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azucar-skull · 4 months ago

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Just You And Me

(written for @tmnt-write-fight for @remedyturtles)

Fandom: Rise of the TMNT (Post movie)

Prompt: Autistic Donnie!!! Literally anything for autistic Donnie. Sensory overload, deep pressure hugs, food issues, the works.

Word Count: 3785

Posted on AO3 too!

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A fun day at the beach. This was meant to be a fun day at the beach. A moment for the team to get away from the hustle of New York and enjoy a nice day out on a secluded beach where the turtles didn’t have to worry about any stray humans spotting them.

April, Cass, and Sunita were teaching Casey Jr the ropes of volleyball. Mikey was busy burying Raph in the sand and making him a mermaid tail. And Leo was heading out to catch some waves with an abandoned surfboard he found.

Donnie spent a good chunk of the time sitting in the umbrella shade. But the sand is now kicking onto his towel and just…ugh. Donnie is not a fan of sand. It gets everywhere and is a pain in the ass to get rid of. Besides, he’s supposed to be hanging out with his brothers, he promised them that much. The softshell spent the majority of his time in his lab, working endlessly day in and day out. He tried to say no to a beach day but his brothers weren’t having it. So…sigh…

The water seems nice. It is pretty hot out. And being an aquatic turtle, Donnie has no dispute about it. Plus it’d be funny to go underwater and prank Leo by knocking him off his surfboard.

Alright, swimming it is, Donnie thought. He got up from his towel and headed down to the shores. He winces at the loud screech of April’s cheering, looking over to see that Casey Jr had punted the volleyball way out of bounds. The teen looks nervous and apologetic as the ball disappears into the aether, never to be seen again. But the girls all swarm him with hugs and cheers. They are being quite loud about it though.

Crunch.

Donnie stumbles back as he notices the strip of seashells lining the shores. He’s stepping on a few and it pokes the bare soles of his feet, eugh. The softshell carefully tries to maneuver around them—

“HEY DEE!!!”, Mikey bellows from down the shore, carrying a plastic red pail full of shells. “Can you grab me that white shell next to you?”

White shell? Sure. White shell, white shell… Donnie glances down and around him.

There are several white shells…

“W-Which one?!”, Donnie hollers back.

“Right next to your foot!”

His foot? Where?? Which foot?!?!?!

“...What????”

Mikey huffs a sigh. “Nevermind, I got it.”, he calls out, bounding his way over to his purple-clad brother. Mikey reaches behind Donnie and picks up the large white spiraling shell he almost stepped on. “I was talking about this one.”

“O-Oh, I see. My bad, I didn’t—”

“No, no, you’re good! I should’ve been more specific. Plus it was behind you.”, Mikey wavers his hand and offers a reassuring smile. “You having fun so far?”

“Uhh…yup!”, it’s not a total lie. But Donnie hasn’t done dick diddly since they got here.

“Cool! Wanna help me decorate Raph’s mermaid tail?”

Help decorate…but Don’s plan was to go in the water with Leo. But. Mikey’s asking for him and Donnie really doesn’t want to let his brothers down so…

“Okay.”, he nods. He could go swimming later anyways. This is okay. Just a little change. Not a big deal.

Don’t make it a big deal. It’s not. It’s literally just a change of plans.

Donnie follows Mikey over to where Raph is patiently waiting with his legs buried under a mound of sand that’s been sculpted into a rather impressive looking mermaid tail. Always leave it to the artist of the group to wow the others with his craftsmanship.

“I’m back! And I brought some help!”, Mikey beams, placing the now heavy bucket of shells down beside the snapper.

“Awesome! I’m going to be the coolest mermaid out there!”, Raph flashes a toothy grin at his brothers.

Donnie sits himself on Raph’s other side and simply follows Mikey’s direction in sorting all the shells into groups based on size, color, and general pattern. Bit by bit, they press the shells into the sand sculpture. While Mikey works the scales, Donnie presses large shell flakes into the fins. But he ends up pressing a bit too hard and the sand begins to topple over. The corner of the fin breaks apart, causing Raph’s foot to stick out.

“Oh crap! My bad, Raph, I didn’t mean to!”, Donnie winces at his mistake before snapping his head at the snapper.

Raph lets out a dramatic gasp, “My mermaid tail!! Oh no, the spell is wearing off! I’m turning back into a human—err…—turtle…”, Raph cries out. “My life is simply ruined! How could you betray me like this? My dearest brother?!” The alligator snapping turtle presses the back of his hand against his forehead as he flops back on his shell.

Oh shit. Shit! Raph’s mad at him. Of course he would be. How could Donnie make such a mistake? Sand is delicate and now Raph is—

Mikey’s laugh breaks through. “Alright, alright. Quit joking around, Raph. I’ll fix it. Just hold still again, would ya?”

Raph was…joking? He was joking. Oh. Right. Of course he was joking. Duh. How could Donnie think Raph was mad? It’s just sand. It’s an easy fix too. Raph was just having fun with him. Why couldn’t Donnie see that??

Mikey hums to himself as he scoops up the sand and pats it back in place again. Donnie wants to try and help some more but now he’s worried that he’ll just fuck it all up again. He clenches and unclenches his hands, hesitant to make a choice.

“Boys! Lunch time!”, April calls out to them.

“What?! Now?! But my mermaid tail!”, Raph whines.

“We can camp next to you then, Raph.”, April rolls her eyes fondly.

“Phew.”, Raph sighs, wiping his brow. He glances up ahead at Leo on his board. “Hey, Donnie, could you go grab Leo and tell him it’s time for lunch?”

“Yes!”, Donnie answers immediately, quickly standing up and a bit too eager to finally be helpful again. “U-uhm I mean, yeah. Sure thing. No probbles.”

Donnie hurries his way down to the shore, now mindful of the shells. He brisks the waterline to get in earshot of the slider before cupping his hands around his mouth.

“LEO! LUNCH!”, he shouts.

Leo can’t seem to hear him. Laughing to himself as he ducks under a wave, grazing the water with his palm. He looks so…joyful. At ease. It’s been a while since Donnie’s seen that. But…a growing turtle needs his food. Donnie huffs in annoyance and begins padding into the water, going deeper and deeper as the cold ocean water soaks the rims of his board shorts.

“Leo!”, Donnie tries again. “LEO!!!”

Still nothing. Guess Donnie finally gets to swim after all. He lurches forward before diving in. The refreshing cold water washes over him as the softshell blinks through the murky ocean and begins to swim after his twin. He sees where the water surface bobs and waves up ahead, where Leo is surfing. He just needs to get close enough for Leo to hear him.

He swims, no worry for his breath which he can hold for a good couple of hours if he wants. The water was hard to see through, unlike a swimming pool, but as long as Donnie focuses on the reflective rays of sunlight above, he could pinpoint where—

Something grabs his leg.

Something slimy, grainy, enrapturing around his leg. Tugging, pulling, yanking. Donnie yelps a muffled scream which takes all the air out with it, trying to kick away but it grabs hold of his other leg. Tugging and tugging and Donnie is kicking and kicking trying to break free but he can’t because the Kraangisyankinghimoutoftheslimyickyviolatingcontrolpanelsofthespaceship—

Suddenly, arms are pulling Donnie out of the water and he desperately gasps for air.

“You’re good, you’re good. I gotcha, Dontron.”, Leo assures as he pulls Donne up close for him to latch on to the surfboard. “What were you even doing down there?”

Donnie holds onto the back end of the board for dear life as he catches his breath. He blinks. Twice. Glancing around and registering that the slimy icky seaweed vines are no longer there. Because of course it was just seaweed. He knew that. He did.

“...What?”, Donnie asks dumbfoundedly, not registering Leo’s question.

“I said what were you doing?”, Leo raises a brow.

Donnie huffs in annoyance once again. “I was coming to get you for lunch time but then some seaweed grabbed me and…and I thought it was…something else.”

“Ugh! I hate that feeling!”, Leo scoffs, reeling his head back. “Every time that happens, I think it’s a stingray and I get all worked up about it.” The slider then scoots forward and pats the back of his surfboard. “Well come on then, let’s head back. I’m starving.”

Donnie graciously obliges, climbing up on the board and balancing himself on the center line. Leo glances behind him really quick but takes note of Donnie’s hands.

“Uhh…you might wanna grab on.”, he suggests.

Oh right, of course. Donne nods, scooting forward and gripping the edges of the surfboard but careful to not get too close to Leo. He’s still reeling from the icky seaweed just now. Leo cocks a brow before slowly turning his head back around.

“Oookay, that works. Let’s go.”

Leo paddles the two towards the shore, aiming for the wave that’s starting to form. Donnie fears for it to be a big one but the wave is simply tugged a bit out of the water, giving the board a gentle push that glides them back to the shore. Thank pizza supreme. He quickly gets off the second the ground is within leg range and pads out of the water with Leo to join up with the others.

The rest of the fam is setting up their picnic spot but the glorious snapper-mermaid as they start distributing sandwiches out from the cooler they brought. Leo and Donnie take a seat beside them all and that’s when Donnie is reminded of…sand.

The sand sticks to him like glue after his impromptu swim and near-drowning experience, getting stuck between his toes and grinding up against his scaly skin and—

“Here ya go, Donnie!”, April grins, passing him his sandwich.

Donnie accepts the offering, now distracted by just how hungry he is. He is most grateful that April and Mikey have packed sandwiches and chip bags for everyone. He opens up the plastic baggie and from the smell alone, he could tell it is a tuna salad sandwich. It sounds delightful. Donnie feels his tongue begin to salivate as he takes a big bite. Ah, finally, something nice. He chews on the bite, reminiscing in the delicious homemade flavors of the sandwich that Mikey made. He starts to feel a bit better too. He must’ve just been hangry this whole time—

CRONCH.

Donnie bit into something hard, hard like a rock. The texture is a startling difference from the softness of the sandwich and it throws the softshell off balance. Not wanting to spit it out in front of everyone, he crunches through the odd texture and gulps the bite down. He peaks into his sandwich to find a culprit but nothing is seen. He’s lost his appetite anyway, putting the rest back into the baggie and opting to thrive off of the potato chips for the time being.

The others are engaged in a lively conversation about how much of a fast learner Casey Jr is at volleyball. Donnie knows he should join in, they all urged him to come along on their beach day so he should be participating. But—

“Not eating your sandwich, Dee?”, Leo asks, though not unkindly.

Suddenly, eyes are on him. Donnie tries to glance up but the stares bore into him like heat lasers and he can’t bring himself to look back. Donnie shrugs through the embarrassment.

“Had a funny texture.”, he mumbles. “I-It tastes great though, Angelo. Really.”

“I believe ya, Don.”, Mikey smiles. At least…Donnie could hear the smile. “Sorry the texture’s off.”

“Well here, you still need something…”, Leo adds. He peels away at his sandwich, separating the bread from everything else and holding the tuna salad parts in his other hand. He hands the bread to his twin. “Here, you can have this. Bread is good, right?”

“O-oh, no. You don’t have to do that.”, Donnie shakes his hand at the offering.

“It’s fine, I prefer the salad straight up anyways.”, Leo assures. “Come on, don’t let this bread go to waste.”

“I…okay.”

Donnie takes the bread slides, munching away at them as the conversation picks up where it left off. The bread has the delicious tuna flavor to it though so at least that’s good. But Donnie still feels bad for being so picky about things. He doesn’t mind tuna. So why is this bothering him now?

“It is settled then!”, Cass’s loud voice breaks through the conversation. “All of us shall compete in a game of volleyball!”

“Aw, yeah! I’m in!”, April nods.

“Sounds great!”, Mikey beams.

“But…my mermaid tail…”, Raph whines.

“FUCK YOUR MERMAID TAIL!”, Cass shouts as she stands up and kicks over the beautifully and carefully crafted mermaid tail that Mikey put his blood, sweat, and tears into. “EVERYONE TO THE NET!”

The rest of the gang bound for the net as Raph mourns the tragic loss of his beloved mermaid tail before catching up with the rest of them. They split into two teams. Leo, Donnie, April, and Sunita on one team. And Raph, Mikey, Casey Jr, and Cass on the other team. Donnie opts to be the back end guy, away from the action where people could crash into each other and start screaming their heads off.

The game begins, April serves (and slays) the ball into the air and the tension begins. A point to Donnie’s team, then a point to the other team. The ball aims at Donnie’s direction a few times, but he stammers to hit back whenever Leo steps in a bit. He’s doing it to be ready to help but knowing Leo’s “No, no, I got this one.” attitude that almost cost them an entire apocalypse, Donnie is rendered hesitant. After a couple serves, Leo catches on and instead sends Donnie a reassuring nod when the ball comes his way again. The softshell does pretty well for the most part. Not too much action but enough that he’s helpful. He likes to be helpful.

The ball is served again, a tie breaker now, and it hits into the other team’s side. Casey Jr quickly steps into the ball's line of flight, jumping high up in the air and smacking the ball across the net with such force that it slams into Donnie’s team’s side in an easy point hit. But the ball quickly rebounds and bounces up towards Donnie at lightning speed and before Donnie could even register it’s trajectory—

WHAM!

Donnie is knocked off his feet as the ball hits him square in the chin and makes the softshell bite his own tongue. He falls back against the grainy sand. And suddenly everything Donnie’s been trying to keep down all day suddenly snaps. He quickly sits up, tucking his head down as he is suddenly made aware of every little thing around him. The sun is too bright, everyone’s concerned shouting is too loud, his jaw and chin hurt, he’s still hungry because bread and chips is not a lunch meal, there’s fucking sand everywhere and it’s all just…too much.

A high-pitched whine escapes his throat through clenched teeth before Donnie is sucking in a large breath. He clutches his hands against his forehead and rocks himself in place. The sounds he’s making are not of his own volition but at least it has thankfully stopped the shouting. Donnie barely registers what everyone is saying but it doesn’t matter because they’re all focusing on him. Staring and boring their eyes into him so much that it hurts like heat vision rays determined to melt the flesh off his bones and all Donnie wants right now is to get away and maintain some of his fucking dignity.

“Deep breath, Tello. It’s just me right now. Just you and me. You and me.”, Leo’s voice hushes close by. “Deep breath. With me. In…and out. In…and out.”

Donnie tries to follow but his breathing comes in desperate gasps. He manages though. He tries.

“That’s good. You got it. You so got it.”

Donnie begs to fucking differ.

“Come here. You up for a hug?”

Donnie doesn’t even answer yet and there’s arms wrapped around him. They feel icky at first until they tighten, harder and harder. And now Donnie latches onto his twin like a lifeline. He doesn’t dare open his eyes, he can’t. Everything is just too much. But he holds on. It’s all he can do right now.

“There we go. You’re good. I got you.”

Leo shushes him calmly, still holding on as tightly as he dares until Donnie’s panicked rocking slows down. Donnie curls up as much as he can, wrecked with uncontrollable whines and sobs.

“There, there, mellizo. I’m here.”, Leo murmurs. “You wanna go home? Hm?”

A gentle suggestion. And honestly, Donnie would love nothing more than to get the fuck outta here. But…his brothers wanted him to be here. And if he leaves, they’ll want to leave too. He doesn’t want that.

“...I don’t want to ruin the fun.”, he whispers, barely audible, but Leo is holding him so close that he doesn’t have to be loud to be heard.

“You’re not ruining anything, I promise.”, Leo whispers back.

“I’d feel bad if they all want to leave too.”

“Hm…yeah, I get you. We can ask them to stay here, if you want. We could head back together, just you and me.

“...Just you and me…”

“You got it.” Leo shifts, craning his neck up at the others. “We’re gonna head back to base, you guys carry on though!”

Raph hums in concern. “Are ya sure? Raph don’t mind—”

“Yes, we’re sure. Go on. Continue the game without us. Mikey, switch with our team. Avenge our honor.”

“Uhm…sure!”, Mikey replies. “If that’s what Donnie wants.”

A pause, and Donnie realizes they want him to say something. But he could only muster a subtle nod.

“Dee would be honored to have you take his spot.”, Leo assures. “We’ll take my portals back so just give me a call when you’re done and I can teleport you all back.”

“You be sure to give us a call too if you need anything, okay?”, April insists.

“Absolutely!”

Leo shifts to get up but Donnie still grabs onto him tightly. The slider makes no fuss though, hoisting Donnie up with him and guiding the two back to the shade where a blue shimmering light forms. Donnie is guided through the light until everything feels a comforting familiar. The softshell blinks his eyes open to see the dimly lit lair before them. It almost looks completely dark but that’s simply Donnie’s eyes adjusting to being out in the bright sunlight all day. Leo sets his swords aside and gives his twin a patient smile.

“Hey bud, how’s your chin? Does it hurt?”, he asks softly. And thank fuck for it, Donnie doesn’t think he can handle much more stimuli.

His chin doesn’t hurt anymore now though. So Donnie just shakes his head, not wanting to engage in eye contact right now.

“Hm…how about all that sand, huh?”

Now Leo’s speaking his language. Donnie subtly nods which prompts Leo to gently grab his hand and guide him down the hall.

“Let’s head to the bathroom then before we get sand everywhere.”

They head into the bathroom where Leo grabs some towels from the rack. He passes one to Donnie before shaking off his own sandy skin in turn. The sand, now drying off, flakes away with ease which Donnie is most grateful for. He takes extra care to pick away the sand stuck between his toes and fingers before yanking off his bandana when he discovers how much sand got stuck up in it. Once the twins are sand-free, Leo ushers him out of the bathroom.

“Come on, it’s hoodie time.”

They head down to their rooms where Donnie is more than agreeing to dress out into something more comfortable and dry. He puts on his usual shorts and his large oversized purple hoodie before stepping out and sees that Leo has done the same in a blue hoodie.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Are you kidding? I don’t want to keep wearing those damp sandy clothes anymore.”, Leo chuckles. “Come on, let’s pop on a movie. You pick. I’ll grab some snacks. Something more filling than bread, I bet.”

Call it twin instinct, but Donnie is glad that Leo is able to read his mind. He heads down to the TV room and shuffles through a few options before opting for his go-to Jupiter Jim comfort movie. Something mindless he can just focus on. As he settles on the couch, Leo comes back with a couple juice boxes and instant noodle cups. Donnie soaks up the minimal warmth of his ramen cup as Leo snuggles up next to him. Together, the two just sit in peaceful silence, enjoying their noodles and the movie. But something still stirs in Donnie’s gut.

“...I’m sorry.”, he murmurs.

“For what?”

“For not being as participating as I should’ve been today. You guys have been insisting I come along and I owe it to you after locking myself up in the lab for a long while. I tried to be more sociable but…it was all just too much.”

“Hey. We wanted you to tag along because you’re our brother and we wanted you to feel included.”, Leo presses. “You didn’t have to come with if you didn’t want to and even if you wanted, you still didn’t have to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. We would never want you to make yourself uncomfortable for us, Dee.”

“...Yeah…you’re right.”

“Well of course I am.”, Leo flaunts. “Who would you be without your genius twin?”

“Excuse you, that’s my line.”, Donnie smirks. “...I still like going to the beach. Just…not now. I guess.”

Leo wraps his arm around his brother. “Then we’ll head out again some other time. Just you and me.”

“Yeah…

“Just you and me.”

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This was the longest attack I've made so far for write fight and tbh I am kinda bummed that it's a friendly fire one too so the points ain't that much BUT THE RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR HAS SPOKEN SO I DO NOT QUESTION THE RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR GODS!!!

Hope you like it, Rem! Consider it a fuck you and a thank you for writing firefight. (I still gotta catch up. Why does Donnie want to eat bananas--)

#tmnt write fight #rottmnt #tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles #writing #fanfic #sensory overload #the autism is strong in this one

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inoreuct · 1 year ago

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thinking about mermaid sanji and sailor zoro,,,

the sky is cloudless, the sun’s glimmering off the calm water, the crew’s relaxing on the deck as they’re sailing through a clear patch of ocean; by all accounts, it’s a perfect day. luffy hasn’t gotten them into another shenanigan as of yet and zoro’s chilling up in the crow’s nest, half asleep and lethargic with the heat— and then he swears he hears laughter. and it isn’t coming from the ship.

he’s up on his feet immediately and squinting against the glaring light, wondering for a second if he’s seeing a mirage or a trick of the heat shimmer, because they’re sailing by a large, flat rock.

a rock with merfolk on it.

zoro’s shimmying down the mast in record time, ropes lashing around him as his boots hit the deck and he tries not to look like he’s running to the taffrail to catch a better look. (look, he’s curious, alright? merfolk aren’t a total myth, but they aren’t a common sight either.)

(that, and he feels oddly like someone has cast out a fish hook and it’s lodged behind his sternum, tugging him forward and forward until his hands are pressed palm-flat to the railing and he’s leaning over the edge.)

he hears that laugh again, rich and bright, wide eyes snapping to the mer who made it. golden waves shimmer over a leanly muscled shoulder, curling around a sharp jaw to reveal the mer’s pale, slender throat as they tip an oyster back into their mouth. leaning back on his hands — zoro is rather sure he is a he now, as a deep, smooth voice fills his ears, though he’s had enough tongue-lashings from nami to know not to assume — and tossing his hair back affords zoro a glimpse of a beautiful smile and bright blue eyes, blue as the goddamn sky. or maybe the sea. or perhaps the bioluminescent algae that had speckled the walls of this one cave that he’d been to ages ago—

he’s getting sidetracked. some sound must escape him, because suddenly a gaze so keen he feels his skin prickle is on him and he gulps involuntarily. and then for some reason, he opens his mouth. “are you a siren?”

the man’s curly brows narrow in irritation. “are you dead yet?” he snarks, casting zoro a flat stare and sighing in annoyance when zoro just stares back blankly. “no, I’m not a damn siren. lucky for you, we happen to be their… less bloodthirsty cousins.”

“less bloodthirsty meaning…?”

he shares a bored, bemused look with the woman on her elbows beside him, a mer with the richest purple colouring zoro’s seen in his life and a one-shoulder top made of shiny black kelp. “meaning we wouldn’t drag you down to the depths and feast on your carcass, but keep running your mouth and I might just change my mind.”

the mer’s tail is folded elegantly to the side as he lounges, fan-like tail fin trailing in the water, turning his body so that he can look at zoro properly as he tips back another oyster like it’s his god-given right. a tiny voice at the back of zoro’s mind whispers that this isn’t a good idea, whatever this is. it goes ignored. flaxen hair flutters in a slight breeze, sticking to the man’s milky skin in darker spirals where the tips are wet, and zoro’s breath catches as he watches the mer smile with teeth that are just erring on the side of too sharp.

the words register all at once and zoro lurches back, away from the railing, away from golden curls and blue eyes and pale skin. “what did you do,” he grits, resisting the urge to press the heel of his hand into his chest where it suddenly aches.

the mer shrugs. “nothing.”

“bullshit.”

“what’s the matter, sailor? feeling charmed?” that laugh, again, and zoro feels his heart throb. he watches the other man cock his head, studying another oyster in his hand, tilting the shell back and forth as he sucks on his teeth. “we can’t thrall,” he says finally, posture slackening with a sigh and a pout that seems to say what a shame as he picks up a knife and spins it deftly, shucking the shell open with a neat flick of his wrist. “only sirens can do that. whatever you’re feeling, whatever it may be, hasn’t been borne of any influence of mine.”

the oyster goes down and somehow, that sentence makes zoro feel even worse. it’s like he’s had the air punched out of him; he’s rooted, eyes wide, breathing hard as the mer makes a noise of pleasant surprise and pulls a pearl from his mouth, shimmering between his elegant fingers under the sun.

(zoro doesn’t know it yet, but he’s doomed. he was doomed from the start.)

back under the ocean, sanji has a crisis. he doesn’t see humans. he doesn’t meet humans. he and robin had just gone up to enjoy the sunshine and then this— this— brute swings by, with his stupid green hair and his three earrings and his obscenely grimy used-to-be-white shirt— sanji is fuming and he doesn’t know why. swimming laps back and forth across his cave isn’t helping either.

"might you possibly have something to get off your mind?" robin asks lightly, the pages of her book drifting in the water.

sanji does an about-turn and holds in a screech with all his might, forcing himself to relax with an exhale. "i'm just fine, my dear. peachy keen."

"you're making grooves in the floor."

"i'm redecorating."

he rolls the pearl from earlier between his fingers, squeezing it tight until his hand aches. "are you a siren, he asks," he mutters mutinously, fins fluttering as he throws himself onto a seaweed bed with a scowl. "how could a human be so stupid? if we were sirens he'd have been a waterlogged ball of moss on the sea floor by that point— and that hair. he looks like— like—"

"algae?" robin supplies helpfully.

"algae! sentient plant life, that's what he is, a kelp bed. water lettuce. duckweed, even." oh, he's so mad. that marimo pisses him off. the whole lot of them had sailed away, good riddance, because sanji never wants to see any of them ever again. they probably all smelled horrid anyway.

the merman's been following them.

the crow's nest is zoro's territory for a reason; he's the crew's lookout, and he's damn good at his job. for the past few days he's been seeing flashes of a broad tail fin and twists of golden hair. (he very firmly tells himself that he's not just seeing what he wants to see, because one, he might have one remaining eye but his eyesight is still as sharp as he keeps his cutlass, thank you very much. and two, why the hell would he want to see that merman? he isn't about to win any awards for his own manners but that guy had been stuck up and prissy and just rude. he's only been allowed to tag along this far because he hasn't presented himself as an outright threat. zoro doesn't want to see him. nuh-uh.)

(zoro sees things in his dreams, too. ocean eyes and a sly smile. a pale torso, knife in hand and teeth too sharp. he reaches out to see if the other man's hair feels as soft as it looks and he always wakes before he finds out.)

rum doesn't help to loosen the tension that settles against his spine at night, like he's waiting for something. he doesn't know what. anticipation, maybe, would be a better word— but that has a slight positive connotation, and— no. this man might not be a siren, but zoro’s enough of a sailor to know that it sure as hell doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous.

he can't afford to go off chasing pretty mermen when he has a crew to protect.

the ship docks for a few days at a barren island. sanji swims laps around the sandy coast and pretends that the thought of his the sailor being beyond his reach doesn't make an anxious itch ripple beneath his scales.

water splashes against the side of the boat, and zoro's at the railing in an instant whether he wants to be or not.

“hello, marimo.”

the merman treads water leisurely, golden hair swirling about his shoulders and gleaming in the faint lantern light. it's early enough after sunset that the stars aren't out yet and it's dark as hell. zoro squints.

a laugh echoes in his ears, light and melodious. already familiar. zoro tries to be mad about that. “a little more to your left, moron.”

“well, i can’t very well fuckin’ see, can i?” he scoffs, and bites back a gasp when the water starts glowing, what the fuck. his stupid heart stutters when he sees him, lit up with gentle blues and yellows from below, flickering with the push and pull of the tide and sweeps of that powerful tail. "hey."

"hello," the mer hums again, lashes long and wet enough that they catch the wavering light. "gonna tell me your name, sailor?"

zoro almost lets it slip. almost. but he bites his tongue as he feels a chill run up the back of his neck; sure enough, a glance over his shoulder confirms that nami is glaring at him. don't do anything stupid, her gaze says, and he turns away with a shudder. their navigator is a threat in her own right. "no."

"okay. marimo it is."

"you— that is insulting," he hisses, because it is. he is roronoa zoro. he came from nothing and made a life for himself out of it. he's one of the best swordsmen on the damn seas and he's part of the best crew he's ever known, and he's been reduced to, what? a floating ball of moss?

"it's accurate," the other man corrects with a smirk. "unless you tell me what else to call you."

zoro fumes, fingertips digging into the taffrail. he's sure his nails are gouging scratches in the wood. "no."

"marimo."

"shut up."

"mosshead."

"shut up!"

"algae-brained, kelp-haired, water cabbage-headed—"

"zoro!"

the mer finally stops, lashes fluttering as something passes over his face.

"my name," he ekes out, "is zoro." nami swears somewhere behind him.

the merman's lips part around the syllables of the word, before he draws in a breath and grins, smug. "okay, marimo."

"wh—?!" zoro throws his hands up in exasperation, scofffing. "you bastard!"

"i asked for your name. never said i would use it."

"you're a piece of shit, blondie."

"call me that again and i'll show you how hard i can bite," the mer sneers with all his teeth on show, blue eyes lit up furious, turning away as he prepares to dive and—

"wait!" zoro yells before he can stop himself, and he curses under his breath. ah, fuck it. already got one foot in it anyway. "what's your name?"

"...oh, darling," the mer sighs, half-amused and airy, his voice slipping away. "you're gonna have to work a little harder for that."

it feels like hours later when zoro steps back with a shaky sigh. the merman reminds him of a strong brandy he’d had what feels like lifetimes ago, burnt caramel and warm sugar and smoke with enough hidden bite to take you by surprise, to sink its teeth into you three shots down. enough to intoxicate if you weren’t careful.

he yelps when nami slaps him across the back of the head, faking a lunge at her with bared teeth even as he rubs a hand over his aching scalp with a huff. her nagging about being more careful barely registers. his hair's getting long; maybe he needs a trim.

(that little voice in the back of his head is wary. hesitant. but now it's asking what if.)

the ship docks again. this island is teeming with life, thriving, lush with rich green foliage and thick forestation— and beautiful women who all seem to find zoro the height of masculine appeal, apparently. sanji curls himself into a nook in the coral reef and lets his fins trail in the water, the corner of his mouth ticking up a little when a baby clownfish comes to nibble curiously at his fingertip. he's not sulking. he's not. that would be fucking embarrassing for so many reasons and he refuses to think about even one of them.

it's the first time that he starts to feel a little stupid. it had been all fun and games, in the beginning when he'd upped and left on a whim; curiosity and intrigue and the good old urge to stick his fingers in all the cracks this human had until sanji understood every part of him, laid out in the sand like the skeleton of a great sea beast.

but now he's so far away from home, aimlessly following a ship— no, not even a ship. following one person on a ship for no real reason at all.

the clownfish ducks beneath his hand, and sanji cups it carefully in his palm. "you're lucky you don't have to deal with romance yet," he tells it sagely before gently shooing it out of his hiding spot. the water above ripples. it's dark again; the crew must have returned to their boat for the night. sanji sighs and unfurls his tail.

it honestly seems like blind optimism at this point, but he really hopes he's not being played for a fool.

zoro's there when he surfaces, peering over the railing and backlit by the lanterns. sanji focuses and brings out his bioluminescence until the little cove they're in is filled with coloured light. "marimo."

"swirly brow," zoro greets in return.

sanji raises one said swirly eyebrow. "that's new."

"i've got more. blondie, of course. curly head. fishboy—"

"fishboy?!" he squawks, enraged. "fuck you!"

"you wish."

"more like the ladies did," sanji scoffs, and immediately wants to try drowning himself.

zoro frowns. "the hell you talking 'bout, curls?"

the burst of bitterness at the back of his throat is just enough to take him by surprise and loosen his tongue. "they were hanging off your arm like—" mm. nope. he's not gonna go there.

the swordsman's eyes widen like he's just realised something, and sanji does not like that at all. "you're jealous."

"no."

"you are!"

"fuck you," he spits, gills flaring. "i am not." he has no reason to be jealous. they are nothing. this— there is nothing between them.

zoro just grins. "catch."

a white thing drops downwards and sanji darts forward on instinct to let it fall into his cupped palms. "what, s'this supposed to be a present for me, marimo?"

"it's— yeah."

he opens his mouth to reply, before he realises what exactly it is he's holding.

the water lotus fills his hands, its soft white petals edged in pale pink, velvety against his fingertips. something catches in his throat and he dips beneath the water to submerge his gills, carefully holding the flower aloft. his heart squeezes.

the waves lap at the bridge of his nose, hiding half his face as he watches zoro rub at the back of his neck, uncharacteristically shy. zoro isn't shy. sanji knows this much. he is loud and unabashed and unashamed with everything, with how he lives, with how he talks, with how he loves his crew and everything they entail.

but he looks almost— he's blushing, just a little, red across the tips of his ears as his gaze darts away, looking very much like he's mad at himself. "nami said it means strength and resilience, or something." the breath he huffs is harsh as he scratches at his nape. "i don't know, it's stupid, curly, i just—"

"sanji."

"what?"

"sanji. my name."

sanji doesn't want to know what he looks like as he rises out of the water to cup the flower to his collar. dumb, probably. rightfully so, because all of this is a very dumb decision and it's probably going to end in shambles with his heart broken into pieces in the silt but zoro— he looks up, floating on his back, and zoro's already looking at him with something that could be wonder, if sanji dared to name it.

"where did you get this?" he murmurs, tail fin creating large ripples as he swims a circle, holding the lotus like it's fragile.

"there was a pond full of them on the island. thought you'd like it."

"you don't know what i like." it comes out breathy. his hair melts against his shoulders as he tries to push himself closer, closer, across the space between them, like a fool. "you don't even know me."

and yet, he startles back when zoro jumps the railing, splashing feet-first into the water boots and all and shaking his head like a dog when he resurfaces. sanji shrieks and shields the lotus with his body, everything else momentarily forgotten as he whacks zoro with his tail just hard enough to send the sailor back underwater with a sputtered laugh. "you fucking brute!"

"i want to."

"that made no sense—"

"i don't know you, but i want to." zoro treads closer, and sanji's light ripples off his skin. his eyes are grey. warm granite and the inside of an oyster shell. "will you let me?"

sanji wants. there is nothing between them, but he wants there to be. he wants so hard it hurts. it feels like he's holding his heart in his hands and not a flower. it's the only way to explain how he's suddenly aching, hollow, in the face of something that isn't even a goddamn confession but feels too much like one. there is a flower in his hands and he wants.

“why?”

“dunno.” he gets a shrug, blunt and earnest as ever even as zoro’s mouth twists up at the edge. “maybe i’m charmed.”

he swallows hard, his mouth dry, and he doesn't want to say it but he has to. "if this is some sick thing about me being a mer—"

"wh—? no!" zoro blurts, and he looks so fucking horrified at that moment that it settles something in sanji's stomach instantly. "god, fuck, no. no. it's not like that. i swear on my life."

there are reasons why merfolk don't interact with humans. sanji grew up with the stories. he's seen the skeletons on the sea floor, mangled with the hunting tools of man, incomplete remains of his kin tossed away to their deaths, unable to swim or save themselves— still a better fate than the ones who never returned. the ocean is gentle after the burn of her salt; her waves are familiar, and her children are raised in their push and pull. captivity, at the hands of men for whatever reason, is never so kind.

he inhales sharply as callused hands cup his.

"i'm sorry," zoro says softly, rushed and maybe a little desperate, throat bobbing as his eyes dart across sanji's face. "i'm sorry. i didn't think of that at all."

"good," he finds himself replying as he looks down. "that means it didn't cross your mind."

a muscle ticks in zoro's jaw. "that's fucking sick, curls."

"i know." sanji's tone is matter-of-fact. "but it's what we have to deal with, sometimes." he deflates with a soft huff at the expression on the other man's face, looking away. "if you start saying shit like i'll protect you or whatever, i'm gonna smack you. i can handle myself."

zoro sighs through his nose, slowly, and his hands tighten around sanji's. "i know you can. i've watched you hunt. doesn't mean i can't be mad about it."

his eyebrows go up. "you saw me hunting?"

"mhm," the swordsman hums. "you're strong. fast. resourceful, too."

sanji preens. he knows he is, knows he’s one of, if not the best, but hearing it from zoro is another thing entirely.

"...also, my captain's been begging me to get you to fish for us because we're all crap at it."

that startles a laugh out of him, and he smiles so wide so quick that his cheeks ache. "that can be negotiated."

up this close, it's easy to see that zoro's hair is shorter than it was before, shorn short at the back and blunt enough that it just had to be freshly cut. the possibility of it being for him does something funny to his chest. the dark green strands are spiky, sticking up everywhere now that they're wet, and sanji wants so badly to touch.

he looks down at the flower in their hands, and he doesn't.

"this can't survive in saltwater," he murmurs instead, carefully putting his lotus into zoro's scarred palms. "take care of it for me."

he watches zoro trudge back to shore, one hand with the flower held above his head. he yells, "it better still be alive the next time i come check, marimo!" and he doesn't bother waiting for an answer. he knows zoro heard him.

sanji's gonna play this slow. he's gonna play this smart. and if zoro fucks up, well— he’s on friendly terms with a particular shiver of great whites.

zoro does not, in fact, fuck up. but now he’s constantly being given shit about his pretty merman boyfriend and as much as he pretends he hates it, he really doesn’t. luffy takes one look and declares that sanji’s crew now, zoro, you can’t hog him! dinners are now seafood more often then not, mussels and clams and all sorts of fish, even lobster when sanji finds out it’s nami’s birthday, and franky engineers some sort of transportable bathtub to get him on board.

(sanji brings robin around and franky falls all over himself making transportable bathtub 2.0, but that’s not the point.)

“bioluminescence, right? am i saying that right?” zoro asks, spinning this way and that as he tries to get a good look at sanji’s glowing tail under the water, eyes wide.

“mhm.” the mer lifts his tail fin out of the water, pulling himself closer so zoro can hold both of them up seeing as the pool they’re in is shallow enough to stand in. zoro’s hands twitch around nervously until sanji reaches out and grabs his wrist, pressing his palm flat to wet scales, and his chest aches at the look on zoro’s face.

the cave they’re in is small enough for every little sound to echo. sanji’s tail drips rhythmically, punctuated by the staggered breath zoro sucks in as he hauls sanji closer with an arm low over his stomach. careful fingers trace over the glowing patterns on his tail, fading upwards into his torso, and zoro slides a palm flat against sanji’s spine to lift him up as he presses their foreheads together.

“beautiful,” he breathes, reverent. the reflections from the water dance off his wet skin, and his eyes are mother-of-pearl.

sanji wants to touch, and so he does. he winds his fingers into zoro’s hair and pulls him down and kisses him, tastes salt and rum and the promise of blood when his teeth catch and zoro doesn’t shy from the bite. for the first time in a long time he is safe enough to let himself drift; his tail drapes itself over zoro’s side like a elaborate feather fan, and he giggles at the mental comparison.

he feels zoro smile at his laughter. feels calluses and gentle hands as zoro carries him back out to sea. tastes love when zoro pulls him in for one last kiss before saying goodbye for the night.

it starts with more flowers. then jewellery, intricate metalwork that would be hard to come by under the sea, fishnet cords and crystal pendants and pretty trinket rings, then daggers, silver hairpins with edges sharp enough to slice bone and a particularly beautiful watered-steel knife in a sheath of butter-soft leather. sanji cannot help but feel like he’s being courted, which makes no sense, because zoro knows nothing about merfolk courting traditions.

and then they talk as zoro braids shells into his hair the way perona taught him to (“you didn’t tell me you had a sister?!” “she just never came up!” “what do you mean she just never came up, marimo, what the fuck! this is important?!”) and sanji finds out zoro talked to robin about it, the sneaky bastard.

a tail doesn’t stop him from tackling zoro to the sand to kiss the crap out of him, braids unfinished and hair wound through zoro’s fingers. his heart feels fit to burst when zoro turns to ensure he takes the brunt of the fall because they both know how much sanji hates getting sand stuck in his scales.

the first time sanji gets hurt, zoro goes rather frantic.

it’s barely a scratch, just a slice near the base of his tail courtesy of a rock he hadn’t been able to avoid while hunting, but zoro bodily hauls him back to the ship between bouts of very concerned yelling and yanks off the black bandana always on his arm, scrubs it clean in hot water for good measure before wrapping up his wound, all while making sure no parts of sanji were drying out in the tub.

“marimo, i am fine,” sanji stresses for the twentieth time, shifting up to cup zoro’s face and sighing in resignation as zoro just shakes his head again.

“i don’t care,” the swordsman announces, throwing his hands up like deal with it. “i don’t care. no more hunting until this is completely healed.”

“it is a scratch. a scratch.”

“i don’t give a shit. you’re staying with me for the next few days.”

sanji groans and grumbles and bitches about it, and when zoro bickers right back it just riles him up even more.

(he stays put. he lets zoro scoop him into his lap with unnecessary care. he leans into the kisses zoro presses to his temple and he feels like crying because he is grateful. always.)

slavers attack the ship. sanji may not be a siren, but that does not mean he isn’t dangerous. he has his tail, and his knives, and his love for his crew. this is his crew.

he drags those slavers into the ocean and drowns them one by one.

now, sanji’s friend ivankov is a literal sea witch— so when they toss sanji an amulet and a wink on his birthday, sanji already knows it’s gonna be good.

the amulet gives him fucking legs.

only while he wears it, of course, but when he stumbles out of the surf like a newborn fawn zoro nearly chokes in shock. they spend the day falling over each other laughing as sanji tries to walk. he eats shit more times than he can counts and gets enough sand in his mouth for a lifetime.

later, there is a blanket beneath them and the moon above them and the endless ocean, shimmering under the light as zoro gathers his hair out of his face and kisses him so softly it hurts.

“beautiful,” zoro breathes. he preaches it like the truth. swears it like a promise.

their hands fit, calluses against calluses as zoro thumbs over the tiny patch of scales on sanji’s wrist, iridescent yellow-blue. their fingers lace in a motion they’ve done hundreds of times and still it never feels different than the first.

sanji lays back, and all he sees are stars.

#did yall catch that metaphor of the lotus being sanji's heart #and him literally handing it to zoro and saying “take care of it for me”#BECAUSE I DIDN'T #I ONLY REGISTERED IT AT THE END WHEN I WAS THINKING BACK TO IT #accidental literary device slay #LEMME KNOW IF YALL WANT HCS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT bcs there is Lore this just got too long for it #one piece #zosan #roronoa zoro #black leg sanji #zoro x sanji #one piece zosan #one piece sanji #sanji #one piece zoro #zoro #ino writes #zosan au

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drawingoddessy · 1 month ago

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I wanna talk about the subject of escapism in Inanimate Insanity.

To discuss this I need to do a deep dive into 3 characters that push this subject the most and how they do it differently.

Lightbulb, Fan and Mephone 4.

The three that demonstrate escapism in 3 different ways.

Lightbulb

Throughout season 2 we see Lightbulb as this goofy character, that’s her whole character up until you begin to notice little habits or cracks in the persona she lets others see. Up until episode 12 we don’t exactly know what is going on with her. We see her get sad in spurts of moments, but it’s never dwelled on. Until she faces the loss of working with Paintbrush, this causes her happy facade to begin to unravel and we see a whole new side of her. Now while she does the literal definition of escapism, which involved her leaving to a different realm that’s more like her to hide from the scary reality of Paintbrush not liking or wanting to be friends with her. I want to talk about the reason as to why she does so.

Escapism isn’t solely defined as only wanting to leave your reality in favor of a fantasy. It can also include intensifying more positive emotions to cope with or hide the negative.

Lightbulb demonstrates the latter, We see Lightbulb throughout season 2 use humor and a heightened amount of positivity to hide from her peers. Even beyond episode 12. In episode 13-14 you can very easily tell she has gotten a lot more comfortable with Testtube. But beyond her, you can see Lightbulb continue to hide from the other remaining contestants. When upon getting scared or frustrated she instantly masks it with a silly response or an over the top reaction.

Even in the first half of the II movie she is seen continuing to be silly upon facing literal DELETION to cope with how terrifying it is.

Fan

Fan demonstrates the more literal form of escapism. Which would be, as mentioned before, escaping reality in favor of a fantasy. His entire character arc is centered beyond his incapability and fear of looking beyond the show, his main source of comfort. While Lightbulb hides behind a forced, intensified feeling, Fan hides behind an interest. His intense love and passion for the show cuts him off from the real world. And he’s okay with that, not only is he okay with that, he craves it. The world beyond the show scares him so much that he rather be contain within himself and his interest. This is shown most in episode 14, where he gets taken out of the show. Fan has characterized the feeling in later Livestreams as “the end of the world”. Because, for him, it was. Leaving the show begin to crack Fans shell of bliss and oblivion. It wasn’t about winning to him, it was about staying with the only thing that had a pattern, that gave him comfort.

He is shown time and time again to want to say in a “shell” of Inanimate insanity. That when he got thrown out of that shell it made him spiral. That and met harshness on how it happened, and loosing Test tube and the egg left him destroyed. Everything that gave him comfort was violently stripped from him. His feeling becomes clear when he says “Test Tube, to be honest with you, I don't want him to have to hatch, okay? I mean, wouldn't that be great? He could just... stay calm and secure in his little protective shell, and have... and have his... have his patterns. Right?”

He doesn’t want to leave Inanimate Insanity because it’s his protection.

Mephone 4

Now last but not least

Mephone 4

The epitome of escapism.

Now it’s quite obvious that Mephone definitely “programmed” the latter 2 characters to have these issues because he himself has them too. BUT since I wanna demonstrate the 3 different ways II shows escapism I’m going to talk about the reason he created the characters.

Mephones form if escapism is through creation

He created a whole life and show to escape from Cobs. He created a good majority of the characters to project his feelings and struggles onto. Lightbulb with the struggle with hiding her emotions behind smiles, because he also does that (shown in the later half of season 2 and all of season 3). He created Fan with the obsessive attachment to Inanimate insanity, and the desire to stay in that fantasy rather than reality. Because he himself MADE the show to hide inside of it.

Even season 3 characters: cabby and her memory issues, clover and her seeing her ability as a curse, silver and seeing himself as worthless and balloon and his desire to change.

The character is an extension of himself and THROUGH THEM you see everything about Mephone’s struggles.

Speaking of season 3

The entirety of that season is literally him running away and creating another reality for himself. He consistently is shown to run away and hide from his problems, especially behind his creations.

It’s only when that fantasy is stripped away from him is when he can truly grow and face reality. Face cobs

#inanimate insanity #ii season 2 #ii season 3 #ii 12 #ii 13 #ii 14 #ii16 #ii 17 #ii lightbulb #ii fan #ii Mephone #ii analysis #sorry for the very long post

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mrsoharaa · 9 months ago

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˗ˏˋ ୭ 𝑭𝒊𝒍𝒍.

characters: Miguel O'Hara x Reader

cw: MDNI +18, breeding, belly bulging, dirty talking.

"Ah, there it is...that's my good little bunny, taking all of my cum in this sweet pussy of yours" his voice was hardly above a husked grumble, breathy and toned out with hot pants and fueled salacious carnage. Full lips press into the shell of your ear, tracing over the soften skin of your cheek, his left hand roaming around the juncture of your neck, pulling you closer towards his looming body. His right taking yours swiftly, guiding it downward to where his harden cock nestled deep within your oozing cunt.

A feeble whine slips off your pretty flushed lips, eyes dazed out from the immense fuck down he had just impended onto you. His hand along your neck keeping you steady, not wanting you to move an inch from his stocky figure.

"Look at the mess you made on me, cariño" waves of his heated breath fans across your torrid flesh, tilting your head down just enough to get a good look at the sticky, hot mess mangling between the two of you. Connecting you both with thick ropes of white and clear liquid, ones that made your entire being flutter with immense pleasure and bliss.

"Couldn't keep it all in, hm sweet thing? shame...seems like I'll have to plug it up and fill you back up...but that's ok, hm? you seem to enjoy having me pump you full of my cum, don't you my precioso conejito?" his rasp voice was like a soothing lullaby to you, drowning you even further into the deepest depths of your unraveled, spiraling carnal lust dwelling all through you.

Your eyes roll back into your fuzzy head, feeling the stickiness of the both of your aftermath cling onto your sweaty body, and his.

The feeling was immaculate and euphoric, to say the least.

And Miguel was soaking up every ounce of fucked out pleasure and sheer enlightenment seeping from you. Giving you a sharp pump or two from his throbbing, twitching length delving deep within your stomach. A semi forming bulge craning against the tender plush of your full, soft belly. Your entire body going completely numb and pliable beneath his towering, stocky stature.

Not an ounce of exhaustion wafting over the carnivorous, hungry man hovering over you. Peppering along the side of your clenching jawline a few gentle kisses, hefty chuckles and heated murmurs of slurred pledges and promises filling you entirely for the rest of the night, until it takes.

His mind and body strictly on a mission.

#i hate spring #it always makes me feel things...immensely more then usual >:(#but i do loveeee this <33 #ugh breeding with Miggy <33 #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara #atsv

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mermaidgirl30 · 9 months ago

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Love Amidst the Blue Ch 2: Captured✨

Series Masterlist

A/N: I hope you enjoy chapter two! Joel and mermaid reader are so 🥰 Enjoy all the fluff and please let me know yours thoughts!

Chapter Summary: After discovering a magic necklace that’ll give you what you desire, you get caught in a net and find yourself trapped. It’s not just any boat though, it’s Joel’s boat.

Pairing: sailor! Joel x mermaid fem! reader

Word Count: 7k

Rating: Explicit (18+ Only MDNI)

Chapter Tags: Reader finds a magic shell necklace, pining, fluff, a little bit of angst, tension, longing, Joel takes care of reader

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

The next day you can’t wait to see Joel. You’d stayed awake half the night just daydreaming about those dreamy brown eyes and calloused hands as you rolled back and forth in the silky pink clam shell bed. You want to see him again, want to ask him about all his sailing adventures and treasures he’s found. So that’s exactly what you’d do. Tonight.

You quickly check your hair in the long standing mirror and pick a rainbow colored sea flower from the ocean floor, spinning around in a circle as you bring it to your face to smell and place it back down in the soft sand. You flick your tail and swim through the kingdom of Capri as you pass other mermaids and mermen, trailing your fingers along golden palace walls and shimmery pearls that hang from strings beside the palace entrance.

Before you can make it out, you run into your father, the king of Capri. “Oh, hi father,” you say dreamily as your head fills with images of Joel’s handsome face.

“Morning, sweetie. Where are you off to in such a hurry? Haven’t seen you lately, you okay?” he asks as he trails his eyes over your lovesick expression, trying your best not to give yourself away.

“I’m okay. Just wanted to get a head start on picking some shells in the kelp beds. You know how I love making jewelry,” you lie, trying your best to keep a straight face as a slight giggle escapes your lips.

Your father looks at you carefully, his golden crown slipping further down his long locks as his glistening gold triton sits next to his intricate throne made of shells. If he suspects something, he doesn’t say. He just nods his head as a smile tugs at his lips.

“Ahh, I see. You always did make the finest jewelry in the kingdom,” he smiles. “Just be careful. Take Scar with you. I’ve been hearing rumors that humans have been getting close to the area. Don’t want you getting tangled up in that nonsense,” he warns, his eyes on fire as he thinks about the day he lost his most precious wife. The day you lost your mom and half your people. That cold, dreadful day.

“Promise, daddy. I’ll be safe.”

Marissa and Cleo narrow their eyes at you in the back of the room, knowing damn well you are in fact meddling in human affairs. You drag your eyes over to them and give them a pleading look, begging them not to say a word. They must acknowledge it because they don’t say a word, they just float and stare at you with beady eyes.

“Alright, well have fun. Just be careful and don’t talk to the eels. They’re always pulling nasty tricks with us,” he says with narrowed eyes.

“Goodbye, daddy,” you say as you wave and head out, swimming through thick beds of seaweed as you pass a school of clown fish.

You don’t get very far until Marissa and Cleo are swimming in front of you, blocking you from going any further.

“Where are you off to really?” Cleo asks as her long blonde hair spirals down her back, her aquamarine tail fanning out as she narrows her piercing blue eyes at you.

“You’re going to see that human again, aren’t you?” Marissa just copies her menacing look and crosses her arms as her tail turns a deeper purple than it was a few minutes ago.

You’re trapped. They know what you plan to do, and there’s no point lying to them. They know. “Tonight, yes,” you confess with a sigh, feeling them judge you harshly by the way they gnash their teeth in your direction.

“You’re so selfish, you know that? Risking our kind, for what? So you can live out your little daydream of finding love with a human? You’re so fucking selfish, sister. So stupid,” Marissa says with sharp incisors snarling in your direction.

You take it upon yourself to fight back, defend your stance. “I’m not being selfish! If you just for once listened to me, you’d know he was different. He doesn’t want to hurt me. He’s going to tell me all about the human world, answer all my questions about being on land,” you fight back, standing up for yourself.

“Pffft. Gods, you’re delusional. You’re going to risk everything!” Cleo shouts as her blaring voice booms through the water. You gasp at the force of her words.

“I’m not though…” you say quietly, biting your lip to soothe the guilt inside your stomach. Maybe you are risking it all, but he wouldn’t hurt you. Would he?

“You forget your place in this family,” Marissa snarls bitterly. “Do you remember what happened to Stacia? Remember how she was so sure she found a nice human man? Remember how he dragged a knife through her heart and left her to bleed out on the ocean floor!” The pain in her voice is stifling as you cringe against her rough accusations.

Stacia. Of course you remembered. You remembered how heart broken your mother and father were, remembered him banishing any of his people from ever speaking to humans again. Now all they did was sing their siren songs to sailors while drowning them in the water which you were supposed to be a part of, too…

“Of course I remember! But Joel, he’d never do that…” you say quietly, trying your best not to shed a tear at how furious you are.

“Go on then. We won’t wait up for you,” Marissa says sharply as her and Cleo turn and swim back to the palace.

You sigh and swim the opposite way of them, feeling Scar follow behind as a large shadow takes form over your body. You can already feel Scar’s judgement wearing down on you, can feel the warning that lies in his big eyes.

“Scar, don’t make me feel anymore guilty than I already do,” you sigh out, carrying your body through the crystal clear water as you pass another school of colorful fish. “I know what I’m doing,” you press. He just rolls his eyes and continues following you, watching over you just like you did for him that cold, dark day years ago.

You continue swimming through the blue water as you flip through small rock tunnels and coast along the sandy bottom. You’re so close to your cave full of treasures that you can practically feel your collected items start to hum. Or wait, did you actually hear a buzzing sound?

You dive down further, dodging floating kelp and going into darker regions like places you shouldn’t be going. The water becomes colder, more frigid as you pass in between a rock formation. One that Scar won’t be able to fit through.

You look up at him swimming close by and you can hear his warning words come deep from within him. “Don’t go places where I can’t protect you. You know what lies beneath this area,” he warns as his large tail swishes back and forth, making circles in the water.

“Just give me a second. I hear something. Be right back,” you promise as you push your way through the narrow surface of crowded rocks.

You slide against the rocky terrain and follow the buzzing noise. It seems to reverberate off the rocks, making its way all the way down into your bones. The humming seems to ring in your ears, making its way all the way down to your fast beating heart.

Thump, thump, thump.

You can hear it, can feel it all the way down to your shiny fins. Whatever it is is calling to you, yelling your name as it echoes off the jagged rocks. You can hear Scar slashing against the water, but you keep going. You have to find out what it is.

The narrow rocks form into a wide open area that’s dark and cold, no other fish or coral reefs around this area. It’s a place you shouldn’t be. Before you can turn back around, you hear the humming noise pick up. It burns your ears as white noise takes hold of you, and when you look down is when you see something shiny sitting underneath a long grey rock.

You swim to the bottom of the dark area and brush away the sand that covers the hidden object. When you get ahold of what’s been humming and bring it back into the light, you freeze. What’s now in your hand is a long golden chain that holds the most beautiful clam shell you’ve ever seen before. Soft, creamy orange colors turn to purple and iridescent pink colors as you feel along every crevice of the shell. It’s unique, unlike any you had found before, and now it’s yours.

When you turn around to go show Scar what you have found, you’re stopped in place, unable to move as a long, slimy eel stands in your way of your only exit out of here. You gasp as your eyes go wide, remembering the warning your father had given you earlier.

Don’t talk to the eels, they only want to trick us.

“Well, well, well. So, someone finally found the magic necklace,” she says as she flashes you a sly smirk.

“Magic necklace?” you ask confused as you look back over the shiny shell. It didn’t look magical, not that you could see.

“My dear girl, that there is no ordinary necklace. It only shows itself to those who are worthy, to those pure of heart, to those desperate for something more,” she teases as she slithers around you with her cold, slimy tail.

You knit your eyebrows together and hold it tighter in your hand. “But what does it do? What makes it magical?” you ask conflicted. You shouldn’t be talking to an eel, shouldn’t even be here alone. But yet you stay, unable to leave as you need answers now.

“You long for legs, don’t you?” she smirks as a small laugh echoes around the dark water as you stare into the light that shines from behind the narrow rock formation.

“What makes you say that?” you ask sharply, not wanting to give your intentions away with Joel.

“It’s obvious, dear. That necklace there is a powerful thing. Put it on and you are free to go on land, have legs, explore the human world as if you were a human yourself.”

“What?” you gasp as you feel your eyes widen more.

“Yes, child. Put it on and you’ll never have to worry about being stuck with a tail again. Unless that’s what you want. You’d be free to take it off anytime and return to the sea. It’s up to you, but looks like it’s yours now.”

A low snicker cackles from her sharp teeth and her eyes glow a tinted yellow. Something malicious and evil sits in her voice, and you know something isn’t right. It’s almost like she is tricking you.

“You’re tricking me!” you accuse, voice higher as you shout your accusations.

“Oh, but I’m not. Don’t you trust me?” she laughs as she rubs up against your arm and swirls her tail against the back of your neck. You squirm at her cold touch.

“My father told me not to trust your kind,” you say carefully.

The eel spits in your direction. “Your father is a fool, child. I’m not lying to you when I say that necklace does just that. It’s an old, ancient magic. One so strong that it was kept in a tiny vessel and hidden away many years ago. You keep it safe, and it’s yours. Don’t let anyone take it from you because in the wrong hands it could be very, very dangerous,” she warns as she stalks around you slowly, her flashy eyes staring into yours like a hunter watching its prey.

You examine the necklace in your palm, watching the shiny shell glisten around your hold. The colors seem to swirl like a rainbow, the golden chain calling you to put it on. And you want to, you want to so bad. Human legs? Could you really go on land at your own free will without any consequences? No. There had to be consequences, there had to be something.

“What’s the catch?” you ask nervously, eye darting back to the slimy eel in front of you.

“The catch? Oh, yes. The catch,” she smiles a devious smirk your way that screams danger. This is dangerous, she is dangerous. “The catch is, don’t let it get broken or taken. For if you take it off on land, you have two days to make it back to the ocean.”

“What happens if I don’t make it back in time?” you ask slowly, your voice as quiet as a sea urchin.

“You die,” she warns as your pupils expand into pure terror. “Basically, you’ll turn back into a mermaid and suffocate to death. Your body will turn to dust, and you’ll be left with nothing but a mere breeze carried out to sea.”

“Oh.” You have no words, nothing to say except is this really what you want? To risk your own safety for a human?

“Well, go on now. Put it on, child,” she coaxes, her grimy teeth snarling up at you like a trickster would.

You slowly look at the necklace, turning it over as you think and think and think. Joel. The human world. So many things you want to see. Before you really think it through, you unclasp the latch and throw it around your neck, clipping the clasp into place as the glistening shell sits just above your breasts. This is it. This is what you always wanted. Right?

The eel laughs sadistically, curling her tail along your wrist as she brushes past you back into the dark shadows. “Remember, two days. Be careful out there, child. You never know who you might run into…”

With that, she disappears into the dark depths of a cave, and you waste no time as you swim free of your confined area. You push your way through the narrow, rocky opening and meet scar on the other side. You see him eye your new flashy jewelry and see the way he looks at you as if you had done something bad.

You grip it tight and try to take his focus off it. “It’s nothing, Scar. Just something I found under a rock. It’s nothing to worry about.”

You see him brush past you as he swims ahead of you, and you follow silently. You can already feel the judgement coming off his large body. Maybe you shouldn’t have taken it, maybe this was too risky, but you did. You did. No going back now.

You swim ahead of Scar, pushing your shimmery tail as fast as you can possibly go. You brush up against silky kelp beds, making bubbles swirl up to the surface like a whirlwind. You keep swimming and swimming and swimming until you’re there. Back at the boat. Back at his boat.

Pushing free to the surface, you feel the sunlight rain down on you as bursts of warmth hit your bare shoulders, letting the salt water drip down your radiant face as you slowly slip closer to the grand boat. The water is calm, the boat gently rocking side to side as you watch the sails slowly sway in the warm breeze.

You swim closer, keeping your head down as you circle one side of the boat. You see a crew of men shuffling their way back and forth on the deck, watching the way the men shout to each other as they work. One man with a blue bandanna across his matted hair is untangling a large fishing net, another is scrubbing the deck with an object you don’t know the name of. There’s no sign of Joel though.

You sulk on the surface and slap the edge of the water with your palm as you pout your bottom lip out. One look. You just wanted to see his beautiful face once until you could see him tonight. You slowly turn the other way, about to head back underwater, when suddenly you hear a high pitched whistle from the deck. You turn and freeze, your eyebrows knitting together as you see one of the men staring at you in awe.

Oh no. No, no, no. They weren’t supposed to see you.

He’s still staring at you, eyes wide and mouth hanging open as you hear him call out to the other men on the ship. You sink down into the water, dropping into the dark shadows as you stay still, afraid you’ll be seen again.

You weren’t supposed to go out until tonight. Why didn’t you just wait?

After a few minutes pass, you slip out of the shadows and swim back close to the surface, making sure not to stick your head out of the water. Scar swims past you with a warning, and you turn your head to tell him you’re okay.

“Everything’s fine, Scar. I think it’s safe now. I think…”

Before you can finish your sentence, something rough and jagged falls on top of you. You try to swim away, but your tail gets tangled up and caught in something you can’t quite get out of. As you look back at what it is, your heart drops out of your chest. A net.

“Scar!” you scream, cries of bloody murder reaching the deep depths of the water.

No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Joel wouldn’t hurt you. Would he?

The more you try to squirm, the more your tail gets twisted in the bindings. The net starts to reel you in, taking you up further to the surface. Scar tries to desperately get you out, but the netting only rubs up against his rough skin.

“Go on, I don’t want them to hurt you,” you say sadly to your friend. His big black eyes stare at you, but he silently agrees.

“And don’t tell father or my sisters, please. I’ll find a way back. This won’t be the end,” you promise.

You watch Scar swim off in a hurry, muttering words under his breath as he heads further beneath the darkness. You really hope he’ll keep his word and not tell your father. He’d kill every single man on this boat, including Joel.

As the net pulls you up further, you toss and turn. You lash at the bindings, but it only makes it tighter around your body. Your shimmery scales on your fins feel like they’re about to be pulled off the harder you fight.

Anxiety starts to take over, you feel like you’re suffocating underwater as you’re pulled to the surface. Your entire body feels like it’s on fire as the harsh net tears into your skin. You let out a blood curdling scream as the net scratches at your arm, forming a large gash as crimson blood starts seeping out.

You’re going to die, you’re never going to see your family again. Why the fuck did you put your faith in a human? Why?!

Joel hears the horrifying screams and sees his men hauling up the large, heavy net. Cold seaweed filled water starts dripping over the side of the wooden deck as the flash of a sparkly pink tail comes into clear focus.

Joel goes wide-eyed, dropping his golden telescope to the floor as he screams and runs to his crew. “What the fuck are you doing!” His voice is panicked, his heart pounding in his chest as he takes in your terrified face. He’s afraid they’ll kill you.

“Catching a mermaid, cap’n!” Jasper laughs out as he helps haul up his precious treasure. “Told ya mermaids were real, didn’t I?”

Joel’s shocked, his boots frozen to the sea clad wood as his mind races. Without thinking, he runs over to the men and starts pushing them out of the way as the net comes crashing down to the deck. Salt water spills over the edges as you shiver in fright, horror written all over your beautiful face.

Your necklace seems to burn hot against your chest as the orange color glows brightly under the sunlight. You look down at your perfect tail and see the sparkly scales start to shed as the tail starts to evaporate. You stare in horror as your tail splits in two, forming smooth legs in its place.

Suddenly you realize you’re naked as the men stare in hunger, their mouths drooling as they take in your curves. You hug your knees to your chest to try to pry their eyes away. Cold. You feel so cold, so scared as the men surround you like starving hounds. You want to go home. You want to go home. This was a mistake, a huge mistake. They’ll hurt you. They’ll hurt you.

Joel pushes the men out of the way and starts peeling off his white button-up shirt as his worried look encases all of his features. He bends down to your level and wraps the shirt around you to cover your exposed body up.

“Can you guys back up? For the love of God, give her some air! Christ,” he yells out annoyed as he looks back at you with wide eyes, his calloused hand brushing the side of your cheek as you push back out of his reach.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt ya,” he responds as he puts his hands in the air as if to show he’s harmless. Your body relaxes a little, but you still don’t fully trust him.

“A mermaid, cap’n! What happened to her tail?” a man with shaggy hair hanging over his slumped shoulders and dirty brown shirts yells appalled.

“Didn’t know mermaids could come on land with legs. What sorcery is that?” another rugged pirate asks as he untangles the rough net they used to catch you.

You cover your ears and sink your knees deep into your chest as you hide your face from view. You want to go back home, get away from all the noise of prying eyes and raspy voices. You regret coming to shore, you regret it all, you shouldn’t have come because you trusted a human. How could you have been so stupid?

“Silence!” Joel yells as he bends down to your level and cups your chin as he raises your head to face him. You shiver, your body sinking into itself as you shake from the cold air and damp shirt.

“Hey, it’s alright, sweetheart. Nobody’s gonna hurt ya.”

His calloused fingers linger under your chin, dragging along your smooth skin as you stare into honey flecked eyes. You try to look away, but you can’t escape those eyes. Those beautiful orbs made of light and dark brown flecks mixing together to make the prettiest shade of brown eyes you’ve ever seen in your entire life. Those alone tell you he’s safe, he won’t hurt you.

Safe. He’s safe.

Your eyes travel down his glistening tan, salt water coated skin as you take in how broad he is. Flexed biceps and spidery veins skating down his entire arms. He’s so handsome.

Suddenly, he’s gripping at your wrist. “Your arm. It’s bleeding,” he says with a rushed breath as he scans the large cut on your forearm. “C’mon, let’s go clean that up. Can you stand?” he asks as he reaches out a large hand.

You take a minute to weigh your options. You can either stay in the presence of the grimy pirates, or you can go with Joel where it’s quiet. You choose Joel. When you lift yourself up with your arms and try to take a step forward, your legs start to shake and your knees cave in. You almost go tumbling to the deck until strong arms catch you before you hit the hard floor.

“Whoa, slow down there. Here, let me help you.” Joel picks you up and cradles you in his arms as he starts to walk toward the stairs that’ll lead him beneath the boat.

“Get back. Give her some air,” Joel growls as his men start to part the sea, dirty bodies backing up to make way for Joel to get through.

You unknowingly sink into his warm chest, hiding your face in the crook of his neck so you won’t have to see their wandering gazes to your barely covered body. Joel pulls you tighter against his chest as he feels your discomfort.

“I got ya, sweetheart. It’s alright, they’re not gonna hurt ya. I promise,” he says against the shell of your ear, and somehow you believe him. He’s not lying to you. Why would he?

He takes you down some wooden steps and back into a large room. You slowly peek up from his chest and take a look around the room. Light shines through the little portholes of the boat. A couple of glowing lamps hang from the wooden walls as a table covered by maps and compasses lays in the middle of the room. A small bed with crisp white sheets sits in the left corner of the room, and pictures of the ocean and secluded islands line the walls. It’s very… cozy in here.

“Is this your room?” you ask as your eyes scan the small area. It has to be his room, it just screams Joel.

“Mhm. It’s where I come to sleep and scan out maps when I’m on the boat. I live just up the coast, but I spend so much time out on the water that I needed my own little space. A place where my crew wouldn’t bother me,” he chuckles out as he carefully sets you down in a wooden chair.

“Do they just sleep upstairs?”

“No,” he laughs as he shakes his head, “They have their own little quarters down on the opposite side of the boat. Didn’t need them wakin’ me up with their snoring and drunken nonsense.”

You laugh as you see a smile curl around his soft lips and a dimple forms in the center of his cheek. You swear he’s the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen. So strong yet so soft. You get so caught up in his charm that you almost forget you’re shaking and your arm is bleeding.

“You cold, sweetheart?” he asks softly as he grabs a couple of fluffy towels and a first aid kit from the other side of the room.

“Just a little,” you say with chattering teeth as his white button-up shirt barely grazes the bottom of your thighs. You’re very aware now that you’re almost naked in front of him which gives you a weird fluttering sensation in your low stomach that you’ve never felt before. How strange.

“Here ya go. Maybe this’ll help.” He throws a soft white towel over your shoulders, and you wrap it around yourself as it brings you a little comfort and warmth. “Better?”

“Better,” you confirm with the nod of your head.

“Good, that’s good. Now let’s take a look at that arm.”

He rolls the cotton sleeve up slowly and reaches for something that’s in a clear bottle. As he unscrews it, he says, “Now this might sting a bit.”

When he pours some of the liquid onto the cut, you flinch and try to pry your arm away, but he holds tight to it. “Hey, hey, hey. It’s alright, the worst part is over,” he reassures as he presses a towel into the wound and rests a hand gently on your knee. The sudden shift of his softness makes you stop flinching and makes you look down at him.

His soft brown eyes threaten to swallow you whole, his crooked smile could calm raging hurricanes with how beautiful it shines around the room. Like the sunlight beaming through the waters of Capri, all crystal like and calming.

He watches you closely as he wraps your cut up with some kind of material you don’t know the name of. His touch is so delicate, so soft as he takes the proper care to make sure you’re not hurting anymore.

Warm. He’s so warm. So very gentle. And you see yourself falling for him even more now.

“There ya go. All bandaged up. We can probably take this off tomorrow, but just want to make sure it doesn’t get infected.”

“Thank you,” you say quietly as your fingers trail along the clothed material that covers your wound.

“It was nothin’, don’t even mention it. It’s the least I can do for my stupid men catchin’ you in that net. I’m really sorry for that, I had no idea. Those men had no right and I’m gonna give them hell about it the rest of the week and…”

You silence him as you reach your shaky arm out and cup the side of his jaw as your thumb trails along the lines of his dark, patchy scruff. His eyes widen as he looks up at you under the fringe of his dark eyelashes. His full attention is on you now.

“Joel, it’s okay. I know now you didn’t mean to harm me. You don’t have to apologize for them. It wasn’t your doing.”

“Yeah, but still. They could’ve harmed you even more if I wasn’t there. They could’ve…”

“Joel.” Your calming voice stops him again as the panic seems to leave his eyes for good. “It’s okay, really.”

Joel looks unsure of himself but nods his head anyway. His calloused fingers still graze along your knee as the contact of his skin on yours seems to send a fire down your legs.

Legs. That’s right, you have legs now. Joel’s eyes look down at your long, smooth legs as he takes them in slowly, his eyes shifting back up to yours as one of his hands slide down one of your calves cautiously. Your breathing hitches at the feel of his calloused fingers on your skin.

“How is this possible? Your legs, I mean. I didn’t know mermaids could exist out of the water,” he says with the expression of surprise written all over his tan face.

“With this,” you say as you hold up the iridescent shell necklace around your neck, watching the way the pink and orange colors shine around the room from the glow of the outside sun. “It’s a magic necklace I found. As long as I wear this, I’ll have human legs. I’m free to take it off whenever to go back to sea, but I have to wear it on land to be able to survive outside the water.”

Joel reaches up and cups the shell in his hand, tracing the crevices of the shell with his thumb as his brows knit together to take in everything you just said. He looks starstruck, not believing his own eyes as he sets it back down to your chest.

“Magic necklace, huh? Mermaids? This is all unbelievable,” he chuckles as he shakes his head. “I can’t believe I met a mermaid this week, and now you have legs? Christ,” he murmurs as he stands up and starts pacing back and forth in front of you while his right hand rakes through his thick scruff.

“Is that bad?” you ask cautiously, afraid he’ll leave at any second and leave you here all alone.

He stops pacing and comes back over to you. He bends back down on one knee and gently cups your face as you gasp out in surprise. The touch of his hand is so warm, so soothing. You want to stay like this forever.

“No, sweetheart. S’not bad. It’s just… how is it that I met the most beautiful mermaid and got you on my boat now? It’s almost like it’s…”

“Fate?” you answer for him, your eyes sinking into his light honey eyes that seem to set your soul on fire.

“Exactly that. Fate.” He repeats as he looks closely into your eyes.

His thumb traces over your bottom lip as his brown eyes flick to your mouth. He looks like he wants to kiss you, looks like he wants to devour you with his plush lips that call to you like one of your siren songs. He’s so close, so very close as he grazes his thumb gently back and forth.

Before you can react, he gets up off his knee and holds out his hands to you. “Can you walk?” he asks as he reaches out to you.

“I don’t know…” you answer quietly as you shift your feet beneath you.

“C’mere. I’ll help you. I won’t let you fall, promise.”

You nod and take one more look at your new legs before you grab his hands and lift yourself up. Your legs shake beneath you, but Joel has a strong grip on you.

“Alright now. Take a few steps for me, walk towards me,” he instructs as you listen to his words. You take one, two, three steps as your feet start to get a hold of how to move on their own. Your legs feel more firm underneath you the more steps you take. Joel leads you around the whole living corridors as you take one hand off him.

“There ya go, sweetheart. Doin’ so good. Now try without me. Go on.” He slips his other hand from you and watches as you take the next few steps over to him without any help. Your legs feel stronger, more powerful with each step you take. It’s not so hard after all.

“I think I’ve got it!”

“Yeah, think ya do, sweetheart.” He crosses his arms and leans against the hollow table as the warm brown flecks in his eyes seer into yours like two stones being melded into one.

You smile up at him shyly and then come across the maps splayed all across the table in a heap. Your fingers trail along the sheets of paper as you take in all the different markings on the maps. Red circles, black lines, words sprawled in different locations on the maps. It looks like he was studying them closely.

“Are these yours?” you ask curiously as he circles around and comes up next to you.

“Yeah, these are all mine,” he answers as he twists one of the colorful maps around.

“What are you looking for?” you ask wondrously as you scan along a long line next to the shoreline.

“Well, there was a shipwreck many years ago that happened around this area. There’s said to be some rare treasures hidden around this location from the wreck. I’ve been trying to find it for a year now, but no such luck. There’s other areas I could be searching, but this one just piqued my interest. So I haven’t given up.”

Your brows furrow together as you study one of the maps, letting your mind wander into far off places. “Maybe I could help you.”

His eyes go wide as his mouth drops open. “You’d help me?”

“Why not? I know these waters better than anyone. And treasure? It’s one of my favorite things to find. I’m always collecting what I can from shipwrecks that people don’t even know about.”

“Really?” he asks incredulously as stares at you in wonder, like you’re a goddess from another world.

“Really,” you giggle as you face back towards him, “but only if you show me your world, too.”

His eyes fade into a warm honeysuckle brown as his lips relax into a crooked smile. “Deal.”

As your eyes fade back down to the marked up maps, he starts to tell you something else. “Ya know, I have a whole room back at home full of treasures I’ve collected over the years. In fact, I have an entire library full of artifacts and books you’d probably love.”

Your eyes shoot up in a frenzy as your mouth drops open. “You do?”

“Mhm. Ya know, I was plannin’ to go back home for a few days tomorrow. Would you… would you want to come back with me? I could show you around the land. Could show you around my place. Could show you anythin’ you wanted to see.”

Your eyes gaze into his as his hand slowly grazes over yours, and you swear you see stars in his eyes. “I’d show you the whole world, gorgeous.” He grabs your hand and brushes his lips over the back of your knuckles, and you about drop to your knees right there.

Charming. He’s so charming.

“Yes,” you whisper out, your voice deceiving you as you shake your head out of the love sick trance you’re under. “I’d love to see it with you.”

He nods his head and settles it. “Alright then. It’s a deal.”

He drops your hand back to the table, and he spends hours after that showing you all his maps, telling you all about his adventures on the water, and you just soak in every bit of him that you can.

By the time the sun goes down and the lanterns light up the dim area, you’re yawning and trying hard not to fall asleep. Throughout all the events of the day, it’s just about knocked you completely out.

“Here, why don’t you take my bed tonight? You look exhausted.”

You shake your head and try to refuse. “No, no. I couldn’t possibly take your bed.”

Joel places a hand gently on your bicep and lingers there. “Please, just take it. I have a small cot in the corner I can dig out. I’m alright, you take the bed tonight. Please.”

His calloused fingers linger on your arm, and you feel the heat all the way through the cotton shirt as it simmers down into your blood like hot lava filling your lungs. You take another look at his lips that hang just inches from yours and whisper out quietly, “Okay.”

He drops his hand from your arm and grabs a clean t-shirt from his small cedar closest. “Here, put this on. I'm sure you want something more comfortable to sleep in. I’ll get you some real clothes tomorrow. There’s so many dresses I think you’d love, I’ll pick some up tomorrow,” he confirms as he holds out his hand for you to take the white cotton t-shirt.

Your hand grazes his, and you can’t help but always gasp when his skin comes in contact with yours. It feels electric, like you were made to touch him. You take the shirt from him and he turns around and walks to the other end of the room. “Go on now. I won’t peek. Just want ya in somethin’ more dry.”

Your eyes flick to him, and he keeps his word. You quickly unbutton the long sleeved shirt and drop it to the floor. When the shirt hits the ground, you see Joel fighting with himself to not take a quick peek at your body. You hang there for just a second gazing across at him. You watch the way his strong back muscles flex as his jaw clenches up, his fist flexing at his side as he fights to keep himself composed.

You almost wish he’d turn around because there’s a weird sensation between your thighs that you can’t quite pinpoint. Strange. He makes you feel so strange. So alive. It’s just so weird.

You avert your eyes from Joel and slide the cotton shirt over your head as it grazes your thighs. You climb into bed and feel just how comfortable the soft sheets and white blankets feel on your skin. This might even be more comfortable than your shiny clam shell bed back under the sea.

“Alright, I’m dressed,” you confirm as he slowly turns around and walks over to you as his boots scuff across the wooden floor.

“Is it warm enough for ya? You comfortable enough?” he asks as his hands come to rest on the side of the bed.

“Mhm. It’s perfect,” you yawn as you turn to the left to get a better view of his sun tanned face.

“Good. Well, get some sleep, sweetheart. Got a busy day tomorrow.”

He trails his fingers over your jawline as he runs the pad of his thumb over your cheekbone slowly. Your breath hitches in your throat as he so carefully grazes it down to your bottom lip again. You really think he’ll kiss you this time, but he crushes those hopes as soon as he drops his fingers from your face.

“Let me know if you need anythin’, sweetheart. I’ll be right here.”

You sigh and watch him set up his little cot in the corner of the opposite side of the room, wishing he was in the bed with you instead. As he sits down after it’s set up, you start to close your eyes as the last few words leave your lips before darkness takes over. “Goodnight, Joel.”

“Goodnight, my little mermaid.”

And then you fade into the darkness.

Joel stays up for the next hour just watching you sleep. He watches the way your hair falls over your shoulders as you hug the cotton pillow to your cheek. He watches the way your chest rises and falls softly when you sleep. He notices the long eyelashes that kiss your skin as a small smile creeps over his lips. He thinks you’re so beautiful, so perfect. He knows he’s falling fast, he knows he should be more careful, but with you he doesn’t want to be cautious. He wants to dive in head first and drown in your saltwater coated skin. He wants to be the one. He wants to be your only one. And he will be. He will.

Tags: @morallyinept @littlevenicebitch69 @mountainsandmayhem @vividispunk @pedroswife69 @maried01 @vee-bees-blog @keylimebeag @pedrostories @poeticpascal @tuquoquebrute @bbyanarchist @sheepdogchick3 @forgetmenotsexy @ayamenimthiriel @readingiskeepingmegoing @dreamingofleon @syd-djarin @dugiioh @amyispxnk @msjarvis

#joel miller #joel miller fic #joel miller fanfiction #joel x female reader #mermaid au #joel the last of us #tlou fanfiction #joel miller pedro pascal #sailor! joel #little mermaid aesthetic #mermaid fem! reader #love amidst the blue #joel fanfic #joel miller fluff #soft!joel miller #protective joel #pedro pascal fanfiction #joel tlou #no outbreak au

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deathmetalunicorn1 · 1 year ago

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Can you do platonic Lu Bu, Kojiro, Jack, Raiden and Nikola with a little sister reader who is like Qiqi from genshin impact

Before little sister reader dead, she was a sunshine and cheerful. But after her death, she became forgetful and emotionaless.

Here's Qiqi's lore

https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Qiqi/Lore

And things you didn't know about Qiqi

https://gamerant.com/genshin-impact-qiqi-facts-trivia/

Still new to this franchise so please be patient with me. I did a bit of research on Qiqi so I hope I do this request justice.

-Lu Bu- To your big brother, you were his most important person, the only person he would willingly die for, not that he would ever tell anyone that. He remembered when you were alive by his side, you would cling to him, call him brother, and just brighten up not only his day but Chen Gong’s day who adored you. When he found out you were killed while he was fighting, someone else coming up and killing you in cold blooded revenge, he was furious and went on a one-man killing spree. After he died, he found you also in Valhalla, but you weren’t Y/N- you were a shell, a husk of your former, sunshine self. He never said anything, but Chen Gong could see the pain in his lord’s eyes when he would look down at you, holding you on his lap, wishing for the real you to return. You still called him brother, which he did love, but until everything was the same, there would always be pain in Lu Bu’s heart.

-Kojiro- Was the best big brother to you, always willing to give you piggy-back rides, doting on you, and he beamed when you asked him to train you himself. You were both beings of sunshine, smiling brightly. When you died in a terrible accident, Kojiro’s smile waned, he felt like he couldn’t live without his precious sister, and so he trained, trained to become stronger, so others wouldn’t lose their own loved ones. When Kojiro arrived in Valhalla, he was stunned to see you there waiting for him, you weren’t smiling, you looked almost emotionless, like you were missing your emotions. However, you brought back his smile when you held up your arms, “Big brother.” He hugged you so tightly, so happy to have you back in his life. You remained by your brother’s side, supporting him silently as he trained throughout the years. He did his best to always smile, smiling for the both of you, and when you managed to give him a shade of a smile, after so many years, he was elated, throwing you up into the air in glee.

-Jack- Your true self was locked deep within you, he could see your emotions wanting to break out, wanting to be free, but they couldn’t. You were like an emotionless living doll, barely speaking, and only to your big brother, calling him such. You were still as affectionate as you were when you were both alive, cupping his cheeks, sitting on his lap, and always being with him. Jack could see that you were trying, and it did warm his heart and he would always praise you and hold you close. Jack never forgave himself when you were killed after he failed to protect you, he became distraught, spiraling into madness, unable to cope with the loss of the only person that truly, honestly, loved him. When he saw you in Valhalla, waiting for him, he gave you a promise that the two of you would never be apart again.

-Raiden- You loved and adored your massive big brother more than anything, you were his number one fan, coming to all of his matches and cheering him on, looking adorable amongst all the other rikishi. Raiden was the same, he loved you so much and loved to spoil you, only because you would spoil him in return. If he got you mochi, you would hold one of them up, feeding him, which made his heart so warm. To lose you to a fever of all things, the one thing he couldn’t easily protect you against, made Raiden lose hope, he felt so helpless. In Valhalla, he was stunned to see you waiting there for him, holding your arms up to him, “Brother.” He hugged you so tightly many around worried that you were going to pop. Raiden knew that you were still Y/N, despite being void and emotionless, he knew that one day, if he was strong enough, he would bring back his biggest cheerleader, he just had to be patient, and smother you with love.

-Nikola- Despite all his knowledge, all his science and research, he couldn’t do anything to save you after you came down with a deadly fever. He could only see your bright smiling face, chasing after your much older brother, calling him big brother. Even though you couldn’t understand his science, you would stare at him with wonder and awe in your eyes ae he explained everything he could do in great detail. He thought it was cute that you tried to understand, finding your attempts to sound smart adorable, but he would always hype you up. When he found you in Valhalla, he picked you up, spinning you around with so much joy that he was in tears. It was only then when he saw your blank eyes and no smile on your lips, you were like a little doll. Nikola researched everything he could, trying to figure out a way to bring your smile back, with you sitting on his lap just like normal, holding his free hand. Nikola realized his research was not in vain when you finally spoke after a long while, “Explain it to me, big brother.” His research was momentarily forgotten as he swept you up, dancing around his lab in glee before, going into detail about everything, just like old times.

#record of ragnarok #ror x reader #ror lu bu #ror kojiro sasaki #ror jack the ripper #ror raiden #ror nikola tesla

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aziraphales-library · 7 months ago

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Hello beautiful human !

Can I find in, your glorious library, stories where Crowley has good friends who care for him deeply? Aside from Aziraphale, ofc.

Thank you so much in advance ❤️

Hi! I would recommend our #apocalypse buddies, #crowley & muriel, and #friendship tags for fics to enjoy. Here are more fics in which Crowley has good friends...

Angel, Please by GhostOfCallisto (M)

Crowley and Aziraphale are both regular old humans who met under human circumstances. Crowley is a part of a struggling band called Hellish Rebuke with the demon crew, Aziraphale is a former drag queen named Angel Fell attempting to be a professional dancer. Maggie and Nina are best friends with Crowley and big fans of his band.

I'm Gonna Set Things Right Again by iocallistoeuropa (G)

Aziraphale has gone off to Heaven, Crowley is driving around the country aimlessly, Muriel has learned how to have a "cupperty", and Give Me Coffee... or Give Me Death has now been expanded and renamed Give Me Coffee, Give Me Records... or Give Me Death. Some things have changed for the better, but others have turned into quite a mess. Is there any way to set things right again?

Who Am I Without You? by Lainey_Marie (T)

After Aziraphale left for Heaven, all Crowley wanted to do was lose control of himself and spiral until he couldn't feel anything anymore but there is an angel needing his help to adjust to life on Earth and a pesky coffee shop owner who just won't let him drown in his immense sorrow. With the help of his new friends, Crowley attempts to figure out who he is when he isn't living for Aziraphale or to do Hell's bidding. But what happens when that very same angel returns in desperate need of a hand to save the world once more?

You're Just a Little Under Rehearsed by MickyRC (T)

Drama teacher Crowley loves directing the Tadfield Community Players' shows—interacting with the rest of the staff at the community center, not so much. So when he meets the new accompanist for this year's musical, he's shocked to find that he might actually like him. Possibly more than like, if he's being honest. Aziraphale is fresh from leaving a long career as a church pianist, and hoping that a new job will get him out of the lonely rut he's found himself in. The attention and kindness of the flashy community theater director are unexpected, but not unwelcome. Far from it. But with a community theater to run, a show to put on, and a disgruntled R.P. Tyler looking for any excuse to get rid of Crowley and his theater program, will they be able to make a relationship work? And, more importantly, can they make sure the show still goes on?

The Prize by Caedmon (E)

Need a car? Date my brother. My brother is a real angel but needs a helping hand in the social/romance department, so I’m trying to help him find a good guy. Ages 35-50, employed, good looking, emotionally stable. After an entrance interview, if you successfully date my brother for a set amount of time and pull him out of his shell, I will give you my garage kept 1933 Bentley. Serious inquiries only. Contact [email protected]

love like yours (will surely come my way) by CCs_World (T)

Dr Zira Fell is a new professor of theology at St Beryl's University. His first day there he meets the mysterious and enchanting Dr AJ Crowley, an art history professor and a painter. They almost immediately become friends, and spend most of their time getting lunch together, talking, drinking wine, making art, and falling slowly in love with one another. Featuring cameos of everyone's favorite (and least favorite) characters, gratuitous descriptions of paintings, long text messaging conversations, and one cranky cat.

- Mod D

#good omens #ineffable husbands #friendship #crowley & maggie & nina #crowley & anathema #human au #mod d

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tcwmatchmakingau · 1 year ago

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An Awkward Kind of Charm

Pairing: Fives x GN!reader Rating: General Audience (but minors DNI) Summary: Dates always brought out your most nervous, anxious side. You had hoped that going to Right to Love Matchmaking would ease that burden, but now, pacing outside the venue of your first date, you weren't so sure. A.N: I'm just really in love with the idea that Fives likes shy people, I just think they help balance him and in turn he'd bring his love out of their shell. This is a little shorter than my usual work, but I hope you guys like my first take on the matchmaking AU! <;3 Word Count: 1618

Warnings: descriptions of anxiety, spiraling thoughts, and some minor self-deprecation.

"Alright, okay, I can do this!"

You had honestly lost track of how many times you had said that to yourself. It started all the way back at your apartment, as you stared into the mirror and hyped yourself up... and as you stood in your open doorway for a good three minutes. Then it continued on the cab ride here...and while you convinced yourself to climb out of the cab. Now it continued, as you stared at the doors for maker only knew how long.

Dozens of clones and natborns alike had gone inside as you stood frozen in front of the steps. It was an event hosted by Right to Love itself, apparently, there had been such an influx of customers recently, that they had whipped this up: a casual party newcomers could opt in for as their first date with their matches. The idea was that the group setting would make you less nervous, that's why you had agreed when your matchmaker brought it up.

Instead, standing here now, your brain was cooking up 89 different reasons this could go horribly wrong!

What if there were too many people inside? What if your match thought you were boring and sat with his brothers instead? What if you did something stupid in front of not only your date, but his brothers too? What if you mistook your date for one of his brothers?? Oh maker, you would never recover from the guilt of something like that!

"No, stop that, stop spiraling!" you muttered under your breath, making yourself close your eyes and take in a deep breath. In. Out. One, two, three. "I can do this!"

Your eyes shot open, determined as you marched up the steps, put your hand on the door- then turned right on your heel and ran back down.

"I can't do this!"

To stop yourself from marching back to the landing platform for a cab out of there, you started pacing instead. Your clothes were way too tight, your skin too hot and sweaty, even as you pulled your top away from your body and started fanning yourself.

This was ridiculous, the whole point of going to this matchmaking service was to make you less nervous! The thought that you were meeting someone who was statistically supposed to like you was meant to ease your mind, not create new fake scenarios to stress over. Now all you could think about was how you might fail to meet his expectations, this was way too much press-

Just as you were making another turn in your frantic pacing, your body hit something large and firm. You had barely stumbled back before hands were gently gripping your arms.

"Whoa there," the person said, a deep warm chuckle ending the words.

After shaking your head, you righted yourself enough to stare up beyond the firm chest you had run straight into. He was a clone, that much you could tell, like half the others who had already gone inside. He sported a goatee and was smiling at you with warm, dark eyes.

"You okay?" he asked, "You were looking real nervous, even before you bumped into me."

"Oh- I'm so sorry!" you couldn't meet those soft eyes, so instead you stared down at his broad shoulders while your face became an inferno of embarrassment. "I should have been looking where I was going, I wasn't trying to get in your way."

"In my way? Nah, I kinda stepped right into your path, I saw you pacing and wanted to make sure you were okay."

Rather sheepishly, you tilted your gaze back up to his. His smile was less toothy now, but no less warm. "Tha-that was very kind of you," you managed, but that was also the moment you realized he was still holding you, which made your skin heat up even more.

He must have noticed you fidget, because he instantly dropped his hands from your arms and took a small step back. "You still haven't answered my question, you know," he teased.

"What?"

"My question. I asked if you're okay," another deep chuckle, "you look like you're about to jump out of your skin."

"Oh! Oh, I was just trying to calm myself. I'm just really nervous about this date."

"Nervous? Worried your trooper won't be a prince charming?"

You blinked stupidly at him, "Him? No, no I'm nervous about me! I'm a total wreck when meeting new people, especially on dates."

"Ah, I see," he folded his arms over his chest, "so you're just shy?"

"Something like that," despite yourself, you let out a little laugh, feeling just a little of the tension in your shoulder loosen.

The man stroked his goatee with a hum, "What's your dates name? If I know him I can tell you a bit about him. Maybe that would make him seem less like a stranger?"

You were smiling now, it was a sweet offer, whoever this man was, his date was lucky. "Fives- his name, it's Fives. That's all they told me about him."

His eyes went a bit wide, "Fives, really?"

"You know him?"

The hand that had been stroking his goatee was covering his mouth now, "Oh yeah, I know him. Great guy, super funny and charming, brave, a war hero to boot."

Without missing a beat you stomped your foot on the ground, making him jump, "Kriff- of course he is!"

"What? Don't like funny charming war heroes?" he asked, looking just a little wounded.

"Of course I love funny charming guys, that's the problem!" Your feet were moving again, pacing, just like your brain was twirling back into a spiral. "I can't ever get my act together on dates with those types of guys. Which sucks because I'm not this shy all the time! It's only on dates where I overanalyze everything. In a casual, no-expectations setting? I am actually incredibly charming! I'm hilarious and witty and can carry on a conversation just fine! But when I'm on a date? Nope, nada, I'm all flustered and nervous, and everything that comes out of my mouth- if I can manage anything at all, is stuttering nonsense! And it's even worse when the person's a total hottie!! I never get a chance to become my witty, funny, charming self, because I've already scared them away with my awkward stupid self! And-!"

Finally, far far too long into your rambling, you stopped yourself, face hotter than ever,

"And, now" your sigh turned into a tired, defeated laugh, "now I'm standing here keeping a very sweet man from his date because I'm dumping my issues on him. I am so sorry," a wave of your hand towards the entrance, "I don't want to keep you, thank you for checking in on me, it was very kind of you to ask."

You had hoped that he would just nod and be on his way, but instead, the man's grin was wide as he stepped closer to you, his hand holding his chin in mock contemplation.

"Oh don't think I can do that, cyare. Fives would never forgive me if I left you out here alone, you look like you're about ready to take off."

That made your back straighten as you put your hands on your hips, "I don't run, I never run from my dates, I always face it.... I just freak out and overanalyze every cringy thing I did for weeks after I scare them away."

He let out a laugh at that, and it was only then that you noticed he was even closer now. His breath fanned your ear when he leaned in close to you, "You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that to scare me away, cyar'ika."

By the time he leaned back, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, your mouth was hung open, eyes wide. Slowly, the pieces fell into place, especially when you noticed the 5 tattooed on his temple.

You couldn't even meet his eyes as you moved to walk passed him, "Excuse me, I'm going to launch myself into air traffic now."

He- Fives, laughed as he stuck out an arm and scooped you back to your place in front of him. "Didn't you just say you don't run away?"

"Well this hasn't exactly happened on my other dates," you grumbled, "I just info dumped all my issues on the man I'm supposed to be charming!"

He made a dismissive noise then took your arm, tucking it under his own. "Oh, baby, I'm definitely charmed."

"You're teasing me," you failed to keep the slightly petulant tone away as he started walking to the door, arm still secure around you.

"Eh, maybe a little, but I'm not lying. I kinda liked seeing that side of you, lets me know I need to take my time with you. Now, if you get quiet at all during our date, I'll know it's just because you're being awkward, not because you don't like me."

Despite yourself, you found your smile slowly coming back. He was so free and open with his thoughts, it was honestly pretty refreshing, especially with how understanding he was being about the whole thing. He forgot to say 'incredibly sweet' when describing himself earlier. Maybe once you got over your first date awkwardness, you'd joke about holding him accountable for that little charade he played.

"Now, how about we enjoy our first date, cyar'ika. I promise I'll be funny and charming, and give you a chance to do the same."

Your face was still hot, but pleasantly so now, and you leaned into his arm as you said, "I'd really like that, Fives."

#tcw matchmaking au #clone matchmaking au #501st Legion

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