Tumgik
#this doesn't flow the way i want it to but i'm learning a lot!
rochenn · 2 months
Text
Eye Level, pt. I
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Getting into the comic groove by making Dooku (loneliest most pathetic man in the galaxy) develop a Thing for his tailor. Part two in progress!
565 notes · View notes
vynegar · 1 year
Text
help i have such Opinions on translation now
#ok gonna preface this with saying that someone is translating for free and i KNOW that takes so much time and effort and love. and also ther#there are a lot of cultural and contextual footnotes that i really love and wouldn't have been able to figure out myself!#also it seems like the translator's native language is neither chinese NOR english so like. honestly that's really amazing.#so i still really respect what they're doing and am not gonna say anything identifying about this work (it's completely unrelated to tot)#but i've been reading a webnovel fan translation alongside its original chinese version and i guess i'm farther in the 'localization' camp#than i thought. bc this translation leans way too hard into the 'direct translation' of words and phrases and slang#and then with an added footnote explaining what it means. sometimes it's honestly kinda useful from the perspective of wanting to learn the#the language but i don't think it's the right translation choice because there can be several of these per chapter#and the vast majority are not at crucial significant moments when the loss in meaning outweighs the cost of breaking the story flow#and in one instance i saw (the final straw for me) it doesn't even make sense to translate the meaning of the chinese word directly#bc it's not the meaning that matters. the phrase originally came about as a loanword from japanese and a character with a similar pronunciat#pronunciation was used to represent the japanese syllable.#sure this is just one example of an internet slang word that many people might not even know the etymology of and maybe they DO think of the#the meaning of the word now! but still.#i have so many Thoughts now. on how translation is a constant game of balance and sacrifice where the set of 'rules' and expectations change#depending on genre and audience and intention and just individual person!#and -- most relevant to me i guess -- whether it is expected and/or preferrable for fan translations to veer on the side of direct
1 note · View note
team7-headquarter · 4 months
Text
*open the gifs for better quality <3
Kakashi spins SO MUCH compared to Obito in their fights, but as someone who trained martial arts for many years, I get it, you know?
First of all, Kakashi loves his kicks. It puts some distance between you and your target, you can protect the upper half of your body by leaning back, a well thrown kick can send your adversary flying or staggering back, etc.
Tumblr media
The cool part is that Kakashi uses a lot of back spinning kicks. They have more strength behind them because you use your entire body and the energy the movement creates. If you dominate the techniques and you've trained your balance so you won't get dizzy, it's almost expected to use kicking combos.
I'll try to explain?? It's a bit hard, but I want it to be easy to understand for someone who doesn't know how the kicking dynamic works.
Okay, so—
Tumblr media
There are different parts of the foot you can use to cause different types of damage. It depends on how you're standing and from which direction you're kicking. So imagine you stand with your body facing a side and while you look ahead. Your right foot is behind and you want to kick with that one— you retract your right knee, you bring your right leg up and closer to your body, all the while your left foot starts to shift its position to look back. At the same time you extend your right leg, your left foot shifts. The movement is explosive and your body is now facing the opposite side.
You are already half spinning!
If you don't land the hit, you can always set your right foot down and keep the flow of your body to back kick with the heel or arch of your left foot. If that one kick doesn't hit, you can set your left foot down and... Kick again with your right! Now you're facing ahead again!
Tumblr media
The best (like Kakashi) can spin without setting a foot down, basically using the movement to keep them afloat.
I'm making it all so way more simple than it is and the combinations can vary pretty drastically, but as I was saying, Kakashi is a practical fighter and he loves to use every single thing available while he fights.
The reason why he fights so elegantly is because, like in a dance, he uses the flow to move, to guide the fight, to shift the position of his own body and the position of his weapons. In comparison, Obito learned to use more of the movement and weight to counter Kakashi's fluidity.
Tumblr media
(I ended up making a bunch of gifs for this post, oops! Better keep going!)
Anyway, I bet I don't have to mention how much Kakashi spins his weapons. There are at least six different occasions during this particular fight with Obito. He loves to spin kunais to change his grip, to exchange hands, he even sent one flying high so he got both hands free to defend himself from Obito and then proceeded to kick it midair to with his heel, so it cut Obito in the cheek.
He's practical, so every spin has a meaning. Back at his fight with Zabuza, Kakashi even used the spin with his summoning scroll to intimidate... I think (I can't remember clearly).
You can rewatch almost any Kakashi fight in the anime and compare it to this post. You'll see that he is the spinning king for a reason.
Tumblr media
789 notes · View notes
Note
Omfg I ate that Vox fic up! The one where he hypnotized the reader after a long fight of them nearly being taken from him. Can you do a part 2 please? Like when the reader eventually learns he basically forced them to sign the contract and they find a way to be immune to his hypnosis? He goes absolutely nuts despite literally owning their soul. He's canonically a control freak and seems to even have some yandere traits. I hope I'm not going against your rules! You don't have any posted so I just wanna ask! Thank you for being awesome! :D Don't hesitate to turn down this request. Write what makes you feel comfortable. Just please respond so I and everyone else knows not to make a similar request in the future. Lots of love!
ABSOLUTELY!! I did take this in a slightly different direction, but hope you enjoy it nonetheless! Lowkey thinking of doing a Vox POV of this later and maybe even a part three...
Vox isn't actually in this much, but I feel a loose actual plot coming together and this is what naturally flowed for me.
I hope y'all are ready for more angst... plus a cliff-hanger <3
Tumblr media
More Than Anything Part 2 [Vox x Reader]
Part 1
Part 2.5
"You controlling prick!"
Vox ducked as you threw a pillow at him. Even in your righteous anger, you'd never actually truly try to hurt him, but by god were you pissed.
Despite Vox's obvious disdain for the Hazbin Hotel and its association with Alastor, you visited the hotel occasionally to catch up with your friend Angel Dust and give some much-deserved love to his pet pig Fat Nuggets. It was during one of these visits that you ran into Alastor, who immediately looked at you with disgust in his ever-present smile.
"Really now, my dear," he said as he shook his head in disapproval. "It's already enough of a shame that you have such poor taste in a romantic partner, but to give your soul to him as well? I thought you were smarter than that."
The overlord could see the aura of Vox's ever-annoying electric cords locked around your soul like chains. You'd been confused and his eye twitched with annoyance as he realized what Vox had done to you. To say you were livid after he explained that you'd been tricked was an understatement.
"Y/N, I'm sorry," Vox pleaded as you fumed at him in his room. "But you left me no other choice! You weren't listening to me and if I didn't bind your soul, then Satan knows what could have happened to you by now."
"Just because you don't fucking believe in my ability to look out for myself doesn't mean you get to just take my soul!" You screamed with hot, angry tears flowing down your face. You wipe at them, only crying harder at the frustration of the tears you couldn't control in your anger. You felt like they undermined your emotions.
Vox's magic sparked around him as he tried his best not to get angry and start a fight with you. He was terrified and was that much more susceptible to his angry tendencies in moments like these. It took everything in him to try and calm himself, not wanting to push you away further. His heart dropped and his blood ran cold as he saw you pull a large bag out of the closet and start shoving clothes into it.
"W-Where are you going?" Vox panicked as he crossed the room.
"The hotel," you said with quiet fury, as you stepped away from the closet and went to the nightstand with your personal things on it. "I need some space and it's the one fucking place I know you'd rather die again than follow me to."
"Ŷ̸̪͕o̸̢̿̿ū̷̫ ̶̬͂c̶̺̾͂a̴͒͘͜n̴̫̂̔'̶̡̉t̶͙̝̄͒," Vox said, his voice starting to glitch as his panic increased. "You've heard the news, the extermination is in a week and the angels plan on attacking there first. There's no guarantee they'll keep to the date after how much little miss dumbass pissed off heaven. It's not safe there."
You pull your bag over your shoulder and the look you gave him will haunt him for the rest of his afterlife. "It's safer than here."
It breaks him all the more when you shield your eyes from him and storm past him so he can't hypnotize you into staying. Vox is paralyzed with fear like never before. He wanted to scream, to beg, to stop you from leaving him, but he couldn't do anything as his system glitched so hard it forced him into a reboot. When he came to, he was alone. You were gone.
--
Charlie was more than willing to let you stay at the hotel. The two of you hadn't had the chance to really ever speak before, but she was always friendly when you came to visit Angel, even after you explained to her there was no way you'd be able to become a guest.
In exchange, you were happy to help set up the defenses against the extermination. You got to know all of the other members of the hotel and the work helped you push down the burning ache in your chest.
Vox had been trying to contact you nonstop. You eventually turned off your phone, driven insane by the wall of notifications of him begging you to respond in any way. He knew you were okay for the time being. He was literally connected to your soul. But as the extermination day grew closer, his panic only increased. If it wasn't for Valentino and Velvette holding him back, there were several times he genuinely would have set aside his pride and come to the hotel just to get you.
It was after helping Husk and Cherri put up a particularly tricky barrier with the dwindling supplies that Angel found you taking a break. He passed you a water which you took gratefully as he slid down the wall and joined you on the floor.
"So," he started. "Are we going to ever talk about the reason why you're hiding out here?"
"Do we have to?" You groan, running your fingers through your hair. Despite the smiles and laughter you'd been sharing with your newfound friends as you all prepared for the potential end of it all, the dark circles on your eyes gave away what was lurking underneath.
For as angry as you were at Vox, you missed him. You missed feeling him curl against you in bed. You missed being woken up at unholy hours early in the morning because Vox couldn't start his day without giving you a kiss and telling you how much he loved you. You missed his shitty taste in shows and how he'd collapse into your arms after a long day at work.
Angel sighed, looking at the boarded-up lobby. "Look I may not get it, but you love the guy, right? Are you really content with possibly dying in a couple of days for a cause you're not even a part of, just because you're pissed with him?"
"He stole my soul, Angie" You frown at him.
"And that is fucked up as hell," he agrees. "But I know you and I know there ain't no way in hell you're actually satisfied leaving shit like this."
"I just-," you start before groaning. "How the hell are we supposed to come back from this? I doubt he'd ever void the contract. He's too convinced he's right for that."
Angel sighed, setting his own cup aside. "Honestly toots, you're not gonna like it, but... He kinda has a point."
You whip your head up to look at him and he holds up his hands defensively. "Not saying that stealing your soul was the right call. Believe me, if anyone gets how fucked it is having your soul controlled by a sociopath with a big ego, it's me. But you're not exactly in the safest of places, dollface. Not to mention, you're dating an overlord who's in a trio determined to piss off as many big shots as possible. His mind may not be in the right place, but his heart kinda is."
You take Angel's words to heart and sigh as you bury your face in your arms. "I hate it, but you're right... I just... I don't want to hold him back. I don't want to be the person that needs to be protected. I want to be his equal, not his problem."
"Then tell him that," Angel sighs. His gaze drifts to the bar and smiles fondly. "Someone recently has taught me how important being real with yourself is. It's okay to be flawed. No one got stuck in this shithole cause we were perfect, y'know?"
He nudged you with a grin as he added, "Plus, come on. Can you imagine how many bitches in hell would kill to have a sexy fucker that wants nothing more than to love ya and keep ya safe? I love you toots, but for fucks sake, pick a struggle."
You snort, shaking your head as you lightly swat at his arm. "Fuck you for being right about shit all the time."
"It's one of my best assets," Angel smirked. "Y'know, aside from all the fluff."
You laughed as he puffed up his chest and by the end of the evening, you'd decided to head back. As much as you loved Angel and wanted nothing more than to be by his side as the extermination drew near, he had a point. This wasn't your fight and there was a controlling dumbass that had been blowing up your phone ever since you left that was praying for your return.
After exchanging promises to see each other after the extermination, you left the hotel. You had an idiot to see.
500 notes · View notes
suzukiblu · 6 months
Text
NaNoWriMo fic, day one: obligatory sugar daddy Tim/sugar baby Kon AU.
Tim Drake had absolutely no intentions of ever becoming anyone's sugar daddy when he met Superboy.
This would have worked out better for him if Superboy had ever had an actual legal identity or an actual legal guardian or just . . . literally anything whatsoever in life. Ever. At all.
Just a bank account, even.
"You're working for Cadmus," Tim says slowly. "Cadmus, as in the lab that stole Superman's body and cloned him without his consent. Cadmus, which you had to break out of so they couldn't put mind control code words in your head."
"Yeah," Superboy replies like that's not literally insane. Tim stares at him.
"Why?" he asks incredulously.
"Food and shelter?" Superboy shrugs. "And I mean, I dunno, where else am I gonna go?"
Tim is not okay with this situation.
"What did Superman say?" he says.
"Just to like, keep an eye on things," Superboy says with another shrug. "Make sure they're not up to anything shifty."
Tim stares at him.
"Superman," he says. "Told you to just . . . 'keep an eye on' the dubiously ethical cloning lab. The specific dubiously ethical cloning lab that tried to put mind control code words in your head. Specifically."
"Yeah," Superboy confirms.
Alright, Tim is actually even less okay with this situation than he thought, apparently. Like, impressively less.
"Okay," he says. It is absolutely no kind of okay in any way whatsoever, of course, but he doesn't want to put Superboy on the defensive. That'd make effectively interrogating him a lot harder, for one thing. Cooperative subjects are best in these situations. "What are they paying you?"
"I mean, like, they gave me my own room and they're feeding me and whatever, so I don't really need much money," Superboy says. "There's a discretionary fund I can use if I need to go on an undercover mission or anything like that? But I'm not really the undercover type anyway."
"Sure," Tim says. So . . . no way for Superboy to save up to move out and get an out-of-lab life, then. Great. That's not fucked-up or crazy or horrible at all. "Do you like it there?"
"It's okay," Superboy says, shrugging again. "Better than literally everybody in Hawaii yelling at me every time they see my face, yeah?"
Tim wants to set the world on fire, but he's trying really hard not to go supervillain before he's thirty and he'd hate to throw out all that hard work.
"They just let me do whatever, mostly," Superboy adds. "They don't really care as long as I'm around when they need me."
He'll go supervillain as soon as Bruce dies, Tim promises himself. Just–he'll give his share of the eulogy at the funeral and then he'll blow up three-fourths of Arkham and the entire GCPD while Commissioner Gordon is on his lunch break. He can time that out, that'll be easy. And then he'll go and personally murder the Joker with the very specific combination of a rusty crowbar and a shrapnel bomb, and then he'll just . . . well, he'll just go with the flow from there, he figures. Do whatever feels natural.
Seriously, the world as it is does not deserve to exist. It really just does not.
Tim figures he can probably convince the rest of Young Justice to tag along for the whole supervillain thing and hopefully Dick and Steph and Barbara too, and ideally also Alfred, in the unfortunately likely event that he outlives Bruce. He's got time to lay the groundwork with them all and all, and also everything really is awful and horrible and really does deserve to burn.
"Are they sending you to school or anything? Or tutoring you?" Tim asks with what little scraps of hope he has left. Higher education would be . . . well, something, at least. And actually it probably wouldn't hurt for Superboy to learn a bit more about genetic engineering from the same place he got genetically engineered, just in case anything goes wrong with his DNA again. Cadmus should at least be good for that much, right?
"Ew, no, thank fuck," Superboy says, making a face. "Like I said, they mostly let me do whatever until something needs punched."
So . . . no furthered education or learning any usable job skills or making real money or literally anything that could, again, lead to Superboy ever getting any kind of an actual out-of-lab life established.
Great.
Just great.
"I see," Tim says.
"It's a pretty sweet gig, considering," Superboy says, and grins brightly at him. It's a very nice grin. Normally being faced with that particular grin would make Tim need to beat down the highly unprofessional urge to kiss it.
Right now, though, he's a little bit more concerned with the fact that his teammate is just . . . living in and working for a fucking lab. As a matter of course. Just as a thing.
And Superman of all people thinks that's . . . fine, for some reason? Like, normal and ethical and okay? Somehow? In some way?
What the actual fuck, Tim thinks to himself.
"You said Superman told you to keep an eye on things?" he asks.
"Yeah," Superboy says, his grin widening. "He took me to his fortress and asked me to do it there. Showed me around a bit, too."
"That sounds really interesting," Tim says, wondering in vague disbelief if that means Superman had never taken Superboy to the Fortress of Solitude before. He must've, right? And just . . . inexplicably not shown Superboy around then.
Yeah. Sure.
"It was awesome!" Superboy says with more enthusiasm than Tim's seen from him since they met Nina Dowd's . . . endowments, seemingly forgetting the need to be "cool" for long enough to lean forward in his seat and outright beam at him. Tim is gonna need a minute to recover from the sight of that expression, probably. "It's seriously freaking freezing up there, but there's so much cool shit in the place. Like, from all over the universe, but from Krypton, even! The only thing I'd ever seen from Krypton before was kryptonite!"
Tim considers moving up his supervillain timeline after all. Like. Just possibly. Just a little.
Maybe he can convince Bruce to take an early retirement off-planet and just go from there.
What the hell is wrong with Superman?
"Oh, wow, really?" Tim says, simultaneously pretending he didn't already know what Superman has in his fortress and trying not to be screamingly obvious about the internal calculations he's running on figuring out how to weaponize red sunlight. Or like, maybe he could look into learning some magic. That's technically an option. Probably more time-consuming and harder to hide the process of, though. Still, it's on the table.
"Yeah. He showed me some of it. Told me some stories and stuff, even," Superboy says, and that excited grin turns just a little bit shy and soft and somehow even more distracting than usual. He ducks his head just a little, and then that soft grin is more like a soft smile, and Tim suffers. "And I, uh–and he gave me something, too."
"What did he give you?" Tim asks, praying to God that the answer is "an emergency contact number" or "an allowance that can cover a semi-decent Metropolis apartment" or "an offer to live literally anywhere but Cadmus, including in the thirtieth century or on a hostile alien planet or inside an active volcano". He's technically an atheist, so the praying thing is probably moot, but times of desperation are times of desperation.
"A name," Superboy says, and his smile widens helplessly. "Like, you know, a real one."
Tim might hate Superman, he thinks. That might actually be a thing now.
Yeah, he's definitely going supervillain after Bruce dies and doesn't need an emotional support sidekick anymore. Better start stocking up on the kryptonite.
"That's great," he says with a very carefully not-forced smile of his own instead of anything more along the lines of "wait, you've been alive and active as a superhero for all this time and no one ever actually named you?!" Superboy would probably take it the wrong way, not in the least because that genuinely never actually occurred to him as being a thing before. Like–he really did just assume Superboy was keeping a lid on whatever his real name was for personal reasons or Superman reasons or something. "Are you allowed to tell me it, or is that a no-go?"
"Oh, yeah," Superboy says with a sheepish laugh, rubbing at his arm. "It's like, a Kryptonian name? Not like a secret identity one. It's, uh, Kon-El."
Of course it's not even a damn secret identity, Tim thinks in absolute frustration and abject loathing. Of course not! Why would it be?! Fuck forbid!
"I like it," he says, because he lies to Batman and therefore there is no fucking way that he's going to let Superboy–Kon–see any sign whatsoever of the metaphorical 9.9 on the Richter scale that is currently happening in his psyche. "It suits you."
"You think?" Kon grins all the wider. Tim can't even calm down enough to want to kiss him, except in the sense that he always wants to kiss him.
"I do," he says, and smiles at him again.
Kon smiles back.
Tim hates everything. All the things. There is nothing that Tim doesn't hate right now, except maybe Alfred's snickerdoodles because he might be having a nervous breakdown but he's not, like, criminally insane or whatever.
Yet.
"Yeah, it's kinda cool," Kon says, straightening up in his seat and then leaning back, clearing his throat and slipping his sunglasses back on like they're not in a literal cave right now. Tim doesn't call him on it, because he has a supervillain timeline to work out and that's much more important.
Also because the teammate he has an inadvisable crush on is in a much, much shittier situation than he ever realized and he has to reconcile that with his worldview and also his opinion of Superman. Tim doesn't especially idolize the man except in the sense of knowing he's one of the greatest heroes on Earth and a very, very good man that Bruce thinks incredibly highly of, one of the best men on the League and maybe even on the planet, but . . .
But if he's such a good man, then why the hell is Kon living in a lab that tried to mind-control him and why has he only just seen the Fortress of Solitude for the first time?
Why didn't he have a real name?
"So do we call you Kon or Kon-El now?" Tim asks, which is a bit of a senseless question but also at least a bit of a distraction. He wants to say this whole situation is a horrible idea, who the FUCK convinced you this situation was a good idea?!, but there is no possible way that Kon would respond well to that. Ever.
Also, Kon had a point. Where else is he gonna go?
Clearly not the Fortress of Solitude.
Seriously, would it be that hard for Superman to give him a room there? At least a place to stay sometimes, so he wasn't exclusively relying on the mind-control cloning lab for food and shelter and basic comforts?
"I think just Kon?" Kon says, frowning consideringly. "'El' is like Superman's last name, I guess? So I think just Kon."
"Makes sense," Tim says, internally seething. Superman gave him the "El" name but not a secret identity? A name from a dead civilization with a bit of sentimental value, maybe, but nothing usable on this planet? Fuck, you'd think Kon didn't already know his secre–
. . . Kon doesn't know Superman's secret identity, does he.
Tim had thought he was lying, when he'd said that stuff about Superman not having one, before. Thought it was supposed to be a cover or a misdirection or something. But Kon actually thinks that, doesn't he. And Superman has just . . . kept letting him think that.
Becoming a supervillain actually might be an underreaction, in retrospect.
"Just Kon sounds less formal anyway," Tim says instead of so just in theory, do you think tactile telekinesis could trigger a heart attack or stroke in a full-blooded Kryptonian, if you could REALLY concentrate on doing it? like not FATALLY, just dehabilitatingly?, because he still has some groundwork to do before they get that far into potential supervillainy. There's steps to the plan. The steps need to be followed. They're very important steps. "You don't want Bart full-naming you every time he's looking for the remote."
"Like he'd even bother, it's faster for him to turn the living room upside-down than actually ask anyway," Kon says with a laugh, dropping his head back on his neck. Tim has some thoughts about climbing into his lap and figuring out if the TTK makes him hickey-proof, and then buries them. Not appropriate. Not professional. Just not.
. . . technically, if Kon wanted a hickey, he could just let his TTK down and ask for–
Tim buries his thoughts deeper.
Much, much deeper.
"Point," he says. "So what time does Cadmus expect you back?"
"Dude, it's a job, not a boarding school," Kon says, giving him an amused look. "I don't have a curfew."
Tim, technically, hasn't followed his own curfew any way but accidentally once in his entire life, but for god's sake, is Cadmus even pretending to be raising a teenager or are they really just being that flagrant about ignoring all the child labor laws they so clearly do not give a fuck about? Like, there must be something illegal about this. There has to be.
If there's not, Tim will be adding "burn down Project Cadmus" to his list of supervillain plans to set up in advance. In red pen. Underlined.
Twice.
God, why is the world like this. Why are people like this?
"I guess that'd be convenient," Tim says, internally ranking various methods of combustion. "Though I guess it depends on the cafeteria hours, too."
"It's whatever, I can always eat later," Kon replies with a shrug. "I think I've still got a couple protein bars in my room anyway."
"Just protein bars?" Tim asks, mentally upping the amount of explosives he was considering going with. Cadmus is going to be a crater by the time he's done with it. "Don't you need more calories than that?"
". . . well, sort of," Kon says, folding his arms and looking very briefly embarrassed. "Superman doesn't have to eat, apparently, but, uh, guess I'm not Kryptonian enough for that. Actually I kinda need to eat more than normal humans, it's weird. Like. A lot more."
"I'm ordering pizza," Tim says, upping his mental explosives count again. "What do you want on it?"
"We're the only ones here," Kon says, looking puzzled.
"More pizza for us, then," Tim says.
903 notes · View notes
runningfrom2am · 2 months
Text
cold nights // part twenty-five
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
summary: you were back in the capitol, and you would be damned if you didn't try your hardest to make it worthwhile.
pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader
wc: 3.5k
masterlists / nav / requests
tags/warnings: tribute!reader and mentor!coriolanus, r is very sweet (too kind for this world. literally.), sunshine x grumpy trope kinda, he falls first, violence typical for the source material, depictions of mental illness, also she's is very smart (as she should), district twelve!reader.
a/n: the fluff in this one omgggg :')
my asks are also open to talk about this series! (i do have emoji anons open now too!)
send me any and all of your thoughts! here!
series masterlist // playlist
Tumblr media
Coryo's new shoes were giving him blisters by the time he got out of the car outside the Citadel. Breaking in shoes was almost worse than dealing with the ill-fitting ones he wore before he was awarded the Plinth Prize.
Knowing what this meeting with Dr. Gaul was about didn't even calm him. He didn't like leaving you at home, although Tigris promised she wouldn't leave you alone. This meeting was about you, he was sure, though he hadn't been told specifically. Considering it is about you, he thought you should have at least been extended an invite.
Taking the spiral staircase down toward Dr. Gaul's lab, his shoulder begins to ache. The last time he was here, he was digging his fingers into his still-fresh stitches to tear them apart. He did it for you, but he still almost shudders at the aching reminder making itself present under his skin.
"I'm here to speak with Dr. Gaul, she requested my presence." He tells the staff at the desk, adjusting the front of his jacket. If he was going to plead a case for you, he had to look presentable. Put together. There should be no evidence that the time he spent in District Twelve rubbed off on him, that would just make him plain unreliable.
He feels the familiar buzz of the door to the woman's lab unlocking and he quickly thanks them, making his way in. Deep breaths. Remain calm, indifferent.
"Mister Snow." The familiar false cheeriness in Dr. Gaul's voice greets him from somewhere behind the shelves housing a variety of tank-bound experiments she had done. "I've been expecting you, come in."
Wordlessly he obeys, following her voice around a corner. "Dr. Gaul, it's good to see you."
She smiles, and even though he knows it's born from the same formality as his very own, he's almost tempted to feel welcomed. "How was your trip to Twelve?" She asks, returning her attention to the birds in the cages that lined the wall almost up to the high ceiling.
"It was good." He nods. "I learned a lot."
"I'm sure you did." She chuckles, and as he walks closer and gets a better look at the birds, he recognizes them.
Jabberjays.
You're walking through the trees in front of him, almost reaching the meadow. Coryo watches your dress as it flows with your every step, brushing against the back of your thighs and the plants that slide smoothly over the scars that adorned your calf.
It had become a daily routine that he was grateful for since the first day you brought him out to the same meadow. This is how he had pictured you from that very first day. It was exactly what he had come here for. You had made all that lost time worth it within a week.
He's pulled from the beautiful distraction that is you when you come to an abrupt stop, and he almost bumps into your back. 'What's wrong?' He wants to ask, but he doesn't even get the chance to form the words before you're quickly turning and holding a finger to your lips, signaling for him to be quiet.
He listens, but only because you're smiling. He stares at you as you look up and around into the tree line.
Your eyes light up as they find whatever they are searching for, and then you shift your gaze to his. "Watch this." You whisper, hardly audible.
What he doesn't anticipate following your emphasis on staying silent, is for you to raise your hands around your mouth and begin to shout.
"See how she leans her cheek upon her hand. Oh, that I were a glove upon that hand that I might touch that cheek!" You call out. A small smile pulls at his lips as he sees your eyes trained upwards once again, taking a small step back from him.
And then, in a sound that almost makes him jump, he hears your voice again. And again, and again, but it's not coming from your lips. He looks up.
"They're jabberjays."  You tell him, smiling wide. "I know you don't like birds, but maybe these could change your mind."
Your voice coming from multiple places at once almost makes his head spin. "I'm not sure about that." He says, but his smile sticks.
"They're my favourite. I like to read to them, and they like to read back to me." You explain, turning to continue on your walk.
"My Juliet breathed such life with kisses on my lips," Coryo shouts, smile growing as you turn back around to face him again. Your eyes are crinkled with the smile you wouldn't dare to resist, building on a laugh at the shock of his sudden volume. "That I was revived and became an emperor!" With the final word his arms are raised, as if he's shouting from a rooftop- as if the world was listening and he truly was so powerful as the title implied. With you in front of him, that's just how he felt.
You laugh as his words echo back around you, pressing a hand to your chest and you shake your head. "Coryo-"
Then he's grabbing you around the waist, holding onto you tight as he spins you around. You scream, clinging onto him as your bag slides off your shoulder.
He lets your feet hit the ground as he stops, not yet ready to let you go as you stumble back. You're laughing in his ear, and he's sure he's never heard such a pleasant sound in his life.
You pull away slightly and he lets you, arms still draped over his shoulders. "That wasn't quite right." You giggle.
"What do you mean?" He asks teasingly. "That was just me. I just said that for the first time ever, I don't know what you could possibly be talking about."
"Oh, it sounded a little familiar, is all." You laugh, shaking your head. "But of course, I forgot that you are quite the poet, Coriolanus Snow."
"You underestimate me? I'm wounded." He laughs, mocking offense.
"My dearest apologies, sweet Romeo. That is but my own shortcomings projected onto you." The smile on your face and the sun beaming against your skin could have him convinced he'd died and gone to heaven.
"Shortcomings? My Juliet, that is quite impossible." He shakes his head slightly, smiling at the nickname. "You're perfect, in every way."
You kissed him again, and after a minute when he let you pull back, he was reborn as the emperor of those woods.
"Do you recognize these birds?" Dr. Gaul asks, snapping him away from the warm memory.
"I do." He confirms. "Jabberjays, yes?"
"Yes. They were a Capitol experiment during the war, they would listen to rebel discussions and repeat them back to us. The catalysts for many executions." She explains as he reads over the inscriptions on the front of the cages. "I am having them collected and sent back to see if we can repurpose them into something more useful."
Coryo doesn't say anything, really just waiting for her to get to the point. There was no use dancing around what he was here for, and he especially didn't want to talk about your favourite birds being removed from the Districts. How many of the birds in these very cages have recreated your beautiful voice reciting to them the story of Romeo and Juliet? If you were to go home, would there even be any left for you to read to?
"Anyway," Dr. Gaul claps her gloved hands together, walking away toward a desk and gesturing for him to follow. "I have a few questions for you. There are important things for us to discuss."
"What is this about?" He asks, knowing damn well why he was here.
"I was asked to review a late application for the university, which normally, would not be my responsibility." She states, eyeing him carefully. "I suspect you know why they would ask me to give them approval."
He nods. Dr. Gaul had been teaching at the university for years, he never knew how she had the time.
"Having a Victor apply for admission to the Capitols University was something I never thought I would see." She continues. "But, here we are. I admit, in any normal circumstance, she would be accepted immediately. The application was exceptional."
"She is extremely smart, yes."
"That is part of the problem."
"What problem?" He argues, but she raises a hand to stop him.
"Mister Snow, I thought you would better understand why that is not acceptable. If we allow a District girl to attend our university, that sets the precedent that she is equal to us. That if she can get out of District Twelve, so can they, and when we turn them down, there will be uprisings. I have discussed these concerns with the President, and he agrees."
Coryo resists the urge to roll his eyes. "What is the difference between her and Sejanus Plinth, then? He still tells people he's District. At least she wants to be here."
"Sejanus Plinth is Capitol, whether he likes it or not. I assure you, any friends he had in District Two are no longer fond of him."
"Then this is her chance to become one of us." Coriolanus states, reminding himself again to remain indifferent. "If a Victor of the games can attend the university, winning it will become more desirable. Tributes will actually try, they'll do the mentor's jobs for us if they think that being liked will buy them a win. District kids may very well line up around the block for the opportunity to win their families a better life."
"You're missing the point, Mister Snow." Dr. Gaul says, but he can see she is considering his statement. "We cannot hand these opportunities out to every Victor the games will ever have."
"Then don't." He replies simply. "Let them apply if they want, but they'll have nowhere to live, they won't be able to afford tuition, and none of them will ever be as smart as she is anyways. They won't be accepted. And if they are, we let them try."
She doesn't reply, a small smile growing on her lips.
"Besides, the Capitol isn't handing this to her. The only reason she can afford any of it is me. We can be picky about which, if any of them, we want on our side, but if we give her a chance, convince the Districts and her that she is now one of us, think of what she could do for the games. She understands them almost as well as you, and that could give us an advantage, having the willing perspective of the other side." He knew you would never go for this- of course he did. You couldn't even talk about the games without going pale and struggling to breathe. It ruined you- but she doesn't need to know that. He just needs her to let you stay.
"You make a compelling case for her." Dr. Gaul admits, pulling her gloves off and dropping them onto the desk that stands between them. "But why?"
This was a question he wasn't fully expecting, and luckily he was given more time to come up with an excuse when she spoke again.
"I also noted that on her application it says that she is living with you, yes?"
"Yes."
"Forgive my forwardness, but what is the extent of your relationship to your tribute?"
He sucks in a breath as her heterochromatic eyes stare into him. He wouldn't be shocked if he found out tomorrow that she could read his mind. "We are... friends. I suppose."
"Friends." She hums, eyebrow raised at him. "Then you must be a good friend to have, Coriolanus. Not a lot of friends would fund another's entire life on the Corso."
"Yes, well, like I said, I believe her education could benefit the games."
Dr. Gaul sighs, and he truly cannot tell if she believes him or not. "You may go. Her acceptance letter will be delivered tomorrow."
He nods, turning on his heel to leave. "But, Mister Snow," She stops him and he looks at her over her shoulder. "Don't forget who she really is."
A statement like that didn't dignify a response, so he just continued on. When he walks out of the Citadel to his waiting car, he lets himself smile. He couldn't wait for you to find out.
You were able to convince Tigris to let you out with Sejanus while Coryo was gone. You hadn't seen him since you left the train station, and you just had so much you wanted to talk to him about.
When he rang the doorbell, you were already waiting by the door. You look up at the sound of the buzzer, and Tigris smiles. "That's him." She tells you, walking over to the box on the wall. "If you want to answer the door, you press this button..." She presses it, and you hear static.
"Hi Sejanus, she'll be down in a minute." She says, and you smile when his voice returns.
"Okay, thanks Tigris."
She lets go of the button, smiling at you. "Okay, and if we wanted to unlock the door to let someone up, you press this other button." She points it out.
"Okay. I'll remember that." You promise.
"Oh! And when you come back, there's a panel of buttons outside the door, just press the one next to our name and we'll let you in."
"Thank you! See you in a bit!" You give her a quick wave before leaving.
The elevator was still new to you, but you were getting used to it quickly. This was the first time you had taken it alone, though, and the freedom was honestly exciting.
The elevator dings when you reach the first floor, and as the doors slide open smoothly you step out, the glass doors already in sight where Sejanus was waiting.
You wave excitedly and he smiles at you, giving you a brief wave back before you push the door open. "Hi!"
"Y/N, how are you?" He grins, wrapping his arms around you.
"I'm well." You sigh, arms around his neck. "How are you doing? I've missed you!"
"Fine." He answers, pulling away and guiding you down the stairs toward the black car waiting on the street. You pull up the scarf around your neck to cover the lower half of your face as you walk into view of the street, away from the cover of the building's walls. "To be honest, I am unsure if I was more disappointed or pleased that I didn't hear from you. I took it that you were still settling in, but I hope it's going well."
"It's certainly... going. A lot of things to get used to." You answer and he opens the car door for you, both of you sliding into the back seat. The Snow's had a car and a driver, but it seemed that Coryo enjoyed walking while you were still adjusting. He said it would help you learn better where you were going, he was likely right. "For example, I learned what an 'elevator' is."
Your friend laughs as the car begins to move. "I can imagine that would be confusing."
"Yes!" You giggle. "We got into this tiny room and they just stood there- I was absolutely baffled. They tried not to laugh at me too much, though."
"Now, have you heard of an escalator?" He asks, trying to hold back his laughter as you eye him suspiciously.
"No... Tell me more."
"You're lying!" You laugh as he opens the car door for you once more, stepping out again in an area you hadn't been in before. "Sejanus, I do not believe you. Why on earth would they be stair-shaped then?"
"Because they're too steep for it to just be a travelator, you'd fall."
"A travelator? No." You shake your head. "There is no way that there are three different ways to move from one place to another without just walking, that all have similarly abysmal names. That is ridiculous."
"This whole place is ridiculous." He agrees as you walk up onto the porch of what you assume is his family home. There are even trees in the yard, since it lays on what must be near the edge of the city.
"Can I ask you something?"
He hums as he unlocks the door. "Why do you not live in The Corso?" You ask. "Coryo told me that all the most powerful families live there, and he also said that your family is certainly among them."
"Uhhh..." He mumbles, looking around to make sure no one is too close to hear the somewhat invasive question as he shuts the door behind you. "My Ma liked the property. She liked a home rather than a stuffy penthouse- no offense."
"It wouldn't be my choice, either." You admit. "Alas, it's where I find myself. Not to say that their home is not lovely, I am happy there. It's just... it's nothing like home."
Sejanus nods, offering you a weak smile.
"I... I'm really glad you came back with us." You tell him quietly. "I don't know what I would have done here without you."
He clears his throat, giving a slight shake of his head. "My Ma made lunch, she's really excited for you to be here. Are you okay if we eat with her?"
"Of course, yes." You smile, following him deeper into the halls of a house that you could only describe as a castle.
"So, tell us everything, dear. How has your first week or so been?" His Ma asks, sitting across the table from you.
"It's been good." You smile. "I do have a question, though, and I trust that you will be honest with me." You say, glancing over at Sejanus with a small smile.
"Oh? What is it?" She asks.
"I just learned what an elevator is, and Sejanus told me about... what did you say they were called?"
"Escalators."
"Yes, and the other one?"
"A travelator?"
"Yes." You giggle, looking at his Ma again. "Is that real, or is he trying to pull the wool over my eyes?"
She laughs, putting down her glass. "Yes. They are real, but very rare. I highly doubt you should encounter either. And no one calls them travelators, so I do believe Sej was just trying to overwhelm you."
"Oh! Okay, well, thank you." You laugh, shaking your head. "I don't know what to believe, everything here is so... excessive. If that's the correct word."
"It absolutely is." Ma agrees. "It takes some getting used to. Some days I still get confused or overwhelmed, but it's all for the better I believe."
Sejanus tenses up, and you can see it out of the corner of your eye. "I think this will be better for my family, too. Though, I wish I could have brought them with me. Like you."
"That reminds me!" She says, leaning forward. You're glad- the topic of home can get heavy extremely quickly. Even you know that's not a suitable lunch conversation. "Sej told me you brought your cat, how is it doing?"
When Coryo gets back home, he's just excited to see you. He still has to keep quiet about what he actually went out for, but it will be worth it tomorrow when you see that you got accepted. You don't have to know that it's because he talked them into taking you- he knew you deserved it anyway.
"Tigris?" He calls out as he opens the door, already rethinking the details of the story he would give you.
"In here!" His cousin calls back from her room, and he follows her voice, peeking into the sitting room and then yours on his way there.
"How did it go?" She asks, and he frowns when he sees you weren't in there with her either.
"Where's Y/N?"
"She went out." Tigris smiles. "With Sejanus."
He scrunches up his nose. "Sejanus? He called?"
"Oh, no. She asked if she could call him so I showed her how to use the phone." She smiles. You hadn't had any use for it yet, considering that in correspondence from your family they said they haven't been able to get it installed just yet. He knew how anxiously you were waiting to be able to hear their voices again. "Then they got to talking and he invited her over for lunch, so I think she is just at their house."
"Oh. Okay."
"You look upset." She notes, standing up from her desk where she was putting together the final stitches on a new dress. "Is something wrong?"
"I didn't... I would have liked to know if she planned on going out. It's been hard enough for me to get her out of her room." He explains.
"At least she's getting out, isn't she? This is good for her. She needs to make other friends."
"Sejanus isn't 'other friends'. She was already friends with him."
"All the more reason for her to see him, then." She crosses her arms, dropping her head to the side. "This isn't like you."
"What isn't?"
"Being jealous."
"I'm not I just-" He sighs, lifting his hands up as he stops himself. "It doesn't matter. I talked Dr. Gaul into accepting her. The letter will be here tomorrow."
Tigris decides to drop the topic, the smile returning to her face. "Really?" She grins, hands coming up to her mouth. "Oh, Coryo that's wonderful!"
He smiles, the tension in his shoulders melting away as he nods. "But you can't tell her I spoke with them, okay? She won't like that."
"Yes, yes I won't tell her." She agrees, smiling as she hugs him. "Oh, she's going to be so happy. And I'm so proud of you for helping her. She deserves it."
"Yeah, she really does."
Tumblr media
taglist: @soulessjourney , @that-veela-girl ,  @dreamyysouls, @rockstarbfs, @maysileeewrites , @baybieruth , @kitscutie,  @fratboyharrysgf0201 , @totallynotkaibiased , @stelleduarte , @secretsicanthideanymore , @bejeweledreverie , @drewsandsebastianswife , @niicole-87 , @queenofshinigamis , @innercreationflower , @nallasstuff , @iovemoonyy , @thatmarvelchick19 , @wearemadeofstardust0 , @regulusblackcore , @puredreamagination , @fantasticchaosthing , @becauseseaotters , @secretsicanthideanymore , @strawberryflavouredkisses
okay suddenly tumblr isn't letting me tag more people than this so i just made some cuts unfortunately :') i just left the max amount of people i could whose users i recognized and see in my notifs all the time :) if you're not on here and you should be i'm so sorry!
also this taglist is closed now!! if you’d like to get a notification when i update, turn on my post notifications!! i promise i won’t spam y'all :,)
183 notes · View notes
aurae-rori · 11 days
Text
DR RATIO ANALYSIS: PART 2, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
SPOILERS FOR 2.1 CONTENT.
Now, you might be saying - "Aurae, you already did one, why do you need a second?" And my answer is, "LORD, I FORGOT TO TALK ABOUT HOW HIS DEFINITION OF 'IDIOT' IS DIFFERENT. AND ALSO HE DOES NOT HATE AVENTURINE NOR DOES HE THINK AVENTURINE IS STUPID." Once again, here is my disclaimer - although I have been researching psychology for a solid six years, I am NOT a professional. (I will be, one day. Just you wait, just youuuu wait-) So understand that everything I say has been analyzed with personal judgement, with my own conclusions, come to with logic and my personal interpretation. This is just what I have concluded, and you are always free to disagree.
This is my legacy. To be an analyzer. So let's go.
Okay, now that my disclaimer is over, let's take off Ratio's plaster head and chuck it into the sea, and see - what does he mean by 'idiot'?
This will be much shorter than my last, so don't worry - I will not be flashbanging you with another 4k words. This is more like a follow up, than anything else, because there's a few things I wish to touch on.
Dr. Ratio doesn't hate idiots in the sense that he hates people that have 'low IQ' or are 'stupid' in terms of being 'slow to understand'. I definitely touched on this in my last analysis, but he hates people who take their education for granted and don't go places with the gifts that they've been given. He hates "idiots" - "narrow minded" people who have the capabilities to do more and perceive more than they choose to do. People who deliberately look away or take what they know and what they could do for granted. He wants to open people's eyes and allow them to see life from multiple different angles and he believes that everyone should have a chance to learn - with the whole "knowledge for everyone" thing he's got rolling.
He wears a plaster head around people he doesn't seem to know too well in order to think more, or so that he doesn't have to see the faces of the people he dislikes. Pretty good roast. However, he does NOT wear that plaster head around Aventurine. Let's listen to the doctor's judgement - Aventurine is far from stupid. Although he likes to chalk up a lot of the things he does to his own luck, he is an INCREDIBLY capable individual who's managed to get this far because of his own form of genius. He's a man who relies on chance and good fortune, yes, but his charm, his way of scheming, and the way that he's good with people? That's skill. A talent he doesn't take for granted. Dr. Ratio respects him for this - because despite the fact that he has no proper education, he has his eyes wide open to the world and doesn't take shit for granted. He learns what he can in order to survive and he does it fucking well - Aventurine is a very smart man. He's observant, quick on his feet, and great at going with the flow and thinking in the moment.
Aventio aside, I actually believe that Dr. Ratio would be a really good teacher to those who struggle. He's patient where it's needed to be, even if he's got a quick temper, and I believe in his pursuit for knowledge he would do his best to go out of his way to find strategies that would work for their individuals. We're all unique, and he's aware of this - and because he wants to allow people to think for themselves, whatever helps the individual works. Depression? He's got a psych degree, I'm sure bro could give you some strategies. Autism? He has a touch of the 'tism himself. ADHD, and not feeling organized? Bro will help you. It's canon that he's a great fucking teacher - those who finish his classes go on to become successful people who are intelligent and critical thinkers. Round of applause for Ratio, the man that kins my father. He's shit at emotions, but great at knowledge.
Also, on that note, I believe that he would most likely hate parents that push thier "gifted" students to the limit without any compassion for the person that they really are. He's most definitely got some of that academic trauma so I believe that bro holds a secret disdain for parents who just use their children to gain more recgonition. Well, not so secret. He'd cuss them out. (Ratio please cuss out the horrible parents.)
Dr. Ratio, the Teacher ever. (Hey, maybe he'd get along with Kunikida...)
Also, I am definitely planning on making a fic where he teaches Aventurine Latin. As long as you're eager to learn and willing to look past the chalk being thrown, he's got a place for you.
Thanks for coming to my tedtalk. I did not read this through, so this is not edited. Take my unedited rambles.
158 notes · View notes
shaisuki · 8 months
Text
ADDICTION
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
|| the second entry for the series “𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐎 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄”
content warnings ─── bonten! sanzu, murder, talks about torture, noncon, implied kidnapping, drugs , dark themes, yandere themes
ᝰ synopsis.ᐟ when colored pills doesn't give him the high he needed, sanzu finds a new addiction, it's better than ecstasies.
Tumblr media
the gunshot seem to frighten you. i apologize for that. in line of my "business" it is my job to keep the empire mikey had built to flourish. these traitors are not the worth of the name bonten and those who are without use should perish.
it's also to serve a warning to you. never run away from me.
i have no intention of harming you, let alone scare you. it's only a reminder that you can never escape from me, even you run to the ends of the world, i will follow you.
shed the blood of those who dares to look at you. serve their head in a platter. cut every finger who dares to lay their hands on you. rip their limbs apart one by one and not even death could escape their fate from my hands.
why are you crying? you don't like that? silly girl. it's a punishment for them who can't understand that you belong to me. what? can you repeat that? you don't want me nor anything of this?
you got no choice. you've bewitched me. got me high of my feelings that i didn't know i was capable of doing so. you've made me addicted to the sensation of your skin in mine. your voice like bells in my ears. no drugs could make me feel like the way you do.
you're the most potent drug that i could take. intoxicating me with your light that flows in my veins and gives me euphoria reaching in my brain. you're the medicine in my pain.
sometimes you're also the cause of the aches in my body. you never really learn do you? what got you shaking? the body drops as i pull the trigger on his head. blood pooling at those empty head of this incompetent fool to never let you out of sight when i'm dealing with mikey.
this is a warning. don't test me. although, i vowed myself to never harm you—you need to be taught a lesson. nobody messes with me, no one.
ssh. don't cry. this is all your fault. you're going to take whatever i give to you. fuck! i might lose control of myself whenever those tiny whimpers leave your mouth as i pressed my lips to your heated skin. be a good girl. all i want for you is to submit to me.
tears won't work on me darling, i've seen plenty of it. from the men who for me to spare their useless lives with a gun in my hand. it would be no different to you. you're mine to begin with. i own you.
a blissful sigh escaping from my lips as i inhale your scent. such beautiful hair you have. such bounty you have for yourself and it's mine to exploit.
the straps of your nightgown falling down to your round shoulders the more my lips move to feel of your skin. this would be your life with me as i clothe you with the most luxurious clothes i can provide for you. money ain't a problem for me. i have lots of them.
your body trembles as i touch you. i won't harm you, i told you. think of this as a lesson while you think of escaping me again. there's no escape in my grasps. as much i hate to force you, this is your punishment for making me angry. if you weren't my precious little things—i would have killed you.
we won't like that don't we? stay still. it would be easy for me to take you or else it would hurt. never been a problem for me to put down people like you.
that's it. you weren't that stubborn when i'm putting you in your place. that's right. the sight of you sinking in the sheets with your hands gripping the sheet while you brace yourself for me to take you. your plump ass raised to serve me.
eyes rolling as i sink to your warm pussy. engulfing me in such warmth that got me hooked, wishing forever to be inside you and now we are as one. connected to fulfill our desires and to feed my addiction.
i hope you learned your lesson with this one or else i'll be doing it until it get through your thick skin. i won't get tired of it nor will i ever stop.
this is what addiction to you feels like. a neverending rush of euphoria.
312 notes · View notes
126dvtn · 2 years
Text
— hey, are you okay?
summary : the genshin men find you crying in solitude.
cw : none to note!
genre : comfort ; fluff ; established relationship
characters : diluc, kazuha, thoma, scaramouche
Tumblr media
diluc ragnvindr ; overpouring affection.
the first thing diluc sees when he opens the bedroom door is your crying figure sat up on the bed. his first instinct is to drop everything he's holding, along with everything he planned to do in his mind. his is a nervous but steady walk, and he approaches you with concern pouring from his eyes. there are so many things he needs to know; what happened? why are you still awake? who- and a wave of rage engulfs his heart- who did this to you?
but none of those questions leave diluc's lips. instead, he takes you in his arms; steadily stroking your hair in an attempt to calm your sobs. the uneasiness in his heart clogs his throat. thus, to make up for his inability to verbally comfort you, he leans down and plants a lingering kiss in your hair. and when he's finally able to speak, he speaks a lot- his whispers of affirmation accompanying your sniffs. "i've got you, my love." he tilts your face towards him. "i love you so much. please don't cry." he leans down carefully- kissing your tears away.
kaedehara kazuha ; a quiet distraction.
if kazuha can hear the winds' calling, he can most definitely hear your weeping. he's met with many tears on his numerous voyages- learning the many ways one can soothe another's distress. not to mention his own; a result of loss and overwhelming grief. with you, he knows to be kind. he comes up to you carrying a compassionate smile. he then wipes your tears away with his thumb (which proves to be futile with the way they still flow) before cuddling up against you.
"can you take some deep breaths with me, my butterfly?" kazuha's loving gaze doesn't leave your face. "in, out. in, out- lovely. just like that." he smiles again. there's no reason to fill your heart with further despair- and he strongly believes in that. so he offers to distract you; humming a familiar melody. his hand, while calloused, is gentle when it reaches out to hold yours. the relaxed pace at which he caresses you lulls your heart to rest. and when your eyes finally shut, and your breathing evens out, he leaves a swift peck on your cheek as he tucks you in.
thoma ; all he could give.
it doesn't take thoma more than a second to know that you're crying. he hears your muffled cries from the other room, and immediately gets to work. his mental checklist of all he wants to treat you to only grows. soft, fluffy blankets for your comfort. all your favourite foods to make you happy. a pack of tissues that's all for your tears. and most importantly, his time and energy- to hold you for hours and give you all the love you need.
thoma enters your room with his arms chock-full of items. "i didn't mean to listen in, but... i heard you were crying." he kneels in front of you, draping the blanket over your shoulders. "is everything okay?" when you shake your head no, he pauses and looks into your eyes. "i know. that's alright. i'm here now." with his hands still on your shoulders, he pulls you towards him- and kisses your forehead. to him, it's okay that you're not okay. no matter your state of mind, he'll love you either way.
scaramouche ; with uncertainty.
at first, scaramouche doesn't know what to do. the only tears he's seen are his, and there's no way he'll treat you the way he treats himself. he contemplates letting you be- there must be a reason you're not calling for him, after all. but he hears your muffled sniffs turn into sobs, and that's when his impulse pushes him to comfort you. there's a small distance where he sits; a silent message that you have a choice to push him away. you don't.
so scaramouche sets a firm hand on your back. he starts patting. "don't cry- uh..." it's an awkward movement- stiff from inexperience. "actually, just let it out. i'm.. i'm here for you." his voice is laced with uncertainty- but sincere nonetheless. and when you slowly lean towards him, he pulls you against his shoulder, arm reaching across your trembling shoulders. "do you wanna talk about it?" he asks in a hushed tone. and it doesn't matter if you do or don't- for he will listen. if not to your voice, then to your breaths, until they slow into a rhythmic pace- signifying that rest has finally reached you.
3K notes · View notes
lizzaneia-elizalde · 4 months
Note
College au! Rich, popular senior who is actually emotionless but uses a faux mask to hide the fact and does favors left and right, not because he's kind and considerate but because he doesn't see anyone else worth engaging with and the only way the get rid of them is through giving them what they want, like pesky leeches. Reader however saw right through his mask into his eyes and that surprised him. Someone other than his father knows?! Should he get rid of her? But.. oh? she wants something from him? A favour? How interesting..
-🌼
Yandere! Male! College student x Blockmate! Fem! Reader
Got a bit of mental exercise on this one, since what could the favor be? Hmm... Got a bit too nsfw though, so be warned. (BTW, is this spicy enough? I'm practicing lol)
Also, I decided to do some tweaks on our other yanderes, so expect relatives amongst yanderes now!
Yandere! College Student name: Alpheus
Tumblr media
It was the third of January now, a lot of students have come back to the University in order to resume their classes. Some got blessed and has their classes to be continued by next monday, but not for this specific college.
"Ugh..." A person bemoaned to their friend. "What the hell is wrong with our Dean? Setting our return so early-- Does she have no sympathy?"
"You said it." Another person piped up. "We may be architecture students, but we're not machines!"
"Our course is hard enough without holidays bro. I just wish she let us enjoy the new years..."
"Don't you think so, Alpheus?"
Alpheus, a man who's soft and gentle. Prince-like, and someone you could rely on. He had many... Friends... As what other people see themselves when asking what their relationship with him is.
Too bad it's one sided though.
Alpheus hummed, his blank eyes that none of these guys noticed looked up to the sky.
"Well, doesn't it make sense? We finished our first semester 1st day of December. I think it's just fair for us to go back by the 3rd of January." Alpheus' almost ghost like quality of voice came out of his soft pink lips.
The friends, who were just complaining earlier, shut up from the logic he gave.
"Uh... I guess you're right."
"Well, it is a one month vacation..."
"Yeah, we got the better end of the stick."
"Other Unis only gave two weeks as vacation."
Alpheus gave a small smile to them as they murmured their suddenly new opinion due to his quips.
"This is exhausting..."
Nobody saw through his mask, the way he held so much indignant boredom he had in his eyes when they go up to him and talk. Nobody felt the way he seems so distant and plastic-y.
Maybe he got this acting skills from his brother, Ignatius.
Both of them are the opposite ends of the bar. Ignatius as the boisterous, annoying, attention seeking actor, and Alpheus, the hide-behind-a-facade, self-important, holier-than-though, plastic friend.
Well, that's what their parents describe them anyways. Too much of the old mindset gets you to be a pair of judgmental fuckers who think that mental conditions are not real, so they didn't get diagnosed if it's something to do with their psychology.
Alpheus grew up mostly being overshadowed by his brother, but is honestly shining more when it comes to academics. Making the attention between them fairly equal.
Like how their parents describe them, Ignatius is talented, while Alpheus is a genius.
That didn't make them less terrified on Alpheus though.
When he was a child especially, he looks so dead inside and unreadable that it freaked them out. Even contemplating on calling the exorcist.
Alas, they didn't at the risk of their family reputation to fall off.
Only Ignatius got him.
When Alpheus got older, he met more people who got freaked out by how apathetic and emotionless he is.
But, with the help of his brother, he learned how to put up a mask. Albeit just the barest of minimum, people got fooled somehow.
That, and Alpheus just goes with the flow most of the time.
Just to make them shut up, he always ends up doing favors and helps the people who ask for him to do something for them.
"People... Such a bother..."
At least they're tools for him to blend in seamlessly...
"By the way, Alpheus, is your mansion available on Sunday?"
Here they go again...
It's a never ending cycle for him.
"Why? Do you want to do a party there?" He asks gently, another soft smile on his face that made that person flustered.
"U-uh yes! I mean, the last pool party we did there was crazy."
It was crazy cuz all of you thrashed my damn mansion.
It's somehow of a blessing that his family is rich. He got to move out to a new place, his brother did too, and funded all of their lavish tastes. Even if it was a way to make them shut up and not interact with their parents, it gave them freedom to do the things they want.
"Why not? We need something to headstart us for the second semester anyways." And with a princely smile, he agreed to his friend's favor that made his friend group hoot and holler.
And as Alpheus keeps a steady smile yet an annoyed glare, he wishes for something to happen in that party to shut them up.
Tumblr media
Music blazing, party raving, drinks boozing.
It's the party of the month for the students in the University Alpheus attended.
People cannonballing in the pool, couples and strangers making out (maybe more), stragglers drinking their way to being blackout...
And the owner of the mansion?
Alpheus sits down cross legged on the couch, being surrounded by his friends. The music is pounding against his ears and worsening his headache. But he also can't sleep in his room because he knows that no matter how thick his walls are, the music will still seep into his bedroom.
He takes a sip of the bourbon on his hand, his deep eyes scanning the crowd and the mess they made.
He almost groaned. This is gonna take a while to clean.
Sure, he'll hire people to clean, but his parents' will question where the money will go to, and they will nag to him about being upright and being a rebel and throwing parties and being a disgrace and being so content being a genius that he thinks he can just throw his parents' reputation to the mud--
Just thinking about it is making him exhausted.
He watched as the woman that latched onto his side trailed her finger on his exposed chest from unbuttoning his dress shirt. She was saying something flirtatious but honestly, he doesn't care.
The headache is becoming unbearable.
"Excuse me, people. I just need to get more." Alpheus gently laid off the woman before shaking the glass on his hand, the ice clinking around.
They all nodded with a smile before Alpheus went inside.
There are some people here. Singing karaoke, some playing beer pong... And others making out and grinding.
He got to the comfort room on the corner of the first floor and sighed, splashing water on his face as he let the water trickle down his throat.
He dropped his facade, staring at himself with the dead expression that people found chilling.
Sometimes, he just needs a breather.
And that breather is his home. But now, a party is going on and he needed a bit of break sometimes.
Hey, he's emotionless, not a robot that doesn't get exhausted.
Alpheus splashed water on his face once more before he heard the door to the toilet open.
A woman.
He remembers you. A classmate, one of the few people who doesn't talk to him and ask favors, so he automatically has a positive outlook on you. As positive a person can feel for being emotionless.
He nods, you didn't.
"Y/N, right?" He asks, quickly slipping on the facade. He smiled at you, donning the princely mask once more.
You weren't buying it though.
"Alpheus. What's up with you and putting up a front?"
His forearm bulged, the grip on the counter sink tightened as the veins pulsed across his arm.
Ah, he forgot. You have this inquisitive, curious, yet hostile look on your face whenever he catches you staring at him.
"What do you mean by that?" He smiled once more.
"You know what I mean."
He cleared his throat, dropping the act and turning towards you, not facing the mirror anymore.
"Look here, Y/N. It just so happens that I get tired sometimes." He shrugs. "Social battery and that."
"Bullshit." You spat out. "You don't even feel anything. You think I won't know? It's so obvious."
A dull feeling of irritation welled up inside of him. Uncommon, but not that new.
"Really now? So what?" Alpheus scoffs and crosses his arms. "What will you do? Expose me?"
His eyes sharpened a bit.
Should I get rid of her?
"No. I need a favor also." You smiled. He sighed.
"Shoot."
"Be my pretend boyfriend."
Alpheus blinked, tilting his head in wonder.
"Huh. That's new. And what do you need me for? Why do I need to do that?" He softly chuckles, thinking of reasons why. "Are you attracted to me and are finding a reason to get close to me? Possibly make me fall for you?"
He got close to you, bending a bit to stare at your eyes.
Were your eyes always this shiny? Such a juxtaposition of his dull, dead ones.
"Maybe you have this sick fantasy in your head that you can fix me." He chuckled again.
"No. That's weird." You scoffed and swatted him away. "Ex boyfriend problem. A stalker, won't stop following me around."
He hummed in contentment. He did remember seeing a man hovering around your angered/scared face.
"That I can believe. But why me, cheri?" He asked, intrigued by your favor. "There's a lot of people, and it's kinda suspicious if we suddenly became an item."
You took a deep breath, shaking your hands.
"Don't get mad, but I sprinkled some hints that I was interested in you. Making fake convos of us..." You flushed red and fished your phone out of your pocket and showing him the convos.
The pfp is the same, so does the name, but the way he types isn't the same. Clearly fake.
"I know, creepy, but..." You gripped your hand in awkwardness. "But the other guys aren't really the best options. He got them on a hold like he's friends with them. And you're the only one available that's not close to him. I also don't know other people outside our block."
Your grip tightened. "So help me, please?"
Tumblr media
A man in a leather jacket seethed, not being able to find you.
"Where are you, Y/N!" He grumbled under his breath.
He lost you an hour ago, and he's already on his end's wits.
Especially you're in this mansion. Alpheus' mansion.
Sure, he didn't believe that you and Alpheus were a thing. It was impossible! There's evidences, but he doesn't want to believe it.
He gritted his teeth and opened another door but to only two people fucking.
"God, get a room!" He growled out before being hit by a pillow, being yelled at that 'this is a room!'
Slamming the door closed, he got to the corner where there is a door beside an end table with an expensive flower vase on top.
He gripped the knob and swung it open, and his eyes widened.
"Alpheus..."
"Cheri, just like that..."
You and Alpheus, making out. With you sitting on the counter as your crotches grinding against each other in a friction filled frenzy. With Alpheus' large hands and fingers gripping your soft skin on your waist, leaving red marks trailing across. Your legs, wrapped around Alpheus' waist, had the dress riddled up to your chest area, exposing your tasteful underwear.
Alpheus' lips trailed across your neck, opening slightly to lick the base before biting down. It made you throw your head back with a whimper so salacious that it made Alpheus buck into you once more.
The man felt cold and hot at the same time.
It was real?
You can't even hear that your ex has swung the door open. Drunk on the "pretend" makeout' pleasure that it gave you. You just knew he's in the house, but doesn't know when he'll find you.
So, Alpheus just made you sit on the counter and started kissing you gently just in case.
Who knew it would become a full, blown out session that left you breathless and Alpheus suddenly obsessed with this new feeling?
Alpheus' dead eyes was flashing with hunger and desire in them as he glared at your ex boyfriend.
And without breaking any eye contact, he gripped your waist more, with his hips grinding harder and his teeth sinking more to your skin, marking you his.
Saliva dripped from his lips to your skin, making it glisten under the dim light.
And with a smirk, Alpheus successfully drove out your ex.
Now, he could just stop.
But what's the fun in that?
For the first time, he's feeling such pleasure from you, and your body.
You felt divine in his hold, making it impossible to separate himself from your body as he gripped your thigh and carrying you up, pushing your back against the wall to continue making out, and maybe even more.
He can blame it on the alcohol, but he knows damn well it's not.
He felt... Happy for the first time. The overwhelming euphoria from this new encounter and discovering new feelings were making him drunk. And he's drinking it whole.
It's almost selfish on how he doesn't want to let go of you.
And, before he knew it, the seed has planted inside of him.
By the next days, he finds himself unable to separate from you as you continued to introduce new emotions inside of him.
He will wish to shackle you to him, and maybe do the same as his brother and kidnap his significant other.
He will feel overtly jealous for the first time, seeing you interact with his other male classmates. Especially that architecture is a male dominant field.
He will get angry, rage, and become crazy from the sudden influx of emotions running inside of him.
But that's in the future.
And as he watches you writhe from his hold as his fingers descended down under your panties, he knew that he would do anything to keep this feeling from fading.
167 notes · View notes
bokutosbiceps · 4 months
Text
sakura blossoms (pt 2)
monkey d luffy x afab!reader | fluff | ~1k words
warnings: none !! pls enjoy 😁
a/n: this is pt 2 to the sakura blossoms series !! i will be posting pt 3, which is full of smutty smut, in an hour !! 😁
click here for pt 1 !!
click here for pt 3 !!
18+ MDNI
Tumblr media
luffy’s heart is racing, it's gone around the earth twenty times and now it's shooting for the moon and landing amongst the stars.
he can't believe you're laughing at him. or laughing with him, hopefully. he honestly doesn't care what's making you laugh, as long as it's him. he wants to make you laugh like this forever.
“what'd you say?” you giggle, covering your mouth with your kimono sleeve. luffy finds himself subconsciously slightly bending to the side to keep your lips in his line of sight. 
“sing like that again—for me.” he demands. 
you're laughing again. he's delighted.
“what's so funny?” luffy can't help but chuckle himself, lips parting to make way for a gummy smile. 
“i've just…never been asked for an encore!” you smile at him. “i'm glad you liked my singing…?” you pause, realizing you don't know this cute stranger’s name.
but somehow it feels like you've known this man with a strawhat hanging off of his neck for your entire life.
“oh! sorry!” luffy becomes extremely aware that he's staring at you and he's completely forgotten to introduce himself. he remembers learning manners somewhere once. “i'm monkey d luffy! and i'm the man who's gonna become king of the pirates!”
your eyes widen and you take a step forward slightly, feeling an overwhelming amount of gratitude for this stranger—luffy. he's the man who saved your country.
you grab luffy’s hands and hold them to your chest, looking at luffy with admiration sparkling in your eyes.
“you're strawhat luffy, wano’s hero!”
“‘m not a hero. just wanted to help a friend, just wanted your country to have good food for whenever ya want.” luffy feels his face heating up and his palms produce tiny droplets of moisture when you hold him. 
you giggle at his indignance and step back, keeping his hands enclosed in yours.
“i'm still grateful! so, of course, i'll sing for you and your crew.” you beam at him and luffy’s heart soars. “i'm y/n, by the way.”
“not my crew.” luffy shakes his head. “just me.” he says firmly, a smirk hiding in the corner of his lips.
your eyebrows twitch in confusion, but you don't question him. instead, you take this time to really look at him. 
he has caramel colored skin, sun kissed on top of that, with fluffy black hair and a scar under his left eye. the strawhat, still hanging from his neck, seems like it's seen better days. but maybe not. wide chocolate eyes are staring into your own and his smile is all teeth and gums. 
he’s radiant. 
luffy then turns both of his hands outward, so that he's grabbing yours now, and he's pulling you.
“c’mon, we'll go somewhere else so you can sing for me!” 
❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。
you never end up singing for monkey d luffy.
he took you across a barren wasteland filled with beasts, one he promised wouldn't be barren anymore, then through a jungle in which a river flowed. he told you how that same river had made his friend sick after she'd given him her last portion of rice, and that's how he knew he had to help.
you end up in a small shack strewn up in the trees, and the conversations continue. luffy wove his story and you wove yours, working until the fibers of each were about to intertwine.
you've never felt so comfortable so fast with anyone, let alone a man. but luffy’s youthful exuberance and his ability to make you laugh with his natural honesty made you trust him.
and luffy, he likes you a lot. more than he thought possible. he'd always told himself he'd cast love and feelings and all that aside until he achieved his dream. now, he thinks that having two dreams isn't so bad.
he's curled around you, laying on his side with one leg braced underneath him and the other open on the wood flooring below. you're leaning back on him, his belly providing a hard yet somehow soft cushion for your head.
breaks in the conversation are never awkward. they're filled with little gasps whenever luffy would pinch your side or giggles whenever your fingers would find their way through his hair. 
but this break in conversation is different. it’s filled with a long stare on luffy’s part, a nervous glance on yours. luffy’s sharp inhale fills the little cracks.
“you wanna know what i first thought of you?”
you immediately feel nervous. you know luffy is blunt and you know he doesn't really think before he speaks, so you're dreading his next words.
he doesn't wait for you to answer. “i thought you were pretty.”
your heart is encircled in flames of all different colors. “i thought you liked my singing?”
luffy hums, shifting underneath you. you think he's going to pinch you again, but he instead brings his knees up so that they're touching your thighs and he props his head up on his hand to face you.
“yeah! but i thought you were pretty first!” and luffy is smiling again. 
“is that why you wanted me to sing for you alone?” you ask, keeping your eyes trained on the ceiling. you can feel luffy still staring at you. he gives an affirmative hum and you feel your heart rate quicken.
“i still haven't sung for you…” you say. 
“you don't hafta!” luffy sits up, effectively knocking your head from his abdomen but using his quick reflexes to catch your head and place it in his lap. “i want somethin' else now.”
“and what’s that, luffy?” your eyes glance up to regard the young pirate, who is still cradling your head in his hands while you rest in his lap. he's leaning forward, so close your foreheads are almost touching, and you can feel his ruffled hair tickle your face.
he stares at you for a second or two longer before his lips stretch out into a mischievous grin.
“you ever kiss anyone?”
“kiss?” you say dumbly, feeling your mouth go dry.
“yeah! sanji said that whenever i find someone i like and they like me, i should kiss ‘em!”
you can only blink at him. you have no clue who sanji is, but you're silently thanking him for saying such a thing to luffy.
“so, whaddya say, y/n? you wanna kiss me?”
Tumblr media
i'm tagging everyone who commented on pt 1 saying they wanted a pt 2 or rb, also the regulars 😗
taglist: @lavenderhaze00 | @n1ght5h4d3-24 | @333vil | @scentisterror | @jaree101-blog | @louisechec | @luffysprincess | @usoppsstar | @lalalolojoot | @bfshoto | @nina-a-pines | @pileofmush | @anemptypuddingcup
159 notes · View notes
letters-to-lgbt-kids · 6 months
Text
My dear lgbt+ kids,
There are a lot of poetic things we can say about crying: It's a temporary storm that cleans the air, and you need to wait out the rain so you can see the rainbow!
Or in less poetic words, crying can be good for you.
it's the opposite of bottling your feelings up. Openly expressing feelings with tears is an important emotional "safety valve" that helps you relieve the pressure from overwhelming emotions. After you released the pressure, it's easier to think clearly and make healthy decisions.
It can also serve as a helpful tool to communicate with the people around you. It enables you to ask for comfort or put up a boundary, even when you're too overwhelmed to use words. (in fact, crying was the very first communication tool you ever used after you were born! That's how important it is!).
It has physical health benefits. Crying helps to keep your eyes clean (by keeping them lubricated and flushing dust, smoke etc. out) and emotional tears may also flush stress hormones and other toxins out of your system!
So, the answer to "how do I stop crying?" is usually "you don't need to!". It's much better for you to allow yourself to cry when you feel the need to, to embrace tears as a healthy and normal way of expressing emotions, than to learn how to suppress them.
With that being said: what if you feel like you cry too much?
There isn't really the one agreed-upon definition of "too much" when it comes to crying. You may read statistics like "The average person cries 3 to 5 times a month" but that doesn't mean it's necessarily an issue if you cry more often. Different people have different emotional safety valves, some people's safety valves are triggered much more easily than others... and so some people just naturally cry more without it being a symptom of mentall illness or general dissatisfaction with their life!
Rather than hinging it on a specific number, it's more important to look at your subjective feeling. If you feel like your crying is negatively affecting your quality of life (for example: you cry yourself to sleep every night, you often find yourself crying for no appearant reason and/or you cry uncontrollably in situations where you really don't want to be crying (like at work), it's best to talk to a doctor. You may be struggling with a mental health issue, like depression, and you deserve professional help and support.
Last but not least, I want to give some practical advice:
Tears are mostly water. It's a good idea to rehydrate after a long cry! Drink some water or make yourself a comforting cup of tea.
There's some advice out there on how to stop your tears from flowing in public (tilting your chin up, opening your eyes wide, not blinking). I'm sure these tips work well for some people but in my experience it's usually much easier to just find an excuse and a silent space where you can cry (quietly) for a few minutes. Rather than staying in the stressful situation with the added pressure of not blinking, just say you need to go to the bathroom (or you need a glass of water, a smoke break, some fresh air, to take an urgent phone call etc.) and take a little cry break.
If you know you are a crier, it can be helpful to prepare yourself for the situation above. There's no shame in having a little "cry bag" with tissues, concealer, a fidget toy or anything else you may need to calm down and freshen up after your cry break in the work bathroom. (It may feel like people will stare at you for taking a bag into the bathroom but they'll most likely just assume it's hygiene products or headache pills)
Putting an ice cube in a washcloth and then gently putting it on your cheeks or around your eyes can be a great way to soothe your face after crying. If you don't have access to that, running cold water over your fingers and then gently pressing them on your skin can help just as well!
If your eyes hurt after crying, over-the-counter eye drops can help. But if you're a frequent crier, make sure to check the instructions if they're safe to be used on a regular basis! (And keep in mind that crying should not lead to long-lasting eye pain. If it does, it may show an underlying eye issue, such as dry eyes or allergies, and you should see a doctor!)
With all my love,
Your Tumblr Dad
300 notes · View notes
Text
On Gale and patriarchy/toxic masculinity
I really want to do a reading and analysis of Gale's character as upholding patriarchal values and expectations of toxic masculinity because this stuck out to me as I listened to the CF audiobook before bed last night. From chapter 1 of CF:
I think of Gale, who is only really alive in the woods, with its fresh air and sunlight and clean, flowing water. I don't know how he stands it. Well ... yes, I do. He stands it because it's the way to feed his mother and two younger brothers and sister. And here I am with buckets of money, far more than enough to feed both our families now, and he won't take a single coin. It's even hard for him to let me bring in meat, although he'd surely have kept my mother and Prim supplied if I'd been killed in the Games. I tell him he's doing me a favor, that it drives me nuts to sit around all day. Even so, I never drop off the game while he's at home. Which is easy since he works twelve hours a day. 
Highlighted the part that really made my ears perk up. There's something to be said about Gale's stubbornness and his pride, which is very similar to Katniss's but he always takes it another step. Whereas Katniss learns to accept others' help, to forge these connections, Gale doesn't. It's giving "I'm the man and this is my job." For someone who wants nothing more than to help keep his family alive, it's weird that he refuses any help.
At first I thought maybe he doesn't want her money because it's from the Capitol and he despises it that much but she says it's hard for him to even have her bring meat in from hunting. Which points to his pride. He wants to be the provider. The one taking care of her. And it leaves Katniss in a kinda tricky place. It's like she's walking on eggshells around him here - purposely not dropping off game at his house when he's there.
Compare that with Peeta (which as a reader, like Katniss, you end up doing when either of these two guys come up) and it's so different. We know Peeta is strong and smart etc. He's not a hunter but he's also still a provider (of bread). And he has his own pride too. But going through the Games, Peeta and Katniss have a balanced push and pull. She helps him, he helps her. She takes care of him, he takes care of her. When he's hurt, he lets Katniss help him. He's not too proud to try and do it himself. Same with Katniss. She lets him take care of her when she needs it. And this is something they learn from the Games, particularly Katniss; how to accept help from others. And we see her development in this over the course of the trilogy.
Gale is interesting in that I really think he is one of the characters in the books who really doesn't grow as such. In my mind, he's rooted in place in many ways. From his ideals, to his thoughts, to his strategies, to his actions, he doesn't really develop much. He has moments - but a lot of those moments are tied to wanting to apologise to or be better for Katniss (and still he comes up short). I'm thinking of the moment where he makes her feel bad for defending her prep team in 13 and then later tries to smooth things over in the canteen by being kind. I believe that's something he did only for Katniss. She's his motivation to be different (but turns out that's not enough still.)
I'll maybe build on this another time but this passage made me think of what he says when he sees Katniss after Prim's death. "Does it matter? You'll always be thinking about it... That was the one thing I had going for me. Taking care of your family." Instead of apologising for helping to create such bombs, instead of asking for forgiveness, instead of crying with her, instead of expressing his sorrow and regret at what's happened, this is all he's able to say. Which is odd to me. To not even try to comfort your supposed closest friend at such a time. To say that's all you had going for you? It's this relationship of transaction. 'I take care of your family and hunt with you so you should end up marring me.' I really don't think that's far from what Gale expected.
I think there's even more to say about Gale as a patriarchal character but I've rambled on enough at this point. But his attitude and perspective throughout the book, while aligned with that of a traumatised young adult in the midst of oppression, also aligns heavily with patriarchal constructs. The way he thinks of war and people and human relationships, the way he thinks of fighting and death, and the way he thinks of doing whatever you have to do to achieve your end, no matter what happens or who gets hurt in pursuit of it. If anyone has any reading on Gale in these areas I'd be so interested in it!
164 notes · View notes
devouringink · 3 months
Text
TWST THIRD YEARS ON A SNOW DAY.
cater, trey, idia, rook, leona, lilia, malleus. (no vil because i'm not entiiireeely confident writing him yet, sorry. <3)
Tumblr media
cater is absolutely enthused when the announcement of classes being closed goes up on NCR's official magicam account. you don't even get to learn the news yourself when you wake up in the morning, because he's blowing up your phone.
ding, ding, ding!
(TXT.) hey, (nickname.) did u heaarrr?
ding, ding, ding!
(TXT.) we have off! :p ur going to visit me right? <3
you feel like you don't have much of a choice. after all, how often does a school of magic have days off due to the weather? scarf wrapped tightly, you brave the walk to the house of mirrors from ramshackle dorm. however, you manage to come across cater halfway.
"thank the seven," he mutters gratefully. he quickly approaches, wrapping his arms tightly around you. "it's so cold! let's hurry to ramshackle."
"to.. ramshackle?"
"haha! riddle gave me permission to go to you. i figured i'd save you the trip. i guess the snow's messing with your signal.. uh, maybe we actually should go to heartslabyul."
Tumblr media
trey doesn't get a lot of relaxed days like this. he figures that it would be a nice day to continue his tradition of snow day cookies. but.. too many people are using the kitchen today, so you offer ramshackle's kitchen. after all, crowley finally provided the funds for a much needed renovation.
trey merrily accepts, and gets right down to business. he catches the way you're watching, and offers to let you help him. together, you roll out the cookie dough and use cutters to make little shapes. it's a silly set from the mystery shop- designed as little bats, wizard hats, and wands.
you're so into it that you don't notice your face being slowly caked in powder until you hear him begin to laugh. trey reaches out, gently swiping a portion of flour from your cheek.
"ha.. hahaha! you should be a little more careful, you know."
Tumblr media
shishishi.. a day off? perfect! idia now has more time to grind on his gacha games for more ten pulls! he used to pray for days like thi-.. eh? you want to hang out?!
fine. but know that idia doesn't plan on leaving his room today. he invites you in, letting you sit comfortably in his lap while he games. ..you know, he doesn't trust just anyone to do this!
Tumblr media
rook is absolutely fascinated with the beautiful way that the snow cascades from the sky, decorating the ground that was flowing with lush grass only a month ago. you can hear his exclamation of 'magnifique!' from the window.
"..oh. that's just rook." you mutter, shrugging as you continue to wipe the window. "wait, what is he doing here?!"
rook doesn't bother knocking as he enters ramshackle dorm. you're already familiar enough with each other after all, no?
"y/n!" he chirps, strolling over to you as if he did not just barge in. "go ahead and put some warmer clothes on. i'd like to take you on a walk."
"a walk..? now?"
"but of course! the scenery outside is a beauty i'd like to share with you in its prime. go on, now." he gently nudges you along, making you believe you don't have much of a choice.
"alright, alright.."
Tumblr media
leona is more than content to spend the day lazing about. but, you. ugh.. you. you had to send him that text about hanging out today. how can the gruff leona say no to you?
he ends up outside of your door half an hour after leaving you on read. honestly, you didn't expect him to even open the message itself, let alone show up at ramshackle!
"..leona." you murmur, pleasantly surprised. "come on in."
leona enters, scooping you up along the way. what? his plans today were to relax. i hope you're ready to spend most of the day watching TV and napping, y/n.
Tumblr media
you had, unfortunately, not gotten the memo about school being closed for the day. you would have if your phone was charged, but the outlet suddenly stopped working! the weird thing is, the electricity everywhere else was fine..
you arrive to the school, completely prepared to begin the day. but.. the door doesn't open. you shake around the door handle, but to no avail. lilia, who was watching nearby, begins to laugh.
"l-lilia?" you stutter in surprise, staring like a deer caught in headlights. he likes this expression on you.
"malleus was wondering why you weren't at ramshackle. you know that the school's closed, right? didn't you get the email?"
"what? can't they just.. magic away the snow? -why are you here then?!"
lilia lets out another airy laugh. "silver left behind a book he was reading, so i came to retrieve it." he waves his hand, and the door magically opens. "come with me. it's cold out here."
as much as lilia wants to bring silver's book back, being alone together on campus has too many fun possibilities.. why don't you play hide and seek with him, y/n?
Tumblr media
malleus is elated when you invite him to ramshackle. he does not spare a goodbye to anyone around him, and instead instantly teleports to ramshackle.
"child of man," he calls, tiers curved into a smile that you doubt will ever vanish from his lips. "what shall we do on this 'snow day'?"
"why.. don't we make a snowman?" you suggest.
"a snowman?" ah, yes. he's made his fair share with lilia, silver, and sebek. "very well. we'll make the most amazing snowman anyone's ever seen."
with that abrupt declaration, he begins to walk outside. too caught up in the moment, he forgets that you still need to put on your coat, scarf, gloves, and snow boots. when you get outside, you find him pacing.
"..mallleus?"
"-oh, right." he clears his throat. "i will begin to roll snow. find us sticks for the arms."
after spending a few hours indoors, you both decide to wrap up by drinking hot cocoa in doors. you yawn drowsily, leaning into him.
"..today was nice."
"yes, it was."
133 notes · View notes
Text
I'm not German or speak German so sorry if I translate it wrong just blame Google translate
Both bill and the reader are 16
" Hallo i-ich bin y/n" ( hello I'm y/n).
I say, well try to say. I'm trying to learn German by myself just for something to do. I don't think I will ever need it but it's gonna be awesome to say I can speak more than one language and that's German, plus German people have amazing accents that make them sound fantastic.
I sit on the swings staring down and the miniature sized book in my hands . Even though I'm swinging slightly the swing still  screeches . It's not the best park, it has a broken roundabout that barely spins, the slide gives kids burns no matter what you wear. The over flowing bin thats full of beer bottles and other stuff I probably don't want to know about.
Everything in the park has worn out, dull paint on it. It looks like no one has been in for years and that's kinda true ever since the new park was added all the younger kids go there, it's in the nicer part of town as well.
It seems as though only drug addictics, drunkes and some teens go to this park now which is normally at night so sometimes I get this place all to myself.
My eyes quickly skim the page.
"alright so they pronounce their 'w' 's as v' s. So wine would be vine?" I look up to the clear blue sky and sigh. Closing the book I put it on the floor. I pick up my phone from the ground and skip my music till I find a more upbeat song, I place my phone back on to the floor then I start to swing getting higher and higher.
I sit swinging for about 45 minutes being in my own little world while listening to music watching the world go by. I slowly slow down draging my feet on the gravel and pull myself to a stop. I slip off my headphones and place them around my neck. Jumping of of the swing I bend down and pick up my book, phone and my bottle of water, I place my phone into my Jeans pocket. I start to head out of the park when I drop my waterbottle . I reach down stretching my arm out ready to grab the bottle when another hand beats me to it. I look up at the person ready to say thank you and I'm met with a really pretty, tall, skinny boy with longish black hair. 
" Thanks, you didn't have to do that but I appreciate it"
"Don't worry, it was no problem. I'm Bill" the German accent catching my attention. Bill holds my bottle out and I reach to get it.
" Thanks" I say again "I'm y/n" grabbing the waterbottle.
Bill steps to the side  slightly and that's when I notice another boy with dreadlocks.
"This is my brother Tom."
" it's nice to meet you but I probably should be going. Have a nice day" I say and continue to walk out of the park and along the path heading home. I turn to look back at the park and catch bill still looking at me, he doesn't turn away quickly as I thought he would, he just continues to look. I turn back around and continue my way home.
~~~~~~~°°~~~~~~~°°~~~~~~~°°~~~~~~
I kick my shoes of at the door and set down my book and waterbottle on the bench. I look at my waterbottle thinking back to the boy in the park and his brother, they looked about my age.
I open the snack cupboard and take out a pack of sour patch kids I grab my book and water and head up to my room.
Closing the door I chuck the sour patch kids on my bed as well as my waterbottle .
My room isn't very big. It has light gray walls with windows on both the front and the back of my room. My beds near the front of the room, my conserlation bedding make my room look more  neater for some odd reason. I have about fifty thousand plants dotted around in different coloured plant pots. My room doesn't really have a theme it's just random.
For a small room I have a lot of stuff and I don't even need it. I don't use the things so there's no point in having them but it's the fact that most of the stuff is gifts and things that I might in the future, who knows.
I walk over to my bed and  get on. lying on my stomach I reach to my right and put my book on my book shelf that has far to many books for it, and if I'm being honest I have 4 books on the go that need finishing.
I open the bag of sour patch and start scrolling on Instagram.
After about 15 minutes I get bored. I chuck my phone to the side and get up from my bed streching as I do so.
I hear the door open and close from my mum coming in from work.
"I'M BACK " she shouts. My mums pretty chill, just don't get on her bad side.
"OK" I shout back
"is your sister In?"
"no, she's staying at jasmine's tonight"
" should we order in tonight then"
I run out of my room and down the stairs into the sitting room. Not only is my room small every rooms small. My mum's sitting on the sofa scrolling through what I'm guessing is a takeaway menu.
"how does Chinese sound?"  mum says looking up from the menu on her phone.
"yeah that sounds great"
We normally order in if maddison is out because she doesn't like eating fatty foods, she says its going to ruin her skin and figure . I mean when I was 14 i had okay skin a few spots every now and then  but I didn't stop eating stuff  because of it. The acne has gone now thankfully, and I'm happy about how I look because I relised that unless I get plastic surgery, which is hella expensive, I can't change the way I look.
About 12 minutes later mom gets a phone call.
I don't pay attention until I hear my name being mentioned, I turn my head towards mum now interested in the conversation that mums having.
"No, I'm sure she'll be fine with going, one sec, I'll tell her"
"y/n, sweetheart, maddison wants to go to this concert thing with jasmine in 2 or 3 weeks, apparently they have vip tickets or what ever you call them. And they want you to go are you okay with that" she says looking over to me
"yeah, sure, I don't mind"  mum turns back to facing forward again.
" your sister says yes she'll go with you"
"Okay, bye love you" mum hangs up the phone and turns back towards me.
" Are you sure you're okay with going?"
"yeah I need to get out anyway, did she say who we're going to see"
"no I don't think so, only that they have back stage passes, apparently jasmine's parents bought them for her and accidently bought 3 instead of two without knowing. You know how rich people are"
Hi everyone thanks so much for reading.
I have no clue what happens at a concert cause I have never been to one never mind back stage so please bare with me. I'll try and update as much as I can.
488 notes · View notes
irisintheafterglow · 6 months
Note
Hello!! Hope you’re well :) I absolutely love the way you write zoro ..!!! 🫶 you write him perfectly 💞 it brings a lot of comfort !
If your requests are open, is it okay to ask for a short fic or a headcannon list (however you wanna write it!) of zoro and a sad drunk reader? Like, they don’t drink a whole lot, only cuz they don’t trust them selves with it.. but they’re so comfortable with him they give it a try- to both of their surprises, there’s lots of… drunk crying and blabbles… how would zoro react to that?
Hope it’s not to much - thank you and stay awesome, don’t forget to take care of you and thanks for all the great fics you write 🫶💚
...but you can make me a drink
cw: swearing, alcohol, angst and feelings but mostly fluff
note: thank you so much for the love aww <33 this is so cute and i had so much fun writing this. i'm so glad you like my zoro stuff, i hope you like this too!
likes, reblogs, and replies are always appreciated <3 thank you for your support!
Tumblr media
"i really don't remember the last time i was this wasted."
"you're wasted already? that didn't take very long," you giggle deliriously, stretching out on the ledge of zoro's window with a dangerously sweet bottle of bad ideas in your hand. "here i thought the great pirate hunter was a heavyweight."
"i am," he protests from across from you, eyelids heavy and struggling to stay awake. "i just got outclassed." his admission sends another wave of tired chuckles through your body and you take another sip of your drink. "you doing okay?"
"i'm good. thank you for helping me with this." your eyes meet his over the rim of your bottle and you swear his ears turn the slightest shade of pink. "i really appreciate it, more than you'll ever know."
"it's whatever. you know i like any excuse to drink my problems away," he drawls absentmindedly. "plus, if it means you finally stop working your ass off, that's a bonus." it was his idea to have a drink together after a particularly taxing mission, one where alcohol was calling your name but you didn't have the courage to drink in front of your friends just yet. the last time you drank until you blacked out like your crewmates wanted to do, you ended up in some very sticky situations that you never wanted to risk getting into again. so, when zoro suggested that you have a drink with only him where he could keep an eye on you, it seemed like a good idea.
it was a good idea, until the tears started flowing.
"you know, i haven't felt this comfortable with anyone since i left my old crew," you admit, already feeling the long-repressed emotions starting to bubble to the surface.
"why not?"
"it's what i've learned. no one, no matter how many promises they make, is ever permanent. i've learned to live with that, but it doesn't mean it hurts less when you do end up losing them." you don't register your face becoming wet until he reaches out and wipes a stray tear from your cheek, forcing you to look up at him. he'd never looked so beautiful. "i hope i never lose you," you whisper and his eyes can't seem to find a place to focus on your face.
"i hope i never lose you, either," he says just as softly. his eyebrows furrow slightly as you continue to cry in his room, against his hand, while wearing his clothes. neither of you anticipated a night of drinking to end in so many emotions; yet, he couldn't think of any other place he'd rather be than with you so close. "it's fucking exhausting, isn't it?"
"mhmm," you agree, dabbing the corner of his eye with your sleeve to catch some more unexpected tears. "we can't make any promises, can we?"
"nope, but i can make you another drink."
"sounds amazing. help me forget this ever happened, zoro?"
"i'll do anything you require of me, sweetheart."
Tumblr media
if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on my ko-fi! you can also check out my full masterlist here :)
168 notes · View notes