#and i know im doing a lot of things right now

[yunwangja]

undercurrents | signal no. 17

masterlist

"i’m alisa. i was kuroo’s partner for his project."

you freeze. this is her. the girl from the date. your heart sinks as you picture them together, imagining all the worst possibilities.

did he leave his phone? why was she the one who picked up the call? is he still there? your mind begins to spiral, creating scenarios you can't control, each more painful than the last.

"oh," you manage to say, struggling to keep your voice steady. your throat feels tight, and your words come out slower than usual. "can i ask for kuroo?"

"uh, actually, kuroo left his phone here with me," she replies, "it’s a good thing you called - i couldn't open his phone on my own because it's password protected. i was thinking how to get it back to him. im at my place right now."

her place. your thoughts race, filling in the blanks with every worst-case scenario.

what does this mean? what the hell is happening? and what happened before this? and how could kuroo possibly accidentally leave his phone with her? the more you think about it, the harder it becomes to breathe.

"i can let his friends know," you force out, the words feeling heavy on your tongue. "they can come get it from you."

alisa agrees without hesitation, without ending the call, you quickly message the others, your fingers trembling slightly as you type.

after alisa says yes to the arrangement, you both settle to the conclusion that she'll call you back when she's arrived at the campus lobby where bo would be meeting her.

you sit in silence after the call ends, staring at your phone, thoughts swirling in your head. the quiet of your room seems louder now, every second stretching longer than it should.

where is kuroo right now? since she picked up the call at her place, was kuroo there before he left his phone? if they did, what did they do? does this mean he was that interested in her?

you try to shake off the uneasy thoughts, but they linger. you tell yourself not to jump to conclusions, but that’s easier said than done. your mind can’t help but imagine things of what might’ve happened after their date. it’s a battle between rationality and your emotions, and right now, the latter is winning.

then, your phone vibrates, pulling you out of your spiraling thoughts. kuroo's name appear on the caller id, and you assume it's alisa calling back, just as she promised.

“hello?” you answer, your voice a bit shaky but still composed.

“hey, i’m in the campus lobby,” alisa says. “bokuto isn’t here yet, but i’m sure he’ll be along soon.”

“thanks for letting me know.”

the silence stretches for a moment. it feels awkward, hanging between the two of you, and you can’t help but feel like you should say something - anything - to fill the void.

you fidget with your fingers, unsure of what to talk about. after all, you barely know this girl, and under any other circumstances, you wouldn’t be having this conversation at all.

alisa breaks the silence first. “so... are you and kuroo close?”

her question catches you off guard. “uh, yeah, i guess you could say that. we’ve known each other for a while.”

“that’s nice!" alisa replies, her tone friendly. “he’s been super focused on this project. it’s kept him really busy, huh?”

you nod again, though the weight of her words makes your chest feel tight. “yeah, he’s been juggling a lot.”

the conversation stalls again, leaving you with your thoughts. you’ve known kuroo’s been busy, but hearing it from her, someone who's been spending that time with him, feels like a punch in the gut. you hesitate before asking, “where is he, by the way?”

“oh, he didn’t say,” alisa responds casually. “he just told me he had to go and left. i noticed his phone when he was gone already, and i was going to chase after him but it was too late...”

you thought nothing suspicious about her answer, but nothing that assured you that nothing happened between them. the quiet between you both stretches again, heavy and uncomfortable, and you find yourself scrambling for something else - anything - to fill the silence.

“how’s the project been for you guys?” you ask, trying to make small talk.

“oh, it went really well!” she says brightly. “we worked hard, but it all paid off. i think kuroo was really happy with how it turned out.”

you try to smile at her words, but your curiosity is eating away at you. you feel the urge to ask more, even though a part of you is scared of what the answers might be.

your thoughts drift back to earlier, to the idea of them spending time together after their date, and your stomach knots with unease. but you have to know, even if the answer hurts.

desperate to distract yourself from the silence and your spiraling thoughts, you finally blurt out, “so... did you guys have a good time?”

it feels like a casual question, but the weight behind it is unmistakable to you.

alisa chuckles softly, "oh, it was nice. he’s really sweet, isn’t he?"

you force a smile, even though she can’t see it. the words feel like a punch to the gut, as if someone else is confirming how amazing kuroo is. "yeah, he is."

there’s a brief pause, and the silence returns uncomfortably. your mind is racing as you struggle to keep the conversation going.

"i’m glad you were with him while he was so busy. as i said earlier, he seems to take on a lot by himself." you say, trying to fill the void, but the words come out weaker than you intended.

"he really does," alisa agrees, her voice light, as if she’s completely unaware of the storm raging inside you. "we ended up spending a lot of time together because of it. it’s been fun. and he really knows how to make you feel at ease, doesn’t he?"

the words twist in your gut, and you have to bite your lip to keep from letting out a sound of distress. you know exactly what she means. you’ve felt it too; the way kuroo can make you feel seen and heard.

and now, to hear someone else describe it, to know that she experienced it too, feels like a betrayal, even though you know it’s not.

"yeah," you manage to say. "he’s always been good at that."

the conversation drags on, each passing moment feeling like a slow unraveling of everything you thought you knew. your heart sinks deeper, weighed down by the uncertainty, the fear that maybe you’re too late. the realization that someone else has shared in those moments with him, that she knows things about him you might never know, is almost too much to bear.

"i’m happy you guys enjoyed your date," you say, trying to sound normal, but there’s a slight tremor in your voice.

alisa laughs again, this time with more amusement. "he told you it was a date too, huh?"

you blink, caught off guard by her response. "wasn’t it?"

"no, not really," alisa explains, her tone light as if it’s no big deal. "i just asked him out to coffee because of the success of our project, nothing more. he thought it was a date until he thanked me and mentioned it. so i cleared things up."

you don’t know what to say, the relief washing over you in waves, but mingling with confusion. before you can ask what happened after, alisa interrupts.

"oh, bokuto’s here," she says, her tone signaling the end of the conversation. "i’ll give him the phone. thanks a lot,"

"okay," you reply, still dazed, your mind racing with all the things you didn’t get to say or ask. bo takes the phone and tells you everything’s good, but his words barely register. you nod, barely listening, too caught up in your own thoughts.

you’re left with a thousand questions, but no answers. you want to know more, to ask her what happened next, but you guess you won’t get to know anymore.

did they talk about you? was kuroo relieved when she clarified it wasn’t a date, or was he disappointed? the uncertainty gnaws at you, leaving you with nothing but doubts.

all of a sudden, there’s a knock on your bedroom door. your heart jumps into your throat. you hesitate, then get up to answer it. you bid bo goodbye on the other line and end the call as you approach closer.

maybe it was one of your roommates checking up on your or asking for an update about what has happened. you wondered who it might be as you opened the door.

and there he was.

kuroo, breathless and panting, his hair slightly disheveled as if he ran the whole way. his eyes lock onto yours, wide with urgency.

"kuroo," you begin, confused. "what are you doing-"

"i want you, y/n."

notes

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

next signal will be LOADED also bc we will see kuroo's pov !!

idk if this was a long update or not (than usual) but yeah

i had to edit this a lot of times bc i had to make sure that everything would be laid out well

taglist: @lvtilzs @rarararararq @iamfontenlos @kurooswifeyy @secretsunsetsociety @kagsnumnine @yumiecheesecrackers @tojirin @jaynawayna @noxva08 @zahrawr-writes-fanfics @mawenskiblue @smellysluna @cccccccccccleo @winniethepooh-lover @akirqx @cupidsblonde @kukkurookkoo@emotiandon @urslytherin

[dianagj-art]

Is there Oneion facts we can know about?

THIS HAS BEEN ON MY DRAFTS FOR SO LONG OMG IM SO SORRY, HERE'S SOME FACTS ABOUT THE BABY BOY

(the baby boy in question is ten years older than me)

I'm gonna go canon stuff first, then some fun crossover stuff:

The version that I'm using is 35-ish years old (a few years before the movie events), he's been the leader of the resistance for around a decade

He still has all his brothers and loves them very much, would kill and die for them

Way more chill than One is right now, still a beast on combat

One can manipulate vines only using the seeds Draxum makes, Oneion can summon them at will from the ground with little issue

In the story he mostly goes by Leo now, very few people call him One (but lets keep calling him Oneion to avoid confusion)

The protesis he uses is an old one from Raph, but he outgrew it and gave it to Oneion when he lost his arm. It was a bit ridiculously big for him at the time, it's still a *little* too big for Oneion, but by the time he's 40-something (movie events) its gonna fit right in

The scarf he has is not the same One has, but as One's it was a gift from Draxum, he has carry the same scarf the whole apocalypse

Still has a lot of gold accents on his clothes

He's still the best fighter out of the four turtles

He loves being around kids but doesn't, he's afraid of hurting them. He knows he didn't had a normal childhood but is not 100% aware of what part was normal and ok and what part is not, and he rathers not take a chance and do something wrong.

He ends up enjoying teaching martial arts, tho he doesn't like being called sensei, and he wont spar with anyone bellow his level (again, being afraid of hurting them)

Casey Jr becomes the exception to these

Crossover stuff!

he can and will beat the shit out of One, he knows how much One can take so he's not really worried about that

when the apocalypse started he basically lost contact with the multiverse, so no fun crossovers for him. Until by the power of "@intotheelliwoods started doing fanart of Oneion before I even had finished his design" he had access to the multiverse again!

First of his "old frieds" he saw was Poptart and Sprout (2al huggy leos) and first thing he did was to hug Sprout<3 (well, he first kinda yelled at him but I'll draw that some day)

I don't think he has met again with the rest of the separated council? I don't remember if I've stick him in any crossover situations

he loves hugging Poptart, he's teddy bear size<3 and he'll never get tired of calling him his friend and loving him "the way he deserves" because he still hasn't forgive himself for the shitty way he treated Poptart (dont worry about it)

he fucking destroyed the attempt of a slau/2al crossover time line

he says he's fine by it but he keeps bringing up the "jawbreaker" incident, I dont think he got over it, actually

he hangs out with Sprout a lot

something something, being with Sprout makes him feel like a kid again, and it makes Sprout feel like a kid again because Oneion reminds him of Big Leo

Sprout and Oneion have a spa day, they deserve it<3 they also go shopping together. Also, they are not exactly good at cooking but they try and they love working together on the kitchen

Oneion got the "Oneion" nickname by Sprout and Poptart

he stronk. he can lift Sprout with no problem, and even Toast

if you wanna have a good time scroll down the besties tag on ell's blog or mine (2)

[seattledayone]

dina and caretaking

i think there’s a lot to be said for the situations we see dina in throughout tlou2 and how they tie into her backstory, as well as any potential guilt she may be carrying with her.

the first time we see her, she’s supervising a group of children. even though she’s not necessarily taking care of them, she’s still taken it upon herself to ensure their happiness and safety, and it seems like something she does often considering how ellie and jesse know exactly where to find her.

every time after that, she’s taking care of ellie (or, later on, jesse). she’s not a pushover by any means, but she allows ellie to take charge and is always there when the other woman comes back to her with cuts and bruises and bucketloads of trauma to sport. even when she starts to suspect she’s pregnant, she doesn’t say anything in favor of letting ellie finish her mission and keeping her the focus of the trip. when ellie returns from killing nora, broken and beaten, dina doesn’t berate her; she immediately takes to getting her comfortable and as patched up as she can.

when jesse arrives, the first thing dina does is help him take care of his wounds, and she makes sure to check in on ellie and stitch her up too. at the farmhouse, she literally says “you think this is easy? for you and for him, i deal with it,” implying that she sets her grief aside in order to take care of the two most important people in her life.

in my opinion, this all ties back to talia.

talia used to be the one to take care of her, alongside their parents back when they moved from place to place. however, once talia fell into grief-stricken depression, it was dina’s “duty” to lead them to a safe place and keep talia alive.

and she failed.

talia still died. she still succumbed to the world around her, though we don’t know how. no matter what dina did, no matter how much or how little she let herself feel, she couldn’t keep her sister alive.

i think she sees a lot of talia in ellie, particularly at the farmhouse. in her eyes, she may have failed with jesse and failed with talia and failed, even, with herself, but she has an opportunity to right those “wrongs.” she has an opportunity to save ellie. maybe she thinks that the reason talia died is because she pushed her too hard to keep going despite her grief, and that’s why she’s so overly lenient with ellie for the longest time.

until she isn’t.

again, this is all just my opinion, but i think that when dina says “im not gonna do this again,” she is not only referencing waiting in anxious anticipation for ellie to return but also finally admitting to herself that she can’t save everyone. she can’t be waiting with open arms for the sick and dying and traumatized to be patched up and coddled until they run off and do something reckless again. she cannot be the healer. finally, she understands that it isn’t her shortcomings that bring about the deaths of those she loves.

even if she doesn’t understand that quite yet, she now has a baby. she can’t afford to put herself or him in a situation like that — or around people like that, purely out of protectiveness over her son and his view of the world.

she’s letting herself and her peace and safety come first, something that, up until now, we haven’t ever seen her do.

[jikookficsdiarry]

Hello loves! ITS AYS DAY🤍🥹

I just realised its the last time im going to say it...for now... because I know that there will be more seasons in the future:)

I won't be able to watch the episode until this weekend due to my schedule but I hope you all have or can watch it today and whilst watching it I hope you'll are the happiest and enjoy the final episode of our jiminie and kookie having the best time together. I just wanted to share something on here (after contemplating for 2 whole weeks)...I used to sketch/pencil shade a lot as a child...I gradually just withdrew myself from art beacuse I prioritised other things and really missed it so much. The last time I held a pencil to draw something was during lockdown, which is almost 5 years ago. I am not the best I completely agree. This picture right here sparked something in me to just bring out my small sketching notepad and use my pencil not to make notes this time but to finally do something I enjoyed doing in the past and oh how much I missed it.

It's not the best I know, but when I drew the outline, I literally sobbed in the corner of my room for 15 minutes. I drew this in 30 minutes cause I didn't have enough time and you know the feeling when you haven't done something in so long that you feel you don't have it in you anymore? I really felt that way before I bought out my notepad, but then I realised something that you will always love doing can never be forgotten.

So here it is...🥹

Thank you jiminie and kookie, from the bottom of my heart...you became my muse when I needed it the most🤍🥹 I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU INCREDIBLY.

PS. I drew this whilst listening to letter and it urged me to just finish the piece even though I doubted myself the whole time. It took me a lot of courage to post this on here too🤍

~ Nel🤍

[luke-hughes43]

stella is walking to her car after her last class of the day when her phone rings. it’s luke. she smiles and answers it, “hey babe. what’s up?”

“you have time to talk stella?”

“i’m on my way to practice from campus, what’s up luke? everything ok?”

he takes a deep breath, “i got hurt at practice today…”

“what happened? what did you hurt? are you ok?”

“it’s my shoulder. they said 6 to 8 weeks. i fell awkwardly landed right on it. i don’t need surgery though.” luke explains.

stella sighs, “i’m glad you don’t need surgery. how does this change when you come to jersey?”

“it doesn’t. i’m still flying on sunday. since most of my stuff is already there, tsa won’t be too bad since im not bringing too much.”

“are you sure? we can push your birthday plans a little bit so that you can fly with jack to make sure you don’t accidentally hurt yourself at the airport.” stella rambles.

luke sighs, “stel, baby, i’m ok. it’s all fine. i’m flying out sunday morning, i’ll be there sunday afternoon, and you’ll get your luke cuddles that i know your craving.”

“ugh, you know me so well.” stella sasses to luke. he smiles, “of course i do. and i need my stella cuddles too.”

“are you sure that you’re ok?” stella asks as she pulls into the parking lot for practice. luke nods to himself, “i’m ok baby. you just need to know these things but i’ll be just fine. i love you sweet girl. so much.”

“i love you too luke. i just got to practice so i’ll talk you later.” stella says and she shuts the car off and gets her bag. luke says, “ok. have a good practice and i’ll text you later. love you.”

“love you too. bye.” stella hangs up and goes over to the locker room to change. she’s now feeling a little stressed with like being hurt but she also knows that if he says he’s fine, then he’s fine.

because when it comes to injury, luke doesn’t mess around simple because of how often stella hurts her knee. so luke just doesn’t mess around.

[mythicalmaven]

PROMPTLIST [REQUESTS OPEN] | F1

masterlist

♥ I made a promplist in case people wanted to request something, but aren't sure what to :) ♥ Just let me know the numbers you've chosen, which driver(s) you want it to be about & if you want fluff or smut (or both) & I'll try to write it asap💕 (im open to write a lot of types of pairing, like f.e. f!reader, m!reader, driver x driver or maybe even a threesome or foursome, whatever you like)

♥which drivers can you request? lando norris, oscar piastri, daniel ricciardo, carlos sainz, charles leclerc, alex albon, george russell, pierre gasly, oliver bearman, franco colapinto, max verstappen, liam lawson, kimi antonelli, jack doohan

⬇️ Down here you can find a list with either fluff, smut, angsty prompts out of which you can choose (feel free to combine)

PROMPTLIST (smut&fluff)

"use my thigh"

"if you wanted to see me naked this bad, all you had to do was ask"

"like what you see?"

"don't be shy, touch me"

"keep your eyes on me, love"

"Can you be good for me?" 

"It's so hot when you talk like that." 

"if you keep looking at me like that, we won't make it to the bedroom"

"but what about the cameras?" - "they can't see us from this angle, if you stay still"

"you look su fucking hot right now"

"you have no idea what you do to me"

"do you wish it was *name* touching you right now?"

"you’re fucking soaked"

"Care to join me?"

"Do you like it when I talk like that?" 

“touch yourself, i want to watch"

"you can practice on me"

"fucking hell, if I knew you were this good, I would have gotten you on your knees earlier"

"Do you have any idea how many times I thought about you.. with my hand down my pants.."

"let them know you're mine"

"you want me, don't you?"

"don't make me say it"

"I..uh.." - "I have never done this before"

"We can take things slow if you want?"

"We don't have to have a label, if you don't want to"

"i didn't realize I was in love with you until it was too late to stop"

"okay, maybe I have a crush on you! So what?" 

"we shouldn't do this"

"Leave me alone." - "Don't say things you don't mean" 

"i don’t want anyone else."

"what does this make us?"

"Do you really think it’s so crazy to feel that way about me?"

"nobody can know about this, okay?"

"I think about you all the time."

"Are you blushing?! That’s adorable."

"you're so cute"

"So.. this is the part where we kiss, right?"

"I never thought you'd feel the same?"

"Did you just kiss me to shut me up?"

"I don’t want him/her. I want you."

"is that my shirt/hoodie/jacket?"

"My eyes are up here, babygirl:

"Jealous? Me? Pff.. absolutely not" - "Okay.. fine.. I am jealous. Happy now?"

"I'm not jealous, it's just that you belong to me"

"God, I am so in love with you"

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that"

"But.. I thought you said you didn't feel the same"

"For my sanity, i think we should start dating"

"Do you even need to ask?"

"I don't think I can explain it either, but yeah. Yeah, I do."

masterlist

[monosanimegenericzone]

Hunter x Hunter: more pt speculation. bcs im ill leave me alone

so you know how they say a person's background influences a) their nen type and then b) their conceived hatsu.

so im going to discuss a few origins that i think are very tasty and interesting. specifically within the troupe (since we get backgrounds and interests for basically EVERY OTHER CHARACTER-)

the enhancers are pretty self explanatory. they chose a limb or an object to enhance and went crazy with it. nobunaga chose a sword, phinks and uvo both chose their right fist. shalnark shizuku franklin and machi are also all fairly straightforward too.

pakunoda - she's an empath. she's one of the more sentimental spiders and on top of everything she can do, her ability is also capable of transferring emotions. i think that's where it started but as she set restrictions, she gained the ability to extract memories and thoughts.

kortopi - he's a counterfeiter. he isn't a fighter per se but he has a hell of a lot of creativity and desire to make new. how do i know that? speculation. and because aura is based off of desire yeah yeah basics of nen i'll shut up now. point is. he has a lot of aura and it has to come from somewhere. I think he started as an imitation artist, making replicas of pretty things he sees out of junk

feitan - i think he's just like that. he is an unhinged little bitch and was simply born with a disposition for pain. so we know that he was on the team responsible for helping chrollo uncover sarasa's killers. so, as many theories go, they had to watch several thousand 'films' that the criminal underground had produced. and he was so scarred that it flipped his entire psyche. thus, he equates pain with forces of natural disasters because it's such a point of turmoil and joy.

i might need a separate post to do a psychoanalysis of this little man

bonolenov - probably a given? he was raised on tribal beliefs of spirits and traditional war attire. his Prologue battle suit is a gift of his people, possibly passed down only through memory and manifested nen that has lasted generations. the planets were his own creation, inspired by a love of music outside of his world. haha puns.

grr i rotate the spoodrs in my brain.

[e-n-t-r-o-p-i-c-f-r-o-g]

The pre workout anxiety has been hitting me hard recently. I've put off going to kickboxing for the last two weeks or so? Oughhhh. This always happens!

I'm not afraid of getting hit or anything like that I'm just afraid of...doing poorly? Of not being as good as I once was? Of looking weird? Of doing too much then burning out? Idk man but I'm really, really going to try going today. Even though I'm so tired from work and just want to rot, I'm going to try.

[deimosatellite]

like idk it just seems actually nefarious to take one of the very few widely known instances of queerness in older history being a symbol to show queer people that we've always existed and aren't alone for CENTURIES and taking away the queerness from it. like. i know some people say that ''the queerness isnt important in the book" which i mean in my opinion i could go off for 10k words in an essay as to how basil's love for dorian is integral to the story BUT EVEN APART from that its really just. having a real explicitly queer character in such an old and widely regarded classic novel is HUGE for queer history and this is just. literally like. its 2024. why are you doing queer erasure to DORIAN GRAY

[reineydraws]

so there's this post that talks about how people call jason's curved knife a kris but it's not a kris 'cuz why would he have a southeast asian knife? and op's tags say if you're gonna give him an 'exotic' weapon at least make him malay or something. a later reblog adds a filipino kris as an example, and then i was like, 'omg, jason in a barong tho.' SO i tried designing a bat-barong inspired by his hood logo, for a filipino jason haha. and now here we are! 😊✨️🇵🇭

[shaadowmilkcookie]

One of Shadow Milk’s many prop replicas of himself, left behind. Even though the eyes are forever staring straight into the distance… Oddly enough, you still feel like you’re being watched.

But surely, though, it won’t hurt to take it home and touch up the colours, right? :)

[arsenicflame]

shes finally coming together!! still got a bunch of hand work to do on the blouse and corset, and of course, style the wig, but annes gonna be ready for mcm next weekend!

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

;3

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

yeah sex is great but have you ever found a shady parking spot in 100+ degree weather

[deoidesign]

Hello! I just discovered your blog and I immediately became captivated by your webcomic, but I'm unsure where to read all of it. I know it's on Webtoons, but I can see it hasn't been updated for a while, and you still post about it.

Are your physical novels just prints of the webcomic? Are they a continuation? Is the story complete? Thanks in advance!

Hi there!

Glad you found me and are enjoying my comic!

It's only on webtoons, and the story is not complete yet! We're 2/3 of the way through right now. It's currently on hiatus, and it's scheduled to come back in about 2 months!

I'll explain why it's been so long if you're curious, but also for my followers who might also be wondering about it under the cut. Sorry, it's pretty much just me complaining haha

I took a month off I took 2 months to get the books printed I took a month to prepare my next comic and I took 2 months to write the rest of the series (I knew the character arcs I wanted, but not the time periods or mysteries!!!) I've been working on actual episodes since then

I had to take some time off because of some pretty extreme burnout due to the sheer amount of work it was to draw over 800 pages and write 6 complete stories in a year and a half... I was getting sick almost weekly due to the overwork, it was really really bad honestly. I was having to work 60+ hours every week just to keep up...

The nature of the comic itself is also difficult... Each of the arcs is a complete, self contained story which can be read (ideally) without context, and my arcs need to be about 10-13 episodes each... And since I have an exact number of episodes to work with, it's even harder.

It takes a ton of planning and a ton of refinement, and working week to week with no breaks I was forced to put out second or even first drafts, so I just wasn't happy with the work I was doing... And to do that for the rest of the series? I wouldn't be proud of the work I did.

Plus... To be entirely honest, webtoon has treated me quite badly IN MY OPINION... They deprioritized me before I launched (I had to beg for more promotion, I'm not exaggerating), they outright denied me the opportunity to even ask for a raise, I don't make any money on fast pass and they pay me less than my partner makes working at trader joes. My first editor left me completely hanging, my second editor (who I loved) was fired... And they told me I wouldn't get a third season before my first season even finished. So it was just repeatedly completely demoralizing.

I'm sorry it has taken so long, it'll have been 10 months by the time I come back. But I realized... I won't get promotion either way. I won't get more episodes either way. I won't get more money either way. So to finish everything, to make it feel good, to make it something I'm proud of, I chose to take longer to make it better.

I am fully aware I will lose a significant amount of my readership for this and it might genuinely affect my career moving forward. But it's what I had to do! So I'm sticking to my guns on it, and I'm confident long term it'll be worth it. It never could have been this good if I didn't take this much time.

[camels-pen]

(inspired by this post)

"Here."

Usopp stared at the hat in Sanji's hand. He patted his head, surprised to find it bare. His memories were fuzzy after meeting that kappa kid, but he hadn't even realized he'd lost it.

Sanji shook the hat. "Well? Aren't you going to take it?"

Usopp looked up from the hat. Sanji had his face turned away.

Usopp deflated. "You're still mad at me?"

Sanji dropped his arm and the hat crumpled in his hand. "What were you thinking, running off on your own?"

"Like I said to Nami, it was an accident—the backpack wouldn't come off and sent me flying! And besides I came back—"

"Not that!"

Usopp's brows furrowed. "Then what—?"

"When I was cooking, what possessed you to fuck off on your own?"

Usopp scowled. Seriously? "Oh no," Usopp said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "You had one less cheerleader to fawn over you in your manly cooking competition. The horror." He reached for his hat. "I'll just take this and go—"

Sanji swiftly pulled it out of his reach. Usopp tried for it again and again, but Sanji kept dodging him. His grip on the hat was getting noticeably tighter.

"Sanji, quit it! Just give me my hat and you can go back to avoiding me—"

"I don't want to avoid you!" Sanji dodged another grab. "You just keep pissing me the hell off whenever I look at you!"

"How is that my fault?!" Usopp said, taking another unsuccessful swipe. "I thought we all talked this out already! And Nami's not mad anymore, so what's your problem?!"

"You wanna know what my problem is?!" Sanji grabbed a fistful of Usopp's collar and yanked him forward. "You disappeared!"

Usopp's eyes widened. Sanji had practically snarled at him, but the look on his face didn't match up: there were terrible bags under his eye. Dried blood on bitten lips.

Tears threatening to fall any moment.

Sanji deflated, his grip on Usopp's shirt loosening. "You disappeared and... and I couldn't find you."

"Damn, I really worried you, didn't I?"

"Of course you did, dumbass!" Sanji swept his arms wide. "What was I supposed to do when I saw that shitty kappa wearing your hat while you were nowhere to be found?! Shit, at one point I thought you were—" Sanji cut himself off.

"Sanji?"

Sanji brought the hat up to rest on his chest, taking a deep breath. "It doesn't matter. You're here now. You're fine." Usopp didn't know whether he was saying that for Usopp's sake or his own. "Just forget I said anything and take your hat."

He could. He certainly could. But…

The way Sanji's shoulders slumped. The way Usopp's hat was still clutched close to his chest. The way he looked awful despite them having left that island behind a few days ago.

He couldn't just leave Sanji like that.

Usopp rolled a few ideas around in his head before clearing his throat. In a posh accent he said, "Well then, good sir, I am terribly grateful to you for finding one of the most prized hats in my collection."

Sanji pursed his lips. "Usopp, just take the damn hat."

"All in due time, of course! However, oh dear,"—Usopp put his hands to his cheeks with an exaggerated gasp—"I've found myself without my beautiful attendants to aid me in adorning such a magnificent piece atop my head."

"Usopp—"

"It's truly a shame that such a thing will be collecting dust until I'm able to reunite with them again." Usopp pretended to cry into a blue handkerchief. "Oh, whatever shall I do—"

"When did you—?!" Sanji frantically patted his pockets.

Usopp grinned. "I'm well traveled you see. I've even learned a few things from a thief of legend who just so happens to be a friend of mine."

Sanji huffed. "Nami-san's generousity, huh?"

"Oh, woe is me," Usopp put the back of his hand to his forehead. "Wherever shall I find a beautiful and dependable and radiant attendant on such short notice?"

Sanji huffed. "Alright already, I got it. You don't have to lay it on so thick."

Usopp's grin widened and he bent his head as Sanji's careful fingers started to gather up his hair. Usopp closed his eyes as he felt little touches all along his hairline. He sighed at one particular feeling of a thumb rubbing circles into the skin behind his ear. Usopp gave a content sigh and Sanji chuckled. 

His hat was fitted on his head and all too soon. Sanji’s touches lingered before pulling away.

Usopp grinned up at Sanji. "Thank you, my good sir."

Sanji rolled his eyes, but responded in his own version of a posh accent and a short bow. "Of course, my dear nobleman."

They kept themselves together for a few seconds more before Usopp burst into laughter and Sanji followed suit.

Usopp couldn't apologize—couldn't promise Sanji it would never happen again. He was bound to go exploring on his own from time to time, after all. But, he could lighten the mood like this, help Sanji relax and understand that the danger had passed. That they were alive and at home on Merry's back. 

That everything was fine. At least for the moment.