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theartofwriting3 · 7 months

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I Remember Everything

Tommy Shelby x Reader

Summary: Y/n ends up at the Garrison after a very hard few months and runs into an old friend *wink wonk*

Warnings: Swearing, smoking, drinking, mentions of child loss, Tommy being Tommy, Y/n being…well Y/n, brief mention of smut (nothing actually happens though), Country music

A/n: I said I would post this like…a week ago but I forgot I had some stuff going on and shit. And then I forgot this existed. Please excuse how shitty and kind of short it is, I kind of suck.

It wasn’t long before the pub started clearing out, Y/n halfway drowned in whiskey and her memories. She didn’t even realize who was pouring her drinks anymore, or that it wasn’t the original bartender that was pouring shot after shot of scotch in her whiskey glass for the last hour.

“Think you’ve had enough, eh?” The bartender said, reaching to grab her glass.

“I’ve had enough when I throw my money up here and walk out of this pub.” she looked up at him and immediately, her entire demeanor changed. “Fuck are you doing, eh? Bartending? What happened to the whole…”

“So you’re not drunk enough to not notice me…”

“Sadly, no.” Y/n shrugged, taking another sip of her drink. “Haven’t seen you since you left for the war.” Five years. He left for the war five long, miserable years ago. She never truly got over it, being left alone like that with the small chance of him coming back.

“Haven’t seen you since you left with the kid…didn’t expect to see you here alone anytime soon.” Thomas poured himself a glass, then poured her another.

“Neither did I…” She downed it without question as he lit a cigarette. He offered her a smoke, and she obliged, taking the first puff from it and blowing it out through her nose.

Again, another truth she didn’t want to admit. She never planned on coming back here. Having not heard from Thomas in so long, she thought he was dead. She resented this place, afraid of the memories it might have brought back for her. Afraid that she wouldn’t be able to let them go.

“You never answered my question? What happened with the whole business thing, running around here like a fucking gangster and all that?”

“Still do it, but I have to keep a few side gigs to seem less suspicious, eh?” He wasn’t wrong. He was clever, intelligent enough to actually try, add succeed covering up his tracks…most of the time, at least.

“So why are you here?” She didn’t want to answer that question, for she had been avoiding it since everything happened. “Somebody watching Willy?”

That was his nickname for William, Y/n’s son. Just the thought of his nickname brought back the memories of when Tommy would help her with him. How he would teach him things, take him places, all of that, just to give Y/n a little break. There were a few times William asked her if Tommy was his father. She told him no, because he wasn’t, but he would still slip and call him “dad” a few times.

She didn’t want to tell Tommy about what had happened, knowing it would probably hurt him too. Not as much as it had hurt her though.

“Y/n? Where’s Willy?”

She gave in.

“Dead, Thomas. He’s dead.” Her words were soft spoken, but in a mournful way. It hasn’t been two months since she woke up to her ill son cold in her arms, his heart stopped. She just wanted the memories of it to be gone already. Her reply made the man freeze, putting down his glass and looking at her, his eyes laced with worry.

“Why didn’t you come here sooner?”

“Thomas, no amount of fuckin money would have saved him, alright? No trip to this filth hole would have made him any better. What would be the fuckin point?”

“I could have helped-”

“He wasn’t your fucking son!”

“Yeah well I fucking felt like he was!” His sudden change in tone made her jump slightly, wishing she hadn’t yelled at him over the whole thing.

William was, however, like a son to Tommy. On multiple occasions, the boy would ask his mother “Can he be my father?” and she would never answer. She didn’t know what to say, her son wanting her good friend to be his dad, and the man already treating him like a son. She made sure to scold the boy when he would ask Tommy, only to have him laugh it off.

“Thomas…” she murmurs, and he reaches out and brushes his knuckles against hers.

“Don’t try saying sorry…because it’s fine.” At this point, they dropped the whole conversation about William, preventing further argument.

By the time she had finished another drink, he had caught up to her, just each other's presence bringing back the memories before the war. They weren’t bad, but they were something to drink over so you would forget about them. Forget about the whole reason the two weren’t being comfortable with each other like you used to.weren’t all happy and comfortable with each other like they used to be.

That wasn’t, however, the only good memory they tried to drown out, the two of them. Between raising her son together, there were things no amount of whiskey, scotch or Irish, could drown from the back of their memories.

The mix of their warm breaths and pants, the rustling of bed sheets in the dead of night. None of it was all that bad, but she had tried everything to forget the brush of his rough hands on her bare skin. He’d drank everything he could find for the longest time to try and forget the taste of her lips and the soft sound of his name when it slipped past them.

The silence between them was loud and irritating. One had hoped the other would speak, but nothing was said. That is, until Thomas spoke up.

“You know, I still remember it all.”

“All of what?” She pulled her hand away.

“That night before I left for the war…five years ago.” He trailed off, putting out the cigarette from earlier and lighting another. She sighed and pushed her glass away, running her hand through her hair.

“I try not to remember it…” She mumbled.

“Why is that?” A stupid question, really. A stupid, yet frequent question. She answered anyways.

“Never thought I would see you again…” It was part of the truth; with the way the war had gone, she never thought he would come out sane, let alone come back from the war at all. She never expected to see him ever again. The rest of the reason was that she didn’t think he would want her after the war. Hell, she didn’t think he wanted her at all, even as they lay together in his bed all those years ago.

Thomas had noticed she wasn’t saying the entire truth to the reason, and he sighed. “I thought of you…every single day I was out there. There wasn’t a single moment you didn’t cross my mind.”

Y/n felt her heart swell, a bit of hope in her eyes as he spoke. She felt her mind was at ease now, more at ease than the alcohol had made it.

“Every damn day I spent in that hell hole…you got me out of it.” He leaned against the bar, trying to get her to meet his gaze.

She drank some more, smiling softly- something she hadn’t done in a long time.

“There’s that smile…” Tommy murmured, the corners of his mouth turning up into a small smile as well.

“What?”

“You only smile like that when you’re drinking.”

“Oh, so you remember the night before you left, and how I smile when I’m the slightest bit drunk?” She teases, her smile turning to a smirk. He chuckles and shakes his head.

“I remember everything. Do you not?”

“I wish I didn’t, but I do. I remember it all.” Tommy passed her the cigarette, watching closely as she took a long drag from it. She leaned her head back and blew the smoke out through her nose. She passed it back to him and he took a smoke before stubbing it out.

At this point, they were multiple drinks in, reliving the stories of their past. Thomas just kept pouring and pouring, and they kept drinking and drinking. Until finally, the the bottle was empty, not a drop left. Tommy had offered to open another bottle, but she declined. She had got off the stool shakily, dizzy from the amount of alcohol she had. She then started to dig through her purse.

“Ah, keep the money. Don’t want you going broke already.” Tommy stopped her.

“It would be stupid of me not to pay you for something.”

Tommy just shook his head and came out from behind the bar. He lifted her chin with his finger and kissed her forehead gently. “You’ve payed me enough.”

With that, they both left the pub, Y/n stumbling with every step. They went their separate ways, once again. Y/n felt a weight on her chest, getting heavier with every step she took away from him. The same weight she ended up there to drink away. Her mind was racing with thoughts of if they’d ever see each other again, if they’d truly lost each other. She wanted to turn back and run to him. She wanted to. But she didn’t. She kept walking, and walking. The weight never left, nor did she think it would ever leave.

It never did

#thomas shelby #cillian murphy #tommy shelby x reader #cillianmurphyedit #peaky blinders #i’m sorry #not really

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goorehound · 21 days

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Finally starting to write something for these little bastards. But, I need feedback.

The gist: Human Lucifer (Louis, ew i know) is haunted by Alastor. AU type deal.

This is the unedited, very quickly written up first chapter. Do we fuck with it? Or should I brainstorm some other ideas?

Chapter One – Moving Day

This was totally a worthwhile purchase. Most definitely.

Sure, it was a lot creepier in the dwindling light, and without the bubbly overbearing energy of his realtor. Still, a beautiful property. Really it should’ve been saved as a historical site, but who was he to complain?

Gorgeous property, all while being a hop, skip and a jump away from his daughter’s new business. The perfect fresh start that his therapist had hinted at him desperately needing, a change of pace and environment to compliment his new rekindled relationship with his kids.

Refreshing new scenery. Or at least that’s what he repeated endlessly to himself, a stark contrast to the unease that settled deep in his bones while he maneuvered around half-unpacked boxes.

It hadn’t seemed this empty and dreary when he’d been signing all the paperwork. Good fucking god, this was probably the most silent building he’d ever been in. Concerningly quiet. Shouldn’t there be creaks? Birds outside? Anything?

He was surely overthinking all of this. What could be wrong with a little peace and quiet, really? This house, his new house, was on the edge of town. A little silence was to be expected, and working himself up over finally doing something good for himself was counterproductive.

Charlie calling! What a fantastic fucking distraction, yet another thing to add to the list of things he appreciated about her.

“Char! Hey!” He still needed to work on that greeting.

“Dad! Hi!” Oh man, she was just like him. That pulled on the heart strings. “How’s moving?”

“Oh good, yeah, yeah. Super good. Great.” He rambled on, eyes shifting around the boxes surrounding him. “Well, it’s a work in progress. We’ll get there.”

“Yeah.” She laughed back. “I was thinking – I mean, if its okay with you? Vaggie and I could come help out tomorrow, make you some dinner?”

“Oh, absolutely. Dying to meet this gal I keep hearing about, aha-ha.” Good lord, could that have possibly come out more awkward? This did not get easier, despite what he had been assured. That was fine, Charlie never seemed put off, and that’s what mattered. Right? He just had to win over this girlfriend of hers.

“Sounds good, I’ll --- Shit. Sorry, dad, I’ll text you. Duty calls.”

“Course, kiddo. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Dial tone. Ouch, but fair enough. She was busy, he had things to sort.

Which was precisely what he spent the rest of his evening doing. Throwing his entire focus into carefully and swiftly dissecting piles of boxes. He’d even gotten as far as unpacking and setting up the television. Really not his thing normally, but when it had come up in conversation with Charlie she’d all but insisted upon him buying one.

So, he was giving in. Flicking on something random. Anything to drown out the sudden onslaught of random noises that he was doing everything to avoid thinking about. Old house. Here were the noises he was asking for earlier. That’ll teach him not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Thud. Sliiide. Clack, clack, clack, creak.

Whatever. Just the house settling, nothing some good ol’ TV couldn’t drown out. Certainly it wasn’t somebody going about their business in the study just down the hall, that would be ridiculous. And, at this point in the evening, Lou had pointedly checked that room numerous times. He had confirmed with his very own eyes that it remained, thankfully, uninhabited.

It was completely fucking normal, actually, and Lou wasn’t remotely nervous about it. He felt so normal about it all that he decided to drift off on the couch, background chatter from the screen still buzzing on. Because who could stop him? It was his house and he could doze wherever he pleased, and it did not mean he was scared. He was a grown ass man, after all.

Click, click, sliiiide.

Yep, he was closing his eyes now. Dead to the world, oblivious to strange noises lurking about.

Hard to tell precisely how much time had passed from the time he drifted off until he was eased into a state of just barely conscious, still dazed by the twisting and nonsensical dream he’d been lulled into.

It was still dark. A soft noise easing him further from his dream, but it was nothing soothing.

Hardly even familiar.

Something repetitive. Metallic, almost? Akin to a slicing of meat, the sound echoing out from the kitchen.

There was only a matter of seconds to processes the sudden and nauseating stench of blood and viscera, enough to have his stomach flipping.

Then, there was a deafening, loud, wet slam from the kitchen. Like a corpse being tossed about.

That had his heart in his throat and feet on the ground before he could take another breath.

#fic #radioapple #appleradio #hazbin hotel #alastor #lucifer #writing

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azulas-lightning-bolt · 1 month

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fem mako… save me fem mako…

okay so I saw @jade-of-mourning’s post about how makorra would make bomb yuri and I am 100% in agreement so,, how I imagine tlok would go if mako was a girl.

I feel like this would totally affect mako’s backstory n stuff too because life on the street is rough for any kids but like. little girls with no one to run to surrounded by creepy criminal guys. not great! so not only would that add an extra layer of trauma, but I feel like it would also add dimension to mako+zolt’s dynamic when mako and bolin worked w the triads. like, instead of firebending gang leader who wants to shape a mini-me he found into his successor, it’s. hold on let me make another sentence. it’s a girl who’s learned to protect herself and a man she needs to defend herself from offering to teach her better. so there’s less of the straightforwardness of their canon interactions—mako knows she’s being exploited but is willing to play into it to take advantage of learning zolt’s skills and zolt knows she’s clever but wants her close. idk how fucked up zolt would be, but he could probably have some motivations related to trafficking as a backup should mako turn on him that would’ve been less viable with canon mako. idk. thoughts are thinking too quickly for me to type rn.

I’m not gonna go through everything in tlok for the sake of not yapping for 12 hrs like i did in my 100yr war mako post but through the four books in the context of makorra i imagine it would go:

b1: weirdgirl firebender who’s a control freak becomes the avatar’s best friend. she’s totally not in love btw. and there’s literally no jealousy at all when asami befriends korra either cause they’re just chill. just friends, how friends are, yk. amon is a freak but part of her is relieved he took zolt’s bending. thought the thought of her getting her bending taken away feels like a part of her autonomy being taken and that’s terrifying so she’s relieved when he fucking dies.

b2: from what I recall team avatar is more split up during b2 and do you know what that means. so much pining. it smells like a forest with the amount of longing bro. then mako gets arrested and prison as we all know is such a friendly environment for women so. more trauma. then harmonic convergence happens at that is absolutely when makorra realize they’re in loooove. then vaatu happens and it’s like ohhh shit I’m in deeeep.

b3: new airbenders yay! mako is distracted from korra a little bit when she and bolin meet their long lost extended family, until dear old grammy says that korra would make a fine husband for her granddaughter if she were a man. and cue gay panic cause DOES SHE KNOW???? HOW??? I’m being intentionally vague cause I last watched this show like five years ago and I don’t remember the timeline at all but bear with me. airbenders in ba sing se are freed, krew makes their way over to zaofu to meet opal. this is cool it’s fine. lin is literally mako’s mom and she’s still worried the whole time they’re on zaofu. korra is kidnapped. prison for mako and bolin (again). m+b search the desert for korrasami, it’s all mostly the same except more. yk. gay pining. korra is poisoned but the girls have a girl moment on air temple island after Jinora gets her tattoos :3

b4: korra travels for a while, before returning to rc. then she’s gone again to the swamp. kuvira attacks zaofu, korra defends, and then she’s back. mako and asami are. yeah. blah blah blah that one episode of makorra reminiscing gets really gay, kuvira tries to take over rc, mako lightning-zaps the mech and almost dies and then BOOM. they kiss after the battle. and the lesbians win once again as makorra walk into the spirit world hand in hand.

if you’re wondering why this was written so disjointedly it’s because I kept getting distracted mid-sentence. and I also hate how the romance was dealt with in canon, but it’s such a big part of b1 (my favorite book minus romance) and the repercussions lasted throughout all four seasons so obviously that I physically cannot bring myself to rewatch it. and girls are so. thank u lychee ur really super awesome and cool for drawing makorra as girls because I think they would’ve worked out in canon if mako was a girl. sorry I’m really sick rn and I’m a little out of it lmao 😭🙏🏼

#legend of korra #mako lok #lok #tlok #mako tlok #korra #makorra #lesbian makorra my loves #fem mako #is that a tag?#I think it should be #slug’s stuff

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theduckeminence · 10 months

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I’ve been curious lately about the idea of a rewrite for Pakku’s little character arc.

Yes, he is a traditionalist master waterbender and a massive smug jerk when refusing to teach Katara. He was a sexist up until he decided that upon learning Katara was Kanna granddaughter, he saw her as a student. Now from the way the show framed that moment, it seemed more or less nepotistic. There was also the fact that by the end of the series, it’s become canon that Pakku and Kanna ended up getting back together to which everyone called BS on for how quick that is. Now honestly I can’t ignore or deny any of this as the way the series framed Pakku’s development is dubious at best. We go from sexist nepotistic jerk to “meet your new grandpappy!” and that’s about it. Sure there was a bit of Pakku and Kanna in the North and South comic but due the the extremely questionable writing of the comics, I resolve from really including it very much

(I could mention how we never really saw Pakku’s development during the time of Gaang’s adventures and the time we had for the show but I’ll probably mention it another time).

I would also like to add some moments to give into him being more sympathetic such as a more softer or relatable side to him, while also giving more nuance to his character’s arc.

As such, I propose a couple ideas/headcanons of my own that may add to this sour old crusty bastard:

Wouldn’t it be interesting if he had gotten married to another girl following Kanna’s disappearence?And/or maybe that his family arranged him to marry another girl? Though if he were to take another hand, arranged or not, it wouldn’t be a very happy marriage. Therefore, he might have decided upon staying single for the rest of his life. The insight of how he must’ve dealt regarding this decision can depend how you would want to frame it. Whether he was content with the idea or, if you want to go for a more angstier route, depressed about it, that’s all up to you.

If we had gone with the more depressing option of him staying single, imagine how it must’ve been for him to be alone for most of his life—with no one to go home to and spending nights by himself eating meals alone. This may as well hit harder when realizing that since tribes are usually more communal and closely-knitted, Pakku living by himself puts him out of place. And though he could spend the evening having dinner with a friend’s family, or find content in the silence of his home, he cannot ignore the utter pitiful loneliness of not hearing any laughter nor the sound of children/grandchildren roaming the halls.

Speaking of children, Pakku has always wanted to have a child or more of his own. When he was still a young man, he dreamt of coming home to a caring wife and excited children where he can pick them up and toss them up, all while telling them stories about his day. But ever since Kanna left, that sort of dream had drained away into, well, just a dream.

Though, as he grows older, sometimes he would see the young boys and girls play in the snow, away from doing any of their chores or classes. While he would scold, there were some occasions where he slips from his hardened expression to entertain the children with a shower of snowflakes to little snow puppet-figure shows.

When he moves down South and spends more time down there, he becomes known as the local Grandpa-kku (much to his dismay to the pun).

#atla #avatar the last airbender #master pakku #pakku #order of the white lotus #the white lotus #water tribe #can yall tell this post was just an excuse for me to ramble about this old man? because UH 👀—#i also probably have more thoughts but ill probably add more when i remember em BCKXJXX #long post

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lukaherehelp · 6 months

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Playboyy EP1 - "Sex is about everyone"

PART 1

okey, let's get it:

The fountain a la WAP really fits the show, ain't going to lie.

Something tells me that Zouy liked/likes Nant, idk why. Like, they are showing us that Zouy and Nant were pretty close and Nant was definetly a safe space for Zouy for everything, sex talk included. September 15th, 2022 - what was your wish, Zouy?

"Pacebook". I love this show, I swear. Now, the video is posted on the 18th although the video is from a year ago, but also: First's comment asking "where are you? are you coming to class?" was made 2 weeks ago. So... Nant went missing at the beginning of 3rd year.

as I said before, hilarious that Zouy and Jade share the same laptop, "Deadline is faster than Karma" is the true collegue/uni experience!

The parallels to OF are strong but I'm not going to go deep into it. A little tmi: I'm a virgin, I'm not ashame of it and never will be. On contrary to Zouy (and Mew) I'm lucky to have friends since my high school years that never cared neither pressured me into changing this about me. As everyone fuckin should. And that's the commentary both shows are doing on this. But we are going to focus on Playboyy here. Zouy pointing out that Porche, Captain and First being so on the nose about each others sex lifes is the reason Nant went missing, is a really valid point. This group probably met each other on 1st year, so at 18 years old. That's still an age were you can easily sucumb to pressure from your "friends" whom are just giving "friendly advice", while you are trying to "fit in". But it can get you into serious trouble. Porsche, Captain and First are finding out now that their "harmless" behaviour can lead to bad things happening to others only because these others (Nant and Zouy) wanna "fit in" with the group with them.

Feeling all those eyes on you, even if they are "friendly", is a heavy burden.

Now, the whole scene with Jump was highly amusing at the begining, but when it came the time to be Jump and Zouy to be alone, it was painful to watch for the same reason I just talked about but also gives us more insight on Zouy's relationship with sex: he's not ready to get physical yet but he still gets horny like the rest of the lads in this household (everyone is horny 24/7, I love them)

baby boy was so out of his element, come here, let me wrap you in a blankie. is okey.

Now, I must say: Him asking Jump to pose like Rose in Titanic IS FUCKIN HILARIOUS. PEAK ART CLICHÉ. He really said "I want to paint you like one of my french girls" and I almost busted a lung laughing.

I feel like this is some random model drawing, not Nant. But I could be wrong.

Another moment that knocked the air out of my lungs: Porche and Captain walking on Zouy and First. CAN WE PLEASE START LOCKING THE FUCKIN DOORS? DIDN'T WE LEARNED FROM VENUS IN THE SKY?!

This "punishment" is not effective at all but deeply amusing.

Zouy comments again how uncomfortable this makes him and I feel so sorry for him. I know the rest are just trying "to help" but they are not helping at all. Their behaviour got Nant into trouble in the first place and Zouy clearly doesn't wanna end like him as well...

Now, the demon @respectthepetty has teached us well about color and I wanna point out:

Zouy's backack is yellow... and so is Teena's bike

Also, lowkey introducing us to Keen. Captain gets so distracted side-eyeing him that he ends up bumping into Puen. And it adds another problem: the rich kids don't like the scholarship students.

They know what they are doing...

... and I thank them for it *cue chrome arts by onlyoneof*

See, this is when I started loosing my shit:

Sir, we get it, you are hot af, BUT 5FT WAY PLEASE, WE JUST MET.

fuckin hell Kaowoat, you are a beautiful man, lord have mercy on me.

I'm going to end up with a collection of this three and there reactions, am I not?

I'LL CONTINUE ON ANOTHER POST.

#playboyy #playboyy the series #thai bl #thai drama #bl drama

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wisecrackingeric-2 · 8 months

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Some Serennedy headcannons for the one and only @mooseonahunt !!!! Sorry I couldn’t add to it ask Tumblr wouldn’t let me BXNSHDNSJSN

HC’s under cut cuz I don’t wanna bombard anyone’s dashboard!!!

• They’re T4T. This much is obvious. And I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, I think Luis is very old-fashioned and as such still uses terms like Transvestite/Transsexual/Fag for himself. I think Leon is just happy calling himself gay and trans chendhendhsn

• I don’t think Leon’s actually all into women- controversial I know BCNSHDNSUSJ but I think him trying (and failing) to flirt with women was him trying to overcompensate for his queerness, and I think it solidified for him that Hey liking men is Ok actually when he met Luis

• Luis however is very unabashedly queer. He will flirt with anyone and everyone and he’s encouraged Leon to open up more when it comes to his identity me thinks

• Leon gets jealous easily. Not in an alpha-male-nobody-can-touch-my-man way, but I think he’s deep down a little bit insecure that a guy like LUIS would ever be into HIM. He just likes coming home and being reassured with lots of kisses that Luis does love him and only him acktually (But I’m saying that I don’t think either of them would be like. OPPOSED to polyamory. They just don’t have the time BXBSHNESH)

• Luis is obviously the more physically affectionate one and Leon is VERY touch starved so he laps it up like crazy

• Luis is a morning person. Leon is NOT. So often Luis will get up WAY before Leon and go out shopping for breakfast stuffs before him

• I know I’m one of millions to say this but Leon CANNOT cook. And Luis secretly indulges in being a little bit of a househusband for them both BXNSHENSJS

• Very random but I think Luis flirts with Chris on behalf of Leon. He’s like “if this idiot won’t make a move on this Boulder-lookin ass guy I WILL”

• Me And @hamartia-grander had a very hilarious conversation about this but I think Leon is immune to all flirting EXCEPT for Luis’. Luis could say literally THE DUMBEST shit and Leon will fall head over heels for him

• And Vice Versa. Luis is SUCH a sucker for all of Leon’s dumb jokes he strokes his ego like crazy

• Luis is like one of those dogs that are massive but don’t realise it and think they can sit on their owners just fine. Luis will curl up on Leon’s lap or be the little spoon and it’s an insanely awkward tangle of limbs but Leon couldn’t care in the slightest

• Also, Luis is like,,, actually SHOCKINGLY taller than Leon???? Like if you put their game models side by side and make Luis stand up straight he’s actually quite a fair bit taller than Leon????? But he’s always resting his weight on one hip or leaning on something so it’s hard to tell in-game

• Leon doesn’t like to go out in public so when he has to, he’s always got a grip on Luis’ arm xhdndhenhdnejx

• Luis LOVES to buy Leon new jackets. Except he has no money so he’s actually just using Leon’s money BCNDHDNDHNDDJ

“Awwwwe thanks for the jacket babe :)) why is there 50$ less in my bank account”

“Don’t worry about it cariño :)))))”

• Luis can sing!!! And play guitar!!!!! His Grandfather taught him :)

• Leon REALLY likes to learn and engage in stuff from Luis’ culture. Luis gets homesick very easily so he’s always teaching him dances and cooking him food n stuff like that to make them both feel better

• That being said Leon will TRY to speak Spanish and he just. Sounds awful. And I think Luis gets very delighted by very random silly American things xhsnxhsnxj he just like me fr (Eg: omg Leon!!!!!!! An Ikea!!!!!!!!!!! Ive Never been to an Ikea before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

• Leon has made it a habit of reading Luis Don Quixote before bed. Even though Luis could probably read the book backwards with his eyes closed, he just likes hearing Leon talk :)) also Leon is a S L O W Reader so Like. It works out for the both of them BCNDHXNDJD

• I’ve mentioned this numerous times but I fully think if Luis were to survive, he’d be disabled somehow. Some days he’s fine and some days he can’t even walk. But Leon is always always always there to help him no matter what

• Going off of that, I recon Luis loves to dance, but can’t really do it well after his injury. So Leon just kinda half-carry’s him and it usually ends up with the both of them on the floor laughing

• I don’t think Luis would still be religious after,,, e v e r y t h i n g but I think he probably still prays out of habit, and Leon likes to sit and watch him with a lil smile on his face

• Luis still loves to use knight/prince-themed nicknames for Leon :))

• Leon loves to kiss the rings on Luis’ fingers as a form of intimacy

• Again stolen from @snailvee , but I WHOLLY agree with their headcannon that Luis takes a LOT of pride in his appearance (he feels like it’s the one thing he can control etc etc) so letting Leon see him all scruffy in the mornings is a little way of saying “I love you”

• Also again stolen from Snail, they share clothes. Except Luis is really tall and lanky and it accentuates Leon’s muscles so sometimes he hides his clothes in Leon’s drawers on purpose NCNEHDNDJDNDJ

• After a while I wholly think Luis grows out his hair/ grows a little beard and Leon is obsessed w it

• I think even before he met Luis, he was exactly Leon’s type. Tall dark and handsome NXNDHDND he always pictured being with a man like that and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t kinda into Spanish accents

• Leon makes a extra effort to hide old photos of him as a Rookie from Luis because whenever he finds them he starts crying and is like “OOOOUGGHHH LEEEOOOONNN YOU WERE SUCH A BABYYYY……. THE WORLD WAS SO CRUEL TO YOOOOOUUUU…… OUAHAGAHSGHA”

• Oh also they’re both autistic. There is NO WAY Leon is neurotypical with that eye contact and lack of social awareness and Luis’ special interest is horses and Don Quixote you can’t convince me otherwise (He also likes infodumping to Leon abt sciency stuff :))) )

• I think Luis cries very easily. Not even over anything reasonable he’s just an emotional guy HDBDHDNDHDN

• Leon has had to sit Luis down multiple times and say to him “It’s ok. You don have to keep trying to repent for your mistakes. Being here and alive is more than enough of an apology for me. You can forgive yourself”

• Luis likes to gush about Leon to Rebecca and Leon likes to gush about Luis to Chris and Claire. They’re idiots sooooo in love

• @hamartia-grander again stolen from you but Leon always keeps a photo of Luis with him when on missions and they’re always calling whenever they can <<<333

• Luis has gotten every single little mole and freckle of Leon’s memorised perfectly so he can kiss them whenever he wants :))

• Leon’s favourite part of Luis is his pretty eyelashes with those tiny lil grey lashes and nose. He’s a sucker for big noses. He also likes braiding his hair me thinks

#ericswriting #serennedy

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theseawakes · 2 years

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I really liked your teen reader moon knight story! I wanted to ask what you think the type of relationship the teen reader would hav Ewing Steven and Jake.

Thank you!!! Here's how imagine they would be

Jake:

We know Jake has the protector role so he would definitely be protective over teen!r, sometimes even much more than Marc and Steven.

He care for you despite how many times he intimidated you. He doesn't want you to be (((emotionally))) close to him seeing he is a dangerous man.

Jake was really scary at first, you first met him after he went ape shit and kill people in a mission so you had your first impressions, but as you get closer to him you realized that he isn't such a violent man he is on the outside.

He gives in to you rather more quickly than the other alters.

"Jake, can you give me a piggyback ride?"

"Aren't you a little bit too old for that?"

"But can I?"

"Sure, hop on."

Definitely sets the "no dating until you're 30" rule, but he would give you dating advices whenever he can.

"Now, Y/N, you should never date someone like that."

"Knowing you, I probably won't be able to date anyone, ever."

You asked him to teach you Spanish and he gladly accepted as his alters don't speak Spanish, which leads to you two having tons of inside jokes because neither Marc nor Steven knows what you were talking about.

He knows the best ice cream in town and would always take you there after a mission or simply a tiring day. He knows your favorite flavor and would bought you it if you weren't able to go there with him.

No one, and I mean, no one could hurt you under his watch.

Steven:

As of Steven, he would show his affection for you whenever he has the chance. He's comfortable being around you and so are you.

He would hold your hand when walking across the street, he would spend his free time with you doing whatever, he would comfort you with comforting words when you seemed down at the slightest. He's just the best.

☆☆☆ late night stargazing ☆☆☆

He has trouble sleeping and you can't sleep before it's late so you two would stay up until one of you fell asleep.

Sometimes you'd discuss a book, a movie, or poetry, anything to stay up.

You'd randomly popped up at the museum and silently judged Steven's co-workers for being rude to him, he tried to tell you that it's okay, but you never really stopped bcs Steven is too precious hashtag Steven Grant protection squad

He would buy you chips!! And chocolates!! And sandwiches!!

You once slept with your head on his lap and he's afraid to move without waking you up.

*Whispering* "Uh... Marc? What should I do?"

"Just get up."

"I can't, I'll wake them up."

*Marc sighed* "Put the pillow under their head as you do so."

"That's a good idea."

One day you almost gave Steven a heart attack when he came back to his flat and found Gus missing. A few moments later you came in with Gus inside a blender in your hand saying, "I took Gus for a walk! :D"

He'd trust you so much with Gus, you and Gus are basically siblings to him, his children that he needs to love and p r o t e c c.

Marc (bonus):

I'm gonna add Marc as a bonus because why not? (plus i think i kinda made him ooc on my last mk fic so let's count this as my attempt in characters study)

He's a jerk to everyone but you (and Layla (and Steven)).

There are times where you wanted to punch him but not even ten minutes later you two would be on good terms again.

*arguing* "I just helped you!"

"Who said I needed any help?!"

"You selfish– I hate you!"

"I hate me too, get in line."

"..."

"... are you okay?"

"No, are you?"

"Not really, can we order pizzas tonight?"

"Of course."

Marc used to be so against of having other people helping him in his business so sometimes he'd still be grumpy about you helping him, but deep down he's actually happy to have someone to count on aside from himself.

Surprisingly good at taking care of you somehow??? Like he shielded you away from his enemies well though it ended when they found out about you but still.

He's a tough guy but you have your ways to get what you want from him.

"Boo! Marc is no fun! Steven > Marc."

"Hey, take that back!"

"Nope unless you agreed to play in the arcade with me."

"... Fine, but only this one time."

He doesn't wanna look like he has a soft spot for you but he does and you teased him relentlessly for that

"Hurry up, Y/N, or I'll leave you!"

"You won't ;)"

"You're right, I won't but just be quick!"

#moon knight #x teen!reader #moon knight x reader #moon knight x teen!reader #marc spector #marc spector x reader #marc spector x teen!reader #steven grant #steven grant x reader #steven grant x teen!reader #jake lockley #jake lockley x reader #jake lockley x teen!reader #kas answers

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brigdh · 6 months

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Brigdh, these are *wildly* evocative titles! I need you to know that I waffled so so much on this choice, but the one I think I need to know about the *most* is war criminals doing compensated dating.

The WIP meme!

@napneeders and @likethehotsauce also asked for this one, thank you all!

And thank you for liking the titles, but I don't think I can take any credit for them; they're just the prompts I used for inspiration. Case in point: this one! This is from when everyone was describing their favorite characters as war criminals (maybe we're still doing that? I feel like there was a peak in the term over the summer), and then someone combined that with angsty high school AUs, and voila, a bizarre combination that I somehow found incredible compelling. (Also, if you're unfamiliar with the term compensated dating, it's basically the same as a sugar baby/daddy relationship, but often with the connotation that the baby is still in high school.)

This is one where I can't really post it as finished fic because that set-up is too complicated to explain in an author's note, so you've got the whole thing below. Modern AU, Ed-focused.

Ed’s dad wasn’t around anymore. That was fine – good, actually, it was a good thing – but it turned out that the old man had paid more in rent than he’d wasted on booze. Ed should have known. His dad was a shit father and a shit husband, but he was white, and still had his high school footballer muscles, and had a way of talking to other men that made them laugh with him instead of at him. He’d never had any trouble holding down a job, no matter how often he went in late and hungover.

Ed’s mom never had a bruise on her face, these days. She never walked funny or flinched too easily. But she still wasn’t happy. She started getting home late; the few times Ed glimpsed her in daylight, there were bags under her eyes, and her mouth was pinched and thin. Ed caught her hunched over the kitchen table, writing with one of the Bic pens he brought home from school. She didn’t hear him come in, and he got close enough to read the first few lines over her shoulder before she noticed him. It was an application for the night shift at the little grocery store down the road.

“When would you sleep?” he asked.

His mom made a little sound, half snort of amusement and half exasperated sigh. “A lot of people have a second job, Ed. We should be grateful that I can work.” She smiled at him, eyes crinkled and warm. She really believed it, was the thing. All the things she said about how the world worked, and it made Ed’s instinct to shout that it wasn’t fair, wasn’t right, feel small and childish. “Besides, it’ll be temporary. Just until your father gets back.��

Ed had fucked up. He’d already known that, of course, but now there was a whole new side to how he’d fucked up.

Obviously the solution was for him to get a job, but nowhere that hired teenagers paid over minimum wage, and when Ed counted up the hours he could skip school before the social worker called the house, it didn’t add up to enough. Jack had offered to teach Ed how to pick pockets in exchange for Ed blowing him, but he suspected lifting a few wallets here and there might be fun drinking money, but it wasn’t the kind of thing that paid the rent. Ed would have to get into harder crimes to make it work, stuff with real risk if he wanted the real rewards.

Or. There was a girl who came to school every day now with designer clothes, jewelry with real stones, the newest model phone that she updated practically every month. She lived not far from Ed, and he knew none of it came from her parents. She didn’t have a lot of friends, though she’d been nice enough when they were kids. Now people whispered whore and skank when she walked by; her eyes never flickered and her fingers tap-tap-tapped on the strap of her Birkin bag.

That was Ed’s other choice. Less dangerous than crime, probably; certainly less chance of his mom finding out, since technically compensated dating wasn’t illegal. And anyway, Ed wasn’t really a virgin, so why not?

People looked at him, sometimes; he knew that. He liked it, usually. He’d been figuring out how to dress to make them look longer. When he walked home along the side of the road, sometimes a car honked at him. Not to tell him to get out of the way, but because of what they saw.

The girl with the fancy clothes, people called her needy too. Said she had no self-respect, that anyone could have her. A sick curl of recognition had squirmed in Ed’s belly. He was like that – he needed people to want him. It was like he was hungry and other people’s attention was the only thing that filled him up. It scared him: how much he needed it, the stupid things he’d done to get it. So he tried not to think about it, to stomp the craving down into the dark places of his mind where he put the things that bothered him. He could never get rid of it for long. though. He hated how weak it made him feel, how desperate.

The idea of people paying to look at him, to touch him – that didn’t sound so bad. If someone wanted to give Ed things, just because they desired him, ached for him, even loved him, maybe that would soothe the hunger in him. He could make them be the ones who needed.

In the end, it wasn’t really much of a choice at all.

#meme #our flag means death

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snootlestheangel · 6 months

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Can we get more bout Truck please

I love all your OCs dude they are the best

This honestly took so long at first, but I am really excited to share this! Truck is my big boy!

I'm gonna break this up actually, cause his backstory got way out of hand from my original thing so I'm gonna do a quick physical description/some of his little quirks before I get into the mess of his life!

He's probably like 42 in my head, so old compared to most of the Shadows but close to Graves's age. Around 5'8", broad build, an absolute unit of a man, hooked nose that has been very clearly broken several times, left ear is a cauliflower ear from a fight he got into as a teen, green eyes, looks angry all the time, has so many callouses on his hands and knuckles, so many scars from fights on his face. Those are little scars, but they're still there. GINGER TRUCK!! He so ginger in my head now and it makes me so happy!

Family: Momma is still alive, and he calls/writes her regularly, visits when he can. Pops died not long after he joined, which hurt like hell but he stayed on his course. His family supported him the whole way through. He's got two sisters, both younger, and he'd commit some pretty bad war crimes if anything bad ever happened to either of them. Surprisingly, he's married. He loves his wife but never talks about her; his life is his and not anyone else's. They don't have kids (yet? can't decide if I want him to have kids or not) but they do have 2 shelter dogs they adopted, and they're the cutest freaking things.

Hates anything carbonated, like sodas and stuff. Either drinks water with a little bit of lemon in it or straight black coffee. Doesn't do sweets (unlike Ness and Flash who live off of sweet stuff). Generally keeps a really good diet and workout routine when he's not in his shop. Such a routine oriented guy that it could only take 2 days to learn his full routine. Day two is just to verify everything.

As I've said before, he struggled a lot in school. It wasn't just his dyslexia (that he didn't know he has until sometime after joining); it was his anger issues. He was constantly getting into fights as a teenager. He had been bullied a lot as a kid. He's a ginger, so already was an easy target for bullying, but then you add that he was really poor compared to a lot of kids in the area, and he just became prime bully real estate. That is until he hit puberty and got tougher and stronger. Then he became a bully to his bullies.

He had to pick up a job in high school to afford lunch, and life was just really difficult in general for him. His parents were incredible people, he still has such a great relationship with his momma, but it doesn't change how difficult life had been for him.

His Pops taking him under his wing and teaching him mechanic things was a huge respite from all the icky stuff life threw at him. He got to spend quality time with his dad, which he rarely got to do as a kid cause of how much the man worked. He got to learn in a way that didn't stress him out and make his head hurt. He got to do things and sometimes his strength was necessary to get something fixed. The mechanic shop and the time with Pops probably saved Truck from getting into much more serious trouble as a teenager, so he feels he owes his Pops his life.

He has a lot of ways to cope with his anger issues that don't lead to either self destruction or hurting others. It's actually why he joined the military in the first place. He was once told by a really horrible teacher that if he didn't "shape up and start acting right" then he'd get shipped off to the army and they'd set him right. It was meant to be demeaning, kind of a way for the teacher to tell him that he's too stupid for the real world, the only people that would take him is the army. But for Truck? Free food, free housing, free education (should he want to try his luck at that again), a lot of benefits like insurance and stuff? Hell, decent pay??? Sign him the fuck up!

Not to mention, he wanted the military to shape him up, to make him "act right". You think other people don't like dealing with his anger issues? He loathes his anger issues. It cost him a lot of good friends and ruined trust with a lot of people cause he'd blow up over something stupid and the relationship would never recover. He ended up in the hospital one too many times (literally only once but given his family's financial issues, it was too many), and that was a low point for his family. He believes/knows it's his fault, and the guilt still hangs around.

The assignment that got him on Graves's radar for Shadow Company is actually how he met his wife. It was several years ago, probably around 6-8 years, but his wife was one of the nurses on staff that helped patch up the unit afterwards. Truck wasn't injured but she had been so worried and insisted on examining him. His teammates tried to discourage her from pushing him, cause he's got a super short temper, but they all were shook when he simply said "Okay, fine." and allowed her to examine him.

He insisted on getting in touch with her afterwards because "she's the one person that can push all my buttons and I'll never blow a fuse" *catch me crying in the corner over this fire sentence that I wrote*

Anyways, that's our boy Truck!!! I love him to death even more so now!!

#thank you for letting me rant about my boy Truck #I didn't know I needed it until just now #snootles's shadow ocs #shadow ocs #shadow company oc #shadow oc truck #snootles's askbox #snootles answers

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nicad13 · 1 year

Text

Swimming Lessons

Summary: “The thing that really gets me, is that I saw you take your helmet off to say goodbye to your kid. You gave us hell for removing ours, but when it came down between your Creed and showing your love for your kid, you chose love. And now you desecrate that love by calling it a transgression! You drowned yourself trying to wash away the sin of showing love to your child and you have no idea how stupid that is!” --- Bo-Katan teaches Din how to swim, reflecting on her own transgressions in the process.

Lifeguarding is more than just swimming lessons.

Tags: Death Watch, Children of the Watch, Regret, Attonement, Religious Discussion

AO3 link in the Source below.

---

I know you’re gonna have it your way or nothing at all But I think you’re moving too fast

TLC, Waterfalls

Bo-Katan Kryze stands at the edge of the shoreline. The sea is calm today, even if the sky remains grey. The day is mild, the air can almost be called “warm,” and the water laps with a pleasant slosh against the low bluff.

A perfect day for a swimming lesson.

Din stands next to her, still clad in the armor. His weapons and ammunition lay on a nearby rock, wrapped in his cloak.

The Darksaber lays swaddled in the bundle as well.

Grogu sits in his pod, ears perked and flared, eager to see what happens next. Bo had shared a quick word with him earlier. “I’m going to put your dad through some challenges today. He won’t like it and he’ll probably make some noise about it, but I promise you that he’ll be safe. Do you trust me?”

The kid had tilted his head from side to side in a way that seemed to say “We’ll see.” About as enthusiastic a response as she could’ve expected from the little guy, but he seemed to understand. The last thing Bo wants is to be on the wrong end of a Jedi-powered temper-tantrum, and she’s done all she can to avoid any misunderstandings.

Here goes nothing.

“This’ll go better if you take the armor off,” she says.

“No.” Din shakes his head. “I’ll be wearing it the next time I get dunked. I need to be ready.”

“Just to start,” she counters. “We’ll start light, then add pieces back as you get comfortable with it.”

Another head-shake. “I don’t want to get used to it without the armor.”

Bo heaves a sigh. She can’t say she’s surprised. The man is just as stubborn as any other Mandalorian.

“But… thank you,” he says, his tone easing up. “I appreciate you taking the time to train me.”

“Don’t thank me till we’re done,” she says. “I’ve hauled your soggy drowning carcass out of the water twice, now. You’re heavy. I’m doing this for my benefit as much as yours.” The words come out exactly as she intends – equal measures of irritation and light-hearted teasing. No trace of guilt.

Because, dear gods, does she ever harbor a load of guilt about this clueless Child of the Watch standing next to her staring down the sea like it’s yet another enemy he has to vanquish.

It had taken her a few minutes to notice, back when they had first crossed paths on Trask. Not until after he had slung his self-righteous accusations about the arcane helmet rules. Only then had she noticed the design of his armor, details that only a select few know to this day. Certain angles of his chestplate. The cut of his T-visor. Subtle features that marked him as a Child of the Watch. Details that she’s pretty sure even Din isn’t aware of.

Not yet, at least.

A Child of the Watch. One who was kidnapped as a child and raised in the Fighting Corps to fill out the ranks to aid Death Watch in re-talking Mandalore.

Hell, she might have even participated in the raid that stole him.

She’s not sure how old he is. She’d only gotten a good look at the back of his head when he’d removed his helmet on Gideon’s light cruiser to say goodbye to the kid, committing the “transgression” he’d held against himself like a blade against his own throat. All she had seen was a mop of dark, unruly hair. Maybe a few flecks of grey, but it had been hard to tell with the lighting. He could be anywhere from ten years older to ten years younger than her, depending on when it had happened and how old he’d been.

But she’d been young. Young and stupid when she’d joined Death Watch. Jealous of her sister’s inheritance of power by simple virtue of being born first. Easily seduced by Pre Vizsla’s words of supremacy and Meritocracy of the Strong. Anyone who was strong enough to take power deserved it. Anyone who could fight hard enough deserved it. And Bo had been strong. Bo had been a skilled fighter. She’d been good at war. And she’d thought that was what made a good Mandalorian.

Until the day she’d watched Pre Vizsla’s end, on his knees at Maul’s feet, his head parting company with his shoulders at the edge of the Darksaber. Even so, his last words summed up the madness entirely.

“Only the strongest shall rule.”

Maul had been the strongest that day. But he was no Mandalorian. Never had been. He was nothing but a criminal. She’d known Vizsla’s alliance with the Shadow Collective was nothing more than calculated opportunism. Vizsla had just mis-calculated.

And she’d been an idiot to follow him.

But not a big enough idiot to swear her allegiance to Maul. Not a big enough idiot to follow whoever was best at swinging a big stick on any given day regardless of who they killed with it.

And thus had begun her journey to determine what it meant to be a Good Mandalorian.

Decades later, she still hasn’t quite figured it out. But here she stands next to a Child of the Watch who is doing his damnedest to be the best Mandalorian who’d ever Mandalorianed, and he has even less of a clue than she does.

Not out of any fault of his own.

Gods, Death Watch hadn’t even taught the poor bastard how to swim. Just like they’d never taught him about the Darksaber or other Ways of the Creed or even fed him pog soup. They’d only taught him what they’d needed him to know. How to fight. How to kill. Nothing but gun fodder. They’d locked him in his helmet to make his life miserable. No shared meals. No intimacy of looking a lover or a friend or even his own child in the eye. So that when his time to die would come, he would welcome it. He would welcome the warrior’s death because his warrior’s life had been nothing but pain and suffering.

The Children of the Watch had been meant to die in the service of reclaiming Mandalore, but the Empire had destroyed the planet before they’d ever gotten the chance. They’d abandoned Concordia like a sinking ship, afraid the Empire would hunt them down there, as well. Din Djarin is just another piece of flotsam, drifting out from the wreckage, and he has no idea.

The difference is she’d known what she was getting into, and even with the benefit of knowing, she had taken far too long to get out. Din… he… well. He’d had no idea. Still has no idea. And the words keep getting hung up behind her teeth. You weren’t rescued. You were kidnapped. You were brainwashed. You may have a lot of sins under your belt – most bounty hunters do – but taking your helmet off isn’t one of them. You never had anything to atone for in the eyes of Mandalore. It is very much the other way around.

But she can’t say it. For a man who knows nothing of Mandalorian history, culture, or food, he has staked every gram of his identity on being Mandalorian. She has no doubt that he would’ve killed her for her heresy on Trask had Woves and Reeves not been at her side. Outnumbered and outgunned, he’d jetted away instead, shaken to his core at the discovery that Mandalorians who were different from him existed. Even now, he clings to the Old Ways because he doesn’t know anything else. He’d asked her the question point-blank, himself. “What do we stand for?”

She’d bitten the answer back. War. Murder. Betrayal.

And then she’d watched him drown, again, as he’d tried to wash away the sin of removing his helmet to say goodbye to the child he loved so dearly.

What did they do to him? The question burns through her. What did they do to him that he thinks that saying goodbye to his child eye-to-eye is a transgression?

She frowns, knowing damn well what they’d done to him. She’d watched them write the book. The transgressions are hers, not his. She wonders if he would kill her if she told him everything. That she’d thrown in with the people who had stolen him and made his existence a living hell. She figures the chances on that are pretty good. She can’t blame him in the least.

So she stands here instead, at the side of a man who is so broken he dare not take the armor off for fear he’ll crumble apart at the seams, and offers to teach him how to swim.

A pitiful reparation for sure, but better than nothing.

“Lesson number one,” she begins, “is to seal your helmet before you even get wet. Don’t just panic and dive in. The two seconds it takes to pressurize first is worth it.”

Din nods his understanding and taps the side of his helmet. The thunk of the gasket closing around his neck and whistle of pressurization are followed by the harsh whoosh of his breaths though the oxygen exchangers. The components sound good. Solid. She had also noticed the kid’s chainmail, earlier. Whoever had built Din’s helmet and the kid’s shirt may have been a cultist holdover, but they’d been a damned good armorer.

Bo points to the water before them. “The drop-off is sharp. It’s three meters deep here.” She points a little to the right. “But that’s a gavel bar right there. Only about a meter and a half deep. See it?”

Din shakes his head. “My gear isn’t equipped for getting readings through water.” His voice is clear through the com interlink in her helmet, but she’s still not quite sure she’s heard him right.

Bo turns to look at him. “What?”

He shrugs. “All of my prior work was on arid planets. Bounties don’t come to lake country to hide out.”

She retracts her prior opinion of his armorer. They may have been skilled, but they had certainly skimped on certain tech. Again, only giving Din what he’d needed to serve their purposes. “We’ll fix that later, then. Just keep the depth difference in mind. Show me what we talked about for treading water.”

He brings his arms up and makes the sweeping motions she’d shown him earlier, moving as if he’s gathering the air around him and pushing it down. “This and the scissors kick.”

“That’s right,” she says. Then she looks back out over the water. “Lesson number two. Always be ready to fall in when you least expect it.”

Her service droid had been standing behind them, silent and motionless until now. It steps forward, and before Din has any idea what’s going on, it knocks him forward. Din lets out a startled “Oop!” flails, splashes into the water, and sinks like a rock.

Grogu pipes up with a whine. He’s not startled. In fact, he’d probably seen that coming a kilometer away, but he gives Bo the biggest, saddest eyes she’s ever seen.

“He’s okay,” she says with half a smile. She wonders if he can sense it through the beskar. “I had him seal his helmet, remember?”

The kid grunts and points out to the water, which is bubbling and boiling with the thrashing Mandalorian submerged beneath.

“Go to the gravel bar,” Bo says, hoping Din can still hear her over the com through his panic. The water stills, then eddies around Din’s armored form as he clambers up onto higher ground and breaks the surface. The oxygen exchangers are still whooshing away and he’s not coughing or choking. So far so good.

“That wasn’t funny.”

“Wasn’t supposed to be. So next time you fall in, what’s the first thing you’ll do?”

“Get to the shallows.”

“Good. Now walk out a little deeper and practice the arm tread.”

He does as he’s told, but shakes his head after a few moments. “I don’t think it’s working.”

“Close your fingers together and cup your hands. Like you’re scooping the water down.”

His helmet tilts as he figures it out. “Oh. Okay. Yeah. Got it.” He rocks to and fro a few times, learning how to push through the water to move himself around. He figures out how to flare his arms so he can push himself up, noticing little bobs of buoyancy with every sweep. At the same time, he notices how the vambraces drag. Sharp surfaces that he’s learned how to use to control his pitch and roll in the air with the jetpack now create resistance in the much denser water, hindering his movement. He rolls his forearms to compensate, but he has to over-rotate his wrists to compensate for that. It feels unnatural, but he’ll have to get used to it. Just like he’s learned to get used to everything else that comes with the armor.

“Ready to get back in over your head?” Bo’s tone is encouraging. He looks up and sees Grogu next to her in his pod, scooted all the way forward and gripping the edge, ears up, eyes wide, ever vigilant.

He’ll have to kick with his legs – he’s not strong enough with his arms to stay afloat. Not with the armor, anyway. He understands now how it’s more than just about the weight pulling him down. The shapes that protect and allow ventilation on the surface pull and drag in the water. Bo’s armor is more streamlined, probably less of a hinderance, more adapted for life on Kalevala with its vast oceans. But the tradeoff is evident. He remembers how well his plate had served in their battle against the Imps when they stole the freighter on Trask, better able to stand up to a full assault than what the Nite Owls had worn.

He's paying the price for it now, though. He steps off the ledge of the gravel bar and sinks before he can even begin to kick. He’s ready for it this time, though, trusting the exchangers in his helmet, keeping his breathing even. His feet hit the sea floor, the water’s surface a bit more than a meter above his head. He pushes off, just enough to get his arms going again and try the scissors kick. The plates on his thighs drag this time, and it takes him a few moments to figure out how to compensate – shifting his body from a straight vertical line to more of a sitting position, bringing his knees up and then kicking down, using the plates to scoop down with them. It’s awkward, but it works, and he eventually makes his way back up, breaking the surface and holding position.

Bo stands on the shoreline, head tilted, arms crossed over her chest. She notes his breathing – heavy but steady, his motions becoming more fluid as he gets the hang of it. “Not bad,” she says.

“What now?”

“Keep going.” She checks the time on her HUD. “Aim for ten minutes.”

“Huh… okay…” His tone suggests that it’ll be a challenge, but he can probably manage it.

“Keep it up for twenty and I’ll make you and your kid some more of that pog soup.”

“Aaaahhhrrrgh…”

“Batu!”

Din makes it the full twenty before he promptly sinks to the sea floor, crawls up the gravel bar, and hauls himself back up onto shore, flopping face-down in the grass and panting.

---

Lucky for Din, Bo had used the twenty minutes of tread time to gather wood for a fire and get it going, sending the droid back to the castle for a fresh set of clothes. Now, he sits by the fire, wearing Bo’s father’s old under-armor gear. The sleeves are short on him and the pants stop a bit above his ankles, but everything is more than roomy. The important thing is that they’re dry, and he watches his own clothes and armor steam on rocks warmed by the fire as he sips soup through a straw. A dull, metallic clunk beats through the breeze as Bo stirs her own soup before taking a drink, her helmet on the ground beside her.

Grogu takes a gulp out of his cup, then lets out a belch.

“Mind your manners,” Din says. His tone is mildly scolding, but gentle.

“Tuu-uu tuu.”

Din sighs. “Close enough.”

Bo smiles at the kid, and Din sees the warmth behind it. So far, she’s been the only person other than Ahsoka and Skywalker to talk to him like he understands what she’s saying. Like he’s a child, not just a baby. Indeed, she had been the one to send him in Ahsoka’s direction in the first place. He takes another sip, savors the warm, kelpy, brininess in his mouth for a bit, then swallows. “How do you know Ahsoka Tano?”

The smile drops from Bo’s face. “Long story.”

Whoops. “I’m… sorry. I thought you were friends.”

The ice thaws a little. “We are… strong allies. Made necessary under adverse circumstances.”

“A story for another day, then.”

“Maybe.”

Din knows a Keep Out sign when he sees one, so he steps clear. “Have you had any contact with her lately?”

Bo raises an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“I just… the last time I saw her was at Skywalker’s school. She seemed concerned about Grogu’s attachment to me. It’s why she wouldn’t train him in the first place. Now that he’s back with me, I’d like to understand it better. Why she seems to think it’s a bad thing.”

“Is his attachment to you reciprocated?” The set of her brow is calculated, now. Searching.

Grogu squeaks as his head swivels up to look at Din. “Eh?”

Still, the silence lasts longer than Bo expects before Din finally answers. “Of course.” His tone is low, warning.

“Have you spoken the gai bal manda to him yet?”

“The what?”

Bo heaves a sigh and Din catches the sight of rolling eyes before she turns her head away from him. “The Mandalorian adoption vow. The ancient tradition of recognizing your foundling as your own child. Your cult never taught you that?”

Again, another squeak from the kid.

Again, a lengthy bout of silence before Din answers. “… No. I was raised in the-”

“The Fighting Corps, yes, I know.” Bo turns to face him again, and her eyes are as hard as her voice. The words almost shake as she cuts him off. “Din, haven’t you figured this out, yet?”

“Figured what out?”

“Haven’t you wondered why you don’t know anything about Mandalore? Why you didn’t know anything about the Darksaber? Why you didn’t know about other kinds of Mandalorians? You’d never even had pog soup! What else haven’t you had? Have you ever had shig tea? Tiingilar? Ne’tra gal? Have you ever seen the art of Veraslayn Kast? Alrich Wren?”

Silence.

“Didn’t you ever wonder why they kept you on Concordia? Why they never let you set foot on Mandalore before the Purge?”

“We were cloistered-”

“We were exiled, Din. Death Watch was banished to that moon because we nearly destroyed Mandalore in the wars before that.” Bo is almost shouting now, voice raised, eyes shining.

Din cants his head with a very slow tilt. “What do you mean, we?”

“I was part of it,” she admits, the tremor returning to her voice. “I thought war was a better measure of strength than civilized society so I joined Death Watch and I waged war on my own family and I got thrown to that moon with the rest of them and we deserved it. They had to dome Mandalore’s cities because we destroyed the rest of the planet with warfare. Why do you think the Empire’s fusion bombs turned the surface to glass? Because we’d already turned it to sand decades before! And we never bothered to teach you any history because we didn’t want you to know you were growing up on the wrong side!”

Unable to look him in the visor any longer, she turns back to the fire. Grogu, finished with his soup and sensing the tension, crawls into Din’s lap. Din picks up his cloak and wraps it around the little boy, who snuggles into it against the chill of the oncoming evening.

Bo pokes at the fire and the flames perk up a bit, radiating more warmth. “I left, eventually.” Her tone is quiet, now. Sad. “But it was too late. My sister led the pacifist government on Mandalore until Death Watch imprisoned her. I tried to save her but I was too late. I lost everything.” She turns her head back to Din, looks him in the visor, looks the kid in the eye, back up to the visor, then back to the fire. “I recommend you get out, too. Before the same thing happens to you.”

The silence is much shorter before Din responds, this time. “Our secrecy was our survival. We survived on Concordia because we were hidden. We survived out in the galaxy because our Way prepared us for harsh conditions-”

“Oh stop with the empty platitudes,” Bo says, her face twisting with disgust. “You survived on Concordia because the Empire wanted to leave witnesses to see what they’d done to Mandalore. They left you to spread the cautionary tales of what happens to anyone who crosses them. And you weren’t exactly thriving when we hauled you out of the mamacore tank on Trask.” She gives the fire another poke, lips pressed into a tight, thin line. “The thing that really gets me, is that I saw you take your helmet off to say goodbye to your kid. You gave us hell for removing ours, but when it came down between your Creed and showing your love for your kid, you chose love. And now you desecrate that love by calling it a transgression! You drowned yourself trying to wash away the sin of showing love to your child and you have no idea how stupid that is!”

Din is very still, but his breathing is labored enough that she can hear it through his modulator. It looks like he’s staring into the fire, but she can’t really tell. She’s pushed him about as far as she dares, but she wants to know one more thing. “Why are you so eager to go back to them? Why are you so eager to go back to people who taught you these things?”

Another bout of silence. Just when she thinks he won’t bother responding, he pulls in a breath.

“… They saved me. My parents were killed when Separatists attacked my village, and the Mandalorians saved me. They raised me as one of their own.”

Oh dear gods he really doesn’t know.

And she can’t tell him. Not right now. She doesn’t dare. She can’t tell him the truth. But she won’t lie to him. She can leave him a trail. A path out, if he chooses to take it.

“When are you going back?”

“As soon as I leave here.”

“They’ll take you back now that you’ve redeemed yourself?”

“Yes.”

“And then what? Back to bounty hunting? Hide in caves and sewers for the rest of your lives? Live happily ever after while they take your kid away and put him in the Fighting Corps? Are you really going to let them seal him up in a helmet? Jam his ears under the bucket? You’re telling me you’re okay with never seeing those big brown eyes again? You’re okay with never showing your face to him again? Are you okay with these things because that’s what you’re used to and you just don’t know any better? Have you really thought this all the way through?”

He turns his head, just a little, away, out toward the sea. She knows he won’t give her an answer. He can’t give what he doesn’t have.

“Do yourself one favor,” she says, before he disengages entirely. “You saw the remains of Sundari. Even you recognized that it was once beautiful. When you go back, ask your Armorer why they had to dome the city. If they lie to you, maybe reconsider your choices. If not for your sake, at least for the sake of your kid.”

Din is still for a few more moments. Then, he heaves a perfunctory sigh, hauls himself to his feet, gets the kid settled in his pod, gathers up all his weapons and armor into a bundle with his cloak, and plucks his almost-dry clothes from the rocks and slings them over his shoulder.

“Thanks for the soup,” he says, and he turns and trudges back up the hill to his ship.

A few minutes later, the N-1 slips by through the clouds. Din Djarin, the man who just today learned how to tread water, flying a ship built on a world covered with oceans, a ship modeled after the rays that live in those waters. He’s still drowning. She’s saved his life at least three times now, but she’ll keep saving him. She’ll save him and his kid every chance she gets.

Because she has her own transgressions. Transgressions that can never be forgiven. Ameliorated, maybe, but not by ritual. Only in deed. Only in action. She spreads the coals out, letting the incoming drizzle extinguish the fire.

“Did you put the tracker on his ship?” she asks the droid.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Good.” Her eyes follow the N-1’s vapor trail out over the sea. “With any luck, he won’t get himself killed before I can get to him.”

Lifeguarding is more than just swim lessons.

#the mandalorian #din djarin #bo katan kryze #grogu

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dekusleftsock · 2 years

Text

Okay look, let’s legit talk about krbk and izuocha/tododeku for a sec here. If you follow/have read my shit before, I’m a big bkdk and togachako shopper. If you have a problem with that, just click off it’s not that hard. Expect bkdk and togachako opinions in this post. Now without further ado, let’s talk about the relationships in these three ships.

Now, honest to god, the least toxic community out of those three is tododeku and that’s probably bc it just isn’t as big as the other two. But what I WILL say is that you guys mischaracterize Katsuki, todoroki, and Izuku the most out of all three.

It’s the one ship that I legit can’t tolerate, no actual logical reason, I just find it annoying for no reason lol. But my personal feelings, don’t really matter here! We’re talking about the actual relationship stuff.

So, what makes this ship interesting? Well I’ve got to say that it’s the fact that todoroki is the first person to teach Izuku how to save someone who does not want to be saved. He was the first person who he had to make them save THEMSELF and WANT TO BE SAVED, and that’s a major part of Izukus development. It makes him start to question the villains of society, are they really all bad? Is it possible to save them? He also had a subconscious bias as he was once apart of the “can nots” of society. Quirkless, disabled, or useless quirked people kind of fit here. Same with villainous quirks. With all of this in mind, it made him look at shigaraki and legitimately think about how to save him. Todoroki taught him that part of hero work is also saving people psychologically.

Todoroki learned a lot from deku in how to accept himself as he is. “It’s your quirk not his!” Was something that stuck with him and continued to do so after the sports festival. He was also todoroki’s first actual friend. And btw, no matter how much y’all wanna say it, todoroki is NOT in the deku squad! Todoroki is friends with Katsuki and Izuku mainly, they are their OWN friend group outside of bkg or deku squads, remember that. Part of todoroki’s development as a character was being friends with BOTH of them, so I’m sorry, but if you hate Katsuki, todoroki does not like you. Just as deku doesn’t. Katsuki is a man with a burning temper and explosive personality, but he is also a positive burning sun in both of their lives.

Tododeku together is amazing, all about making each other be better in silent but nice ways. They’re also socially awkward buddies >:) But what he is not is a replacement for Katsuki. He is not mean, never is never will be. Nor is he jealous and vindictive towards Katsuki. You could probably say that he sees him as a one sided best friendship along with him and deku. (Those titles are actually reserved for uraraka and kirishima but whatever, not the point. Let todoroki live) But it’s also not canon so we’ll just make that a funny hc that’s kinda implied lol.

And I’ll finish this little analysis of them off with, I do not care about who you like shipping with Izuku, but if you actively make Katsuki or todoroki vindictive towards the other PLEASE GOD ADD THE TAG ON AO3 “OOC TODOROKI SHOTO” BC IM TIRED OF READING IT- This whole analysis has been to say, that you can not make todoroki a replacement for Katsuki. You just can’t. And that goes for any Katsuki ship or Izuku ship, they can’t live without the other. So please god stop mis characterizing them. It’s getting REALLY OLD really fast.

Now let’s move onto kiribaku. I’m saving izuocha for last bc they’re the least controversial and I won’t have to do as much work to write them out lmao. Anywho, kiribaku! I actually enjoy this ship sometimes, it’s not my favorite, but it’s still pretty good in my book.

I think the ship is cute and important for katsukis development, as him, kaminari, sero, jirou, and even todoroki call him out on his bs. They were the first friends he really had that weren’t afraid to say “you’re an asshole” to his face even if he yelled at them. They simply didn’t care. Hell, on the second day Katsuki met kaminari, he literally fucking called his personality flaming hot garbage, and jirou even teased him. The class just didn’t tolerate his bullshit. Even deku was like “what the fuck is happening IM the one who gets teased, not him” because unlike before, Katsuki was in the hero course at UA.

He didn’t HAVE the enablers from his teachers or his classmates like he did before. Aizawa didn’t take his shit just like kirishima didn’t take his shit. And this where their relationship truly starts.

Kirishima is exactly what Katsuki needs, someone who can take his quirk, calm his temper, and will call out his bullshit. He’s both a good friend and not an enabler, exactly what he needs. He’s also got a powerful quirk, something that Katsuki at this stage has to see so that he can make the close relationships he needs. He’s pretty much deku in his mind except without the same history and a powerful quirk. Dynamic wise at least.

But just like tododeku, it’s what he NEEDS at that moment. But, unlike tododeku, kiribaku as a relationship itself is enabling Katsukis quirk discrimination. You could even argue that their relationship itself is based in the fact that Katsuki projects deku onto kirishima.

Their friendship and relationship is amazing, but if Katsuki didn’t put some distance between them, it simply wouldn’t show his true development. Kirishima was a walking example of the early part of their first year and middle school life, Katsuki and kirishimas relationship is inherently built on Katsukis flaming hot garbage takes. I legit believe that kiribaku would be MORE toxic than bkdk because of how kirishima indirectly enables Katsukis behavior.

The reason why y’all have been so starved for content unless it’s a movie or an ova is bc horikoshi KNOWS this and so does Katsuki. He KNOWS his friendship was built on seeing kirishima as an enabler for his actions. Katsuki needs to focus on healing his relationship with Izuku more than hanging around kirishima. But y’all aren’t ready for that-

Okay, controversial opinions over, it’s izuocha time.

Izuocha is actually great. I love the ship! She’s exactly what Izuku needs, someone with unquestionable, undoubtable, support and love for Izuku. From day one she believed in him. He doesn’t NEED to prove anything to show that he is worth love and appreciation. Uraraka is the support that deku would have needed in middle school or before that would push him to become a hero REGARDLESS of a quirk.

Izuocha is key to Izukus journey into becoming a hero, so lets just put aside ofa for a moment to talk about it. Lets say Izuku never ran into AM and instead had uraraka as a flame of support at aldera, maybe even before junior high. Because what Izuku would have needed to become a quirkless hero would have been three things: money/gear, training from the right person, and undoubtable love and support. He had none of those things though. Inko never believed in him, his only friend bullied him due to misunderstandings, and all might rejected the very idea of it happening. Three of the most important people in Izukus life DOUBTED HIM, completely and utterly. Even iida thought he wasn’t taking it seriously and that he would never get in. All of the other challengers thought that he was just gonna be useless competition. Unlike everyone else in his life, Izuku never had to earn love and support from uraraka.

And it’s funny how he still ending up having the same things that made him a hero AFTER getting into UA. He HAD the gear (a quirk), he HAD the training (all might), and he HAD the constant support and love from uraraka that he never had to earn. She TAUGHT HIM that he was worth something no matter what. He never had to fight a villain to prove he was something for all might, or sift through years of Katsukis issues just to earn that friendship again, or show that he had the intelligence and support to inko. He was simply allowed to exist as he was to uraraka.

And this support is not just for Izuku either, because he taught her to think about the heroes, who saves the heroes when they’re the ones in danger? Just like how todoroki taught deku how to save someone psychologically, deku did the same for her. He is a key part of her hero journey. He taught her the things she needed to know, they were entirely about lifting each other up. Away from their worries, just them being able to believe in themselves and each other.

But, that’s the early stuff. This information is.. a little out of date, don’t you think? I mean, we had ALL this tension build up from toga vs ochako 1, all about Izuku and ochako (kinda), all of this tension lead to Ochakos speech and then.. nothing. 342 frankly, should have been the confession, because all of the tension that horikoshi had been building was there and then he just let it go. For seemingly no reason. Story wise at least. Or you could make the argument that it was also building tension, okay then, what about 348? THAT chapter should have been about revealing feelings yet it wasn’t. That’s why this information, with how romantic it sounded when I described it, feels so untrue now. And I feel like izuochas also see it, they feel it and know it deep down, yet a lot of them choose to be ignorant and continue to not update their information.

That’s my problem with this ship. They were cute at first, something I wouldn’t totally reject seeing. Hell, I even looked at fandom content of them, but now it just feels like nothing. It isn’t going anywhere, because guys, their development is done! They need to be with their character foils, bkdk, shigaraki and deku, and togachako. They NEED to do the development with THESE characters. They aren’t gonna be canon, because if they were, shigafo’s fight would be about ochako and Izuku, not Katsuki.

And that’s what all three of these need to understand. I know y’all have been starved for content of them, I get that, but the reason you have been is because of the narrative with them simply being done. The development is over. This is how stories work. Take for example, peridot, from Steven universe. Her character arc was done, and I remember seeing su fans getting upset at the lack of peridot content. But she was done. Her arc was over. The same goes for here.

Get over yourselves, please. These characters are not as important to each other as much as you think they are.

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