#each new one is a shitty terrible surprise and you're like HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED TO ME

[muffinmonstah-art]

I think because nobody really makes any ship content for Jason and Barbara and it is extremely rare to see art for them, especially right now where everything is Dick and Barbara. So it’s nice to see that there is still a community out there or people who still like Jason and Barbara as a pairing. I absolute adore your JayBabs art! It’s so beautiful!

It's cute that my JayBabs art has been feeding my ask box a lot lately. I've produced a lot of fanart for niche ships over the years and I've never brought this type of attention to myself. By what you're saying the JayBabs tag has been very deprived of content. That's kinda sad. But it's not a big deal in my eyes. You'd be surprised by the fact that the majority of people engaging on the Batfam fandom online probably don't even know this ship exists and have no previous judgement towards it.

Sometimes you just need the one fanart that gets viral for the ship to gain a few new entusiastic shippers :)

The DickBabs ship is just Batwriter agenda, crafted with the purpose to keep Dick isolated from having any relevant bond outside the Batman property. And it's so fucking plastic and poorly writen that constantly gets in the way of everything even inside the Batman related stories. I'm starving for Jason & Dick content first and foremost, and I can't stand this shit getting in the way of every single Batfam dynamic involving Dick. Seriously, where are my Jason&Dick centered stories? I want Nightwing&Batman stories too without any nasty ships stealing valious pages from the story that could be used to explore other more relevant things. Do I also have to mention how annoying it is that Dick cannot count on his friends anymore because now his only bestie is the woke bitch?

The idea of me shipping this kind of editorial plastic craft that stank of "Batwriter agenda" since day 1, instead of a blank page full of potential for writers like JayBabs is laughable honestly.

Even worse it becomes when you add the fact that my most hated fictional trope of all times: the "childhood soulmates" one was injected to this turd back then, when the characters' ages were retconed to add their off-panel "history together" bullshit.

I have a problem with this trope. I have a big personal problem with any fictional ship that follows this shitty trope. This bland idealized fantasy that consists in two characters that meet each other as kids, and they become the first crush for each other, and become best friends and later on they start to date and they make love and they grow up together and stay together for the rest of their lives blablablah does not vibe at all with me. The reason? I LIVED IT IN REAL LIFE. The love of my life is the first man I've dated and the only romantic experience I had. It's been many many years since we started dating.

I get why normies instantly become attached and idealize this kind of relationships in fiction. Because in real life this is not the norm. The probabilites of someone having their first crush on their soulmate at a young age are what… 0.00001%? I've met many many people in my life, so did my boyfriend (and he knows thrice people than me), and even for the Catholic standards from my country, the number of people we've met that had a story similar to ours is NONE. It's no wonder really why so many writers write this ships so badly, and why the audiences of those stories cannot identify how awful those ships are. It's a fantasy scenario.

But I lived it, and I hate 99% of ships that fall into this trope because I consider they do a terrible job at depicting a reality that has been my normal day by day basis for the last 13 years. DickBabs is the worst of them all but in my eyes is just another example of why this shitty trope shoud burn in flames and never be used again, unless your typical writer actually tries to sit down for a minute and think about how humans behave and how human relationships work. You don't need to experience what you write in first hand to depict it well, you just need to be intelligent about it, do some proper research.

One day I'll write my own story featuring the childhood soulmates theme. It's going to be heavily based on my personal experience and it's going to bitchslap every stupid writer who ever wrote this trope as a bland boring idealized fantasy. It'll be the deconstruction of the childhood soulmates trope. I'll get to be the Latin American female version of Alan Moore!!!!1111oneone

But either way, I think it'd be nice if we stop mentioning DickBabs while talking about JayBabs. That ship is not a ship that has earned the status of relationship by the sweat and effort of countless writers that tried to make it work over the years like say, Clark and Louis. No. It's a Batwriter agenda shit. A retcon. The fact that it gets constantly shoved down our throats lately doesn't add any depth to that. It just makes it more forced and annoying. It really does not deserve the mention, unless it is to use it as a punching bag lmao.

Let's focus instead on why JayBabs has potential to be a great ship if it ever gets explored on the main continuity.

#asks #anti dickbabs #jaybabs

[deepspacedukat]

Because I can: for the new fmk (slow burn, fake date, enemies to lovers) I bestow upon thee a terrible trial. From S1 and *checks notes* S2E1, I present the following options: Jeffrey Sinclair, G’Kar, and Michael Garibaldi.

And because that’s a horrible selection pool (they’re all 🥺🥺🥺 brain quality, I love them your honor), I present: Vir, Na’Toth, and Londo. (Lennier is too puppy right now for me to put into situations).

-Horta-in-Charge

OH MY GOD. THIS IS VERY MUCH A TRIAL. You know my thoughts about all of these bbs, but here we go!

Alright...Alright, set 1:

Slow Burn: Jeffrey Sinclair - When he met you, he'd have just ended a relationship. After that pain, he would be slow to warm up to anyone beyond the levels of friendship, but once he did, he'd absolutely romance you in the way that only the commander of the station could do.

Fake Date: Michael Garibaldi - He'd be saving you from a scummy bar patron or an annoyingly persistent person who can't take the hint that you're not interested. He'd slide right over to you and say something like "Oh hey, hun. Sorry I'm late. Got held up in security. Is this guy bothering you?" Said scumbag would hurry away when he realized that you were with the Chief of Security. Play acting the rest of the date would be way more fun - this guy's a dork and he'd make the evening fun since it was so shitty before. Surprise, surprise, he's had feelings for you for a while, this just gave him a chance to show you how good it could be to spend time with him.

Enemies To Lovers: G'Kar - This space lizard/marsupial can be grumpy and acerbic when needed, due to his position. I imagine that all it would take is one grumpy remark when the two of you first met to spark a long argument. G'Kar is not one to swallow his pride and apologize, so I could totally see this becoming a long argument that finally snaps one day in a lift. Naturally, both come out with rumpled clothing and puffy lips.

-

You're so right, Lennier is very very puppy. He's got eyes that do the 🥺 thing all the time! I love him and want to pat his lil head. *ahem* Anyway, set 2:

Slow Burn: Londo - He would start out with his usual attempts to impress you with stories of the "Great Centauri Empire" but as he gets to know you, he allows you to see a bit more of what's beneath the surface. You would end up being so dear to him that he wants to show you the utmost respect and affection. That's why he takes his time to romance you.

Fake Date: Vir - Listen, he got himself into a situation. He's a sweet goof, and he tries his best, but uh 👉👈 he accidentally acquired a person flirting with him and he needs someone to help get rid of them. "Please, can you have dinner with me? 🥺" He's a sweet boy and he's very grateful for your help. When you try to actually flirt with him, though, he can't recognize it very easily. By the end of the evening, though, he very much wants to spend more time with you.

Enemies To Lovers: Na'Toth - She's a grumpy lizard. She's rough around the edges. She's prickly at first. She'd totally be the type to end up fighting with someone until the two of them swore how much they hated each other and ended up making out in a corridor.

Thank you, friend!!! 💖

#deepspacedukat asks #horta in charge

[ikwhatyouaremikewheeler]

Cecily Smith: Eddie Munson/ Steve Harrington

Warning: major death,angst, funerals, doctor and hospital mentions, one mentions of guns and cigarettes

The lyrics don't fully match the story but yeah, enjoy!!

Song: 'The war was over I was living with my folks, I yelled upstairs "hey Ma I'm off to grab some smokes" but my father called "why'd you need to smoke so late?" I had lied, I had a date'

Eddie had been going out with Steve in secret for several months, and they were the best days of his life. They had decided to meet up at the corner of Steve's street; so they could 'sneak off to go see some shitty concert' ; at least in Eddie's words. But of course, if his boyfriend was happy with it, he wouldn't judge it (Outwardly). Especially when he had been pleading sounding so excited that he might actually explode. They had been in the hallway when it happened, Steve's eyes wide and practically sparkling, much to Eddie's Dismay. Which is why they were here tonight.. those damn eyes.

Song: 'How she stuck out her hand and said " My name is Cecily Smith and I hope you like music 'cause I got Two tickets for La Traviata" that's when I said "I hate opera" '

Once they had gotten inside, Eddie had been grumbling about how crowded it was, and how it looked boring. "Do we really have to watch this? I mean it can't be that bad but I might die of boredom." Steve rolled his eyes, tugging at Eddie's arm to pull him over to their seats, while I clueless Eddie followed. Hell if Steve asked Nicely he would probably follow him to the ends of the earth. No not probably, he would, no doubt. Steve now sitting down next to him and placing his hands in his lap.

Song: 'we take a seat her hands are folded in her lap, if not a kiss I can at least get a nap'

Steve sat next to Eddie, who looked like he might already fall asleep. Usually when he fell asleep, the other would stare in awe and amazement, wondering how he got to date someone so pretty.

Slowly reaching his hand over to intertwine with Eddie's; who jolted up right after the music had started, his face (thankfully) hidden by the dimmed lights. Looking over to Steve, who was focused on the stage as they sat.

Song: 'Then I hear violins, and the hair on my neck starts rising, a feeling new and surprising, but it wasn't the sound that made my heart pound. No! It was because I found that her hand was in mine'

After a few hours of Torture for Eddie, and absolutely terrible music. They had finally left, walking aimlessly to Steve's car, who asked the simple question of "Sooo.. how boring was it?" Looking over to him as he looked around, before intertwining their hands once again. Quite honestly, with Steve by his side, to Eddie, everything was perfect, even old people music he didn't like. "it wasn't as bad as I thought, but it was long as hell." He groaned, now clinging onto his arm as they got to the car. Not like he'd ever admit that was one of his favorite dates yet.

Song: 'years through by like a bullet from a gun, a week, some years and then a marriage and a 'son'. ' (might make the 'son' Dustin)

Of course Eddie never actually got to marry Steve, by now, it was the very early 90's. But Steve had still said yes, when asked if he'd marry him. They shared vows in private, not letting anyone know. Eddie's vows basically being "you're the love of my life, and even if we aren't ' legally' binded together, I'll love you all the same" which had caused Steve to burst into tears, the love he felt for this man was undescribable, and he could barely make it through his own vows before more tears fell from his eyes. Carefully running over his freckles, catching on his dimples for a moment. They were happy tears, he wouldn't trade this for anything. Another memory they had was when there was a record playing in the background, Steve and Eddie laying with each other and humming along.

Song: 'i let the music guide me, and Cecily sits beside me. A girl of 19 and a nervous marine. Feel her head begin to lean as the melody soars.'

Steve had gotten sick sometime after, at first it was a Normal cold, but it progressed into something worse; until Eddie had forced his husband to go to a doctor. Office after office, appointment after the other, no one knew what was wrong with him. He had gotten paler, weaker, skinnier, his cheeks sunken in, Steve was always tired. His dimples. His beautiful dimples, had disappeared, his face to small for them to show. His freckles now standing out even more against his basically paper white skin.

Song: 'And though it was real, it doesn't feel like it could be, that night you said to me 'i got two tickets to La Traviata' .'

Steve died that spring. His heart had finally given up. The funeral was quiet, too quiet for how many people had showed up. But no one spoke, not to each other, and certainly not to Eddie. Who stood there, staring inside the coffin with a blank expression. That wasn't Steve— well it was, but not HIS Steve. This was the sick one, who's face was dull, who looked like he was in pain. His Steve, the one who's smile could light up a room, who would sing Cheesy love songs with Eddie.. his Steve, the one he married. This wasn't his husband, it was some sick man, who's freckles, usually vibrant compared to a beautiful blushing face, now dull, no matter how much they stuck out. No more dimples to cheer Eddie up after a bad day. It was gone.. all gone, the memories they had, the rest of his life with Steve. The thought of Steve being healthy was out the window. He had never imagined life without him, but now he had to. Finally letting his blank facade break, his face contorting, tears falling down his face, soaking into his shirt Collar. He missed Steve, his wonderful husband who did so much for him. Who did so much with him. Sobs wracked through his chest, as if his ribs would break if he didn't let them out, body trembling. Echoing through the empty room, not actually empty, everyone was there to watch this. But in Eddie's mind, no one was there but him and Steve. healthy and happy Steve, who stole his shirts, and his heart, who wore his wedding band on a necklace. "I miss you so much.. but I'll love you all the same, no matter what.." he choked back another sob, the last line of his wedding vows, choking him like a vice, words he could never say. Right before he had passed, Steve had become clingier with him, spent the days reassuring Eddie he'd be fine, only to be met with Silence as he connected his freckles and Moles into patterns, for the last few times.

Song: 'Its sad but it's true, how much I miss you, I miss you Cecily Smith.'

END

A/N; not as detailed as usual I think but yeah, sorry for this, more coming soon 🤩, also I am so sorry for this,I will make it up to y'all I promise!!

[afniel]

Well this is more mental health deep-diving so I'm gonna just slap down a cut up front.

While I have a lot of amnesiac holes in my memory, I realized last night that I actively blogged throughout one of them...so I could just go read what I wrote and try to figure out what even happened in there. That's a luxury I don't really have with any of my other memory gaps.

I know it was from stress, it was the second semester of my sophomore year of college and I was dealing with my now-ex-husband, at-the-time-boyfriend leaving to study abroad (which was right around the time I started blocking memories out), my social group was falling apart, I was working a shitty job, I stopped getting along with my roommate, just everything was bad. The posts tended to wildly alternate between being viciously angry with people for reasons that I didn't really specify and I'm not sure existed, being weirdly, suspiciously chipper and upbeat, and being bone-crushingly exhausted and in a lot of physical pain.

I must have noticed something was really wrong though because right at the end of the school year I posted something that current me is just kinda looking at and nodding knowingly:

I have the strangest feeling that I just woke up and came back to find out that I made a mess of everything I cared about while I was gone and now I have to try to clean up after myself.

At least once during that semester I actually did, literally, wake up, as in, it was morning and I was in my bed, and find my messages full of people going "uhh hey what the fuck man?" and I ended up learning that I'd gone on a friend's blog and talked some really nasty shit about their significant other...and...had absolutely no recollection of having done so. I still don't! It might as well have not happened, except it very much did, but I only know about it from the aftermath...and you can imagine how awkward apologizing for that was.

That was not the only time that's even happened to me, there was a second time where I was home for the weekend from college, my ex (at the time he was my boyfriend) was staying over, and my stepfather decided that I had to clean my room RIGHT NOW OR ELSE and basically, even though I was exhausted, he made us both tidy it up right then until like 3am, and I evidently said something about a previous ex that really concerned my now-ex. Except, I had no recollection of having said it, or what I even might have meant about it. I barely even know what exactly I said because he couldn't really tell me, he was super tired too.

(The really shit thing is I can't actually prove there haven't been more times than that, those are just the ones I know of because there were witnesses. If I've done weird shit while awake but fully blacked out, but nobody was around to see it and it didn't affect anyone, welp.)

What's that got to do with my current mental health? Eh. I'm actually pretty damn level right now, which is great. But I've also been stuck with not much else to do but stare into my own brain and try and figure out how it ticks, because of the pandemic, and being in a level place actually makes me more likely to do this because hey, I can handle the weird shit I dredge up.

...There's a lot more weird shit to dredge than I thought, but that's life, babey! Nobody makes it out alive. Sometimes you don't even make it out in one piece! It do be like that.

#mental health talk #love to look back on your life and realize you have a concerning amount of lost time #(I do not love to do that it is kind of bad) #to reiterate though I am actually doing really well right now #which is precisely why I CAN look back on my life and put these things together like this without accidentally re-triggering another one #helps to have it written out somewhere because the really shit thing about having prolonged amnesiac fugues is exactly what you'd think #you don't even remember that you HAVE them #each new one is a shitty terrible surprise and you're like HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED TO ME #entirely unaware of the fact that it is not your first rodeo by any stretch of the imagination #I just count it as a victory that I've recognized this pattern even if it took me at least three of these #and it's over a year since the last one and I only just now put it together #but hey I did put it together and that is progress! #you can't process something you're entirely unaware of so you know what I'll take it #it's ultimately a good thing because it's not like I can go back and just not have massive dissociative amnesiac shit be part of my brain #(boy that'd be nice tho wouldn't it but also: just not possible) #so I'll work with what I have now and figure out how to move forward with it because backward isn't a direction you can do

[jslittlebirdie]

Here Without You

Pairing: Soft!Ledger!Joker x Reader

Summary: Your last days have been really bad and exhausting. There are always new problems you have to take care of, you feel tired and burnt out, and on top of that, J hasn't shown up for several days. That was until today.

Word count: 1,344

Genre: probably a bit angsty / fluffy comfort / self-insert

Warnings: Reader has a bad day, low self esteem

Notes: A very big thank you to my dearest best friend @fan-of-pretty-much-2-much for encouraging me to post this fic. What would I do without you, your support and love? I own you so much🥺😭 Also, thank you so incredibly much for this simply beautiful title💜

Well, this fic is a total self-insert😅 I basically wrote it for myself as a comfort. So it's probably too cheesy and my characterization of J is way too soft and ooc. But maybe someone will like it anyway, I don't know. So read at your own risk lol🙈 Also, the text is unedited and English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes.

Taglist: @ajokeformur-ray @sacredempressnatlyia @rommies

It had been days now since you last saw your clown. News reports were your only clues as to his whereabouts and well-being. You didn't blame him, he was a busy man - a free man who came and went as he pleased - and you wouldn't keep him from his business. Even though, if you were honest, you would love to not let him leave your apartment ever again, and instead keep him with you where you knew he was safe; not that he couldn't take care of himself.

But you missed him terribly. And on top of that, your doubts and insecurities were getting worse with each passing day. You probably weren't good enough for him, too boring and annoying with all your worries. Would he ever come back to you? Was he tired of you? Had you perhaps upset him without knowing it?

And today... Today was a particularly bad day. Already early in the morning the day had started with bad news, new things you had to take care of. Problems kept coming up, there just seemed to be no end in sight. Once you had taken care of one thing, two new things popped up. You felt overwhelmed, burned out and tired. You longed for a break. You longed for him.

A familiar noise. But you only heard it very distantly. You were far too lost in your sad and gloomy thoughts. You sat on your bed and stared at the wall. Your eyes hurt because you tried to hold back your tears as hard as you could, even though you knew it was wrong. But you wanted to stay strong, not show any weakness.

The noise came closer, heavy footsteps. The door to your room cracked open and a face painted with makeup peered in, looking for you. When J spotted you, he grinned mischievously. But his good mood soon changed when he saw you in this miserable state. He immediately noticed that something was wrong, even if he didn't quite know what it was yet. So he entered your room without waiting for you to give him your permission. And even when J stood right in front of you and looked at you with his beautiful dark eyes, which actually showed a hint of concern, you hardly reacted, which admittedly only worried him more. Because you normally ran up to him at the first sign of his presence. But today was... different. And he didn't like it at all.

"What's the matter, toots, hm? I'm back, I'm here."

You stared at him, but you couldn't see him. You hadn't quite realized yet that he was truly standing in front of you. It seemed more like your mind was playing a trick on you - an evil trick to torture you even more. "I'm so sorry, J," you finally uttered. It wasn't so much directed at him as you were talking to yourself.

"You're sorry for what?" He frowned thoughtfully. He couldn't remember anything you had done that you needed to apologize for. But it wasn't a surprise that you apologized in the first place. You apologized for the smallest things, sometimes even for apologizing. But this time, he was a little bit confused.

"I don't know. That I annoyed you with... with me being the way I am. I don't know, okay?!" That was the moment you snapped back to reality. You saw him. Standing in front of you, in his usual slightly bent posture, his head tilted to one side as he tried to figure things out. And that's when you couldn't hold back your tears any longer.

Intuitively, J leaned down towards you and reached out to cup your face with his gloved hands. But you flinched away from him, too ashamed and insecure. "No, J. Don't!"

But he didn't let that stop him. Even though you had said the exact opposite, he could tell by the look in your eyes how much you wanted him. And it caused a strange feeling to rise in his chest - he wasn't sure what to think of it, so he just shrugged it off and focused all of his attention back on you. He sat down next to you, wrapped his arms around your body that was trembling with tension, and gently pulled you to him. This time you let it happen; the second he touched you, you were like putty in his hands. Moments later you found yourself on his lap and you couldn't help but cling to him as tightly as you could, your tear-streaked face buried in his broad chest, inhaling his scent between heavy sobs - a mixture of burnt rubber, gasoline and sweat (he had been out there for days, of course, he hadn't had time to worry about such trivialities) and something so specifically J that your heart ached. Oh, how much you had missed him. All you wanted and needed was him. Your J. It was kind of ironic. While others ran away from him in sheer panic, you longed for him. You had never been like others, you saw so much more in him than just a criminal. To you, he was your charming, sometimes pretty grumpy, but still in his own special way caring and loving clown - but you better not say this out loud. You just loved him. This realization hit you so hard that a new wave of emotions washed over you.

"Shush. I'm here, I gotcha." He shifted beneath you, loosening his grip around you, causing you to sigh in frustration. Rustling of expensive material and then suddenly you felt all warm - he had wrapped you in his royal purple coat and then put his arms around you again like a vice. You were in the warmest, safest embrace you could ever think of. Immediately, your body relaxed, your trembling finally subsided. You listened to his steady heartbeat and mimicked his breathing. J hummed and smiled to himself as he noticed your reaction.

When you finally felt calm enough, you lifted your face off of him so you could look at him; your eyes were bloodshot and dark rings stood out beneath them. He hated to see you like this, but he said nothing; he waited until you were ready to talk. And you were ready. You took a deep breath and finally murmured, "Today was just a shitty day. There's so much to do and it seems to never get any less. Everything is too much. And I... I missed you so much... I thought you weren't coming back."

"But here I am, right?" He squeezed you a little tighter to put emphasis on his words. "I know you've got a lot going on right now. But ya got this, toots. You're tougher than you think you are. Aaand..." A huge and devious grin formed on his lips. You could literally see him thinking about all the things he had done in the past few days. "I need to lay a little low for the next few days."

"Yeah, I picked up something like this on the news. What is it this time?" You're no longer able to suppress a weak giggle. And a yawn. You were so very tired and exhausted, you hadn't slept well since J left, when he wasn't by your side. But now that you were cocooned in his protective warmth... Your eyes grew heavier and heavier. "So does this mean you're staying home, J?"

"I'm not going anywhere, sweets." He moved you both on the bed until you were in a lying position, you still on top of him wrapped in his coat. Even though he would never admit it, he had missed you too. And holding you in his arms like that - feeling you, knowing you were safe and relaxed - made him aware of his own exhaustion. He pressed a sloppy kiss to your forehead, leaving a beautiful reminder for you when you woke up in the morning, and then closed his eyes himself.

#ledger!joker #ledger joker #J #ledger!joker fanfic #soft!joker #soft!ledger!joker #ledger joker x reader #ledger!joker x reader #fluff #fluffy comfort #joker fluff #joker fanfiction #tdk fanfic #my fanfic #my writing

[glitterge1pen]

Put A Basket On My Bike

Kyōtani Kentarou x reader, sfw, fluff, word count 3,039

Your apartment complex was composed of seven buildings. Each building was made of two towers that went ten floors up. The two towers were connected by big concrete stairs that had green iron railing. A large platform would connect two apartments before the stairs took you to another floor. 

Since the only thing that concealed the stairs from the outside was the railing most of the building was exposed. The sun shone endlessly and lots of people kept plants out on the space outside their doors. You had made a good choice moving here. But when you first moved in you had made one crucial mistake.

You were nice to the neighborhood kids.

You had been moving the last of your boxes into the front hall of your new apartment when three kids came bounding up the stairs. Their footsteps echoed in the labyrinth of stairs.

“Hey! Are you the one who just moved in? The new person?”

“It's rude to just say stuff, you to have to introduce us”

“Right!”

The most enthusiastic of the bunch was Flowerpot. The other stated their name was Poprocks and Flowerpot pointed to Sleep, who said nothing.

“Are those your real names?”

You asked with a sly smile.

“No! Of course not, what are you stupid?”

“Thats rude”

“Right, sorry”

Flowerpot explained that their nicknames were two summers old and that they had chosen names based on their absolute favorite things. You laughed.

“Your favorite thing ever is a flowerpot?”

“Not a flower pot, all flower pots!”

“You can't yell it makes you sound mean”

Flowerpot and Poprocks bickered and argued like this some more. They only stopped when the quiet Sleep spoke up.

“Can we play here?”

“Yeah can we?”

Poprocks reiterated.

“The lady that lived here before you was so mean, she never let us play up here! No one lets us play anywhere, Mad Dog is the only person who doesn't care! And he's mean to!”

You figured that Mad Dog was your across the hall neighbor.

“Does everyone who lives here have nicknames?”

“Mad Dog came with the nickname it's different.”

Flowerpot said, his tiny arms flinging up in the air as he ranted.

“If he lets you guys play out here why did you call him mean?”

Poprocks jumped onto Flowerpots shoulders, excited to speak.

“Because he uses bad words, he never says good morning or smiles at anyone and he always plays his music too late at night!”

She seemed pleased with the list of your neighbors' atrocities and once again you could only laugh.

“Okay, if my neighbor over there doesn't care that you guys mess around out here neither do I”

That first spring in your apartment was filled with various elementary school kids shooting nerf guns, fighting with pinecones, petty arguements and a rare homework session. Other kids from different buildings would often flock to your floor as well. You didn't know most of these ones, but occasionally when Flowerpot, Poprocks, and Sleep would speak to you and talk about apartment complex drama. You were able to differentiate with ‘the kid who always wants to be Mikey when you guys play Ninja turtles’ or ‘the kid who brings over water guns’ and so on.

You left out a bowl of candy for the kids and on your way out for the day you usually ran into Sleep’s mom, who would thank you for letting the kids “make a mess in front of your house” before waving you off.

Besides the pleasant atmosphere of your new home, there was also Kyotani.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　

The first time you saw Kyotnai was two days after being officially moved in. He was bringing up his groceries and looked tired so you only waved to him before heading inside your own place. You found that Poprocks was right. Sometime around 11:30 Kyotnai started listening to music. Loud. So loud. You were across the hall and could feel the vibrations of the music. The people below him must be pissed. You were pissed actually.

The next morning when you saw him pulling a bike over his shoulders on his way down the stairs you stopped him.

“Hi, I just moved in a couple days ago,”

You trailed off, he was staring so intensely. You turned away, forgetting where you were going with this conversation beyond the simple introduction. After telling him your name you expected him to introduce himself. He just kept looking at you, eyebrows creased, head tilted up to look at you as you were two steps above him. A panic settled in over you. Your mind scrambled for anything to grasp to make this less awkward.

“Those kids who play out here called you Mad Dog-”

“My name is Kyotani.”

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　

After the terrible first meeting you had with your neighbor you did your best to avoid him. You didn't want to deal with whatever it was that had transpired between you two. Well actually, nothing had transpired between you. Much to your surprise that was just how Kyotani was.

When he went to pick up his mail from the front office, he would shoulder check anyone who was standing too close to his mailbox. When he left to go somewhere on his bike he rode in the middle of the parking lot, once you had watched him turn onto the street and when a car almost hit him he just flipped them off.

You couldn't decide if he was arrogant, always running late and that's why he came off as rude, or if he just didn't care. Maybe it was all three. For about two weeks you waited for him to leave first in the mornings and put your headphones on when the music from across the hall got too loud.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　

You had gotten home unexpectedly early. When you came up the stairs you stopped and watched the scene before you in slight amazement. Poprocks and some of the girls from another building were all huddled around Kyotani. One of them had brought their bike over.

“I’m sorry, I know you fixed it that one time but it came off again and I tired to do it but I didn't do it right”

The girl was almost crying and Poprocks patted her back soothingly.

“You're like nine its a miracle you even kinda knew how to fix this”

Kyotani said, his voice still had that gruff edge but you thought it wasn't too bad when he wasn't being horridly awkward.

“Look,”

He said pointing down to a part of the bike by the pedals.

“The chain works because it's tight, when you switch gears that changes how tight the chain is. When it fell off you put it on the wrong ring”

Now he moved his hands to the back of the bike and pushed on another part.

“Because the chain isn't tight, you can just pick it up, and put it where it's supposed to go, put it around the ring, then you just let go of this back here, and done”

Kyotani removed his hands from the bike. The girls cheered and spun the back wheel of the bike to test it.

“It's that easy?”

The girl said with a smile.

“That easy. I can break it again and you can try to fix it”

“No!”

All three girls shouted at once before hurrying away past you down the rest of the stairs. It was now that Kyotani saw you. There was a brief moment of eye contact before you pretended to look for your keys and he went inside his apartment.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　

A couple days later you found yourself headed down to the pool. It had been a mostly shitty week and then you remembered the hot tub. There was only about an hour or so until the pool area that stood in the middle of the complex closed. But you were going to make sure it was an hour well spent. You got yourself ready, grabbing head phones, something to look at while you sat in the hot tub.

It had been cloudy all day so you doubted that anyone was down there. It hadn't rained and the sky had thrown no lightning so you felt safe heading down. Covering your swim wear with a t-shirt and grabbing some sandals you headed down.

You were walking along the cement path to the pool when you spotted a familiar blonde head already in the hot tub. Your steps faltered and you almost stopped. But you lived here, this was your home. You didn't want to feel uncomfortable around anyone here.

Opening the gate with your key three people turned to look at you. You ignored the note of your presence and took off your t-shirt, tossed your belongings onto a beach chair, and did your best to feel confident.

“Mind if I get in?”

“Sure!”

It wasn't Kyotani who answered, but one of the guys he was with. He had brown hair that swopped in front of his eyes a bit.

“This is Iwaizumi,”

Kyotani said pointing to the other person in the hot tub with you guys.

“And this is someone who wasn't supposed to come today but wouldn't stop calling me”

Mentioned person ignored Kyotani and focused only on you.

“My name is Oikawa, nice to meet you,”

After saying this Oikawa turned away from you to face Kyotani.

“You know you if you wanted me to leave you could have just asked”

Oikawa’s voice was double dipped in sarcasm and his face was so dramatic.

“I did actually tell you to leave”

Oikawa and Kyotani went back and forth like this. It eased your nerves, made you feel welcomed. You watched the lap of small waves and bubbles in the stream of warm water. You wished you could stay out in the relaxing water longer.

“Are you a friend of his”

Iwaizumi asked motioning his head to Kyotani, he sat across from you but the other two boys were too engrossed in arguing to pay attention to what he was saying. You sure weren't close to Kyotani, you were barely aqutinaces, but it would spoil the mood if you said otherwise. So only responded with a playful,

“Maybe”

Iwaizumi nodded before asking another question.

“You live here too?”

“Yeah, I actually live across from Kyotani”

Oikawa saw an opportunity to jump in here.

“What's that like? Terrible?”

“Shut up Oikawa”

Kyotani said quickly, flicking droplets of water at the other with his fingers.

“Besides the loud music it's not too bad”

You said with a shrug of your shoulders. Kyotani turned to you, a puzzled look adorning him.

“The music is loud?”

“Are you kidding? Has no one ever said anything to you before?”

The words came out as a stifled laugh as you watched Kyotani try to process this information.

“Why didn't you say anything before?”

You were about to answer when a crack of thunder cut you off.

“Shit”

Kyotani said before hosting himself out of the hot tub. The other boys followed suit and you all headed up to the building together.

“What are your plans for the rest of the night?”

Oikawa said, pulling you to him by the shoulder in a friendly gesture.

“You should ask someone if it's okay to touch them before you touch them dumbass”

“Oh he's actually right about something, sorry about that”

Oikawa apologized and pulled his arm off you.

“Apology accepted, and I was planning on watching a movie maybe getting some take out, nothing extragevent”

“Let us come over!”

“Really?”

You said, surprised that your rather normal plans excited Oikawa.

“I can use a movie night where I don't have to watch a Godzilla movie. By the way did you know there are a lot of Godzilla movies?”

“It’s not every time, okay? I let you pick movies too!"

Iwaizumi said, suddenly getting defensive. The two were in their own heated conversation now as Kyotnai and you trailed behind them up the stairs.

“Are you sure it's okay if we come over?”

“I’m sure”

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

"Oh, sorry I can come back another time,"

You said to Kyotani, propping open the swinging door with your foot. Usually you did laundry on a different day but the week had been busier than expected.

"It's okay. I'm leaving-"

He was cut off by the sound of Sleep and Flowerpot jumping down the stairs. There were laundry rooms on every other floor, they sat on platforms in-between the sets of stairs. They only had a washer and dryer, and enough room for one person to come sit watch over their clothes.

"Hey let me help!"  

Flowerpot dipped underneath your laundry basket and pushed it up from your grasp. Sleep rushed to help his friend before the basket had chance to fall over. They placed it onto the washing machine with a thunk.

"How come you little shits are so nice to them and not to me?"

"Because they're nice to us!"

Flowerpot said pointing at you.

Kyotani made a sound somewhere between a growl and a gruff laugh.

"What and I'm not?"

Flowerpot crossed their arms, not backing down to Kyotani.

"Just because you fix our bikes and toys and stuff doesn't count"

"I don't know, sounds pretty nice to me"

You said teasingly.

“The parents of the building hanging out!”

“Huh?”

You said as Poprocks bounded into the cramped room and pulled herself up on top of the dryer. Her swinging legs shut the hatch that Kyotani had just opened. The kids laughed at his annoyed expression.

“You guys always do stuff for us, and even though it's not a yard you let us play in your yard”

You were able to laugh but Kyotani said nothing, his head buried too far into the dryer for you to see his face.

“Speaking of parents dont you kids have other adults to go bother?” You asked them.

“Woah, Mad Dog, how hot is it in there?”

Flowerpot asked curiously when Kyotani pulled his head and the last of his clothes from the dryer.

“What?”

Kyotani said.

“Your face is so red it has to be really hot-”

“Hey don't do that!”

Both you and Kyotani said at the same time as Flowerpot attempted to stick his head in the dryer. Kyotani yanked at the kids shirt pulling him out.

“I’m fine! I’m fine! It's not even that hot!”

“It's rude to yell like that”

“I know!”

“Then why are you still yelling?”

With that Flowerpot chased Poprocks out of the room, Sleep and Kyotani following them out. Leaving you alone to do your laundry in quiet.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

“That's weird”

You said looking at the banking app on your phone. Your paycheck hadn't deposited yet. Most Fridays the money just showed up in your account. You closed the app and then opened it again only to get an error message. You tried on your laptop. Then you googled your bank's name and found a couple articles talking about how your bank was updating their app, website, and other internal servers. Something hadn't gone correctly though. A lot of people couldn't access their accounts online.

You decided you would deal with this issue tomorrow. You opened up the fridge trying to piece together a meal with what you had  when pure fear raced up your spine. It was the first of the month. Rent was due. You ran to your room putting your shoes back on, checking what time the bank closed, grabbing your wallet and then running outside.

You were halfway down the stairs when you saw the bus you were supposed to be getting on pull off down the street. The one time the bus was there when it should be and you weren't there to get on it. The bank was going to close soon, it was about four miles away you wouldn't be able to walk there in time. You turned back up the stairs and knocked on Kyotanis door.

“How fast are you on your bike?”

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

Riding on the pegs of Kyotanis bike was a church like experience. You leaned over him, arms tightly wrapped around his shoulders. At turns and stop lights you closed your eyes, or buried your head into him. Everything was just blurs of sound and color. The two of you left behind whistles of speed as Kyotani continued to pedal faster and faster.

“I have the-”

The person in the car couldn't even finish before Kyotani spat out his own retort.

“I’m on a fucking bike!”

This was true. He was on a bike and somehow both very good and very bad at riding it. When he turned into the parking lot of the bank you two spun as he braked. You felt disoriented and didn't want to let go of him just yet.

“Do you have rent to pay or not?”

“Okay, okay, I’m going!”

You jumped down from the pegs and jogged into the bank. Kyotani had managed to get you there with only ten minutes before the bank closed. You weren't the only one in line to speak to a teller though. Your fingers tapped on your arm, your foot bounced worrying that you wouldn't be able to speak to anyone in time. But another teller opened their station and you were saved.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

The ride home was much less stressful. You didn't feel nervous about being flung into oncoming traffic because Kyotani had also seemed to calm down. There was no aggressive speed or sharp turns. The wind felt gracious on your skin, the sun orange and cool in the dusk. It felt like you were gliding over the concrete.

“We should do stuff like this”

You said.

“What? Go to the bank again?”

“No, we should like hang out”

“Hm”

You slapped his shoulder.

“Don't just say hm”

“Fine, I agree we should,”

The words fumbled around in his mouth and it was the closet you'd ever see him stutter.

“Hang out”

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

A/N: No editing , no planning, just the usual late night word vomit.

#kyotani x reader #kyotani kentaro #Kyōtani Kentarō #kyoutani kentarou #haikyuu!! #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x gender neutral reader

[kerie-prince]

We’re Worlds Apart (1)

Draco Malfoy x American No-Maj/Muggle fem!reader

Post-Battle of Hogwarts

warnings: language

series m.list | general m.list

summary: Draco Malfoy is a pureblood wizard. Magic runs through his veins and has been since his birth. You're a Wiccan No-Maj; a non-magical being with ordinary blood through your veins, but practices what you call magick. And this very practice upsets your neighbor.

(gif cred)

"They want... me?"

Draco Malfoy sat across his supervisor in his office at St. Mungos. His eyes widened at the offer he was given.

"Well Mr. Malfoy, you've certainly shown us around here that you do well at your job. If I must say so myself, I believe you're ready for the job," his boss has explained. Draco had recently finished his Fellowship and became a remarkable Healer. So much so that the Santa Marie Hospital for Maj Persons in Buffalo, New York contacted his supervisor to offer him a position as Head Healer. It was an incredible opportunity, one that a person could only dream of.

Draco sat still in his chair, shocked that of all Healers from his department, Santa Marie wanted him. After the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco was determined to change the views people had of him. He was no longer the prejudice prat that he was at school. Draco Lucius Malfoy is now a matured, capable young man. He worked hard and was proud that he did everything on his own. No help from daddy dearest, no pressure of the Malfoy name. It was all him.

"I would love to take this job. When would I start?"

Draco finished filing his paperwork at the Ministry of Magic that was to be sent to the Magical Congress of the United States containing his work permit and all the necessary identification. Walking around London, he grew excited about it. It was a feeling he hadn't felt since he got his letter for Hogwarts.

The next thing he has left to do was to find housing. There was an office located in Diagon Alley that specialized in international real estate. Draco walked into the brightly lit office. Much to his surprise, Daphne Greengrass stood at the reception desk.

"Well, well. Long time no see, Malfoy," she said with a smile on her lips. He was quite relieved to see a familiar face. "Good to see you too, Daph. I'm checking in to see Ms. Moreau. I'm moving to America soon." Daphne was both shocked and impressed that Draco would be making such a big move. They chatted momentarily about the reason for him moving and she congratulated him. Soon enough, the real estate agent walked out and called Draco into her office.

She sat at her desk and gestured for him to take the seat opposite her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Malfoy."

"The feeling is mutual, Ms. Moreau," Draco had slightly bowed his head.

"Please, call me Gwen," she smiled as she reached to shake his hand, "I see from your paperwork that you're moving to America, correct?" he nodded his head in response. "Fantastic! Now, looking at the locations for Buffalo, we have quite a bit of selections from houses to flats. Of course, in America they're called 'apartments'. With your budget, you would be able to get this nice house that is just a 10 minute drive to the Apparition office to Santa Marie's." She showed Draco pictures of the house. It was quaint. An all white, one story house that had three bedrooms, a lifted porch, small kitchen, two bathrooms, trimmed green grass in front and a dark stained wooden fence that went around the house. Draco nearly fell in love with it. Its contrast to the Malfoy Manor was warm and inviting.

Gwen had shown him pictures of the other places she had gathered for him, but none of them peeked his interest as the first house did. It was quite silly as he thought about it. Most likely, he would be working long hours at the hospital to even be able to appreciate the home. It made more sense to get an apartment as he would most likely just use the space to sleep and eat. But the house was begging for him to live there. After about an hour long session, Draco made his final decision on the small house.

"Excellent choice, I had hoped you'd love it. Now, before I contact the sellers about your offer, I must let you know this before you sign anything," Draco shifted in his seat. Of course there had to be a catch. A house this perfect needed one thing to go wrong. Was it busted windows? A terrible neighborhood? Shitty pipelines? He nodded for her to continue.

"This is an integrated neighborhood. Both muggles and wizards live around and you might not know which are which for a while." Muggles. He sat in silence, staring down at the photos of the house. Did he really want a muggle neighbor? No, you're past this Draco thought. The old Draco wouldn't even give the place a second thought. But he wasn't him anymore. "I don't care. I'll take it."

—

You woke up in the morning, stretching your arms and legs out of the thick blanket. It was currently 8:47 am, your alarm clock beside you still had 13 minutes to alert you to wake up. Deciding to just get a head start on the day, you walked into the your bathroom and started your shower. The water was at the hottest you took and you went about your daily routine. You said your repeated incantations in the shower as you lathered yourself with soap:

Water, water, wash away. Water, water, cleanse today.

Walking out your shower, you grabbed your towel and recited the next spell as you dried yourself:

By the earth in the soap,

by the air in the steam,

by the fire that heats the water,

by the water that cleanses,

I am cleansed, clean, and ready for the day.

When you were 12 years old, you used to watch your grandmother perform Wicca in her bedroom. Your mother didn't particularly join in on the belief, but also didn't oppose to you starting alongside your grandmother when you turned 18. Now, you were almost 26 and still kept on the same practices.

On the contrary to people's interpretation or views of witchcraft, you called yourself a White Witch; someone who performs good magick upon selfless reasons. You never hexed anyone nor wished any ill fate. The Laws of Nature was surely watching at all times and if you did, expect to get the same fate but in threefold. Not that you even had any reason to do such things, anyways.

After getting ready, you grabbed your bag, keys — which held a protection charm — and went on your way to work. Your cat sat in her tower located in your living room and she watched you walk out. Getting into your car, you noticed movement next door. A big, moving truck was parked and a crew of movers carried furniture into the house. Finally, someone new you thought.

Feeling nosy, you sat patiently to figure out who it was moving next door. Was it a family? An elderly couple? Maybe newlyweds. Right when you were about to pull out of your driveway, a handsome blond stepped out of the house guiding the movers where things were going to be placed. You couldn't hear his voice, but could tell from the distance that it had to be attractive.

He looked around the street and caught you starting from your car. You hesitantly raised your hand to wave at him but was cut off by a man walking up to him with a clipboard gesturing where to sign. You looked at the time on your watch and nearly panicked at how the time passed, leaving you with only 15 minutes to get to work. Hauling ass, your car let a screech out as your foot punched the gas pedal. You'll be able to introduce yourself later, Y/N.

—

A few days passed and Draco was headed for the Apparition office to his new workplace. He had leased a new car to drive there. According to the Magical Congress, wizards and witches that lived in integrated neighborhoods must check in at Apparition offices to not raise suspicions from No-Maj. Seemed quite silly at first, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. He remembers the first time he went to Diagon Alley with his father through the Leaky Cauldron, finding it hidden with a wall that required taps against it. Behind it, a magical alley hidden from muggles.

He pulled into the office building lot with ease. It was clean on the outside and had a sign on top that only read MCA Co,. At the front door, there was a pin pad with numbers on it that kept it locked. Draco pulled the paper from his pocket and dialed the number. The door made a clicking noise which signaled that it was unlocked.

In the front was a young man sat at a reception desk typing away onto a computer. It was a strange sight for Draco as he's never seen one before. He walked up to the desk and waited for the person to acknowledge him.

"Hello, sir. Welcome to the Magical Congress' Apparition Office. May I see your ID pass, please?"!the accent was unfamiliar to Draco, but he nonetheless reached for the pass clipped to his trousers and gave it to the receptionist. He scanned the pass, handed it back to Draco and raised up from his chair to guide Draco to the door which had a direct line to the hospital. "Have a good day, sir!" were his last words before he went back to his desk.

Draco looked at the address once more before appariting into Santa Marie's. Here goes nothing.

—

It was a long day at the office. Setting up appointments with new clients, greeting all the new people he'd be working with, and a surprise welcome party to end it. Everyone he met had different variations of American accents. Some from Chicago, some from California, and some from the native state of New York.

A man by the name of Ian Parker helped Draco navigate around the building. Draco was quite relieved to hear that Ian had lived close by, just two blocks and a turn away. They had lunch together and talked about just simple things about each other. It felt nice to meet somebody and they not know who you are and things you've done in the past.

Once he got home, the first thing Draco did was start to run the shower, gathering his sleepwear as the water heated up. Not meaning to, Draco noticed how his bedroom window had perfect view of yours. To him, it was extremely odd.

You had faux vines that curled around your four-poster bed, a couple of plants that hung against the wall and posters of movies that Draco knows for a fact he's never seen in his life. You walked into your room and went up to a small drawer and dug through it. After a few seconds, you grabbed out some incense sticks, lit them and stood them on the stand that laid on your dresser. Afterwards, you sat on the floor with your legs crossed and started taking deep breaths.

Draco caught himself staring for too long and was about to head into the shower until he saw movement from the corner of his eye. There you sat, but this time, you held items in your hands. One held what Draco thought to be just some colorful rocks. The other hand held a bundle of herbs on fire at the tips. Your lips moved and it had Draco curious. Your hand with the herbs moved in a specific pattern, creating smoke around you. Once you finished, you set the rocks and herbs down at a table and left the room. That was odd. Draco thought. He passed it off and went on about his night.

—

"It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. And trust me when I say that Hogwarts has its fair shares of odd moments," Draco sat in the break room with Ian and two other people, Ashley and Blaine. They laughed at the description Draco had of you and settled after Ian began his explanation.

"It seems that your No-Maj neighbor is considered a Wiccan." What in Merlin's name is that?

"Pardon? What's do you mean?"

"It's what they call witchcraft," Ashley added, "it became a popular thing after the Salem Witch Trials. Of course, there's no real magic to it like what we can do, but they nonetheless believe it works."

Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing. Muggles are trying to be witches? This was probably the last thing he ever thought he would hear. Inside, a familiar feeling had ignited. A feeling he had, or he supposed still had, for a certain species. He didn't like it but to find out that what he is had become a fantasy to be was upsetting. He was born into this life, not them. Not you.

—

It had been a really nice day at work. People had been kind and you sold out of a new oil you made. As you entered your home, your cat ran up to your legs and purred against you. You smile down at her and made your way to prepare your dinners.

She nibbled away at her bowl and you watched in content.

Outside, you heard a car pulling in. It's probably him. You peaked out the window in the living room and your guess was correct. He stepped out of a black car and walked to his door. You tried catching his attention by waving your arms about, hoping he glanced your way. When he did, you waved excitedly to him.

He stared at you with a straight face, no hint of any feeling. It was odd, people usually like you and wave back but this guy was just looking at you. Not doing anything. You looked around to see if there was something behind you, only to look back and see that he was gone. Ooo...kay?

You grabbed your sweater and decided to introduce yourself to your new neighbor. It had been almost a week and it seemed that he still hadn't acquainted himself to anyone on the street. The cool, spring breeze sent a pleasant chill down your spine as you walked on the sidewalk.

Once you stepped in front his door, you knocked three times. No answer. Three more times. No answer. The lights that were on had turned off and curtains had been shut in almost a blink of an eye. He had made it clear that he was not in a mood to talk to anyone. It slightly hurt your feelings, but you told yourself to not dwell on it. He's just tired from work. Just then, an idea popped in your mind as you headed back home.

—

"Stupid fucking muggle clock," Draco cursed as he was running around his bedroom getting dressed. He overslept by an hour and had 10 minutes to be in the Apparition office to go to work. Damn American laws.

He grabbed an apple, not his usual sour green one but a sweet red one this time, grabbed his bag and ran for the front door. Something taped to the door caught his attention and he halted his movements. It seemed to have been a note someone left. He unfolded the paper and read it to himself;

Hello! My name's Y/N and I wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood! I hope we can become good friends~ if there's anything you need or if you'd ever like to get acquainted over coffee, please feel free to knock on my door! It'd be nice to get to know you :)

At the bottom of the note was a small drawing of a witches pointed hat and Draco immediately knew who left the note. Almost on instinct, the note caught on fire in his hands and the ashes fell to the ground. He dusted his hand off and went to work. As if we would ever become friends.

—

next chp

taglist: @beiahadid @malfoy-styles-wife @fivenightslaughter

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy au #draco malfoy angst #draco malfoy fluff #draco malfoy smut #draco malfoy x female reader #draco malfoy x you #draco x y/n #draco x you

[star-veil]

Hey 😊 Hope you're doing okay in these troubling times. I saw your inbox is open for witcher requests. How about a soft Jaskier x wolf pack where Eskel feels really self conscious about the scars on his face and Jaskier, Geralt and Lambert show him just how much they love him regardless? Can be fluffy or smutty (or both, whichever you're more comfortable writing). I'm just a sucker for soft Eskel ♥️

Ugh Eskel deserves so much love <3 Thank you for this prompt! CW for self-loathing and consciousness about one’s scars Contains some spoilers for tw1 regarding Deidre and Eskel’s story

He ran a calloused palm down the side of his face until it obscured the jagged river of scars that cut from just above his eyebrow to his chin. It wasn’t like he was the only Witcher with scars. Geralt had his- unmistakable over his left eye and cutting over his forehead, and of course Lambert had his set of scars crossing his right eye not unlike Eskel’s. But Lambert’s, Geralt’s were from monsters. Part of the job. Come winter Geralt and Lambert would show off new scars in the hot springs, bragging about their latest kill. Eskel’s scar held no such pride. 

After all, he could never be as good a father as Geralt. When Geralt brought Ciri to Kaer Morhen, Eskel couldn’t help a heavy pang of guilt thinking of his own abandoned Child Surprise. The girl he tried so hard to avoid, who he wanted so badly not to ever have to take responsibility for. Was this scar destiny’s way of punishing him for ignoring her for so long? He never knew what became of Deidre after that terrible night. So filled with blood, with terrible memories. She had tried to reach out to him, just once, but he had been too filled with bitterness and pain to requite. He burned her letter without opening the seal. He felt that fire severed the last bond that tied him to Deidre, but he’d always wear the scar to remind him. 

-

It should have been a clean cut. But combined with his Child Surprise’s frightened and shaky hand, and Lambert’s shitty stitching, it came out ragged and more akin to a disfigurement than a battle scar. Lambert didn’t really apologize- he didn’t do apologizing- but when Vesemir pulled out the stitches the youngest wolf winced and told him (with the tension of lies in his voice) that it didn’t look half bad.

Eskel took one look in a mirror and decided it looked full bad. 

He spent the rest of his life shying away from mirrored surfaces, withstanding shocked and disgusted looks from whores and contractors alike, and having to deal with the unspoken pity of his brothers when they came home every winter. Eventually, though, they seemed to forget. As if that scar had always been there. It felt nice, not to be looked at with horror. 

There was one time, though, that Lambert came to him after a night of light drinking and stood before him with a pained look as if he was being slowly gutted. Being emotionally vulnerable was always hard for the little wolf. 

“Just so you know,” Lambert forced out. “I think it looks badass.”

Eskel blinked at him. “What does?”

“Your-” he gestured at Eskel’s face. “My ugly fucking stitching, it looks cool. Like a burn scar. I dunno, just thought you should know. Isn’t as bad as you think.”

“Thank you, Lambert, but I don’t-”

“Shut up, man. Don’t make this weird,” Lambert said, as if Eskel was the one making this weird. “You’re always touchin’ your face when you’re anxious and I don’t think you know how it really looks. Intimidating, like you could kill a man just by staring at him too hard. Looks like a battle scar.”

Eskel flushed bright red. He wasn’t lying. His voice was loose, truthful. “I appreciate that.” He murmured, and Lambert scowled. 

“Don’t think I’m getting soft on you, bastard. I’m still kicking your ass in training tomorrow.”

“Wouldn’t expect any less, Lamb.”

-

He still thought he was a monster.

Until Jaskier came along.

Jaskier laid eyes on him and Eskel readied himself for shock. For revolt. For the stench of fear and sick that wafted off of everyone around him but went unspoken and unsaid. Jaskier, instead, smelled sweet as honeysuckle and smiled at him so bright he could outshine the sun. 

By then, he had worked out his feelings with Lambert and Geralt. The three of them cared for each other more than just companions, more than just fellow wolves. The word love was scary and difficult to say, but they all thought it. They all meant it. 

Jaskier came late to the relationship but attached himself to the three of them nonetheless and absolutely showered them in love. Eskel was not exempt.

The bard cornered Eskel in the courtyard while he was taking a break from practicing on his own. Jaskier sat himself down beside the wolf, took his face in his deft hands, and stared at him. 

“Jaskier?” Eskel asked softly, wishing to pull away and out of his gaze. He didn’t want to be so seen. 

“Eskel.” His little bird responded brightly, still examining Eskel’s face in awe. 

“What are you doing?”

“You’re a work of art.”

Oh, okay, Eskel was going to melt. 

“C’mon, Jask, speak plainly.” He chided softly, looking away from Jaskier’s soft blue eyes. 

“Okay. You’re pretty.” He said simply, diving forward to kiss the tip of the wolf’s nose. “You’re pretty here,” he kissed his left cheek. “And here,” his forehead. “Here,” over one eye. “And here.” Upon his scar. 

“It’s not pretty, sweetheart. It’s... violent.” He tried to brush off his little bird’s love-laden compliments. 

“Nonsense. I love every bit of you, scarred, not scarred...” Jaskier leaned even closer and he could feel his warm breath against his cheek. “You’re very strong to wear your scar so bravely. My pretty boy.”

Yeah, Eskel was lovestruck.

-

Geralt didn’t use words often. That was okay. Eskel liked the silence. 

The white wolf had Eskel’s head in his lap as he read and he was thumbing through his hair, scratching gently as his scalp and quirking his lips in a smile whenever Eskel would emit a low purr.

He worked his fingers over the nape of Eskel’s neck, where he made the loudest rumbling noises, and then over his shoulder-blades where he worked out tight knots and tension from hunting and fighting all year. 

“Turn over, dear heart.” Geralt prompted. “I want to see your face.”

Eskel complied. He blinked a little as he stared up at Geralt, smiling all soft and sweet- and it reminded Eskel of the first time they’d kissed. Geralt had the best smile. 

Geralt’s thumb brushed over Eskel’s scar unexpectedly and he startled, freezing up and turning his head away. 

“I’m sorry.” Geralt said instantly, taking his hand away and setting it on his lap instead. “Do you need me to stop?”

Eskel didn’t want that. He’d been startled, is all. He craved that kind of tender touch. 

“No, do it again, but slow.”

And he did. He traced up and down Eskel’s scar, over his eyebrow and then back down to his chin. Eskel purred. Geralt mapped out every blemish and torn pieces of skin as fragile as glass, like he were brushing his fingers over a priceless statue. Worshipped his flawed features like he were beautiful. And maybe, Eskel thought as he closed his eyes and let himself sink into the contentedness of being loved, maybe if his lovers saw him this way... maybe his scar wasn’t so bad after all. 

#the witcher #eskel #geralt of rivia #jaskier #lambert #eskel witcher #eskel the witcher #gereskel #jeskel #jaskel #lambskel #esklamb? #eskel x geralt #eskel x jaskier #eskel x lambert #the wolf pack #wolf pack x jaskier #fluff #the witcher fanfiction

[almost-correct-bnha-quotes]

hai, so this bish cut her own hair, the layers look good tbh bUT the fringe is too short (fml) so i thought if you dont mind, if you're free, maybe hcs of izuku/todoroki/kirishima on that? please? (i already cried three times because my family bullied me about the fringe and i feel like jim carrey from dumb and dumber tho its actlly not that short)

Hi! I'd love to do this! I'm really sorry your family is so mean to you. Try not to let it get to your heart. I hope this helps you feel better!

Izuku

-He knew you wanted to try a new, shorter haircut for a while.

-To be honest, he was really supportive. If you really wanted to try a new haircut, you should go for it.

-When you shared your worries that it might not turn out well, he was quick to reassure you.

-"Hey, there's nothing that can go bad. If you don't like how it turns out, it's fine. Your hair will grow back in a few months," he told you.

-So one particular Saturday, in the U.A. dorms, you went for it. While the layers were fine, you didn't like how short that the fringe turned out.

-You were low-key stressing out since you had to go to school in two days. Hair was going to grow back in a few months, not a few hours.

-So you did the most logical thing- you called Izuku and asked him to come to your bedroom urgently.

-Within two minutes, you heard knocking on hour door, along with Izuku's worried voice asking you to let him in.

-You didn't specify what the emergency was, so Izuku and his anxious brain only assumed for the worst. What if you accidentally cut off your leg, or broke an arm, or got stuck under the wardrobe that fell on you...

-You opened your door just enough for a person to fit through it and pulled Izuku rapidly inside of your bedroom. As soon as he was inside, you slammed the door shut.

-"Eh, Y/N... What-"

- That's when he noticed your hair.

- You puffed your cheeks as you looked through your wardrobe. You eventually picked out two caps that you really loved.

- "Which one should I wear to school?" You asked.

- "Wel- I- You- Um- You- You don't have to wear one, though. I know that your hair didn't turn out the way you wanted, but it doesn't mean it's ugly. Quite the opposite. You look really nice with it. It would be a shame if others wouldn't get to see it."

-Saying that both of you turned as red as a tomato was an underestimation.

-Regardless, he did make you feel better and, as it turns out, your new hairstyle truly wasn't so bad. Many appreciated it and you actually started a trend amongst girls to cut their hair similar to you in order to be "fashionable".

Todoroki

-You never considered yourself close to Todoroki, but you acknowledged the fact that you did have a particularly strong bond with him.

-It wasn't romantic- it was more like a sibling relationship. You would tease and annoy each other a lot, but when one was in need, the other would always have their back.

-That's why he was the first person you called for comfort one evening. You cut your hair earlier that afternoon and a few students made some really rough comments on it.

-It wasn't that you weren't confident or happy with yourself, but words still hurt and the comments you recieved truly upset you.

-As you sat on your bed in your dorm, trying to cope with your suffering, you heard a knock on your door.

-You honestly hoped it was Todoroki. You called him a solid fifteen minutes ago and he had yet to fulfill your wish to come and be by your side for a while. You didn't dare to go out and look for him. Not with that hairstyle you had.

- "Hey Y/N... I'm here." The person behind the door said. Their voice was so familiar you wouldn't be able to mistake it for anyone else's- Todoroki was there.

-You mumbled something about how he could come in, but for obvious reasons, he couldn't understand what you said.

- "Hey, dickhead, I can't hear you. Open up. I brought you something."

-Your head shot up in curiosity. You wiped off a few tears off your face and made your way to the door.

-You opened it and found yourself standing in front of Todorki, who had a small bag by his side.

- "Surprise. Sorry it took me so long, I had to make a stop by the store nearby."

- You invited him in and soon found yourself laying on the bed, your head on his lap, crying your eyes out. His hand ran through your hair in an attempt to comfort and relax you.

-Honestly, it did.

- "Don't stress so much about it. You had a mild error in the process. It'll get fixed soon." He said.

- "Yeah, but until then..." You said between sobs.

- "You'll live your life like always. Try to enjoy the small things. Buy your favourite candy, sweet or desert. Try some make-up. Buy that t-shirt you've wanted for a while. Do whatever. It'll get better before you know."

- "How can you know so much?"

- "Experience," Todoroki shrugged, "Had to accept I can't change some things and how to live with that."

- "Like what?"

-"Shitty father... Half a quirk I don't want... and ugly hair."

- You frowned lightly as a snort escaped you.

- "You don't like your hair?" You asked.

- "Well, everyone seems to have a very good opinion of my hair... except for me. Can't say it's my favourite part of me."

- "Why do you hate it? It's unique."

- "My father has an unique style of parenting, but it's not good, is it?"

- You pursed your lips at the thought of his father. You generally weren't the one to fully dislike someone or to say that you hated someone, but Endeavor was one of the exceptions. Outside his work as a hero, Endeavor was a horrible person, in your opinion. He failed spectacularly as a husband and even more as a father.

- “Your hair is not a toxic father.”

- “And neither is yours. Your hair isn’t that big of a fail. A little unsuccessful, yes, but terrible? No. You’re beautiful.’

Kirishima

-Kirishima couldn’t say your hairwas the most successful hairstyle out there, but he knew the struggles of hair insecurity, so he couldn’t help but feel empathy towards you.

-As it turned out, you two were living only two streets apart, so you had most of the way home together. You became buddies in no time and you’d chat all the way home with all kinds of topics that interested you. One particular afternoon, you opened up to him about your new hairstyle.

- “It’s okay, Y/N!” He exclaimed, “Your hair will grow back in no time and you’ll be able to redo your haistyle!”

-You smiled faintly. “Thanks. It’s gonna be quite a road until then. My family’s kinda rude to me about it as well.”

-Kirishima let out an empathetic laugh. “I had that as well when I changed my hairstyle. My mom was kinda supportive, but everyone else... nah. The thing is, don’t let other people’s opinions bring you down. You’ll get judged no matter what you do, so you should best just do what you really want to do and be yourself.”

-That was some solid advice. When you thought about it, it truly didn’t matter what people thought. Even if something you did turned bad, you had to try again and again until it succeded. Otherwise, you would remain with the sour feeling of misery that would do nothing but bad to you.

#bnha #bnha deku #izuku midoriya #todoroki shouto #todoroki #kirishima #bnha kirishima

[springwritess]

mr.cook | sanji vinsmoke

anime: one piece

word count: long, but not as long as zoro’s

note: im going to write mini fics for each strawhat (including my boy jimbe hopefully) which is gonna be a zombie apocalypse au. not all of them will be romantic bc some characters are hard to write romantically. i doubt you’d really fall for someone you just met right? anyway either luffy or usopp is gonna be next.

tags: zombie apocalypse, sanji fluff, cooking, hunger, dehydration, sanji being the dork he is, recruitment (sorta)

****

The hunger was ever-present; from dawn to dusk it gnawed at you. Food was your constant obsession. You couldn't look at an animal or plant and wonder if it was edible. You didn't care if the food was tasty, just as long as it could make the stomach pains go away for awhile.

You sat there still, like an elderly person. You started to wonder whether you were going to die from starvation or from the zombies. You were too tired to move, or do anything really. You ran out of water and there was no fresh water source. It was only time for your death to approach. You couldn't even sleep either, because sleeping meant a chance for zombies to attack and devour you alive.

You were in the middle of the forest. You were camping in there after being driven out of your home. You took what you could find and left the city as fast as possible. You needed to get away from people as much as possible. Staying alive was horrible, you ran out of the food you stole from the city. You didn't possess the abilities or tools to be able to hunt or cook animals. You were such a shifty cook that you didn’t know how to make fucking tea. You couldn't stay there forever however. You needed to get off the island soon. Your stomach rumbled again.

First however, you needed food.

There was a crunch of leaves and twigs behind you. Each footstep crackled. There was someone coming. You dove behind a tree that was close by. You grabbed a large stick. It wasn't much of a weapon, but it was enough to try and knock the person out to steal their food. You closed your eyes and waited for them to draw near. Each step felt like a ripple in the ground.

You jumped out behind the tree and lunged forward. It was a blonde-haired man who was idly walking by. You attempted to land a strike across his cheek, but he jumped back. You tried again, but he dodged it. He was fast on his feet.

“What's going on?" He asked as he continued to dodge all of your attacks. "I don't want to fight a women."

"Give...me your food!" You growled as your grip tightened on the stick.

You lurched forward again and landed a blow across his left cheek. The man fell to the ground. He didn't get up after that. You ripped the bag off his shoulders and shifted through it. Your pupils dilated.

"No..." You said with a hint of panic in your voice.

You went through it again, this time your hands were fumbling. Your fingers jumped rhythmically, as if in a spasm. Your bowels suddenly churned. Please let there be food in there, you prayed. This couldn't happen...not now. Your heart was in your mouth. You couldn't speak.

“No! No! No!" This time you said it much louder, "please...I just need food."

Your heard some shifting and then a grunt come from behind you. Blood drained from your face as you turned your head around. The man was getting up. He took a cigarette box and a lighter from his breast pocket. He lit a cigarette and placed it in his mouth.

You grabbed the stick and gripped your two hands on it. You held it up in the air in front of you. You glared at him.

"S-stay...a-away or I'll hurt you!" You warned. Your hands were shaking as you fumbled on your words.

He took a breath and smoke floated up into the sky. "I'm not going to hurt you. You're hungry right? I'll make you something. I'll never let someone stay hungry."

You felt your stomach grumble again. "Liar! Y-you're going to kill me!"

He gave you a grin. “I'll never hurt a women. That's what a shitty old men taught me."

Your stomach rumbled again, this time loud enough for him to hear it. You fell to the ground and clutched your stomach. It felt as if someone pierced your stomach with a sword. "It hurts....I'm going to die."

He ran over to you. You didn't have the energy to run away. "Shit...you're malnourished and dehydrated. Is there no fresh water source here?"

You didn't have the energy to answer him, so you simply shook your head. He picked you up with his arms and started to run through the forest. You had no energy to protest or push him off. You were barely conscious at this point too, as the trees were starting to become a blur too.

After what seemed like forever, you started to smell cologne mixed with the smell of cigarettes. Your eyes fluttered open. You were still in the forest, but instead in a part that wasn’t covered in trees. There were no creatures around. The light from the sun hit your skin. Your eyes shifted to the side. You were laying on a black jacket. Ah so that’s where the smell was coming from.

You sat up. Your throat was extremely dry too. Your stomach was still hurting, but you ignored the pain. You looked around and the man was nowhere to be seen. You weren’t in any mood to talk to him anyway.

Your lips were cracked from dehydration. Your hair was matted with dirt and your clothes were were smeared with grass stains and dirt. You looked terrible. You needed a shower and some fresh clothes. You felt the bottom of your lip quiver. Will this be your new life? You no longer had the same luxuries you used to have. You took them for granted, and you only realized how lucky you were when they were gone.

You laid back down and turned to the side. You couldn’t afford to cry, because that would just make you even more dehydrated. Drowsiness overtook you. You closed your eyes and eventually fell asleep.

***

You were greeted with a sweet, savoury aroma that wafted through the air as you started to wake up again. The smell mixed in with the fragrance trees and grass. Your stomach clenched with hunger at the thought of devouring whatever food that was creating the smell.

You sat up and saw the blonde man making stew using ingredients from the forest, plants and animals you’ve seen before. He somehow was able to find bowls to give pour your stew in. You stated at him for awhile, transfixed by his ability to cut various vegetables and plants. He was so swift with his fingers.

He removed the cigarette from his mouth and exhaled the soft tendrils of smoke. His gaze shifted to you. The man gave you a smile.

“I’m so glad you’re awake.” He said softly. He came cover with a bowl of water. “I’m glad I had utensils and bowls in my bag. The water is still hot too because I boiled it. Please be careful.”

You moved the bowl of water around. The water swished back and forth. There was steam floating from it. It was definitely still hot. You sniffed the bowl of water. There didn’t seem to be any poison. Immediately after examining it, you guzzled down the water within mere seconds. You ignored your throbbing lips and your throat which felt like it was on fire. You sighed in relief. It was nice.

He finally handed you a bowl of stew. Taking in the sweet aroma, your stomach rumbled again. Every part of you wanted to lurch forward and devour the bowl. You couldn’t however. It didn’t feel right. You clenched your fists.

You spoke up. “I don’t understand.”

The man raised his eyebrows. “You don’t understand what?”

“Why are you doing this for me?” You asked again. This time with your voice shaking. “Why are you helping a complete stranger? I don’t know your name. I don’t know where you’re from or who you are. I..I don’t have any money if that’s what you want.”

He took the cigarette out of his mouth and breathed out. “My name is Sanji. I’m a cook on a ship. I already told you. It’s because I can never ignore someone is hungry. I don’t need money from you, so you can eat up. Besides....”

“Besides what?”

He gave you a smile. “Your cute face is enough of a payment for me.”

You rolled your eyes but felt a smile creep up onto your face. “Thank you Sanji.”

You ate your food in silence. You quickly finished it in mere minutes, but you were too embarrassed to ask for more. Much to your surprise, Sanji took your bowl and filled it up to the top. He handed it to you. He lit up another cigarette and sat next to you silently. Your cheeks flushed up in embarrassment.

You cleared your throat. “Aren’t you going to eat to. I’m fine really...”

Sanji shook his head. “I’m fine. I ate before I came to this island. I also have a few questions about it, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh sure. Also I didn’t introduce myself yet. My name is (f/n). I worked as a mechanic in my mother’s shop. It was apart of the family business.” You rubbed the back of your head sheepishly. “I’m not the greatest cook, so you saved my life. Thank you so much. I’ll help you with anything you need.” You said. You gave him an awkward smile.

“What’s happening on this island? The city I was just in, it was a wreck. Did something happen? I was also attacked by a group of people. I need answers. I was separated from my crew too, so I also need a map.”

The smile from your face immediately vanished. You managed to forget about everything that happened for awhile, but the reality didn’t change.

“A group of pirates brought this virus to the island. Their crewmate was dumped here. He was rushed to the hospital.” You explained. “He survived, but the virus seemed to induce range and the need for human meat. He bit the nurse that was treating him and she started to act the same. I’m not sure, but I think the virus probably travels through saliva.”

“They’re like zombies, but still alive?” He chucked. “They aren’t as smart as the ones on Thriller Bark.”

You cocked your head in confusion. “What? You aren’t scared?”

Sanji shook his head. “I have a damn skeleton who can walk, talk, eat and even take a shit on my ship. There’s nothing that surprises me anymore.”

Your eyes narrowed. You weren’t sure if he was joking or not. The Grandline is full of surprises, so anything could happen. Speaking of which, why was this man traveling on the Grandline? Is his boat a restaurant ship that floats around by any chance.

“What kind of ship do you work on..?”

“A pirate ship.”

Your stomach dropped. Of course. He’s a pirate. You felt anger churn deep within you. A pirate was the one who destroyed this island. You tried your best to ignore it. He did save your life. Perhaps he wasn’t like the others.

“What about you? Why are you here in the forest? Where’s your mom?” He asked.

You were silent for a moment. “She died three years ago. After she passed, I took over the business. My shop is probably rubble right now.”

“That’s a shame. Do you want to go take a look to see if there’s anything left? There must be something.” He asked.

You shook your head and chuckled. “It’s whatever I guess. I gotta get used to how I’m living now.” You got up from where you were sitting. “Also, I should have a map in my bag. Let me go check.”

You got up and went to grab your bag. There were mostly essentials: empty water bottle, first aid kit, a change of clothes. You let out a grunt. There was no map in sight.

“Sorry about the map. I don’t seem to have any.” You rubbed the back of your head sheepishly.

“It’s fine.” Sanji stood up and stretched. “We should get going then.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Going where?”

“To your home of course. Seeing it might give you a sense of relief. You’ll never regret not taking the chance to see if there was anything there.” He replied. He lit another cigarette into his mouth.

You were at a loss for words. “I...”

“Hmm?”

You shook your head. “I can’t go.”

“Why not?”

“Even if I do get a sense of closure from seeing my home, where would I go?” You bit the bottom of your lip to stop from crying and took a deep breath, “I have nobody left. I don’t have a ship nor do I have the skills to travel to another island. I also don’t trust you. You’re a pirate. What if you try to hurt me?”

The tears splashed forth and trickled down your cheeks. The thought of your home in rubble and the memories of your mother came flooding into your head all at once. You tried to quickly wiped your tears away, but they kept coming.

“Shit I’m crying. I’m sorry about that.” You chuckled.

Sanji gave you a smile. “It’s okay to cry. Everyone cries. I also won’t lay a finger on you.” He looked up into the sky. “Regarding your future, it’s up to you. You can do whatever you want. I won’t try to stop you (f/n).”

Hearing him call you by your name caught you off guard. You got up. “Let’s get going then Sanji.”

#one piece #roronoa zoro #black leg sanji #sanji vinsmoke #zoro #god usopp #luffy #monkey d. luffy #mugiwara no luffy #one piece headcanons #one piece oneshot #one piece imagine #op #sanji x reader #sanji #one piece sanji #strawhats #mugiwara crew #anime fanfiction #zombie au

[twopoppies]

Hi! :) hope you're having a good day. What's, in your opinion, the top ten fics you've read? Sorry if you've done this before 🙈

Ok, sorry I took so long to get back to you, but this is actually a REALLY hard question to answer for all sorts of reasons, but mainly because I don’t think I can actually narrow it down to 10! There are so many wonderful fics in this fandom. 

Ok, so I think a bunch of my favorites are classics, and most people have read them. I’m going to give you a list of those. But I’d like to start with a list of possibly lesser known fics that I love as well, OK? I did my best, but couldn’t narrow it down to just 10 each!

Top 11 Fics That Maybe You Haven’t Read

our little corner of the world by brownheadedstranger

AU. Louis is stuck in his mom’s diner for the summer. Harry is the line cook with a pickup truck.

the moon made me think of you by anabsolution

harry works at a decrepit motel. louis stops by for a stay. set in the 90s.

Whether Clouds or Clear Skies by @onewasturning

“You, young Harold, are a baker among curry houses and vintage clothing stores,” Louis says, and it forces a bark of surprised laughter out of Harry.

“I’m a— sorry, what?”

“Harry,” Louis says, “last night I had an experience bordering on profound.”

“You’re making it sound like you did something sexual with my muffin,” Harry says.

Or, Louis gets into the habit of stealing baked goods while Harry’s busy keeping tabs on the weather.

six feet beneath the moon by starseas

AU. takes place over one night. harry and louis meet at a going away party.

how i imagined us by eliane

“I think about how lucky I am. The whole time, I just keep thinking about how incredibly lucky I am. “

“Because you’re kissing me?”

“Because I’m kissing you and you’re…” Louis stops. Then continues, quietly, “Because you’re the love of my life, Haz.”

New York is one of Harry’s favourites.

[Sometimes reality is shitty and Louis plays Scheherazade.]

language or the kiss by @a-writerwrites

“I’ve heard about you, Louis.”

Louis just looked back at him, hands on his small hips, foot tapping out an angry beat on the hardwood floor, a verse just under his tongue, waiting to spill out. “Yeah? What have you heard?”

Harry slowly stood up, his long lean body feline as he came forward, slowly closing the two feet between them. “Yeah…I’ve heard about you.” Harry whispered, so close Louis could smell his cologne, something spicy and fruity, soft and wild. “You’re the one.”

Louis looked up at him; unfortunately he had to look up. The fucker had about three to four inches on him. “The one what?” His eyes flickered from Harry’s intent stare to his wet obscene lips. Louis wasn’t proud. But his dick may have twitched a little. Just a little.

“You’re the one to beat.”

OR the one where Louis’ the best at everything until Harry comes along and makes him think twice. About everything.

so here we are. by @sweariwouldnt

Louis isn’t sure if they’re keeping on or giving up.

heroes of the orange skies by queenmcgonagall

Louis likes bathroom walls and Sharpies, Harry likes metal, Zayn likes Liam and Liam likes Zayn, Niall is wise, and they all go to the zoo.

Coup de Foudre by angelwarm

Harry moves to the front door accompanied by insistent lightning flashes. He acknowledges it could also be a murderer on the other side and that he will likely be dead in five minutes.

It should stop him. It doesn’t.

Harry decides not to waste another second and calls through to the other side, “Just a second.” He turns the key in the latch and opens it and—everything around him drops away in one long cloud coming into another cloud.

Taste of a Poison Paradise by objectlesson / @horsegirlharry

Louis notices Harry’s mouth right away.

Take My Breath Away by @realitybetterthanfiction

There is a prestigious school in the British Royal Navy classified as Premier Delta - or as it is known by its flyers, 1D. These select pilots are an elite set of Naval lieutenants who are trained in the skill of aggressive aerial combat. They are instruments of war, trained in times of peace. They are dogfighters, relentless and fearless in their mission to protect their beloved country. From their lofty vantage, they are always watching, waiting, and ready to lay it all on the line.

Lt. Harry Styles, call sign Sparrow, is a prodigy when it comes to flying. The owner of an unrivaled Naval pedigree, being a pilot was always written in the stars for Harry. With his trusty RIO, Lt. Niall Horan, Harry has made an unprecedented ascension in the ranks of the Naval aerial combat elite, and has been recruited to the esteemed Premier Delta flight school, carrying on his family’s legacy. What he finds there are unexpected friendships, perilous challenges, and something beyond what he ever thought possible. Because as his father had always told him, before the great Captain Styles went tragically missing in combat, you don’t fall in love with the sky, you fall in love with what keeps you on the ground.

I’ll list the “classics” under the cut

Top 11 Classics

Wild and Unruly by @gloriaandrews and @100percentsassy

Harry is a cowboy sitting on the biggest oil reservoir in Wyoming, and Louis is the paralegal assigned to pressure him into selling his land.

Love is a Rebellious Bird by @gloriaandrews​ and @100percentsassy​

AU in which the boys still make music. Louis is the concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Harry is the New! and Exciting! interim conductor/ex-cello prodigy who “has made Mozart cool again” according to Esquire Magazine (Louis hates him immediately, which is definitely why he internet stalked him in his dark bedroom late at night that one time), and Niall is the best. Zayn and Liam are around too.

Don’t hum Bolero.

Wear It Like A Crown by zarah5

AU. As part of a team of fixers hired to handle a gay scandal in Buckingham Palace, Louis expects Prince Harry to be a lot of things—most notably a royally spoilt brat. Never mind that the very same Prince Harry used to star in quite a number of Louis’ teenage fantasies.

These Roads We Stumble Down by @onewasturning

He’s completely drenched, not one millimetre of him not covered in rain, and the old sheepskin cover over the seat is probably going to stink afterwards from the damp. But even with what seems to be a constant tremor shaking his body, brown hair plastered to his forehead, and a blue tinge to his skin, he’s still probably the most gorgeous person that Harry has ever seen.

Or, Harry picks up a hitchhiker in Oxford, and it’s a long ride to Glasgow.

Into The Blue by zarah5

AU. In which Louis is Harry’s scuba instructor and quite happy to provide the requested special treatment, pun fully intended. It can’t be all that difficult to convince Harry that they’re on the same page, right? Also, Niall and Liam may or may not be dating, and Zayn is surrounded by emotionally stunted idiots. He bears it with dignity.

another hazy may by deLILah

louis is a terrible poet and harry lives in the now and they have six weeks to fall in love but, really, it only takes six seconds. bookshop meets military meets summer romance au ft. marlboros, the backstreet boys, and underrated literary devices.

No One Does It Better by nodibs

Harry’s an alcoholic and Louis is a bartender. The first time they meet isn’t the first time they’ve met.

Speaking of Marvels by navigator and quitter

AU. Louis is a nanny in suburban New Jersey, and the neighbors’ son is home from college for the summer. It was supposed to be a fling.

Your Name Is Tattooed On My Heart by mcpofife

Louis is ready to find the love of his life, but first he has to stop falling for the punk rocker next door.

Pull Me Under by zarah5

AU. As the first British footballer to come out at the prime of his career, it helps that Louis Tomlinson is in a long-term, committed relationship. Even if that relationship is fake. (Featuring Niall as Louis’ favourite teammate, Liam as Louis’ agent, and Zayn as Liam’s boyfriend, who just happens to be good friends with one Harry Styles.)

Young & Beautiful by @mizzwilde

Louis, to his horror, attends an elitist university in which the name Zayn Malik means something, Niall Horan doesn’t stop talking, there are pianos everywhere, and Harry Styles, only son of a drug-addled, clinically insane ex-rocker, has a perfect smile and empty eyes.

There are so many more that I’ve loved…I tried to keep this mostly to longer, chaptered fics, but there are wonderful PWPs and one shots and other terrific long fics…there are just so many good writers in this fandom! Hope you find some here you don’t know yet! Let me know what you think if you read any!

#larry fic rec #mine #Anonymous

[magicalgirlmascot]

Heya I don't mean to sound passive aggressive in any way, but I was just wondering why is it that you dislike Super a lot? I mean you're allowed to like and dislike whatever you want, and I'm in no way trying to change your opinion. I'm just curious as to why you seem to have a burning hatred for it?

Nah you don’t sound passive aggressive ^^ if you were you wouldn’t have acknowledged that my opinion is a valid one, you’re cool

I’ve avoided going into too much detail to avoid The Discourse, but essentially it comes down to a few main points: ships I don’t like, characters I don’t care about, pacing, terrible one-note characterization, and the fans.

I know a lot of that sounds really petty but with all my Sweet Home Alabama discourse yesterday are any of you surprised

I’m going to put my more detailed reasoning under a cut because boy howdy it is long and I have some Things To Say

Ships I Don’t LikeOkay this, honestly, is incredibly petty, and it’s not even the pettiest thing on here. But I HATE Trunks/Mai. I hate it. It is the worst ship that’s had the word “canon” sneezed at it in all of DB history, and that’s coming from someone who firmly believes Yamcha/Bulma was unhealthy for both parties. One of my rules for accepting writing commissions and requests is that I will not accept ships with an “aged up” child character in a relationship with an adult. (Aged up children in relationships with other aged up children are a different story, as they’re at least at the same stage of development, but that’s an issue for another day.) Trunks/Mai has the opposite problem: it’s an “aged down” adult character in a relationship with a child. You can argue about Future Trunks’s age all you want, but that changes nothing about kid Trunks and Mai. She’s in her forties. He’s nine at most. How is this not the creepiest thing in the world what the fuck.

Even with Future Trunks and Future Mai, it still grosses me out because it’s the same thing. Assuming the Pilaf Gang did (somehow) wish to be young again in the Future timeline (which...I don’t see how they could have, that doesn’t make sense continuity-wise, but continuity has never been DB’s strong suit), that still makes her way older than him. And if they didn’t, well, that’s just worse. Also how is she still that young looking.

Honestly the only reason I can think of for Toei/Toriyama to bring that into existence was so people would stop shipping Trunks with Goten and Future Trunks with Gohan. Which. I get it, you don’t like it, they’re your characters, et cetera, but could you maybe not have done it in a somewhat less creepy way? Dude. What 40-something wants to be in a relationship with a kid? Even if said 40-something looks like a kid? It’s creepy and gross and I hate it more than any other canon ship.

Characters I Don’t Care AboutI’ve heard a lot of people refer to Super as The Goku and Vegeta Hour and...yeah. DB’s never been great at remembering their MILLIONS of side characters (humans especially once Z happened) and Super doesn’t take enough steps to change that imo. Don’t get me wrong--I like Goku, and I...tolerate Vegeta, but characters who were once considered major players are relegated to backseat viewers again, and nobody can keep up with Goku except Vegeta sometimes (when previously most of them could at least hold their own). I’ll admit, I like the looks of some of the new characters, there are some who seem like they have interesting characterizations (like Kale.....though I’ll be the first to admit I’m biased as hell towards buff women). But Zamasu/Goku Black or whatever just seemed like a couple of shitty Hot Topic teens. I went to high school with people like them and they were annoying.

There’s just too much of a focus on a few specific characters while other characters get the shaft, and the new characters and plot points they bring up just...aren’t interesting. I don’t give a shit about yet another “gotta get stronger” plot you guys. Ugh.

PacingOKAY I’LL ADMIT this is the pettiest thing on this list but like...I’ve never liked the DB anime’s pacing. Ever. Remember how I used to liveblog DBZ? I got like 10 episodes in and got fed up with how long it took to get anywhere. Stuff that took like...a couple chapters in the manga took five half-hour episodes to deal with. And you’d think they would’ve learned in 30 years, especially since they don’t have to base everything off the manga now, but no, the pacing is still awful. And it’s not just the whole “Namek takes half a season to explode” stuff (although that is really annoying, and knowing the real-world reason for it doesn’t make it less annoying), it’s that every shot lasts longer than it needs to. You could cut the running time in half just by trimming the shots slightly. It’s bad, and I’ve always stuck to the manga because of it. It’s not that I’m a Manga Purist(TM) or anything, I just...can’t watch the anime.

Terrible, One-Note CharacterizationYou all know who I mean when I say this, but it extends to more than just Yamcha.

Videl’s character was absolutely decimated in this show. 18′s the only female fighter we have left anymore because of it. I once saw an argument saying that Videl not fighting anymore makes sense because she was traumatized by being killed by Buu, which okay fine fair enough, but 1) nobody said she had to fight in life-or-deaths situations, AT LEAST LET HER BE SAIYAWOMAN AGAIN YOU COWARDS, and 2) that doesn’t mean you have to get rid of her firecracker personality and replace it with the sweet, docile housewife type. We saw it with Chi-Chi...sort of, we don’t need it with Videl, too. Once a female character gets married in DB, they stop fighting (except 18) and stop being important to the plot (except Bulma...sometimes (remember when Bulma was the main character? Pepperidge Farm remembers)). Three times is a pattern, Toriyama, I’m just saying.

Goku even gets hit with shades of this. He’s not an idiot, you guys, he can read a dang grocery list. Yes, he’s selfish and simple and bad at communicating and often doesn’t realise what he’s done wrong until it’s pointed out to him, but he’s also a fast learner, a really good tactician (like. look at some of his fights in DB and early Z, those are some Good Tactics), and not a complete asswipe. We don’t get to see those good traits much in Super. He had no reason to not tell people the stakes for the tournament to get them to join. None. There was no reason to lie. Yes, his biggest flaw is his inability to communicate with his friends and teammates (COUGHS LOUDLY AND LOOKS AT THE CELL ARC) but Jesus you guys, his friends would have helped him if he told them the real stakes too? He didn’t need to lie? There was no point? I’m so angry?

The worst of it though is Yamcha. For the love of fuck, you guys, Yamcha has more characterization than just “guy who sucks at everything and has a thing for Bulma.” Like that’s some Funi dub shit there, not original canon. What happened to when he said he’d given up fighting in the Buu arc? Where did that go? You could have done so much more with that concept rather than have him still be overconfident in his abilities and slamming him at every turn. Even when he does get to do stuff, it’s obvious that it’s just a setup to make him fail so Vegeta will look good by comparison. It’s awful. The writers have such an obvious hard-on for Vegeta and they keep cutting Yamcha down. Those bits where he’s waiting for Goku to ask him to the tournament even though we all know he won’t? They’re not funny, they’re just sad. Also, on that note, why is Roshi there? Yamcha surpassed Roshi years ago, Roshi himself says so! I get that he wasn’t in the RF movie because his voice actor was busy, but they couldn’t have given a better reason than just Tien leaving him behind because he didn’t think he could keep up? At least have him sick in bed with a fever and wanting to go anyway and being forced to stay behind by a worried Tien or something guys, geez. And his VA was obviously around for that arc of Super, so what the hell.

(Yes I was salty earlier about Yamcha still fighting and shit but if you’re going to drop the “Yamcha retiring from fighting” plot point then at least DO something with it you cowards)

FansOH GOD, THE FANS. Not to say that people who dislike Super are perfect or ideologically pure (I once knew a person who bragged about trolling/picking on Super fans...we do not talk), but the people who do like the show seem to spend an awful lot of time yelling at us and telling people they’re not real fans if they like GT more than Super or don’t like either or whatever.

And of course the VegeBullies are out in full force over it, too. VegeBul gets a lot��of screentime, and when fans of other ships (GoChi primarily) say “hey we’d like more content” they get shut down or yelled at. They demand more content despite already having more than anyone else at this point. Shut the fuck up and let me enjoy the fact that Tien and Yamcha stood next to each other again in peace.

But that’s getting dangerously close to ship war territory and I try to stay out of that. (It’s hard, because I’m a salty, bitter person, but I try.) I’ll also say Not All VegeBuls(TM) even though I shouldn’t have to because if I don’t I’ll get at least 10 angry anons in my inbox flipping their shit.

You know what the really sad thing is? When Super was first announced, I was mega excited. And I really liked the first couple episodes! But they veered away from making it the Martial Arts Themed Slice of Life Comedy Hour we deserved, they retold the same story the movies already did instead of just making the movies canon and continuing from there (thereby drawing it out way too much), and they just...fucked it up in general. I can’t stand Super and while I don’t expect to sway anyone’s opinion with this, you did ask me why, and I hope now you can understand.

#this got waaaaay longer than i thought oops #Anonymous #ask ed