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dduane · 4 months

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From the Writing Advice dep't: A complicated ask, a serial answer (part 1)

Every now and then I get an ask in the box that's complex enough that it has to be taken apart and answered in pieces. Also, sometimes I get queries in that are painful enough (in varying ways) that I elect not to attribute them when answering. This one is both.

I read the ask (and reread it, and rereread it, four or five or six times after it came in, and a bunch more times while I was on my back this week being sick), and gradually came to realize that for it to be properly handled I had no choice but to break it into pieces for best management.

There are three main strands to the issues this ask brings up: motivation, growth as a writer, and coping with or succeeding despite the current state of the publishing industry.

So let's dig in. Here's the first part of the ask:

I know there's no One True Path, but I'm struggling with this, and I'm sure others are too, so I'll just ask it. I want to make a career out of writing, but with shrinking attention spans and so much content to mindlessly consume, how do you keep the motivation to write? My friends get mad at me for getting discouraged when not even they read my writing. They get mad and say, "write for yourself, not for the validation!"

Welp. (sigh)

First of all, I think your friends are absolutely right. But we'll come back to that.

You have to understand that as far as the Search for Motivation goes, I'm probably Spiders DD, the outlier who seriously should not have been counted. I have been motivated to write stuff pretty much nonstop since I was eight, and did my first novel in crayon in a school notebook. (It was one of the thick notebooks. The ones with the black and white marbled covers. Most of you who come of US schools know the kind.)

So I'm really the wrong person to be asking about this, especially since it's now nearly the Year of our (Wood!) Dragon 4722, which would make me nearly, uh, six Years of the Dragon old. And being of such age, and a career midlist genre writer, I have the same source of motivation as the vast majority of my similarly-aged colleagues: the need to write or starve. (There's an Irish saying perfectly descriptive of my situation: "Too old to dig ditches and too scared to rob banks." That's my situation exactly. There's nothing left for me to do but to write.) :)

...Anyway, it's kind of amazing how that kind of motivation'll focus your intention, and help you keep it in place, once you're been working with it for a while.

At the beginning of a career, though, things can look a lot different as you start getting a handle on exactly what it is you like to write and why you like writing it. And having another job to keep you afloat while you find your way is seriously a very good idea if you can manage it.

It sounds very much to me as if you're still in the early "finding your way" stages. This is a place that a lot of writers pass through, so don't be concerned. It's rare for sudden perfect motivation-to-write to crystallize out of nothing. And never forget, the word itself is based on old Latin roots for movement, and provokes the question, "Yeah, okay, but which way?" Movement without intended direction tends to turn into a lot of unfocused flailing, which looks good on Kermit, but not so much on the rest of us.

(inserting a cut here, because honestly, this is gonna go on a bit)

So you need to sit down and start asking questions—and answering them—so you can draw some kind of map. "I want to make a career out of writing"? Fine. What kind of writing? Fiction? Nonfiction? If fiction, what kind? What do you like to read? Why? Is that something you'd like to write? Why? Why not? If there's something else you'd rather be writing—what else? And why?

The more you ask the questions and answer them—"Keep asking the next question," Ted Sturgeon never used to stop saying—and the further along your investigations get, the more likely you are (as you get close to the answers that matter) to start getting the itch to write something, something in particular. This process may take a while, and the itch may take a good while to manifest. Don't be alarmed by that. The old saying is that the fire from Heaven won't descend until you've built the altar for it. And it may take a while piling the rocks up into the right shape. Don't hurry. If this is something you intend to spend a lifetime on, make sure the foundations are sound. The time taken will be worth it.

And BTW, do you intend that kind of length of commitment? If you're not sure, that's fine. But there's no one else to ask at this point who can give you meaningful answers. This is the time to get into it. Work out what "having a career in writing" looks like for you. Then start investigating to see whether your conception has any foundation in reality as a kind of lifestyle you actually have decent odds on achieving. (Again, I'm an outlier here. I'd been writing for pleasure for a long time before I had the good fortune to befriend an actual career writer, examine his habits [and those of other writers in the LA area] at close range, and realize that this line-of-work choice was actually something that could be successfully pulled off by mere mortals.) After investigation, this is a call that only you can make.

But anyway. Once you've started experiencing the kind of motivation that comes of increased certainty about what you want to do and why, you'll find you're way less concerned about sourcing or supporting it externally. It tends to fuel itself. (As once it does descend, the fire from Heaven is tenacious stuff: more Greek than otherwise.)

But also: trying to designate outsourced exterior stimulants for motivation is a bad idea. The reason's simple: one day you'll need them and they won't be there. Conditions will have changed, or the outside-of-you sources into the hands of which you've resigned your motivational agency may not be available for one reason or another, temporarily or permanently... and then where are you? The concept's a nonstarter. If your motivation's acting up, you need to be looking inward, not outward, for ways to kickstart it. This is one of the most personal parts of the writing process. You need to own it.

(And yeah, even career writers' motivation slips sometimes: annoying career things happen, cyclic lows cut in at a bad time, you name it. Most of us work out ways to jar the motivation back into correct operation when it acts up. But for such corrections to work you must first know what it's like to generate or mine yours yourself... and you're still working on that. The methods you find to generate motivation toward doing the Work will also assist you in diagnosing it when it goes south, and putting it right again.)

Also: (sighing) Please let your friends off the hook as regards reading your material, and feedback. Your motivation to write should not be dependent on their feedback, and it's not a good idea to try to make friends feel responsible for keeping you on the creative track. Chief among reasons for this: they may not feel themselves up to the task of giving you the writing support you're apparently asking them for—possibly because they simply don't feel competent to. (This is where we could get into how I had to stop @petermorwood from rewriting his third novel for the third time due to conflicting notes from friends... but let's leave that for later.) At best you're possibly making your friends deeply uncomfortable. At worst, the pressure may damage the friendships.

Tl:dr; our friends may love us dearly, but that doesn't make them competent editors. If you're online, so are many writers' groups who'll welcome a new member who needs advice. Wait till you've got more data and clarity on your motivational issues, and then start shopping around for assistance that seems friendly and trustworthy.

And finally (for the moment), about other people's attention spans:

It'd be good if you can start training yourself away from the habit of worrying about those. For one thing, there's absolutely nothing you can do about them. You might as well worry about the 11-year sunspot cycle. The attention-span issue is just one more distraction from things you should usefully be thinking about. But also: A lot of what we hear about that situation strikes me as fearmongering (as, IIRC, it was supposed to cause the downfall of western civilization around the time I started writing for Scooby-Doo).

If you look around, you'll see that loads of people are willing to spend HUGE amounts of their attention on stuff they love. (I mean, have you been on AO3 lately? And we're just talking about free stuff, there. Lots of other people will do the same for traditionally published work, given the chance and the money.) Your job is to get on with writing, start putting what you're doing out there where people will have a chance to fall in love with it, and then deal with the consequences.

More of this next time. (And please bear with me, as I'm still not up to best operating speed after the last week's illness. I'll get to everything else you sent me, I promise.)

HTH!

#writing advice #masked ask #is that a term?#it is now #motivation in writing #motivational issues

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neodarkdark · 1 year

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SENSES AND OTHER SPECIFIC HEADCANONS

WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE SMELL LIKE? I normally struggle at this question orz ... I think he either smells like not much in particular or often kinda sweaty from being active lol. It does depend a lot on where he's been hanging out and what kind of ambient smells were in the area, though.

WHAT DO YOUR MUSE’S HANDS FEEL LIKE? Another one that's tricky for me to answer because I haven't given it that much thought. Bro they feel like hands 😭 not suuuper rough but not like baby untouched soft? He climbs trees n stuff with them. He also likes wearing gloves though.

WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE USUALLY EAT IN A DAY? Okay, well, first let me go on a tangent about his eating habits in general. You know Svern's deal with not feeling very much? Yeah that extends to his appetite too. He eats when he sees or has access to something he wants, or when he's hungry hungry, but he also just. Will skip eating sometimes. Because it doesn't bother him enough and he's not bothered to eat, at that moment. (He's lazy. What else is new.) Still, he'll usually eat at least 1-2 decent serves of something in a day. What exactly that is depends, usually whatever he has easiest access to that he likes best - easy prep/instant food, prepackaged, takeout or just eating out. He can be motivated to eat more by things he likes which is mostly spicy foods. He likes spicy foods.

DOES YOUR MUSE HAVE A GOOD SINGING VOICE? If he puts effort into it? It's probably pretty decent. I'm not sure if he'd have trained it at any point (if so, then it'll be better). He's just as likely to just put as much volume into it as possible, though, without caring whether it sounds good or not... if he's singing around others, anyway... he wants those complaints/criticisms.

DOES YOUR MUSE HAVE ANY BAD HABITS OR NERVOUS TICKS? You mean besides his entire attitude in general or getting into stupid situations? No. Any nervous habits or mannerisms you see from him are manufactured.

WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE USUALLY LOOK LIKE / WEAR? Svern's "fashion sense" varies wildly depending on his whims. I normally draw him in basic boring clothes which... fair... he likes a good old hoodie/jacket... but he also does a lot more than that! Jumping between very drab colour schemes and colours IN your face (outfit tag), or casual, to questionable, to more conventionally chic and stylish, he will wear almost anything. He will also pick up clothes from anywhere. BUT THAT'S JUST THE CLOTHING SIDE! You may know by now that his favourite look (messy auburn hair, amber eyes) isn't his natural look. While yes it is the "default", he's not limited to it, at all. This guy likes playing with looks. Tomorrow he's going to be decked out in nothing but hot pink, hair and irises included.

IS YOUR MUSE AFFECTIONATE? HOW SO? He might act it sometimes, in an over-exaggerated way, but the reality is that he isn't. Svern's true affection, the one you can trust to reflect his real feelings, is quiet and understated, and almost never spoken aloud. It's reserved for people he really, genuinely likes/cares about, and those are... few and far between. It's silent things like him spending more time around you, or the trinket-giving I've mentioned. Real physical affection from Svern is also rare and usually limited to just being in close proximity. Probably one of the softest things he can do is if he actually seeks out physical closeness.

WHAT POSITION DOES YOUR MUSE SLEEP IN? Any way he can contort himself. You might not believe it's comfortable but he's fine with it. He's got himself twisted with his hips facing one way and his head the other and also his arm lifted and draped weirdly over the top. Additionally, he sleeps wherever the hell he feels like. (Though it helps that he doesn't tend to sleep unless he's actually tired and then he passes out pretty easily.) For some reason, he seems to prefer surfaces that aren't too soft versus softer ones.

COULD YOU HEAR YOUR MUSE IN THE HALLWAY FROM ANOTHER ROOM? Generally speaking yeah because he's loud as heck. But if he doesn't want to be heard for whatever reason? Nope. He sneaky.

Tagged by @technodromes! Thank you very much! Tagging @jocundcompany @evoblue anyone else Please steal it and tag me the beta editor is being so evil about these tagging sections lately

#point your finger and deny (dash games)#boredom is so terrible like a dread disease (headcanon)

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kinetic-elaboration · 11 months

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June 11: Picnic, Sick

This is my attempt to sort out what I'm feeling. My stomach felt a little iffy going all the way back to Thursday/Friday but I thought that was just stress and context. I was standing a lot on Thursday and ate lunch late, and on Saturday I went out with S and had a really big lunch and I just felt, like, full, pretty much the rest of the day. It wasn't actually that big of a lunch but I thought it must be that. I also was sort of stressed about having 2 social events in a row and not really knowing what to expect from the picnic.

At the picnic, I had some chips and stuff just to snack on and felt fine. Then I got a burger that J's fiance S had grilled. It was really big and even picking it up, I was like 'hmmm, this is really large!' I also noticed it was done more rare than I would normally eat meat. At some point while eating, I felt like it was too much but I really thought it was just the size. I thought I was just full. It didn't feel like nausea really. Like a sort of wrongness? I wanted to lie down or something or maybe just be ANYWHERE ELSE. But I also wasn't sure if I should move. I thought it was just me feeling full and that I would feel better with time.

When I decided it was like a serious bad feeling, it was literally too late. Like, I thought there was a chance I would vomit, I asked where the bathroom was, and before I could stand up, I was vomiting all over the bench. Not to be even more gross but it wasn't like normal vomiting, it wasn't like where your body is struggling to get something out. Like my body KNEW this had to go. My stomach didn't hurt or anything. It was over fairly fast but only after I'd gotten down to bile. I was honestly more embarrassed and scared than anything. J, S, and B were near me at that point. I think they got something to try to clean up with, and J and S got a park attendant, and B was staying near me and just making sure I was okay. Once I was done, I honestly felt FINE. I actually pretended to feel worse than I did so I wouldn't have to look around at people and figure out what they thought or what they saw.

I got a water, walked over to the bathrooms to wash myself off (I did get some on me, pretty gross). At that point, people were packing up to leave anyway. L asked if I was okay. I wanted to take a walk since there are trails at Freedom Park and I just… felt instinctively that's what I needed to do. The trails were pretty intense and it was getting warmer by then but it felt really good.

B and I went back to my apartment and we hung out there a little bit. I made myself mint tea. I was basically feeling fine, my stomach maybe a little weird but I thought that was just hunger since I functionally had not eaten anything sine breakfast. B and I talked about going out for smoothies but when we talked about it, I became suddenly afraid I was going to be sick. When he left, I felt WAY worse, like almost immediately. I was cold, so I changed clothes and bundled up, I was wary of moving, my stomach was bad. I got the smoothie delivered and I watched some tv. Sometimes I had to stop doing literally everything and just lie there still with my eyes closed because I was afraid I was going to be sick even though it wasn't really nausea so much as that wrongness from earlier.

Texting with my mom helped. I think effective distractions really do a lot. Which makes me wonder if it is a real sickness and not psychosomatic.

When I took a nap in bed, I did not move at all. I had a bit of a hard time falling asleep, which was also true last night--very unusual for me. When I got up I had to be very careful and slow about doing things. I took my temp and I do have a fever. But typing this all out has made me feel a lot better. I still have a headache but I don't feel as cold and my stomach is okay.

So it's like… the pre-Sunday symptoms imply I'm sick with a bug. The suddenness of the vomiting implies I was reacting to what I ate. And the wildly oscillating symptoms tied to mental state implies some degree of psycho-somaticness going on.

#the year 2023 #2023: rl #dni #tw illness

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iliumheightnights · 2 years

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I'm too young for this! | Peter Parker x Stark!Male Reader

Fandom: Marvel, The Avengers

Pairing: Peter Parker x M!Stark Reader

Summary: (M/N) gets his work cut out for him when Peter comes back with a surprise. When he told his dad to come back safe, he meant not as a baby. He wasn’t ready to be a dad yet.

A/N: A fic? Finally!? After so long, a full blown fic!? I know, I know. Crazy right? I just wanted to do something funny and fluffy with my boy Peter here.

....

“Peter, love of my life, why are you holding a baby?”

(M/n) stared at his boyfriend who was still dressed in his Spiderman suit. His mask was removed and he was holding a squirming child in what seemed like an oversized shirt in his arms. “So...um...this maybe…Mr.Stark.”

“WHAT!? What do you mean that's my dad!” (M/N) looked distressed as he watched Peter try and hold the child in arms. “Peter I love you but I don’t find this funny.”

“I know but it’s true. We were- Hey! Mr.Stark, please calm down. We were on a mission and the guy had some sort of age gun. Your dad didn’t think it was going to work or at least not affect him because of his armor- OW! Please don’t hit my face Tony. Anyways he got hit and as you can see-”

“Now my dad is two years old.” (M/n) nodded in understanding but Peter could tell he was still both worried and freaked out.

“But hey! It’ll be okay! We’ll get Bruce or Mr.Strange to help figure it out!” Peter tried to calm down his boyfriend.

“Yeah-yeah they’ll know what to do. He’ll be fine. Yeah.”

Peter was honestly starting to freak out seeing his boyfriend like that. He had never seen (M/n) act like that before, but how else was he supposed to act? His dad was a two year old for pete’s sake!

After a quick phone call Doctor Strange had arrived. After a brief examination of Tony and trying to use his magic Stephen stopped. “What happened isn’t permanent. I can’t change it back with magic in case it upsets the effects but it should wear off within the next two days. Whoever made the weapon didn’t make it good enough.”

With that Strange created a portal and began to leave. “Wait! Where are you going? My dad’s a baby!” (M/n) called out. Strange stopped and gave him a look. “I don’t see how that’s my problem. He raised you your entire life, I’m sure you can raise him for two days.” Without another word, he walked through the portal and closed it, leaving the two boyfriends with a struggling baby.

“Uubwwwooo.” (M/n) turned to the sound of baby gurgles and saw Tony sucking his thumb. With a sigh he picked up the baby still only in a t-shirt. “Okay. I guess we’re doing this. Not to worry dad I’m going to take good care of you...let’s get you in a diaper first though.”

Luckily they DID have some baby supplies left from when (M/n) was a baby or whenever they’d need to babysit. It was rare but it did happen every blue moon. Grabbing the diapers, Peter came and grabbed Tony. “Hey, we’re doing this together. We always did want to be parents.”

(M/n) shook his head but smiled at his boyfriend. “Yes, but NOT to my dad. Thanks.”

“Isn’t that true. Can you get some food going for him while I get him changed?” Peter asked, bouncing Tony a bit.

“Yeah...what would be-”

“Some of that baby food that’s right there. Honestly it’s the safest option right now.”

(M/n) nodded. He had absolutely NO idea how to take care of a baby and he didn’t want to accidentally kill his dad because of his lack of knowledge so he followed Peter’s lead when it came to the baby stuff.

After following the instructions on the baby food bottle, he was glad to discover it was on the easier side to make. As is, he just had to open the bottle really. “Alright, I think I have it…oh my god.” (M/n) Froze when he saw Peter holding Tony, he had put the baby in one of the old onesies they had. “He’s SO ADORABLE!” He placed the baby food aside before grabbing his dad. “Oh so cute.” He saw how Peter was barely holding in a laugh. “Oh shut up. Babies are cute.”

Peter shook his head and grabbed the food. “Whatever you say. Alright, you have a bib right?” (M/n) nodded and lifted one up. “Good. Go ahead and put it on him and I’ll feed him.” (M/n) did exactly what Peter had asked before setting Tony on his lap. That was one of the only things they didn’t have, a booster seat.

“And here goes the airplane.” Peter said moving the spoon. “Bbbrrrrr.” He tried to imitate a plane. (M/n) almost laughed seeing the look on Tony’s face, his dad was NOT impressed. “Oh come on Tony, just a bit of a smile?” No such luck. Tony wasn’t going to make a different face. “Even as a baby you’re still no fun.”

“Do you think he still has his adult mind in there?” (M/n) asked. He was looking curiously at the baby in his lap. He had been wondering about it but it wasn’t until now that he really had the question get thought about with more curiosity.

“I don’t know…Mr.Stark.” When Tony didn’t respond to that Peter figured that was the answer. “I’m guessing not. Besides, I don’t think your dad would have agreed to most of what’s happened already.”

“Then apparently you don’t know my dad as well as you thought Peter. My dad LOVES being pampered and spoiled. It wouldn’t surprise me if he DOES have his adult mind but is milking his current body for all the attention it’s worth.” In that same instance Tony bounced making claps. “See!”

“Okay point taken.” Peter put up his hands in defeat. “But for what it’s worth I don’t think so. I think he’s all baby.” (M/n) held his head in his hands. “Ugh. How did my life get to this point where I’m debating if my dad knows he’s a baby or not?”

“That’s just the life of an avenger.” Peter said kissing (m/n)’s forehead.

“Well love, if YOU ever get turned into a baby I’m not taking care of you.”

“WHAT!? Why!? You’re my boyfriend you’re supposed to do that!” Peter looked so offended at that. Eventually he let out a huff and crossed his arms. “Fine. I bet your dad would take care of me. He always did say I’m like a son to him.”

“Fine.” (M/n) then handed Peter Tony. “Then YOU can change his diaper.” With that (m/n) stood up and left the kitchen with Peter holding Tony.

“Wait, no! I was just kidding! (M/n) come back, please!” He sniffed and smelt something awful before scrunching up his nose. “Oh mr.stark come on! How can you do this to me?” The baby only giggled. “Ugh. Why’d I have to be bit by that spider.”

One diaper change later Peter and (M/n) we’re sitting on the couch watching baby Tony play with some toys on the ground. “This is exhausting. We haven’t even been ‘parents’ for one day and look at this.” Peter said motioning to their state of tiredness.

“I know. I don’t know how my dad did this for me. Didn’t he go party all the time?” He shrugged. “I guess he DID have Happy and Rhodey. They helped.”

“Those two ARE amazing.” Peter said, (m/n) nodded in agreement. “You know…even with how tired we are, I do think we’d make amazing parents.” He said letting his hand run through his boyfriends hair.

“You think so?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah…me too.” He smiled at Peter before getting serious. “But not until we’re ready like WAY later right?”

“Oh for sure! No way I can keep doing this every day right now. I got Spider-Man and college. We haven’t even taken a vacation together yet!”

“I know! We have to have some good ‘us time’ before we get ANYWHERE near being parents deal?” (M/n) asked.

“Deal.” Peter said with a smile.

“GGGAAH!” Both boys looked to Tony who was looking back at them. The baby looked as if he himself was telling them not to have any kids yet. “Oh for sure his mind is in there.” (M/n) said with Peter nodding his head beside him. “Oh definitely.”

The rest of the day was spent with Peter and (M/n) taking care of and playing with Tony. What? If he was going to be a baby for the next 48 hours then they were going to give him as much attention as he needed. Peter made sure that he wasn’t solely on diaper duty much to (M/n)’s dismay.

That night Peter and (M/n) went to bed with Tony snuggled between them. When both boys woke up the next morning they were greeted to the sight of a Tony returned to his adult form…in a now giant diaper. “Aaaannd I’m out.” (M/n) said hoping out of the bed.

“Same.” Peter said doing the exact same as his boyfriend.

“If it means anything, you two made excellent parents.” Tony said shrugging his arms.

“I told you he was aware!”

#marvel #spiderman #peter parker #the avengers #x male reader #x male!reader #peter parker x male reader #peter parker x male!reader #x stark!reader #x stark reader

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makeste · 3 years

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BnHA Chapter 316: We've Had One, Yes, But What About Second Explosion

Previously on BnHA: Deku was all “[powers up like whoa because it’s time to end the fight]”, and he saved Overhaul from getting not-shot, and then smashed up Nagant’s arm with the power of his new rechargeable super knees. Nagant was all “yoooo this kid is crazy strong whaaaat, it’s like he’s some kind of protagonist or something.” Deku was all “I AM A PROTAGONIST, ACTUALLY, DO YOU WANT TO JOIN FORCES AND FIGHT BAD GUYS WITH ME?” Nagant was all “ah shit why the hell no -- ” and then AFO was all “SURPRISE” and everyone was all “?!?!?!” and AFO was all “TIME TO EXPLODE NOW” and made Nagant explode because he’s an absolute fucking dick. And then Hawks showed up, because Horikoshi just wanted to stuff as many plot points as humanly possible into a single chapter I guess.

Today on BnHA: Hawks is all “good job giving motivational shounen redemption speeches Deku but I’ll take it from here” and screams very earnestly right in Nagant’s face until she finally wakes up. Nagant is all “oh hey it’s my successor, you seem surprisingly unfucked-up from your own HPSC tenure, how did you manage that?” Hawks is all “fandom is going to love hearing this one, but basically it’s because I’m very upbeat and also I had the world’s best role model Endeavor to look up to,” and I swear this man stirs the pot on purpose, but damn it I still love him so damn much. Overhaul is all “HELLO AGAIN, JUST A REMINDER THAT, THE BOSS!!” and Deku is all “MAYBE TAKE TWO SECONDS TO REFLECT ON HOW YOU TORTURED A LITTLE GIRL,” which, thank you, lol. Nagant is all “btw AFO’s hiding in a house in the woods”, and so Deku and the gang go to the house in the woods. Video recording!AFO is all “hi I’m AFO welcome to Jackass” and blows up the house. Sometimes I wonder if this manga is just a weird dream.

I am once again reading the Bean version because I think it was actually the best out of all three translations last week. and that is surprisingly including Viz’s. “faux” is not nearly as entertaining as “knockoff”, and also I have literally no idea why Caleb thought Deku was saying the Third’s lines lol

oh hey, Endeavor’s here too! not that you’d ever be able to tell from this first panel lmao

glad you received All Might’s call, mysterious unidentified glowing smudge

oh snap he says he’s weaker in the rain. is that why AFO told Nagant to attack then?? except that as we discussed the other day, I believe that AFO fully intended for Nagant to lose the fight, so him giving her info that would give her an advantage doesn’t really fit in with that. maybe he wanted Deku to be separated from Endeavor and the rest for maximum angst, though

btw Deku’s eyes are unsurprisingly back to the new normal here

alas, the angst continues. I say, pretending like I’m not totally eating it up each and every week and writing essay after essay about it lol

anyway so apparently Hawks can’t actually fly lmao. he was just yeeting himself with style

for some reason this is the funniest fucking thing I’ve ever seen omfg. wave to Hawks, kids! say “bye, Hawks!”

j/k of course Deku is catching them. -- except???

wow so he was just running on fumes there at the end. well, good to know there is actually a limit to his shenanigans, particularly regarding this new “knockoff” 100% OFA. it will definitely not alleviate any of the discourse, but it’s good for my own peace of mind because it’s solid confirmation that he still needs his pals in order to win this thing

anyway, but on to the rest of this conversation, which is basically Deku deducing what we all deduced last week -- AFO implanted some sort of trap into Nagant when he gave her Air Walk. though I’d still like to get the actual details from AFO and/or Horikoshi, because this was particularly wild even by quirk standards lol

omgggggg

she still has a face after all!! so it’s confirmed, Horikoshi has no idea what “blowing up” actually means. we might have guessed, based on what happened to Toga in the MVA arc, and also based on everything Katsuki does ever, but shhh

so now Hawks is all “NAGANT PLEASE WAKE UP, IF I SHOUT MY NAME AT YOU WILL THAT DO THE TRICK”

this is actually kind of touching though because even though we all know (or most of us acknowledge at any rate) that Hawks is a pretty caring person, it’s rare to see him actually panic over someone’s welfare like this

oh shit Horikoshi is really doubling down on it

I wonder how much Hawks knew about what really happened between Nagant and the HPSC. regardless, he probably sees her as a kindred spirit of sorts, and I’m more than happy for Deku to pass the redemption torch onto him now that he’s on the scene. like no offense Deku but they actually know each other and stuff lol

DAMMIT NAGANT CAN’T YOU SEE HOW LOUD HE IS YELLING

apparently being freed from his HPSC shackles has finally given Hawks the space to embrace his own inner shounen protagonist. is there anything more shounen than trying to motivationally scream someone awake when they’re lying in your arms inches from death?? 100% guaranteed to work

!!! IS THIS NAGANT’S POV OMG

SO SHE IS ALIVE. THANK GOD. Horikoshi doesn’t want to meet with my emotional distress lawyer today after all

love how she’s all “just gonna stir up the weekly Hawks Discourse pot here by implying that he probably committed a lot of Atrocities just like I did, so now people can get all hopped up about that, even though there’s no evidence he’s ever killed anyone aside from that one horrible ‘damned-if-you-do...’ situation with Twice.” no one asked for your provocative speculation young lady!! trust me Nagant, our rabbles don’t need the rousing lol

but nice save there with the “so how are your eyes so untainted” well you see it’s because even when he was following the HPSC’s orders he always went to great lengths never to go against his own moral compass. which just to be clear was incredibly difficult, and led to a ton of pain and suffering on his part, because the life of a spy is basically just one impossible situation after another. but in spite of that he never stopped trying to do his best to help people. I don’t really know where this tangent came from or is leading to, lol, but anyway p.s.a. I love Hawks a lot and he’s a good kid dammit

oh shit??!?

how is the League always able to swing all these fancy forest mansions. where do they find them. how many do they have

so Deku’s dropping them -- very roughly, not sure if he was reacting to finally getting AFO’s location, or if his energy really is giving out -- and now Nagant’s saying that AFO hired other villains as well. well of course he did. gotta keep chipping away at OFA’s ninth successor little by little

now Nagant is asking Hawks how he’s able to keep making “that” face. I assume she’s again talking about the fact that he somehow didn’t let the HPSC wear down his spirit

oh my god???

thanks for stuffing this chapter to the brim with good nutritional Hawks Feels, Horikoshi. what a good. he just keeps on trudging forward undeterred no matter what bullshit comes his way. what a steadfast little guy. I WILL PROTECT YOU FROM DISCOURSE MY SWEET SUNSHINE

lmaoooo

“SPOTTED THIS DUDE JUST CHILLING OUT THERE ON THE ROOF WITH NO ARMS, SEEMED PRETTY SUS” good job Endeavor

anyway so you don’t really need me to tell you that Overhaul is immediately starting in with the “BUT THE BOSS WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE ME TO THE BOSS YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD TAKE ME TO THE BOSS” stuff again. but I will go ahead and tell you anyway. so yeah. he’s doing that

OMG YOU GUYS LOOK AT DEKU’S “of all the fucking assholes to just randomly drop in on my life once again why did it have to be you” FACE THOUGH, OMG

fun fact, if you go back to chapters 124 through 160, there was an entire story arc where Overhaul imprisoned and tortured a little girl. yeah, I know!! suuuuuuuuper evil. anyways just an interesting little anecdote for you all that’s somewhat relevant to the current situation

OMG, YES. FUCK YES, DEKU

THEN WHAT ABOUT SPARING ONE FOR HER!!! YES!!! EXACTLY!!! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, SOMEONE GETS IT

HERE’S THE PANEL OF DEKU SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING I’M SAYING LOL

(ETA: so apparently there’s some discourse about this because some people are interpreting this as Deku saying “you should apologize to Eri”, which would obviously be a terrible idea even if Overhaul actually wanted to do that, because Eri shouldn’t ever have to see him again. however I just want to point out that there is a HUGE difference between saying “it would be nice if you could direct that feeling of regret/being sorry towards Eri as well”, vs saying “you should also apologize to her.” all Deku is doing is rightfully pointing out that Overhaul has hurt way more people than just his boss, and if he really is remorseful, then he should extend those feelings of remorse to Eri and the rest as well. it’s not a directive to take any specific action, and I’m 1000% sure no one at U.A. would let Overhaul within 100 miles of Eri ever again.

tl;dr “try feeling remorse sometime” =/= “do you want me to fly you over to U.A. right now to surprise the little girl you traumatized”, lol.)

[slings an arm around Deku’s shoulders] you’re a good kid. I like you. I don’t know if I tell you that enough, but it’s true

meanwhile here is Overhaul’s “spare... a thought... for Eri...???????” face sigh

the struggle is real y’all

(ETA: and that’s... the last we ever saw of Overhaul, I guess? well all right then. I assume Deku will make good on his promise, so we know he’ll get that little bit of closure before going back to jail or whatever, and I confess I’m more than fine with leaving the rest of it open-ended, especially given his character’s history. I think this was pretty generous all things considered.)

lmao holy shit

All Might what did you do to those tiki torch guys?? did you thrash them. did you give ‘em those hands. did you deliver their own asses to them complete with a sticker reminding them Amazon Prime Day is on June 21. we missed out goddammit

so Endeavor, who wasn’t the one he was asking, is telling him that they captured (well let’s be real, Deku captured, give the credit where it’s due) Nagant and Overhaul. and so I guess they’re going to take Nagant to the ER now

fire is no one’s weakness

-- oh my GOD I scrolled down and audibly gasped

[is politely but firmly approached and asked to remove my arm from Deku’s shoulder by the physical manifestation of all this Dekuangst] “we’re sorry, he’s not allowed to have visitors right now” oh shit, my bad. [goes to stand behind a police barricade]

lmao what. did you run out of room on the previous page

what an exaggerated fade to black lmao

-- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I actually can’t see what he’s reacting to so maybe I’m just seriously jumping the gun here lol, but THE HELL WITH IT. the next panel appears to be a cut to Haibori Forest, so I’m just gonna go ahead and declare that Deku ran off on his own all wounded to go have more Dekuangst, just like I manifested. now go call Katsuki goddammit

[scrolls three more inches down] oh

yeah so like I said, Deku is walking very slowly a few feet in front of Endeavor, who’s telling him to wait up. yep. we’ve all gotta be so careful to not just jump to conclusions. I know we’re excited but still

anyway, so! welcome back to Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods (ARE YOU GUYS DATING) and Edgeshot! have fun walking into this obvious trap lol

dammit Deku why are you so determined to tempt fate

[monkey puppet meme faces]

OH MY GOD THIS IS PURE GRADE-A CHEESY COMIC BOOK VILLAIN 101 SHIT AND I’M HERE FOR IT

that’s such a weird way of clapping who claps like that

unlike certain other people who shan’t be named, AFO doesn’t feel the need to inexplicably take his shirt off when recording sinister villain monologues. I think we’re all pretty grateful for that

high fives to everyone who called it!! yep yep

anyway so this whole scene has major booby-trap vibes, which I’m enjoying immensely even though I don’t think anything is really going to come of it lol. probably just another long-winded AFO Speech. but wouldn’t it be funny if like the ceiling started lowering down to try and squish Deku afterwards lol

(ETA: well the explosion was still pretty funny too ngl.)

ffff

[“Dekuangst is the trap” intensifies]

anyway so yeah. he’s just hitting up all of his usual villain talking points. we get it, you’re so smart and you see right through the thin veneers of society and people who don’t conform are left to fend for themselves and labeled as villains and history is written by the victors, and blah blah blah dude are you just jumping randomly from one soundbyte to another lol. literally what are you talking about. what does this have to do with you blowing up Nagant

-- holy shit??

[”Dekuangst is the trap” intensifies MORE?????]

LOL WHAT

BRO. WHAT IS WITH YOU. DON’T YOU KNOW HOW TO LAY ANY OTHER KIND OF FUCKING TRAP GOOD LORD

“YOU’RE NEXT” THE CALLBACK?? THE PARALLELS?? THOUGH WHEN ALL MIGHT POINTED HE MADE IT LOOK WAY COOLER. AFO’S POINTING JUST LOOKS LIKE SMOKEY THE BEAR

HAS ANYONE CHECKED IN ON KAMUI WOODS I HEAR HE IS WEAK TO FIRE?? THE ONLY ONE WHO IS, APPARENTLY

r.i.p. to this particular forest mansion. don’t worry they have a ton of backups

remember last week when I said maybe AFO thinks explosions are gauche. well never mind. he fucking loves explosions

anyway so that’s the end of BnHA, everyone. hope you enjoyed. it was a good ride while it lasted. see you all, good luck in your travels

#bnha 316 #hawks #takami keigo #lady nagant #midoriya izuku #all for one #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #manifesting 317 opening with a slightly modified version of my previous fantasy scenario lmao #'WHADDYA MEAN THEY BLEW UP THE NERD'#that's *his* job #sorry lol I kid I kid

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dancingamongstdust · 3 years

Note

Can you write a tsukishima kei X reader where they both tease eachother but don't realise that they have feelings for eachother. Then tsukishima says something really offensive to reader and she gets really upsets and ignores him, he then realizes his feelings for her?

I struggled writing this but it was actually quite fun! Thank you for the request.

Teasing was something fun. The tumbling words were light and playful, hinting at something more but never letting their secrets free.

You lived for the flash of annoyance in Tsukishima’s hazel eyes; a small smirk always betraying that he enjoyed the banter. Whether you were speaking to him or commenting loud enough to draw his attention, he would turn to you fully and respond in kind. Though his words dripped in sarcasm, you never took them personally.

Perhaps you should have. Your comments never held any malice and you always strayed away from actual insults.

Tsukishima didn’t quite understand that part of your game.

Some of the things that he said stung. In those times, you’d just flip him off and pretend to go about your day without a second thought. But they did bother you.

Enough to find you standing in front of your mirror and glaring at your reflection as though it could give you the answers. Everything about your relationship with Tsukishima was frivolous. You had never held a real conversation. He was just a stupidly confident man with a sharp tongue and honeyed hair. His glasses were ridiculous, his taste in music was poor, and his eyes were the type of golden brown that snatched your breath from your lungs.

You groaned and turned away from your reflection.

Why did you have to fall for him?

Was it because of his voice and the soft edge that lay beneath its harsh words? Perhaps the gentleness of his movements had drawn your attention. He never looked out of place and you envied him that.

You contemplated telling him initially but decided against it. Getting a better feel of his attitude towards you would help before any misguided confessions slipped out.

That lasted until the next day.

“I know I shouldn’t be expecting anything intelligent to come from you but think things through a little more before you speak.”

Tsukishima glanced down at you as he passed, the hint of a smile on his lips. The insult wasn’t meant. He had often mocked your intelligence before to little response – after all, he knew that you didn’t get easily offended.

This time though, you didn’t immediately respond and when you did, it was just a slight jab about something trivial.

He turned around to look back at you but you had hurried off somewhere.

Shrugging that off, he continued on his day until the next time he saw you. When he did, he waited for the retaliation.

And waited.

He was so focused on listening out for your snide comment that he didn’t even pay attention to his other conversation. Yamaguchi, thankfully, didn’t need an active participant in his discussion. He only seemed minorly confused by Tsukishima’s confusion before continuing.

Once you’d left, he sighed and said, “Maybe it’s been a bad day.”

Tsukishima glanced over his shoulder to confirm you hadn’t walked back in. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You didn’t, like, call her a bitch, right?”

“What? Obviously not.”

Yamaguchi shrugged. “Then don’t worry so much about it. She’ll be back to normal soon.”

Tsukishima scoffed, electing to pretend the conversation was unimportant. He changed the topic onto something that was more in his area of expertise but his thoughts kept hanging on you. It irritated him to no end and he spent the rest of the day snapping a little too harshly at everybody.

The next day went no better.

He waited to hear your voice, having never realised before how well he knew it. It was something missing from his day and he didn’t even know why.

“It’s not my fault if she’s going to be sensitive about stupid stuff,” he stated when Yamaguchi next commented about your unusual silent treatment.

“Nope. Some people are just soft.”

“You’re one of those people,” Tsukishima had retorted. He meant it mockingly though any kind of rudeness had little effect on his best friend. It was part of who he was… he had really believed you understood that.

Yamaguchi tried to move on but Tsukishima continued with his complaints.

“Why would she just suddenly start taking offense to things?”

“Maybe you hit a nerve.”

“How was I meant to know she was touchy about her intelligence? Anyway, it was days ago. She should be over it by now.”

“If it’s bothering you that much, just say sorry.”

“It’s not bothering me.”

He wasn’t stupid – of course, it was – but he was hardly about to tell somebody that. You were nobody to him and your lack of comments was an absolute relief. In fact, he was rather happy that you had decided to finally take the hint.

A whole month passed and he stopped waiting to hear your voice. His stubbornness kept any apology away from you, even though one accidental meetup in the hall had nearly drawn one out. It was honestly ridiculous, he had nothing to apologise about.

He could apologise just to have you speak to him again… Tsukishima quickly chased away that traitorous thought. It was rare for him to apologise for things that actually required it, let alone for nonsense like this. A simple fact that everybody he complained to seemed to directly refute.

Just apologise. Just apologise. Like he cared enough to do so.

It took him another two months to realise why he minded so much. Why he was still hung up on you despite your supposed non-importance.

He had been walking with Yamaguchi when they passed a flower store, the place having a special on roses for your loved ones. Yamaguchi had decided to get some and for a split second, Tsukishima had touched the petals and considered buying some for you.

He pulled his hand away as though it had been burned.

“Normally you get fifteen for a situation like this.”

He scoffed at Yamaguchi. “You really need to deal with your obsession about this woman.”

Tsukishima didn’t buy fifteen roses but he realised then what it was about you that bothered him so. And he absolutely hated the conclusion that he came to.

He stepped in front of you the next day, drawing your attention to him (though he didn’t know that it rarely left). “Why are you ignoring me?” he asked.

“I’m not?” It sounded like a question, even to you.

Tsukishima wasn’t going to argue with you about it. He just raised an eyebrow and waited for you to sigh and continue.

“I’m just… I…”

“Wow that explains it very well.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “Would it kill you to say something nice?”

“Since when have we ever been nice to each other?” he asked.

Of course you didn’t have an answer for that. You had never been ‘nice’ to each other – at least not in the way most people would consider nice. But the thing was, those moments still came to your memory fondly.

“You know, I always made sure never to actually insult you,” you said.

“I never actually insulted you.”

“Yes, you did,” you pointed out. “You’re constantly pointing out how stupid I am or how uncoordinated I am or whatever!”

“It’s not like I meant them.”

That tripped you up a little. Tsukishima’s height had you looking up at him, his expression entirely unchanged. Why would he have said things that weren’t true? It wasn’t like you had even initiated this entire taunt exchange way back when you had first met. Sure, you had responded but it was his comment on your hair that had gotten to you.

“You didn’t… what?”

Tsukishima stared at you like you were stupid. “It’s not my fault if you choose to take things personally but get over it a bit quicker, would you?”

It wasn’t an apology, not by a long shot, but it was enough to explain something that you couldn’t quite pinpoint yourself. Tsukishima wanted to talk to you. Even if he thought you were being childish, his main problem lay in your sudden silent treatment.

“We’re not friends,” you said.

“No.”

“So why do you care if we’re talking or not?”

He shrugged. “I don’t.”

He did. Of course he did. Part of him wanted to say that but his pride just wouldn’t allow it. Thankfully, the message seemed to get through to you regardless.

“Do you want to go out for lunch?” you offered.

“Why would I ever want to do that?”

You smiled, noticing the small smirk’s appearance on his face. “Tomorrow. At 12.”

“Fine.”

Tsukishima left you standing there, refusing to glance back even if he wanted to. He told himself it was because he didn’t care and it had nothing to do with the uncharacteristic smile on his face.

#haikyuu!!#tsukishima x reader #tsukishima kei

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nagitoandkokichioneshots · 3 years

Text

Kokichi’s fluff alphabet

Mod Mikan: Fluff alphabet is from @mod-sonia-writes-stuff! Keep being awesome, darling! :)

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

-Kokichi gets bored pretty easily, so he likes any acitivity where he’s always on his feet doing something fun with his SO. This can range from a variety of dates in his mind, such as the amusement park, carnival, arcade, even walking in the park!

-Dates with him can get a bit tiring, considering you are always doing something, but nevertheless, they are super fun and full of energy! He’s also a huge man-child, so going shopping to Build-a-bear or pranking your classmates are also on the agenda!

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

-Kokichi adores everything about his SO. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Though, if he had to pick, he’d say their sense of humor and smile. He loves how he can have fun with them and their smile just lights up the whole room!

-He also likes how they wouldn’t change themselves for anyone since he fell in love with the real you! It makes him wanna take down his own walls when you guys are alone

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

-I think Kokichi would be a total sweetheart when it comes to comforting his SO when they’re feeling sad. I believe he has had his fair share of panic attacks in the past and although he didn’t have anyone to comfort him, he knows exactly what to do for his SO. He will never let his SO feel the sadness that he had to face, so his first instinct would be to hug them and pull them onto his lap. He’d shush them gently and try to help them get their breathing under control if they were feeling paranoid and anxious

-After you are calmed down a bit, Kokichi would ask you if you wanna talk about it or not. If you did, he would be listening and full locked into what you were saying. After you were done speaking, he would try his best to cheer you up, telling jokes and putting on your favorite movie. He’d poke your cheeks, cuddle you, tickle fights, anything to see that smile he adores so much!

-If you didn’t wanna talk about it, that is fine too! He would skip right into doing anything to make you smile again!

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

-I believe that it would actually take a long time before Kokichi would consider settling down with his SO. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like he doesn’t want to. A secure future with you is all he ever wants! But there are a few factors that would make him a bit unsure about his vision alongside you

-Deep down, Kokichi is very insecure. It’s a deal of coming to terms that he even deserves to have you. He may be a big talker, but he struggles with his own negative thoughts surrounding himself, and he really yearns of the day where he can come to terms that he deserves someone like you

-He also never had such a deep emotional connection with a single person before. He’s very inexperienced in the romance department, let alone, friendship even! He’s not sure if this would even last, since everyone ends up hating or leaving him in the end. It would take a while before he would feel confident that you want to stay by his side

-He also doesn’t want you to get hurt. His organization may just be a small group of harmless pranksters, but DICE has gotten into some serious trouble before. Kokichi will protect you with his life, but in the event that he fails to, he would never forgive himself if something bad happened to you because of him

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

-It would appear like Kokichi is mostly dominant in the relationship. He looks like he’s the one who makes a lot of decisions in the relationship, ranging from date nights, milestones, anniversaries, and even planning out surprises between him and his SO. While he may take control a lot, he really does this to make sure that he can spoil his SO like they deserve. He’s very calculating and plans everything to every small detail, so he’s very confident in his ideas. He will deny that he’s spoiling them, but trust me, honey--he is!

-Of course, Kokichi would never do anything if it made his SO uncomfortable. He always asks for consent if he has a seed of doubt in the back of his mind that his SO would be against. However, it’s pretty rare that he would ask them if they were okay, since he’s certain of himself that he knows his SO very well. He also wouldn’t ask consent of surprises, since well--it’s a surprise!

-Despite being the dominant one, Kokichi is totally open to what you wanna do as well. He’s always ready to hear your thoughts and input on dates. He would make teasing comments, calling your ideas ‘cheesy’ or ‘lame’ but he would still do them anyway. He complains and says “He was forced to do this” but don’t worry, darling--he loves doing pretty much anything with you and loves your ideas ;)

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

-Kokichi is a huge brat and a literal embodiment of a man-child. But when he fights with his SO, it’s an even bigger nightmare. He wouldn’t even try to lie, he would be so open about how he feels and just blurt out whatever was on his mind. He would aggravate the situation even more than necessary, causing a full-blown fight to break out. Kokichi may be self aware, but when he gets emotional, he won’t even try to hold anything back

-However, Kokichi loves you so so so much. There is no way he can stay mad at you forever! However, I think him forgiving his SO would depend entirely on what the fight was about. If it was a petty, lover’s squabble, he would forgive his SO with ease, calling/texting them saying they have to talk. If they refuse to talk to him, he would even show up at their house ready to apologize. If that doesn’t work, hell-he’ll get DICE to kidnap you and bring you to his office!

-He’s super stubborn when it comes to you not giving him attention, and when it comes to fighting you, he will forgive you super easily. You’re his weak spot, and it pains him to see you so upset at him because of something stupid he said/did

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

-Kokichi is extremely grateful for his SO! He covers up his gratitude by saying that they ‘ruined’ him in a sense, but it’s all in good intent: He went from a feared and hated evil dictator, to a huge softie and cuddle bug at night! You taught him what love was and how to feel it. You brought light into his dark life. It’s even safe to say that you are is everything

-He will always show his gratitude instead, by planning fun date nights, spontaneous surprises, and romantic cuddle sessions. He always covers up his lovey-dovey nature by teasing or even saying his signature line “It’s a lie!” by we all know he’s lying about lying--he absolutely loves you to death and his intense actions show it!

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

-It would depend on how deep the relationship is. At first, he would be pretty reserved and wouldn’t really talk about his feelings at first. He would boast about really anything he would deem ‘proud of’ and tease his SO with ‘lies’, sometimes being true, sometimes just being flat out playful banter. He wouldn’t really open up at first, but he would definitely try for you

-Kokichi will never admit this, but he does wanna better himself for you. After all, you’re such an important person in his life! You’re the only person that can wrap him around your finger and he hella loves it! Over time, I feel like he would break down his walls and open up a bit. It would take a while and with some effort, he would drop his facade with you and be more genuine and honest with you. Be patient, honey. He’s really trying!

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

-As said before, you ruined him! It may only be with you, but he has learned to be more open and sincere about his feelings and reactions. He kept up his ‘evil supreme leader’ act for so long, practically being used to people hating him. But you were special to him, since you don’t hate him like everyone else did. He would certainly learn to be more honest with you around, and he eventually grows to be a very wholesome lover

-Another secret Kokichi will never admit is that you turned him into a huge sweetheart. He’s ‘gone soft’ because of you and even shows a hidden hopeless romantic side to himself. With Kokichi being....well Kokichi, he will hide his thoughtfulness and selflessness with playful banter and teasing, or even call it a ‘lie’ but with time, he will take off that mask and be genuine more often. He obviously won’t stop teasing completely, since it’s a huge part of who he is, but he really does wanna be good enough for you

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

-Kokichi is prone to get very possessive towards his lover. He doesn’t like it when another man even touches you. Even seeing someone else’s eyes wander all over you in an attractive manner makes his blood boil. It’s actually pretty easy to get him jealous, but admitting it is a whole different story

-Kokichi acting on his jealously can go two ways:

1) He silently glares daggers at the guy until he leaves. Later, he will deny that he was ever jealous and won't admit it. He feels like being jealous shows vulnerability, and he doesn’t wanna seem weak. This would especially be prominent in the beginning of the relationship

2) He will annoy the S H I T outta the guy and cling onto you like a koala. When you guys get home, he will kiss you like there is no tomorrow and will get (even more) clingy than usual. This would usually be the option if you guys were dating for a long time and Kokichi was in the middle of coming to terms that you weren’t leaving him and it was okay to be honest with someone he trusts--you!

Either way, both options will end in the dude getting pranked for life

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

-Kokichi’s kisses at first are very inexperienced. He never had a close emotional connection with someone, so it’s all super new to him. He may take initiative a lot, but he wants everything in this relationship to be perfect, so he would back out on kissing for a bit before he would plan out how to make it special

-After some thinking, he would just be like ‘fuck it’ and kiss you at such a random and unexpected time. Kokichi’s kisses are like him--spontaneous, unpredictable, and random! He’s super quick with his kisses and LOVES to peck your cheek, forehead, hand, and even neck to get a cute reaction from you. But he’s also a big fan of making out when he has the chance

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

-Kokichi wouldn’t just fall in love with anyone. It would have to be someone that he already has a close connection with. He would be most likely to fall in love with someone he considers a close friend to him. It would take some time, but patience is key

-When Kokichi starts to feel romantic attraction to his now crush, he starts to distance himself a lot. Romantic feelings are all so new to him, and he's very inexperienced when it comes to close relationships. He has only told Kaito and Shuichi, a bit reluctant to receive help from Kaito. They start to coach him, or in Kaito's terms, 'man him up'. It took help from both men to finally aid Kokichi into confessing to his crush, making sure that they knew he was totally honest in his confession

-The week before the confession, Kokichi said that he'd be in his room and lab more often, because of an upcoming 'test' in Friday. Little did (Y/N) know that their devious friend was reading romance novels and watching youtube videos on 'how to be a good boyfriend' Kokichi wasn't really one to care about tests, so what exactly was this quiz about that he was 'studying' so hard for? When they went to ask Kaito about it, he just chuckled and ruffled their hair

"Don't worry about it, (Y/N)! Kokichi will tell you on Friday!"

-Friday came and the pair finally met up at the gym. With a bouquet of flowers in his hand, he asked--er, demanded--the question

"Date me! You can’t say no to an awesome supreme leader like me!”

-I feel like at first, they would believe it’s just another one of his jokes, lies, or pranks. Kokichi would be heartbroken on the inside, but he would play it off as a joke that “Nishishi~! You got me!” and run away, trying to hide his embarrassment. It would take time, and some more help from Shuichi and Kaito, but after reassuring them that it was a genuine question, Y/N would hesitate before agreeing to go out with Kokichi

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

-This really ties in with his ‘D-Dream” category. While he really does want a future with you, it would take some time to even consider making it a reality. He would have to establish a very close and deep connection with you and be sure that you aren’t going to leave him. He also needs to come to terms that he actually deserves you and that you won’t get hurt because of him

-Somedays, Kokichi would be lost in thought, considering the possibility of marriage. With time, he’d definitely talk about it with having a future with his SO, but he wouldn’t say the actual words ‘marriage’ or anything related to it. While he may play it off as a joke at the end, he really does mean every word he says

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

-Loves to call you any pet names that makes you all flustered and blushy. While he loves to tease you, he also likes to incorporate his dark and evil persona along with his nicknames for you. Would cycle between “My dear” and “My sweet(heart)”. He will even add a ‘my precious’ or ‘my darling’ before calling your name, making you blush in public. Would use “My queen/king/liege’ sparingly at first, but gradually, it becomes a regular pet name

-If it was a time where he was serious and teasing/playful banter had no room in this grave and heavy conversation, he would call you ‘Angel’

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

-Kokichi keeps a poker face on when it’s just him and his other classmates. When you aren’t around, he carries on with his day like it’s nothing new, and just annoys and causes trouble, ya know, the usual “Kokichi” stuff

-Deep down, you are always on his mind. You filled his head with nothing but you, you, and you! He loves you so much and while it may not be visibly present just by looking at him, he’s great at bottling up his emotions. He will never let anyone see such a weak and vulnerable side of him

-When you are with him though, he would be ALL over you! He has crackhead energy and loves to just be a personal koala when you are around. He will be very clingy physically and love to show you off any chance he gets, even if it’s clear as daylight to the others that you are in a relationship. And making the others all annoyed by his PDA is a bonus!

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

-As said before, Kokichi is ALL! OVER! YOU! It’s motherfucking Kokichi, he will show off anything: You not being an exception! He’s not into hand-holding that much, believing it’s ‘too weak’ between couples that love each other. He wouldn’t be shy about straight up hugging you, kissing your lips, resting his head on your shoulder, and swinging his arm around you. He will always have some way of touching you and he likes the feeling of your skin against him. It assures him that you’re real--that you aren’t going to leave him

-He also loves to compliment you and make you all flustered with his words. He would brag about you in front of all the others, you just standing next to him all red in the face. You W I L L be called at least one nickname in public!

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship

-Kokichi is a very detailed-oriented planner and hyper intelligent. When he plans date, he always makes sure that everything will be perfect and guarantees that you will have a blast with him! He also doesn’t wanna have a boring time with you and wants to be entertained, as well as wanting the same for you. If you guys are going on a date planned by him, there is always a 100% chance that you will have fun and a good time

-Overall, he’s very good and skilled at planning dates, promising you a great time with him!

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

-It’s really a mix of cliché and creative. While Kokichi has his own way of doing things and will whatever he wants, whenever he wants, he also tries a lot in the relationship to keep you happy. He would go to the depth of hell for you, and while he may just seem like an annoying brat who whines for attention on the surface, you have absolutely no idea what he is capable of when it comes to his beloved

-He blends the two really well, being romantic and creative at the same time. He’s unique with his way of showing love, however he’s fluent in many love languages, whether it would be acts of service, physical affection, or praises. He’s a fan of cuddles, but would tickle you and kiss your neck sweetly while he cradles you in his arms. He would plan adventurous date nights, but add his own twist and spice into it as well ;)

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

-Look....Kokichi is a shithead. But he’s a shithead that cares. He is extremely supportive in what you do and will never lie about his feelings towards something so important, as in you following you dreams. He would make little playful and mischievous comments calling your dream “cliché” or “lame”, but he will always be here if you ever need help

-Will do everything in his power to make sure that you are on the right track towards achieving your goals. He will fight tooth and nail for you and what you want. You mean everything to him and seeing you so happy in achieving your goals is rewarding to the both of you

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

-At the beginning of the relationship, Kokichi would constantly be trying new things with you, dragging you to different places and even pranking people just cause! Kokichi has a habit of being bored quickly, so he would always be trying out new things and is open to new suggestions

-Overtime, he would settle into a routine with you. Of course, he’s open to surprises and loves spontaneous, uninvited events to spice things up, but he would fall into doing certain things with you and making a habit out of them. Waking up next to you and falling asleep with you doesn’t sound too bad. Cuddle sessions after work? Going out for a midnight run at McDonald’s when you can’t sleep? Sounds like a plan to him! When he’s with you, he doesn’t fall into boredom easily, because you’re far from a boring person to him

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

-He knows you probably better than you know yourself! Kokichi is observant, aware, and hyper intelligent. Seeing how your eyes sparkle when you see something you like, or how your lip twitches into a slight, nearly invisible frown when you see something you hate, he will take mental notes. You’re basically going to love anything he gifts you or dates that he came up with, since he’s always putting your thoughts into account. He does everything for you and is one of the most selfless partners you will find. You may even call him wholesome when it comes to his SO

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

-His relationship with his SO is very important to him and is probably the most valuable thing in his life, along with DICE. He will never chose between the two, since he cares deeply about both his families. Ya know how his motive video was DICE? You could’ve easily been his motive video if you guys were together prior to the killing game, since you are really the most important person in his life

-It’s clear that he has a strong biased towards you, since he rarely insults you and his pranks and teasing regarding you are much more toned down than it is with his classmates. He plays less pranks on you and makes you more of his partner in crime

-Overall, you are his guardian angel, his whole world, his everything. He loves you very much, it’s actually quite concerning the lengths he would go for you. He’d never do anything violent though, since his organization has a policy against killing, but rather manipulate and work on a crafty, sneaky plan if it would benefit you in the end. He would literally, and I mean--LITERALLY- do almost anything for you

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon

-Kokichi has written love letters addressed to his SO, expressing his real and true feelings about them. However, he always backs out on giving them the letters, not wanting to seem like he’s getting attached too fast or that it’s cheesy and not very ‘evil supreme leader’ like of him. He keeps the love letters in a box locked in a drawer underneath his desk. When he’s alone, he’d take the letters out, re reading them with a smile on his face. He always writing new ones, but never gives them to you because of his own insecurities and clashing thoughts. Unless, one day, you stumble upon it somehow, they’re really just collecting dust inside his desk

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

-Kokichi is a HUGE fan of affection. He’s big on PDA and loves to show you off to all his classmates and even his DICE members. He absolutely has no shame and his hands are ALL over you! Behind closed doors or even in public, he will never deny a chance to cuddle, kiss, hug, or just show you how much he loves you

-He’s so affectionate, it may come off as possessive or borderline obsession sometimes. But he can’t help it! You’re an angel and someone better is bound to sweep you off your feet! He wants you all to himself, you’re the only person that was ever there for him, the only person that understands him, the only person he can trust and be real with. You accepted him for being him and for some reason, you claim that you love him

-How can he not love you?

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

-Three words: Annoying his classmates

-If people thought he was annoying from the get-go, Kokichi when he’s away from his partner is a total nightmare. He becomes even more of a shithead, crying and whining for his lover to come back. The tears are real and he won’t fake anything that concerns you, but he would also just loudly complain about how boring it is without you to irritate his classmates even more. Let’s just say that your classmates, especially Shuichi and Kaito, will be E X T R E M L Y grateful when you return. Expect Kokichi to literally run towards you and hug you tightly, commanding you to never leave him again

-Kokichi also texts you and calls you whenever he can, finding anything to talk about just to see that you are okay and still safe. His first thing to do when he wakes up is facetime you. When he’s about to go to sleep, he can’t unless he chats with you and tells you goodnight

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

-Isn’t it strange how the fandom simps for Kokichi, but in every single fanfic he’s the one simping for us? Well....nothing has changed. Kokichi is a deadass simp for his lover. As states previously, he won’t do anything violent. He is a pacifist and doesn’t actually harm people

-Nevertheless, he’s more of a manipulative and scheming type of person. He’s the leader of a group of skilled pranksters, no doubt he would be sending DICE on someone’s ass if they were to hurt or even hit on the supreme leader’s lover! He would also subject someone to a life of emotional/mental pain and misery with an elaborate plan that he’s been thinking about. While Kokichi wouldn’t physical harm anyone, it doesn’t mean he isn’t a dangerous, calculating person

#danganronpa kokichi #kokichi oma #kokichi oma headcannons #kokichi oma x reader #kokichi oma x y/n #kokichi headcanons #kokichi #DRV3 #Kokichi oma drabble #drv3 x reader #danganronpa killing harmony #danganronpa x reader #danganronpa x y/n #danganronpa oneshot #fluff alphabet #Kokichi fluff

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argumentl · 3 years

Text

The Freedom of Expression Ep 58 - [NSFW] The truth behind the DIR EN GERY misprint, and a mysterious voice...

K: Hi, this is Dir en grey's Kaoru, with this week's episode of the Freedom of Expression. Joe, Tasai, welcome...Um..

T: Ah!

J: What is it?

T: No way!

K: Its 'Young Jump'

J: Ah, Young Jump.

K: I think you already know about this, but we put an ad on it like this *shows back page*.

J: Oh, looks great!

T: Yeah, it does. Very impactful.

K: Its good, isn't it?

T: Yeah, great impact.

K: There's something a bit odd about it.

J: Haha

T: Huh? Where?

J: Eh? Something odd?

K: Yeah, its a bit strange. There's a bit of a mistake.

J: Is the kanji for Oboro correct?

K: Yeh, and this is right, about the release on the 28th of April.

J: And Wenesday is correct, right?

K: Yeah, and the explosion screening schedule is ok.

T: Yeah, it is.

K: The ticket price info is also all fine.

J: Yep.

K: After that there's only this bottom section.

J:Yeah.

T: DIR EN...

T, J: GERY, haha.

J: Has a new band formed?

K: We screwed up.

J, T: Hahaha

K: Its hard to believe, right?

J: Incredible. I did not expect this..Dir en gery.

T: I thought it was like a trick or something.

J: Oh, to make it go viral or..?

T: Yeah, going with Dir en gery.

J: Kaoru, what was it?

T: We'll find out about it here.

K: It was a total mistake.

J, T: Hahaha

J: Seriously? Eh? Really?

K: Yeah.

T: Does that mean it was done on a hurry, if its a seroius mistake?

K: Yeah, I guess so.

J: Well, Tasai, you work for a newspaper, and I also work for Rolling Stone, so we understand this, but our work is handed in for checking, you know, proof-reading. And they do spot mistakes, but honestly, I have never seen mistake of this size before.

T: Yeh. This is at the level of 'accident'. However, there is a case for saying that we cannot attack this. What I mean by that is that we too make mistakes.

J: Yes, thats true. There is that. Well, this goes for magazines etc too, but if you do proof-reading within the organization, for example, if the writer writes an article, the editor will proof-read it, and they may intend to, but if everyone is really busy with loads of other work, they will run out of time. Then they will get it checked by an external proof-reader. Even then there are sometimes still typos left over.

T: Yeah, there are.

J: There are, right? Human error happens.

T: Yeah, like if I misspell a name or something, I can correct it on the digital version, but on paper it appears on every copy out there.

J: Yeah..

K: But like this?!

J: Yeah, we say this, but we've never seen a typo this bad. Like, I've mistaken small details in names and stuff before.

K: Yeah, like Young Jump becoming Young JumP, right?

J, T: Yeh, haha.

K: Not like this! *points to 'GERY'*

J: Haha, this is...

*Sound of strange voice occurs in background - On screen text: 'What was that voice?! One more time.. (Clip of strange voice re-plays) No-one during the filming heard this. Its a mystery voice'*

J: Tell us what happened?

T: Yeah, lets ask.

K: Um, we had the design made, and the designer made the regular logo and put it down here in this fixed spot, so it looked as if the logo was done, even though there was a mistake in it. At the time, I wasn't looking at the band name, I was looking at the overall design, and ths impact it had. Like this image of Kyo from RokumaykanGIG. My eyes were drawn to the best parts of the design. It wasn't really designed to emphasize the band name. Its designed to showcase this top part, so I, like, didn't see it. Die didn't even see it, and he normally checks these really carefully. Even if we miss something, he normally spots it straight away.

J: Ah, even Die didn't notice it! ???*1

K: Yeah. We were too busy checking that there were no mistakes in the tour schedule.

J: Yeah.

K: But the information is all correct, so if its just the band name with a mistake, well, maybe its ok.

T: This could become a really rare item in time to come.

J: Yeah, cause there isn't gonna be a misspelling with Dir en grey again after this. That point will be strengthened.

K: Not for a while yeah. A long time ago, we had a single out called 'Filth', and there was a mistake in the title of the song on the cover jacket.

T: Eh? So this is the second time this has happened to you?

K: Well...yeh.

T: Hahaha

K: Well, we occasionally make small mistakes *2, but...

T: This is big.

J: Can I suggest something? Good things come in threes.

K: Ah, terrible.

J: So there will be a third time to come, imagine it, it could be both the title and the band name with a mistake.

T: Hahaha

K: Well, what can I do about it now? If you buy the single 'Filth' even now, its still like that. So filth is spelled f-i-l-h..huh? h-f...um, it's..

T: ..t-h

K: f-i-l-t-h, but the i became f, I mean h. So because there were two h's I realised the mistake. If there really is only one h, it could be that they just made the letters look in that style, but they look the same to me.

T: Ehh? I want to line Filth up next to this magazine.

J: Yeah

J, K: Hahaha

T: Don't you have it here? Filth?

K: We do.

T: Lets put them out together!

K: When I saw this (*Young Jump*) though, well, I thought it was quite rare*3, it could become a talking point. If you take a bad thing in a smooth way, someone will notice, so I thought we could just go with it.

J: Brilliant!

K: And then I posted on Twitter, like 'Ooops'. And that was a photo of the actual magazine, so it really was like 'ooops'.

T: As soon as I saw your Tweet, I was like 'Huh?!' and I went to the convenience store and bought it. haha

J: Well, in that sense it is a rare item

T: Can we decide on the correct reading for this? How would you say it?

K: Ge-ri?

J: Dir en gery (ge-ri).

K: jeri? geri?

J: geri? jeri?

T: gari?

J: Its geri, right? Well, jeri is like..

K: In the basic form its geri, right?

J: Yeah. jeri might have to be 'Gerry' with two r's. Which is best Dir en jeri or Dir en geri?

T: Should we decide? Even though it doesn't really matter.

J: Yeah

J: Dir en geri sounds like a struggling country rock artist or something, haha. Dir en jeri has jellyfish vibes.

T: The official name: Dir en Gery (jeri). haha.

J: I want you guys to do a joke live show as Dir en gery. You could switch parts, like Kaoru, you could be on drums.

K: Ah, but we did kinda do that once, we changed parts on stage. I just made a load of noise.

J: Ahh, so you could do that as Dir en gery somewhere officially and play one song.

T: Ahh, thats a good idea.

J: Do a cover or something.

T: You could do ???*4

K: Er, no. haha.

J: Haha, this will getting bigger and bigger.

T: But I heard recently at the MeguroRokumaykanGIG screening, Kyo said that Toshiya used to play guitar a long time ago.

K: He was playing guitar the first time we saw him playing in a band...well, I don't know if he was playing it, or just waving it around a lot.

T: Yeah, Kyo said the stage was going wild.

K: Yeah, he wasn't playing.

J: So, when you guys switched instruments on stage, what did you do Kaoru?

K: Drums.

J: Oh, drums?

K: Thats the one I wanna try out the most.

J: So if you guys played as Dir en gery, Kaoru, you would be..?

T: Drums?

K:...Nah....*imitates playing the castanets*

J: Tambourine? Oh, castanets? So, it doesn't necessarily have to be the same instruments you play at the moment?

K: Yeah. As long as we play as a proper band.

J: Yeah, so Kyo could play the recorder..

T: Someone could hit the ???*5

J: Yeah, yeah. Oh, that would be good.

*The single Filth gets passed over*

K: I'll just get it out.

*K shows cover jacket to J*

J: Oh, here, right?

K: Can you see, there are two h's.

J: Yes. I see.

*K shows it to T*

J: The first h is a typo?

K: Yeah.

T: Its a bit difficult to spot though.

K: We didn't even notice, we thought it was just the design.

J: Yeah. Put them together now.

*K puts magazine and CD together*

J, T: Hahaha

K: By the way, it was the same person who designed both of these.

J, T: Haha

K: When he saw it he was so pained.

T: Its ok, ???*6

J: Ahh, well, it can't be helped though.

*On screen note: Again? (weird voice appears)*

J: Even if there is a spelling mistake, its conveying the atmosphere that is the main thing.

K: Yeah, thats the emphasis.

J: But on the other hand, you could say that as soon as 'Dir' appears, people recognise it as Dir en grey, even with this kind of misspelling. The name is that well know.

T: Hmm, yeh

K: Hm, well, yeh, if you look at it up to here. But for us, its impossible.

J: Well, I guess yeah. It goes for Rolling Stones too. For example, if the last n in Rolling Stones became an m, you wouldn't immediately spot it. If it came up all of a sudden, you would just think 'Ah, the Stones'. It's that kind of name recognition. You could see it in that way. But I didn't know it was the same designer who did it both times.

K: Our boss was pretty mad about it.

J, T: Hahaha

J: Really? I see.

K: He couldn't believe it.

J: Well, yeah. Its also the most important part.

T: Well, yeah, and cause its already in circulation.

J: Yeah. Well, everyone can keep it as a treasure.

K: Where's Kami?

J: Yeah, isn't he here?

Kami: Oh, Im here, I was just listening the whole time. People make mistakes, right?

T: They do.

Kami: This is just a mistake. So its wrong to point blame.

T, J: Yes.

J: Kami, have you made a mistake recently or something?

Kami: Im always making mistakes, and always getting into trouble.

J, T: Haha

Kami: As soon as you've made a mistake, it hurts, right?

T: Yeah, I know that feeling.

Kami: Yeah.

J: Yeah, the person who made the mistake knows it, you don't have to tell them.

T: Yeah, that hurts the most.

Kami: I bet if you made a mistake like this though, you'd get into big trouble.

T, K: Haha

Kami: I think you really would.

T: Well, heh, yeah. But if even Die overlooked this..its like a demon interferred..

J: Yeah, unbelievable.

K: But, anyway, Im taking it in a good way. Well, I mean, it's not good to take just any old thing in a positive way, but....its a bit like those remarks by Mori that we discussed recently.

J: Oh yeah.

K: Like how to move on with it.

J: Yeah, we can learn from that.

K: Yeah.

*Sound cuts out. On screen note: Suddenly, we were unable to record to voices. Was it linked to that sound we heard earlier?*

K: Um, the sound..

J: It seems as if the sound went off.

T: I wonder whether its to do with what we just talked about?

K: What, like, 'Stop this conversation?'

J: Haha, like from ths designer's perspective...'Please stop it!'

T: Haha, yeah, 'Please!'

J: So, what about the Oboro single?

K: So, we're at the last stage, just the mastering, and a little more discussion, and we're about finished. And then the packaging. Well, there's just a little bit longer till the 28th, about another month.

J: Well, Im looking forward to it.

K: Ok, lets finish here for this week. Thank you.

*On screen note: The voice that no-one, including the staff, heard during recording was recorded into the mic data.*

*1,4,5,6 Couldn't catch

*2, 3 Not entirely sure

To top

#dir en grey #the freedom of expression #tfoe #kaoru #薫

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elizabeethan · 3 years

Text

Steal Away: 2 / 5

When a bank robbery with his brother goes horribly wrong, Killian Jones learns to heal with the help of a fiery blonde who happened to get caught in the crosshairs.

A Modern AU

Based loosely on the movie Hell Or High Water (and so I tag @captainswanmoviemarathon)

Read on Ao3

Read The Rest

Read my Other Stuff

A/N: So this was supposed to be a one shot, but it’s, like, 24k words so I thought it would be best to split it up. I’m probably going to post one part a night for the next week or so, though.

This part is rated T as well, mostly for language and car sickness :) (I’ll let you know when we get to M hehehe)

thank you as usual to @the-darkdragonfly, @donteattheappleshook and @xhookswenchx for letting me ramble about this for weeks, and to Kay for beta-ing <3

~~~~

It happens quickly.

Her sense of humor, her taste in music, the adorable way she snorts when he hits a pothole while she’s sleeping… it’s impossible for him to avoid the feelings that stir in him. It’s almost embarrassing, the speed at which he begins to recognize his feelings, but it’s not as if he plans on sharing them at any point.

The fact is… he likes her. She’s cute, and funny, and undeniably sexy, and he knows that if she wasn’t here, he probably wouldn’t be either. He would’ve been arrested right off the bat, or shot in the bank himself, or drowning in a bottle of rum beside his brother’s grave. If it wasn’t for Emma Swan and her insistence to stay in his life, he wouldn’t be on his way to Maine to pick up the only remaining person in his life who means something.

Although, perhaps that isn’t true, because after a day on the road, he’s discovered that she’s starting to mean something, too.

He doesn’t know enough about her to dignify a crush, but he also isn’t stupid. He knows that he’s infatuated with her. He knows that he’s finding it hard to keep his gaze off of her. He knows that her stunning green eyes play off of the gold of her skin and her hair in such a way that makes his heart race. He knows that, based solely on what she’s told him so far, he’s desperate to know more.

She doesn't have a family. She spent much of her childhood homeless and running away from abusive foster placements. She was abandoned as an infant, left in the woods at only a few hours old. She’s been through hell and back, and she still manages a blinding smile.

Her ex boyfriend is the reason she’s here with him, he thinks. She says that he screwed her over and that she wants nothing more than to get away from him and from the place that reminds her of him, and Killian thinks this all happened at a rather convenient time for her. She told him yesterday, when he was panicking over his brother’s demise, that she could tell that he was there in that bank for a good reason, and he’s taken to assuming that she has a good reason to assume that.

They hardly know each other, and yet he feels as though he’s known her his whole life. He knows so little about her, and yet, he can read her like she’s an open book. The term kindred spirits feels naive, and yet, that’s exactly what they are.

“Are we gonna stop in Chicago?” she asks excitedly as she watches the Welcome to Illinois sign pass them by.

“Definitely not,” he laughs. “It’s far too north for where we’re headed.”

“What, and Maine isn’t?” she snorts, shaking her head and pointing out a bird that flies by. “What’s up there, anyway?”

Immediately, his heart starts racing and his palms start sweating at the thought of telling her the true reason for their trip. It dawns on him that, when they arrive, he would have to tell her anyway, lest he abandon her in town before he arrives at the lawyer’s office.

Of course, Emma has experienced her fair share of abandonment at this point in her life, and while he hardly knows her and shouldn’t care, he wouldn’t dare contribute to the trauma that comes with the feeling of being left behind and forgotten.

Bloody hell.

“You don’t have to tell me,” she says after a long moment of silence.

He clears his throat, drawing his focus back to the highway before him. “It’s alright, love. I just… it’s a sore subject, I suppose.”

“We share a lot of those,” she jokes, smirking at him and making his heart race. More gently, she reasons, “which means you should know by now that I won’t judge you.”

“Aye,” he agrees immediately, because he does know that. “Aye, you’re right. It’s, um… my child.”

He catches her balking, her jaw dropping and then snapping shut in quick succession before he needs to focus back on the road. “You have a kid?”

With a nod, his grip on the steering wheel tightens. This vehicle is better than the last, the clutch not sticking like the one in the truck had, but it’s so small and cramped that he doubts they’ll be able to sleep comfortably in these seats tonight. He’d best pull over soon so that they can find a place to sleep. “I do,” he confirms. “A daughter. She’s eight.”

“How old are you?” she asks in shock.

He narrows his eyes, shifting his gaze to her briefly and suspiciously asking, “how old are you?”

“I asked you first,” she says seriously, as if she truly doesn't want to disclose her age, and he begins to panic. She looks old enough, but the potential that he’s just kidnapped a minor on top of everything else begins to assault his thoughts.

“Please just tell me I didn’t kidnap you,” he begs, his heart racing.

“No,” she rolls her eyes. “I’m 23, and much more mature than you.”

With a sound that’s somewhere between a snort and a sigh of relief, he nods. “Aye, love. I’m sure you are.”

She sits in silence, staring at him expectantly, and he knows that it drives her mad when he smirks and begins to laugh. “Don’t be stupid! Just tell me how old you are!”

“I’m… I’m 31.”

“Oh,” she says, chuckling beside him. “So you’re not that much of a cradle robber. Just a regular old bank robber.”

“Oy!” he shouts in offense, staring at her in shock. “Sensitive subject. And what makes you think I’m trying to rob your... cradle?”

She snorts and shakes her head. “Please. I saw the way you were staring at my ass at that last rest stop.”

She could’ve chosen a more opportune time to say that, perhaps when he wasn’t taking a sip of coffee. It’s rather uncomfortable coming up his nose. “Love,” he says through a cough. “I’m not— that is, I meant not to—”

“It’s fine, Killian,” she tells him, giggling softly and playfully. “A girl likes to feel flattered, especially a girl who feels like a—”

Her jaw snaps shut and her eyes grow wide, the emerald catching the rays of the sun and throwing glints of gold. “Like a what, darling?”

“Like… um, like I could eat everything on the menu at McDonalds. Is it time to stop yet?”

“No,” he laughs, although he finds that he struggles to say no to her and mean it, even after such little time, and he indicates his intent to change lanes and moves towards an exit. “We only stopped for breakfast a few hours ago.”

“Well, I’m starving,” she tells him, shooting him a soft smile. “And if I don’t stretch my legs in a minute, they’re gonna fall off.”

“You need to stretch your legs? Your feet are currently on top of my dashboard. Is that not enough of a stretch?”

“Your dashboard? I’m pretty sure I witnessed you stealing this car.”

“From a scrapyard,” he mumbles, giving her a shy smile as he exits the highway. “What do you want for lunch? Or should I say brunch? It’s barely eleven.”

“We crossed time zones, you ass.”

“What do you want?” he laughs.

She hums playfully, pretending to ponder his question seriously and says, “a prime rib, cooked medium rare, with a side of garlic mashed potatoes. Caramelized onion and mushroom sauce on the steak. And some green beans, for balance.”

Shaking his head and laughing along with her, he says, “chicken nuggets and fries it is, darling.”

~~~~

“You need to pull over,” she says suddenly, breaking almost an hour of silence between them during which he was certain she was asleep. After their early lunch, he decided to keep driving, anticipating that she would take over in a few hours.

“Emma,” he sighs, “we only just stopped two hours ago.”

“I’m not asking,” she demands. “I’m telling you that if you don’t pull over,” she puts her hand over her mouth, her retching and gagging preventing her from saying anything more.

“Jesus,” he mumbles as he pulls into the breakdown lane, barely stopped and still in gear when she thrusts the door open and loses her lunch all over the ground. He can’t ask her if she’s alright because she hasn’t stopped vomiting, so he checks his side mirror and opens his door, walking around the front of the car to meet her. He stands behind the door and places his hand in her hair, massaging her scalp as she shudders violently. “I didn’t realize you were prone to car sickness.”

She groans, shaking her head and resting it against the window at her side. “I think your driving has gotten worse.”

He hums, continuing his ministrations on her scalp as she catches her breath. “Was it the chicken, love? I knew that stuff was crap.”

“No, it’s your crap driving.”

“Do you want to take over, then?”

“No, I want to sleep.”

“Come on out and get some fresh air, would you?” She whimpers as he pulls the door open a bit more, and he takes her hand to help her out and around her sick. “It’s alright, love, come here.”

She breathes deeply as she stands, and only remains in front of him for a moment before she falls forward against his chest and into his arms. “Sorry,” she whispers into his sweatshirts wrapping her arms around his waist and holding herself close to him. “For delaying the trip.”

“You needn’t worry about that, love,” he soothes, and he focuses on moving his hands along her back and hair in the same way she had his. “A few moments while you find your bearings won’t hurt. Are you alright?”

She nods against him, a sound coming from her throat that makes him squeeze her tighter. He can’t stop himself from pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, the need to comfort her interrupting any reasonable thoughts in his head. She whispers, “yeah,” so softly that he kisses her again.

“During lunch I found a small campground that takes cash. It’s only another few hours; can you make it that far? We can use the tent and the camping mat instead of sleeping in the car.”

“Luxurious,” she jokes softly, maintaining her firm embrace around his middle. “That sounds perfect.”

~~~~

She’s relentless in her jokes at his expense as he struggles with the tent. It’s dusk, and there’s a decent canopy of trees above him, and, as she points out often, he’s getting old. He struggles to see the small pieces and determine what goes where, and she’s hardly any help as she sits in the car laughing at him as she claims to be recovering from another spell of car sickness.

“You could try helping me, you know,” he finally mumbles as the structure collapses again and he’s met with her symphonic laughter.

“Need a newer pair of eyes, Captain?” she asks in good humor, standing and bounding towards him confidently. It’s almost miraculous how quickly she’s recovered, and yet her nausea seems to keep coming back.

“Very funny, love. Come and tell me where E connects to G.”

It’s impossible to ignore the way the full moon shines against her hair, almost white in the dim light of the night sky. The gentle waves flow freely as she releases the tie from around her locks, rubbing her palms over her face as she settles into the warm cocoon of the sleeping bag. She gives him a soft, gentle smile as he zips the tent’s opening securely shut, taking his place upon the ground between her and the door. “Where’s yours?” she asks, gesturing down at her sleeping bag and camping mat.

He shrugs and then nods towards her. “Someone stole it.”

Her eyes widen in surprised embarrassment and she asks, “this is yours? What about-- weren’t you and… I mean…”

Smiling as he lies down on his back, he turns his head to face her and says, “I was meant to travel alone, actually.”

Just as he thinks she’s about to match his position and lie back herself, she stirs and begins tugging on the sleeping bag until she’s out of it. She shakes it out in front of herself to straighten it and then feels around in the dark for the zipper, pulling it around the puffy fabric until it’s fully open before her. Turning towards him, she gives him another soft smile and dramatically opens it like a parachute, draping it over the both of them. “There you go,” she says with finality. “We can share.”

“You don’t have to do that, love. It’s summer anyway.”

“We’re sleeping outside, and you're taking a second, unexpected person on your trip across the country, who also happens to frequently demand pit stops. The least I can do is share your sleeping bag with you.”

“Well… thank you, lass. That’s very kind of you.”

“I just can’t part with the mat, sorry. The ground is way too hard.”

He laughs as he turns to his side, silently agreeing with her that the ground is mighty firm as he grimaces. “You can’t spare it for an old man with old bones?”

She shrugs, laughing softly as well as she rolls to her side to face him head on. “You're not that old.”

“So I'm only young when it suits you?”

“I didn’t say you were young.”

He hasn’t laughed this much in years. Before he met her, he hadn’t been so close to a woman in almost a decade. He’s forgotten how soothing the gentle touch of another can be, and he’s been hard pressed to ignore how especially soothing she is, in particular. “You do have quite the sense of humor, love.”

“All in good fun,” she smiles. He catches her gaze shooting down at the hem of the old sleeping bag, her fingers fiddling with some thread that has pulled away from its place. “Will you tell me something?” she asks in a whisper.

“What is it?”

She clears her throat nervously, continuing to avert her eyes from his, and asks, “will you tell me about your daughter?”

With a hum and a sad smile, he bites his bottom lip and nods, the memories of his love flooding back into his mind, as if he’s ever been able to prevent them. “Alice,” he says. “She’s just turned eight a few months ago. I missed her birthday.”

“Why? What happened?”

He notes the way that her fingers continue to play at the loose threads, and he matches her actions just beside her. “I was with my mother; she was dying and had no one else while Liam was in jail. I wanted to bring Alice with me, but… her mother wouldn’t allow it.”

“I’m sorry,” she says immediately. He hears a rustle against the mat her head lies on and lifts his own gaze to meet hers.

“Thank you.”

“When did you see her last, then?”

He gulps over the lump in his throat. “It’s been well over a year.”

She sighs, and he doesn’t think he imagines the minute amount of space that she closes between them. “You must miss her terribly.”

“Aye, I do. Everyday.”

“Is there… I mean, is there a reason it’s been so long? I’m not trying to judge you, I’m sorry, I just—“

“It’s alright, love,” he interrupts, noting the sudden shift in her demeanor as she realizes the nature of her question. “Her mother was rather… controlling, I suppose. I believe she used drugs and alcohol for much of Alice’s early life. I don’t have any reason to believe she used during her pregnancy, but I cared for Alice from birth when Eloise fell off the wagon. I even named her, after my ailing mother. But a few years later, she got clean and started to take over. She took Alice to live with her; became upset when I came around. And eventually, the way she would scream at me when I tried to visit made Alice upset, so I stopped coming around as much.”

She’s quiet for a moment, and he wonders if he’s taken things a bit too far. If he’s opened up to her too much. He fears this for what feels like an eternity as she lies beside him, her warm breath washing over his nose as he thinks the worst. That he’s upset her, that he’s offended her, that he’s made her think of the trauma of being abandoned herself as he describes the way he abandoned his own daughter. And his fears are confirmed when she sniffles softly before him and moves her fingers from the frayed threads to her eyes, wiping tears away.

“Emma,” he whispers into the darkness, “I’m sor--”

“That’s so terrible,” she interrupts sadly, and he bows his head in shame, knowing already that his actions are deplorable. Until she whispers, “I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry… for what?” he asks in shock, speaking almost at full volume, a contrast to their whispering tones.

“You just--” she sniffs once more, “--it’s obvious how badly you want to be in your daughter’s life, and you haven’t been able to. That’s got to be the worst feeling… I can’t even imagine not being allowed to…”

Clearing his throat, he takes a risk by reaching before himself to wipe a tear from her soft cheek with his thumb, almost desperate to comfort her as she has him the entire time he’s known her. “It’s alright, love,” he whispers. “I’m going to get her back, with your help. I wouldn’t be here, on my way to her, if it weren’t for you.”

She sniffles and laughs at the same time, adorably embarrassed at the sound that escapes her, and asks, “what’s changed now? With you and her mom?”

“She died,” he answers simply. If she had begun to relax slightly into his hand, she stiffens at his words. “She relapsed, mixed drugs and alcohol… her body couldn’t handle it.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “That must’ve been hard, too.”

“Not much,” he answers too quickly. She draws her brows together in question and he continues, “I’m sad for Alice; she’s lost her mother. But she never really had her much. Eloise was never a very devout mother. It always seemed like she was in it for the image, or only when it suited her. I don’t think she ever really wanted a child.”

Emma nods gently, the small gap between them getting smaller when a gust of wind shakes the tent and she slides closer to him. “Was she, I mean, was Alice a surprise?”

“Oh, aye, very much so,” he laughs softly. “El and I weren’t ever a couple, we just met at a bar and… well, we were only together once. It was sort of a low point for me.”

“I get that,” she nods again. “Sleeping with the wrong person, I mean. Not that… I mean, not that Alice was a mistake or anything, of course.”

“I know what you mean,” he consoles in a whisper as she again worries that she’s offended him. She should know that she couldn’t possibly say the wrong thing, because despite how short of a time he’s known her, he knows that she can do no wrong in his eyes.

“Will you tell me about her? Like… What was it like when she was a baby? Was it very hard?”

He hums and nods, agreeing, “it was hard, yes; I was mostly alone. But it was so worth it.”

“It was?” she asks softly, almost insecurely and making him narrow his eyes in thought.

She hasn’t told him anything, but he isn’t a fool. He means every word of what he says to her next, and says it in hopes that he can give her solace. “Aye. As hard as life has been, I wouldn't change anything because it’s how I got Alice.”

In a move that surprises him almost as much as it doesn’t, she moves as close to him as she can and tucks her head into his chest, just below his chin, and wraps her arm around his waist. “That’s a good point,” she murmurs into his sweatshirt.

“Are you alright, love?” he asks, accepting her into his embrace and letting his hand run along the length of her spine over her own sweatshirt. He reminds himself that he doesn’t truly know her, so he can’t assume that this isn’t like her, but it feels profound.

She nods against his chest, pulling herself impossibly closer as she seems to seek more warmth and a firmer embrace. “It’s weird,” she starts, her voice muffled. “I barely know you, but it feels like you're my friend.”

“I am your friend,” he agrees with a smile. “And you’re mine. I told you I wouldn’t be here without you.”

“I wouldn’t either.”

“Of course not. I’ve been driving most of the way.”

She snorts, nuzzling her nose into the crook between his neck and his shoulder and squeezing around his waist. “Yeah, that’s why I’ve been puking nonstop.”

“Would you like to drive tomorrow, then?” he laughs.

“Sure.”

“Alright. We’ll need to leave quite early. Just another two days to go, I think.”

“Okay,” she yawns, falling asleep in his arms feeling, he hopes, as safe as he does.

~~~~

Tagging:

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#captain swan #captain swan fanfic #cs ff #captain swan au #modern au #cs ff au #Steal Away #steal away ff #cs fluff #cs angst #eventual smut #hurt/comfort

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headcanontheshitoutofsoulsborne · 3 years

Text

Sekiro Chain 1

Original prompt: Kuro teaches Wolf how to play Shogi. Mun's note: I love how this chain turned out. Everyone did such an amazing job. Please show your apprecation for the characters by checking out their work and consider giving this chain a reblog.

@ghoulsteak

In Kuro’s tower, the summer air is warm and still. The sliding doors stand open to let what breeze there is pass through unimpeded. Sun streams in through the western door, painting a bright square across the tatami. Motes of dust spiral in the light.

Kuro can see Wolf from where he sits reading, a dim figure with only a foot caught in the sun, seated with his back to the opposite wall. It’s easy to forget he’s there, both because Wolf has been present in the corner of Kuro’s eye for a long time now and because being forgettable is a trait the shinobi has carefully cultivated.

He stands now and pads silently across the floor. Time for another inspection, Kuro supposes; another circuit around the tower’s perimeter (cliff side included), another quiet pass among the sun-streaked piles of books in the upper room. Wolf is always conscientious in his checking and rechecking, but today he seems to be wound even tighter than usual. On a day as beautiful as this one, that strikes Kuro as something of a shame.

As Wolf steps back inside from his patrol, Kuro sets down his book. “Wolf,” he calls. The shinobi’s head turns. “Would you like to play shogi with me?”

“I do not know how, my lord.”

“That’s no matter. I can teach you,” Kuro says.

Kuro himself learned from Owl. The old man taught him the game years ago while he lingered at the castle. He kept to himself whether was simply resting between outings or sniffing around amongst the servants and courtiers. Kuro has beaten him only once, and he suspects that the old man threw that game. He is as difficult for Kuro to read as his son is easy.

But still, he offers Wolf the same reason for learning as the Owl gave him. “They say shogi is good for the mind. It helps one practice strategy.” He knows Wolf struggles to justify doing things that don’t reap tangible results. The shinobi’s chief leisure activity, insofar as he can be said to have one, is sleeping. Wolf inclines his head in agreement.

Wolf seats himself across the table, and Kuro begins setting up the board. He explains the rules of the game to him; they’re a lot to take in, but he knows Wolf prides himself on only having to be told something once, and thus does not repeat himself. He listens in silence, nodding from time to time or interjecting with a murmured question, and they begin to play.

A minute and a half passes. Wolf loses.

“Hrm,” he says, brow furrowed. Kuro hides a smile with his sleeve.

“I didn’t think you’d want me to take it easy on you, Wolf,” he says.

A slight shake of the head. “Of course.”

“Again?”

“As you wish, my lord.”

Kuro offers him no advice. He doesn’t want to teach Wolf to play like him; even after three years’ worth of rainy days spent at the board, he suspects his own style is still too much like the Owl’s. He wants to see how Wolf plays shogi.

As they begin again, he watches the shinobi’s expression. Between turns, his gaze darts about the room, quicksilver eyes beneath a stone brow. His attention is divided a dozen different ways. This, rather than his inexperience, is why Kuro beats him again.

“Again?”

“Certainly.”

Perhaps, Kuro thinks, he should ask him to play next in a room with shuttered windows and a single, easily barred door. He can see the roots of Wolf’s technique, the shape of his quick, guarded mind beginning to describe itself upon the board, but he won’t let himself become immersed in the game. Wolf can’t let go of his awareness of the tower’s points of entry and escape, of the distance between the palm of his hand and the hilt of his sword.

Kuro begins to push Wolf’s slow offense back, intending to corner him on his own side of the board. Confident in his advance, he overreaches. Wolf capitalises on the chink revealed in his armour and cuts behind Kuro’s lines. As he finishes his move, he glances up at Kuro.

“Hah!” Kuro sits back in surprise, eyes alight. A hint of a smile runs along the furrows of Wolf’s face, and is gone just as quickly.

“I apologise, Wolf,” he says. “I underestimated you.”

Wolf inclines his head. “It is no matter.”

As the game continues to its close and the game after it begins, Kuro watches Wolf’s hold on his vigilance relax a little more. Perhaps there’s something comforting to him after all about a battle with no stakes, an enemy who wants nothing more than to pass a summer afternoon.

@dragonbasket

@fateoftheundead

“Are you ready, Wolf?”

Sekiro nodded and knelt before the low table across from the young lord, who busied himself shuffling a stack of papers. Kuro’s movements were not that of a studious priest, or a graceful shinobi, but guileless and clumsy like the youth he was.

“Why is this necessary for my mission?”

“Your sentiments are pure and honorable, but the pursuit of knowledge and understanding is just as pure, just as honorable.”

“As you insist. I do not know exactly what it is I do not know.”

***

The Wolf turned his head back and forth, flustered as he had ever been and rarely showed. “As I told the Heir, I do not know what it is I do not know. I… have heard that that is a good place to start. To start knowing.” A snort emerged from the background, amidst the wooden idols.

Emma, the mild doctor, approached, frowning in the direction of the snort. “That is true. Do not be so hard on yourself.” She took a seat. “Please continue.”

Sekiro handed the stack of Kuro’s scrolls to the man seated on the ground, who blinked with wide open eyes at the documents. Fujioka gave the smile of a man retreating from a tiger. “So whaddya need me for, anyway?”

“My letters are insufficient. You are the right choice, despite your grumbling.”

“Fine, fine, some compliment.” Spreading the papers out, he bent his head to the scroll he had selected. “So… I have heard it said, oh monks, that… hmm, I dunno that’s the best way to begin. You’ve got far more wisdom than you know, Wolf, but these doctrineses may be too big a breakfast. Tell me- what scriptures did you learn as a child?”

Sekiro sighed. “I remember very little from before I was orphaned, and once the Owl had adopted me I had very little time for scriptures or doctrines.”

Another scoffing laugh came, and this time it’s owner came closer. The Sculptor rose creakily and made his way over as well, though much less gracefully than the doctor.

“Ahh, these old bones need a stretch anyway. The Owl? Ukonzaemon Usui? One slip of the pen and he would have been a cloud-and-water man. Bah, you’re more a cloud-and-water man than the old fool ever could have been.” He bowed deeply to Fujioka, his wooden left arm almost scraping the floor. “Forgive me, scroll jumbler. Forgive me, Wolf. Please continue.”

“I suppose that I know as much as anyone. Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā?”

Seeing the lost look on his face, the others in the room repeated the simple sutra. “You all know it. I’m gald I knew it as well. Perhaps this is not the correct interpretation, but it has always struck me... gone, gone, everyone gone... What does it mean to be shinobi? If we become one with the shadows, then do we exist at all?”

Fujioka beamed. “Oh, that’s wisdom alright, Wolf! As direct as the 6th Patriarch’s famous verse, and maybe as good.” He looked around sheepishly. “What? I know stuff.”

“Do you know who else had something to say about the Heart of Wisdom?” The Sculptor’s grimace was unreadable. Emma turned to him, but cut him only with the gaze of her eyes. “Master Hakuin! Do you know what he said about our beautiful Heart? Scripture scrolls dug from piles of garbage!”

“Garbage?” Emma’s face at last betrayed a hint of anger.

“Easy, sweet doctor. I mean no offense. We may pare our nails at the foot of a burning lamp, we may polish a brick into a mirror, but these base things are not bad. Simply a glimpse of truth. These,” he said, flinging a gnarled finger past the Heir’s donated stack of scrolls. “are wonderful in their own way, but for a man of my inclinations, I prefer the schematics our Wolf brings back. To build wondrous things!”

“Not from piles of garbage.” Sekiro’s face grew dark as he thought back to where he had found many such scrolls and the like that he’d found, in pockets and pouches, in dark corners used as hiding places, and he thought of the secrets he’d found as well, the deep crimson secrets that lay at the heart of men. And monsters.

“Of course, Wolf. Now, of all the treasures you bring back to our little ryokan... I prefer the sake best.”

“Sake!” Fujioka theatrically covered his face, mimicking the voice of a mortified grandmother. “In the midst of our scripture study! Would that not violate the Fifth Precept?”

“Indeed, indeed, sir, but there is one sin that the Tathagatha held more grave than any violation of the precepts.”

“What is this sin, Sculptor?” Emma’s face had lost all anger and she seemed genuinely curious.

“The disruption of the Sangha! Chaos amongst friends and disciples! Vituperation!” He grinned. “I am an old man. I get cranky when I do not get my sake. And when I get cranky...”

“The next time I find any sake, I will bring it right back. For the Sangha, that is.”

“Make sure you do. My friends, is anyone else cold? Without a little something to warm my belly, I feel every draft.” Without waiting for a response he walked over to the hearth where a few embers struggled to produce rarefied strands of flame. “We’re out of firewood.”

The others ignored him and Fujioka produced another scroll from the pile. “The Hekiganroku... some of these things the Heir sent us are quite advanced. Don’t get me wrong, I find a quality koan to be pleasing on its own merits, but the solution of these... beyond me.” The information broker squinted down at another scroll. “Oooh, ooh. The Heir left a little note in the margin. ‘Master Dogen’s commentary is superb.’ Aha! Dogen.” Fujioka became suddenly excited and turned his squint towards Emma. “Waittaminute...”

“I was indeed apprenticed to Dogen.” A faint smile. “Not the original Dogen. He was centuries ago. How old do you think I am?”

Before the broker could reply, Sekiro piped up. “Doctor, you don’t look a day over 200.” She rewarded him with a widening smile at the quip. She rubbed her hands together.

“It is cold. My Master Dogen would sometimes pretend to be a Zen master and jump out of corners to frighten me. He made a crude kesa out of bandages and covered his hair with a sack to seem bald.” She paused in thought. “I am not sure why.”

“Students must sometimes go along with their master’s teaching, I am sure.” Sekiro nodded.

Fujioka continued. “No offense, Wolf, but I got something here from the Hekiganroku that reminded me of you, and our dear ol’ sculptor. Case 54...” He recited the koan and put the scroll down.

“Yunmen Extends His Hands. I see. But I have only one hand.”

“Between the two of us we have two, Wolf,” called the Sculptor from the background, still puttering noisily among the idols. “Yunmen would slap us well if that were the case.”

Sekiro stood momentarily from where he’d crouched across from Fujioka and stretched his back before sitting again. “I recall some dharma if you forgive my rough understanding.”

“Of course!” The broker smiled in anticipation despite himself.

“Yunmen’s koan reminded me of another great master fond of hitting his disciples. Rinzai! What a fearsome teacher. There are tales that I have heard of his striking pupils to teach a lesson, but his most impressive act was worthy of a shinobi. In the meditation hall, during the most serene meditation, he would appear out of nowhere beside any monks whose minds were wandering, and beat them with a stick!”

“That stick is called the kyosaku and the monks must raise their hands and ask to be struck. It is an efficacious remedy for a sluggish mind.” Emma nodded to Sekiro as she rose as well. “I think I prefer your version, though.” “Aha! A fine Buddha indeed.” The Sculptor appeared with one of his wooden idols, one of surpassing craftsmanship. Without any hesitation he flung the idol onto the fire. The others reacted with a combination of horror and disbelief that led into a general clamor. Sekiro himself adopted a blank expression, as there was certainly a finer point to this act that he did not understand. “Protest all you like, it’s only a statue.”

“Of the Tathagatha. Such shame you bring with your recklessness,” seethed Emma. The sculptor scoffed.

Having recovered from his initial shock, Fujioka looked into the Sculptor’s eyes. “This is something I heard about once. That old pervert Ikkyu once did the same. But...”

“A common error, sir. Not Ikkyu, but Tanka.” He turned to Emma. “Do you mean to say that I burned the Buddha himself? Some relic of the Shaka Nyorai?”

“No, it is simply a wooden statue, but-”

“Simply wood,” he interrupted. “Then you do not mind if I burn another as the night grows colder?”

No one spoke for a long moment.

Fujioka broke the silence. “Ya think maybe we studied enough for the young master? I’d like to know for next time... I mean, if there is a next time... who are the masters you’d wanna hear more from?”

“Let us decide which sage would win in a battle, then!” The Sculptor’s face creased with amusement. “Wolf, who do you think?”

“Rinzai, of course. His stealth and fearsome strikes would take the day.” He turned to Emma. “What would you say, doctor?”

“Eno, the patriarch. His touch could make even the most ephemeral things as immovable as mountains. They say in a distant temple he sits mummified, unmoving but still meditating. True strength.”

“I dunno if the Heir thinks this is appropriate. Says here the Buddha himself specified that this subject is not suitable for the path to enlightenment.” He leaned forward with a sly whisper. “I would be like Dorin. Simple, happy teachings, and could spring through the trees like a monkey. Or a shinobi.”

“My turn,” said the Sculptor. “I am sure of my preference for the toughest master. Eka, Damo’s disciple. A great general before that, a fearsome warrior. To prove his devotion to becoming a student of Damo, he cut off his own arm and presented it to the patriarch, and became a great teacher in his own right. Invincible.”

Sekiro’s intuition prickled at him. He tensed, sensing something akin to danger, but...

The sculptor removed his wooden arm and held it aloft. “Wolf, I’ve seen how well you adapted to my previous arm. Such clever uses of the humble mechanisms I installed. But this thing? What use is it? I carved one arm with the other arm. Eka did not even replace his. So perhaps...” He shivered. “Is it cold in here?”

The sculptor tossed his wooden arm onto the fire.

There was no outcry from the others. Only a shocked silence. The sculptor rubbed the bare spot where his shoulder terminated. “Now, Wolf, about that sake...”

A slight smile. “For the Sangha?”

“For the Sangha.” Another uncomfortable pause, then the Sculptor let loose with a cackle.

In the warmth and light of the fire, the others joined him in laughter as the arm lit the room with its flames. @thefatladysang

@poisonhemloc

The old route to Senpou Temple started in the silvergrass field. Genichiro had never been to the temple, but there was a first time for everything. He needed the Mortal Blade, now, that was held there. The crimson one. The black one was further but much easier to get to, and relatively unguarded- but he didn’t want to risk the black one, the one that would kill Grandfather if he used it too much. Grandfather staying alive was the only reason the Interior Ministry hadn’t fully attacked Ashina. And he didn’t dare hasten the illness’s work before he had the Dragon’s Heritage, true immortality, not the Sediment’s poor version. With the Dragon’s Heritage he could stand up to the Interior Ministry, and win.

Grandfather had obviously thought the Sediment was making him unstable, when he stopped to tell him where he was going. A little part of Genichiro still wondered why he had even taken the time to do that. And wondered why he had come out here, where he had lost against the shinobi for the first time by a hair’s breadth, when the more reliable route to Senpou now ran through the dungeons. He turned to leave-

-and a strange depression in the grass caught his eye.

There was an arm. There was the shinobi’s arm, laying here unrotting. It had been a month, something should have at least tried chewing on it, but it looked as though he had just cut it off.

Some part of him knew why. He waited for the knowledge to work its way to the front of his mind through hazes of red.

The Dragon’s Heritage. The same as Tomoe. And Genichiro remembered a spar between Grandfather and Tomoe, when he was younger, before Takeru had died and Kuro had been born.

Neither of them were trying to be careful, but Isshin was always better at swordplay than Tomoe; xe had shined with archery instead, and taught Genichiro. And Isshin had cut off Tomoe’s right arm, with the same lunge Genichiro had used for the shinobi. And had given Genichiro a look, as Tomoe collapsed, and held the arm next to the stump, and when Tomoe revived it had reattached. And it had been like Isshin had never cut it off.

It must have been due to the Dragon’s Heritage. And now…

The prosthetic Dogen had spent days, months, working on, had been given to the shinobi. Every shinobi trick conceivable could fit in it. It would be better, smarter, to leave this somewhere the man would find it, and have him reattach it and lose the prosthetic and the advantage it gave.

But the rational train of thought was being drowned out by the louder, much more insistent voice that had listened to Orangutan complain, sometimes loudly, every time he was at the castle, about the arm he had lost continuing to hurt. And several soldiers, and samurai, who had also lost limbs and complained about the same thing. He shouldn’t delay any longer though, he needed to be moving. Genichiro grabbed the arm and left for the dungeons.

There was a brazier not far from the entrance, next to the cave Doujun had been reduced to using. Genichiro knocked it over and dropped the arm on top of the coals, watched it smoulder, and then catch when he dumped fabric- Doujun probably brought it over to tend to the stab wounds but they were fine, the Sediment was healing everything- and watched as the arm caught and blazed. He had a lot of things he needed to do but… he could wait, for a few minutes, ignoring Doujun grumbling as he retreated to the little cave and watch the armor distort and melt and the arm reduce to blackened bones before he turned and left for Senpou.

Isshin watched the shinobi nod politely, and stand. He would be after the Crimson Mortal Blade, now, like Genichiro was. He half turned- and tensed up, and grimaced, just for a second, but Isshin saw it. The prosthetic definitely twitched, and his good arm looked like he was going to grab at it for a moment, before he went back to the blank face he always wore.

“Something wrong, Sekiro?” Another little hint of emotion, he did not like that Isshin had seen that and commented on it. Now, would he lie, or admit to it? And which would make that shadow in his eyes worse?

“...Just for a second, my… injury, hurt. More than it has. I… believe I need to talk to Lady Emma.”

“Go then! Emma knows what to do with severed limbs.” Isshin watched him leave, not using the prosthetic’s grappling hook like he had to get here. Not using the prosthetic at all, actually. He would have to ask Emma what had happened. He had not painstakingly arranged for this man to get to Kuro and helped him hone his talent for killing just for his arm to twinge a little and have him give everything up.

Wolf had opened the library window Kuro hadn’t been able to budge as soon as he was back, and talked to Kuro, and now was approaching Emma. He looked tenser than he had, had Isshin given him bad news? And he hesitated for a moment, before seemingly resigning himself.

“Something… happened, to the injury.” Emma fought to keep the shock off her face, Wolf was asking for medical help beyond the gourd? When she went to check in with Isshin would she find him cured, talking to a normal, sane Genichiro?

“Okay. We need to take the prosthetic off anyway, I need to check the bandages. What happened?” Wolf had been keeping his voice quiet; Kuro hopefully was too engrossed in reading to notice, and Emma stayed quiet as well.

“It felt like I touched metal held in a fire, with the cut part of my arm.” Emma frowned, helping him remove the prosthetic and the remainder of the kote, not touching the scarf he was overly protective of. Pain from the missing limb, that happened a lot, and he had said it felt like burning. And pain in the remaining limb, from being cut. Burning in the remaining limb was not normal.

Wolf tensed up when she started unwrapping bandages, too, but that was normal for him. There were clean bandages up here, at least, Emma didn’t want to reuse what she was unwrapping. She should have changed everything when he woke up, but there was no way he would have trusted her enough to let her. Nevermind that she had bandaged the arm in the first place and been changing it while he’d been unconscious, and worried that it never looked like it was healing, just not bleeding as much.

Now it did, it looked… like he had said, like someone had cauterized it. Which was normally what Emma would have done anyway, except the Dragon’s Heritage should have healed it completely.

“You were just talking with Isshin?”

“Yes.”

“...Well, it cauterized itself. I don’t know why. It’s still going to hurt- it might hurt more, for a while. I need you to stay here for a few hours, at least, in case something else happens.”

“I cannot. I have Lord Kuro’s orders to fulfil.” Like he hadn’t asked Emma to check his arm. “I will-”

“Not leave until tomorrow at earliest.” Loud enough Kuro heard, hopefully. “Give your arm some chance to heal, since it’s finally started to.” She ignored the dirty look that flashed across his face for a moment as she placed new bandages and helped replace the remains of the left kote that the prosthetic tied onto.

Kuro walked to the front of the library as Wolf pushed Emma’s hands away and finished tying on the prosthetic himself.

“Wolf, please, if you are in pain the ingredients can wait.” Kuro was frowning, one of his hands was fidgeting with the book he still held. “And you did just duel Genichiro. Everything can wait til tomorrow morning, Wolf.” Kuro was probably too far away to hear a bitten back sigh.

“Of course, my lord.”

Emma had her own quarters at night, and Kuro had blankets in this room and had insisted on giving Wolf one of them; he had insisted on giving Wolf several of them, actually, and it had taken a few minutes of careful discussion before Wolf convinced him not to, but he wouldn’t be budged on Wolf having at least one and continuing to refuse was inviting him to order Wolf to accept more. How much Kuro seemed to care for Wolf- Wolf, who had failed at Hirata, who had spent too long trying to find Kuro and get to Ashina, and then failed again immediately- was. Strange. It must have been because Wolf was the only person left from Hirata, this was not how masters treated their servants. At least Wolf would stay awake if he was here, stay on guard.

And he failed at that, too, jerking awake in the middle of the night, biting his tongue to stop a yell like he had with Isshin, feeling like his missing arm had been crushed. It was still gone. The pain persisted for a few minutes, before fading back to the burning pain he had been trying to tune out. Emma was not being told about this, if she came before he left in the morning; Wolf had a duty to his lord, and he did not want to be delayed again because she thought he couldn’t work through pain.

Genichiro, angrier already than he had been, stomped back down the passageway, snapping at the soldiers he had ordered to keep watch down here to pay attention. Senpou was a waste. The monks were easy enough to kill, not one of them could block a swing from him, but every bridge to the monastery was broken. What was he supposed to do, scale Mt Kongo itself just to get to the main hall?

So the black blade would have to do. Open Gate. The weaker of the blades, sure, but it was enough. It was closer too, easier to get to; why had he even bothered with Senpou Temple? He should have gone straight for it. Yes, Grandfather thought it was tied to his life, but no one really knew, just some shrine maiden twenty years ago wrote a lot of stuff on a scroll to justify keeping the sword. It was all speculation. And it was just in a shrine halfway to Hirata and north. And Dragon’s Heritage or not, it would kill the shinobi for good and Kuro wouldn’t have a choice, and with enough of the generals sharing immortality they would drive off the Interior Ministry.

...Here was the remains of the fire where he’d burned the arm. The bones looked blackened, but still recognizable. Genichiro stamped on them as he passed, splintering them into pieces, and continued out of the dungeons, back out of the castle, before it was light.

#sekiro shadows die twice #fanfiction #fanart #sekiro chain 1

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dadgonedeku · 4 years

Note

Todoroki and kirishima with a s/o who comes back from training with her back and neck sore but she takes care of him and he notice by her actions that she’s not doing well and then he takes care of her

Todoroki + Kirishima taking care of physically exhausted s/o!

❄️~Hi lovely!! I hope these are okay! I apologize it’s so late!! 😭

🔥~SFW & Fem!Reader (fem!pronouns were used!)

🥊~Happy Reading!

Shouto Todoroki❄️🔥

❄️~ Training had been especially rough for the past few days, Aizawa not letting up on pushing you and your classmates beyond your limits.

🔥~ You were exhausted to say the least, as soon as training was over for the day you grabbed your stuff and practically limped to the locker room.

❄️~ Your back was killing you, so much so that you wouldn’t be surprised if you had broken or fractured something. Of course you hadn’t, but it sure felt like it. Every time you stretched or adjusted your posture a shooting pain would radiate through your upper body.

🔥~ Your boyfriend, however, was holding up pretty well. Psh, of course he was, he always did. It was rare when Todoroki got hurt or even exhausted during training. He was one of the strongest in the class, and you were right behind him. For some reason though, today just wasn’t your day.

❄️~ When you exited the locker room holding your costume case you spotted him waiting for you across the hall, typing on his phone leaning up against the plain walls of the school. Since Aizawa was satisfied with everyone’s work for the week, he decided to let you all go back to the dorms early for the weekend. Thank goodness.

🔥~ Your eyes met his and he flashed you a soft smile before tucking his phone into one of his pockets and picking up his own case. You met in the middle of the hallway and walked together. He took your free hand in his gently, and you almost instantly felt a little bit better.

❄️~ “Are you alright s/o?” He asked you curiously, and you only nodded in response. You didn’t want to worry him, if anything you wanted to ask him the same thing. Maybe some sleep and pain medicine would get rid of your back and neck pain. It was a chore to even hold your head up.

🔥~ Of course he could tell you were holding back, in your sparring match against Bakugou you pretty much got thrown all over the place. The force of his explosions almost never failed to send his opponents flying in one way or another. He never held back, especially against girls. You couldn’t help but be kind of grateful for that though, it made you feel tough.

❄️~ “Are you sure?” He asks again, worry lacing his words. Part of you wants to be honest and tell him you’re in pain. It hurts to walk, turn your head, and even stand up straight. You choke it down and swallow your pride, maybe taking care of him will help you feel better.

🔥~ “I’m fine Sho, let’s just head back so I can wrap up those cuts for you.” He barely even had any, and the ones he received in his match were minor, barely even bleeding. He knew something was up. Your posture was stiff and your shoulders were tense. You were walking a little weird too, but of course you always prioritized him over yourself. He couldn’t help but be a little resentful towards your lack of self care. He left it alone though, deciding that fighting you about it now wouldn’t accomplish anything.

❄️~ When the two of you arrived back at the dorms hand in hand, he noticed how you immediately start to head to your dorm instead of talking with the rest of the girls like usual. It had become a little habit of yours to talk with them every other day or so in the common room, but today you just didn’t have the energy. That made him worried, were you okay? Did he do anything wrong?

🔥~ He heads to his own dorm, following you upstairs. It was pure luck your rooms were on the same floor, it made sneaking sleepovers and movie nights easier. “You sure you’re okay s/o?”

❄️~ “Yes Sho, just let me borrow the first aid kit you have.” He responds with a quick okay before opening the door to his dorm, letting you in first before closing the door behind himself. You had grown to have your own little collection of clothes, personal products, etc in his room and honestly, he found it really cute. He notices you struggle to bend down to your backpack to get clothes for yourself. You just wanted to change, all you wanted to do was change, take care of your boyfriend, and sleep. You forced yourself to hold tears back from spilling over as you gave up, your back hurt too much, it was just too much.

🔥~ “S/o? What’s wrong?” He asks, and you break. The pain is overwhelming. You finally crack and tell him everything while trying to massage your aching neck with one hand. He only responds with a frown, making his way over to you and wrapping his arms gently around you. It hurts a little, but you’re instantly met with contrasting warm and cool sensations. It feels so good.

❄️~ “Sit on the edge of the bed, I’m gonna get a heating pad and some medicine from my bag. No objections.” He says bluntly before guiding you over his bed, begrudgingly you sit down best you can and put your face in your hands. Heating pad? Meds? Potential cuddles with your boyfriend? You were all for it, it was almost too good to be true. The only problem, you were still in your uniform and he was already changed, you wanted more comfy clothes.

🔥~ “Sho?” He responds with a hum, and you can almost see the small smile on his features as he digs through his closet. “Can you pass me my bag? I wanna get my comfy clothes so I can change.” He pokes his head from behind one of the doors before asking you to wait a moment. A few moments pass and he walks back over to you. In his arms are the heating pad, one of his hoodies, and a pair of his sweatpants. “These okay?” He asks, and you smile at him as he passes you his clothes and moves to plug the heating pad in, he helps you up and you change as fast as you can in the bathroom.

❄️~ When you come back out he’s already laying down waiting for you, heating pad resting on your side of the bed and a cold water bottle in his hand. It feels like a dream. You walk over to him and he helps you get back into bed, a comforting hand taking yours while the other gently supports the small of your back as you lay down. With a groan you assume the position, and he hands you the water bottle to drink from and a couple of pain pills to swallow.

🔥~ “You did really good today s/o, so please don’t hide things like this from me. I want to take care of you when you need it.” You’re almost in tears on the spot and you can feel the pain is already fading, slowly but surely. You had the best boyfriend ever. You thank him and reach your arms out, a silent request for snuggles. He flashes you another small smile before gently wrapping his arms around you, a cool hand rubbing smooth circles into the back of your neck. He places short kisses on your forehead, telling you how proud he is of you. The nap afterwards is heaven.

Eijirou Kirishima🥊

🥊~ “S/o, are you sure you’re okay? Today’s training was tough and you look really tired.” He asks for the 3rd time, and you just nod your head in response.

🥊~ You were busy patching up a small gash on his shoulder, one he had aquired earlier that afternoon during training. Aizawa had been relentless in his drills for the past couple days, and every night you would tend to Kiri’s cuts and bruises in his bathroom. He never knew about your own though, you didn’t want to worry him.

🥊~ Of all nights to have back and neck pain it had to be this one, and it sucked. It hurt to just keep your head up, but of course you kept it to yourself. Kiri’s physical wounds were worse than your pain right? That’s what you had convinced yourself of anyway.

🥊~ “Almost done Ei, can you pass me the ace bandage on the counter?” You hold out a hand and he nods, taking said bandage in his palm before dropping it accidentally. It rolls to the floor beside you and before he can even apologize you’re bending down to get it.

🥊~ Wrong move.

🥊~ As soon as you turn your body you let out a yelp of pain, tears pricking the corners of your eyes as you rush a hand to support your back. Kirishima is taken off guard, eyes wide and focused on you as he takes your free hand in his.

🥊~ “Babe are you okay? What’s wrong?” A worried gaze comes into view as he pulls you back upright, and you can’t help but fall over and lean your head on his chest. You’re so exhausted, your back and neck hurt like they never have before. All you want to do is lay down and sleep, but Kiri’s shoulder came first.

🥊~ “Sorry, I’m okay. My back just hurts a little.” You groan out, Kirishima bends down really quickly and picks up the bandage. Easy, he did it so easily. Why couldn’t you do it? You both had the same training right? Why was he better off than you? You couldn’t help but be at least a little curious.

🥊~ “You wouldn’t have reacted like that if it was just a little. Come on, let’s go get you some medicine and then we can cuddle.” He gives you a toothy grin before standing up and putting away the bandage.

🥊~ “Ei I’m fine, I promise. Just sit down and-“

🥊~ “Nope, no ifs, ands, or butts. I’m gonna help you and there’s no getting out of it. Come on babe, stand up for me.” He holds out a calloused hand for you to take in your own, and you do, not after rolling your eyes though.

🥊~ “But what about your arm? At least let me-“

🥊~ “I’ll be fine, it stopped bleeding anyways. You’re more important.” He gently ushers you to bed, and thank goodness you’re already in pajamas when you lay down, if you weren’t you didn’t think you ever get back up to change. He asks you to wait a moment before opening his mini fridge, he grabs a water bottle and tosses it onto the bed before heading to his desk drawer.

🥊~ Also known as the snack drawer.

🥊~ Why he had snacks in his desk drawer? You didn’t exactly know, but they always came in handy whenever you would sneak into his room to sleepover.

🥊~ He pulls out a package of your favorite snack before grabbing the water bottle and sitting down next to you. He opens the bottle and urges to drink, setting the snack on your lap for you to open and eat at your leisure.

🥊~ “Drink, you’re exhausted, staying hydrated is important.” Of course he would say something like that, being the fitness geek he is. He was 100% right though, so instead of arguing you just took the bottle and sipped from it.

🥊~ He props your neck up with a couple pillows and you relax against the soft material of the pillow cases. They are cool and soothing against the skin of your neck, and you nearly wallow in the relief.

🥊~ “Feel better babe?” Kirishima asks you with a side smile, he’s laying on his side now, facing you and holding one of your smaller hands in his again. He always knew how to make you feel better, no matter the day. You were eternally grateful.

🥊~ “Much, thank you. You didn’t have to do this you know.” His expression drops at your statement and you pause mid sip. You wonder why his crimson eyes are full of concern again. Did you say something wrong?

🥊~ “Babe, you always take care of me. You deserve the same, not only because you’re my girlfriend but because I love you and I wanna make sure you’re okay. Giving your body rest is important. Besides, taking care of you always makes me happy.” It had been a while since you’d heard him say something so serious, but even so it tugged at your heart strings. You only nodded, closing the water bottle and placing it on the table next to the side of the bed along with the snack. As if on cue he wraps his arms around you and you rest your head on his chest. You almost fall asleep right then and there.

🥊~ “Thank you Ei, I love you too.” He kisses your forehead and rubs gentle circles into your back. The pain has gone down a little, but it still lingers, and you let out a wince when he brings up a couple fingers to touch your neck.

🥊~ “You okay s/o? I can massage your neck too if you want.” He doesn’t even wait for your response, his hands already moving up to your shoulders and beginning to knead them, strong thumbs pressing into the back of your neck. You instantly feel a lot more relief, deciding to go limp in his hold with your arms wrapped around his leg while moving to lay in his lap.

🥊~ “I don’t deserve you Ei.” You say in a sleepy voice, only to be followed by a grunt in response to a flick on your forehead.

🥊~ “Ow! What was that for?”

🥊~ “Shush, don’t even start. We both know that’s a lie. You kicked ass today babe, as you always do. Stop selling yourself short. If anything I don’t deserve you. Now let me take care of you in peace please?” A teasing tone laces his last sentence, causing you to nod and giggle slightly. Luckily he’s probably too worn out to give you a lecture on self worth, he’s always good at making you feel confident.

🥊~ After a while you fall asleep in his lap with a smile on your face, and Kirishima kisses your head a few times before gently laying you back down next to him. He cuddles you in his arms and tucks you in, making sure your body isn’t contorted in any way before nodding off himself.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #mha #fluff #headcanons #kirishima eijirou #kirishima x reader #todoroki x reader #todoroki shouto #gender netural reader

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writeyouin · 3 years

Text

Whirl X Reader – My Human - (COMMISSION)

Commission Request – IDW Whirl X Reader. A relationship that turns from Rocky to Love based off the Human Crewmate story. And some smut at the end please.

Word Count – 1884

A/N – Hey, @cyansadgirl I hope this is exactly what you’re looking for. Thank you so much for commissioning me. Happy holidays.

RATING – M

WARNINGS – NSFW/SMUT

You stood patiently outside Whirl’s hab-suite, playing a game on your communicator whilst ignoring the crashes and roars from inside. Ultra Magnus had just informed Whirl that you were to be his new roommate, and Whirl was not taking it well.

It had actually been Rung’s idea, and he had held a meeting with you, requesting that you be Whirl’s first room-mate aboard the Lost Light. You, as the only human, would benefit from the company, and Whirl in turn would hopefully learn to control his temper with someone so delicate living with him.

Nobody really knew if it was a good idea but you had agreed all the same and now all that was left to do was wait until Whirl had calmed down long enough for you to move in. Finally, Ultra Magnus stepped out, looking as grim as ever. He gave you a curt nod and left without another word, hoping that he wouldn’t have to come and correct Whirl’s behaviour again later.

Picking up your bag with the very few possessions you had, you headed into Whirl’s room, noticing that the area that you were supposed to inhabit had been thoroughly destroyed.

Whirl glared at you, “DON’T THINK YOU’RE STAYING HERE FLESH-BAG. ALL YOUR KIND ARE FRAGGERS.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” You sympathised. “I hope you’ll find that I’m not like that.”

You walked to your destroyed corner, fishing out a torn blanket and a pillow that had somehow survived.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET OUT OR I’LL THROW YOU OUT. YOU THINK YOU CAN STAND UP TO WHIRL? I’M THE TOUGHEST BOT ON THIS FLYING SCRAP-HEAP. I’LL KILL YOU.”

“Yes, I have no doubt to your strength,” You replied calmly, trying to hide your fear at his words; Rung wouldn’t have suggested this if he thought you would get hurt. “But I was thinking maybe you could give me a chance?”

Whirl narrowed his optic, glaring as you pulled the destroyed furniture towards the door, never once asking for help. He considered throwing you out, but Ultra Magnus had already given you the lock-code, so there would be little point unless he barricaded the door.

“Hah, good luck recharging,” Whirl spat spitefully. “I wrecked that stupid bed of yours.”

“I’ll manage fine with what I’ve got.”

Whirl wondered why you were even bothering. It was already clear that he was going to make your life hell but there you were, stubborn as ever. Well then, he would make a delightful little game of it; if he was going to torture you, he might as well enjoy it.

Whirl glowered on his side of the room. He shouldn’t have to be stuck with you, it was all Ring’s fault for even suggesting you move in with him, and those two dumb captains who were clearly too weak to say no to the eyebrowed freak.

No matter how much Whirl destroyed your stuff or how many insults he threw at you, nothing would get rid of you. You always reacted the same way, with a comment on how you hoped things would change and with that loathsome sympathetic smile that made his spark flutter; HE DIDN’T WANT YOUR SYMPATHY, DAMN IT!

Well, he could outlast you no problem, and he would make sure that he was victorious. Whirl looked for every opportunity to break you mentally, knowing that it would be far too easy to damage you physically; he told himself that there would be no challenge in that and that it wouldn’t do him any good anyway. How could he gloat if you were dead?

It was on a day when you were high up on a custom-made window seat that Whirl finally went too far. He’d had an extremely bad day with some arrogant fragger in “Visage’s” and worst of all, he’d had his aft handed to him in front of everybody. It was rare that Whirl was beat in combat, but he had been a little too overcharged to fight off that other mech, and then he had to return to his hab-suite with a bruised ego. Sure enough, you were there, gazing out at the stars and distant planets with a drink in hand; why did you always have to be there?

“Get the frag outta here,” Whirl slurred angrily.

“Whirl,” You gazed at him with sad eyes, “Did something happen? You look ups-”

You gasped as Whirl punched your window seat. He’d only meant to shake you up, or make you trip over. He’d never intended to hurt you, yet as you fell, you instinctively pushed out your hands to protect yourself and instead, your hand crushed your glass. You cried out in pain, glass embedded in your hand.

“Oh frag!” Whirl exclaimed, “WHAT DO I DO?”

He wanted to grab you and rush to med-bay, but he was afraid of hurting you further, so he called First-Aid to come to him instead. Whirl waited outside while you received stitches on your hand. He felt sick, and the common feeling of self-loathing began to consume him, as it usually did when he had regrets. Why was he such a piece of scrap? You hadn’t done anything to hurt him, not that you could. You were actually the nicest person he’d ever met. Why did he always have to destroy everything good in his life? It wasn’t your fault that you were roommates, it was Reng’s and yet there you were, paying the price. Whirl sat down on the floor, pulled his legs into his arms, and waited for the inevitable moment where you would move out and leave him alone once again.

Much to Whirl’s surprise, you didn’t hate him for the pain he’d caused you. In fact, your first concern was to ask him if he was okay. Whirl scoffed and told you not to be so stupid, but he lacked his usual bite. All he wanted to do was make things right, and since you had evidently decided to stay, he supposed he would get that chance.

His optic lingered on your bandaged hand as he made a gruff apology, unable to meet your eyes. Once you accepted his apology, Whirl felt a weight lift off his chassis. He knew he wasn’t out of the woods yet, but he would do everything he could to make it up to you.

From that day on, Whirl made a constant effort to talk to you, even in public, though he acted much tougher when there were others around, only dropping his guard when you were alone. He answered your questions about his life, even when the truth hurt, and slowly but surely, he found himself lowering his defences.

Most of the time, Whirl found that he had come to enjoy your company. He taught you all he knew about making clocks, even though you were completely awful at it. Whirl was glad that he didn’t have a mouth you could see him smiling with; it was just too damn funny when you got your tiny hands stuck in the springs.

It was one night while you were asleep, and Whirl wide awake that he looked over at you, his spark racing. True, you were no Cybertronian but maybe that was a good thing. After all, look at the damage that Cybertronians had knowingly caused, not only against each-other, but towards other innocent planets too. You would never hurt anyone. You were far too kind to. You were sweet, patient, sympathetic, sensitive, and Whirl was in love with you.

His claw rested despondently against his helm. The simple fact of the matter was that Whirl wasn’t good enough for you. He had already hurt you once. What was to stop him from doing so again? Was it selfish to keep you in his life whilst harbouring such feelings? He didn’t believe so; however self-destructive it would be to him, it wouldn’t affect you, so long as he never told you how he felt.

So, Whirl suffered in silence, his spark aching for what he couldn’t have, until the fateful day that you confessed your own blossoming feelings to him.

Whirl couldn’t believe his audials. He stared at you in a stunned silence, struggling to find his voice.

“You… what?” He choked out.

“I love you,” You said calmly, saddened by the knowledge that he probably didn’t feel the same; interspecies love was usually one-sided.

“You- No. Uh-uh. That’s scrap,” he shook his head disbelievingly.

“I know… You don’t have to feel the same back. I just thought it was better to tell you, in case things changed between us. You… You don’t have to keep me as your roommate if you don’t want to. I’ll understand if-”

“NO! YOU DON’T GET IT. I’M WHIRL. I WAS A WRECKER. I WAS NEVER MADE TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP. IF YOU’VE EVER THOUGHT OF ME THAT WAY, THEN YOU’RE EVEN MORE DYSFUNCTIONAL THAN I AM. WHAT THE FRAG IS WRONG WITH YOU THAT YOU WOULD EVEN CONSIDER A MONSTER LIKE ME?”

Whirl abruptly ended his rant at the sight of tears in your eyes; once again, without even trying to, he had hurt you.

“I’m sorry I upset you,” You apologised, leaving Whirl feeling worse than ever when he felt that it should have been him saying sorry.

“I LIKE YOU TOO,” Whirl exploded, lacking eloquence as usual. “I’m no good at this stuff but… we could try talking about this, I guess.”

You cried out Whirl’s name, panting heavily as he thrust into you, working off months of pent up sexual frustration.

For once, Whirl was eerily quiet, his processor overloaded by how tiny, soft, and different you were. He had planned to be gentle with you but seeing you naked beneath him with your cheeks flushed and your head lolling proved to be too much for him. Every time you called out his name, he was reminded just how lucky he was; he couldn’t remember ever being loved, and yet here you were proving that he was worth your affections.

His spike pushed between the wetness of your legs, repeatedly hitting your G-Spot, edging you ever closer to your climax. Your every nerve seemed to tingle, alight with passion. All too soon, you felt yourself clamping around Whirl’s spike.

“Oh God- God- It’s- AH~” You keened as Whirl continued through your climax, completely aroused by your orgasm.

After four more orgasms on your behalf, Whirl finally felt the onset of his own.

“(Y/N), THIS- IS FOR YOU!” He cried out through the static in his vocaliser.

His overload finally hit, filling you up with his transfluid that dripped down your soaked pussy.

Once the two of you had come down from your highs, Whirl swaddled you in a blanket, hooking his arm around you and clutching you into his side.

“This is nice,” You yawned, snuggling into his heat.

“Yeah,” Whirl agreed, having never felt something so intimate. “It really is.”

With that, you both fell into a peaceful silence, safe in each other’s embrace. As you drifted off to sleep, Whirl wondered if he was right to have hopes of a successful relationship. He knew he would talk to Cyclonus about it as soon as he could, but that was a problem for later.

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#whirl #whirl x reader #whirl x fem-reader #idw #tf #transformers #maccadam #the lost light #ll #ultra magnus #commission #reader #reader insert #fanfiction #fanfic #mtmte #more than meets the eye #my human

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bluefuckboy · 3 years

Text

Summer Jasmine ✨

Kiribaku A/B/O (Omegaverse)

Alpha Kirishima and Omega Bakugo

Summary: Bakugo has been a single father for three years, after a one night stand with an unknown Alpha resulted in him becoming pregnant. He has always struggled with being an Omega, but has been successful at hiding his true identity, including now while raising his daughter, Yuki. After an incident at preschool, he is called into a parent teacher conference. But what was supposed to be a simple meeting turns out to be a twist of so called “fate.” Bakugo questions whether the difficult journey he’s endured has led to this Alpha, whose scent is like a peaceful, summer breeze.

I’ll be posting the full fic on AO3 soon. It’s about 10 chapters or so and approximately 15K. The name comes from a song released in 1972 called “Summer Breeze” by Seals & Crofts. I’ll explain more when the full fic is released, but go give it a listen as it’s a good, calming song.

This is the first chapter with a note at the end on how the a/b/o universe is structured for this fic

Trigger Warnings: implications of assault against Omegas (including brief mention of attempted rape), mpreg, mentions of abortion, issues dealing with self-hate and struggles with gender identity in terms of secondary gender of a/b/o, later chapters are nsfw

@slackslumber I’m sorry this turned out to be a light novel

Bakugo glanced up at the plate next to the classroom door.

Kirishima E.

Pre-K

He inhaled and ran a hand through his hair, which he had attempted to tame in vain. It wasn’t his first parent teacher conference. Yuki was an unruly child and was becoming even more so as she got older. This time she had tried to bite the ear of another kid and Bakugo was prepared for another dull lecture from a dull teacher who didn’t know a thing about actually raising kids.

He let the breath he had been holding out and gripped the doorknob, giving it a turn. The room was set up like any normal Pre-K classroom would be. There were little brightly colored chairs in groups, large matts with the letters of the alphabet and numbers adorned the floor and model planets hung from the ceiling.

At the front of the classroom was a large desk at which sat a man with bright red hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail. He was dressed in a nice button up, sans tie, with the top couple buttons undone. Rimmed glasses sat perched atop his nose and he pushed them up with the butt of a pencil as he stared at the stack of papers in front of him.

Bakugo cleared his throat and the man looked up.

“Oh! Sorry,” he got up and went to extend a hand to Bakugo, “I’m Kirishima, you must be Yuki’s dad.”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Bakugo replied, shaking the hand offered to him.

Kirishima was tall and Bakugo opted to stare at his feet clad in worn dress shoes instead of trying to meet the amber eyes of the teacher. Kirishima motioned for Bakugo to take a seat at a chair that had been moved in front of the desk.

Bakugo sat down, crossing his arms out of habit. He tended to keep to himself and that extended to his interactions with other people. He didn’t want to draw any extra attention to himself.

Kirishima seemed to be the complete opposite. It was clear he was well suited for the job he was in. Bakugo could see children’s drawings hung on the wall behind Kirishima. Little stick figures with crude faces. There were a couple that had a character with spiky red scribbled on top of its head. They had shaky letters drawn next to the stick figure that read “Mr. K.”

Kirishima moved the stack of papers to the side, and set his glasses atop it. He gave Bakugo a toothy smile and Bakugo noticed the sharpness of his canines. His brow furrowed and he tensed a bit. He didn’t particularly care for Alphas, so he was usually a little wary around them.

But Kirishima’s eyes were soft and warm. There was a small scar by one of his eyebrows and Bakugo noticed he had the makings of crows feet at the corner of his eyes despite his youthful appearance. They were probably from smiling so wide that he looked almost like a shark.

Kirishima picked up the pencil he had earlier and twirled it as he said, “I hate having meetings like this, so I’m sorry if I seem a little bit unprofessional.”

Bakugo didn’t reply and Kirishima continued, “Yuki is wonderful. She’s very bright for her age and does great with her grades. But she seems, hmm, how do I put this.”

He tapped the pencil against his temple in thought, his bottom lip sucked under his top teeth. His expression turned to concern as he spoke again.

“It feels like Yuki is lashing out, so that’s why I wanted to talk with you.”

Bakugo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he said, “I can make her apologize to that boy and his parents. We had a conversation about using our words and stuff.”

Kirishima waved his hand. “No no it’s not that. Well, it is a part of it. But not the main reason I called you here.”

Kirishima sighed and sat back in his chair. “I care a lot about my students. It’s kinda silly but I think of them as my own kids sometimes. So I want them to do well. But not just in school.”

His cheeks tinged red slightly. “I know it’s not my place to butt in on people’s personal lives, so I apologize if I offend you, but I’m just concerned that this might be something for Yuki that is bigger than the classroom.”

He turned to reach behind him, grabbing a picture off the wall that Bakugo hadn’t noticed during his initial glance at the artwork. Kirishima placed it in front of him and Bakugo looked down at it.

It was a picture of a little stick figure girl with a bright pink bow in her hair. She was standing next to a figure of a man who was holding the black line that was the stick figure girl’s hand. The word “Daddy” had been written next to the figure in legible handwriting that must have been from a TA or something.

The background of the photo was scribbled with a blue sky and green grass, with a little house in the distance. But there was an area that was left blank, a white spot on the other side of the girl. Her little stick hand was surrounded by the white, almost as though she was trying to reach for something. “Yuki” was written in large shaky letters at the bottom of the paper.

Bakugo’s heart clenched as Kirishima spoke softly.

“This was from a week ago. We had draw your family as our art project. I don’t want to pry or assume anything, but when I asked Yuki what the white spot was, it seemed to make her upset.”

Bakugo could feel his cheeks getting hot. He wasn’t sure how to reply. It was obvious that he didn’t have a partner, and being a single parent wasn’t unusual. Rather it was the fact that in their society he wouldn’t be considered Yuki’s father.

Bakugo’s silence made Kirishima redden a bit more and he said, “I’m sorry if this is sore subject. I’m just concerned.”

“It’s fine,” Bakugo spat.

The words came out more defensive than he meant them too and Kirishima’s eyebrows knit together closer with concern. Then he asked the question Bakugo always dreaded he’d hear.

“Can I ask you about Yuki’s mother?”

Bakugo swallowed and tried to compose himself before speaking again.

“I’m raising Yuki on my own. Her mother is…”

He trailed off as his heart started beating faster. He was always so cautious and he knew that he should tell Kirishima to mind his own god damn business. But something about the calmness in Kirishima’s voice and his genuine smile made Bakugo feel like this was a safe space.

He tried to push down the ball of anxiety buzzing in his chest as he gripped the sides of the chair and said quietly, “It’s Yuki’s father, not her mother. I… I’m the one who gave birth to her.”

The admonition seemed to hang in the air and Bakugo hung his head. It shouldn’t be something he was ashamed about. Male Omegas were rare and it was even rarer for one to be able to give birth. They called it a “True Omega” and the odds were about one in a nearly half a million. It was a rarity that was often exploited, which was why Bakugo had kept it secret, even from Yuki when she asked why she didn’t have a mommy like the other kids at the playground.

The classroom was deadly quiet and Bakugo’s adrenaline was nearing the fight or flight stage, but then Kirishima spoke again.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea. But don’t worry, I’m not gonna tell anyone. I care about Yuki a lot, so I promise I won’t make things any more difficult. And if I can help in anyway, I’d be more than happy to.”

The offer caught Bakugo off guard and he finally looked up. Kirishima’s expression was one Bakugo had only seen on the face of characters from the movies he used to watch as a kid. A look that made you feel safe and protected, almost like a knight in shining armor. Kirishima smiled and it felt like a weight had been lifted from Bakugo’s chest. Even the air seemed clearer and he realized his knuckles had turned white from his death grip on the chair.

He let go, but regretted it as his hands started shaking. It felt like he was coming down from a panic attack and he felt the wetness of tears on his cheeks. He flushed from embarrassment and ducked his head into his lap.

It was mortifying, but he couldn’t stop and his whole body trembled as he wrapped his arms round himself. Fat tears were rolling down his cheeks and he wanted to melt into the floor. But suddenly there was an aroma like a summer breeze.

It wrapped around him and as he inhaled shakily his trembling started to stop. His whole body felt like it was being enveloped in a warm embrace from the inside out. It was a comforting, almost faintly familiar scent and he could feel his muscles relax as the tears gradually started to subside.

A tissue appeared in front of him and he realized that Kirishima had come around the desk to kneel beside him. Bakugo reached out a shaky hand to accept the tissue. As he did, the tips of his fingers brushed against Kirishima’s.

It was the briefest of contact, but it felt like little sparks had ignited from where the pads of their fingers had touched. Bakugo looked to see if Kirishima had experienced a similar feeling, but his face was still etched with worry. His hand on the back of the chair did tighten slightly however and Bakugo’s heart rate went up despite not knowing what he was expecting.

But then Kirishima was standing up again, taking the smell of the summer breeze with him. It made Bakugo realize what had happened and he looked at Kirishima with an expression between anger and fear.

“Did you just use pheromones on me?”

A/B/O Universe Notes

Alpha/Omega changes occur at puberty

Secondary sex characteristics manifest. Alphas will go through a growth spurt and will eventually grow their “fangs.” Omegas will have their first heat. Both will begin to emit pheromones and part of growing up is being able to control them. However, thanks to modern medicine, blockers makes it much easier.

70% of the population is Beta

Betas are essentially normal humans. They can procreate with each other and don’t experience a rut or a heat.

20% of the population is Alpha

They are considered a superior form of human. Physically they are usually a bit taller, able to gain muscle very easily, and have lots of stamina.

A unique characteristic of the Alpha are their fangs. They manifest during puberty and are attached to glands in the Alphas mouth. During arousal, while in rut, or even a rush of adrenaline can cause an Alpha’s fangs to descend slightly from the gum line and is referred to as “baring.” The canine teeth are connected directly to the glands and are the sharpest and most prominent, but the lateral incisor will also sharpen slightly during puberty. When an Alpha bares their fangs, the canines will become extremely pronounced. When marking, the fangs are used to puncture the skin and can secrete fluid from the glands in order to mark an Omega.

An Alpha will experience a rut occasionally. During this time they will become fixated on mating and can become irrational. Ruts are sporadic and with the help of blockers, most Alphas are able to avoid rut.

10% of the population is Omega

Generally thought of as the “weakest sex” Omegas are usually smaller in frame and it is hard for them to gain muscle. They can become pregnant regardless of gender, but male Omegas are not common. Impregnating a male Omega is also extremely difficult, unless they are a “True Omega” Most male Omegas are recessive.

The Omega experiences an estrus period, or heat, once a month. It will make them want to breed, same as the Alpha’s rut. Unlike a rut, blockers have no effect on the estrus period. During the estrus, an Omega will become wet, secreting what is referred to as slick, making it easier for an Alpha to enter them. For female Omegas it is secreted vaginally, for male Omegas it is secreted anally. However, male Omegas often produce significantly less slick during the estrus period and the chances of pregnancy are very low.

True Omegas are a phenomenon where the body is fully Omega, regardless of gender. The person will be able to be impregnated easily, even if they are male, and their estrus periods are often more intense. The percentage of True Omegas that have been reported is less than 1%.

Copulation:

Between Betas it’s exactly how it works in regular humans.

Between an Alpha and an Omega there are a few more factors. Pheromones play a part in intercourse, both in initiating and during. Slick makes it very easy for an Alpha to enter an Omega. During intercourse the Alpha is able to “knot” an Omega if significantly aroused, or in rut. Knotting lets the Alpha stay connected to the Omega for an extended period of time. Ejaculation is delayed while the Alpha is knotting. Once knotted, an Alpha will ejaculate numerous times into the Omega. Knotting can last for a few seconds, to over an hour. The physical knot is a gland at the base of an Alpha’s penis that will swell in the Omega, causing them to become stuck together until the Alpha finishes ejaculation or is rendered incapacitated.

Pregnancy

For Betas it is around a normal gestational period of 9 months. For Omegas it is shorter, usually around 4 to 5 months. Children of Omegas tend to be on the smaller side, regardless of the parents genders.

Fated Mates/Pairs

This is regarded as a fantastical idea, but has never been proven as fact or fiction. A fated pair consists of an Alpha and Omega who are so compatible, it’s almost like fate has brought them together. Some claim to have experienced almost a supernatural pull to their partner, but scientists have labeled it the evolution of compatibility making it easier for Alphas and Omegas to select the best mate for them.

#kiribaku #kiribaku au #kiribaku fanfic #kiribaku fanfiction #kiribaku omegaverse #kiribaku abo #krbk #krbk abo #krbk omegaverse #alpha kirishima #omega bakugou

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crimson-mage-02 · 3 years

Text

A True Blessing

Summary: This is my first day prompt for Damirae Week of 2021. Damian and Raven are expecting their new child and were both looking forward to raising their child together and overcome their fears and worries as they got support from their loved ones.

Damian was helping his father with the paper work in his private office while thinking of Raven who was stuck at home, tending to herself and their baby that is growing in her belly. He cannot believe he was going to be a father! He hasn’t told his family yet and was struggling to break out the news to them to the rest of their family and friends.

And on that side note, he and Raven aren’t married yet. He sighed heavily and rubbed his face tiredly. He looked over at a box on his desk and grabbed it, opening seeing a ring with green and purple gemstones. “Damian?”

He gasped softly and put the ring in the drawer and stood up from his chair and grabbed the papers. “Metropolis needs all of the files that you had made, Father.” Damian said quickly looking at his father who had a smirk on his face.

“Damian, you need to stop worry the future and start focusing on the present. I am sure Raven is thinking the same thing, son.” Bruce chuckled at his son as he sat down putting the papers on his desk.

“This was not apart of the plan, Father. We planned to wait for another few years. I must admit I am ecstatic of this news, but….it is too soon.” Damian admitted. The thought of becoming father is terrifying……he doesn’t know what to do or what he can do to help Raven.

“I know. It is difficult at first, but all you need to do is to be there for her. As she has always been by your side. Do you love her?”

“Forever until the day I die.” Damian replied certainly seeing his father smiling brightly.

“Then be with her. Share your hardships with each other. There is no shame in that. Dick and Kori had no problems in raising their daughter even they aren’t married yet. They just needed each other’s support.” Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder.

Damian smiled back with a nod. “Thank you, Father. And I am sorry. I am really trying here to work at your company, but I think…I may not inherit this company after all.”

Bruce smiled in understanding and put his hands together behind his back. “I know. Dick has told me of your dilemma. I understand that, Damian. You have changed for the best. For your friends and for her.”

Damian smiled at his father and stood up straight. “Thank you, Father. I…I really needed that advice. I’ll also look over the report you have then I am done of the day.” Bruce nodded and let him do the rest of his work while he walking out of his office. He smiled at the thought of having a new grandchild or grandchildren.

It was a stressful day for Damian and his father, taking care of the files they needed sorting. The young Wayne sighed deeply and leaned his head back on his chair, looking up at the ceiling while imaging Raven holding their child in her arms, so calm, so loving and nurturing. He was shaking nervously thinking of the moment when he will be holding his own child in his very his hands. He fears he’ll drop his own child and be embarrassed for the rest of his bloody life.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and got it out seeing a text message from his teammates, Garfield and Jaime. I can tell them, right? Maybe a drink for tonight won’t hurt since Rachel is out with Kori babysitting her daughter.

He texted them back and looked at the time seeing his shift was over. He got the things he needed to go home and saw his father talking with Selina. Damian smiled and greeted his soon-to-be stepmother.

“Hello, Damian. I hope you are doing well.” Selina greeted him with a soft smile.

“I have been well. How are you?” Damian asked her while carrying his case.

“Well, the wedding is going smoothly of course, and we need to work on the other types of stuff, like the food, the tables and the colours of the cloths oh, and the flowers.” Selina said, remembering she has to order which flowers she would like to have. “Anyways, enough about the wedding, how are you and Raven? Five years has passed, ready for the next step, big fella?”

Damian chuckled at the thought of him and Raven being together for five years. “We have been well, we have our own apartment and we certainly are taking things slow.” Not forgetting with the fact we are expecting a child.

“Oh how wonderful, but you were leaving the part where you are expecting a child soon.” Selina winked at him. Damian glared at his father who smirked at him. He must’ve told him after their break and after his meeting.

“Yes, we are expecting our first child together.” Damian nodded.

Selina grinned bigger as she patted his shoulder. “Boy, you are working with your father, as a vigilante at age 22. Hmm, does sound hectic.”

“We are not yet married as well. That is the part I am most afraid of.” Damian said, looking away, looked down at the floor.

“Son, you two will be fine. I promise. Everything will work out. You deserve some rest after today. Go have fun with your friends and Raven.” Bruce said softly.

He thanked them and took his leave. He walked down to the carpark, grabbed his keys, and started to drive to the bar where his friends were. He hoped that the night will be much better that he is spending more time with his friends, then after that he could see Rachel at home.

Meanwhile, Rachel and Kori were spending equality time with each other while Mari was playing around, doing her own thing, and behaved very well. “Thanks.” Rachel thanked the Tamarian Princess.

“Of course. I made this special iced chocolate just for you! And for my darling daughter.” Kori smiled lovingly. “Dick is out with the boys and probably Damian.”

“Yeah, he texted me a while ago. He said he’ll come by home late tonight.” Raven smiled at her friend. She also rubbed her stomach, though Kori loved seeing her beaming with excitement. “How does it feel? You being a mother?”

“Oh it is wonderful Raven. It may be nerve wreaking at first, but it is all worth it when you have someone by your side to encourage you.” Kori smiled assuring her friend. “I must tell you Dick was pretty much a mess before she arrived in our lives.”

“I can imagine. But I don’t know what Damian’s reaction might be.” Raven said, looking down at the young girl in front of her, giving her soft toy to hold. She smiled and held it for her as she ran to the kitchen to get something to eat or drink. “She’s a well-behaved little girl.”

“She is. And Dick is such a great father. He comes home early just to see her. And often brings some toys home for her.” Kori chuckled with amusement as she watched her daughter getting a cup of milk for herself and a cookie in her hand. “I am sure Damian will dote on your child.”

“God, I hope that Damian and Dick won’t compete with each other when the baby will arrive.” Raven chuckled nervously as she fidget with her hands, thinking of numerous scenarios where the two brothers will compete one another. It’ll be amusing. But over time, it might be overwhelming for her and Kori. She hoped that she can be a good mother to her heart’s content. She never knew much of raising a child but, Kori had given her advise on raising her newborn baby when the time comes.

Damian has his own doubts and they have been talking about it for a while now. It calms her down that they do talk a lot of things beforehand. She loved how he assures her every time that everything will be fine.

Damian had arrived home in their apartment put his keys on the counter and saw a few books on the table and his girlfriend’s laptop opened. He saw the site was about childbirth and taking care of new born.

“Rachel?” Damian called out to his girlfriend who was out of sight. He put his suitcase on the table, took off his jacket and searched for her in their apartment. He saw Titus was sleeping peacefully on the couch, snoring softly with his chew toy by his side. He walked up the stairs and went in his bedroom seeing Rachel was watching videos of mother’s taking care of their new babies in their arms. Looks filled with love, care, and devotion. He saw how a mother cradled her baby in her arms. Handled with great care. He vowed to be the same with his child and to be able to protect the woman he loves.

“Rachel?”

Rachel turned to see her boyfriend had arrived home from work. “Oh, Damian. Sorry, I was uh, just doing some research.”

“I could see that. I know you are concerned about this, Rachel. You know I will be here for you. No matter what.” Damian assured her, pulling her into a tight hug. “Everything will be fine as long as we have each other.”

“I am just nervous.” Rachel said, hugging him tightly around his neck.

“Nervous? You are never nervous.” Damian raised an eyebrow, wrapping his arm around her waist while his free hand was placed on her belly. But she was rarely showing.

“I uh, we never know what might happen once our child will come. How do we even know I am going to be a good mother?” Rachel asked worriedly.

“Rachel. You will be a great mother and I know it. You have been preparing for this since we found out you are pregnant.” Damian smiled at her softly.

“How about you? Aren’t you afraid? Nervous?” Rachel asked him, caressing his neck.

Damian sighed and kissed her on the lips softly before answering her question while looking into her eyes. “Yes, I am nervous. Terrified in fact, but I have you. And you.” he knelt down to hug her around her belly with a smile, making her laugh.

“Damian, there is barely any bump.” Rachel chuckled.

“I don’t care, I just want to hold our son or daughter. I’ll take good care of you two. I want to be a good father to our child. Even though we aren’t married yet.” Damian realising they’re still in a relationship and not married.

“Well, we all have the time in the world. We’ll have each other, no matter what happens, we be there during our toughest times.” Rachel smiled at him and kissed him on the lips passionately.

“Oh, I am so excited to see my darling niece or nephew. I will absolutely plan all of the playdates in the future for our children.” Kori squealed as Raven chuckled softly while rubbing her belly.

(~)

“So, a Baby Roth-Wayne is on the way now! Not long to go!” Garfield grinned brightly. “How you feeling, bro? Nervous? Excited?”

Damian turned to his friend beside him, holding a glass of beer. He was feeling all kids of emotions inside him and cannot describe how he was feeling of becoming a father. He smiled softly. “I am just nervous and excited. As well as Rachel.”

“I am sure everything will be fine. I know so. If you need any help, we have your back.” Jaime offered, patting his back.

“Yeah, we can babysit your kid so you can have lots of time with your girl.” Connor winked at Damian who rolled his eyes playfully. As great as that sounds, but they are both planning to raise their child first and then possibly get married in the future after a few years. When their first child is ready for another sibling in the family.

“Well, that I do not mind, but we are just focusing on our first child.” Damian said, drinking his beverage.

“So have you thought of names?” Wally asked eating a few food from his plate and drank his beer.

This hit Damian so hard he remembered he hasn’t selected a name for his child with Raven. He groaned softly and rubbed his eyes tiredly. “No, we haven’t. We uh, didn’t think if a name. But we don’t even know the gender yet.”

“I bet it will be a girl. It’ll be nice to see you with a baby girl in your arms.” Garfield teased as he was smacked on the head by him.

“Or a new Wayne baby boy.” Jaime chuckled as he drank his beer. “You could have one boy and one girl. You’ll have one of each!”

“Ooh twins! Now that is more exciting.” Wally laughed wholeheartedly.

“And exhausting to be honest, but still we do not mind if we have twins. It will be a true blessing to have two children.” Damian smiled lovingly and imagined them holding their child in their arms. He thought from the very beginning he would not find anyone until he met Raven when he first came to the Tower. He felt an instant connection with her as soon as he laid eyes on her. he felt an instant connection with his beloved.

“So, any mood swings, cravings surfacing?” Wally asked as he finished the last bit of the chips with a grin seeing there aren’t any left for them to eat. “Sorry. Speedster thing.”

“Quite alright. I’ll be eating with Rachel this evening and she has been craving for a lot of food. She has been driving me crazy with them, but I have to live with that.” Damian chuckled remembering how Rachel was asking for some more food at midnight and he had driven to the nearest store to get what she really craved. He has no complaints at all whatsoever. He wanted to ensure she was looked after.

But one time, he had suffered her enraging moon swings with her powers being out of control. The minute she was all cheery then she was a raging pregnant woman. He was glad he had survived that night. He shuddered at the thought of her using her powers on him and making him sleep on the couch. He noted himself that he’d never anger her ever again.

“Aww, Damian has all softened up. That’s nice!” Garfield teased him. “The first time we saw him he was all grouchy, silent and ignorant runt. Now look at him, he’s all soft, kind, caring and sweet to Raven.”

Damian growled softly as his friends chuckled softly. “May I remind you I did not know how to socialise when I first met you all?”

“Yeah, but Raven has changed you for the better. You have changed because of her. She was a great influence in your life. She loved every part of you. And she never given up on you. She hasn’t at all.” Jaime smiled.

Damian smiled lovingly remembering all of the moments he had shared with her. She is everything to him and he swore to protect her and their child. No matter what. He’ll always be there for her. Through thick and thin. “Yeah, I am glad……that you have found happiness, Damian.” Connor nodded in agreement.

“Thank you, boys. For this heartfelt talk. I must go. I promised Rachel I’d be home early. And by the way, I’ll be paying. It’s my treat. Only this time.” Damian stated with a smirk.

“Alright, thanks.” Wally grinned as he watched his friend paying for their beers and food. “Wow, he is really becoming a father soon. Can you imagine one of us will become a father?”

“Yeah, never imagined they didn’t use protection when they did it.” Jaime chuckled with amusement as the others laughed softly. “But still, it is amazing they have will have their kid soon. Does anyone knows who is the godfather?”

All of the boys all looked at one another until they all shouted. “I CALL GODFATHER!” Then they all argued on who claimed to be the godfather of Damian and Raven’s child. They all were shouting and breaking some of the cups and plates into the bar, causing all of the people looking at the entertainment they were giving them. Later after 20 minutes, they were kicked out of the bar after creating a disturbance.

“Great, this is my favourite bar, I have never been kicked out in my entire life.” Garfield whined with tears rolling down his eyes. “You ruined it, guys.”

“Ugh, let’s just go back to the Tower, we’ll grab more beers on the way home.” Jaime said as he started to walk along the footpath.

(~)

Later that night Damian had arrived in his apartment, opened the door, and looked to the side seeing Raven was cooking some dinner for them but she was eating a piece of a chicken drumstick already. He chuckled softly at the sight of his girlfriend cooking. He took off his jacket and placed his case on the table. He walked towards her slowly and wrapped his arms around and rubbed her stomach with a loving smile. Moved her long hair out of the way and kissed her bare shoulder. “Hello, beloved.”

“Hi. How was your day?” Raven asked kissing his temple with her hand running through his hair.

“It was stressful, I went out for drinks with the boys then it got better when I am home with you and with you.” Damian placed a kiss on her lips before he bent down to kiss her stomach to feel their child. Their child was already kicking like a true little Robin.

“Well, I am making your favourite. Curry. Don’t worry, it’s a little bit spicy.” Raven smiled softly, letting him rub her belly and back to make her feel more relaxed. She always had felt so relaxed whenever he comes home to give her soothing rubs on her back.

“Smells amazing, beloved. How was your day?” Damian asked her.

“Well, I talked to Kori and she wants our child to have play dates with Mar’i in the future. Hope that is alright with you.” Raven replied as she got the rice all ready to go with him helping to get the plates out on their small table. Soon after the baby was born, they might need to find a bigger house for themselves.”

“I am fine as long as Grayson won’t go overboard with this competition of his.” Damian smirked, placing the cutleries on the table along with their plates and bowls. He helped her to get the pot on the center of the table. “I swear he has been listing the things he wanted to do with our child and his own.”

“At least our child will be able to experience to have fun. Unlike us, we…we shared the similar childhood. I want to make sure that our child will have a happy childhood.” Raven hoped as she started to eat her meal.

“I do hope so too. And I was wondering, Rachel.” Damian said, pouring some water for her and himself.

“Yeah?”

“Have your thought of names yet?” Damian asked her while watching her eating mouth full of the curry. She swallowed It softly before she thought of names for their new child. She has been thinking about for it for a very long time. “It’s okay if you haven’t.”

“No, no. I have. If it’s a girl, I want it to be after my mother, Arella.” Raven smiled lovingly as she rubbed her bump while he did the same. “How about you? You thought of any names for a boy?”

“I have not. But I would want the middle name to be Thomas. After my grandfather. On my father’s side.” Damian replied with a smile.

“I was thinking the name Ravian. As the first name.” Raven smiled as she ate her rice curry. “I have been combining our names together and that was the best one so far.”

“Ravian. Sounds wonderful, beloved. I love it. So we have Arella Jade Wayne, Ravian Thomas Wayne. I also have Martha Violet Wayne. Another option for a girl.” Damian smiled, drinking his beer.

“I love it. I love them all, Damian. I cannot wait until we get to see our baby.” Raven smiled lovingly at her boyfriend. “I was trying to brainstorm for another name for a boy. I was thinking Rian.”

Damian hummed as he rubbed his chin. “Sounds like a very strong name. yes, I do suppose we can have that as an option.”

“So, uh, how was talking to your dad? I saw the text that you had talked to him before today with Selina.” Raven said, finishing her meal as she drank her water from her purple cup that was next to her books.

“Ah, yes, he was very supportive. And he has given me very good advice.” Damian sighed softly. “he was also excited to have another grandchild in the family.”

Raven chuckled softly. “Of course and uh, Selina had given us a new bassinet for us. She had given us another one. It’s like she was predicting we’d have twins.”

“It would be nice. One girl and one boy. But tiring to manage two babies all at once. I talked about this with the boys in the bar.” Damian chuckled nervously as Raven knew he would be nervous to raise a child at this young age. “They are all excited to see our child once it he or she is born.”

“I am also excited as well Damian and I cannot wait to be a mother to your child.” Raven caressed his cheek softly. “We will get through this, together.”

“Together.” Damian kissed her on the lips passionately while he placed his hand on her bump feeling his baby kicking softly.

(~)

Months later, all of the Wayne and Kent family had arrived at the hospital along with the Titans were all waiting. Patiently and anxiously. It has been a few hours after Raven had gone into labour. All of them had heard her pained screams.

Then after a few hours, the nurses had come and collected their families. They all went into their private room seeing Raven cradling one baby in her arm with Selina gasping excitedly until she stopped in her tracks to see her stepson was carrying another baby with a purple blanket. She looked between the two as Bruce by her side realised, they had twins.

“Twins?!” Selina exclaimed softly, stroking of the baby’s head.

“The both of us did not know. The doctor had got the ultrasound wrong. We have two beautiful girls.” Damian said, lovingly sitting on the sofa, cradling his youngest twin daughter.

“They both are beautiful. Which one is which?” Bruce asked, softly smiling lovingly at his granddaughter.

Raven had said that the one she was carrying in a light blue blanket is named Arella Jade Wayne and the one her boyfriend was holding is Martha Violet Wayne. Damian turned to his father with a smile and let him carry Martha in his arms. “We both had decided to name her after my grandmother, Father. I do hope it is alright.”

“It is a great choice, son. I am sure she would be so proud.” Bruce smiled, carrying his granddaughter while Raven let Selina carry Arella. “I assume you named her after your mother as well.”

“Yes, I have.” Raven nodded.

“And they are beautiful names. Oh, how they are precious!” Selina kissed her granddaughter on the forehead. She bounced her in her arms lightly with Damian kissing his tired girlfriend on her hospital bed.

“How you feeling beloved?” Damian whispered.

“Tired. But I want to see everyone.” Raven chuckled tiredly. With that being said, their other family and friends have walked in the room quietly and saw their beloved twin daughters. It was a wonderful moment they all had with their loved ones and had vowed to protect, to cherish their moments with their daughters.

#damirae-week #damirae #Damian Wayne #damian x raven #pregnancy #Family Fluff #MY FANFICS #my own writing

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prettytoxicrevolver · 4 years

Text

Short | Colson Baker

Warnings? Swearing and that’s it

Requested? Nah just another one of my late night ideas

Summary: When you stand at a little over 5 feet tall, you need a bit of help grabbing things off of shelves. However, a cute boy comes around to help with that.

Word Count: 1,683

“It should be a crime to be awake this early,” you groan to your coworker as your head drops and she laughs lightly.

“Agreed.”

It was almost eight in the morning and you had already been at work for an hour. While you weren't opposed to working morning shifts, you had become exhausted from the repetition of staying up too late from school work and then waking up at six am for your seven am shifts. But, work was work and you had to do it. Besides, it didn’t take you too long to adjust from working night shifts to morning shifts and the lines were slow so you didn’t do much anyway.

Just as you’re about to tell your coworker about how you could easily curl up in a ball on this register and fall asleep, your manager calls your name. You turn and walk over to the front desk and frown when you see the familiar beer locks in his hand.

“Wanna open beer?” he asks in his too perky voice for 8 am.

“Nope,” you respond but take the box anyway and walk away.

Working as a cashier in a grocery store definitely had its pros and cons. One of the cons was locking and unlocking beer every day. Your store was definitely bougie on the outside but kinda rough when you work there. The beer locks sit at the top of the doors, half of them missing from most of the doors, and can be easily removed by an Allen wrench. Which meant people stole a lot of the time.

See? Rough as hell.

You decide to start at the end that has practically no locks and move your way down, as you go through, you realize you definitely should have brought the step stool with you. Being a little over 5 feet, if you stood on your tiptoes and reached you could barely reach the locks to get them off the doors and catch them in the box.

By the time you’re halfway down the doors, your arms are aching and you’re cursing yourself for not grabbing a step stool. It only gets worse when a cute boy enters the aisle, half watching you struggle as you grab the last few locks. He was tall, like at least a foot taller than you but his shoulders slump from tiredness like yours do in the morning. You smile at the sight.

Colson had no earthly idea as to why he was A: awake this early and B: why he was at a grocery store at this time either. But he was hungry, and needed to grab breakfast stuff for Casie and figured he’d pick up some alcohol while he was here too.

So, when he sees a young girl struggling to pull off the locks so early in the morning he can’t wipe the smile off his face at the sight. He couldn’t help but wonder why they didn’t send a taller worker to do the job as he watches her struggle with a particularly difficult lock but brushes it off. He felt bad for the girl to be honest. It was kind of adorable to watch her try and reach up and grab the locks, practically jumping so they land in the box in her hands. Not only that, but she looked exhausted which Colson totally understood. But it wasn’t an ‘i’m tired don’t fuck with me look’ more of an ‘i’m sleepy and I don’t wanna be here look’. Colson thought it was cute.

By the time you’re at the last lock, your arms are screaming and you sigh when you realize all you have to do is lift the screen over the individual beers and flip the light switch on. However, the light switch was being utterly difficult this morning and you might punch something if you can’t get it.

“Fuck!” you curse, forgetting about the boy in the aisle with you.

His head lifts when he hears you and his smile widens when he sees you trying to reach for something behind the beer that was definitely out of your reach.

“Need some help?” he asks strolling over.

The closer he got, the cuter the girl in uniform became. He could see the bags lining her eyes and he wanted to laugh lightly, knowing the feeling of being nowhere near a morning person and still forcing yourself awake anyway. Her eyes still shone under the fluorescents and he lets himself get lost in them for a second while she answers his question.

“Oh god I’m so sorry,” she apologizes upon realizing he heard her swear. Definitely against company policy in front of customers but since the boy didn’t seem to mind, she wasn’t too embarrassed.

“You’re fine. Can I help?” he asks again, gesturing to whatever she was trying to reach.

“Yes, please. It’s just the light switch at the back.”

As Colson takes a step closer, he realizes how much he truly towers over the girl. She had to be at least a foot shorter than him and he thought it was endearing. He leans over and flips the light switch on before turning back to the girl to see her with a slightly annoyed look on her face.

“Thank you,” she says regardless.

“Anytime,” he winks at her before walking away and she can’t help but smile.

You take the beer locks back to your manager and he tilts his head in confusion when he sees a dumb smile on your face.

“If you ever need me to open beer again, I’m down.”

“You going home first or are you shopping?” Your best friend/coworker asks as you punch in the final numbers at your clock in machine.

“Shopping. My roommate needs some stuff and so do I,” you tell her and she nods.

You head towards the entrance and grab a cart before walking around with your phone out to read through the list of stuff your roommate had texted you for. You weave in and out of the aisles, grabbing her stuff and some stuff for you while occasionally stopping to talk to some of your coworkers from other departments.

The store was slow again today, it was later at night as you had picked up a night shift from someone so you had few people bother you as you walked around. However, your mind wanders to the boy from a day or two ago. You rarely remembered customers that came through considering you probably dealt with hundreds a day but he was different.

Tall, fake blonde, and covered in tattoos you were entranced from the start. He also offered to help you which not even your coworkers will do some times. You thought it was sweet and as you walked you wondered if he lived near the store and would show up again considering you had never seen him before.

Colson had been thinking about going back to the grocery store ever since he saw the cute girl struggling with the beer locks that first day. He never normally did his own grocery shopping but now he wanted to. Hell, he couldn’t even cook all that well except a dish or two and now he suddenly wanted to go grocery shopping for a girl? Wild.

But his curiosity gets the better of him and he heads out again. He hopes she works all hours considering it’s late at night and it’s a possibility she only works mornings or nights, or she’s not there at all. When he arrives, he wanders around, not a plan in his head or an idea of what to buy to make it seem like he actually has a reason to be here.

Your eyes trail over the list again as you make your way over to the soda aisle. Coca-cola was on sale this week and happened to be a favorite of your roommates so you decide to grab some. Just as you reach it though, you groan in annoyance when you realize the last few are pushed all the way to the back of the top shelf. Damn this shortness.

You look left and right to make sure no one can see you before you take a step on top of the bottom shelf and reach blindly up to see if you can grab one of the soda bottles. You feel your hand graze the bottle just barely but not quite before you come back down off the shelves again.

“Shit,” you swear quietly and before you can move again you hear someone laughing. You turn your head and see him again. The same boy who helped you with the beer locks a few days ago.

“I think you should seriously consider keeping a step stool with you at all times,” he jokes.

You cross your arms over your chest and feign hurt. “Listen, I’ve gotten this far in my life,”

“Point made,” he says and raises his hands in surrender.

“Can you help me though?” you ask and the boy smiles so wide it’s radiating through half the store. This time, you’re fully awake to appreciate it and his help.

“What do you need?”

You tell him to grab you a few of the Cokes on the top shelf and he walks over and grabs them with ease. You watch as he does so, his shirt rising slightly to reveal even more tattoos across his back and stomach and you find yourself wanting to see all of them considering they were probably littering his skin.

He places them down in your cart with a smile and you return it.

“You know if you keep coming around like this I won’t need a step stool,” you joke and he laughs. It’s radiant just like his smile and you know you already wanna hear it again.

“That’s true,” he pauses for a second and you watch as he considers his next words. “I’m Colson.”

“(y/n),” you respond. “Mind shopping with me? I think I might need your talents again.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

#machine gun kelly #mgk #kells #colson baker #machine gun kelly imagine #mgk imagine #kells imagine #colson baker imagine #machine gun kelly x reader #mgk x reade #colson baker x reader #imagine #bravebesson

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