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orionremastered · 1 month

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Hybrid/shapeshifter golden tiger reader as a vigilante with batfam? I really love your writing :0

They're so PRETTY how did I not know they existed before???? Also I love shifter fics bc who doesn't

Masterlist

Part Two

Golden

Being a shifter is bad in this day and age, at least until the shifter is mature enough to shift on command. Before then, young shifters can shift with any strong emotion, especially negative ones like anger and fear.

Most shifters mature when they turn into adults, which means they're either taught to become temporary psychopaths or are homeschooled until they're mature enough.

You, like many shifters, were the latter. Now that you're in university and studying biology, living in your own apartment states away from your parents, you're free. So incredibly free.

Free to be you, free to talk to people who interest you, and free to fight the lowly criminals of Goth- wait, what?

It was an accident, you swear. You couldn't bear to hear that poor little girl's blood-curdling screams (you hadn't understood what the phrase meant before, but you sure do now) any longer, so you shifted and almost, but not quite, mauled the man to death.

"Pretty kitty!" she had called you, and from then on you vowed to look after the young kids of Gotham, especially when going to and coming from school as well as at night (if you weren't studying). Sometimes you simply lay in the bushes of a park and watched over the kids as they played on the playground.

They remained your main focus (though you did save others, you mostly watched over the young children) even when the press got wind of the golden tiger shifter vigilante. "Golden" is what they called you, and it was certainly better than other names the press had given vigilantes before.

The local bat population had gotten word of your existence beforehand and had tried to even just get a glimpse of you, but you were too quick. After the press got wind, they amped up their efforts.

You've decidedly had enough of your studying and walked out of your apartment, climbing into the window of an ashy-smelling abandoned building, the charcoal staining your fingers as you moved into the dark to shift.

One could guess what happened to the building, but it didn't have anything to do with a golden tiger climbing out its window on a cool early spring night, the snow thawing slower than usual. There weren't many people on the streets at this hour which you were glad for.

You take your normal route today, going through the less fortunate neighbourhoods where kids are most commonly found. Slushy snow drenches your paws in cold water as you leap onto the next roof and climb down the stairs on the side of the building.

There's a bundle of blankets placed gently into a plastic bucket. You nudge the bundle with your nose gently and when the wailing begins you huff. Another abandoned baby; it's the third one this month. A mother you can't afford a child or is scared for the child's safety when it comes to the father.

Your teeth close around the bucket and you begin carrying the baby to the hospital in Crime Alley, a long trek from where you picked the baby up.

You hear something. Whispers. Your ears rotate to find the source of the sound which would be impossible for a human to hear.

"That's the tiger?"

"No shit," the second voice hisses, much older than the first. "What else could it be? A cow?"

"Whatever," the first one replies. "What do we do? Think that's a baby?"

"Probably. I say we take the baby and bring it to the hospital."

You turn your head to where the sound is coming from, impeccable vision allowing you to see Robin and Red Hood perched on a building above you.

"What about the- how good is a tiger's hearing?"

You do trust these vigilantes but not more than you trust yourself. You flick your tail and continue walking, a few corners from the hospital. The sound of their grappling hooks as the vigilantes follow you are only able to annoy you.

There's the hospital, just at the end of the street. You take no more than two steps before Red Hood steps out in front of you. You aren't surprised as you could hear him the entire time.

"Can I have the baby?" He asks, hand outstretched as he gestures for you to hand it over.

Your eyes narrow and you turn to see Robin behind you.

"It'll be easier for me to get it to the hospital," he explains. "They won't react calmly to a tiger carrying a baby."

He had an unfortunately valid point. The other times where you'd brought a baby into a facility, people freaked out.

Reluctantly, you gently place the bucket on the cold pavement and step back, letting the vigilante pick it up.

As Red Hood takes the baby to the hospital, you turn fully to face Robin. He's short and you reach up to the start of his ribcage.

"You're not an easy tiger to locate," he says. "It takes a few idiots."

You make a sound akin to a laugh, turn your head and vanish into the alleyway beside you.

Robin curses himself for not getting to pat the tiger. He'll be damned if his siblings get to first.

#batfam #batfamily x reader #damian wayne x reader #jason todd x reader #dick grayson x reader #batfamily #tim drake x reader

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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 3 months

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Hey kind of a silly question, but what are the strawhats epithets in japanese? I was especially curious about usopp' GOD title, since it was spelled differently for ener and gan ford in skypeia.

of course! i’ll just do the primary ones here since a few strawhats have had more than one

luffy: 麦わらのルフィ/mugiwara no rufi: mugiwara technically just means ‘straw’, but is understood in-universe universally to be shorthand for ‘straw hat’ (麦わら帽子/mugiwara boushi)

zoro: 海賊狩り/kaizoku-gari: ‘pirate hunter’

nami: 泥棒猫/dorobou-neko: literally ‘thieving cat’

usopp: ゴッド/goddo: ‘god’ transliterated

sanji: 黒足/kuroashi: ‘black leg’ or ‘black foot’ (ashi can mean either ‘leg’ or ‘foot’)

chopper: わたあめ大好き/wataame daisuki: ‘cotton candy/candy floss lover/loving’

robin: 悪魔の子/akuma no ko: ‘demon/devil child’

franky: 鉄人/tetsujin: ‘iron man.’ the pronunciation for this one has also been given as サイボーグ/saibōgu (‘cyborg’), but with the same kanji- i believe it shifted to tetsujin after dressrosa.

brook: ソウルキング/souru kingu: ‘soul king’ transliterated

jinbe: 海侠/kaikyou: this is the one that’s famously difficult to translate. kaikyou (海峡) ordinarily means ‘channel/strait’ like the seafaring term, but in jinbe’s epithet the second kanji has been replaced with 侠, which means ‘chivalrous’ and is used in an honorific/euphemistic way to describe a yakuza member (with the word 任侠/ninkyou).

#one piece #japanese #jonny answers #luffy #zoro #nami #usopp #sanji #chopper #robin #franky #brook #jinbe

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sebuckyverse · 1 year

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for a good time, call [3]

modern!rockstar!eddie munson x fem!reader

series summary: Eddie Munson is a burnt out rockstar, touring the country. When he finds a phone number written on a bathroom wall, he strikes an unusual friendship with a coffee shop barista who has no idea who he is.

warnings: 18+ cussing, f!masturbation, fingering, dirty talk, smoking, flirting, mutual pining, angst, strangers to friends to lovers word count: 3,5k

an: omg guys, here it is! i hope you enjoy. as always, if you like it let me know by reblogging or leaving a comment - it means so much to me!

chapter two ♫ masterlist ♫ askbox

chapter three ♫♪♩·..·

After a beat of silence, the phone went dead. Disappointment creeped into your soul, but you tried to fight it off. Maybe it was an accident, perhaps the connection just cut out. But as the minutes ticked by, you sat on your bed, clutching your phone that silent. Your bedroom door was open and you could see the moon illuminating your worn out sofa in the living room. It was dead silent, just like your phone.

Was this all a scam? Were you being catfished by some lonely elder, or worse, a disgusting perv? Were you that stupid and naïve?

With shaky hands, you placed your phone back on your nightstand, plugging the charger in. You settled back under the covers with your back facing your bedroom window, clutching the blanket under your chin. In the warm cocoon of your sheets, you fell into a restless sleep.

.•♫•♬•

Eddie wasn't better off. He didn't sleep at all that night. He was racking his brain trying to come up with an excuse that could justify his actions. Landing on zero ideas, he gave up at about 4.30am. He kept opening and closing his iMessage app, sometimes just watching the empty text box and other times actually typing something, then deleting it and tossing his phone on the floor.

He was a piece of shit, honestly. He was wired up to call you, he hit the right button, he heard your voice and then he panicked, once again. In those two seconds, your voice was enough to take his breath away. Your voice was quiet but hopeful and he wrecked everything.

Eddie opened the doors to his suite balcony, sitting down on a wicker basket chair and propping his feet on the metal railing. The chilly air was dancing around his hair and bare shoulders, he was only wearing a simple pair of dark sweats, from which fished out his (regular) cigarettes and lit one. He kept looking at the skyline and the city below it, he could see the roof of the arena he would be playing at later that night.

He pondered what type of music you liked, if you would like his stuff. Would you go to a show, cheer him on from the front row? Or would you be the type to wait in the dressing room unbothered, like his ex. What would you say if he asked you to come to one of his shows? They are scheduled to play two shows in New York in two weeks...

Eddie finished his cigarette stepped back into the room, opening the closet where he caught a glimpse of his rosy cheeks on the mirrored doors and putting on a Corroded Coffin hoodie. He stepped to the desk adjacent to the closet and pulled open a small drawer filled with hotel amenities. He found what he was looking for, a blank sheet of paper and a pencil, returning to the balcony where the sunrise was creeping up on the city. He used to do this back in high school, when he was still playing Dungeons & Dragons, drawing different maps and monsters for each session. It almost felt liberating, skimming the ashy tip of the pencil along the paper. He hadn't done anything creative in months, he'd only kept the same routine every day. Maybe it was time to change that. Maybe it was time to stop moping around and improve some things.

.•♫•♬•

''There you go, sir. Have a nice day!'' Robin piped out next to you, handing a middle aged guy in a very expensive looking suit his go-to espresso, to which he didn't even respond to as he kept typing away on his phone. When he was out the door, Robin rolled her eyes and muttered ''Asshole.''

You snorted, grateful for he company and for the fact that the café was pretty busy today, you could use the distraction. You woke up this morning to two text messages, one from your co-worker asking for you to fill in for her today as she had to take her dog to the vet and another was from him. You didn't open his text yet and you couldn't see it from the preview either, because he had sent a photo right after the text, so the screen just said ''Sent a photo.''

You were itching to know what could he have possibly sent, but you purposefully kept your phone at your locker today. Still feeling iffy about the situation, you hadn't mentioned the call thing to Robin, but you did fill her casually in on your texting to which in return you got a confirmation that her and Cherry were indeed now girlfriends.

''Ugh, she asked me after the show - which was amazing, by the way - and I had to say yes. You just can't say no to her,'' she kept babbling while putting a new tray full of frozen croissants to the oven.

You were re-filling the espresso machine with new beans. ''What show was it anyway?''

Robin closed the oven door with her hip while pulling the oven mitts off. ''I don't really remember, coffin something. Cherry loves them, that's why we went. It was real heavy, the singer was pretty cool though, straight from the 80s.''

''What do you mean?'' you asked.

''He had long hair, so he looked like Bon Jovi or something. I mean it was cool, but you don't see that look every day.'' she replied, straightening her apron and greeting another customer who'd just stepped in.

You hummed in response and proceeded to the cash register to take new orders. The day flew by and by the time you only had 20 minutes left, Robin was at the back, emptying the dishwasher and you were counting cash when the door opened again. You vaguely remembered her hair color and her wine red lipgloss, so it wasn't too hard to recognize Cherry when she strolled in.

''Hey, I'm Cherry.''

You accepted her outstretched palm and shook her hand. ''Y/N. Nice to finally meet you, for real this time.''

''Same here,'' she smiled ''Though I feel like I know you already. Robin talks about you a lot and I already know you can't handle more than two drinks.''

''And three tequila shots!'' you returned her smile and Robin came busting out the back, rushing past the counter and throwing her arms around Cherry, pecking her cheek.

''Glad the introductions are over,'' she quipped and turned to Cherry ''missed you, by the way.''

''Gross.'' you joked, which ended up with Robin's apron in your face.

''Ha-ha. Would you mind if-''

Before she could finish her sentence, you dismissed her with a hand swipe. ''Yeah yeah, I can finish up here.''

''You're an angel. You know I'd do the same for you if you weren't single and lonely!'' Robin snickered and you fake gasped, but they were out the door before you could say anything back, waving at you from the outside.

''Idiot.''

You grabbed your things from your locker and closed the café, stepping out onto a golden sunset. You walked along the streets leading to your apartment building, passing a bus stop with a big poster on it, the deep rich colors popping and a guy in the middle of it, clutching a guitar. You recalled your conversation with Robin from earlier. Coffin something, a singer with long hair. The name on the poster said Corroded Coffin and the guy on the poster did seem like he could be from the 80s.

Not thinking much of it, you finally decide to take a look at your phone. Besides the two texts, your breath hitched when you noticed there was a missed call as well, 4 hours ago. You checked out the messages first and opened the photo he had sent. It was a picture of a sketch, what could immediately be recognized as the New York skyline. It was nice too, the lines were sharp, it was pretty detailed too.

7.21am - Kirk ''I'm an asshole and I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, I panicked at the last second. It's a shitty excuse but it's the truth. I'm really sorry, I'd love to talk to you if I could have another chance. I couldn't sleep all night, so I drew this for you as an apology. It's not great, but I hope you accept.''

8.01pm - Kiwi 'It's a great sketch, btw.''

It didn't even take him a second to hit you back.

8.01pm - Kirk ' 'God, I thought you'd blocked me.''

8.02pm - Kiwi ''I'm still thinking about it. I'm convinced you're a catfish.''

8.02pm - Kirk ''I promise I'm not.''

8.02pm - Kiwi ''Okay, prove it.''

8.03pm - Kirk ''How would I do that?''

8.05pm - Kiwi ''I'm sure you can figure it out.''

.•♫•♬•

What the hell was he going to do? He was convinced you had blocked him last night. He sent you the text this morning and for more than 12 hours it was only showing as 'sent.' Not received, not read, nothing. Now reading you thought he was catfishing you, Eddie needed to prove to you that he was real and that he was serious this time.

Without thinking much of it, he dialed your number again and waited as it rang. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder and made his way to the dressing room bathroom, locking himself in to give him some sort of privacy.

The phone kept ringing and ringing. Were you punishing him for not picking up? He wouldn't hold it against you, he kind of deserves it. Besides, Eddie loves a woman who can beat him up.

Finally, after he had already given up hope, the line clicked and he heard your voice again. ''Yes?''

Eddie could also hear cars driving in the background, your breathing was a bit quicker than normal, a little shallow. You were outside somewhere.

''Is this proof enough?'' he asked, barely breathing.

''You could still be some weirdo, but I'll let you off the hook for now. Hi.'' Eddie thought he could hear a smile in your voice.

''Hi,'' he sighed, shoulder relaxing where he was leaning against the door. ''How are you?''

''I'm fine,'' you replied. ''I just got off work, I'm walking home.''

''I thought you had the day off.''

''I did,'' you sighed, some shuffling coming from your side. ''A co-worker asked me to switch, so I did.''

''That's generous of you, are you always this nice?'' Eddie teased.

''You tell me,'' you quipped back, matching his energy right away. He liked that, a lot. He liked you.

''I'd say so. You gave me another shot, though you didn't have to.''

''Don't waste it. I normally don't give second chances.''

Eddie chuckled, ''I won't. Can I ask you something?''

''Shoot,'' you agreed.

''Do you, like.. recognize my voice?'' he cringed. ''It's a silly thing to ask, 'm sorry.''

You laughed and the sound danced around his brain, shooting a bunch of endorphins into his belly. He hoped it wasn't weird to picture you based on your voice alone, but you sounded pretty.

''No...'' trailing off, but quickly you recouped ''So you're a musician then?''

''Uhh... maybe.''

''That's cool! Don't worry, unless you're in an 80s indie band or a 90s boyband, I probably don't know you, sorry!''

''Is that the only stuff you listen to?'' Eddie asked incredulously.

''Hey, I like what I like!'' you defended and he could hear the slight creak of a door and soft steps that became a bit louder, like you were climbing some stairs. The call crackled for a second and then he could hear keys jingling and the unlocking of another door.

''You made it home?'' he quizzed, destined to make sure you were alright.

''Yeah, finally. Now I have a three day weekend!''

''Cool! What are you pl-''

Before Eddie could finish his question, he was startled by the banging behind him, the door he was leaning against shaking under his back. He quickly covered the microphone, holding the device against his chest. ''Eddie, you in there man? We gotta start getting ready.''

It was their drummer asking. Eddie shushed him and told him he was on the phone. The drummer replied with a dishonest 'sorry' and left him be.

''Um, sorry about that. Shit.'' Eddie apologized and wondered if you heard anything.

''Don't worry about it, Eddie.'' you shot back and he could almost see the grin on your face. Why did it seem like you had the upper hand every time?

''Hmm, you got me. Now you tell me your name,'' he challenged.

''I thought you already named me,'' you shot back, your voice suddenly so sweet and innocent.

''Oh, come on. That's not fair.''

''I don't think you've earned it yet.'' Something about that sentence made him twitch in his pants. Fuck. He wanted to earn your name, something else too. Your voice was sultry, the tone of it sticking to his brain like honey. He needed more of it, he needed to keep you talking. He was in a trance almost.

''Making me work for it?'' he prompted, closing his eyes and leaning his head back, resting it on the door.

''You bet. I come with a price, you know.'' You joked.

''I'm willing to pay.'' Eddie replied, dead serious.

.•♫•♬•

Your phone call with Eddie, as you now know him, ended pretty abruptly after that. He got interrupted again and he had to go, to start getting ready for the show you supposed. For exactly two seconds after you hung up, you thought about googling him, but decided against it just as fast as that. You wanted to get to know him personally, not through tabloids.

Your body was thrumming however, your cheeks felt hot to the touch and there was the tiniest vibration between your thighs. You needed a cold shower, asap. You didn't expect the talk to excite you that much, but his voice was something else. Smooth, raspy at times when he lowered his tone. A bit more nasally when he got excited. You wanted to hear it again, teasing you. You wondered what he sounded in person, what his laugh was like, what sounded like when he was out of breath, gasping in your ear.

Stop, you scolded yourself and hurried in removing your work clothes and dumping them in the laundry basket. You took a cool shower to calm down, changed into silky pajamas, then popped a frozen pizza into the pre-heated oven and set the timer to 15 minutes. While you waited for dinner to be ready, you occupied yourself with finding a good movie to watch while you ate, poured a glass of water and changed Eddie's contact name on your phone. Watching a movie should keep you distracted for a few hours, until Eddie was free to call again, which would presumably be in the early hours of the night.

When the movie finally finished, you were full and hydrated. It was only a quarter past eleven so you still had a couple more hours to kill. You decided to move to be this time, grabbing an unfinished book from your desk and settled in under the covers. You turned on the reading lamp on the bedside table and kept your phone close to you. Soon enough, you were submerged in the book, the scene written on the page getting spicier. You gulped as you read how the main characters were ripping each others clothes off, devouring one another. You had a perfect picture in your head, the words coming alive in front of you, envisioning the guy eating out his girl the way the author had put it in the book. Shit, your thighs clenched at the thought of someone doing that to you.

You jumped when your phone vibrated against your bare thigh, slapping the book shut abruptly.

''Hello?'' you answered, trying to calm your breathing.

''Hey, what's up?'' Eddie asked, sounding a little out of breath himself.

''Oh, um, I was just reading a book.''

''What's it about?''

You cleared your throat, ''J-just some rom com, don't think you'd be interested.''

''You alright over there?'' Eddie quipped, chuckling softly.

''I'm fine, totally fine.''

''Uh-uh,'' Eddie sounded totally unconvinced ''tell me what you were reading.''

''Why?'' you were growing nervous.

''You're basically hyperventilating, that must be some book. Was it scary?''

''No.''

''Erotic?'' he joked, chuckling.

You remained quiet, the words dying on your tongue.

''Oh, it was.'' Eddie mused, his voice lower now. ''What were they doing?''

''They were just kissing and stuff,'' you whispered like you were scared someone would overhear, chewing on your bottom lip as a nervous habit.

''Did some simple kissing get you that worked up, baby?''

Baby. He was doing nothing but enhancing the tingling in your white cotton panties.

''No,'' you breathe, rubbing your thighs together at this point.

''Hmm.. Were they doing more? Having sex?'' he spoke and you could hear faint shuffling on his side, then the soft close of a door.

''Not exactly.''

''No? What then? Don't be shy.''

You squeezed your eyes shut, somehow embarrassed like the whole world could see you right now. You took a shaky breath in and quickly blurted out ''He was eating her out.''

There was a small pause before Eddie hummed. ''And how did that make you feel?''

''Good,'' you replied.

''Just good?''

You whimpered. He was toying with you, pulling your strings but you didn't want him to stop either. You switched the phone to your left hand, to free your dominant hand to caress your stomach, occasionally dipping lower. ''Aroused.''

''What are you doing right now?'' Eddies breathing sounded heavier now, too. His voice has a raspier edge than before.

''Rubbing my thighs,'' you sighed. The feeling of your palm sliding over the inside of your thighs felt nice, for a while. There was a warm wet patch on your panties, too.

''Shit. Lay down for me.''

You did as he told, scooting lower on the bed until you were horizontal. ''Okay.''

''Good girl,'' he praised.

Jesus Christ. No one had ever talked to you like that, you'd only read that in your books. Those words sent a jolt straight to your pussy.

''Want you to touch yourself, can you do that for me?''

''Y-yeah,'' you hiccupped, guiding your hand under your pajama pants and skipping your panties too, cupping your mound and feeling the gathered wetness there.

''Doing so good for me, honey. Touch your little pussy for me, tell me how wet you are.''

You couldn't hold back the moan that bubbled up as you followed his instructions, sliding your fingers easily through your blazing folds due to the slickness. ''S-so wet, Eddie.''

''Fuck,'' he groaned. ''Wish I could be there, need to see it for myself. Would you want that?''

''Yes, Eddie!'' you wailed, gliding your wet fingers down your slit, then back up again and focusing on your puffy clit, pulsing with want. You circled your clit with your middle fingers, putting the phone on speaker and dumping it next to your head so you could use your other hand to slide it under your shirt to thumb your nipple, adding even more pleasure.

''Would you let me eat your pussy, too? Let me tongue fuck your little hole?'' Your cunt clenched just at the thought of having his warm muscle shoved deep into it. It was begging to be filled, hungry for it. You found your weeping hole and pushed your middle finger in, moaning at the stretch. Eddie meanwhile continued his verbal assault. ''Fuck, baby I'd lick you so good if you'd let me have the honor. I bet you're already knuckles deep in your pussy, aren't you?''

You could only cry out ''uh uh'' as you added another finger, pushing them as far as you could reach, curling them upward to graze that one and only spot.

''Good fucking girl. Keep punishing that tight hole for me. I know it's so tight, would barely fit my fat cock. Shit. I wanna fill you up, fuck you 'til your crying, begging for me to stop. But I wouldn't stop until you were stuffed full of my cum - you want that baby? Wanna be so filled with my cum that it's flowing out of your abused hole, huh? Leaking down your crack, I'd clean you right up.''

''Eddie, oh my God!'' you cried, tears stinging your eyes as you thrashed around, your clothes sticking to your sweaty body. Fucking your fingers in and out, you pressed your palm down to add more pressure to your clit, building up your high.

''You close, sweetheart? Wanna hear you cum, you sound so fucking perfect already. Keep working those fingers, don't stop.''

''Fuckuckfuck, I'm cumming. Ohmygod.'' Your high hit and you lost all vision, only listening to Eddie talk you through it, telling you what a good girl you were, how proud he was, how good you sounded.

When you came down, you carefully withdrew your fingers and wiped them clean on your pants, trying to catch your breath.

''My name's Y/N, by the way.''

On the other side, Eddie burst out laughing.

#eddie munson #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson smut #rockstar!eddie munson #rockstar!eddie #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson fanfic #modern!eddie #modern!eddie munson #for a good time call

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sailing-through-hawkins · 8 months

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✧ dedicated to that one anon that made me feel so happy about the siren kas au again!! also thank you mea for beta-reading this for me you are a lifesaver!! going to tag @xenon-demon and @chaoticlovingdreamer because i know you both were interested in this idea hope it's cool to tag you!! ✧

The first time it happens, it's not a big deal.

They were on their way to start a supply run, some small groceries, snacks and sweets, to try and keep the mood up.

He had already done his rounds, checked in on El (still exhausted) and Dustin (still sleeping with his head on his mom's lap; she's still wiping her tears away when Steve sees her) and the Byers (still huddled together, warm, loving). He felt a twinge in his chest at the absence of Lucas and Erica but he knows they're with their parents because they did a check-in literally ten minutes ago. They're safe.

Steve knows they're safe. He just wishes they felt safe.

A whole month of fear and caution but this time, instead of a couple of kids sharing glances across town, nodding and walking on, it's everyone in Hawkins, gawking up at the dark clouds without any idea of what's been happening under their noses for years.

He wishes they never had to find out.

"Hey," Robin says, grasping his hand as she steps out onto the doorstep next to him. "We got this, right?"

"Yeah," Steve grips her hand back, stroking his thumb over the ink doodles across her knuckles. Sometimes he thinks the only reason they'll make it is that he's got her by his side. "We got this."

She smiles a thin, watery smile, lifts up her mask and makes her way to the car. He inhales, covers his nose with the black bandana Dustin gave him and follows behind her, gripping at the cold, empty space in his palm.

The forest was always one of the worst parts of living in this house, but the darkness has turned it ashy and cold, like something out of a zombie movie. He wonders, as he stares through the trees, if Barb got to see the forest before she was pulled through.

That's when he hears the music.

An echo of a guitar strumming. It's faint, the sound warbling as the guitar gets tuned and re-tuned every few strums.

It's so quiet, he thinks, so why does it sound so close?

"Steve?" Robin calls out, her eyes as wide and beautiful and terrified as ever under her goggles. She stands next to his car, one hand tapping the hood nervously. "You ready?"

Steve blinks and shakes his head, the echo of the guitar fading away as he twirls his keys around his finger. "Ready."

Probably just someone playing around on the radio or something, he reasons as he starts the engine.

No big deal.

Two days later and everyone is in the living room.

Everyone meaning literally everyone, even fucking Mrs Wheeler, all to discuss shelter for the families who lost their houses in the earthquake.

Steve's house is already full of most of the Party (Dustin insisted they use the name for the entire Upside-Down-Expert-Team), otherwise he'd offer it as a place for people to stay in until they can get something more permanent.

That's all this place is good for anyways. Just a rest stop.

"I appreciate that, Mom." Nancy taps her finger on the dining table, eyes squinting and lips squeezed into a very fake smile. Steve winces and starts to make his way to the sun room, gripping the blankets in his arms tightly as she continues. "But some of these people need -"

It's pretty easy to tune the discussion out, focusing on laying out the blankets and making as much of the space as comfortable as possible. The big windows let so much sunlight in, it's perfect for anyone who wants to soak up in the warmth. The only problem is the view.

He pointedly doesn't look at the pool, hands on his hips as he surveys the room, and that's when he starts to hear the guitar again. The strumming starts up quietly and washes over him, re-tuning itself every time he starts to rearrange the blankets again. A few minutes of tuning and it starts to play a song this time.

Steve tilts his head, staring out at the pool. Someone must have switched on the lights when it started getting dark.

When did it get so dark? He should go back and check on everyone, make sure they're comfortable. Is there enough space? Maybe he should redo the blankets?

The song soaks the back of his neck.

The blankets are perfect. He and Robin just can share.

It's so familiar, he thinks, as the water ripples with the wind. Something he's heard, but not listened to.

There shouldn't be any water in the pool. Why is there -

The song is slow, coiling behind his ear and gently drifting down his shoulders, making him shiver. He thinks he should know the music, humming along to it as the guitar starts to get louder. It feels nice, a comforting chill down his back that eases the tension of his wounds.

His wounds. Robin. Robin, his bat bites still hurt, why does it hurt so much, what's -

Oh, he thinks as the music plays even louder in his ear, in his mind, that's not the radio.

"Steve!"

Robin is crying, hands crushing his jaw, her face blocking the view of the empty pool. The music is gone.

"Steve, please!"

"Rob?" he croaks, swallowing the dryness of his tongue. His head feels flooded with a fuzziness, blood rushing through his veins like it was moving too slowly before. He blinks when he realizes they're outside now, standing between the pool and the house. It's still daylight. "What -?"

She pulls him into a hug, and he struggles, but manages to wrap his own arms around her, if kinda slowly. "You just - you weren't saying anything and started walking to the pool and I couldn't stop you -"

"Steve," Nancy says somewhere to his left. He barely manages to lift his head to look at her, blue eyes sharp and a Walkman held tightly in her hand. "What did you see?"

The fuzziness is fading away but his brain is still moving through a fog to connect words together. "I heard music."

Robin's face is in front of his again, eyes wide and beautiful and terrified. Oh, Robbie. "Vecna uses music now?"

"Not Vecna." Steve wrinkles his nose. "It...wasn't Vecna."

"How do you know that?" Nancy squints at him and he rests his forehead against Robin's, his bones melting into stone, too heavy to hold up. He hears the creak of the Walkman, Nancy gripping it tighter. "Steve, how do you know it's not Vecna?"

"Music w's nice." His eyes are closing. "Felt nice."

After that, the plan was never leave Steve alone.

It made bathroom breaks awkward but Argyle was so chill about it that Steve didn't even mind after the first two trips.

El couldn't find anything Upside-Downy on him, and there was the entire town with Upside-Downy shit happening everywhere, so there wasn't really much more to the plan than him having a bodyguard.

They made a chart for their shifts. God, he loves these shitheads.

"Here, man," Argyle says quietly, handing over three slices of pizza with a wink. Steve thanks him with a real, if exhausted, smile. Sleep hasn't been easy for the past week. "Fresh outta the oven."

"You're a godsend, dude," Steve groans, blowing air on the pizza slice. Mike grumbles under his breath about "hair-bias", whatever the fuck that means. Erica just rolls her eyes and shoves at his head.

The Sinclairs are visiting today, the parents persuaded by Lucas and Erica's whining (and a little bit of Steve's charm) so they can spend more time at "home base" with the others.

They're sat in the living room, eating lunch as rays of sunlight shine on the food like some kind of holy blessing, with the rest of the Party.

The rest of the survivors would be more accurate.

He tries not thinking about it, tries to appreciate the warm cheese and loud laughter. There's too much to not think about. How Max isn't here, how she deserves more, how he wants to see her okay and alive and happy.

Eddie isn't here either, and he doesn't think about how much he deserved better too.

"Steve thought it was cool! Right, Steve?"

He wishes Eddie could have made it, that Dustin didn't have to lose him like that.

Hell, they could have been friends. Maybe buried the hatchet so they could make fun of Dustin together, catch each other's eye whenever the tone makes an appearance and just laugh whenever he wasn't looking.

"I said, right, Steve?"

Maybe they could have hung out. Steve would come over to his trailer - or maybe Eddie would come over for a swim - and he'd make fun of Eddie's taste in bands - or maybe he'd listen to him play his guitar, never looking away from those ringed fingers as they created wonderful, wonderful music.

"Dude?"

Oh shit, the music is back. That's probably not good, is it?

But it's so sweet. So calming and cool, like a balm against his torn skin, washing over the dark feelings that built up in his ribcage.

"Steve!"

The song ripples through his veins and he sighs at the feeling. The pool doesn't have water anymore, he thinks. He emptied it so long ago. The music is sad, and his heart clenches at the sound.

The lake has water, he thinks. And the song turns light, sweet, calling him, curling around him, pulling him towards -

"Sorry about this, dude."

"Fuck!" Steve gasps when he hits the ground, groaning as his back ache returns at full force. "What the fuck, man?"

To his credit, Argyle looks genuinely sorry and helps him back onto his feet, holding Steve up with a tight arm around his waist and a tighter grip on his wrist. His shoulder aches at being thrown over Argyle's neck but walking is a lot easier when someone else is carrying half the weight.

He feels so heavy now.

"What - happened?" Steve croaks as they hobble back to the house. When did he leave it?

"You just got up and you weren't -" Dustin swallows, his voice croaky like he'd been yelling. "It's like you weren't even there."

"God, you can't keep doing this, Steve," Robin smacks his shoulder with a tight smile, tears still unshed in her eyes. His chest aches at them. "How many times are you gonna walk out on me?"

"Sorry Robbie," he says and accepts her very tight ow, ow, ow hug with a sad laugh. "I don't know what's going on."

"Was it the music again?" Will asks quietly.

Steve looks at him, leaning his head against Robin's. When did he get so tall? When did they all grow up already? "Yeah," Steve replies, just as quiet. He swallows when Robin lets out a sob into his shoulder. "It was the same song."

By the time his brain is fully functional ("Debatable," Mike sneers, crying out when El smacks him up the head), everyone's already discussing the new plan.

"We'll need to make notes, figure out the pattern, see if there're any triggers for Steve." Nancy said and he tries not to let it get to him, the fact that he needs babysitting now, that he can't do anything without being watched. "If the music makes people feel...good, it could still be a whole new tactic. Maybe Vecna wants our guard down, maybe he's countering our favourite songs, maybe it's a distraction. We have to be ready."

Steve still wants to grumble that it could never be Vecna, that's insulting, but he's too tired to argue about anything anymore.

They've even rearranged who sleeps where so that the Sinclairs can sleep over. They take one of the guest rooms while Mrs Henderson and Dustin join Steve in his own room. He almost loses his mind cackling when the both of them eye his wallpaper with the same mix of disgust and fascination. When Mrs Henderson sees the curtains, she almost gags and it's the loudest he's laughed in a long time.

"You're gonna be okay," Dustin tells him right before they fall asleep. Steve looks up at him from the floor where he lays, couch pillows doing more for his back than training against monsters ever did. "You'll be fine."

"'Course I will, dude," Steve smiles at him as Mrs Henderson leaves the room to talk to Hopper one last time. Tews is curled up on the bed, purrs loud, almost melodic, and lulling Steve's thoughts into a calm. "If the giant flesh monster couldn't get us, no way some wrinkly old naked guy will."

Dustin laughs outrageously at that and Steve wants to coo, wants to cry, wants to grip Dustin tightly in his arms and hide him away from the world, hide them all away in this empty house and make it full, make it safe for them, for Max, for Robin.

He doesn't.

He eventually falls asleep to the sound of Dustin muttering under his breath. And when Steve sleeps, he dreams.

It's so cold around him, so dark and empty. The sky thunders red and the cries of so many monsters echo around him. But there, through the cold and the shadows and the monsters, there's the song, calling to him.

I'm here, he thinks as he trudges his way through the inky mass of thick liquid, not water, not blood, but enough of both to make his steps heavy. I'm coming.

The song curls up on his skin, on his bat bites, soft and sweet and cold, like that time Robin spilled ice cream all over the -

"Steve!"

Robin. Where's - where's Robin?

Shh, it's okay. She's fine. Everyone's fine. Keep going.

Oh, he thinks. Of course. Everyone's okay, he knows they are, right?

Steve pauses his next step.

Right?

The song is even lonelier now and he shakes off the questions clouding his mind. It croons to him, so happy as he makes it through the ink to the shore. It sounds so sweet, that's it, keep going, come on.

He's crawling at this point, body heavy with the weight, until the song lifts him up onto his knees and he looks up to see -

"Snap out of it!"

Steve gasps at the sting on his cheek, blinking when light hits his eyes fiercely, shapes and sounds moving around him from a distance. There's a buzzing coiling behind his ears.

"Steve?"

Dustin's terrified face finally comes into focus behind his mother, who is standing right in front of Steve with her arm stretched across the space between them. Steve blinks, "Hold on, did you just slap me?"

"I'm so sorry, Steve," Mrs Henderson says and just like Argyle, she seems to really mean it. Does she? Her outstretched hand rests on his forehead as the other grips his upper arm. His back aches. His torso burns. Where did the song go? "We were so scared, you weren't saying anything -"

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Would never, of course not, just needed to keep going.

They both deny it vehemently. "Of course not! You were just - staring. Out the window. At -"

"At the pool," Steve hisses, biting his lip.

"Yeah," Dustin breathes out, his eyes watering as he reaches out to grab Steve's wrist. "But you're - you're back now. We just - just need to slap you out of it. What's another concussion, right?"

Steve laughs because Dustin's voice is so choked up that if he doesn't laugh, he'll cry. He ruffles the curls of his hair with a smile. A sinking feeling claws at him from the inside of his stomach. Can't he listen to the song one more time?

"Steve?"

"Yeah, I'm here, I'm -" Steve swallows as the blood in his veins prickles. Won't you hear me one more time? "I - I don't want to listen. I won't."

"Can you still hear it?!"

Please? It would make us so happy, Steve.

"I - no, no, I -"

"Steve?! Guys! Code red, code red, please!"

Please, Steve. Please?

"Okay," he says, eyes drooping as the melody curls up around his waist, brushing against the inside of his skin, pooling around his chest, thrumming in time with his heart beat. It feels so sweet, so good, thank you, come here, come here. "Okay."

"El, do something, please!"

The song turns harsh, gnawing on his bones, piercing through his skull, pushing him to the ground as someone is interrupting, no interruptions, leave us alone, alone, alone. The pain builds up crawling and clawing up to his chest to his shoulders to his head, his head, it hurts, it hurts so much, please stop, just stop. "Fuck, fuck -"

"Steve?" Dustin whimpers and he aches, he aches, he aches.

He screams.

When he wakes up, it's to dawn creeping through the windows and rope around his body.

Red sunlight, just like in Mike's Superman comic books, covered by dark clouds.

A red sun to the blue moon. Right side up to the upside down. You to me.

"Whe -" Steve croaks, his eyes creaking open. Fuck, they're so crusty, that's gross. "Where?"

"Steve!"

Robin's face in front of his, beautiful and terrified. He squints up at her, glancing over to find Dustin and Lucas staring at him with wide eyes, Hopper behind them. They watch him and they nod. Others are coming in, Mrs Byers and Jonathan and Nancy -

Steve hisses as something claws through him for the fourth time that night, pain, pain, go away, go away -

"Shit, shit, shit, everyone get in position, -"

"Will, get over here, he's gonna -"

Come here, come on, please? Won't you come back?

"Where are you?" Steve murmurs as the pain turns into the music, gliding over him, like a wave coming to shore, pulling him back to the water, back to us.

"He's talking to the siren! Somebody get -"

Come here, come back, come to me.

"Can't find you," he says, slurring his words as the song combs through his hair, like fingers scratching against his scalp. "Where're you?"

"That's it, Steve, keep talking, we got you -"

Want you here, with us, want us together, don't you?

"Yeah, yes, together," he sighs, the melody trilling in his chest, happy, sweet, soft, perfect, it'll be perfect, together, all together, just before someone reaches for his hand

He hisses and the song pulls away roughly, leaving him floating in the void, he cries out for it to come back, but he betrayed them, shouldn't have done that, Stevie, you tried to trick us -

"Shit!" Steve drops back to the bed with lead in his bones. El is still holding his hand. He was so close, the connection just barely at his fingertips.

Dustin swears as the others start to argue. The frustration is building up in the room, everyone too tense to think about answers, you sly dog, that was clever, but we don't like traitors -

"Wait, no," Steve gasps as something claws in his wounds, amused, you tried to trick me? Fine, no more playing around. "Fuck, wait -"

And the song crashes into the shore, pulls him down under where everything is sweet and cold, right back where you belong.

It's so warm out here, between the trees.

The skin on his back was blistering, biting at his flesh, before the song had gently cooled it down. He shivers at the chill, smiling when the song pulls him forward, looping around him with a sweet hum. It feels so nice, to hear the song without any distractions.

Without any interruptions.

Keep going.

Steve sighs when the song runs through his hair, laughing when it musses it all up. His hand twitches, he wants to fix it up until it's perfect again.

Keep going.

There are noises behind him, the sound of running and metal-on-flesh. It's all so slow, even slower than him. He doesn't know what's behind him, just the dark and gentle song pulling at his veins.

Keep going.

He makes it to the water, to the lake. There is no moonlight, but the song guides his steps, keeps him light. How sweet, he thinks, how sweet of you.

He makes it until his waist is plunged in the frigid water and then the song stops. He looks around but can't see anything in the shadows. There are sounds of humans yelling, of monstrous shrieks behind him, but where is the song?

"Hey."

He looks up and sees crimson eyes, half-lidded, and a smile staring down at him. Massive black wings blow gusts of wind at him. He shivers, and gives a smile in return.

His song.

The wings slow down until big, red eyes are level with his own, curls of black falling with gravity to brush against his cheek. The song hums in his chest, satisfied, delighted and sweet.

"Miss me, big boy?"

#steve harrington #steddie #writing #au content: kas!eddie #ficlet #sailing✧siren!kas #sailor✧writes #i fucking did it guys are you proud of me #i ended up adding a whole 1k because i wanted to smooth it out before posting so thank you kindly to the anon who asked me about this #i appreciate you so much and i hope you see this #can you believe half the reason this took me so long was because i wanted to make a new divider specifically for this

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rogueshadow1124 · 16 days

Text

BULLET WOUND

[BATFAMILY IMAGINE SERIES]

Batfamily x Batmom!Reader

Summary: When the Joker strikes at Gotham bank and the family of vigilantes come to take care of the clown and his henchmen- someone ends up getting hurt...

Word count: 1282

Warnings: mention of being shot, fighting the jokers henchmen.

The nightly breeze swirled around the hooded figure who stood on one of the roof tops in Gotham, the person looked down over the streets. A soft sigh fell from their lips as they shook their head lightly, a car sped down one of the main roads, whizzing unrhymatically as it nearly crashed into the other vehicles surrounding it.

"Here we go again." A feminine voice fell from the hooded figures lips, she peered over the ledge of the building before stepping forwards and jumping from the tall facility. She reached down quickly and pulled out a grappler, aiming at the building opposite the one she had just jumped from and aimed, releasing the long piece of rope which connected, piercing through a part of the bricks.

She pulled on the grapple, lifting her legs lightly as leverage when she started steering in the right direction. Her feet made contact with the stone wall, her hands grasping a tighter hold on he object she held, allowing her to climb the building vastly. Her hands set on the ground floor at the top, hauling herself up, one standing she pulled down her hood down revealing a soft face, a domino mask covering her bright Y/E/C orbs behind the dim ashy tone.

The woman walked over to the over side of the building where she was met with four other figures, a smile falling upon her lips when she saw them look her way.

"Bout time." Red Hood chuckled, looking down at his wrist in a jokingly gesture as if he had a watch on.

"I'm here now aren't I?" She shrugged, waltzing over to stand between Batman and Robin. She looked down at the kid and smirked, then looked back up to Bats with the same feature only raising her eyebrow aswell. "So what are we dealing with here B."

"The Joker. Robbery at Gotham banking centre." Batman stated side eyeing the woman as she scoffed, placing her hands on her hips while looking over the buildings ledge and into the streets where she saw a familiar black van which a few masked goons were stepping out from.

The 'Corbeau' stepped forth and slipped from the roof again, grabbing onto the ledge before she fully fell. Her free hand went to her belt where she pulled out a anchored rope which she attached to the roof before starting to descend down the side of the banking facility. Her eyes squinted when she noticed the Joker stepping from one of the other vans that had just pulled up behind the other, a curse leaving her lips when she jumped the rest of the way down and rushed around to the front of the building.

The woman crashed through the double doors, purposley catching the attention of the Joker and his goons. She walked forwards slowly, holding eye contact with the clown prince of Gotham himself who was looking at her smugly, his hands rising with a pistol pointing out to his left as he cackled lowly.

"Nawh if it isn't Mrs. Bats..." Corbeau's lip raised in a sneer, a growl emitting from her lips while the Joker mocked her. "Where is Batsy anyway, doll?"

"Around." She murmered, looking behind her when she heard several thuds sound from the outside. A small smile graced her lips when she saw Batman and the boys making their way inside to stand at her side. "Told ya' Jokes, he's always around."

"Busted." Red Hood called out, walking forwards while pulling out his two pistols from the holsters on eiether side of his chest. Just as the boy was about to pull the safety trigger a goon stepped forward and brought the butt of his own gun down upon Red's head. "Hard way it is I see. Nice."

A few other goons started to come towards the vigilantes. Nightwing elbowed the one to his right, ducking just in time for the other to throw a punch which made contact with the goon opposite him. Red Robin was hauled back by another to which he reeled his head back and made the man loosen his grip. Robin had his fists at the ready, in a fighting stance when he saw several henchmen running his way.

Corbeau went to lunge at the Joker but was stopped by one of the bigger henchmen, she smiled up at him. Her arm swung back and then swiftly forged forwards making contact with the mans masked face, a sickening crunch emitted from beneath. Batman was already busy fighting off a few of the others that had joined in on the fight.

The woman had jumped up at the man, swinging her legs around his neck and was successfully able to bring him to the ground as she released the majority of her body weight on his which was lucky enough to send him to the floor. Her eyes scanned the room, catching sight of the Joker who had his gun cocked at the ready aimed at the youngest Vigilante.

"Dam-Robin?!" Her words mixed as she jumped up and started running in his direction. It was as if it all went in slow motion, the echo of a gun shot rang through the room making everybody turn to the source of sound. A grunt passed through the corbeau's lips as the small metal object ripped through the skin of her abdomen, passing through the barriers of skin and flesh.

"Al'umu!" Robin called out, running towards the older woman who had dropped to her knees from the impact of the bullet rippling through her body. He slid to his knees beside her, catching her by her arms to hold her in place.

"Hey Dami, it's okay. M'fine." She whispered to him sending a smile his way though he tutted and shook his head. "Been through worse..."

"Why did you do that Al'umu? It was meant for me." Damian looked into his 'mothers' eyes in despair then his ocean blues trailed down to the red patch that had stared to seep through her suit.

"I'd never let my boys get hurt Dame, not as long as I can help it." She let out a hoarse chuckle, pushing on the boys shoulders so she could stand up. Her hand reached out and grasped his own, pulling him up from his spot on the ground.

"You cant fight, you're hurt."

"Seems your father and brothers have dealt with it." The ravenette turned to see that the others had indeed done much while the two were in their own little world. The henchmen were down, unconscious while the Joker was stood there with his pale hands in cuffs as Bats handed him over to Jim Gordon, chief police officer at GPD.

"Ma' are you okay?" Jason rushed forwards with worry swirling within his iris's.

"I'm fine Jaybird, I just need to get home and rest up I guess. Oh and get this bullet out of my body." She pointed down towards the open wound, wincing as she moved around making it sting and ache. Her left hand came down to it and applied the pressure needed.

"C'mon mum." Dick pulled her arm up and hooked it around his neck, leading her out of the building and onto the streets where she spotted Tim and Bruce standing by the Batmobile.

"Mum-"

"I'm fine Timmy, I swear." She chuckled at the distressed look upon his face and waved him off.

"Let's get you home my love." Bruce took her away from Dick and helped her into the passenger side of the vehicle, he placed a kiss on her temple before shutting the door and heading to the drivers side.

#batman #batfamily #batmom #nightwing #red hood #red robin #robin #jason todd #dick grayson #tim drake #damian wayne #bruce wayne #x reader #gotham

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greyskyflowers · 8 months

Text

Musings on a type of devil fruit that would work kind of like a curse

💭

The girl manages to touch skin on Sanji and say something along the lines of you'll ruin everything you touch.

Which sounds kind of ominous but nothing happens, so they put the incident and the island behind them. Chopper insists on looking him over but doesn't find anything, sniffling and rubbing at his nose the whole time.

But then Sanji messes up dinner for the first time in years. He's burned it somehow but he doesn't know what exactly he burned or how he missed it.

The others aren't upset, more worried as they keep sending him looks out of the corner of their eyes. He imagines he looks as anxious as he feels.

They write it off as a bad day and eat leftovers. And that would have been it, nothing other than just a bad day... But it happens again.

And again.

Until things keep getting worse and they finally put everything together.

Grey dust sticks to his suit and skin

All the food tastes burnt and smokey

Everywhere he goes he leaves a sooty hand prints and ashy footprints

He smells like smoke and dirt

Chopper can't be too close because his nose hurts from all the ash in the air.

Luffy goes a little wild eyed when the burning smell gets too strong.

Sanji tries not to let it bother him that they're all avoiding him. He understands they're worried about making him more upset somehow, he understands, but it doesn't help the emotional side of him that's angry and scared.

⚫️

Zoro, Brook, and Robin handle the situation the best.

Zoro eats whatever he's given with the same grunts as always, finishing everything and demanding more booze.

He's around more, not hovering but there in a way he usually isn't. He's stepping in where Luffy can't and they're all grateful for it. He doesn't budge, doesn't flinch, doesn't do anything besides be Zoro and it's so welcoming.

Sanji briefly remembers something about a muddy rice ball and his chest burns from something other than the fucking devil fruit.

Brook doesn't get irritated by the smell or taste - he doesn't have a nose after all yohohoho. It's also hard to feel too bad for yourself sitting next to a skeleton, and he's good company.

Robin is Robin. She smiles at him like nothing is different and she drinks her tea stonefaced, not even flinching at the burnt taste he knows is there. She finishes it and asks for another cup please Sanji.

⚫️

They go back and find the devil fruit user. She's young and scared, her eyes going big when she sees Sanji.

She hunches her shoulders when Nami starts yelling at her, her eyes getting bigger and wetter with each word.

She didn't know and they know that's the truth, which actually makes things more frustrating because they had hoped they'd be able to work out their anger on someone.

She immediately takes the curse back, a small black dot like a ink splatter appears on Sanji's skin where she originally touched him days ago. She sets her hand against the dot and it slides over her fingers and settles against her wrist before fading away.

She says sorry again, briefly saying something about still getting familiar with the devil fruit but they don't really care. They got what they wanted and they leave the island behind them.

⚫️

Luffy clings for a few days, like he's trying to make up for when he couldn't.

Sanji cooks and cooks and cooks. They have a feast and his face hurts from smiling so much.

The others disperse after eating, leaving Sanji alone to reflect.

Zoro doesn't linger in the kitchen with the excuse of wanting more booze, Robin doesn't ask for tea before going to settle down and read, and Brook has been dragged off by Luffy.

It's quiet.

The kitchen smells like food, not smoke. There's no ash on the floor or soot on the counters. His clothes are clean and he can smell only himself when he takes a sniff.

He cleans up, his mind going through everything as he brews some tea.

Robin smiles when he delivers the cup of tea and she takes a sip with a pleased hum.

He ends up sitting down with Luffy and listening to Brook play for a little while, the breeze carrying the notes out over the water. He eventually gets up and heads back to the kitchen.

He happens to pass Zoro napping and tosses a bottle onto his lap, ignoring the lazy grey eye that he knows opens to look at him as he walks back to the kitchen.

#one piece #sanji #luffy #usopp #nami #zoro #nico robin #brook one piece #tony tony chopper #zosan #straw hat pirates #mugiwara crew #straw hat crew #devil fruit ideas #setting sail with greyskyflowers #hints of zosan

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birds-in-trees · 2 years

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Ashy Robin (Heteromyias albispecularis)

#ashy robin #heteromyias albispecularis #petroicidae #passeriformes #arie de gier #birds

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spicysix · 7 months

Text

play | cw: post-canon, apocalyptic setting | spicy six | masterlist

The sky still falls sometimes.

They can’t do anything about it, like they can’t do much about everything else. They can track and kill the monsters that crawl out of the portals, and they can keep watch over the rifts. They can check in on Max, and they can keep El safe and trained to grow her powers until she’s ready.

But, until she’s ready, there isn’t much else they can do.

So the sky still falls sometimes. It’s cloudy, red, and ashy, and it pours over Hawkins and it makes it harder to breathe and to see through and they can’t do anything about it.

They’ve found a spot. Steve did, during one of his lookouts. An abandoned water tower, the rifts made things weirdly misplaced but they think it used to be the pool’s. Something’s cut through it and it has an open view of Hawkins now, while still being safe enough that the flying monsters don’t see them.

For reasons they don’t understand — like they don’t understand most things — it gets a little better up there when the sky falls. When the fog gets too thick it swims close to the ground, and the monsters don’t like it either so they settle down.

Argyle, Jonathan, Nancy, Steve, Robin and Eddie all catch their bikes and head there once they know a fog’s gonna hit.

They bring things each time they come. Blankets and pillows and candles. It’s almost cozy. If they don’t look through the cut metal, they can almost forget the world is ending outside of their cocoon.

They sit, all close together, limbs all touching, breathing the same air, and it’s like they’re one. Safe even if just for a little while.

They call it The Balcony. For the giggles.

It’s not a great show, they must say. But they still have a privileged view.

#spicy six #spicy six drabble #stranger things #stranger things drabble #stranger things ficlet #lui writes #fhchallenge23 #if they're a polycule that's for you to decide

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spshade · 10 days

Text

“Say, what do you think about a pet snake?”

Ash glowered at their roommate. Just woken up, not even had coffee, and the first thing they heard was a question about a snake. They took a moment to process the question, making sure Robin didn’t mince words.

“Robin…” Ash could barely speak, half awake, head throbbing. “Why would you ask me that?”

“They bring good luck!” Robin skipped further into the kitchen area, eyes bright and excited. “Who knows? Maybe one could even help you with–”their smile faltered“–you know… Olivia.”

Ash scrunched their nose as they poured coffee. “A snake won’t help with that, and I’m not letting a walking death trap into our place just based off your… beliefs, or whatever.”

“Aw, come on, Ashy!” Robin’s smile perked back up. “Some good luck would do us some good!”

“I’m not having this conversation with you.” Ash practically chugged the coffee; they didn’t have the energy to deal with Robin’s nonsense so early in the morning. “If you get a pet snake, I’m kicking you out.”

Robin snickered. “What? And pay $1000 a month all by yourself?”

Their cup empty and in the sink, Ash sauntered to their room without so much as a scoff.

***

Ash stared at their cell phone in silence. They lost track of how many minutes ticked by.

Call her. She doesn’t want to talk to you. Call her. She hates you. This internal argument continued for several seconds before Ash dropped their head in their hands. They would have cried, punched something, or simply screamed at the ceiling, had the door not opened and shut with an enthusiastic slam.

“Lookie what I got!” Robin stood in the doorway, shoulders rolled back, chin held high, and a caged snake in their arms.

Face blue, stomach flipped inside out, Ash leapt out of their chair and slammed their back against the wall. “Robin, what the hell?!”

Their roommate skipped towards the kitchen, humming an off-key merry toon. “His name is Virdy, and he’s our new best friend!”

“No – No, don’t put it on the kitchen counter…” Too late. Ash held their head, the warnings of a migraine at their door. “Robin, what the hell were you thinking?”

Robin rubbed the back of their head with a nervous giggle. “You aren’t really gonna kick me out, are you?”

“I’m… seriously tempted right now.”

“Come on, Ash, I’m telling ya! This little guy is going to change our lives!”

Ash’s fists clenched as a red hue enveloped their scrunched face. The urge to hit something or yell bloody murder bubbled inside, yet they couldn’t quite release it. They turned to their roommate, ready to launch a series of arguments as to why keeping the snake would be the worst mistake of both their lives, when a firm hand planted on their shoulder.

“Please.” Robin’s expression dropped to a pleading stare. Their voice, devoid of its usual jovialness and energy, seemed to drain Ash of their seeping anger. “I know you’ve been struggling, so please, accept just a little good luck.”

Ash sighed. “You know I’m not superstitious, Robin; that thing’s just an animal – it won’t be bringing us anything, aside from a pet bill.”

Robin snickered. “Unless Mrs. Landlord doesn’t find out.”

“What?”

“Anyway”–Robin’s tone dropped once more–“he will. Believe me.”

Ash wanted to argue back, but looking into their friend’s serious eyes, they found scarce enough energy to do so. “Alright. But, if it bites me – no strike system – it’s out.”

Robin threw their fists in the air. “Alright!” They hopped to Virdy, who didn’t seem to take much interest in them. “Hear that, little guy? You’re gonna be staying with us!”

Ash sighed.

***

Ash woke up in a cold sweat, their body thrusted into a sitting position. They held their head and moaned. They laid back down, but found their heart racing whenever they closed their eyes. They scanned the area – despite it being too dark to see their own hand – as they found their breath.

Ash mumbled slurred-together swears through clenched teeth; they wouldn’t be falling back asleep anytime soon. Defeated, Ash slid out of bed.

They dragged their feet into the kitchen, nothing but water on the brain. They stepped in front of the fridge without a care, forgetting a caged snake sat next to them. They didn’t remember until they closed the fridge door and saw the snake slithering in its cage. They jumped at the sight of the creature, and shivered as he stuck his tongue out.

Ash scoffed and rolled their eyes. “Robin’s living on borrowed time…”

They inched closer to the snake. His eyes, large and black, reflected Ash’s image like a mirror. His gaze seemed to hypnotize Ash, drawing them closer and closer, until they could see their reflection.

They saw a young adult, no older than eighteen, step towards their parents with the news of them being nonbinary, aromantic, and asexual. The young adult, met with screams of grief and hatred and regret, soon found themself on the streets.

The young adult, without a place to stay, took out a loan and enrolled in college as an art major. They loved drawing and painting their whole life, after all. Four years of life dedicated to restless days, sleepless nights at work, and four summers spent on their classmate Robin’s couch, lead the art major to crippling debt, and few job opportunities.

Every weekend for five years, the young adult received calls from their sister, Olivia, curious to know how life handled them since their premature departure. The young adult held a deep rage towards Olivia that, after one agonizing nightshift, they poured out.

They asked Olivia why she said nothing when their parents yelled at them – why she stood by, and let her sibling be tossed to the streets. Olivia argued that, at sixteen, she couldn’t do anything; her words meant nothing to their parents. The young adult, high off of the violent anger they kept hidden for so long, called her a selfish coward. They ended the call without another word, ending their last conversation with Olivia.

Ash collapsed in front of the snake, sobbing into their hands. Sometimes, they wished they could be born once more – to start a new life with their current knowledge, and avoid the mistakes which lead them down this path.

They peered at Virdy. The snake slithered along his cage’s plastic walls, creating circles around what looked like a thin cleaning wipe. His skin.

Ash swallowed. “It must be nice,” they commented, “to be able to shed your skin. Leave your old self behind.”

Virdy turned to them. A voice, hoarse and weary, slid into Ash’s head. Would you like me to show you how?

Robin groaned at the sound of their alarm. After a brief moment arguing with the inner desire to sleep in, they sat up. They made their way into the kitchen, and grew still at the sight before them.

Ash stood in front of Virdy, holding a loose piece of sheer fabric. The fabric resembled a piece of the night sky – a pure black, speckled with white. Ash cocked their head to the snake, eyes soft and cloaked with fresh tears.

“Thank you,” Ash whispered. They opened a trash lid and tossed the fabric inside.

“A… Ash, what was…”

A hug interrupted them. Robin found themself at a loss for words – they tried and failed to remember the last time Ash hugged them.

Ash stood back. “You know–”They flashed a wide smile, while their tears fell freely“–I never thanked you for letting me sleep on your couch.” A laugh. “Sorry about that. And, thank you.”

Robin, avoiding eye contact, chuckled in response. “I mean, you did help me with my homework more than I deserved.” They stared at Ash’s forehead. “Are… are you alright?”

“I’m more than alright.” Ash gestured to Virdy. “You were right; Virdy did bring good luck.”

Ash skipped past the snake to their room, and picked up their cell phone.

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