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thetempleofthemasaigoddess · 21 days

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The gift of the pink dragon

Roronoa Zoro x reader

*****

Zoro yawned as he regarded the vast expanse of the beach in front of him, completely deserted under a cloudless sky, and the forest beyond that apparently occupied almost half of the island alone, a gentle breeze making the tree’s foliage sway gently. It was a nice enough place, he reflected, especially if one looked for peace and quiet, or was interested in the numerous species, both animal and plant, that inhabited its woods, some of which were said to have never been seen in other parts of the world. But for him, that little island held no interest whatsoever, and the swordsman was already bored out of his skull less than an hour after they had dropped the anchor.

The presence of rare animals in the island’s forest was coincidentally the reason they had sailed there, on Luffy’s request; he hadn’t had the heart to vote against, and the same had been for the others, despite the evident lack of enthusiasm. Sitting at the bow of the ship, Zoro nevertheless felt himself smiling as he regarded his captain as he stepped on the bridge, his straw-hat as usual on his head and a butterfly net resting on his shoulder.

(name) was with him.

“Zoro! Are you ready?” Luffy asked as he approached, his enthusiasm evident “We are going to find the dragon!”

“Dragons don’t exist.”

“Of course they exist! And they live here on this island. (name) knows it. Right?”

The girl next to him smiled, her favourite necklace as usual hanging from her neck. “Well, it’s true that legends say this island is inhabited by a species of dragons, endowed with great powers, and a traveller who once came to my town said he had seen one.” she admitted “But, Luffy, that was more than a century ago; for all we know, they could have become extinct since then. Or maybe that man was lying, embellishing his stories like so many do.”

“Dragons are a myth.” Zoro added “Everybody knows. If there was reason to think they actually existed, the newspapers would have talked about it.”

Luffy shook his head, a determined expression on his open face; the possibility of seeing a dragon had ignited his imagination, and he was clearly unwilling to let it go, at least without trying.

“I’m sure they exist; and I’ll find one.” he declared stubbornly “We have at least a couple of hours before Nami and Sanji are back; we should go look for them. Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Zoro and (name) exchanged a look, both at least partially convinced of the uselessness of their captain’s endeavour. “Well, it’s not like I have more important things to do.” the swordsman pointed out as he shrugged.

“Same for me; I wouldn’t mind taking a walk, since we have been at sea for more than a week.” (name) added “And I have finished my book…”

Luffy beamed at them, undeterred by his friends’ lack of enthusiasm. “Great! Let’s go then!”

Nami and Sanji had left earlier to reach the island’s only village to stock provisions, so Luffy tasked Usopp with defending the ship in case of attack and departed, happily hopping along the path that led to the forest, (name) and Zoro trailing after him at a more relaxed pace.

“I’m sorry you got involved in this.” (name) said after a moment. The girl was the latest addition to the crew, a young fighter whose path had crossed Luffy’s after she had left her village to explore the world and who had accepted the captain’s offer to join him. Zoro liked her well enough; she was a capable combatant -even though, unlike him, she fought barehanded- and had given him no reason to suspect she had bad intentions towards Luffy and the others. Something he admired of her was that (name) could really hold her liquor, and they had shared a drink a few times “I shouldn’ have mentioned the dragons’ legend to Luffy.”

Zoro shrugged; as usual, he kept a hand on the handle of one of his swords, ready to unsheathe them at the first sign of danger; that little island seemed to be the most peaceful, non threatening place in the world, but one could never be too sure. “It’s not your fault; he’d have found some other thing to be excited about.”

“Yes, he probably would have. That’s the sort of person he is, isn’t he?”

(name) smiled, affection evident in her voice. “I had been on my own for two years after leaving my village, and I was content like that; I never thought I’d find someone I’d be willing or even happy to follow and to serve under, but then I met Luffy, and he… well, he’s special, anyone could see it, and not only because of his Devil Fruit. I know there are a million men who take to the sea to become King of the Pirates, but I do believe he can do it. Perhaps it’s crazy, but… I do believe that he was born for it, somehow.”

Zoro didn’t think it was crazy, because he had the same faith in their captain.

They walked in silence for a while, advancing in the thicket until the vegetation had surrounded them; the green canopy was thick enough to block the sun’s light, and day seemed to have turned into night. (name) and Luffy stopped to observe the trunk of a huge tree, large enough they together couldn’t cover half of its circumference with their arms open wide; the three also looked at the fruits hanging from the branches of other trees, but they agreed that eating them would be an unnecessary risk, especially given the fact they still hadn’t found a doctor for their crew and therefore had no way to treat the probable food poisoning that would have followed. A bird, similar to an owl but much bigger than any Zoro had known existed, flew over them, and a couple of foxes -those normal-sized, their fur bright red- observed their trek peeking from among the bushes.

“Luffy, you can’t believe we can actually find a red dragon in this wood.” Zoro pointed out after a while; a walk in the forest was as good a way to kill the time as any other, waiting for the others to return from the village, but the swordsman was suddenly, inconfessably loath to witness his captain’s disappointment when their search would yield no result “It is just a legend, a story you tell children to amuse them.”

“According to the stories the dragon is pink, not red.” (name) clarified “It is said he can predict a person’s future, and that its blood can cure any illness…”

“Same thing. Dragons don’t exist; have any of you ever seen one?”

Luffy shrugged. “Maybe they like to remain hidden, because they know people would try and capture them.” he reasoned, before cupping his hands around his mouth to better propagate his voice, the butterfly net under his elbow “Heeeyy, dragon! Little pink dragon, where are you? Come out, please, I just want to see you…”

No answer. Amused, (name) and Zoro exchanged a grin before returning their attention to the wealth of flora and fauna around them, the potential danger hidden in the forest that didn’t stop them from admiring its beauty, the lush vegetation alive with the quiet murmuring of the creatures that had made it their home.

As she walked, (name) was fiddling with her necklace, something Zoro had seen her do often when her hands were not otherwise occupied; it was a simple metal chain, with a ring hanging from it as a pendant. The swordsman wondered vaguely if it was that sort of ring, to signify an engagement or at least a committed relationship. It wasn’t unlikely, (name) was a pretty girl, but then, why wasn’t she wearing it on her finger? Maybe her partner had died? After all, she had been travelling alone before meeting Luffy, and she did seem to be extremely attached to that little token, since she never parted from it; once Zoro had even seen her sleep clenching the ring in her fist, as if afraid someone could steal it from her.

No one would have called the swordsman a romantic, but even he had to admit that losing the person one loved had to be one of the most painful experiences a person could experience, especially at (name)’s age. He briefly considered asking her, but he quickly realised he had no right to meddle in what was clearly a personal, potentially painful matter; had (name), or anyone else, done the same to him, Zoro would have been furious.

Also, all things considered, he didn’t really care.

Luffy’s calls to the dragon received no answer. The three had walked for almost half an hour, plodding along what remained of a stone path almost completely hidden by grass and dirt, when suddenly it opened in two, dividing in front of them. It was too dark, and the trees surrounding the two branches too dense, for the three pirates to discern where each of them led.

“What do we do, captain?” (name) asked, but Luffy seemed to have no idea; he took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair as he walked a few paces along the path on the left and then the one on the right.

“I have no idea.” he admitted in the end “How do we choose? Toss a coin? Draw straws?”

Zoro shrugged. “We can go wherever you want, as long as we don’t remain here doing nothing.” he said. Luffy pondered the matter for a while, his face scrunched with concentration; he had to know that, presuming the two branches led to different parts of the forest, they had no time to explore all of it before Nami and Sanji returned from the village.

“We could split.” he proposed in the end “We’d have better chances to find the dragon.”

(name) nodded. “It’s a good idea.You guys can go that way, I’ll go there.” she said, pointing at the path closer to Luffy first and then at the other, closer to her.

“Are you sure you want to go by yourself? Won’t you get lost?” Zoro asked, blissfully unaware of his own abysmal sense of direction.

“I’ll manage; as first mate, it is your duty to remain with the captain.” (name) pointed out “Luffy, I promise I’ll look for the dragon as well as I can, and if it lets me I’ll bring it to the Merry so that you guys can see it as well.”

Luffy nodded; (name) winked at Zoro before turning and walking away, while the two boys took the path on the right.

They walked in silence for a while more, making their way through the dense vegetation, in an occasion having to walk around what looked like the half-eaten carcass of a boar, that a fanged predator had left after eating its fill; Zoro brushed his fingers against the hilt of the Wado Ichimonji, as usual hanging from his belt together with the other two swords, almost hoping the beast would attack to make them its next meal, if only to break the monotony of that -he was sure- fruitless trek in the woods.

“You should teach (name) to use a sword.” Luffy mentioned after a while.

Zoro blinked. “Why would I do something like that?”

“Because she told me she’d be curious to learn, since she can only fight with her bare hands and not with weapons. Nami suggested she ask you, but she said that you seemed so busy with your own training she was sure she’d just bother you.”

Zoro shrugged noncommittally; he was busy, since he still devoted hours to his training almost every day, and he had never thought about taking on an apprentice, especially after his resounding defeat at the hands of Mihawk had shown him how much he still had to learn himself, but why not, in the end?, he reflected. Zoro did allow himself a day free from training every week, aware that he had to take care of his body and allow it to rest once in a while, and teaching another person to wield a sword would be a better way to spend that time than many. He didn’t know whether (name) had any talent for it, but she was a capable fighter already, and trained tirelessly every day as well, which meant at least she was used to working hard and wouldn’t slack off.

Zoro decided that before the end of the day, maybe even as they returned from the forest, he would talk to (name) to ascertain whether or not she was really interested in learning to use a sword. Maybe in exchange he could ask her to teach him the basics of hand-to-hand combat; he had no particular interest in it, but it might come in handy, if something prevented him from using his swords and he needed to defend himself.

“Zoro…”

“I’ll think about it.”

Luffy had stopped. “Zoro, loo…”

He huffed. “I’ll talk to her about it, Luffy, I promise…”

“Zoro, look over there.”

Startled out of his reverie, the swordsman blinked, instinctively following the finger his captain had directed towards a point a few paces in front of them on the broken, mud-covered stones. Due to the relative darkness, it took him a moment to actually perceive what Luffy had brought his attention on; and then, a few more to realise the creature standing in the middle of the path, perfectly calm like a dog waiting for the return of his master on the driveway, was not a skunk, or a fox, or any other mid-size wood creature.

It was a dragon. The dragon, clearly, the one mentioned in the legends.

It had nothing in common with the majestic, vast creatures that populated legends and children’s stories, nor with the dangerous winged monsters warriors painted on their standards to scare the enemy away.

For starters, it was small. Tiny, even, its whole body barely longer than Zoro’s arm from his shoulder to his wrist, and narrow enough he could almost circle it with his hands, but there was no doubt about it, it was a dragon, not a weird species of lizard or another less-known creature, and it was there, in front of him.

“Fuck.” Zoro muttered to himself, completely astonished.

The dragon remained where he was, apparently unconcerned, as the two young pirates approached and kneeled in front of him. As the legends claimed, Its skin was of a vibrant pink colour, slightly paler on the creature’s belly and clawed paws; tiny silver scales covered its back, forked tail, and long neck. Its wings were even smaller than what could be expected from the dragon’s diminutive body, each of them not larger than the palm of Zoro’s hand; they moved gently with the creature’s breathing, partially translucent and streaked with silver. A short mane of silver hair covered its head, and tiny fangs peeked out of the dragon’s long snout.

Zoro had no idea why, but he was sure the creature was a female.

“I knew it.” Luffy whispered, clearly equally in awe; and then, way louder: “I knew he existed!”

Zoro didn’t bother correcting his captain, preferring to signal him to be silent. “You’re gonna scare her away!”

But the dragon didn’t look particularly worried; she kept observing the two young men now kneeling in front of her, her gaze tranquil but intense. There was something solemn, almost regal, in her bearing, the proudly erect neck, the long tail gently swaying on the ground.

She regarded Luffy for a few seconds, sniffing the hand the young pirate had approached her with but pulling back to avoid being touched; then she focused her attention on Zoro, slowly but surely walked towards him, and when the swordsman also extended his hand, gently rubbed her head against the palm.

That brief moment filled Zoro’s heart with a wonder he didn’t remember experiencing before… as if he was a child again. He unconsciously smiled, and remained still while the dragon rested her forepaws on his hand, slowly putting her weight on him, and then heaved herself on the swordsman’s arm, her tail dangling near his leg, to press her snout against his cheek.

Luffy smiled, the butterfly net forgotten in his hand. “I think she likes you.”

A minute of cuddling later, the dragon jumped down; she briefly walked away, then turned back towards the two young pirates, then departed once more, turning to make sure they had seen her… and perceived her intentions.

Zoro had. “She wants us to follow her.” he pointed out; Luffy nodded, silently accepting his first mate’s reasoning, and the two followed the dragon, who was now walking towards a particularly dense patch of trees.

A few minutes later they reached a small ravine, the ground sloping towards a stream a few feet below them; Zoro saw the creature jump in a dense clump of bushes. He kneeled, cautiously parting the branches, and

“Luffy.” he murmured, feeling his captain walking behind him “Look here.”

The dragon seemed to have chosen the bushes as her nest: two eggs were placed on a bed of leaves and twigs, rounder than chickens’ and as large as Zoro’s palm, their pale pink surface dotted by silver spots.

“So these are your babies, huh?” Zoro whispered, looking at the dragon who had curled protectively around the eggs and was now delicately rubbing her snout against them; a moment later she stood again, walking towards the ravine. She looked back at Zoro again, but Luffy, who was now closer, spoke before the swordsman could approach.

“I think one of her eggs fell.”

“What?”

“It’s over there.” the captain said, pointing at the bottom of the ravine; squinting, Zoro could see a pink spot standing out against the green of the grass and leaves. The swordsman supposed that an involuntary nudge of her tail, or perhaps the intervention of a small predator, had pushed the egg out of the nest and towards the ravine. Only a foot further, and the unborn little dragon would have fallen in the stream, the current strong enough to carry it away who knew where.

So this was why the dragon had approached them; to ask for help. One of her babies had been lost, or at least was in danger, and the egg was clearly too big for the parent to recover, pushing it back to the top or holding it in her mouth.

“Wait.” Zoro said, placing his hand on Luffy’s shoulder as his captain prepared to stretch his hand towards the bottom of the ravine and recover the egg “I’ll do it.”

It would have been much easier, and quicker, to leave the matter to his captain, but the swordsman felt -he knew- it was up to him, because the dragon had requested his assistance. He slowly descended along the steep terrain, grabbing a protruding root or the branch of a tree to balance himself, and finally reached the egg; despite the relatively long distance, it had landed on a bed of leaves that had softened its fall.

“I think it’s all right.” Zoro said, holding the egg in his hand to check the pink surface for cracks.

“Great! You want a hand?”

The swordsman shook his head; he held the egg protectively in one hand as he climbed back to the top of the ravine, and a minute later the brood was complete once again, the dragon happily sniffing her three unborn babies as she held them close with her tail.

“Where is her mate?” Luffy wondered; when Zoro looked at him, the young pirate elaborated: “If she has laid eggs, there must be a boy dragon somewhere here in the forest. Why wasn’t their dad looking after the eggs?”

The reasoning made sense, Zoro admitted. “Maybe he went looking for food.” he speculated; in his heart, though, he suspected the reason for the absence of the unborn baby dragons’ father was different, and much sadder, and that perhaps the mother had been forced to ask for their help because there was no one else of her species left in the forest “In any case, now they’re back together, and she’ll take care of them.”

He grinned as he observed the pink dragon scooping the vagrant egg closer to the others, and then carrying leaves to cover them; Zoro was sure the small creature would take better care of her brood from then on.

A moment later, the dragon approached him once more; she briefly sniffed Zoro, and then quickly climbed up his leg and torso, balancing her small body on his shoulder; she promptly took advantage of the proximity to lick the swordsman’s cheek, her touch gentle despite the rogue tongue.

Luffy grinned. “She really likes you.” he noted, his tone devoid of envy “You should adopt her, and her babies. We could bring them with us on the ship!”

Zoro doubted the idea was feasible, but he didn’t bother answering; he returned the dragon’s gaze, intense and somehow aware, conscious, much more than that of any animal he had ever met. He wouldn’t say that there was humanity in it, in her, because she clearly wasn’t human, but the little dragon’s feelings were so evident and earnest in that gaze, Zoro couldn’t help understanding them.

Thank you, she was saying, thank you for saving my baby. I’ll never forget what you have done for me.

Zoro grinned; he vaguely wondered how foolish he had to look in that moment, and he quickly decided he didn’t care, and not simply because no one but Luffy was witnessing the scene.

My pleasure, he thought, and he was about to actually utter the words, sure that the dragon could understand it, but the little creature acted first. Zoro saw her breathe in, filling her lungs like a person preparing to shout with all their might.

But dragons were not universally known for their loud voices. Oh, fuck, Zoro thought, suddenly tense; was the pink dragon about to breathe fire on him? But why, if she was so grateful for his help? Was this how her kind showed affection, burning each other? She was about to do it any moment now, and he could have attempted to protect himself, using his free arm to cover his face or pushing the dragon away, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. He was paralysed, his body no longer obeying his commands.

He was aware of Luffy observing him, no doubt about to witness his first officer get roasted like a rotisserie chicken. The swordsman closed his eyes, ready for the excruciating pain of the burn…

… and a moment later the dragon’s gentle, barely lukewarm breath caressed his face, pleasant and completely innocuous, a vague floral scent wafting towards him. Zoro blinked, incredulous; when he opened his eyes, for a moment he could have sworn the dragon was smiling at him.

Then his head started spinning, and his legs gave way under him, a violent and sudden sensation as if someone had punched him in the face hard enough to make him faint. Luffy cried in alarm, and Zoro felt himself falling backwards; before he could make sense of what was happening he lost consciousness, hitting the ground.

Zoro opened his eyes; he had already been awake for a while, but the sensation of the soft naked body pressed against his side, an arm splayed across his chest in a gentle but possessive hug, was too delicious and pleasant to move. He smiled softly, raising his head from the pillow just enough to depose a kiss on the top of the head resting against his shoulder; the gaze of its owner met him, and the two shared a smile, lazy and sweet and as intimate as everything that had happened on that bed on the previous night.

It was not the sort of gaze one expected from the world’s greatest swordsman, not even in the intimacy of his bedroom, but Zoro didn’t mind; ever since he could remember he had thought the sword would be his only reason for life, the sole thing he could find joy and satisfaction in… and then, unexpectedly, the woman who was now circling his neck with her arms, an adoring look in her eyes that still made his heart tremble so many years after they had first met, had entered his life, and shown him how different things could be.

Zoro never thought a man could be so happy at being proved wrong.

“That was lovely last night; and you were amazing. Thank you.” she murmured as she kissed him lightly before hiding her face in the crook of his neck; Zoro had told her many times it was absurd, even ridiculous, to thank him for something that was so normal between spouses and that he was more than happy to do for and with her, but she insisted… not because she thought her husband made love to her out of obligation, but because she wanted him to know how grateful and happy she was that he was her man, and she was his woman, and so many years after their first kiss, formally married and as they raised a family together, they still chose each other every day, first and foremost… and they always would, until their last breath and beyond.

“You’re very welcome, my beauty.” Zoro answered softly; he kissed her back, gently tracing the curve of her side and hip with his fingers under the blanket, and then he plunged them in the warmth between her thighs, making her moan out loud.

“Zoro! No, we can’t…”

“Of course we can; the others won’t be back for a few days at least, we have all the time.” he argued, smiling as he saw her resolve crumble already, as a familiar and flattering warmth spread on his wife’s beautiful face, thanks to a simple but deliberate movement of his fingers “We are on vacation, are we not?”

They had already been together for years when the sudden disappearance of her menstrual blood, not to mention a series of unequivocal side effects, had informed them that their couple was going to become a trio soon. They had talked about it, argued about it, and hugged tightly after realising they both wanted to keep the baby; the wedding had been simple, with their friends -the crew of the King of the Pirates, with Luffy himself officiating in his own personal way- as the only witnesses, and six months later, Kuina had been born. A pirate ship was no place for a child, but fortunately a few years before the crew had found an island they particularly liked, and that had become a sort of base camp when they were not gallivanting around the world; Zoro and his partner had built a house to raise their little family in, and for a few years they had limited their time at sea to take care of their daughter - quite a sacrifice, after so many years they had spent on the Sunny, but that they had been happy to make. Soon, Zoro reflected as he gently pushed his wife on her back to kneel between the legs she had readily opened for him, their little girl would be ready to travel with them, or at least to remain at home for a while with her grandmother, who had moved to the island years before to help them; he couldn’t wait, whatever the case might be, and he knew his wife was of the same mind. No matter how much they loved and wanted to protect her, and how good it was to spend time together as a family, that was not the life they had chosen: he was the world’s strongest swordsman, the first mate of the Straw Hats, and his wife was an equally formidable combatant and pirate; they both couldn’t wait to return to their life of adventures, when danger could be waiting behind any corner and they both faced it with a smile on their faces, watching each other’s back. Yes, it would be good to return full-time to the sea, especially with little Kuina with them…

Not now, though; now, Zoro thought as he grinned, lowering himself to brush his lips against hers and feeling her tremble at the contact, he would focus on his wife, on her warm flesh and the bliss he would find in it. He took his time to regard her, casually throwing away the blanket covering them; her body had changed since the first time he had known it, both because of the passing of time and her pregnancy, but he still couldn’t find a more enticing, feminine and attractive sight; she was his woman, the only one he had ever known, and he would never stop desiring her - he’d never stop wanting her by his side. She was strong, capable, she didn’t need protecting; but Zoro would gladly fight God himself to defend her.

He felt her hands linger on his face, gently caressing his cheeks and hair; he took her left to kiss the finger she wore her ring at - one of the two, the one he had given her on the day of their wedding. She smiled under him, legs open wide, her hips gently rolling as she used her free hand to lazily caress her chest; that sight never failed to have an explosive effect on Zoro and they both knew.

“Well, husband?” the woman said with a smile “Are you going to simply stare at me all morning, or are you going to make love to me?”

Zoro was half a second away from kissing her -not on her hand this time; and not on her mouth either- when, not for the first time, their intimate moment was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door… and the high-pitched voice of a little girl demanding the attention of her parents.

“Mom! Dad! Are you awake?”

Used to being interrupted, both husband and wife were quick to cover themselves with the blanket, just before their daughter ran in and jumped on the bed to kiss them both on the cheek.

“Darling, how many times do we have to tell you? We don’t enter another person’s space without knocking and being invited in, especially if it’s their bedroom.” Zoro’s wife said, a touch of sterness in the kind voice she always used when talking to their daughter.

Young Roronoa Kuina bit her lip, apologetic but still unwilling to let the reason that led her to her parents’ room go. “But it’s late already, and you told me today we would go have a picnic in the woods!”

“We’ll go for lunch, Kuina; it’s still hours away.”

“Then we could go to the market and buy some food. Or you or dad could fight with me! Please, it’s been morning for ages…!”

The girl was being trained by both parents, both in the hope she’d soon be able to defend herself in case of danger, and that she had inherited their talent; they had decided not to put pressure on her, in case she decided to dedicate her life to something else, but for the time being the results were encouraging and Kuina loved crossing swords with her father, or learning the best way to throw a punch or a kick from her mother.

“I’ll train you, if you really want; there’s a technique I want to show you.” Zoro said, a pillow protectively placed on his lap, and he smiled seeing his daughter’s little face beam with joy “Now go wash your face, and put some clothes on. And Kuina, please, start knocking. It’s… well, it’s polite.”

“I will, dad, I promise!”

The little girl kissed him once more before bolting out of the room; her mother sighed as she shook her head, both amused and resigned. “I don’t even want to think about what she would have seen, had she come two minutes later…”

“Well, that would teach her to knock for sure.”

“Zoro!”

“I’m kidding; I don’t think she’s old enough to understand sex in any case.”

“Hmm…”

They looked at each other, a bit disappointed their moment had been ruined; Zoro smiled as he observed his wife rise from the bed and retrieve her night robe from the floor he had tossed it on the night before, too busy kissing her to worry about dirt and wrinkles.

“Well, I’d better go prepare breakfast; Kuina is too young to do it.” she considered “Don’t go too hard on her today, I trained her yesterday and she needs rest, even if she’s always so full of energy.”

There was no need to warn him, but Zoro appreciated her concern. “‘Of course.” he said, leaving the bed as well and starting to pick his clothes from the floor. He stopped for a moment and then turned to regard her once more. “(name)?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

She smiled; she had heard those words a million times, but they never failed to make her heart soar, because every time, no matter how sleepy or distracted or even angry he could be, she perceived the sincerity behind them.

“I love you too.” she answered; she quickly crossed the room to reach and kiss him once more, a chaste but intense kiss her husband gladly returned “I love you so much, Zoro…”

“Zoro? Zoro! Can you hear me? Zoro!”

It took the swordsman an enormous effort to open his eyes, and when he did he quickly closed them again, moaning against the blinding light. “What the…?”

“You fainted. The dragon breathed on you and… you just fell.” Luffy explained, scratching his head; he seemed worried, but smiled as the swordsman cautiously sat up, massaging the back of his head. Zoro winced when his fingers met a bump; it wasn’t bleeding, but it hurt.

The creature responsible for that little misadventure was in front of him, comfortably wrapped in its coils, its amber eyes focused on Zoro, who returned the gaze, glaring half-heartedly. “You could have made me sit down first…”

“What happened?” Luffy prompted him; the swordsman hesitated, suddenly embarrassed.

“She… she showed me my future.” he admitted in the end “It’s like the legends say. I had a… a vision, or a prophetic dream; I saw myself, much older than I am now.”

“Nice! How was it?”

It was good. It was amazing, and Zoro found himself unable to swallow as he remembered the brief but intense glimpse of his future the dragon had shown him.

“I’ve seen myself… married.” he explained softly, looking at his hands; he was happy Luffy was the only witness of his confession, because he knew he had blushed “I… I woke up in my bed, with my wife next to me, and then our daughter came to wake us up.”

Luffy whistled, impressed. “Wow, that seems… nice.”

“It was (name).”

“What?”

“It was (name), Luffy; our (name). She is… she will be my wife in… I don’t know, fifteen years from now? And I… well, I am happy she is. I’m happy with her, and with our little girl.”

He still couldn’t believe it. Zoro had never thought about marriage or, indeed, romantic relationships as a whole; he had never had a girlfriend, he was still a virgin, and was more than content with that. At least, he had vaguely promised himself, he would not entertain any relationship before reaching his goal of becoming the world’s greatest swordsman, in order to remain focused on his training; and then, perhaps, he would meet a person he felt something special for, a person who would not ask him to settle down, and renounce his dreams and ambitions, but who would share them, a person who he could count on and trust… and even love.

He thought he could do it, one day; instead, it turned out, he already had - he had already met the woman who would one day become his wife.

(name). It was weird, thinking about her that way; he still knew her so little, and nothing even vaguely romantic had ever happened between them. Zoro was not in love with or sexually attracted to her, and if (name) felt something of that sort for him she was also exceptionally good at hiding it.

He did respect her, trusted her ability as a fighter and enjoyed her company as a drinking buddy, which, he reflected, was not bad as starting points for a relationship went, but had someone else told him they would one day build a family together, and he would feel happy, even blessed, for it, he would have told that someone to go easy on the beer.

But he had felt those emotions on his own skin, so to speak, and he couldn’t deny the effect they had had on him. Zoro knew he would remember the look of (name)’ -his wife-’s body, naked and warm and soft and willing in his arms, for the rest of his life; he just needed to think back to it to feel himself burn up. He had never had any interest for older women, but after all he was also older in that moment, the witness and the protagonist of that scene at the same time, and she was… well… she looked amazing, and if Kuina hadn’t interrupted her, he wouldn’t have minded to indulge in a little session…

And he loved her. A feeling younger Zoro still hadn’t experienced but could recognize, a feeling that was passion, affection, trust and respect all mixed in one, exhilarating and almost scary in its intensity; (name) was his life-mate, and while he still couldn’t begin to comprehend how that bond would come to be, he knew in his heart that the older him had never regretted getting her pregnant, and asking for her hand.

The revelation about their daughter was another bolt out of the blue. They had a child - he had a child, a little girl of his own, who carried his name and had his eyes, as well as her mother’s smile. Zoro thought he had absolutely no paternal instinct, but knowing about Kuina filled his heart with a tenderness he had never experienced before, a desire to protect and defend her from any danger, even at the cost of his own life; it was a somehow alien, but not unpleasant feeling, and Zoro found himself mourning it, even if he had known it only briefly and knew he would have years to enjoy it in the future.

“So you and (name)... wow, I didn’t expect that.” Luffy mentioned “Are you still part of my crew, when you are older and have a daughter?”

Zoro nodded; he considered telling his captain that in his dream Luffy had conquered the coveted title of King of the Pirates, but he quickly decided his friend wouldn’t thank him for it; Zoro himself wasn’t particularly happy to know for sure his dream of becoming the world’s greatest swordsman would one day come true, since he now feared he would instinctively stop pursuing it with all his might, content with the certitude of his inevitable success.

“Oh, good! Well, that’s nice.” Luffy commented, shrugging; he had even less interest in romance than Zoro did, but he saw nothing wrong with two of his friends pursuing a relationship. He peered at Zoro, noticing his less than enthusiastic expression “Or not?”

“I… I don’t know, actually.”

“Is it because of (name)? Aren’t you happy you’re gonna marry her? She’s cool. She’s a good fighter, and she likes drinking, like you.”

Zoro shook his head; surprisingly, he felt able to talk about his feelings without any embarrassment, at least in Luffy’s company, but the truth was that he didn’t really know what he was feeling.

“It’s not that I am unhappy; it’s like you said, she’s cool, and… well, future me is happy he has married her, so I guess things will work out, even though it is weird now to think about us as a couple.” he began slowly “It’s just… what if I get together with her now because I know that we will get married one day, and not because I like her?”

“Then don’t. Don’t ask her out unless you actually feel it.” Luffy suggested simply; his reasoning made sense, and Zoro trusted himself not to get swept up by the predictions, and the feelings he now knew he would one day experience for his wife and daughter, but like for the realisation of his dream, he preferred to live his life remaining in the dark about his future, making his choices freely, mistakes included, and not because he already knew what was to come. It was like knowing what was in the wrapped box one was presented with for their birthday; they still appreciated the gift, but the lack of surprise did spoil the pleasure of receiving it.

The creature responsible for all that brooding was still looking at him, benevolent and somehow amused by the shock she had procured the swordsman; Zoro glared at her again, aware his heart was not in it, and carefully picked the little dragon in his hands.

“Can you… make me forget what you showed me?” he asked her “I’m happy with what I saw, but I think it’ll make things difficult in the future. Can you make it so that I don’t remember?”

The little dragon didn’t answer -naturally; but had she suddenly started talking in their language fluently, Zoro wouldn’t have been surprised- but she gently bit his finger, which the swordsman decided was a yes. Good.

He turned to Luffy, still sitting cross-legged by his side, waiting for his decision.

“Promise me you’ll never tell me what I told you I saw.” Zoro asked him; he was serious - as serious as he had looked that day at the Baratie, after waking up from what he had been sure was going to be his last sleep, as he vowed to remain by his captain’s side whatever the future may bring “In any case. Even if (name) and I do end up getting married, even if we get together but then we break up or years pass and we’re still just friends… can you swear you’ll never tell me what happened today?”

“I swear.” the straw-hatted pirate promptly answered, equally solemn, raising his hand “I’ll never tell you, or (name), or anyone else. Captain’s promise.”

Zoro smiled briefly; he knew his captain would not disappoint. He sighed deeply, his gaze returning to the little dragon patiently waiting in his hands; this time, at least, he wouldn’t get hurt falling.

“I’m ready.”

Nothing happened - for a moment at least, long enough Zoro had time to fear the dragon only granted one wish to each person and he would have to cope knowing his future for the rest of his days; but a moment later the little creature opened his jaws and breathed gently on his face for the second time.

And then, again, he lost consciousness, his mind instantly turned off as if someone had closed a door plunging a room into darkness; Luffy was quick to grab him by the shoulders to accompany him to the ground, while the dragon swiftly jumped off the swordsman’s hands when they could no longer support his weight. A second later Zoro was dreaming -normal, harmless dreams, of great seas opening under his feet, and the distant memory of his mother’s lullaby- while his captain observed the small pink dragon spread her wings, their span much greater than they expected, and take to the air.

“Are you sure he’s alright?”

“Don’t worry, he is fine; he’s… uh, sleeping.”

“Sleeping? Luffy, it’s the middle of the afternoon, and he has a nasty bump on the back of his head. I’ll go back to the ship, I’ll take the first-aid kit…”

“‘m fine.” Zoro grumbled; he rubbed his eyes as he sat up slowly, aware of his friends fretting -at least, one of them was fretting, her eyes full of concern- by his side. He had hit his head but, he realised touching the area with his fingers, the bump hurt less than he expected “What… what happened to me?”

“I have no idea; I got here a minute ago, and you were… well, you looked as if you had fainted, even though Luffy says you were just taking a nap.” (name) said, uncertain, as she fiddled with the ring hanging from her neck once more; she was kneeling on his left, clearly worried for the swordsman, while Luffy, a step behind her, stood looking on, an amused and interested smile on his face; he had retrieved his butterfly net “Are you alright?”

Zoro considered it for a moment before nodding; he didn’t remember falling asleep, but he felt well and, he decided, there was no need to worry his crewmates.

“Did you find the dragon, (name)?”

“What…? Oh! No, I didn’t, unfortunately; not a trace.” she answered, clearly disappointed; she offered the swordsman a hand, and easily helped him to his feet “And you didn’t either. Maybe Zoro was right, it’s just a story for children and this was only a waste of time.”

“Yeah… maybe.” Luffy agreed, smiling innocently; (name) looked strangely at him, while Zoro made sure his three swords were still by his side.

“We should go back to the ship.” he suggested, lifting his gaze to the sky; he had lost track of time, but judging from the position of the sun they had spent a couple of hours in the forest already; by then Nami and the waiter had probably returned with the supplies, and were waiting for them “It’s no use to remain here.”

“Yeah, well… the two of you go.” Luffy said, with the look of one who had suddenly had the best idea of his life. (name) looked at him.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“I need to do something first.”

“Do what?”

“Nothing important.” the captain insisted innocently, gesturing for them to start in the direction they had come from; he put his hands on (name) and Zoro’s shoulders, gently but firmly pushing them on “I’ll be back soon. Just… take your time returning to the ship, ok? Take a walk… chat a bit…”

The two combatants looked at each other, nonplussed; then, both tacitly decided to humour their captain. “Just don’t be long, Luffy, otherwise we’ll have to remain here tonight.”

The captain promised he would join them soon, and smiled broadly to himself as he observed his friends set off, walking side by side; he had promised Zoro he would never tell him he and (name) were destined to become a couple, but that didn’t forbid him from making sure they spent some time together alone, did it?

“Well, no trace of the dragon, but I must admit this was a pleasant walk; there must be animals and plants here that don’t exist in any other part of the world.” (name) pointed out as they walked. Zoro noticed she was now wearing a flower behind her ear, no doubt picked in the course of her exploration. She would probably lose it soon, or have to throw it away because it had withered, but it did look pretty on her “I wish I could show it to my mother.”

“Why? She likes flowers?”

“Oh, she sure does; she’s a botanist, she has dedicated her life to the preservation of rare plants and trees, and also manages a flower shop. I used to joke that she had sap in her veins, instead of blood. My father once told her that it was the most appropriate job for her, since she was a kind, nurturing woman, even though none of the shop’s flowers could rival her beauty…”

She smiled softly, her pendant ring once more in her fingers. “My father was a pirate.” she confessed softly “He still is, actually; there was his picture on the paper last week, together with his crew.”

She stopped, both talking and walking; Zoro looked at her, both confused and a bit worried. “You ok?”

“Yeah, just… It’s weird talking about him; I don’t think I ever did it, even with the friends I have grown up with.”

Zoro blinked, intrigued despite himself. “Why aren’t you with him, then?” he asked; the girl in front of him was a capable fighter, any captain would be lucky to have her as part of their crew, unless her father had wanted to keep her safe.

“Well… mainly because he has no idea I exist.”

Her parents, (name) told Zoro, had met when her father’s crew had reached the coastal town her mother lived in to spend the winter; they had met and had become involved, fully aware their relationship was destined to end at the arrival of spring; before leaving, the pirate had gifted his soon-to-be-former partner a ring, to remember him by. Neither of them knew yet he had also given her something even more precious… a little girl, who would be born eight months later, and who since early childhood had only dreamt of two things: to become a pirate, and to meet her father.

“All things considered I’m on the right course; my father’s crew is on the Grand Line, which is where we are also going, and Luffy says he’s a good man, that I can be proud to be his daughter. One day I will meet him, and I know a father is not someone you should need to impress, but I want him to be proud of me as well.” (name) explained; she looked at Zoro, tense as if afraid he would make fun of her dream, but then she smiled, seeing he was listening intently “I know that perhaps he doesn’t even remember about my mother, that he probably has no interest in being a father… but I want to meet him; I want him to know I exist, what sort of face I have, and that I have been waiting to meet him since I was three.”

She looked so earnest, so sincere and open in confessing her deepest desires, Zoro felt embarrassed for a moment, as if he had caught (name) as she cried her eyes out - or as she changed her clothes. Still, he could respect her dream, that might look less ambitious than his, or Luffy’s, but that was clearly equally precious to her.

“Well, you’re a very capable fighter, you’re brave, and a reliable crewmate; if he’s a pirate, I’m sure your father will appreciate that, when you do meet him.” he pointed out, and (name) beamed at him.

“Thank you. Maybe when I do I’ll introduce him to my friend, the world’s greatest swordsman.”

Neither was trying to flatter the other, or to raise their spirit; they simply, honestly, respected each other, and that feeling would never whither, even when other and more intimate emotions had arisen between them.

“Wait a moment… Luffy has told you about your dad?” Zoro realised a minute later, as he and (name) resumed their trek to return to the ship.

“Exactly; they met when Luffy was little, they were friends. Luffy didn’t tell me until weeks after I had joined you guys, he almost gave me a heart attack!”

“You’re telling me your father is…?”

“No; not him.” (name) interrupted him, turning to regard the swordsman; it seemed important to her to make things clear “My father is… well, his you, in a sense.”

“Oh.”

“Exactly. Funny coincidence, is it not?”

(name) smiled; she had never shared that story with anyone before, not even with Luffy, but for some reason she felt happy she had confided in Zoro; she felt happy he was there with her.

A minute later, as they walked unhurriedly, the scent of salt coloured the air, and the sheep figurehead of the Merry appeared in the distance in front of them, with Usopp busy polishing its horns with a rag.

They still had a few minutes before joining the others - except for Luffy, who had disappeared to do God knew what; Zoro walked with his hands in his pockets, the sheats of his swords gently dangling by his side, feeling content, even strangely hopeful, even though he had no idea why.

“Hey, listen.” he started, suddenly remembering, and (name) turned to look at him, an interested smile on her lips “Luffy said you’d like to learn to use a sword…”

Is it clear who her dad is?

#One Piece #One Piece Live Action #OPLA #Roronoa Zoro #Zoro #Roronoa Zoro x reader #Zoro x reader #Mackenyu #Mackenyu Arata #Bellona's stuff

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wormconsumer · 2 months

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Based off a post I saw with the idea that Robert Smirke had fourteen friends, each falling too/representing a different entity, with Smirke himself being the Extinction.

To get the obvious ones out of the way: Jonah Magnus as the Eye, Mordechai Lukas as the Lonely, Maxwell Rayner as the Dark, and George Gilbert Scott as the Buried; these ones are all canon. Not directly canon but a pretty reasonable assumption is Simon Fairchild as the Vast; we know Simon had Maxwell Rayner help him with his Awful Deep ritual in 1853, which was only a few years before Smirke died, and Smirke hung out with Rayner a ton, so it makes sense for Simon to be part of the group (though by a different name; he only started going by “Simon Fairchild” in the 1930s). Another fairly reasonable assumption, in my opinion, is John Franklin for the Hunt. Franklin is canonically a Hunt avatar in The Magnus Archives, his real-life timeline overlaps with Smirke and the rest, and Rayner was canonically interested in his expedition, which was probably because he wanted to use Franklin’s knowledge of arctic exploration for his ritual, but could also imply they knew each other, and therefore, Smirke’s gang.

For the Corruption, my first thought was John Amherst, but he only became an avatar during the Second Boer War, which was about half a century after Smirke’s time. Instead, John Snow is a better fit. He was an English physician who lived during the same time as Smirke, and he had something going on; his descendant Neil Thompson has a syringe that belonged to Snow that had Corruption properties, so Snow fits. For the Slaughter, we could go with Charles Fleming. We know he was in China from at least the beginning of the First Opium War in 1839, and Smirke and Jonah and the rest were up and active on their supernatural studies since at least the 1810s, so it’s theoretical Fleming could have hung out with them, even though he didn’t become touched by the Slaughter until he went to China. Maybe he came back later, though he was in China at least until 1862. Alternatively, William Hall, the actual captain of the Nemesis, could be an option, his lifetime overlaps pretty well with Smirke’s, though there is no evidence he interacted with the Slaughter besides his interactions with Fleming and the Nemesis. Still, he was probably a bit more high-society that Fleming, so I kind of prefer him. Finally, for the more reasonable ones, we have Joey Grimaldi for the Stranger. Grimaldi’s timeline overlaps with Smirke’s, and we know he was affected by the Stranger even before he was turned into Nikola Orsinov. The reason I’m choosing Grimaldi instead of Gregor Orsinov or Nikolai Denikin is that we know for sure he was in England while Smirke was, unlike the other two.

Now for the more out-there guesses. For the Flesh, there are a few options. One is Eustace Wick, the Lutheran priest-turned-cannibal, who did live at the same time as Smirke, but he became an avatar in 1832, died in 1845, and has no evidence that he’d even been to England, considering he’s American. The other options would be Benjamin Carlisle, Benjamin’s unnamed wife, or possibly some other relative or descendant of theirs. I find this one the more likely choice, because Jonathan Sims specifically wonders how Benjamin Carlisle’s wife was able to give her statement to the Magnus Institute, considering she starved to death in a cave on the Oregon Trail in 1845, as well as the fact that an apparent descendant of her, Toby Carlisle, is living in England by the 21st Century and has enough of a connection with the Flesh to be pretty severely affected by the failure of the Last Feast ritual. The unnamed Mrs. Carlisle being the Flesh representative does mean she presumably gave in and cannibalized her husband, and the timeline only gives her about a decade to have hung out with the rest before Smirke’s death, but I think that fits, considering what Smirke said about just coming up with theories about the Flesh in his statement.

The Spiral has similarly not a lot to go on. I would just say the Distortion, seeing as it’s an immortal manifestation of the Spiral itself. We know that Ivo Lenshik’s father was tormented by the Distortion in a human form, and apparently Lenshik’s great-uncle did too, implying that the Distortion did assume a humanoid form sometimes, before it was forced to by the failure of the Great Twisting ritual. Plus, Jonah Magnus clearly knows who the Distortion is, which yes, he could have learned at literally any point from the past two hundred years, but seeing as we’ve got nothing else, I’ll choose to believe. For the Web, the only older avatars of the Web we’re aware of would be the historical owners of the house at Hill Top Road. We don’t know who owned it during Smirke’s time; the closest we have are the unnamed blackmailer who died during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, and Walter Fielding, who died in 1923. Walter’s son and grandson both owned the house for about thirty years before dying, so with the same amount of time applied, Walter couldn’t be our Web avatar. Honestly, the answer might just have to be “whichever Web avatar was owning the house at Hill Top Road during the first half of the 19th Century.”

For the Desolation, we have even less. Diego Molina founded the Cult of the Lightless Flame at some point prior to World War II, but we have no idea when, and it couldn’t have been that long, considering what Eugene Vanderstock says about the immortality of Desolation avatars having some kind of limit. The same is true of the End. The only known End avatar who was alive during Smirke’s time was Nathaniel Thorp, who was a Death at the time, and didn’t become human again until 1970. It’s unlikely that Deaths got breaks to socialize.

So, in summary, we know for sure about:

* Jonah Magnus — The Eye

* Mordechai Lukas — The Lonely

* Maxwell Rayner — The Dark

* George Gilbert Scott — The Buried

We can make some reasonable assumptions about:

* Simon Fairchild — The Vast

* John Franklin — The Hunt

We can make educated guesses about:

* John Snow — The Corruption

* William Hall — The Slaughter

* Joey Grimaldi — The Stranger

We can make complete guesses about:

* Mrs. Carlisle — The Flesh

* The Distortion — The Spiral

* Owner of the house at Hill Top Road — The Web

And we have nothing for:

* The Desolation

* The End

If anyone has ideas or things I missed, let me know.

#tma #tmagp #the magnus archives #magpod #robert smirke #smirke's fourteen #jonah magnus #simon fairchild #maxwell rayner

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yandere-romanticaa · 2 years

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˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗ vintage misery.

you've been married to him for a year now, but things have been anything but grand, in your eyes at least. how well have you settled in your marriage i wonder?

various! yandere! genshin impact men.

Just a tiny compilation of my favorite Genshin men <333 Tell you the truth I love them all but I was too lazy so take what I can offer! I might to a part 2 in the future if people are interested in it. Maybe even a female version...? And in case you couldn't tell, I can't wait for Cyno. Don't @ me for putting him on here!!

𓆩♡𓆪 CYNO. - The smell of old books and lit candles became a source of comfort for you once you settled in the Academia with your husband. Barely two years have passed but in your eyes it might as well been a flash. You would sit in the library for hours on end, mind immersed in the various stories and documents you could get your hands on but there were moments when you would go back to the day you and Cyno met. It was brief and curt, Cyno remaining stoic as ever but he was polite to you.

Maybe that should have been the first red flag.

In just a span of a few months Cyno had managed to find out everything he possibly could about you and thanks to the many strings he has and the favors he could cash in, he managed to get you into the Academia. Not as a student but rather as a humble librarian, something to keep you cozy, well fed, entertained and close to him.

Being a scholar, Cyno was naturally curious about many things and he would often travel to seek and explore the vast world. He would send you letters and various little trinkets, all of which meant nothing to you but still decided to keep them close as Cyno seemed to chipper up if he saw them on your desk. That's precisely why you wondered why he ever took an interest in you, but you never dated to ask him.

Cyno was many things, but affectionate was not one of them. At least, he wasn't used to it.

There were times when he would try to initiate something but he just gets lost. His face would be as cold as ice but by just looking at his twitching fingers it was painfully obvious that he was longing to touch you, to show you some love he was unable to show otherwise.

The only time you felt even remotely close to your husband was when the two of you would play games together.

It was during these sessions that you got to understand just what kind of person Cyno is and how his mind worked. There were times when he would even show a hint of a smile on his face, happiness written all over it as he would lovingly gaze at you as you kept your head down, too flustered to look him in the eye.

Your relationship with Cyno is a distant one and it leaves many people scratching their heads. This would be an issue for any other person but Cyno does not care about outside opinions. He only cares about your own.

𓆩♡𓆪 KAEDEHARA KAZUHA. - Life at sea should have been different for anyone to get used to but Kazuha was an exception.

Nothing in the whole world could ever tie him down in one place and he would wander wherever the wind would take him. It was cruel to keep him in one place, to force his mind and blade to go full as you did your daily duties in your cush little Inazuman home. Marrying Kazuha felt like a dream at first, but a dream was still a dream. He begged you to join him, to go out into the world and see its blinding beauty with your own two eyes and with him by your side. His gleaming red eyes still haunt you, the sheer eagerness of hive voice sent shivers down your spine.

Words cannot describe how much you missed him.

Kazuha missed you too, and you knew it.

Why else would he leave little marks all over your body if that were not the case?

Not wishing to limit your freedom, Kazuha begrudgingly made a deal with you - he would go travel the world and you could stay here at home. He promised to visit as much as he could and he would always being back so many gifts with him that you could drown in them.

The burning sensation down your leg continued to disturb your line of thought as your arm gently inched closer to it. Lifting up your skirt you were met with several flaming red scars that marred your skin, the sheer itch of it testing your ability of whether or not you could handle this sort of pain. In big bold letters, the name "KAEDEHARA KAZUHA" was carved in, an eternal reminder of to who you belong to and to whom you vowed to spend the rest of your life with.

𓆩♡𓆪 THOMA. - The news of his engagement broke fast in Inazuma and everything went without a hitch. Everyone and their mothers were excited about Thoma tying the knot because why wouldn't a dapper young lad such as himself not find a suitable partner to shack up with? He was the Inazuman golden boy, it really wasn't too surprised to know how many people were supporting him.

More than a year has passed ever since your wedding day and here you are, sitting on the floor of the Kamisato estate, a cup of hot tea in your hand as you gazed at the entire estate. It was a quiet day today as most of the workers were somewhere with their families while Thoma was out to do some shopping, an endeavor you'd usually join him in but you decided to lay low today.

The golden wedding ring burned your finger the longer your thought about him, the ring itself served as a constant reminder that you were no longer your own person. Whenever you would go out there would always be hoards of people asking where Thoma is and why isn't he with you. A "Property of Thoma" sign could might as well be carved on your forehead the longer you thought about it. Gritting your teeth in anger you tried hard not to shatter the precious porcelain cup in your hands, knowing full well that the liquid could burn you.

However, nothing burned more than the intense smile of your ever adoring husband, who's affections made your stomach churn for all the wrong reasons.

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chungledown-bimothy · 5 months

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Top 5 seasons that deserve a sequel?

I think deserve isn't quite the right word, because a sequel for the sake of there being a sequel is almost always going to result in something significantly worse than the original, leading to disappointment. If I didn't trust everyone involved so completely, I'd be terrified of fhjy for exactly that reason.

That said, my top 5 worlds I'd love to revisit, with the note that what I'd be more interested in is exploring the world with new characters, as opposed to a direct sequel:

1- A Court of Fey and Flowers. Above all else- plot, combat, whatever else, I love characters. I'll sit through the worst media of all time if I like the characters enough. That is absolutely not what would happen with an ACOFAF season 2- my point is that the way Aabria put together 5e and Good Society made for such incredible insight into the characters and their relationships with the world, each other, and themselves. I'd love to see more of that, and, of course, the nature of the fey worlds has infinite possibilities for incredible settings and stories.

2- A Crown of Candy. I fucking love Calorum and would love to go back, and with ACOC being Candia-focused and Ravening War being more Calorum-focused but about how the sausage gets made in the shadows, there's a lot of potential for awesome stories in different nations.

3- A Starstruck Odyssey. Noticing a theme yet? Space is vast, and so are the opportunities for shenanigans.

4- Mentopolis. At this point you know this song. It's a rich, fascinating world, and especially if other people's heads are an option, there's a ton of room to play and explore in new ways.

5- Neverafter. Folklore is as old, widespread, and diverse as humanity. I get why Neverafter was Brothers Grimm, but now that the universe has been established with characters and stories that are more... mainstream, I guess is the term? I'd love to see stories from other cultures, especially told by people from those cultures.

apparently necessary (going by the notes of other top 5 posts i've made) disclaimer: these are just my opinions i am not saying this is any sort of definitive list. a conversation about other ones you'd like to see is great. telling me my opinions are wrong or phrasing it like "i can't believe you forgot/left out x" is a shitty thing to do. don't fucking do it.

#dimension 20 #a court of fey and flowers #a crown of candy #a starstruck odyssey #mentopolis #neverafter

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unpoeticpoison · 1 year

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sworn on the stars ~ prologue - genshin impact // sagau // imposter au

01 02

summary: to know the one protected by the stars is to know the blessings of the very world we traverse on. to betray them is to turn our backs on the very notion peace.

ie. they say that with every terrible storm comes a rainbow infinitely more beautiful than the trials that one leaves behind. let’s test that theory, shall we?

————————————

You were tired of it all.

Perhaps you had used up all of your fortune in another life, or the universe simply held some sort of grudge against your soul. Either way, you found yourself sick and tired of everything that had happened in the last few years.

First came the death of your beloved parents. The ones who had tried to raise you with so much love until they were cruelly taken away by the hands of death. They’d left you with enough fortune to sustain yourself for the rest of your days.

Then came the new ones. The ones who had turned your life into a real Cinderella story, though this peasant would never meet their prince. The ones who had subjected you to so much abuse that you had nearly become numb to it all.

You’d moved from household to household throughout most of your life. The ones who were kind to you always met misfortune, and the ones who were cruel always seemed to have gotten caught far too late.

Five years ago, you became so dreadfully ill that no other family was willing to take you in, not even if you had offered them money to do so. It felt as though the world was rejecting your very being, like it had finally had enough of you being around. Your body gradually shut down, despite your youth. The doctors could not diagnose you, for there was nothing that seemed to be wrong.

Except everything was wrong. You could feel your life fading, though you were never one to care much about the prospect of death. You’d just assumed it would’ve come later.

In the worst moments of your life, you’d come across a game called Genshin Impact. You’d come across it just before it’s official release: the new and hyped up game from Mihoyo that would soon have its’ players entranced.

Perhaps you were desperate for another outlet. You were a smart child, yet there never seemed to be enough media in this world to properly stimulate your mind. Storybooks had stopped bringing new adventure into your life. In the world of academics, you had studied nearly everything that you could possibly get your hands on up until the end of secondary school.

You wanted to immerse yourself in a world where you could be free to walk and run and perhaps find something of interest. To finally reacquire that spark in you that had been lost so long ago.

‘An open-world game, huh? Might as well give it a shot.’

And so you did. And you’d fallen in love for the first time in your life. With the characters and the story, for they always did bring excitement into your dreary days. But most of all, it was with the world you had explored. There was always something new to catch your interest when you were in Teyvat, and you’d gradually grown fond of the characters behind the screen. They were life your family.

Sometimes, the people of your world would forget about your existence. You’d started as an anomaly of the medical world, but as the years passed you became nothing more than a forgotten presence that once had meaning; a myth.

As the game updated each time, you were always eager to indulge for the characters with the money you knew you’d never be able to use otherwise. When you wear Teyvat, all felt right with the world, as if a dirty fog had been cleared from your mind.

Those days, when you were left alone in your very own hospital room, you’d pull up the character’s voice lines and speak back to them, or absentmindedly run throughout the regions.

Sometimes you imagined being able to comfort Zhongli and Xiao, old souls that had gone through so much throughout their long lives. You dreamed about exploring the vast seas with Beidou and her crew. Wishing about visiting the city of freedom and feeling the wind on your face as Amber instructs you on how to use a glider. Wanting to visit the beautiful city of Inazuma and bring relief to all those that had needed it.

But those were merely the dreams- perhaps even delusions- of a person nearing the end of their life. The years had passed, and many regions had become unlocked since you had begun. But now, you could barely stand to open your eyes, let alone admire the beautiful scenery in Teyvat.

‘Soon I’ll be gone from this sorry room, I guess. I just wish I could be in that world one last time.’

You silently thanked the stars for the last few years, dreadful as they were.

And so the young soul was taken too soon. Their body was taken by death, but their soul? Their soul was taken by another world entirely.

But perhaps this world isn’t so new as one might think. Maybe, just maybe, the world would help you solve the mysteries of your life, just as you had helped build it up from the very beginning.

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total-drama-brainrot · 1 month

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Hello! About the fake dating!au, I was wondering how the episode Niagara brawls would play out if Alenoaheather was happening. Would Alejandro and heather still be paired up or would one of them be paired up with Noah?

Well, to be entirely honest, I haven't really thought too much on it yet. Mostly because it's still kind of up-in-the-air as to when Noah's elimination would take place in this AU. I think we've sort of settled on post-merge, so he would be present in the Niagara Falls challenges, but the timeline's still really vague so I personally haven't really invested any time in figuring out the semantics of how each episode would play out.

But since you asked, I might as well toss my hat into the ring! I'll just type out my thoughts as they come, so please excuse this response if it's a little all-over-the-place or formatted weirdly.

Off the bat, it's been fairly well established that the canon final four remains unchanged, so at the very least both Sierra and Cody are still present in this challenge; this is important, since in canon the only reason Heather ends up partnered with Alejandro is because Sierra is the one who rejects him as a husband first. I don't really see a reason to change the canonical play of events here, unless a brainstorming session later on down the line necessitates Noah being paired with either Heather or Alejandro for whatever reason. Mostly just because keeping as many "pre-written" plot points as possible lessens the workload on our shoulders (us, of course, being me and @perpetualexistence, and occasionally @ur-local-brown-multifandomist).

But that does leave the question of who Noah would be paired with.

And again, this would be super dependant on who's left in the competition at this point; since Noah's made it to the merge, we know someone has to have taken his place in the London elimination- just that small change could have potential consequences on all of the subsequent eliminations afterwards, so the merge cast might look almost completely different to World Tour's "official" line-up.

And this is also super dependant on whether or not it's Blaineley who wins the Aftermayhem challenge- I'm not sure if any of the others intend to swap her out for a more interesting/plot relevant contestant (which, as much as I do love Blaineley, she's just find of there with no real relevance to the story) like perhaps Lindsay, Leshawna or maybe even Beth- I assume it'd have to be a girl, since the show itself works to even out it's gender ratios, but it could hypothetically be anyone.

So Noah's partner could be... literally anyone, save for the Final Four (Alejandro, Heather, Sierra and Cody).

...Unless?

Now, don't judge me here, but I do kind of like the idea of Noah ending up with Heather as his partner. Maybe it's the vast potential of how their (entirely self-constructed, and self-indulgent) character dynamic could play out in this scenario, or maybe I just want the opportunity to write Noah trying and failing to pick up Heather, eventually leading to her being the one to carry him across the Falls tightrope like a pathetic, soggy kitten. Or maybe I'm just getting my Noaheather on- who knows?

All I'm saying is, they'd be giving a lot of Connecticut Clark and Malfina vibes and I'm so here for it.

And maybe I just want to see something new; there's so many explorations of how an Alenoah Niagara Brawls challenge would play out (and they're all wonderful, don't get me wrong!) so it's time to give some other pairings the spotlight!

Plus, this particular scenario would not only allow the contestants to see Heather and Noah acting like the "fake" couple they're supposed to be, but Alejandro could also play it as either a double-breach of his trust (since he's also supposed to be "fake" dating Noah, at least, and he has his whole romantic rivalry with Heather) or take advantage of his position and try to charm whoever he's partnered up with and either secure a valuable ally for later on down the road, or beguile his next elimination target into a false sense of security- since a huge part of Alejandro's character is his conniving flirtatiousness, and I don't want to completely negate that.

Now that I'm thinking about it, Alejandro's flirty nature could be a conflict point between himself and his partners. That's a thought for another time, though.

But, again, it's still very up-in-the-air and I don't really think I can give a definitive answer until a proper elimination order has been established- or, at the very least, the elimination order pre-merge. So, uh, sorry for the lack of a definitive answer!

#alenoaheather save me... save me alenoaheather...#going to have to dedicate myself entirely to this au at some point. but. my drafts...#at the very least we'll have to make a mock-up of how the elimination order will go. just so we can built a plotline around it.#just so i know what characters we're working with at any given time.#total drama #td alejandro #td heather #td noah #alenoaheather #fake dating au #ophe rambling #silly ideas #replies

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gffa · 7 months

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The thing I really miss about Star Wars novels is exemplified by being two-thirds of the way through Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade and how I think I'm legitimately enjoying it, but in a very specific way, and I think there's actually a ton you could dig into the structure and bias of the narrator that I think is done on purpose and that I can find sympathy for a character actively falling to the dark side and what she's going through without validating the people she's demonizing in her head because I've been there, I have had my brain lying to me all my life, telling me things I know aren't true, making me believe them despite all evidence otherwise, and do you guys KNOW how much I love hot messes of a disaster lady? I fucking love a woman who is just an awful mess and doesn't have to actually be perfect or nice and maybe just once or twice says a kind of catty thing, NO, SHE IS A WHOLE ASS MESS and I LOVE HER!! But also I'm kind of in the position of how I'm tired of getting stories of characters falling to the dark side being the vast majority of what stories explore with the Jedi, I enjoy them, but not when that's all there is, and I have spent YEARS AND YEARS going back and forth with the discussions about the Jedi and I am so tired of it, I DON'T WANT TO ANYMORE. I just want to write my commentary and thoughts down in the vein that I have them and have that be it. I want to say, "This is a really glorious unreliable narrator here, because everything she says is contradicted by what the Jedi actually say/do, and she is explicitly a character designed with neurodivergent/mental health issues aspects in mind and you can't divorce that from her character." and like I don't even want to discuss with other Jedi fans about what the author may or may not have said (I read one interview from her at the beginning, enjoyed it fine, and AM NOT INTERESTED in knowing or hearing anything further) or how annoying it is to have a book like this, I JUST WANT TO DIG INTO A STORY and not have to worry about bracing myself for combat. (And also the thorny issue of how this isn't precisely a recommendation because I'm not sure others would enjoy it, like even if you agreed with me, I'm not sure it'd be something in your wheelhouse, but I don't want to even get into that, it feels exhausting, like, just I want to talk about how I'm enjoying it, but not have to articulate why I think others possibly wouldn't, just leave it at "nah, I don't think you'd enjoy it".) I know this is some IRL stuff spilling over onto my reading of this book and I'm aware of the state of a lot of creators in SW right now hold opinions that have made me stop reading their works because I am no longer interested in anything they have to contribute, but also like. Sometimes I just want to enjoy a book on my own terms and not have to feel like I'm arguing a case, but instead reveling in the glorious hot mess of a central female character that maybe I relate to and have sympathy for even while recognizing that she is painting a very unreliable portrait within the book, because I Have Been There. Idk, I'm not saying this very well, and a lot of it is outside factors, but I have this giant tangled ball of "I just want to enjoy something for once, not examine why it might actually be doing my Blorbos all wrong", like aren't we supposed to be in fandom for the enjoyment of things, not to constantly argue with people? /tired and hasn't been sleeping well and has been thinking about this instead of wrenching irl stuff

#lumi.txt #novels #star wars

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misspearly1 · 2 years

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Yours

Pairing: Joel Miller x You (F!Reader)

Summary: Feeling one particular emotion at the wrong time and place, how does it affect the friendship between you and your fellow survivor Joel Miller? Your only good friend and trusted ally amongst a group of twenty, who remains oblivious of your silent crush - how does the man react when you're running away from packs of Hunters and you are… aroused.

WC: 3.2k

Warnings: 18+ Content. Minors DNI. Smut. Hunters doing hunter shit (no one gets hurt). Little bit of angst (With a happy ending of course). Unprotected PIV sex in a risky, unsafe location. Oral. (M receiving) Face fucking, deep throating. Dirty talk. Praise kink. Slight Ownership Kink possibly? Breast/Nipple play. And lastly, lots of fluff.

AN: Yass, I’ve missed writing out oneshots and really enjoyed exploring this short story. It’s nice to take a break and use a different era/setting, so I hope ya’ll enjoy this as much as I did. (May pick it back up in the future, idk yet) <33

Emotions are a funny thing right? They’re just feelings, a chemical synapse in your brain responding to everything around you in some type of way - they’re funny to you because you can’t explain those feelings sometimes, and this is one of those times where you can’t explain why or how you feel the way you do.

The harrowing experience in which you are going through right now is just like every other day in this dark world; passing through a town, and surprise surprise, you get ambushed, split up from your group and therefore have to fight your way out. Same shit, different day.

This would count as the third time it has happened in the last four month traveling on the open road with your small group of survivors, and honestly, you’re starting to get used to it.

The Lakeside Lodges used to be your camp once upon a time, but just like every other camp as it seems, it fell to the hands of Infected and you all had to move on. Your fellow survivors aren’t all that bad, there are a few questionable people of course, there always are, but the vast majority are safe to be around, and besides, you can take care of yourself if any one of them tries to overstep.

The rules are as follows; no stealing, no fighting or killing each other and if you see something first, it’s yours. You just have to yell it out like the boss can hear you - and so far, there hasn't been any push back with those rules set by Deacon - the leader of the group. He does a decent job at keeping the rowdy ones in line and a lot of people look up to him. Not you, but mostly the men in your group.

They respect him, but you, on the other hand, respect his sister. You don’t dislike Deacon, but you don’t exactly place him on a pedestal like the others do. If anyone should be in charge, then it should be his sister Melissa, or maybe Joel Miller. Truthfully, Melissa would be the better choice and the only reason you nominate Joel is because you have a crush on him. He has leadership material for sure, but he’s not interested in leading twenty people into a new world.

And you know this because you’re his only friend, well, sort of. You annoyed him enough to give in and open up a little, but not too much. The man is overall a quiet person, keeps himself to himself and doesn’t bother anybody. Initially you thought he did that to avoid a fight, but after seeing him fight on many occasions now, you know it’s because he could quite easily kill any man in this group, therefore he doesn’t get involved with anyone to avoid making a mistake that gets him banished.

Today is day three of your hellish escape out of this town with groups of hunters and the dead around every corner, but lucky for you, Joel was at your side when your group got scattered. You weren’t on your own, which would seriously lessen your odds of survival, but the reason you are having a meltdown right now is because of that one emotion you feel during a time like this. Arousal - you are aroused, and that’s why it’s so damn funny to you.

It’s funny because it’s confusing and silly. You should be terrified for your life right now. Joel and you ducked into a hotel with Hunters hot on your heels, but the way the man was grabbing at your arm, pushing you in front of him, as if shielding you from any harm, was driving you up the wall. Why? Why does this guy, who is so quiet and doesn’t get involved with anyone, stick his neck out for your safety?

You assume that it’s because he cares. In his own little ways maybe, but it’s in moments like this where you really get to catch a glimpse of how far you and Joel have come together. It’s called friendship, people that you can trust. And Joel is your friend, but boy do you want it to be more than that. You want him to take you in his arms, seal his lips over your with a fervent kiss then fuck you senseless. Stop thinking about him like that! Now is not the time! You yell inside.

“Keep movin’, girl.” Joel urges you forward quickly, but carefully too so you don’t trip and fall. “Keep going, just keep going.” He repeats and your mind thinks of him saying those words in an entirely different scenario. Sighing frustration, you needed to get a grip of yourself and act proper, especially at a time like this when you can hear the Hunters boots ascending the stairwell. There’s only five of them, easy numbers to take, but Joel seems adamant to put space between you both and them for some reason.

Upon reaching the end of the hall, he looks into the empty rooms and sees that one of them has a giant hole in the ceiling. “Alright, up there.” He ushers inside fast. “We’ll lose them up here.”

“Joel-” You try to protest, finding reason for his absurdly different fight tactics. “-Why are we trying to lose them? We should fight.”

“Not now, Y/N.” He brushes you off, then forcefully turns you around to face the cabinet underneath the hole. Gasping from the contact of his hands boosting you up by your ass, suddenly you don’t feel the need to protest anymore and love his new fight tactics. Jesus! That small amount of contact was sparking pleasure, but it wasn’t enough. You wanted more.

Turning around and reaching out for him, he climbs the cabinet with ease and takes your hand to be pulled up through the hole, however he loses his footing and causes you both to stumble backwards, the action pushing your breasts into his chest as his thigh jams between your legs. “Oh!” You moan, and your cheeks instantly begin to burn, however Joel doesn’t pay any attention to it.

“Shit, that was my bad. Are you hurt or good to keep moving?” He asks, completely oblivious to the fact you had just breathed a moan into his face, enjoying the contact of his leg grinding against your core. “Y-yes.” You stutter, hoping to keep your silly emotions hidden from him. “I’m good. Let’s move.”

Moving out of the room and into the hallway at a slow pace, you could hear the Hunters searching for you and Joel on the floor below, however there was a much more prevalent danger lurking on this floor. Infected were standing dormant, awaiting stimulus in their surroundings. “Oh shit.” Joel grunts softly, pulling you close to him and dipping into another empty room.

As much as you like how protective he was being right now, it wasn’t like him and you had enough. “What is wrong with you?” You ask, trying to reason with him. “We’re putting ourselves into more and more danger here. We need to kill the threats and get out of here.”

“Y/N - not now.” Joel persists, gesturing with his hand to get you to stop prying. “You wouldn’t understand anyways, darlin’.”

“Understand what?” Asking him another question, even though you can visually see that he is pissed off, you felt comfortable enough with the man to know he wouldn’t direct that anger at you, but he doesn’t answer. Watching him look around the room for anything he can use to fight with, you watch the man you’ve seen fight enemies with his bare hands look frantic and distressed. It was worrying.

Why is he so worried? You wonder. We’ve been in worse situations before. After hearing the distant sounds of Hunters climbing through the hole you and Joel climbed through, he looked at you with heavy eyes. His expression cycled through the emotions, as if there were too many to handle all at once. “Jesus, Joel.” You whisper, shaking your head at him. “Talk to me, what is wrong with you right no-”

“I don’t want to lose you!” He yells - actually yells, not caring about who or what he alerts. An imaginary gust of wind blows through the room between you and Joel as you just stand there, staring at him. Those words drifted around the room, clung to the air and held a heavy amount of weight. He doesn’t want to lose me? Your eyes widen with the meaning of that statement. A smile on your lips appears. That imaginary weight hanging in the balance drops and love wraps itself around your body like a warm blanket. Joel doesn’t want to lose you, because he loves you.

Gliding across the room, your lips crash onto his in a searing kiss as you push him backwards. The sounds of Hunters fighting Infected fading out in the background as you push him into a closet. Joel pushes back, but only far enough to reach for the doors and close them, completely encasing you in darkness, wrapped up in his big, strong arms, wrapped up in his love.

“Y/N.” He groans your name in a whisper, a soft breathy sigh, hinted with desperation. Fighting for leverage by grabbing your hips, the man pulls you into him as he bucks his hips forward, showing his dire need in this exact moment. Silly, silly emotions in a time like this, but it’s apparent that you’re not the only one with untimely emotions. Joel is hard, painfully hard, it’s currently poking into your lower stomach. And you - you are soaked through with desire.

“Joel.” Breaking off from his passionate kiss, you hold a finger to his lips and whisper. “Stay quiet, handsome.” You plant a kiss on the corner of his lips then fall to your knees, the action drawing out a shaky ‘fuck me’ from him before he tosses his head back, biting the back of his hand. Your delicate hands roam the expanse of his clothed crotch, palming his bulge with intention before working the belt buckle open.

Wishing that he could see you within the darkness of this small space, Joel focuses on your touch and pictures your beautiful face behind his closed eyes. The zipper to his jeans open and his cock springs free, audibly slapping his stomach. He breathes heavily with anticipation, feeling you pull his jeans down until they pool around his ankles, and then, your warm breath fans over him. The sensation of your soft lips and shallow breath trailing up his inner thigh making his cock twitch, you stop at his hip and plant a kiss on the skin.

“Y/N - please.” Pleadings choking up his throat, he can physically feel you smiling into the kiss on his other hip before you reassure him. “We’ll get there, baby.” You say sweetly while dragging your tongue up his rock hard cock then back down again. “I want to take my time with you.”

“I'm afraid we won’t have enough time, darlin’.” He grunts, still biting the back of his hand to muffle his moans, however he couldn’t stop the sharp gasping noise he made when your lips landed on his balls. You took the sac in your mouth, swirled your tongue around and very carefully sucked, just enough pressure that it was all pleasure for him. “Goddammit!” His growl hums through his hand, biting the flesh so hard it was close to drawing blood. “When the time comes, girl.” Joel's voice whispers down from above, laced with warning. “When the time comes, you’ll feel my payback for days, darlin’.”

“Oh, I look forward to it.” You moan, then correct yourself. “In fact, I’m desperate for it, Joel. I’m desperate for you.” Licking a path up his cock again, this time you give the man what he so dearly wants and take the head of him your mouth, extracting a pornographic noise from his lips. You hum eagerly when burying your face into the hairs of his mound, holding yourself there for a few seconds before pulling back with an obscene gasp for air.

“Show me how desperate you are, Joel.” You heave a silent request for him to take over, to fuck your face like he owns your mouth like it’s his own personal warm hole. “Take me, baby - I’m yours.” You mewl, practically begging him. It was disgraceful of you, on your knees with your mouth open, ready for him.

“My pleasure, doll.” Joel grunts before threading his fingers through your hair, gripping it tightly before thrusting his cock inside your mouth. You choked, feeling the tip of his prod the back of your throat in the most delicious way. There was no time to wait and so he began fucking your mouth at a steady pace, giving you a break for air each time he pulled his hips back. “Play with yerself, babydoll.” He groans through gritted teeth, eyes rolling to the back of his head from the wet glucking noise of you taking him whole every time. “Go on, get that pussy ready for me, Y/N.”

Moaning around him, the bliss-filled tears stain your cheeks as you slip your hand down your body and inside your jeans fingers landing directly over your clit. You jolt from the delectable sensation and coat your fingers with your slick before delving two inside your quivering hole. “Oh that’s it, darlin’. Good girl.” Joel praises, smiling from the sounds he could hear. “You’re drenched, I can hear that wet little pussy, baby.”

Moaning again, you nod when he buries your face into his mound and Joel keeps you there while using his other hand to palm your breasts through the fabric. “Know how many times I caught myself staring at these? Huh?” He asks, then pinches your nipple, drawing out a cry from you. “Oh, there she is.” He mocks a sickly sweet compliment. “There’s my girl.”

Hips pulling back to give you a break for air, Joel twists his body and brings you with him, now with your back placed to the wall. “Keep those open.” He kicks your feet apart, then warns. “You’re gonna take my load, baby. I’m close.” You manage to utter a teasing reply before he forcefully opens your mouth and buries his cock inside again, muffling your moans of pleasure.

Sampling a taste of him, you swallowed beads of pre-cum and used your other hand to cup his balls, fondling them gently to get him there. You jaw aches and the back of your throat felt bruised, but if you could, you’d allow Joel to fuck your mouth mercilessly for as long as he possibly wanted. His pleasure is yours, and although you like receiving, you love to give a whole lot more. Just hearing him grunting above and feeling his hips snap forward was driving you over the edge into the pools of ecstasy. You wish you could see his cock, but just feeling him in your mouth suggests that the stretch is going to be impressive when the time comes.

“Shit!” He breathes sharply, resting his forearm against the wall while fucking your mouth. He slipped his hand behind your head, protecting you from the contact as his pace picks up. “Oh God. I’m gonna cum. Holy shit, holy shit! Baby, I’m cumming!” Joel yells, bursting ropes of his warmth on your tongue and you gulp it back, emptying your mouth to take more. The noise of your actions was loud, you could hear it yourself and you knew Joel could too. He even praised it. “Yes, baby, yes. Keep going, just like that.” He cries, thighs jerking from the sensitivity. “Take it all, Y/N. Nnugh! Good girl, there we go.”

Pulling back and only hearing you catch your breath from below, Joel does the same and breathes through the aftermath of his orgasm. He misses the sight of your face, hates the darkness in this closet that keeps him from seeing you. Nothing outside this small space could be heard and he takes a gamble that the danger has disappeared. Standing up straight, he kicks the door open behind him with his foot and light floods the room. And he didn’t think you could look any more sexy than what you are.

Sitting on the floor with your knees to your chest, spread out with your hand inside your jeans, where there was a clear damp patch in the crotch area, but your face…Oh God, your face drives him - a sound minded man - absolutely stir crazy with hunger for more. A mixture of his cum and your spit smeared across your chin, your pretty eyes blotchy with tears as your cheeks blossom red - you look beautiful. Beautiful and desirable. “Oh.” You say, crooking one eyebrow with a smirk on your lips. “Looks like someone isn’t finished yet.”

Looking at his growing cock, it hardened again and you were right, he isn’t finished. Not at all. “C’mere.” He whispers softly, reaching down to help you off the floor. Kissing you on the lips while walking backwards until he meets the base of a bed, Joel slips his hands to your front and impatiently opens up your jeans. The man didn’t even wait until they were at your feet before sliding his cock through your slit, coating himself with your desire. The position was something you’ve never done before, he was rolling his hips forward, using your thighs that were squeezed together to give him pleasure, which was stimulating your clit.

“I need you.” He mumbles into your mouth, desperate to feel your warmth wrap around him. “Take your shirt off, baby. I’ve fantasized about how your boobs look for too long.”

Taking your shirt off along with your bra, Joel wastes no time with ducking his head down and taking your pert nipple into his mouth, sucking on the sensitive skin harshly with a gentle bite. “Joel!” You mewl. Tossing your head back as he grunts like some wild animal chasing his own high. Dropping an arm to your leg, he brings it up high, spreading you apart so he can take what he really wants. A broken whine escapes you as he inserts the tip of him inside, round and bulbous, stretching you open nicely for what's to come next.

“I don’t ever want to lose you.” Joel repeats his statement from earlier, burying himself to the hilt inside your heat. Relishing in your moans of pleasure as you clench around him, he presses his forehead to yours and whispers. “That’s why we’re leaving the group. We’re never going back to them - they’re gonna get us killed and I can’t lose you, darlin. I can’t.”

“Joel.” You sigh a breath of relief. After planting a kiss on his lips, joy floods your chest with a smile spreading across your lips. You look him in the eyes, feeling his warmth inside of you, wrapping you up in his love, and therefore bringing you to repeat your statement from earlier too. “I’m yours, Joel.”

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Joel Miller Taglist: @extraneous-trip @readsalot73 @luvmeijii @pale-gingerale @joelsflannel @something-tofightfor @ponyofmilfmom @hb8301 @squidwell @spideysimpossiblegirl @mooraakath @michele131 @chxpsi @zeida @wordsfromshona @dins-cyare @maggiehelene @trickstersp8 @faceache111 @killergodessmm

#pearly's que #this post is queued!#joel miller #joelmiller #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x y/n #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller smut #joel miller fluff #joelmillerfluff #pearlyfics #follow 👑 share ❤️ enjoy 🍑#enjoyreaders

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izanazqueen · 9 months

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The end of August. ~

izana kurokawa x birthday reader.

a/n: this is my second piece dedicated to izana for his bday month and the entry to the sano collab 2023 hosted by the lovely @fueledbysano - no warnings just fluff + more fluff ! -

August 30 -

izana knew the day. his birthday. to that mind- he couldn't honestly care less. there wasn't any single year in the past where he would think twice about it without desire to acknowledge it but for some strange reason he stubbornly went and decided to listen to his subordinate when kakucho told him that maybe he should stop by on his way back home to the apartment at the newly built gigantic pet shop he had over heard other people talking earlier about that just opened up in the main heart of the city. he wanted to dismiss the younger with no want whatsoever other than returning to his abode to be by himself for the remainder of the dreaded day until he heard him say between under his own not so subtlety made murmurs and moans mumbling about not giving a shit that he was going on telling him all about the fresh aquatic tank that was apart of the feature. ' fine- i will pass by outside. ' kakucho fonldly smiled at his king - ' sure. izana - ' it didn't take a genius to make it known well that his boss was elated at the idea of it.

making his way across town izana was rushing through the zoo of people crowded in the busy streets of yokohama when he saw that a large sum of them were crowded in one area. figuring that this had to be the place kakucho had been speaking about when he walked a little bit slower not very much interested in the idea in the first place but still curious as to what could be inside those large glass windows- way too glaringly sunny outside hitting the reflections to really get a good view of the inside. from the exterior izana could tell that they ones who run the place must have a lot of money and experience with this because it was well-made and stunning from the quality of the the brick work and architecture surrounding the arched doorway. his mind went in full interest of what could be possibly hiding beyond the entrance.

trailing on inside he noticed there were walls of animals and products designed to attract even the most unwilling of eyes to be drawn in. he didn't want to waste much time in this place that was packed almost as tightly as a concert venue- it was all of the ridiculous noise that was too much for him in addition to the amount of screaming children and small barking from the playful pups that had him turning away- ready to storm out of the place without a second thought until his eyes met a sign with a closed doorway that read "aquarium- please keep down. do not scare the fish." perfect. izana had darted though the door as quick as possible to free his ears from the deafening annoyance to find just a few others occupying the dark area shining from the rich shades and hues of purple and blues from the brightly lit blacklights of the huge majestic tank filled with an array of vastly different domesticated sea life- his every dream come true. he stared half gaped- drawn in widely openly amazed at the fine specimens he was witnessing in front of him. there were so many varieties and different kinds to view that he almost let himself slip a subtle pleased grin grace his features- almost.

izanas eyes scanned the tank- tracing the small lines and rows of the little schools swimming with eacother and landscape of all different sizes and colors of camouflage for the fish to play and hide from watching eyes. figuring he wouldn't go and let his efforts coming into this place be in vain and feelings of conflict whether he should possibly even bring one of the variety home with him stirring in his chest- he stared to explore more of what the vast stretching room length tank had to offer. while making his way through the different options slowly trying his best to not look too interested but in his mind the thrill was too much and starting to get to him. there were so many to choose from and he didn't know where to begin to try and choose one.

as he stared he saw across the room a small area where the fish had been separated from each other. they were known as beta fish- the only kind of fish that could not be in contact with others due to its tendency to attack them on sight not stopping even going in for blood. how amusing- he thought. it sounded a bit to familiar to his own ears- probably the reason why he admired them the most. before he could reach the area with the small clearing between the onlooking patrons his eyes caught a flash of his favorite color amidst the crowd- a deep shade of fire red. izana blinked twice before noticing the beautiful gown hugging your skin and curves practically sparkling under the lights reflecting from off of the fish tank- glowing in front of his eyes. he couldn't help but aimlessly make his way next to you to get a better look at the gorgeous sight that was this tantalizing spectacle to behold in this place.

izana came to see as he approached your side that he noticed you had no particular interest in anything else in that room other than the one little fish you just kept on staring at. ' is that one your favorite? ' he bubbled at you- with a smirk written over lips that was unbeknownst to him. 'oh sorry. did you want that one? cause i - ' you responded almost half aware that there was even a person beside you. turning your breathe got stuck in your throat as you glanced at him noticing his white platinum short undercut hairstyle almost illuminated by the glow of the aquarium in contrast to his his tanned warm complexion paired with a set of red dangling traditional style earrings and his large attractive lilac eyes underneath his radiant strands. you were completely taken back- he was one of the finest men you had ever seen before. his light eyes watching you as he waited eagerly for you to finish your thought from earlier as you were speechless and struggled to compose your thoughts. responding now a bit shyer in your tone you met his stare with a cheerful delighted expression matching with his own. ' well it's just- that one right there is sad- at least that's what it seems to me .. ' izana was left flustered at your words- drawn back right at the moment you had said them out loud.

' well, why would you say that ? ' izana paused for a moment staring into your concerned eyes. ' - how could you even tell what that little guys thinking? ' he perked his head to the side- full on curiosity now rolling through his mind. you glanced back at the tank and spoke without looking back too afraid of him seeing the nervousness written all over you from how close he was to your body. you felt the air around you become filled with his sweet aroma from an almost lavender trace to his cologne he was sporting- a pleasant scent that was teasing the the last of your desires. he was a put together well dressed very handsome gentleman that was not like anyone you'd seen throughout the time spent you'd been in this city. you responded to his questioning of your thought process after taking in a second to form the right words 'there is no way of knowing- honestly.. i mean he's just kinda keeping to that little corner not even bothering to notice the people all around him- he must be real lonely and hurt inside to not even desire a home with one of these - ' cutting you off he spoke strictly. ' maybe he likes it better that way.. ' izana wasn't speaking only about the fish now. feeling a bit annoyed by your words it left him with an even more irritating stinging feeling in his chest. you felt sorry for the little fish- he saw it in your eyes that were practically welling with sadness and threatening to spill actual tears in the process of speaking about how you felt for it so dearly. ' why don't you bring him home with you then if you think it's that lonely?'

' well i would but i can't actually- i don't have the proper place right now. im kind of in between moving and would not be able to give him the right attention going between the two- sadly. ' concern in his lilac eyes but not wanting to pry he left it alone even if he was now interested in knowing your situation beyond these walls. in that moment izana couldnt take his eyes off of your frame - almost studying your every move making you turn away back to gazing at the small red fish swimming around slowly in the corner of it's tank. you continued ' but i really wish i could- he deserves to be with a caring person who will give it the attention and loves it probably desires desperately. ' izana flinched- your words affecting him in a way you would never know. ' fine- i'll take him then. ' your eyes began to shimmer with hope. with a delicate smile you beamed at him ' you will!? oh that is fanatastic! - ' his stoic face melted unnoticed to himself to a softened smirk feeling as the brick wall around his heart had been crumbled to dust. why were you so damn pleased about that little fish getting a place to go to? he couldn't understand your motivation but he was truly humbled by your genuine content and relief on your face. for a moment he thought maybe you two were similar- the reasons flooding his brain with possibilities without a clear answer. izana wanted to ask you just as to why it was so important to you but before he could speak- your arms wrapped around his waist cause of how your pure excitement took over before you could even realize what you were doing. izana's lavender orbs expanded beyond the largest possible way and he became totally enraptured by your sudden embrace of him.

the scent of your perfume hitting his brain and the soft touch of your gentle hands that had accidentally slipped sliding under past his dress shirt had him practicing his breathing patterns in short breaths inside of his small pants from how close your body was to his own tempting him that was causing him to erupt in flames. you realized quickly that you crossed a line with someone you had barely known and quickly pulled apart from him in your flustered panic. ' i'm sorry about that. really- i just.. ' izana gathered himself in dread of his facial expression in that moment. 'it's fine.' he mused back at you. ' don't worry about it. ' normally if someone had the nerve to place a hand on him he would have met them with his swift heel kick to the jaw. yet right now- he couldn't get enough of it. wanting with the most endless passion to grab you back and feel your warmth against him in that tight arm lock that had left him heavily reeling- from how much he needed to feel you again. there was no way he could admit that to himself let alone to you. his pride wouldn't allow for as much. he put his palm on your shoulder the closest thing that izana could bring himself to try and do to relieve this tension around the two of you.

he spoke with care for someone for once in his voice and in a wispy light tone he said to you - ' cmon. let's get to the checkout before i change my mind - ' not wanting to sound even a tinge of desperation in his voice to make that ever so beautiful smile on your face come back to light- which it did as soon as he said them. ' ok! let's go- ' you happily exclaimed with pure joy echoing in your tone clasping onto his firm large slightly sweaty hand from how truly nervous he was being around someone that was as attractive as you were to him. izana didn't ever want to let go- as you raced as fast as you could with him to the counter out front to purchase the prized red beta before he could say otherwise. as you made your way through the crowd your hands started to pull apart trying to get past the people swarming around and your heart twitched at the feeling of him grabbing on to your own tighter as to make sure you didn't let go of his. if he could have seen the small sweet smile that had spread on your face knowing he was the cause it he probably would have went unstable with his thoughts of what that meant but you hid it as rapidly as you reached the register feeling the warmth on your cheeks from how the feeling of him against you was affecting your mind.

that night- izana placed the little tank he had bought for the red fish arranged perfectly on his night stand next to his bed. he stared at it with intent as it looked with it's small black eyes right back into him. his grin widened thinking to himself how it must be glad to have someone to be with now no longer alone in that dark back corner of the aquarium. he felt for a second of a hint of jealousy in it's tiny reflection for himself- before his mind chased to the moment he first witnessed you in that stunning red garment with every one of his senses starting to tingle with each breath that left his lips practically sighing from the feelings burrowing their way through his heart. izana felt ashamed for letting you leave the pet store without as much as a way to contact you again. settling himself in- he grabbed his acoustic guitar and began strumming with strokes of pretty notes filling the air with the aura of his solemn mood. glancing over towards the tank he stopped momentum and began playing a bit slower when he noticed the little red companion glaring straight at him moving quickly from what he assumed to be the music. placing his guitar down on his mattress he sauntered on over to where the fish was now swimming much more now in tiny motions. ' huh, you must like that sound don't ya- little guy? ' izana spoke to the fish aware that it couldn't give him a response.

izana bent down closer to get a better view of it's nice tones of red and golden colors and he noticed that something was sticking out slightly from under the tank. the receipt was stuck to the bottom a little bit crumpled up so izana grabbed it out from underneath the fish's new home to toss it away in the trash when he saw the small finely written numbers scribbled on the back side with a tiny little heart next to it.

- ' y/n ' izana read it out loud and with his mind running endlessly- he was left there completely speechless and distraught. knowing he should have been the one himself to have asked you but taken back by your action of boldness and desire to contact him feeling restlessly anxious he practically ran over to where his cell phone was charging grabbing it without hesitatation. izana slowly entered the digits as to not mess up the code to hearing your gentle voice once more. catching his breath he paused before hitting the call button momentarily desperate to know exactly why you had chosen to give him your personal contact when he thought back to how much you wanted to find his new found companion a home- how lonely you thought he was there all alone in that pet shop. now nervously pressing the call button because of the fear that he was initially right about you two being similar- he panicked and almost hung up when he heard you speak clearly through the other end- ' hi! ..is this- by chance izana? ' the world felt shaky and he was on cloud nine from how delighted you sounded as he struggled to make his voice sound normal. 'how'd could you guess? ' it was the only thing that he could get out. izana could feel his vocal chords trembling in sequence of his words as if they had a mind of their own. ' i'm so glad!- ' you answered him in a high pitch elation of your enthusiasm for it actually being him that called you. ' where you waiting for me to call you all evening? ' izana said now with his heart giving a curious beat thrumming through his veins. he couldn't believe you- even having the guts sticking the receipt carefully back in his purchase without him noticing to begin with. ' yes- i have been mr. izana. - it took you long enough.. thought maybe you didn't want to see me again that maybe- ' ' .. kurokawa. ' he ended your sentence for you. ' my name is mr. kurokawa.' he retorted to you with dignity. continuing his thoughts he went on- ' and yes. i would very much like to see you again. - y/n. ' your sultry voice had him way beyond the point of caring of his weakness for you showing when he heard you squeak in your praise. ' oh thank goodness! - well .. are you by chance busy this evening?.. ' tonight. he thought back to what the day was as he peeked at the clock seeing it was only 9pm- still technically his birthday. izana mustered the courage to give you his response in honest. 'well- no. just home hanging out with my new friend. ' the simple act of him saying so made him hear in your voice the smile the was evident on your face even if he couldn't see it. hearing you on the phone had him in a state of glory for having the nerve to dial the number in the first place- happiness taking over him in every way imaginable. his face had burned up at the next thing that came out from your lips- ' mind if i come by- to visit you two? ' izana had felt himself go numb in shock without knowing how to answer. the response he gave was a bit mufled and barely audible but you had heard him no less. ' i - actually would like that a lot.. ' this time izana spent his birthday for the first year ever with someone other than himself. making him feel satisfied deeply and content. not only cause of that little fish now stuck with him for life but because this was the special day that he had been fortunate enough to meet you. it was now and would be his favorite day of the year to look forward to from that day on -

please do not copy / repost my work

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yggdraseed · 8 months

Text

My Deal with Giselle Gewelle

So, let me preface this by saying that I'm trans. I'm not saying that to invalidate the feelings of other trans people, just to specify that mine isn't some outsider's perspective. There's also spoilers for Bleach: TYBW, but I'm guessing that there aren't a lot of interested parties left who don't know about this. You probably also know this goes into transphobia, necrophilia, and rape, but if you don't, uh... trigger warning! Reader beware, you're in for a scare!

Recently, an episode of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War came out in which noted bitchy asshole who uses too much product Yumichika Ayasegawa misgendered darling, sweet murderous trans babygirl Giselle Gewelle. It's also implied that upon necromancing Bambietta's corpse, Giselle had sex with her, probably against her will. That's all pretty fucked up, and I want to talk about it.

I started my transition about ten years ago, and exposure to trans or gender non-conforming anime and manga characters in general went a long way towards me accepting I was trans. Looking back, Giselle was one of the most significant characters to me at that early stage. I've always loved her design, and she was the first legit trans character I ever really saw and resonated with in anime and manga.

Get this: there used to be this thing in Shonen Jump's manga line-up called the Big Three. The most influential, bestselling manga in the bunch. One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. And you wanna know something? Bleach was the first one to have a trans woman character. We can debate whether or not Giselle was good representation, but you know what? At the time, the closest we ever got was Haku pulling the "Oh, by the way, I'm a boy" card in Naruto's first major arc back in the early 2000s and a constant bombardment of okama jokes in One Piece. Okama is a derogatory term for gay men and drag queens, and for a long time, Oda could not get enough of making jokes about big, hairy men in women's clothing.

Now there was also Alluka Zoldyck in Hunter X Hunter, but the vast stretches of time Hunter X Hunter spends on hiatus makes it unclear to me whether she or Giselle came first. But within the Big Three - a designation which doesn't mean much now, but meant a ton back then - Giselle was first. Hunter X Hunter was never quite considered part of the Big 3. But either way, I think Alluka is the better character in terms of how her being trans is written. She's cute, she's precious, she's perfect in every way, and I'll make you pay if you say a single bad thing about her.

Years and years later, Oda would go on to write Kikunojo and Yamato. I still have complicated thoughts about Yamato as trans rep, but Kiku is great trans rep for being a relatively minor character. Oda has also phased the okama jokes out of the story over time. Jujutsu Kaisen also has a subtle, but well-handled example of a trans woman in Kirara Hoshi. She doesn't get nearly enough time in the story, and her identity hasn't been explored yet, but I hope GeGe will unpack that before the story's conclusion.

I tell you all of that so you realize that even if Giselle could have been handled better, Kubo was the first of the Big 3 authors to even try to write a trans girl. Not a femboy, not an okama - a trans woman/girl. He also gave us Charlotte Cuulhorne, and while Charlotte's depiction flirts with being just an okama gag and nothing more, she's so fabulous and so positive in her outlook on life that I can't bring myself to be mad.

So let's look at Giselle as a character. She's very cute, with her big eyes and goofy, purposefully adorable mannerisms. None of the other Sternritter girls try to be cute in quite the way Giselle does. Meninas likes cute things, but doesn't act cute, and that's as close as it gets. Unlike the other Femritters, Giselle wears clothes that cover up as much as possible. Even Liltotto's outfit shows off her shoulders and thighs some; Giselle keeps her shoulders and neck completely covered by a baggy sweater, and her legs covered by tights. Kubo drew a swimsuit picture with the Bambis all together, and he opted to put Giselle in a swimsuit with a skirt. It's pretty apparent that Giselle has concerns about how she looks and covers up as much as she can out of dysphoria. As a card-carrying member of the big jacket-long pants-closed toe shoes gang, I can tell you that when you're not very progressed with your transition, it's like that.

I think you can also make the argument that part of why Giselle acts so cutesy is because of her insecurities and feeling like she has to make up for them by being extra, overtly feminine and adorable. It's like that.

There's not a doubt in my mind that Kubo intended for Giselle to be trans. But is she good trans rep? Probably not, but she might not be as bad as she's made out to be.

People who criticize how Giselle is depicted as a trans character have two or three go-to arguments. Three points of interest to say that she's being written in a transphobic way.

1.) Yumichika scopes her out as trans and misgenders her.

2.) Charlotte says she and Giselle have a lot in common.

3.) The most damning: what Giselle does to Bambietta.

So, I've never liked people using Yumichika as a litmus test for how Kubo feels about trans people. Let me explain something to you: Yumichika is a bitch, an asshole, and the consummate gadfly. One of his defining traits is his awful personality and his inability to resist saying cruel, petty things to others. He's awful to Charlotte and he's awful to GiGi, and he's pretty much awful to anyone besides Ikkaku and Kenpachi, but especially Charlotte and GiGi.

Yumichika is an allegory for a closeted gay man. He has this deep admiration, respect, loyalty, and arguably love for Kenpachi and Ikkaku that's led him to stay in the 11th Division even though it's not where his talents are best put to work. He's adept at kido and his zanpakuto is based in kido, but he refuses to use the former or reveal the latter to his squad because he doesn't want them to reject him. The 11th Division is the manly man squad, all testosterone and sweat and bulging muscles and... ahem. Sorry, I got a little carried away. It's all very erotic. Anyways, Yumichika wants to be close to the men with whom he shares a bond of emotion and martial loyalty alike, and he refuses to embrace his gifts because of it. He's afraid his friends in the boys' club will kick him out for having interests and inclinations that most of them look down on.

I think you can make the argument that Yumichika hates Charlotte and Giselle precisely because they're being true to themselves, meaning they've made a leap he hasn't yet. He's too scared of what might happen if he doesn't keep the lie going about his zanpakuto, and he resents Giselle and Charlotte because they overcame a similar fear of rejection. And he expresses that by rejecting their truth, i.e., misgendering them. This is the interpretation I like the best. It's a sad fact that lots of gay men, closeted or otherwise, refuse to accept trans women.

Charlotte says she and Giselle have a lot in common, and honestly, I don't think this is transphobic either. If you choose to read Charlotte as a trans woman who isn't stereotypically feminine, but is true to herself, then what she's stating is just a fact. She and Giselle may not look the same, and Giselle may have an easier time passing, but they're both trans women if you ask me. And I think Giselle reacting with discomfort isn't innaccurate, either. Charlotte's confidence is admirable in some ways, but I think it sets of Giselle's alarm bells that she's going to be outed and rejected. Lots of trans women - myself included - are haunted by this fear that we'll never pass, never be accepted, or will be incapable of retaining our desired presentation as we get older. It's like that.

So, that brings us to the Bambietta Incident. Not quite as wide-reaching as the Shibuya Incident, but about as traumatizing for some, apparently. Full disclosure, I don't believe any heinous acts should be censored from fiction. If it makes you uncomfortable or awakens traumatic memories, then I'm sympathetic to that, but I do not believe that the right answer is to sanitize every work of fiction of every immoral act that could have that effect. You know where your limits are, so don't count on authors to protect you. Most of them won't, and I think you're stronger and smarter and more able to navigate a world with fictitious depictions like that in it than you realize.

I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, Giselle probably sexually assaulted Bambi. And is that right of her to do? Fuck no, it isn't. But nobody's really debating if that's right or wrong. The problem is that if you look at it a certain way, this is just reinforcing the old, awful stereotype of trans women being predators in disguise. Lots of shitty writers have done that, and it sucks.

However, those depictions assume that trans women are predators, by definition. Or at least sexual deviants. We could go down the rabbit hole of how sexual deviancy has historically been defined by people who use sex as a form of control anyway, but I'm not well-read enough to do that and - well, you've seen how long this post is. Be honest, you wouldn't want me to even try.

The point is that a depiction like that assumes trans woman = deviant. I don't want to make that logical leap here, because that means you need to assume that Kubo wrote Giselle with the intention that she assaulted Bambi because she's trans. I'm not a mind reader, so I'm uncomfortable with acting like I can know Kubo's intentions. It's a bad look to us in the Western sphere of the anime fandom, but I'm not sure how Kubo saw it. He might have not realized how it would look until that chapter was out there and he couldn't undo it, but given the fact they kept it in the anime, he either probably doesn't see a problem with it or there were other rewrites he saw as more important to allocate his mental energies to. Writing Bleach burned this man out, so I'll cut him some slack if so.

My point is, I'm not sure if you can say for sure that the story intends you to believe that Giselle assaulted Bambi because she's trans. When you look at it, Kubo seems to have a more in-depth understanding of trans people than some of you might have first realized. And I mean, shit man, he gave her biology manipulation powers. Every trans girl's first pick for super powers is shapeshifting or some form of biology manipulation. He knows. He's onto us. He's familiar with our ways. The jig is up, girls.

Looking at the broader scope of the narrative, Bleach is littered with characters who perform heinous actions and are not just shoved out the "All Villains Die" airlock. Chief example being Mayuri. The man committed war crimes, experiments on human beings, turns his own subordinates into bombs, and is heavily implied to have performed some very sexual deeds to reconstitute his daughter Nemu after Szayel parasitized her. Yet he still saves the day multiple times and he isn't gotten rid of, because he's more useful to the side of overall good alive than dead. Bleach is one of very few series to have characters who perform heinous deeds and still be treated as humans, rather than reducing them to those deeds and nothing else.

Plus, nobody really treats it as an issue with Kubo's writing that Bambietta killed one of her own fellow Quincies in cold blood just to vent her frustrations. I think because it's sexual and because Giselle is trans, she ends up being the lightning rod when... let's be honest, compared to what some of the Shinigami have done, what Giselle did is kind of quaint. She even helps rescue Candice and I think Meninas after they're taken captive by Mayuri in the novels, and she's considering releasing Bambietta from her control.

Given what we've seen, I think it's less accurate to pick on Giselle and try to say she's a case of Kubo being transphobic, and more accurate to say that living in the Shadow Realm under Yhwach's cruel, exploitative regime has made all the Sternritters fucked up in their own unique, vibrant ways. And for that matter, Kubo never kills her off. He clearly likes her enough to want her to still be around after the end of the series.

When you look at how Kubo draws Giselle in the manga and in illustrations after the manga's conclusion, you can tell he enjoys himself when he's drawing her. He always lavishes her facial expressions with detail, and you can feel love radiating off the page. That's more than you can say for a lot of the Quincies. I think Kubo was overjoyed to not have to draw PePe and his Vollständig anymore.

So like, yeah, Giselle is my problematic fave transgender character. And I don't think she's even as problematic as people's kneejerk reactions are to think she is. If you disagree, I don't care, I don't value your opinion. Particularly if you're not trans. If you're an ally, then that's sweet and all, but never try to speak for trans people about depictions of trans characters. If you are trans and Giselle made you uncomfortable, then I'm sorry you feel that way.

#giselle gewelle #bleach #bleach tybw #tybw #tybw spoilers #bleach spoilers #transgender #problematic fave #if you misgender charlotte cuulhorne then god will take seven years off your life and make you go bald #fuck yumichika #but he still has a fresh style #giselle's little dance when she made dead boy dance party skeletons attack ichigo watered my crops and cleared my skin

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