps. you might even be relieved to see that option be available to you. And I think that’s terrifying— considering that this is a representation of how.. unpleasant thoughts can go from being unfathomable to something that feels like a natural/normal occurrence. i don’t think I’ve seen any other game that captures this kind of thought process(? there’s probably a better term for this) to the level that OMORI does and im so so glad that the devs are bringing these mental health topics to light.

I’d also love to talk about black space but I think this post does it better than I ever could haha, also black space 2 I love you sm im a sucker for out-of-bounds-but-not-really type of areas (yknow like Undertale’s fun value rooms and test rooms), it’s like hitting the jackpot for easter eggs and subtle lore aughh <3

And I can’t talk about OMORI without talking about the music!! I think we can all agree that Duet KILLS. the high notes as the happiest scenes show on screen………the way the piano is the one that starts the song off and it ends with only the violin……… my emotions man. what if I started crying!!!!! (i did)

Clean Slate is one of my top songs- there’s so much emotion in this and it’s the epitome of acceptance and letting go of guilt while also giving the feeling that you’re in a hospital (ig that’s kinda the point but for such a short song to pinpoint a feeling AND setting so accurately is so grragjgh….)

Other big favs are It Means Everything, Chaos Assembly, Tee-Hee Time, Puddles, Snow Forest and Dear Little Brother :) and actually a lot of others as well but id be listing half the soundtrack and more if I go on

In conclusion OMORI is such a well designed game, I love it and its messages sm it means a lot to me personally, and writing this made me feel like im back in English class again

#asks #my god this is actually LONG. even had to cut some stuff lol #kudos to anyone who actually read this #ignore the inconsistent capitalisation i did this both on my phone and laptop hgkdk

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splinteredbone · 2 years

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baker’s choice

masterlist / navigation / @splinteredmercies

pairing: eddie munson x reader

contains: no spoilers for s4. mentions of drug consumption, edible production, and profanity. not edited, we die like men.

wc: 1.13 k

author’s note: inspired by that one episode of derry girls where michelle makes edibles but they’re scones. anyway, please enjoy girlboss!reader ‘cause sis is literally running an edible empire in the sleepy town of hawkins all by themselves!! lmk if i should continue this. i might because i think the ending is lacking but i literally wrote this while at my graduation ceremony lol. (p.s., all my reader inserts are gender neutral, poc friendly, and very vague with the physical characteristics unless stated otherwise.)

Daylight had ceased from entering your kitchen hours ago, your counter was littered with baking utensils, and you fought the urge to lick the double chocolate brownie batter off the whisk.

Under any other circumstances, you would lick some of it off before throwing it in the sink to be washed, food safety be damned. But you knew better. The thick batter on the whisk wasn’t the usual. Your recipe had been altered to include one more ingredient: weed.

You didn’t like how weed made you feel while high—anxious, paranoid, and grogginess. The side effects never changed whether you smoked it or ate it. But, fuck, did edibles bring in money.

Not that you really needed it. Both of your parents worked good jobs, but it sent them miles away from Hawkins for months at a time and they sent a hefty check every two weeks. It left you alone with nothing to do, so baking—cooking in general, really—became a mechanism to avoid the reality of your house being way too big for one teenager in high school.

You set your timer to twenty-five minutes and placed it back on the counter. It’d be enough time to clean up before sitting down to cut up brownies and individually wrap them with plastic wrap and your labels.

You paused when you realized Jenny’s cookies were still sitting on the dining room table. Christ, I forgot to call her. She’ll have my head, it’s for her fucking birthday party.

Shaking your head, you went to your telephone to call her about the cookies. Meanwhile, you thought about how you had to go to Eddie Munson’s trailer to get more weed. Ugh.

It was nearing midnight when you pulled up to Munson’s trailer. You didn’t want to be here, not so late and on a Friday night, but you needed to replenish your weed stock. You had a large order to be prepped for Saturday night. (Or was it for tonight?)

You exited your car and were about to knock when Munson’s door swung open.

The lanky man leaned on the doorway, watching as you squinted at the sudden amount of light. “You look like shit.”

“It’s midnight and I’ve been awake since five. I think I can allow myself to look like shit, Munson.” You pushed past him and entered the trailer. “I’m here for the usual.”

You scanned your surroundings and realized it was… neater. Frowning briefly, you turned back to Munson, only to see his eyes snap back to your face.

No wonder he was quiet, you mused, not at all bothered that he was checking you out.

You were wearing shorts—ones you had made yourself from an old pair of Levi’s that had become too stained from mud and grass to be salvaged—and a band t-shirt from middle school that somehow still fit you.

“Nice shirt.”

You stared at Munson for a moment and then looked down. The painted faces of KISS stared up at you. “Thanks. I think it’s a real shame they stopped painting their faces. It’s what really brought that mysterious appeal to them, you know?”

You looked back up at Munson. A beat of silence ensued. You became worried and leaned toward him. “Hey, are you okay? I just want my weed, I can always come back in the morning.”

He blinked, seemingly coming out of a daze. He didn’t seem high though. You watched as he turned away, mumbling something to himself that you could not decipher.

“What do you even do with all this?” Munson questioned as he brought you what you wanted.

“Why are you asking?”

“I doubt you can smoke it all, not with how frequently you’re here.” He tilted his head to the side and smiled. “And I asked around too. No vices of any kind. So, what do you do with all that weed?”

You fought back a shiver at hearing Munson say your name—softly, intimately, downright reverently—at the end of his question.

“My only vice is sex.” The statement fell out of your mouth faster than your brain could stop it. Horrified, you sputtered, “That’s a joke—just a really, really dumb joke—”

Munson laughed, harder than you’d ever seen him laugh. Something about his laugh made you feel better. You laughed with him and felt your shoulders relax.

“I make edibles,” you answered his question from earlier. “I sell to the people who don't like smoking it, don’t want their parents finding any buds laying around, or too lazy to make it themselves.”

“And people actually buy it?”

You scoffed. “I always come back to buy more weed, don’t I?”

You grabbed the bag out of Munson’s hand with a little more heat than necessary. Throwing the money down on the nearest flat surface, you started walking out. “See you around, Munson.”

“Wait—! I didn’t mean—” You turned around with raised eyebrows. Munson continued sputtering, “I just think that it’s… cool. That’s all.”

He leaned on the doorway to the trailer, and you could tell he was trying to look nonchalant.

An idea popped up in your head. Debating with yourself, you looked between Munson and your car.

You motioned toward your car. “Want to try one?”

He jumped away from the doorway and made a beeline to the passenger seat. “Thought you’d never ask.”

You felt odd brining Eddie Munson into your home. It was one thing to enter his trailer—most people with an illegal vice in Hawkins went inside of his trailer. But no one had been in your house before, you always made deliveries and drop-offs to avoid so many people entering your space.

You toed off your shoes and Munson followed; your sock clad feet made no noise compared to his boots thudding behind you.

“What are you craving? I have double chocolate brownies and M&M cookies.” You asked as you entered the kitchen and turned your head to look at him. You didn’t why, but he seemed very attractive all of a sudden.

“Baker’s choice”

Rolling your eyes, you hummed in confirmation and pushed away your earlier thoughts. Grabbing one of the many individually wrapped brownies from earlier, you chucked at him and he caught it flawlessly.

How can someone look good catching a pot brownie? You thought, frustrated with yourself.

You watched, like a fucking creep, as he ate the brownie.

“This is really good,” Munson said in between bites.

“Thanks.” You looked away sheepishly, leaning against the counter. Feeling emboldened, you added, “If you think that’s good, you should try my lasagna. I’ve perfected my recipe over the years.”

You dared a glance at Munson.

“Is that an invitation?”

You shrugged. Now, it was your turn to look nonchalant. “Maybe.”

He beamed at you. “It’s a date then.”

#eddie munson x reader #stranger things x reader #stranger things imagine #eddie munson imagine #mine.one-shots #ch.eddie munson #tv.stranger things

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wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart · 3 months

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Oh no I am an anxious wreck once again. What now?

Here are a few tipps and tricks that help me personally to deal with anxiety (plus some I know work for others). Please feel free to add your own coping mechanisms in the notes!!!! Even though I technically know means to calm myself down, I always forget everything when I'm in the thick of it, so while this is mainly a reminder for myself I hope this list can help at least one other person as well :)

First of all: emotions are hard, and they are overwhelming, and shaming yourself will not make it better. Chances are it will make everything worse, actually. So don't you dare feel bad for needing help even with the "easy" stuff, or for not being able to endure as much as your peers, or even for half-assing stuff sometimes. It's fine. Like, for real. I promise it's okay. You don't need to always be at your best. You don't even need to be at your best most of the time.

What helps me personally is imagining that these struggles are affecting another person close to me. If my best friend were to call me because she needs help answering an E-Mail, or even to cancel last minute because she feels too overwhelmed to leave her house right now, I would never make her feel like crap because of it or talk about her behind her back or anything else your brain may be trying to convince you of. I know that she is at least as good a person as me (probably better tbh), so if I wouldn't do any of that, she certainly would never. In fact, believing these thoughts is actually a disservice to her, who did nothing to deserve these mean remarks (quite the opposite actually). Basically, try to twist and out-logic your own brain into being less of a cunt to you. Try guilt-tripping yourself into being kinder. The bad emotions are there anyways, might as well use them to your advantage. I can speak from experience that being anxious is a bit less unbearable if you aren't being a self-obsessed asshole on top of everything else

JUST FUCKING DO IT

If the source of your anxiety isn't a particular task you have been procrastinating on, or is something you can't just do whenever (f. ex. a job interview that's two days away), feel free to skip this part ^^

If you are still here: I know it can feel like actual hell to just do the thing. If you immediately want to click away after seeing this title I don't blame you. I mean, I am currently writing a huge ass post about anxiety instead of answering the two (2) E-Mails literally making my hands tremble. But the truth is, doing the thing is actually never as bad as it seems. Here's some stuff that maybe can help:

-> Remember that it's never been the end of the world before, so surely it won't start being it now. If you've already been through a similar situation: remember that it isn't the first time you've felt this way; remember that doing the thing wasn't as bad as you'd feared and, most importantly; remember how you felt after doing it. If this is the first time you feel like that, I'm sorry. I promise you aren't stupid for "overreacting", and I promise it will feel at least a little bit better if you just get it over with. And when you've managed the first time, you can now use that as an example instead of taking some stranger on the internet on his word. Worst comes to worst, you can still anon hate me (jk please don't)

-> Rewarding yourself. Remember that putting yourself down tends to make things worse. Allow yourself to be proud for your achievements, yes even the small ones that most people barely even think about. Because sometimes shit is just hard, but you still did it, and that's fucking awesome !!! For me personally just the knowledge that my anxiety will lessen (and I will probably get some good sleep - emotions are so fucking exhausting) is enough most of the time, but you can also give yourself a little treat afterwards. You've earned it!

-> Hide it in between chill tasks. Like right now, I'm writing this instead of my fucking E-Mail. I am a bit calmer since this is distracting myself from the daunting task of typing a few words. So I am now going to open my mails on another tab, type this shit, and send it. And I know that when I did that I will feel better about myself. And even if I fuck up somehow (how you ask? i don't fucking know), I will immediately have this task to come back to so I don't have the chance to overthink it. I FUCKING DID IT I AM THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD

-> If you have a bunch of stuff you swore yourself you would do (a bunch can also mean like 2 btw) starting can seem even more daunting (even if it is, as aforementioned, "only" two). So I am very happy to present written lists my absolute beloved. In my experience, stuff is a lot less overwhelming if it isn't only living inside your head. You get a feeling of accomplishment when you can cross something off your list. You don't have to keep panicking about forgetting something (since everything is already written down on your list.) You can even break down bigger tasks into smaller more manegeable ones (f. ex. instead of "clean your room" -> "1. do your bed; 2. fold your clothes; 3. etc etc".) It's great because even if you don't manage the entire big task you still feel less like a failure since you've got proof of all the small accomplishments you did manage. Plus it's easier to continue on another day since you know exactly what you have to do and have proof of everything you already managed as a motivator.

-> Accept help. Be on the phone with a friend while doing the thing (if possible, of course). Ask your friends to be your hypeman before and after doing the thing. Get reassurance from other people. Go to your friend's house to ask them to read your E-Mails, summarize them verbally, and then type an appropriate answer for you (can you already tell me and electronic mail aren't in the best of terms?) Making things harder on yourself on purpose isn't being strong it's being stupid

-> already mentioned it a bunch of times, I know, but the thing that really helps for me is comparing with past experiences. I know I will feel better after I do it because that's always what happens when my brain blows things out of proportion. I know I can do this because I did even scarier stuff and it went well. Or even: if I manage to do this seemingly super scary thing, I will be able to use it as a motivator for smaller stuff in the future. I mean, what even is a fucking E-Mail in comparison to going to a social event on your own ??! (seriously, do it. in my experience it's surprisingly easy to find friends if you look pathetic enough, plus a lot of things seem a bit less paralyzing in comparison)

-> I turn it into a competition, or a game. If I do the thing I win. If I don't do the thing the anxiety wins. And I refuse to let that happen because I'm competitive AND a sore loser <3 so I do the thing. and then I feel a bit better

JUST DON'T THINK ABOUT IT. THINKING IS THE ANTITHESIS OF DOING. (which you can also use to your advantage, à la better to think about that unhealthy coping mechanism and why you shouldn't do it than to stop thinking about it and actually doing it instead. But that isn't the point right now)

DISTRACTIONS

Sometimes there just isn't anything you can do. Sometimes all you can do is wait. Sometimes you don't even know why the fuck you're feeling like that. And that fucking sucks.

I know there are some people who need an absence of stimuli in order to calm down. (If that's you, please leave some of your own pointers in the notes! I don't really have any ideas for that one tbh)

For me, the opposite is the case. I can't count the times my mom has told me to "try meditating!" or "don't do more than one thing at the same time it'll only stress you out even more!", unaware that giving my thoughts free reign would make everything so much worse.

I need to overwhelm myself in order to be able to forget about my anxiety for a while. Sometimes doing a task I've been dreading is easier after distracting myself for a few hours (being anxious is very tiring so if you let it run its course in the back of your mind for a while you'll have less energy for it later ^^). Here's some stuff that could help (though it should be noted that a) not everything will work on everyone and b) sometimes it just doesn't work. even if it worked the last five times. Don't ask me why it is what it is):

-> Do something (really anything) while listening to a video essay/podcast/audiobook. That's my go-to classic. Feel your mind slipping away from whatever you're doing? Force yourself to really listen to what is being said. Sometimes it helps to mouth the words along to my audio of choice (while still doing your thing at the same time!!) Speed it up (I've usually got my stuff at 1.75x or 2x). Assume that pretty much everything listed below can be done while having this as a second layer of distraction

-> Learn something new. I was literally just teaching myself the tabs for Every Breath You Take by The Police and 26 by Paramore on the guitar before starting this. I tried learning finnish and irish for a while there (learning vocabulary, trying to translate sth, learning grammar, etc.). Sometimes it can take a bit of time to get into it, but once you're there it's easy to lose yourself in it (in my experience at least.) And you can always start another video essay in the background!

-> Baking. I usually do half or fourth the recipe to a.) waste less ingredients; b.) have less stuff to eat so you can go bake more stuff sooner; and c.) feel less bad if it doesn't turn out how you hoped. Plus you can also make yourself more likeable by giving some to your neighbours ;)

-> Comfort book/series/movie/etc. I'll be honest, this one almost never works for me, but I know that for some people it does so on the list it goes

-> Take a walk. Touch some grass. Go outside. Personally have very mixed feelings towards this one. Used to do it all the time during lockdown (walking nowhere for literal hours while listening to music), but when it doesn't help it makes things much much worse (in my experience) So maybe be a bit careful? If you want to get away from your thoughts this is...bad. But otherwise (like if you just have the feeling of anxiety without a specific reason) it's worth a try

-> Do maths. I'm serious. For a while there I couldn't sleep, so I'd go on the net, search for equasion exercises, and just go wild. Don't look at the answer: this isn't the point. It's something with a fixed procedure and no consequences if you mess up (you won't even know if you mess up). Maybe instead of equations you find long division more relaxing. Just try not to think of school, put the pressure away, and give it a go.

-> Go to your comfort place. This is also a bit of a tricky one. First of all, not everyone has one of those. Or maybe you can't really go there (like, I always calm down when I'm at the beach. I adore the ocean. But I don't have sea anywhere near me, so sucks to be me i guess). But if you do have a place near you it's worth a try. Sometimes after a particular stressful therapy session i just...go chill at the library for a while. It helps :)

-> Blorbo scrolling. I personally prefer looking at a bunch of art and comics (visual stuff) since i don't really have the concentration to read when I'm anxious, but see what works best for you <3

-> Menial tasks. I love them. Sorting stuff that actually doesn't really matter (like taking all your books from your shelves and trying a new way to organize them). The already mentioned maths exercises. Washing the dishes/putting them back in their place (you can combine that one with the baking hehe). Volunteering work can also be pretty helpful: they often need help with menial tasks plus you can feel good about yourself for helping. Recently started helping at my local animal shelter and it's actually pretty great !

-> Sports. I personally hate sports and always feel worse afterwards, but so many people talk about it that it must be of help to someone out there. What I used to do when I got suddenly overrun by emotions is taking my skipping rope and jumping as fast as I physically could til I felt a bit better (and sweaty ew)

-> Sometimes I like starting a small project; depending on the mood either with no pressure to finish (or intention to show anyone ever because eww), or posting it in hope for praise that'll make me feel a bit better about myself heh. Just something else I can focus on. (ex. g. I've got a meeting I'm nervous about tomorrow so I started writing this huge-ass post) Just remember: IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE GOOD!! JUST CREATE! I PROMISE BEING CREATIVE AND/OR DOING STUFF IS AWESOME!! (or if nothing else at least frustrating enough to overshadow the anxiety lol)

-> In the wise words of mother mother: Dance and cry, and cry and dance and cry. (And sing. And scream. Or get out that skipping rope. Just let it out my dude.)

-> Watch a show in a foreign language faster (like 2x speed) and with subtitles (less time to read, more required focus, less brain power to panic)

-> immersive reading (audio + text); especially effective if you do it in a language you are currently learning or one that is similar (but not the same!) to your native tongue (f. ex. portuguese and spanish)

-> Try sleeping. Doesn't always work, but at least it wastes time.

I THINK I'M ABOUT TO HAVE A PANIC/ANXIETY ATTACK

-> Strong sudden stimulant. Like smelling a very strong perfume or taking a freezing shower.

-> Just. Let it wash over you. It sucks, yes, but it'll be over. Try keeping calm. I know, easy to say when you yourself aren't currently going through it, but anxiety about a future attack will not, in fact, make things less worse. Once again, remembering past attacks can help as well? It didn't kill you then, it won't kill you now. (My therapist suggested using a mental image, like huge waves or something. I personally don't do that but maybe it'll help)

-> Cover your ears and listen to your heart. Key point: this is NOT aiming to drown out noise, but to ground yourself by listening to your own body (bloodstream and creaking bones etc) (ty anon <3)

-> I'm not sure whether this'll work with panic attacks as well (according to google one of the key differences is that these don't really have a trigger and just....happen) and it probably won't be viable in every situation. But just. Be enough of a spiteful little shit to turn your breakdown into a powermove. (The distressing emotions are there anyways might as well make use of them). You told your teacher you get extreme anxiety when you have to speak in public and they ignored you because the school system actually hates kids? Look them right in the eyes as you start hysterically sobbing so they feel really bad, maybe be extra subdued the next few lessons. As far as you know it'll get you a few pity points that'll make a difference in your overall grade! (Pretty sure I got a better grade in my arts finals than i deserved) Someone knowingly breaks a boundary you set because "oh you've been doing so well" and "it's an irrational fear so it isn't real anyways" or whatever they tell themselves to justify it? This is your chance to make them really see how what they did is wrong (and hopefully will make them think twice before pulling shit like that again). If you warned them, they are literally asking for it. And it'll seem that much more impressive when you are having a good day for once and manage to get through it without one (you've earned that extra credit). Maybe I'm just a bit of a vindictive person, but reframing the narrative like that in my head gives me some semblance of control, which makes it all a bit less scary.

IT DIDN'T FIT ANYWHERE ELSE BUT IS STILL IMPORTAT

This is mostly me reminding myself that it's fine tbh. Because it is.

-> Remember that you can just do shit. I don't know how else to say this, but sometimes my anxiety makes it feel like hiding away in my room is my only option. But that's not true! There is so much stuff you can do, I'm always in awe for a while when I get this through my thick skull once again. Like, you can just go to places. You can just write to your friends. You can just start a chat with that cool mutual you're too nervous to directly interact with. You can move. You can change jobs. You can redecorate your house. You can get into a random train and only get out at the last station, wherever that may be. YOU CAN JUST DO SHIT?!?!?! ISN'T THAT FUCKING AWESOME?!!!!!!!!

-> Extreme emotions can have unpleasant physical side effects. Sweating. Body odor. No appetite and/or extreme hunger cravings (sometimes at the same time??). Diarrhea. It sucks (especially when it continues on for multiple days and your oh so kind peers make sure to constantly remind you of those physical symptoms you are already overly aware of). But it's normal and it's fine. It doesn't make you gross, I promise.

-> THIS TOO SHALL PASS (that's it. Sometimes it's good to remind yourself. This too shall pass.)

-> Sometimes I just do small harmless shit to prove my anxious lizard brain wrong. Randomly say hi on that group chat you haven't entered for months. Create something you aren't really happy with and post it anyways, just cuz you can. Go do something on your own. The more you prove your fears wrong with little things like that, the easier it gets (especially if you have to do bigger scary stuff). Spite can be your best friend. (Plus easy way to gain more points in my mental competition hehehe)

-> Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you will fuck up. You will barely be able to say a word in the social event you forced yourself to go in order to meet cool people. You will be so obviously anxious at your friend's birthday that she will still remember that over a year later (despite your best efforts to hide it at the time). You will get an anxiety attack because of something you thought you had already gotten over months ago. And it sucks, but more importantly, it's fine. This too shall pass. This is another reason why the previous point is so important: it's harder to hold these incidents over your head if you have so many other experiences where you managed to prove yourself.

-> YOU get to decide when you want to try confronting a fear. Nobody else can do that for you, no matter how often they mention "exposure therapy" and shit (it's about the control once again. in my experience it's important for it to be your choice). Occasionally hiding away doesn't make you a failure. There are always more chances, it's never too late to start. Already mentioned it a bazillion times, but this shit is exhausting and you are well within your right to stay in your comfort zone and rest.

-> I don't know if it's just a me thing but self reminder to avoid lactose and gluten when overly anxious. (i never do but i am aware of it that should count for something)

-> gender-affirming stuff can help ^^

-> Not viable to everybody, but sometimes I just delete all social media from my phone. You can still go there through browser of course (that's where I'm actually currently writing this) but just not having the icon on the phone can already feel somewhat of a relief (social media in this case also including messaging apps like discord or WhatsApp or fucking electronic mail my beloathed). That's actually what I am planning to do immediately after posting this thing that came out a bit more personal and stream-of-conscousness than initially planned. You won't even be able to tell cuz I never tag my queues hehehe

-> mentally dunking my stupid anxious lizard brain into salt water rn. Fuck you. I'm posting this. I'm leaving my house tomorrow instead of calling in sick. I'm winning.

#i apologize if there are spelling errors or sentences that dont make sense (my focus is a bit shit rn lol)#once again hope this can help someone? plus always open to more suggestions etc etc #it feels a bit hypocritical to be posting this rn tbh since i am not dealing with my anxiety that well atm tbh #but then i look back to how it was like two years ago and actually i *did* improve even if only a bit so like fuck you too lizard brain #i hope you get to look out of your window and realize that you too have come far <3 #i love being a lil cheeseball hehehehe #anxiety #actually anxious #actually anxiety #uhm idk how else to tag this i guess ill rely on rbgs lol

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narutosfrog · 1 year

Text

"𝙇𝙪𝙘𝙮" — 𝙇𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙮'𝙨 𝙏𝙬𝙞𝙣 𝙎𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙓 𝙕𝙤𝙧𝙤, 𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏 𝙏𝙃𝙍𝙀𝙀

cw: oc!protagonist, unhinged protagonist, Luffy's twin sister, mentions of death, grief, mentions of imprisonment, violence, mentions of Garp beating his grandkids' asses up, Zoro being a literal caveman as always, mentions of scars and serious injuries

TW: this chapter contains graphic description of murder, injuries, imprisonment, death and sexual content. MDNI

Spoiler alert: Dressrosa Arc

— TAG LIST: @cameshitpost @herbo-logia @irenered-20 @unstable06 @toraochi @cuddleymoonbear @boggiesho @nerdyphantomlady @hppy-fandom @damnednerd @doodlingpizza @megumiiichanie @rosiepetalss @yua-himari @lynnsemptymind @beclover @desiray562 @ahseyy @chanyeolscoon @touyasfatcock @lovingyeets @mugiwaraelly @joyfullyinharmony @umiexe @audreys-works @oddlyoptimisticalex @malayka3sano

If you wanna be in the taglist, please comment 🤍

I added a playlist for Zoro and one for my OC, so that you can kinda catch her vibe and enjoy the music as you listen!!

AUTHOR'S NOTE

HELLOOOOO I AM ALIVE. I haven't posted a chapter in forever, ikik. Maybe you guys don't even remember about this lmao. Still, I got in uni and did my mass media history final (kinda hope I [aced] it), so I'll write as much as I can before I have to start breaking my back over my cognitive psychology one.

I hope you enjoy this, sorry for the wait🫶🏼

DRESSROSA

When they set foot in the square, the group was left speechless. Mesmerized, even. The colours, the arches, the little tables outside the bars and restaurants, the stores, the smiling and laughing people. It all looked straight out of a fairytale.

Franky tilted his huge head. "This doesn't look like a place that needs saving," he mumbled. Zoro shrugged at his side. He wasn't exactly surprised to be looking at a perfect façade.

Meanwhile, Lucy was looking at the beautiful dancers in long dresses — like Sanji —, wondering whether holding a rose in their mouth could have been somewhat stingy, and only looked away when something stepped over her foot, making her hiss.

"Look where the fuck you're —." She stopped in her tracks, her mouth falling open. The wooden soldier stumbled on his own feet and turned to look at her in mechanic movements. But that wasn't the weirdest part. The weirdest part was the muffled 'sorry' that came out of its mouth.

Lucy clutched Luffy's arm, incapable of reacting. "Fuck my life," she declared, in the stiffest way possible, "that toy has an accent."

Luffy laughed excitedly, basically jumping on the spot and Franky put a hand on his shoulder to keep him down. "Look!" he exclaimed, pointing at other little toys walking around and talking, "There's more!"

"Well," said Zoro, more horrified than he liked to admit, "that is so fucking normal, right?"

Kin'emon did nothing but shake his head. "Let's move along, Zoro-dono" he muttered, "This place is evil."

Sanji kept staring at the dancers. "I disagree."

Franky looked around before clutching on the twins's shoulders. "Listen, you two. Doflamingo said he has something Luffy wants — he doesn't know about you, Lucy, so you'll have to be..."

"Socially inappropriate?" she snickered.

He raised his eyebrows in an unimpressed look, even as he was trying to hold back a laugh. "The opposite, today," he kept going, "Discreet. Just discreet. He resigned but if the Marines get involved, you'll be in danger as well." Then he shook Luffy who appeared not to be listening, as always. "As for you, don't do anything stupid. Shock factor, remember? We can't be discovered until it's time."

The twins stared at him, silent.

The vein on Franky's forehead popped out. "Understood?" he stressed.

"Yeah, yeah," they said in unison.

He gritted his teeth. "Super. Super fucking babysitting."

Lucy turned around. Something wasn't right. "Where's Zoro?" she asked, "And Sanji? And Kin'emon?"

Franky frankly wanted to disappear right until he spotted Kin'emon running. "There" he exclaimed, swarmed in relief, "Let's follow him — discreetly."

"Sorry to break your bubble, Franky, but you're anything but discreet," giggled Luffy. Lucy covered her mouth to keep herself from snorting as she affectionately took the cyborg's arm. Secretly and very deep down, Franky was happy to be the goddamned babysitter.

"Toys here walk around like people" he scoffed, "No one's looking at me." Given the amount of time he spent on his new gear, it did bother him a significant bit.

They found one of the three missing pieces after five minutes. Kin'emon was waiting for them at the bottom of a dark stair, tapping his foot nervously. Lucy thought that being a samurai was probably quite the definition of a stressful job — especially with the whole thing of "samurais are never hungry" he was going on about on Punk Hazard. The whole time she was on the Sunny, she kept feeding him and Momonosuke the sweets and snacks Sanji made for her.

"Oi, Kin'emon," Luffy called, "Where are the others?"

"Zoro-dono got away and Sanji-dono followed him so he wouldn't get lost by himself and I followed them both so that we would know where they were and I —." Kin'emon took a deep breath, completely out of oxygen. "As I was saying, I wanted to warn you but the cook is really fast and I didn't want to lose his sight."

"Breathe, my guy" chuckled Lucy with a shake of her head, "So, where are Zoro and the pretty one?"

Both Luffy and Franky shot her an incredulous look. They found themselves wondering whether Lucy knew how to strike the swordsman nerves or if she just liked to be a little mean.

"In the pub, back there. Zoro-dono insisted we go in when we found him. Sanji-dono is inside with him."

Franky sighed. "It's not the time for a drink." But they all went in anyway. If Sanji had followed Zoro without at least trying to kick his head away, then there was probably a decent reason behind all of that.

As soon as they walked in, the three spotted Zoro and Sanji sat at a table, sunglasses and fake beard fixed almost religiously on their face. Weirdly enough, they weren't fighting. They sat at the table with them and Franky decided they didn't need scolding for the moment. Lucy took a seat between the swordsman and Luffy, pretending not to notice when Zoro scanned her whole body behind the sunglasses.

"So, why are we here?" Luffy asked.

"The shitty mosshead felt something, he said" Sanji explained, a critical tone in his voice, "About the blind guy."

"I didn't know you liked older men, Zoro," Lucy teased, staring straight ahead.

"Shut up, brat" he seethed, "I know what I felt — that guy has... something."

"No, he's right," said Luffy, almost casually, "I just don't understand why the sight doesn't match."

The blind man, that was now being fooled by some pirates at the roulette wheel, had sent a rush down Zoro's spine when he first saw him. Yet, he didn't seem capable of looking after himself, let alone powerful. He just couldn't understand why he was pretending to be weak.

Meanwhile, Luffy was looking over at the scene, trying to keep his cool. And the best way to do that was talking to his sister. He grabbed her hand, popping her knuckles just like he used to do when they were kids.

"Did you ever see Dadan again? After you left, I mean."

Lucy subconsciously smiled at the thought. "Yeah, I did — Garp brought me to visit her a little after you left" she murmured, "Then I visited her on my own after... you know, after everything happened."

Luffy's grip tightened. "Is she okay?" he mumbled. He missed Dadan. She wasn't always nice and patient but, to be fair, he and his siblings were always difficult kids. And, no matter what, she always took care of them. Dadan was their mother.

Lucy's cleared her throat. She didn't want to think about the way they crumbled in each other's arms, mourning Ace and a life that was long lost. She forced out a smile and hoped that the tricks of time would've prevented Luffy from noticing. "It's Dadan" she chuckled, "She's tough, you know that."

Luffy shot her a neutral look. The tricks of time couldn't possibly work with him. Not when it came to his twin sister. He got up from his chair and ruffled her hair, then stared straight ahead, at the blind man. "I'm going to do something about it."

So, Zoro watched Luffy intervene, incapable as he was of minding his own business as always, and the blind man proved himself to be way stronger than everyone thought him to be by unleashing a crushing force that sent the other pirates plummeting into a hole.

Yet, Zoro didn't quite care. While Luffy insisted to know the man's name, Zoro could only look at the curious expression on Lucy's face, as her previous words rang through his head."You're gonna get attached," she had told him. And he feared that, oh so much. He couldn't help but listening to her and Luffy's conversation about that woman, Dadan. He knew about her already but he listened anyway. He was already painfully aware of his own restlessness in knowing her.

And then he snapped back to reality once he turned to look for his sword. "What. The. Fuck."

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. "Your sword is running away."

"It's the fairies," a customer casually said, "you better catch that sword before you never see it again."

And Zoro began to run.

"Oi, mosshead!" Sanji shouted, "I told you, you can't run around by yourself."

"Why not?" asked Lucy, an amused tone in her voice.

Franky groaned, ready to follow. "He'll get lost."

Lucy's eyes lit up maliciously. "That won't be an issue" she beamed, "I'm going with him."

Luffy tilted his head. He wasn't sure whether they were finally getting along or his sister was out for revenge. The difference was always ambiguous on her part. "Alright" he said, "Be careful."

"Yes, Mister Captain. Whatever you say is law. Will do. Yessir." Luffy rolled his eyes, yet not being able of holding back a chuckle and Lucy gave him a thumbs up. Then, she planted a big kiss on his cheek, right before slapping the back of his head and running away between snickers. "Stupid," he yelled after her, almost wholeheartedly.

Lucy caught up with Zoro quicker than she had imagined. He was on the roof, being thrown around — apparently, by nothing. "Well, isn't this interesting?"

"Fucking quit it!" he was screaming, "What the — give Shisui back or I swear." Before he could finish, he was thrown off the roof, falling helplessly to the ground. At least, that was what was going to happen if Lucy hadn't used her power. A haze had formed under Zoro's suspended body, almost like a turbine. His eye widened, looking for her only to spot her on the same roof he fell from, Shisui in one hand and the little creature in the other. She looked immaterial. Mystical. Half tempested wind, half woman.

"Your powers..." he murmured.

"Yeah," she cut short, a sly smile on her lips, "The wind-wind fruit — everything is really interesting. Are you alright?"

Zoro looked away. "Tsk. I'm fine. Put me down."

She rolled her eyes, quite literally evaporating whatever was holding him up. "Your manners are terrible."

Zoro landed on his feet and gave her a critical look with his sane eye. "Give me a break, woman."

She tilted her head, quickly disappearing into a turbine and reappearing in front of Zoro, her power still keeping the little fairy still and silent. It was almost like she was surrounded by a wind storm. "You could at least thank me, you know that?"

For some reason, in her voice, Zoro recognized a threat. "Thank you" he said, as neutrally as possible, "Happy?"

She shrugged. "No. Now let's question this little urchin."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ

"He kept tabs on us the whole time" she seethed, "It was all a fucking trick."

Zoro clenched his jaw, peeking at the vast group of Tontattas that surrounded them. He was thankful they were too busy talking to Franky and Usopp about their plan to take down the factory. He needed to calm down and take matters in his own hands. "You heard what Franky said — Luffy is fighting in the pit."

Lucy's eyes grew dark. "Yes. For our brother's fruit. It's kind of ironic that he's fighting for it under my name."

Her tone was anything but ironic. Murderous, perhaps. Ironic was far from it. "I say we go and help him from outside" said Zoro, calmly enough, "If they're keeping tabs on him, then they know about his identity, no matter what the public of the pit calls him."

Lucy nodded slowly and stared straight into his eye. This time, Zoro could sense panic. "They can't hurt him."

"Luffy's strong" he muttered after a while, "He'd be offended, the way you worry about him."

She took a deep breath and did something unexpected, something so insignificant Zoro felt ridiculous noticing. Her knee touched his. It did not brush against it, no. It touched it and stayed there. She was looking for contact, again. It almost bothered him. Almost. Yet, it was a chance. The perfect opening for a deadly strike. The perfect chance to bathe a blade in blood. Just like in battle.

"The last time I was told to trust a brother's strength," she murmured, "I cried on his dead body."

Zoro tilted his head. He realised: she was right after all. In her mind, Luffy was in deadly danger. She wasn't so far from the truth. Before he could stop himself, Zoro stroke her cheek. Lucy froze on the spot, her body stiffening for a moment, only to relax slowly as she gazed at his face. "You're a challenging person," she said.

The swordsman lightly scoffed. His hand made way on the back of her neck, only to sway back on her cheek and finally retreat, back down at his own side. "This is the second time you tell me."

Lucy's lips formed a strange smile. "It's true — you care and then you don't. You are rude and unpleasant and then you aren't. You are a lot of things at the same time."

Zoro blinked. He felt... seen. And it was almost a bad thing. Almost. "You speak as if you're easy to be around."

"Are you calling me difficult?" she casually asked.

Yet, Zoro knew she wasn't casual about it. "Yes" he said, "But it's not really negative, if you go beneath the surface."

This time, it was Lucy who initiated contact. She took his hand in hers, her fingertips brushing on the back of it, tracing the scars and the lines of his palm. Zoro kept himself from clenching his fist closed. The pleasure of her touch made him want to pull his hand back. Almost unbearable like holding his palm above a flame. Almost.

"And what's beneath the surface?"

"I still don't know. I guess you aren't the only one who's gon' get to know me."

Her eyes lit up again. Zoro couldn't say in what way. "It appears I'm closer to the aim of my projects."

"Don't think me easy, doll" he scoffed, his hand grabbing hers in a grip, "You're not even close."

She narrowed her eyes. Again, Zoro couldn't say. "Well," she spelled slowly, "we'll see about that." Then, she got up harshly. "Let's go, I'm sick and tired of waiting."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ

Zoro wasn't used to be deconcentrated during battle. It was not a feeling he knew. But, as he was fighting, he kept thinking, "Just once. I'll look just once". And he allowed himself to look — to look at her. He found excuses for himself, as he watched her disappear in turbines of wind and reappearing at her enemies' backs, slaying them with one swift of her swords. He told himself that looking wasn't a big deal, since the enemies weren't that strong. So, he allowed himself another glance, as she pushed back with the skill of her swords alone. He thought her style was fascinating. Alluring. Unethical. Deprived of honour yet fierce. He found himself staring at the way she would cut them behind the knee and watch them fall, helpless, right before finishing them off.

When the battle was over, and they were only left waiting, hidden in dark alley, for Luffy to find a way out after winning the fruit, Zoro approached her. Lucy was cleaning the swords on the ripped shirt of one of her victims, after taking care of her own face with the hem of it.

"A bit unfair to finish someone like that" he said in the most neutral way possible, "Is that the Red's teaching?"

Lucy tilted her head, putting her swords back on her hips. "Nobody smart plays fair" she calmly retorted, "And that's not Shanks's teaching — it's mine."

Zoro didn't have the chance to answer. A noise distracted his thoughts, distinctive enough to be terrible. In a matter of seconds, the streets were swamped by Marines, prepared to arrest whatever criminal had participated in the fighting pit. Instinctively, he grabbed Lucy and pulled her close to his chest, hiding further in the darkness. "Fuck," he whispered.

Lucy initially stiffened, pressing herself against hist chest, as her vigil eyes stared at the little part of the crowd she could see. "Yeah" she murmured, "Fuck."

"What do we do?" seethed Kin'emon. Zoro and Lucy turned to look at him. Pressed against each other, they had almost forgotten he was there. "I could go and try to grab Luffy-dono's attention."

"No" Lucy quickly said, "A samurai doesn't go unnoticed."

Zoro gritted his teeth. "I'll go."

Lucy grabbed his wrist. "Are you fucking serious? You're world-known and that fake beard was ridiculous — now you don't even have it anymore."

He remained silent for a moment, staring in her eyes. Big and dark and stubborn. "So, you propose I let you go," he concluded.

She lifted her chin. "It's the only way. They don't know how much I've changed, the last they've seen of me is a picture from two years ago and my face was covered in blood." Then, she unsheathed her swords to place them in Zoro's hands and he lost his mind.

"You are not going unarmed" he seethed, pushing her back against the wall, "I can't defend you, once you go past that corner."

"I don't need defending" she spat, "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you."

"I am warning you, brat —."

"You're warning me? Then, fuck me. Tie me down and have it your way, I dare you prove you're capable of it!"

They stared each other down, bound to declare war and ready to swell with pride after the other abandons the battlefield first. But none of them did.

"I'm the only one who can do this" she uttered, "They might have not put seastone in the walls."

Zoro tilted his head. "What if they did?"

Lucy's lips formed that same smile it was so hard to decipher. "Then, I guess I've ran out of luck." And, with that, she dissolved into wind between his arms.

Lucy hadn't run out of luck. She flew against the wall, ready to become material again and fall to her death, or worse, to a pack of Marines. Yet, she found herself in the Colosseum, sighing of relief. Luckily enough, she spotted the weird guy with green hair they had seen before.

"You!" she called, "Bert. Bort. Uh — fuck. Barto.... Bartholomew?"

She sucked with names. Something her and Luffy had in common.

The guy pointed at himself, almost looking flustered, and she nodded. He had actually yelled at her before she told him she was part of Luffy's crew. She couldn't exactly scream out she was his damned twin sister. But this Bartholomew seemed to be somewhat of a fan and that was good for her purposes.

"Miss Lucy?" he asked. He looked on the verge of happy tears. Lucy kept herself from groaning.

"Yep, right. Any idea where Luffy is?"

And, blabbering a little too many words — majority of which sprinkled with nonsense — he brought her to him. The only intelligible thing she had caught was that he would win the Flare-Flare Fruit and give it to Luffy. Lucy showed him a grateful smile. Even if Bartholomew hadn't kept his promise, she would've ripped the fruit from his stomach.

She finally got to the room where Luffy was and sighed. He was fighting with some blonde guy with a weird-looking hat — typical. "Luffy" she called him, "We need to go."

He quickly turned to look at her and gestured with his hands. If the meaning was the same to when they were children, it was definitely something along the lines of "wait until I fix this piece of shit".

"Oh, fucking hurry!" she yelled, "I swear, five minutes — anything more and I'll personally start kicking you." Lucy groaned and the blonde guy smiled excitedly at her. Just to be safe, she gave him the finger.

"Listen," Luffy kept going, already cracking his knuckles, "The Flare-Flare fruit is a keepsake from Ace. If you want it, you're my enemy. Plus, don't call me Luffy — can't you see this fucking beard? I'm Lucy. Lu. See."

The actual Lucy, right behind him, rolled her eyes and the stranger chuckled. "You think I can't tell my brother's face just because he's in disguise?" he murmured.

The twins tilted their heads. "Brother?" they repeated in unison.

Luffy wrinkled his nose. "The only people who can call me brother are this one right here, Ace and the guy who died much earlier."

And they fell silent. They told themselves their own eyes lied to them. They told themselves they were hallucinating, because it just couldn't be. The blonde curls and those big, warm eyes, they were just a coincidence. His smile, surrounded by welcoming dimples, was witchery. That realisation, just a mere illusion. Lucy clutched her twin's arm. Luffy felt like he was being punched in the stomach. "The guy who... who died..."

Their eyes filled with tears, and they stumbled back, almost ending up on the floor, babbling incoherently. "I don't believe you," croaked Lucy between sobs.

Sabo smiled softly at his two younger siblings, taking a step closer. "We stole a bottle of sake from Dadan and made a toast," he began but he couldn't finish as Luffy shot his elongated arms forward to surround him, dragging Lucy right in the middle of their embrace.

Lucy briefly broke the hug to slap him, hugging him again immediately after. "Where—," she sobbed, "Where the fuck have you been?" Sabo was warm. Warm and alive and grown and tall and breathing.

"I thought you were dead—," cried Luffy, who had basically climbed Sabo all the way to his neck. He couldn't help but think about the times they would bother him during the night as children, maybe because they were actually too restless to sleep or because he was patient enough to pay them attention at a late hour. When they thought he died, that anchor of safety and warmth had become Ace, who before that time had been tougher and sterner. But Ace was gone, and Sabo was back. The world really was cruel in its own way.

Sabo exhaled a laugh of relief, not even caring about Luffy's snot and tears falling on his face or about Lucy's purposefully-weak-slaps on his tear-stained shirt. He held them tight, finally ending up on the floor, all crouched together in an endless hug. "Thank you," he whispered, "thank you for being still here." And he fell silent, at peace. In his mind, he spoke to Ace.

You don't have to worry anymore, he thought through tears, I got them, Ace. I got them.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ

HELLO, THE CHAPTER IS OVER! It's 02:18 am here in Italy and I've just cried about Sabo (again). I'm sorry again for the wait, I just really had a lot on my plate :(

Anyways, I really hope you liked this chapter lmao :'). There'll be more on the way with a particular focus on the events of Marineford in Lucy's POV and, ofc, more romance between her and Zoro. I wanted this chapter to be more about Lucy as a character with layers and how she relates to Zoro in a non-romantic context. I hope you enjoyed it! Lemme know what you think! Ily

#Spotify #one piece zoro #zoro x oc #zoro x reader #roronoa zoro #one piece #one piece fanfiction #monkey d. luffy #luffy #one piece luffy #roronoa zoro smut #zoro smut #op zoro #zoro fanfic #one piece smut

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the-stitch-witch · 9 months

Text

Heavenly Murder Mysteries

I had A Moment, and I'm not sure if it's a galaxy brain moment, or a 'red string conspiracy ready for a padded cell' moment. Please tell me what you think.

Gaiman said, when season 2 was first announced, that he and Pratchett had conceived of the story as a murder mystery. He also said, several times, that season 2 was not the story they'd planned - it was the necessary prologue in order to be able to tell that story. Which is a big part of the reason he's so desperate to get a season 3, and said that even if it doesn't get renewed, he *will* find a way to publish the story.

This season relies heavily on altered memories - we have the repeated threat of being Unwritten from the Book of Life, Nina comments that 'this isn't right' and she feels like something is playing with her mind, and Gabriel alters his own memories before Heaven has a chance to. Jumping off of @ariaste ‘s awesome theory about Metatron re-writing reality, we have our mechanism for a supremely unreliable narrator. Beelzebub clearly believes the Extreme Sanctions - being Unwritten - are a plausible threat, but Crowley brushes it off as 'something we used to scare the cherubs.' We also have that *quite* intriguing conversation between Gabriel and Crowley - "I feel like an empty house. A house someone lived in for a very long time, but now they’re gone, and the house can sort of tell where the things used to be." That's a metaphor Crowley *gets,* and when Gabriel complains that his head isn't made for those memories anymore and trying to remember hurts, Crowley tells him, "I know. Do it anyway. Look at where the furniture isn't." We have the implication that the memory-altering mechanism is imperfect, and Crowley has at least sort-of learned how to work around it - looking at where the furniture isn't, the tracks left behind where things were removed.

We also have Iain Banks' novel Crow Road featured front and center - to crib notes from the Wikipedia article, 'Prentice becomes obsessed with papers his uncle left behind and sets out to solve the mystery... Prentice's efforts to make sense of Uncle Rory's fragmentary notes and the minimal clues surrounding his disappearance mirror his efforts to understand the world and his place in it. The narrative is nonlinear, leaping back and forth with little or no warning, requiring the reader to piece things together.' We also have the three slightly out-of-place mini-sodes, that establish three physical documents recording Crowley and Aziraphale's involvement: the Book of Job, Aziraphale's diaries, and the photo of the two of them together onstage.

I have my own theory that Aziraphale agreed to the Metatron's terms only because Crowley's existence was suddenly at stake, and he's going to Heaven not to be a good little worker bee, but a murder hornet, to use Crowley's metaphor, and do everything he can to fuck up The Plan. He knows this is probably a suicide run - he makes an offer he knows perfectly well Crowley will refuse, to cut ties and try to get him out of harm's way. He seems less devastated than we'd expect, when Crowley does refuse and storms out. A clinical warning sign of suicidal ideation is giving away treasured possessions, and Aziraphale deliberately chooses not to take any of his precious books with him - "Nothing lasts forever." This, from the same angel who set out to prevent the apocalypse because Heaven didn't have sushi! This would also explain his tight, anxious little smile at the veeeery end of the credits - he's one step closer to the goal he knows is probably going to kill him, but he's going to prevent this second Armageddon, or die trying. But Metatron is far, far more powerful, and can literally rewrite reality. This won't end well for Aziraphale.

This is our setup for season 3. Operating under the assumption that season 3 is going to be a murder mystery... I think the murder victim is probably going to be Aziraphale himself. He's been Unwritten, and even if Crowley can't tell exactly what's gone, he knows something is. Something big, some*one* he structured his life around for millennia. He can see the spaces where the furniture isn't, and enough records to start to piece it together.

We get the quote from Aziraphale, "We aren’t in danger. Crowley will be back in a moment. He will have a plan."Nina: "Why don’t you stand up for yourself? Make your own plan." Aziraphale: "Oh, I am. But rescuing me makes him so happy."

Season 3 will be both. Aziraphale does have his own plan to try and protect Crowley and the world by infiltrating Heaven, but I don't think he'll get away with it. Crowley will have to be the one to solve the mystery. Season 2 was, very much, Aziraphale's. He occasionally narrates, we follow him to Edinburgh, the action follows him and his neighbors and his attempts to get them together. Crowley has a few asides, but this was Aziraphale's season. Next season will be Crowley's, trying to solve this mystery and find a way to undo it.

...we had damn well better get a third season.

#good omens s2 #good omens s2 spoilers #good omens season 2 #good omens #good omens season 3 #good omens s3 #good omens theory #metatron #aziraphale and crowley

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jeonstellate · 4 months

Text

ocean waves & faded dreams — shore xi

the avengers watch snippets of phantom's life with hydra and the winter soldier.

⚝༄ platonic!bucky barnes x original character (ft. platonic!tony stark x original character)

⚝༄ depictions of memory wipe, child abuse, objectification, murder, & dehumanization

⚝༄ paragraph format — 1.6K words

masterlist | ow&fd masterlist

[gif’s full credit belongs solely to its owner]

⚝༄ think everything in bold is in russian.

The Avengers found themselves deep within a HYDRA base.

However, they opted to not look around their new surroundings right away in favor of attending to Bucky — who claimed a spot on the floor as he collected his thoughts.

"Buck, can you hear me?" Steve was immediately in front of him, ready to comfort.

"I’m— I’m fine. Just shocked." Bucky lightly shook his head as though he was shaking his best friend’s concern away. "I didn’t— I didn’t know they did that to Tide that early."

"What was that, anyway?" Scott intrigued. "The mechanical dentist device?"

"It’s what HYDRA used to wipe our memory."

"Why would they wipe the memory of a literal four-year-old?" Clint voiced out what everyone was thinking.

Unconsciously, they all looked at Wanda — as they all assumed she knew exactly why. After all, she was the one who showed those memories as part of answering what S.H.I.E.L.D. was hiding about their youngest agent.

"I had to cut the memory short for Barnes’ sake," Wanda started, "but we were supposed to hear Fischer say something near the end." She paused for a second while she waited for Steve to help Bucky up. Once she met the latter’s eyes, she took it as a signal to continue, "‘If only you didn’t inherit your Papa’s intelligence along with his eyes, then I wouldn’t need to wipe your memory this early.’"

The Avengers were silent as they tried to make sense of that information individually. Whatever they were thinking, though, it was apparent that they were reaching the same conclusion — as noted by the way they all unconsciously looked in the same direction.

"How many more memories do you have up your sleeve?" Tony didn’t appear to be bothered by the stares that gradually gravitated toward him.

"There’s one more after this," Wanda informed him and the rest of the team. "Just to solidify everything, in case there’s still any doubts."

Taking that as their cue, the Avengers finally took the chance to process their surroundings. Only there wasn’t much to process since there was barely anything in the room. Just a door, a HYDRA insignia on the wall, and a cylindrical glass prison.

"Is that Kid?" Sam was the first to identify the lump inside the cell.

In the others’ defense, there was nothing identifiable currently in view since she was curled in a fetal position. All that was in their line of sight were the unwanted gifts etched on her skin — faint scars, newly formed scars, old cuts, and bleeding cuts all around.

"What have they done to her?" Bruce led the way to approach the glass cell to get a better look. "Even her clothes are soaked with blood—"

Before anyone could add another comment, they were silenced by the sudden appearance of the younger-looking Winter Soldier. No one heard the room door open nor close — and they didn’t see him already in the room when they materialized, either.

However he entered the room, the Winter Soldier announced his presence by widening the opening of her cell door — making it creak in the process.

"Please, I had enough for today," they heard Riptide croak without looking up. "Please don’t hurt me."

"I’m not here to hurt you," the Winter Soldier replied cautiously. He stayed at the adjacent corner of where she was, careful not to make any sudden movements that could startle the young girl.

"Papa?" She looked up suddenly, her eyes were sparkling with tears and hope.

"How old was she here?" Tony’s voice was tight. It was easy for them to tell in the previous memories that she was four years old — as Detective Jones told them she was four when she was abducted. Not to mention she appeared to be generally well taken care of in those memories, like she was still growing normally. However, in the one they were currently seeing, her age became a bit ambiguous due to the sudden loss of her cheeks.

"Five," Bucky supplied. It only took one look at him for some to realize he wasn’t fully with them at the moment. Rather, he was slightly reliving the memory currently playing in front of them. "Five-and-a-half, at most."

"You mean it had been a full year and yet she hadn’t stopped looking — waiting — for her Papa?"

"You heard Jones earlier." Bucky’s attention was still directed on what was in front, but he still contributed to the conversation. "Johan hasn’t really stopped looking for him, even now."

The Winter Soldier shook his head somewhat regretfully, "No, doll, but I could be your friend."

"Friend? I never had any of those before." Riptide was slowly uncurling herself from a fetal position. She gave her full attention to the newcomer, suddenly interested. "I had a mom once, I think, but never a friend. What do they call you?"

"Winter Soldier, Asset, Soldier." He replied casually before walking close to where she sat. "In English, too."

"Do they call everyone ‘Asset’? They call me that, too." Her child-like curiosity was in display once more, albeit it was notably not as strong as it once was. "They call me a lot of other things, but mostly Riptide, Experiment 218, or just 218."

"They called you Phantom before they sent me here," he offered hopefully. "You have a lot of names."

Riptide patted a spot next to her, wordlessly inviting him to sit. He obliged. "I do, but I don’t like any of them, so just call me whatever you like."

"Little one," the Winter Soldier decided almost immediately.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," Natasha commented, sounding a bit exasperated. She turned to Bucky, "Out of all the nicknames—"

"How was I supposed to know?"

"That’s too long," Riptide rejected his idea as soon as it was out of his mouth. "Speaking of, can I call you Win? Or Sol? ‘Winter Soldier’ is a bit of a mouthful."

She suddenly yawned. If her bleeding wounds were anything to go by, the Avengers were quick to assume that her exhaustion was from the experiments that she had to endure for the day.

"Win’s fine."

Since there was nothing she could sleep on, she merely lied down on the floor. However, that feat was accompanied by a hiss the moment her back touched the floor.

"Shall I call you Rip?" Win copied her example and lied down as well.

"What, like ‘I’ll rip your throat out’?" Even in pain, Riptide had a quip. Slowly, she shifted off her back and decided to rest her head on his chest instead.

He didn’t seem bothered by the sudden close proximity. "Can you actually? Already?"

She hummed, before adding as an afterthought, "Not that efficient yet, though."

Contrast to the masks of horrified looks that the observing Avengers shared with one another, the Winter Soldier merely let out a small impressed sound. "Tide it is, then."

Time elapsed around the Avengers.

They witnessed Riptide — or Tide, as the Winter Soldier dubbed her — grow from an expressive dreamer into an expressionless machine. Overtime, she gradually lost her faith in her father . . . in being rescued. Her sparkling eyes were replaced by a vacant abyss; her meaningful stares were eventually replaced by blank ones. They saw how her tears became less and less frequent until they stopped altogether. Day by day, her scars multiplied, but she eventually stopped caring. Over the years, Tide became less and less human.

Oftentimes, she would come back to her prison bleeding allover. Majority of her clothes would be soaked in blood and her skin would be covered in newly-opened cuts, but no reaction would ever come from the young girl. No wince, no tear, no scream, no nothing. Just an absolute blank look.

"They’ve broken her," as Pietro noted amidst the chaos that was fast-paced memories.

Perhaps that was why the Avengers almost lost their minds when she suddenly came back with metal hands.

"What’s that on your face?" The Winter Soldier was accompanying Riptide inside her cell, as he often did throughout the elapse. Had he not pointed it out, they wouldn’t have noticed that her usually blank face had been tinted. Of sadness and confusion.

"They seemed to wear it quite often, don’t you think?" There was no emotion in her voice, which was a huge contrast to how she was before. She didn’t bother looking up at him either, and instead just focused her attention to her hands. "I thought it was quite suiting."

"Why?" His lack of emotion was rivaling hers — and ultimately surpassing it without any trouble.

"I heard them talking while I was under." The heroes were surprised at how quickly they figured out that the "they" and "them" in her previous sentences weren’t referring to the same group of people. "They said that I was related to someone who they wanted revenge on."

"That’s something, isn’t it?" The Winter Soldier situated himself next to the teenage assassin. "I thought they always just take people at random."

The Avengers’ bloods ran cold. They all concurred on who were the brainwashed assassins were most likely talking about without conversing. After all, there were only two-to-three people who they could possibly be referring to.

"Howard Stark," Riptide confirmed their suspicions, "whoever that is."

"That name sounds familiar," he murmured. "I don’t know."

"Familiar like Steve?" She inquired, finally glancing at her fellow assassin. "Or from a mission?"

"I don’t know the difference between those two," the Winter Soldier admitted after trying to read her face for a moment. "Who’s Steve?"

Tide let a beat pass, "I guess it’s time for me to give the ‘Don’t Forget’ lecture."

next shore >

#bucky barnes imagines #bucky barnes scenarios #bucky barnes oneshots #bucky barnes fanfics #bucky barnes fics #bucky barnes #the white wolf #the winter soldier #marvel #mcu #avengers #the white wolf imagines #the winter soldier imagines #marvel imagines #mcu imagines #platonic!bucky barnes x reader #platonic!avengers x reader #marvel x reader #mcu x reader

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