#and that certainly would have been a shorter process!

[cat3ch1sm]

hii! could i request hcs about illumi's fiancé meeting the zoldycks? something along the lines of her being expected to be the next lady of the house and getting used to the mansion's lifestyle (having butlers, being secluded on a mountain, having the entire family living together)? it would also be nice to see her getting along with the little siblings (killua, kalluto, and alluka)

sorry if i left out any necessary details in this request :(

~✰♡✰♡✰~ hellooo! thanks for ur request :)) haven’t written for hxh in a little while so im happy to write this for you and our favorite bug-eyed assassin :3 if you’re ever unsure about what info to put in a request, just visit the pinned post! ily 💚

fem!reader

𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜é 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐳𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐲𝐜𝐤𝐬

illumi isn’t close with his family in the same sense that normal people are close with their families, but nonetheless he feels the need to inform them of major developments in his life. through a letter he tells his family of his engagement, and says that he is going to bring you to his home to see them all.

silva is indifferent, and zeno couldn’t care less, but kikyo is ecstatic that her illumi is finally going to marry someone- and that it isn’t that awful clown hisoka. she’d been seriously concerned for a second there. but she rounds up all the members of her family to be present on the day of your arrival (using excessive force because nobody really wanted to come besides alluka, who was only allowed to meet you because killua threatened to not show up unless alluka was permitted as well).

when you and illumi first arrive after the lengthy trip up the mountain, you are greeted by butlers gotoh and canary, whose presence startles you. you were aware of illumi’s great wealth and status, but it was certainly different from how you’d grown up. just getting inside the actual home is a process- illumi’s strength slightly freaking you out when he pushes open four of the doors to the entrance of the mansion without breaking a sweat and then encountering Mike, the Zoldycks’ monstrous dog. illumi does notice your apprehension, though, and plainly assures you that the dog won’t harm anybody it isn’t supposed to. you’re still visibly nervous, though, so illumi has you come closer to him and hold on to his arm. regardless, you realize it may be tougher to settle in than you thought.

at last, though, illumi brings you to his family. nobody reacts much outwardly to your presence, but you notice a white-haired boy with catlike eyes observing you closely, his expression a mixture of suspicion and confusion. standing beside the boy are two other black haired children- one with short black hair standing somberly with his hands folded in front of him, and the other an eager blue-eyed girl whose gaze sparkles as she looks at you. the white haired boy stands right behind the blue-eyed child. the tall, blonde man with a large frame illumi tells you is Silva, his father, and the slightly shorter man with white hair beside him is illumi’s grandfather, zeno.

without warning, you feel thin arms thrown around you in an embrace, and you almost jump out of your skin. but when you are released, you see the woman that can only be your fiancés mother, the only member of the family illumi had warned told you about prior to the visit. kikyo wears a large dress with an ostentatious petticoat and hat, and most notably a visor over where her eyes would be with one red glowing dot. her appearance is unsettling, and you find it a little difficult to force a smile when she greets you. illumi watches you from the side of his eye, his face unreadable.

just as kikyo is pulling away, something gleaming and silver and large is thrown right at your head, whizzing right by kikyo’s hat and slicing off a single hair from the feather on her hat. you don’t hesitate to lift your hand to your face and catch the sword immediately, the blade slicing your hand- but you don’t flinch as the blood seeps onto the blade and down your arm. you tilt your head to the side to see your assailant is silva, his arm still poised in throwing position. his expression grows less stony once he sees you’ve caught his weapon.

there’s a moment of icy silence, you lowering the weapon to your side, and silva watches you even more intently before uttering a flat “welcome to the family.” with that, he and his father turn and disappear elsewhere inside the mansion. kikyo, though, takes this as her cue to immediately grab you so you two can walk by yourselves throughout the mansion. illumi doesn’t look super pleased to see his mother take you, but he knows better than to try and stop her.

you two are navigating the long, hollow corridors of the zoldyck home. you pass many unsettling family pictures and paintings as well as various weapons like swords and arrows on the walls, and several human sculptures that seem a little too realistic. you’re also sure that you pass at least two torture chambers. it’s an eerie atmosphere, which was what you’d expected, but it doesn’t help your nerves.

kikyo either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care about your apprehension, and instead starts talking about how much she’s wanted a daughter and how thrilled she is to finally have a “daughter” to take in. but then she grows eerily serious. she talks about how you’ll be expected to be the next lady of the house and, since you’re becoming a zoldyck, how you’ll have to follow the same codes they do as a family and exhibit the same values- which makes you antsy. the woman clearly seems a bit unhinged. you’re relieved when the walk ends and you’re returned to your fiancé, who gestures for you to take his arm again. illumi’s mother’s mood changes drastically yet again and she storms off, shrieking to her husband that it’s rude for him to walk off after hardly having said anything.

now you and illumi are left with the four other children- the white-haired boy, the girl with long hair, the boy with short hair and purple-pink eyes, and a homely fat boy behind the three younger ones. he holds a small console in front of his face and doesn’t even seem to acknowledge your presence. illumi introduces them to you.

“y/n, i’d like you to meet my siblings,” illumi states in his usual manner, walking slowly towards them. gesturing to the white-haired boy, he says, “this is my brother, killua. i call him kil.” he looks down at his brother with an eerie smile and black eyes like pits, but killua keeps his stony gaze straight ahead. his hand rests on the shoulder of the girl in front of him.

“this is my youngest brother, kalluto,” illumi continues, placing a large hand on top of the boy’s head. his hands remain folded in front of him, and he gives you a polite nod. looking toward the fat boy behind kalluto, his expression slightly curling into one of disdain, illumi tells you, “and this is the second oldest, milluki.” milluki doesn’t acknowledge you at all, which seems to visibly irritate illumi, but he doesn’t reprimand the boy.

you’re confused when illumi doesn’t introduce the girl, and you glance up at him in confusion. “illumi, what about her?” you look down at the girl in front of killua, who looks surprised for a second, and so does killua behind her. “you forgot to tell me her name. she’s a beautiful little girl.” you manage a small smile, leaning down slightly to stroke the girl’s hair. her blue eyes sparkle with joy, and killua looks up at you as well, looking a little confused but also very relieved. “your mother said she had no daughters.”

illumi’s eyes lower ever so slightly, giving him a dismissive look. “she doesn’t,” he answers flatly, and his tone makes you feel like that’s the end of the discussion. you’re definitely lost- but you suppose it’s something illumi will have to fill you in on later. you glance sideways at illumi, hand still resting in the girl’s hair. she definitely doesn’t seem to mind you, and killua appears to have warmed up to you as well. milluki’s vanished elsewhere and kalluto watches the whole exchange from the corner of his eye.

suddenly you all hear kikyo call for illumi, who immediately stands up upon hearing his name. “you will remain here until i return.” he tells you, his tone no-nonsense, and heels clicking he makes his way down the dark hallway, leaving you alone with the kids.

the second illumi is out of earshot, the girl brightens up. “hi!” she chirps, bouncing on her feet excitedly. “my name is alluka!”

you’re slightly startled, but you smile at the girl anyway and tell her hi, still wondering why illumi seems so detached from this girl in particular.

killua seems to read your mind. “i know what you’re thinking,” he tells you, not unkindly. “listen, my family doesn’t like alluka much- and they refer to her with male pronouns. just go along with it in front of them. it’s safer for you.” he pauses, then looks down. “but thanks for being nice to her.”

you frown and nod, deciding not to ask any more questions about it. kalluto still hasn’t said anything, but somehow you don’t feel like this boy will be anything to worry about.

with alluka and killua having warmed up to you, you get into a conversation, and kalluto eventually offers a few words after awhile- although never acknowledging alluka directly. most of it is basically killua wondering how the hell you managed to get engaged to someone like illumi.

“No way he didn’t force you to go out with him.”

“What the hell do you even see in that guy? He’s batshit crazy- and he’s definitely not a model.”

“How’d he propose? Did he try to kill you and you survived?”

“‘Man, you really gotta be messed up for Illumi to like you.”

“What even made him wanna get married to you? What even made you wanna get married to him?”

“You gotta be kidding me.”

“And you said yes? You’re crazy!”

that’s all i got :3 hope u enjoyed <33

[kiruamon]

Demon Lord AU - Introduction

I was thinking about what else could be a fun fantasy au idea for the DCA and my mind went after a while to: Demon Lord AU. But instead of giving Sun and Moon that role (which I did take into consideration too) I gave the role to Y/N. Because why not have some fun with an overpowered Y/N for once? So roles are: Sun and Moon as adventurers and Y/N being the Demon Lord. Sun being a knight or something and Moon as a mage (he will also not mind using his staff to knock someone over the head if he can).

Fun thing about the au is that I imagine Sun and Moon crashing into Y/N's throne room with drawn weapons and ready to fight, just to find the mighty demon lord entertaining a bunch of small kids.

While Sun and Moon would be somewhat startled by the sight and need a moment to process it, Y/N would not be faced too much by the two animatronics showing up with weapons and all (honestly Y/N is pretty used to people that come unannounced into their 'home' to fight them). So despite the circumstances they would keep a very buisness-like attitude up. Y/N: "Hmm, you arrived earlier as expected."

Something I could picture Y/N saying to them: Y/N: "How you can see, I'm currently occupied with some tasks. So may I ask you two to reschedule your visit to another day? Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are usually kept open for potential battles against adventurers and heroes that wish to challenge me, unless they fall on a holiday. If you wish to fight me on any other day, I fear you would have needed an appointment."

Stuff happens after that. Probably the two insist to fight Y/N. So Y/N has to order some of their servants to bring the childs out of the room before the fight starts. Moon and Sun end up defeated by the demon lord. Y/N will take their weapons and lock them away as their prisoners in a room for a good while and being interested that the human kingdom has send something so curious as self-conscious animatronics that have a real soul inside of them instead of being empty puppets. As time goes on I can see them learning more about each other. Seeing that the demon kingdom isn't much different from the ones of the humans. That Y/N has just as much ruling to do as any other monarch to keep the order in their kingdom. And that they are quite level-headed at doing so. The children they have with them at times are orphans that lost their parents to the ongoing conflicts between humans and demons. Y/N functions as one of their caretakers on certain days that they keep themself free for, while on other days or times some of their castle members are doing so. I really can see Y/N taking Sun and Moon out of their room and giving them a little tour. Introducing them to the other demons in their castle and the town folks. Letting them see their society which looks monstrous but isn't otherwise much different from humans. Which becomes a moral challenge for the two brothers. Until they come to terms with their feelings. Loyalty, for Sun, is a big issue as well as the task that had been given to him and his brother. He will for a few more times challenge Y/N to fights, just to find himself usually drawing the shorter end of the stick and Y/N refusing to seriously hurt or even kill him. Y/N: "You know. You two were not too bad. I like a strong will and the fire that burns inside you. I can see a lot of hidden potential in you. Maybe, I should hire you as my knight. I certainly would treat you well, so how about it?"

Under the promise to behave themselves they even get a lot of freedom, not being supervised all the time and getting free access to the castle library and a few other parts of it. Y/N might enjoy talking and yapping with Moon about magic theory and practice. After all the magic demons have researched and used for long times differs in certain areas from human magic. So there is a lot of new things for Moon to learn as well as Y/N when they share information. I can see Moon a bit more easy-going with the situation. Sure, wary at first, but also a bit more open minded. And he does adore the kids a lot. Because children no matter if human or not are always just children. So he will do neat little magic tricks for them or join Y/N in playing with the little ones. It's not like he and Sun have much else to do anyway and the thought about completing their mission or escaping seems to become more distant. Well escaping might be said a bit too much. Since I do think that Y/N does offer them to leave the kingdom unharmed if they wanted to at some point, but that they might stay as they know that returning without successfully completing their mission could have some severe consequences.

Y/N: "Let me down. I can walk on my own." Sun: "Absolutely not. You are not even remotely in the condition for that." Sun: "And while were are at it... what in heavens name even did you think when jumping in front of me to block that holy magic attack? Do you want to get yourself killed?" Y/N: *grumbles* "They were about to hurt you. I had to interfere. And I'm not about to die from such a weak spell anyway." Sun: "You know I am your knight. So I should be the one protectin you and not the other way around. Beside, you know my resistence to holy magic is much higher then yours, right? It would've barely hurt me." Y/N: "Hmph... Mere trifles. Be my knight or not, you and Moon are my subjects and with that are under my protection." Y/N: " ... " Y/N: "Although I admit, I might have forgotten about your nature for a moment. I'm used for my subjects to be demons for who such a blow would have been lethal so... " Sun: *sighs deeply* "... idiot... . Let's bring you home to Moon, so we can patch you up. There are people that need you..."

[bigfan-fanfic]

Sourdough (Male!Reader x Peeta Mellark)

"Don't be afraid. It can take a lot more than you think." Peeta chuckles, watching you carefully.

"That's... I mean, I don't want to overwork it. The recipe says not to!"

Peeta laughs. "I wrote the recipe." He reminds you, punctuating the words by lifting his portion of dough and slamming it against the stone counter.

You wince. "Don't be so rough."

His movement sort of catches your attention at that moment - his arms are large and strong, and you see the muscle beneath his skin work as he begins to knead.

Not as roughly as you expected, but certainly not as gentle as you had been doing.

"It's dough. If you want to make it strong enough to make a loaf, you've got to work it to build up the strength. It's like a workout that way."

You look uncertainly at your bundle of dough, still somewhat distracted by the way Peeta's shirt lifts at the waist, showing off just a flash of skin.

"Come on. I'm right here - I'll let you know if you go too hard."

You begin to knead, following his example, trying not to get lost in the view of his arms.

"I wonder what Haymitch would say if he overheard us?" you comment, and Peeta rolls his eyes.

"Probably something nasty." Peeta shrugs. "Misconstrue everything."

"Especially if you told me not to go so rough." you smirk, and Peeta sprinkles you with flour, making you yelp.

"You're the one who wanted to learn how to bake bread." he reminds you, raising an eyebrow.

"That I did. So what next?"

"Next, we shape it and leave it to rest."

"Rest again?" you ask in surprise. "It's been resting for hours!"

"Being bread is hard work." Peeta chuckles. "It's tough, being smacked around and stretched every which way."

"Haymitch would have a field day with that." you joke.

"The rest is shorter this time. Then we'll score it and let it bake."

"There's a lot of waiting involved in bread-making." You mention, and Peeta happily wraps his arms around you.

"It's definitely a process." he nods. "But sometimes, the work is worth it."

"You're definitely worth it." You wink.

Peeta laughs and kisses you. "Not as much as sourdough, though. You'll see when it's done."

"Wait until we move to rosemary bread. It's a lot easier."

"You're better than bread. Shocking, I know."

He gives a mock gasp. "What a wild thing to say."

He draws you into a deep kiss. "We'd better start preparing for the next steps before I forget the bread entirely."

"Spoilsport..."

He laughs, deep and cheerful, and pulls you along to continue the process.

[kteezy997]

Beyond Business-part 14 (the end)//t.c.

Warnings: slightly toxic ex lovers, description of sex, cursing

It was a couple of weeks later when Timmy contacted you again. You were surprised it hadn’t been sooner. Maybe he needed time to process everything: most of all, the fact that it was over between the two of you. He wanted to get together for coffee, something simple, just to see how you were.

You accepted, despite your hesitation. He had seemed happy in photos and videos with Kylie Jenner at award shows and inside theaters, even kissing her in front of hundreds of onlookers. She played the part of supportive girlfriend, and he started to fit the mold of a man with a trophy on his arm.

It was easy to start falling out of love with him. It didn't seem like he was grieving the loss of your companionship, which made you angry, you had to admit.

You hadn't even heard of his assistant position being filled after you quit. You guessed that perhaps Aidan Zamiri was taking care of everything, keeping one step away from Timmy at all times.

When you arrived at the coffee shop, you noticed his hair had been cut shorter than before, he was even paler, and his eyes were deeper red. But he smiled at you like he had always done. He gave you a small wave as you walked over to him at his table.

"Hey, I ordered your usual. I hope that's okay." he greeted you.

"Yeah," you answered, sitting across from him, "that's fine." You took the cup into your hand.

"So, how have you been? I heard you got a job."

"Yeah, it's been going good. I think I'm gonna like it a lot."

"Good. I'm glad to know that you're happy. You are happy, aren't you?"

"Yes. And what about you? You and Kylie seem to be getting cozier these days, now that I'm out of the way." you gave him a condescending grin.

"Y/n." he glared at you. The nerve of him.

"What? I'm not being mean, it’s just an observation. Do you think she knew about us? Or was it just not on her radar. Doesn't seem like I was on yours as much as I thought I was."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. I just thought you would miss me more and not be all over her so quickly."

"You have no idea how much I miss you."

You ignored the sentiment, "Have you started sleeping with her again?"

"Why does that matter?" he squinted at you.

"I'm asking, Timothee, just answer the question." you were annoyed at his usual habit of avoiding the subject of her.

"Maybe I have started sleeping with her again. Why should it matter to you? You broke up with me."

"It doesn't matter to me. I just wanted to know." you shrugged. You were telling the truth. Why would he assume you would carry strong feelings for him when he made moving on look so effortless?

"Well, I guess we have nothing more to say to each other. I wanted to see how you were doing, and I've done that, so..."

"Is that what you wanted? No, I think you wanted me to get upset and cry about how badly I want you back. You wanted me on my knees for you, right where you want me. You want me to be okay with being your secret."

Timmy scoffed, "Fuck off."

You stood up from the table with a huff, "I certainly can." You turned and walked away. You felt ready to be rid of him.

"Wait, y/n, please! I didn't mean that." he came after you, following you all the way outside onto the street.

You turned around, shooting knives at him with your eyes.

He touched your arm, “I’m sorry.”

“You’re always sorry, Timothée. Why did you ask me to come here?” you didn’t stop walking.

“Because I can’t stop thinking about you.” he admitted, grabbing you, making you stop in your tracks.

You winced, “Don’t start that. I’m over you.” You pushed his hands away.

“Are you sure?” he narrowed his eyes at you, “You really don’t love me anymore?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Who are you thinking you have the right to tell me that you still think about me? What is it, Timmy? Do you think about me when you fuck her?”

His green eyes darkened as he clenched his jaw. His hands wet on you once again. Gently, he pulled you into an alley, pitting you against the brick building. “Yes. You happy to hear that?”

You smirked, your eyes descending onto his pink lips. You missed feeling them all over your body. “Yeah, that makes me happy.”

Timmy’s hands went to your hips, digging his fingers in slightly.

You found yourself leaning in, budging slowly toward his mouth.

He pressed his body against you, sliding his hands around you to keep you close.

You felt the warmth of his lips in that instant. Your arms instinctively tucked around his neck and you kissed him as if no time had passed, as if no feelings between the two of you had been damaged. Your tongues battled deliciously. Soft moans escaped the both of you.

……..

It was good that he took you to his place, because you could leave right after.

You didn’t want to be sucked back in, but the love was still there, the desire for him was still present in your blood. That loved could be acted on, even for just the night.

There were no words passed between you. It was pure sex and passion. It was nourishing to your need for closure: sharing his air, indulging in the smell of him and his bed, feeling his smooth, supple skin against yours.

His cock fit snug inside of you, just like it always had. He kissed your body up and down, almost like he was worshipping you.

When he came on your stomach, he laid down on top of you and as he settled from his orgasmic high, there was a sadness in his eyes. He knew this was the last time you would be together. You supposed that your eyes looked the same to him.

The next morning as the sun arrived through the windows of Timmy’s bedroom, filled with the warmth and the smells you knew too well, you quietly got out of the bed. You put yesterday’s clothes back on.

Timmy didn’t stir, his eyes remained closed as his naked chest rose and fell calmly in his sleep.

You watched him sleep peacefully for a moment, then left his house.

February 24, 2025

@gatoenlaciudad @thebetawolfgirl @musicandbooksaremyhappyplace @softhecreator @tchalamss @lixzey @bitchyunknownuser @ducktapebar @aoi-targaryen @yukideadinside @elloise0 @thatoneweirdgirl17 @mel-vaz @sammy-halpert @iwishchalamet @that-one-fangirl69 @jindongdongie @briefkittenearthquake @imnotoverlyobsessive @timhalchala @heatherpi

[krahk]

Blood for Ruin

Part One : Part Two

Masterlist

Alastor x OFC/Reader (no use of Y/N)

Part Three

(Or Alastor learns it’s never to late learn your kinks, hell welcomes all)

18+ from here on out to be safe.

Warnings: entering smutty content near the end, written by an amateur. No smutty smut, but it’s beginning from here on out. I am opening that can of worms.

__

You really hoped you were harder to kill in hell, because these people simply had no sense of preservation of life in them. First full day in hell and you had been invited to a BDSM club, thrown off of a roof and hid from gunfire trying to keep the creepy little janitor from jumping into the crossfires. Trust exercises were not supposed to be life threatening, but the mania of the day had certainly made it harder for you to focus on your situation for the time being. Back at the hotel you gratefully accepted a drink from Husk as the group recapped the day they had just gone through. For a bunch of terrible sinners, they were pretty alright. Like when you were all alive, the group of you was simply trying to get by day by day.

You had learned that Angel was a porn star in Hell, Nifty’s kinks were both frightening and dangerous (mostly to her, but still), Husk you were certain liked nobody, and Vaggie was an aggressive woman who had no issues throwing you through the fire if she thought it would make you a better person on the other side.

You supposed there were worse people to attach yourself to given your situation. Part of you was grateful that you landed in a place that offered you a place to stay, food to eat with a generous host who made sure you were dressed and comfortable all around. Even though you had processed your death fairly quickly (that was normal, according to Angel) you did know that you could have it so much worse and be dealing with everything alone.

Grateful that everyone was heading to their own quarters when Alastor had returned with the little egg creatures, you made sure to avoid hovering your attention in his direction and ran upstairs after Angel, who had the room next to yours. While passing by Alastors room he had pointed a finger towards his open mouth and gagged, to which you could only respond with a forced chuckle. You waved goodnight to him as you opened your room door and found yourself falling onto the bed and passing out before your head even hit the pillow. Day one, over.

After a few weeks of Hell, you had settled into a comfortable routine. In the mornings you would join the others in the lounge for breakfast and coffee, you would all chat and discuss the next redemption plans before everyone would set off on their own plans for the day if Charlie and Vaggie didn’t have an exercise planned. You still had not left the safety of the building, knowing from your first day that it was strictly mean streets out there. Charlie had grabbed you a few more articles of clothing to complete your meagre wardrobe, and you were not picky in the slightest so you accepted your role as a doll she could dress up. She had picked a lot of modest, but cute A-line dresses, shorter skirts with turtlenecks, a suit - she had a clear preference of clothing seeing as your new items closely resembled her and Vaggie’s overall style. One thing you were grateful for was that the shoes she chose you didn’t require you to wear socks. Like your arms, your legs were black from the end of your limbs until your joint, where the black faded after it passed the knee. So it always looked like you were wearing little stockings. In your time in Hell getting comfortable in your new skin you had also discovered a scattering of black and white freckles on your shoulders and upper arms. You found yourself to be one of the luckier sinners, because your feet were still feet. Many souls like yours had come to hell with hooved feet, but you received a tail instead, which was not quite as common.

Angel had been your link to the world outside, he was constantly on his phone and for some lucky reason the underworld had a similar system of communication like earth. Cell phones, social media, advertisements, etc. It was truly not a far cry from what you knew. He had given you an older phone of his to use, the hotel members being the only contacts in your phone (minus Nifty & Alastor, for which you were grateful) and the two of you texted on the daily, him quickly becoming the closest member of the group to you. Even though Husk was the most recent being to die aside from you, Angel was the most willing to adapt to change. He effortlessly weaved through this complicated lifestyle with ease. He was confident, smart, and an all around great guy. If he would consider easing up on the partying and perhaps manage a way to distance himself from his industry he really would be an excellent candidate for redemption.

Alastor had still not spoken with you since your initial confrontation. Not that you were complaining but it was getting to the point that Angel had noticed his distance from you. It was if he was deliberately avoiding any chance that the two of you would end up in the same room. When asked about the radio, you found that even if you wanted to mention what you thought were unimportant details of it, your tongue snapped to the bottom of your mouth, preventing words from coming out. You had lamely said it was a motel item that got caught in your descent and you really had no idea why it followed you. Charlie had simply declared that possessions must occasionally follow a soul, but usually souls don’t fall in a space with decent people who won’t steal your stuff. It was simply considered an anomaly and after the first week thankfully people seemed to forget about it.

And while Alastor might have prevented you from mentioning anything to anyone about the symbols that were in the radio, it didn’t prevent you from researching the symbols. Charlie had a very extensive collection of books in the hotel library that you had been working your way through. Since you had no job and minimal expectations, you were sifting through the books quickly. And because Angel had left in a rush for a shoot earlier in the morning, your recent hobby started a few hours earlier than usual. You had made your way through a large portion of the ‘Historical Literature’ section before hearing a commotion outside of the library. With your ears being so sensitive it was easy for you to not make a sound while honing in on what was being said. It was more Husk and Angel bickering, but this one sounded worse than usual, ending with Angel storming out of the hotel and Vaggie immediately harping on Husk about his behaviour.

You shot a quick message to Angel by text, getting a read notification but no response. Oof, he was really in a mood. You sent another one telling him you were there when he was ready and a heart emoji, which resulted in a heart being sent in return. Husk had followed him shortly after so you weren’t too worried about how his night would go.

You had started sifting through the next category of books, which appeared to be something of a ‘Human Magic’ section. It appeared to start right at the beginning of humanity’s creation, which meant this was another hefty subject you’d have to filter through. You were only going shelf by shelf because you had started with ‘Runework’, ‘Salem Witchcraft’ and ‘Hell’s Overlords’, hoping to find the information right away with no luck.

Your phone vibrated and you absentmindedly opened the message from Angel, and your stomach dropped.

‘I need help.’

You tried calling and the phone went straight to voicemail, disconnecting as his mailbox was full. You shot out of the library and looked around. With Husk going after Angel, was he in trouble as well? Damn you wished Husk carried a phone. Vaggie and Charlie were also absent from the hotel or at least very very quiet with whatever they were doing.

You decided there was no time to hesitate and you went out the front door, running straight for the Vee’s district in an attempt to remember every bar that Angel had mentioned frequenting in the past. He was a famous porn star, surely someone had noticed the giant spider passing by them on the street. It wasn’t as if he was capable of being a wallflower after all.

You had started into a light jog as soon as you hit main street, the people out and about making you nervous. You were grateful that your new form allowed you to run without any difficulty, the benefits of being a deer hybrid being in your favour today. You ran quickly towards the bright district, making it there in a short period of time, and merging with a larger crowd entering. It seemed dangerous making it obvious that you were out on your own. You were due for trouble after all, it had been a fairly calm life since keeping your distance from him.

The group you had followed went straight into an arcade bar. Great. You were certain that Angel wasn’t here, games weren’t his thing but the giant windows peering into the establishment made it easy to recognize that he wasn’t present. You had made it a few blocks before trying to call Angel again, with it still failing. During your second attempt you noticed that there were a few people heading your way on the sidewalk so you shrunk over to the edge of the building to give them room to move past you.

But you found yourself bumping into one of them who deliberately stayed in your path, and when you looked at their face you came eye to eye with a wolf demon smiling and growling down at you. You glanced around you and noticed that you were surrounded by two additional wolves and your back pressed against the wall behind you in an attempt to create some space away from them.

“Hey baby,” The one you ran into started, “Eager for a good time? Can’t keep your hands off of me?” The other two laughed, one even licking his lips before his friend continued. ”You look cute, how about we find some privacy?” He stepped towards you with his arm reaching for yours and you took a step away, right into the other wolf. Shit. The three laughed at you shoving the one aside and walking backwards to try and make a gap, but they were advancing quickly. Panicking, you threw the only thing you had on you - the phone - with which the corner smacked one of them squarely in the eye, making him shout in pain. Another jumped at you and you quickly dodged his lunge by bracing a hand on his head and leaping over him to start into a sprint once your feet hit the ground.

Note for next time: Heels are super cute, but super terrible to run in, because they caught up to you quickly, despite your quick escape. One wolf immediately punched you in the face, causing your nose to have a minor explosion of blood shoot out of it, which made your brain rattle.

”You might just be cuter like this,” One guy said, pulling your arm so hard you lost your balance and was dragging behind him as the three took you into the closest alleyway. “We could have had a nice night, but you had to go and fuck it up. Now you’ll get what’s coming to ya.” The one who held your arm roughly lifted you back to your feet and slammed you against the brick wall, making your head hit it just as hard. It was getting hard to think about a way out, your head was so foggy.

“Hey this bitch was texting Angel Dust!” One of the guys said, probably the one who had her phone thrown to his face. “She’s got to be a dirty slut! Have you seen any of his shit? It’s messed up man, we got ourselves a wild one here!” He cheered, whooping with the other demon who wasn’t holding you up. You made eye contact with your captor and he was growling low with a sinister smile on his face.

”Lucky us! Prime meat for free? Baby I’ll make your night better than anyone you’ve ever been w-“ his words were cut off, as his neck suddenly had a black tentacle wrapped around it, squeezing so hard his eyeballs were protruding out of their sockets. You fell to your ass, legs bent on the ground, hands trying to steady your swaying head. Looking over you saw the bodies of the other wolves, already separated into a few pieces, some appendages being swung around by the tentacles.

Looking forward you noticed who came to your rescue. It was Alastor, and he was pissed. Thankfully not at you, although you certainly had a concussion so there was a chance you were misinterpreting the situation. He said something to your assaulter about how to be a gentleman and ‘perhaps he would discover how to treat a lady in his next life’ before all the tentacles had wrapped about his and his friends bodies before disappearing with them into the ground. Your surroundings now quiet except for your heavy breathing, you watched Alastor take even, steady steps towards your fallen form.

“Well now! Haven’t you got yourself in a bit of trouble, hmm?” He taunted, entirely too chipper. Closing one eye and squinting the other to avoid seeing double, you noticed that he had blood on his face, under his nose, which you apparently pointed at, because he raised a brow and questioned it.

”Blood on your face.” You said with a bit of a slur, “S’little bit here.” And pointed to your own nose, fingers getting coated in blood. His hand reached up to his face and he touched his nose, only for blood to begin to flow from it. Shocked, he grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at it while he frowned at you before offering a second handkerchief to you. You shook your head, well tried too, and said something about being sleepy.

”Now, now, sleeping after a head injury is most certainly bad for you!” He chirped, putting his handkerchiefs away now that his face was clean. He leaned over to inspect your injuries, taking note of your head and nose specifically.

“Care to explain why you are wandering about on your own my dear? Itching for a second death?” He asked in a condescending manner. “Quite foolish of you really, to come without an escort - why you are quite lucky I happened to be around, darling!” He waved his hand about in a dramatic fashion before offering his hand to you, lifting you up. On your feet you dusted off what rubble had got on you, found your phone settled on the ground a few feet away and began to try and walk to it only to find that your balance was way off course. With one hand holding your head you reached for your phone, noticing new texts from Angel.

‘with my script later, are you free?’ Followed with: ‘Sorry babe! That first message didn’t send all the way, love ya xoxo’

For fuck sakes.

”Hmm?”Alastor hummed, looking down at your phone, reading the messages. “Oh-ho! So you were on a rescue mission were you? Noble indeed, considering your naivety and lack of knowledge of any part of Hell outside the hotel.”

You shot him a nasty glance. “I was worried.” Augh. Pathetic response.

“Very stupid thing to do, really.” Picking at one of his claws, attempting to be indifferent. “Very stupid indeed, especially since I have just had an unfortunate revelation.”

”Hmm?” You responded, still trying to get the throbbing in your head to settle down. “I know it was stupid,” agreeing with him made him in a good mood, Husk had told you, “But I had to try and find him, I don’t think he has many people to depend on.”

He gave you a look of contempt. He really did not care for anyone other than himself.

“You and I need to have a chat darling.” His eyes narrowed as he wrapped a hand around your upper arm, painfully putting pressure on a new bruise from the previous baddie. He dragged you alongside him, holding you so close to him you could feel the heat of his body through his jacket. “Say nothing until we make it to the hotel my dear, there are always eyes on us out here.” He gestured with his microphone cane in a wide sweep, indicating literally every where could be listening. You obeyed him by not responding which kept Alastor in a good mood during the walk home.

However upon arrival, he dragged your sorry ass through his shadow travel again, but thankfully to your room. More specifically your bathroom. He gestured for you to sit down, which you did on the edge of the tub, and watched him gather a pathetic amount of first aid. He removed his coat and rolled up the sleeve of his right hand, almost all the way up to the elbow. You noticed his arms were covered in scars that stood out from his black skin that was similar to your own pattern, except fading away before the joint of his elbow. The scars were all thin and bright white, a stark contrast. However what he was looking at intensely was a large bruise that had formed right below his elbow, right above the fade of his black skin. He then turned to you and grabbed your right arm and lined up the two. You had a much darker bruise that matched his. Weird. Didn’t Pentious say that no one had landed a hit on Alastor before? And that a small piece of coat was all he himself had managed to get? So how did those stupid wolves get up on him? And when?

The room had a massive chill fill the air as Alastor processed what he was thinking. What was he thinking? Could you talk now? Should you? You should at least thank him.

”Thank-“

”Quiet.” he interrupted. No filter on his voice for that one. Just a deep, sharp command.

Your lips tightened into a thin line and you nodded despite your killer headache. He released your arm and went back to the counter. With his jacket off you could see that he, too, had a small deer tail on his backside. It was red and black, much like his hair. It was probably the only cute thing about him, and you’d die before you said that out loud. Alastor came back to you with a warm wet cloth and some antiseptic. He instructed you to wipe up the blood on your face and he wiped a few of your more surface scrapes that were on your legs and knees. You narrowed your own eyes, why on earth was he doing this? It was as if he was trying to memorise every little injury you had received. Once you felt as if you had removed all the dried blood from your face you braced both hands on either side of you as you watched Alastor tend to your wounds. When he was quiet and focused he wasn’t too terribly frightening, but in the way that a poisonous snake might be. Obviously dangerous, possibly venomous, and could certainly kill you given the chance, but still captivating to watch. He released a huff of air when he was done checking out your head, just a bump he said, he moved to your nose. He had gently grasped your chin and moved your head from side to side, where he traced some of the worst damage with his free hand.

“Not broken, my dear, but guaranteed to have a couple of black eyes by this evening.” He announced. “You shall not be leaving your room until you have healed or found a way to cover those up.” Man was he bossy. He put his coat back on and leaned into the mirror to check his own face before tapping the floor with his microphone for your attention. His shadows enveloped the small room, and it was as if you were sitting on a void of nothingness, large symbols hovering around you in green. And just as quick as the dark arrived it disappeared with another few taps from his cane.

“Preventative measures darling, we cannot have anyone listening in on us.”

”Uhh…okay? Okay. Why?” Why are you so creepy?

”Creepy keeps the fear alive darling.” Well shit, that last bit was said out loud. Stupid concussion. “I think it is time to discuss the Radio, because you have proven to be a thorn in my side that I cannot simply be rid of with my usual methods.”

You nod along with each word slowly and focus on the last bit - the usual methods? “Do you mean eating people?” the statement escaped your loose lips, feeling drunk from the head injury .

His smile turned even more wicked if that was a possibility, eyes and teeth glowing like dim lamps. “Among other things…” He trailed off, closing his eyes and being sure to cock his head up in a very proud manner. He seemed pleased you had heard some of the more…graphic methods of dealing with other demons. His cool composure only lasted a moment. Once he opened his eyes, his mood was icy, eyes sharp and narrowed as he came a little closer without overwhelming your personal space and spoke bluntly, radio voice effect gone, “It appears as if you have linked our souls into an agreement that even I am unable to break.” He stared into your eyes, his fury palpable. You frowned in response out of both confusion and fear.

“What do you mean? I don’t even know who you are! I still don’t know who you are, how can we possibly be…like that…?” You ended lamely, hands wildly gesturing between the two of you. He had surely made a mistake, because this sort of thing just didn’t happen. Besides, you had only met him after death, so there was simply a misunderstanding. You shook your head in denial, causing blood to leak out of one nostril.

“A-hem” He said, getting your focus back on his face. His nose, same nostril, now had a slow trail of blood trickling out. He stood straight and a handkerchief appeared in his hand to dap his face while you grabbed some bathroom tissue off the roll beside you. It was hard to meet his eyes as it was obvious he was upset with you.

Attempting to end the silence, you spoke up. “Did you get hit as well? Your nose has been bleeding just as much as mine.” His eyebrows arched so high it was lost within his hairline, the stretched skin the only visual evidence of his reaction.

“No. I do not get hit.” He scoffed. “This is a result of the damage you incurred today my dear.”

Your lack of reaction, compounded with the cold molasses that was currently your brain, made him sigh and begin his explanation.

”The Radio was mine as a young man. It never worked quite right, so I was constantly repairing it. But this was before my Radio Show! So fixing instead of purchasing new was all I could do at the time. I would have kept it forever if I could, it was one of the only things my mother had given me on her own.” He had started picking under his middle finger with his thumbnail, trying to appear indifferent to his admission. You caught on to the way his voice softened when his mother was mentioned but you weren’t inviting death over tonight so you kept a straight face.

“Just before my career took off, I had been dabbling with some other gifts that came from my mothers side. Her ancestors were practitioners of creole magic, something that I am familiar with, but not proficient enough to use in my day to day.” Eyes back to you, he continued on. “The symbols in the radio were a deal I made with it, naively, early on in my practising. I was certain I would become a radio star, first of my kind, and well, sometimes we do questionable things while drinking.” He rolled his eyes at that, resulting in a smirk on your own face. “A friend and I had quite a night out! She knocked my radio over and the back panel came off. I cut myself on a stray piece of metal inside, cutting myself quite deep-“ He opened his palm with the scar to stare into it. “Beyond my better judgement I wrote, in my own blood, symbols I was not familiar with and apparently created unfinished magic that was only completed and sealed when your blood went over my runes.”

Still confused, you gave him a look that caused him to roll his eyes at you, as if you were the malicious force at play here and continued.

”What was a foolish act of an immature man at the end of a bottle of rye has now tethered our souls together. Akin to,” he shuddered, “Soulmates. However where fate might have chosen different paths for our souls, we have become united through dark magic powered behind the power I hold now, which is significantly stronger than when I wrote the symbols within the machine.” His smile was tight, still present as always, but certainly not the smile of a happy man.

But wait - “I don’t have any magic though, so why…?” You started, trying to steer the conversation away from the dreaded admission of the demon.

“Your being has little to no effect, my dear. The deal I was attempting to make with the Radio relied on magic supplied by me and me alone, as one cannot make a Radio respond to such a request.” One hand came up to his temple to put pressure on it, like you would do when you had a headache. “Foolish, foolish man.” He said, quickly and quietly, your ears picking it up as if he made no attempt to remain unheard. “And because the deal was made in blood, with the same instrument, on the same hand, even - I suspect that blood is our tether. Some link love or minds, so they can reciprocate feelings and thoughts to a person of their choice. And due to my being well, dead, the only thing we were able to link was our blood. In layman’s terms, darling - you bleed, I bleed. Your blood rushes to an impact, my blood rushes to an impact. You blush and, augh, etc. Do you understand?”

”Yes. But that honestly sounds ridiculous, and would be hard to believe if I didn’t die and land in hell a month ago. But I will admit, my knowledge of creole magic is absolutely zero, straight up nothing, so this was honestly just an unfortunate…mistake, that we can possibly undo?” You said with hesitancy at the end, but Alastor shook his head before you were even done speaking.

“I have looked into it extensively, and I am afraid it is not something we can separate - not even with Death. You die, I die. And I have far too much unfinished business to bow down to death just yet.”

“Oh, super duper!” You replied, chipper like Charlie. His face dropped at your tone, frowning down at you.

“No, not ‘super duper’, finger quotes around his snarky repetition, “Quite terrible for me actually. You have become my greatest liability. I am not worried I will get either of us in any kind of danger, but as we have both learned this evening, you are incapable of even walking on your own without getting into trouble.” His microphone now bracing both of his hands in front of his body.

Well excuse you for being a basic, simple individual without knowing everything about everything in the whole wide world, and also not knowing anything about the thing that Alastor told you not to talk about? This guy was an asshole on so many levels that you missed when he just left you alone.

”Well, I’m sorry that you’re stuck with me, because it was totally my plan for this to happen.” Giving him a deadpanned look that made him smile tighter out of…well, you didn’t really know. He wasn’t that easy to read when he wasn’t angry.

“That is quite enough funny business for today, I am afraid that your galavanting around Hell will stop immediately. You will stay within the confines of this hotel. You will stay in your room during the extermination-“

”This is bullshit! I am a free person to do whatever! You can’t control me like this-“ He was growing again, filling the small bathroom with his demonic figure.

“Foolish girl, I can do whatever I want with you!” He growled, tendrils coming up from the shadowed ground to wrap themselves around your calves and wrists, another wrapping itself in your hair to control your head, forcing you to look right into his demonic eyes.

“I have been kind, considering your unfortunate and pathetic self has been on my nerves since the moment you arrived. You are a senseless creature who-“ he choked on his words, pausing as his smile lowered. You were breathing much harder now, and suddenly it made sense why you were so unbothered by the BDSM club Angel brought the group to. This was turning you on, being helpless and controlled by such a force like Alastor. Still staring at each other face to face, you could see a blush start to spread like a brand across his cheeks. His breath began to match yours, and you shifted your ass that was still seated on the bathtub edge in a vain attempt to get comfortable. In record time you had become wet from the situation. You were turned on, girl, and he was feeling the same effects. Wherever the blood rushes was no lie.

You started to laugh at the situation, manically as you realised what had happened. He was still frozen in place, clearly unsure of how to proceed. He needed to teach you a lesson, to know who was in charge of this unwanted union but obviously this was doing nothing but cause your blood to rush to your cunt, because he felt a pressure almost unfamiliar to him below his navel. He was disgusted that you were causing this reaction from him, he was an elevated creature with no need for carnal pleasures. And now you were laughing at him.

The tendrils released from your person so quickly that the movement caused you to slide back into the tub, hitting the bottom of the tub with your ass, but catching the sides with your elbows to prevent your head from smacking backwards. Alastor had returned to his usual form, blush still visible on his cheeks but definitely going away as you yourself had woken from your horny stupor.

“I believe I have made my point. Perhaps I am being far too protective of you, we will have to discuss a proper method to exist in spite of our situation. I expect reasonable suggestions when we revisit the topic. For now I will leave you be, as your injuries have been attended to and have already begun the healing process. Does all of this sound reasonable to you?” Wow, how quickly the tables have turned, being turned on was obviously not something he had thought of dealing with, and it was easy to get you going. Certainly more so now that you had so much more peach fuzz on your skin as a deer hybrid - you were extra sensitive to any touch. Perhaps that was why Alastor disliked physical touch as well? Your smiling of this thought clearly made him wary of you at this moment. He repeated his last sentence again.

”Yes, Alastor, it sounds reasonable. We can talk about a game plan later, and I promise I will try to make it as easy as possible.”

He nodded at your answer and narrowed his eyes with a slight smile, “Good Girl.”

You felt the shocking return of arousal at those words and released a very small “oh!”, and he sank into his shadows immediately, leaving you alone in the bathtub bruised and turned on.

Well, turns out you had a praise kink too.

***********

First three parts is over 11K word wise. I can’t stop writing, I’m at 32k now, I just keep plugging away editing/writing/thinking. I’m so grateful for all the likes and comments.

@queermaxwooo @drawings-by-meh @sirens-and-moonflowers @looking1016

[zorosdimples]

AFLOAT

pairing ༄ zoro x gn!reader

warnings ༄ this fic is slightly suggestive, but it’s more fluffy than anything else. reader has an unspecified devil fruit power, and thus cannot swim. reader wears a bra and underwear, and is implied to be shorter than zoro, but no gendered terms are used.

word count ༄ 1365

notes ༄ my birthday fic for zoro! this has been in my drafts since july. it’s disgustingly self-indulgent and filled with emotion; i hope you all enjoy regardless <3 tagging my beloved wife @redskyvenus!

sitting on the edge of a rickety, weather-worn dock, you dip your legs in crystalline water and try to keep your focus on the depths: on the flora that roots at the bottom and reaches to the sun, on the schools of tiny fish that flit around the underwater jungle.

but your gaze keeps drifting to the man swimming laps around the spring, admiring how gracefully his strong body cuts through the water. the midafternoon sun hotly caresses your skin and presses into you like a greedy lover. you lean back on your palms and tilt your head up to soak in the barefaced sky; its cerulean is only obscured by the dense foliage that surrounds the secluded watering hole.

you’re startled from your thoughts when you feel something tickle your toes. with a strangled yelp you scramble back from the edge of the dock. as you steady your breathing and wonder what the hell just touched you, a familiar mint green head bobs up to the surface.

“asshole!” you shout, slamming your hands down on the wooden planks for emphasis.

zoro laughs heartily as he hoists himself out of the water and plops down next to you. he ruffles his hair, sending sparkling droplets flying in the sunlight, landing on your sweat-damp flesh. your eyes flicker to the rivulets that ebb and flow down his naked torso into a little pool beneath him.

remembering your irritation, you half-heartedly punch his tricep and scold him. “you scared me so badly i could’ve fallen into the spring and drowned. and then you have the audacity to laugh at me?”

zoro snorts at your dramatics, but glosses over them, nudging you with his elbow. “i’d never let you drown and y’know it.”

he’s right, of course. zoro is certainly strong enough to haul you out of the water. you’ve watched him save countless people—friend and foe alike—from a premature grave. you put your feet back in the spring, playfully kicking the swordsman’s leg in the process. the chilled water cools your body but isn’t enough to stop the perspiration that beads at your hairline.

“i miss swimming,” you state, thinking aloud more than speaking to the man beside you. you can’t see the way his lone eye maps your profile as though he will forget the cant of your nose and the curve of your lip once this moment passes.

silence hangs comfortably for several breaths before zoro turns to you with a sly—or is it sinister?—smile. “let me take you swimming.”

you blink at him a few times, face scrunching into the signature scowl he secretly adores.

“did you hit your head on a rock or something? i’m a devil fruit user. it’s physically impossible for me to stay afloat in water, let alone swim in it.”

his grey eye shines with mirth. “just listen for a sec, will ya? no need for insults,” he chuckles as he rises to his feet and offers you a hand.

you appraise him with a quirked brow. you will yourself to push away thoughts of how beautiful he looks bathed in sunbeams and how you wish you could chart the planes of his body the same way you are charting the grand line. how you would see and count and kiss every scar etched in his flesh and tell him how happy you are that he’s alive.

zoro keeps his expectant stance, and you focus on his outstretched hand, just as sinewy and scarred as the rest of his body.

“d’you trust me?” he inquires. his eye searches yours for truth.

“more than i trust myself,” you answer without thinking. the admission is perhaps too honest, but you catch his dimpled smile and feel a little lightheaded as you grasp his rough palm and stand up beside him.

zoro leads you off the dock and around the rocky curves and edges of the spring to an ideal point of entry. you reach a stretch that resembles a beach: a sandy shore that slopes into the water. he starts walking into the spring expecting you to follow, but when you hesitate, he pauses and spins to face you.

“somethin’ the matter?” he asks.

you wordlessly glance down at your jean shorts and white top. “ah,” he says with a curt nod. “you should just wear your swimsuit. don’t wanna get all bogged down with wet clothes.”

you absentmindedly fiddle with the edge of your shirt and clear your throat. “i don’t have a swimsuit, zoro.”

“huh? nami’s always got one on. you’re tellin’ me you don’t?”

you rub your temples. “oh my god, zoro. nami can swim—i can’t. why would i ever wear a swimsuit when i have no intention of swimming?”

after a few tense beats, he tries again. “so—”

you interrupt him with a huff. “just turn around and wait a second. please?”

he obeys without question and you sigh. before you second guess yourself, you undress, leaving your shirt and shorts in a tidy pile on the sand. you’re left in your bra and underwear. they’re nothing special: just a matching cotton set that has seen better days. they are well-worn and comfortable—perfect for the sticky summer heat. you muster all your courage and start walking toward the shoreline.

it’s not a big deal.

it’s just like a swimsuit.

he won’t care.

it’s not as though he likes me.

zoro can hear your tentative steps, faint splashes in the water behind him. he doesn’t turn to you since you never told him he could. once you reach his side, he angles his head so he can look you directly in the eyes, saying, “we’re gonna walk until the water is up to your shoulders. is that okay?” if you saw a rosy flush on his cheeks, you could have easily mistaken it for the heat or too much sun.

“yeah,” you breathe.

the two of you walk in silence. you feel fine until the water hits your waist, then reality sets in. you haven’t been in a body of water since you were a young child. icy panic surges through your veins when you feel a fish graze one of your legs; you instinctively grab zoro’s tanned forearm to steady yourself.

“easy there, s’okay,” he soothes, stopping so you can get your bearings. when you don’t let go of him, he adds a simple “c’mere,” securing a strong arm around your waist. the water is cold, but his touch burns you.

it’s a strange sensation, delving deeper in the clear water, the surface lapping at your shoulders. it’s both nostalgic and new, familiar and foreign, frightening and exciting—even more so with the man holding you.

“see? you’re a pro,” zoro teases, calloused fingers gentle as he squeezes your waist.

usually, you would bite back, but you’re transfixed by the feeling. you attempt to turn and face zoro, but stumble in the process, unused to how clunky your legs feel underwater. he wraps both his arms around your waist, anchoring you to him.

it dawns on you how close you two are: your bodies pressed together, a thin layer of sodden fabric separating your flesh from his. the swordsman hopes you can’t feel how fast his heart is beating. (you would if you weren’t so focused on your own heartbeat.)

you peer up at zoro, hands splayed on his firm pecs, and for the first time, you see unguarded longing in his steel gaze. it’s awkward, the way neither of you can bring yourselves to speak. but leaning into one another feels right.

uncharacteristically, zoro breaks the quiet. his voice is rich—husky—as he asks, “you okay?”

boldly, you link your hands around his sun-warmed neck, thrilled when he doesn’t pull away, but instead sinks into your touch. you stand on your tiptoes, inching closer to him. zoro’s head hangs low, chapped lips parted, breath heavy. he’s so close that you can see him and smell him and hear him and feel him, but you want to taste him, too.

“let’s just stay like this,” you murmur.

and in the middle of the chilly spring, two burning souls stay afloat, zoro’s lips moving, melting, blurring against your own.

[meanbossart]

ASK COMPILATION: Miscellaneous questions about lore and art!

Tried to address some of the shorter ones, thank you everyone as always for the endless patience as I struggle to keep up with my inbox ☠️

On the upside, found a few that went into my "future art prompt" folder ;)

As someone who prefers animals who roam and largely take care of themselves, only coming around to ask for a pet, a cuddle or a treat when they very well want to - cats would be perfect for him.

Thank you! I'm glad you like her. There's plenty of Orin in the horizon, it's unfortunate that I can only draw so fast 😂

Lacking

Thank you so much for giving it a shot! And I very much understand that personal policy LOL

Hopefully between life, art, and plain occasional laziness we will both live long enough to see it finished 😂 at least the bulk of it is set!

And I'm glad you enjoy my writing! Always a pleasant surprise to hear that considering that I have no idea what I'm doing. But I do constantly try to improve it!

[MORE BELOW THE CUT]

Hmm I hadn't considered it, but you never know!

We all know the answer to that already

I really don't think there is DU drow without the DU part. It's a pivotal aspect of his development not only biologically but in regards to all that happened in his life that eventually led him to be the way he is 🤷‍♂️ Like, his name itself is kind of a joke, he really isn't much of a drow to begin with!

His size, features, strength, it's all due to being a Bhaalspawn, and not a matter of winning (or losing, depending of how you look at it) the genetic lottery. Without it, he'd just be some forgettable Jaluk.

Thank you both so much!

I'm surprised about how often I get this question. He does, but he doesn't react to fear conventionally, he just buries it, powers through, or fuels his anger with it. This ask isn't about fears, but I think it applies better here than any summary or bullet-list I could type out. Feel free to draw your own conclusions!

Thank you so much!! And I'm also sorry to anyone who's had a similar experience, because I've certainly gotten a couple of messages about it by now 😂😂😂 listen If I could make him real I would!

It depends! Usually, anywhere between 1-3 days.

(Right now I'm in the process of dropping the smokes and because of that it's become more of a 5 day process, though. Send aid in the form of nicotine patches I Beg)

What do you mean, don't YOU dress like that???

Astarion is far more Bowie to me, personally, but something to think about 🤔

The only sword I've drawn him wielding more than once is the Balduran's Giantslayer from the game itself! Otherwise, they've just been random designs I made up on the spot.

Hello!

I'm pretty positive that by the time Minthara was invited up to be enthralled, the Dark Urge had already been shipped off under Kressa's care - but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Either way, I don't really read too much into Minthara's and Orin's "relationship" myself, seems like a pretty clear cut victim/tormentor situation, which Orin and DU drow had plenty of prior.

[psychopomp-namine]

Ahhhhh your theory about how Vein died is sooooooooooo fucking real. Like I've seen people talk about how Lu Guang might have a secret power? But I feel like that's not the case cuz then we might have seen it play out in S1 and S2. Lg would surely would have used it in the fight with Qian Jin.

for context, anon is talking about this post where I theorize how vein "died." I go into it in more detail there, but the tl;dr version of it is: no lu guang did not kill him vein directly. he just delayed vein from entering the clinic early, thus creating a butterfly effect (hence his whole speech about it) that led to wang qing being awake when vein tries to leave with the notebook, thus creating an opportunity for her to "kill" vein which she wouldn't have had originally. but liu xiao interrupted this chain of events and that's why vein is alive using the faking death ability.

I am linking the reblog version here because other people have added their own thoughts since the creation of the post. I'm not sure if anon has seen it or just the original post, because in my original post I posit that liu xiao has the faking death ability. but after seeing other people's thoughts, I am now more leaning to the idea that wang qing has the faking death ability or perhaps, that a combination of wang qing and liu xiao is what made the "heart attack but fake death" happen. perhaps (unintentionally) they created a power combo-ing effect similar to how lu guang and cheng xiaoshi can create a mind link across time when combining their powers, or how li tianchen can possess people across space by proxy of li tianxi.

a power combo that works across "death" would be interesting, though this is merely speculative at this point. it would certainly provide another perspective to why they're paired up in the ed.

to now address anon: yeah, exactly. even if the addition of non-photo based powers is a recent change in writing direction (that they may not have had foresight on during the writing of previous seasons), it still would be too much of a drastic change for lu guang to be hiding another ability.

as I said in the post, it is unfortunate that we have to rely on information outside of the show to make sense of it, but yingdu really does make more sense when you've seen the recent interview with director li. in particular, it is heavily implied that liu xiao has more than one ability, and the process of gaining an ability (aside from inheritance from parents) is through death or stealing it from others.

while I am a believer in the idea that lu guang is willing to do morally questionable things for cheng xiaoshi, I don't think he would've had an opportunity to just get a new ability so soon after he just got the diving ability from cheng xiaoshi. on the flip side, if he always had multiple abilities since he was a kid, it would be bad writing lmao because then why has he never used it until now? especially when he's been timelooping for who knows how long to avoid a death node. I know link click is possibly retconning some details (2018 is now 2019, they changed the plans for red eyes, etc etc) but I don't think this would be a retcon they'd do because it would change too much of lu guang's character.

I am going to use this ask as a jumping off point to talk about yingdu's storytelling style, and how we should take this into account when analyzing this season. putting this under the cut now since this gets long and is kinda just a tangent now to the ask itself, though it does circle back to lu guang's role in vein's "death" in the end.

part of the reason vein's death is confusing is definitely because of the animation of lu guang puppeteering wang qing. I can totally see how people would come to the conclusion that lu guang was controlling her somehow. but we have to remember that yingdu is not like S1 and S2, for multiple reasons. one, it's a shorter season meant to introduce plot hooks, not plot; it's a setup for S3. two, it's a change in perspective from cheng xiaoshi's more grounded reality to lu guang who has been timelooping for forever. three, it was animated by a different studio than studio lan. fourth, it aims to provide a different story, and the storytelling style reflects that.

whereas S1 and S2 has a storytelling style that focused more on plot details and building up tension; yingdu focused more on relationships and emotions. it heavily uses visual metaphors in its storytelling compared to previous seasons.

in a way, although I have qualms about yingdu's writing, I do think visual metaphors is a valid solution to the problem of, "we only have six episodes to establish new plots and characters and motivations. how do we convey information efficiently in that amount of time without compromising artistry?"

I will mention one metaphor in detail that will be relevant for the lu guang discussion later. one example is glasses as a perception metaphor. this meta was written in YE5, and YE6 continues the metaphor as well because we see lu guang wear clear glasses for the first time, symbolizing that he is no longer stuck in his rose-tinted glasses era of looking into the past, and has decided to look into the future, solidified by his decision to remove vein from the situation and also because he reveals later that this is the last time he can loop.

there are, of course, more examples. idk if I have links for existing meta on this, but we have hands as a metaphor for relationships (hand holding, handshakes, fist bumps, etc) and the power balance of each relationship (with regards to secrets, deals, etc). we have various color theories floating around. we have theater/cinema and chess as metaphors for everyone's narrative roles. lu guang's imaginary clock as a metaphor for how he thinks the timeline should go, and how it's prevented from running by red strings forming the word BRIDON. we even see the clock fall apart in one of the later episodes (I forget which one atm). hell I could write a whole meta on liu xiao's tetris game as a metaphor for how he sees the "game" he's playing and the role xia fei plays into all of it.

side note: I think it's incredibly valid for people to feel that yingdu did not have enough space to properly establish characters, and I feel the same way too. but at the same time, I think a lot of characterization also gets missed in yingdu because it's a season that loves its metaphors and encodes character motivations through it instead of just showing it to us. I have conflicting feelings about this, but ultimately, they only had 6 episodes to tell a story, and I think that's something we should always keep in mind when managing expectations.

circling back to vein's "death" and lu guang's role in it... visual metaphors are gonna be confusing if people don't know this is what yingdu's storyelling heavily uses. I don't think we should be reading yingdu the same way we did S1/S2.

someone could watch lu guang puppetering wang qing and think, "oh he's using her to kill vein directly" but if we stick to yingdu's storytelling style, it is more likely a metaphor for him learning to manipulate the butterfly effect for his purposes (again also symbolized by the glasses metaphor, since he wears clear glasses in the same episode)

scenes should also not be taken out of context. there is a reason he made a whole speech about the butterfly effect first. a small change (delaying vein) results in a big change (killing vein). if lu guang was controlling wang qing or whatever, that is not a small change. that is not a butterfly effect. we literally had a butterfly land on lu guang's shoulder after he made this speech to vein. the point was to create a butterfly effect that would lead to a situation where vein dies.

and for my final tangent: this sets us up perfectly for S3 because I believe lu guang and liu xiao are supposed to be narrative foils.

they both have expressed wanting control over the timelines. liu xiao wants "to make uncertainties into certainties" (whatever this means) and lu guang wants "to make certainties (cheng xiaoshi's death node) uncertain." but as of S1 and S2, lu guang was not yet in a position to properly rival liu xiao over this theming, because we know he's been timelooping and failing over and over to save cheng xiaoshi, while liu xiao has been successfully manipulating people into doing things for him (getting li tianchen to retrieve liu min's phone for him; baiting cheng xiaoshi to go to bridon so he can use him to bait wang qing to revealing where she hid the location of cheng weimin's notebook so vein can steal it).

now, lu guang has shown some semblance of control. and we have seen the effects of it. cheng xiaoshi is still alive and well in a post-S2 post-yingdu timeline.

I mentioned this way back in YE2, but there's also a distinct change in the way we're moving from "closed loops" to "butterfly effects" as a theme in yingdu. yingdu has many objectives it wanted to do as a season, but the main one was lu guang learning to manipulate the timelines through creating a butterfly effect. in keeping with this theme and objective, it just does not make sense for him to kill vein by somehow directly controlling wang qing.

[twit-ter-pa-ted]

Yes, Ma'am. – Final Part

pairing: Vinsmoke Sanji x afab!Reader

warnings: flirting, kissing :O, swearing, reader lore, mentioned events from the anime/manga

overview: 5 times you accidentally run into sanji, and 1 time you plan to meet; or – 5 times you rejected Sanji and 1 time you finally gave in.

a/n: this has about an 8.3k word count! ⊙⁠.⁠☉ i tried revising and making it shorter and wound up with more words instead,, anyways, eat up! <3

p.s. requests are open for anyone interested!

part one — part two

You drank your fifth bottle of beer despite not having enough Berries for even one. It had been a bad day – the worst, you think. It had been less than a year since you started as a sea merchant, and here you were now, not a Berry to your name thanks to a band of thieves. Thankfully, they left most of your products alone, only grabbing what they needed.

You tugged your father's jacket closer to your body and pulled out the stack of wanted posters that a News Coo bird had dropped off for the town you docked at. Most were new faces, some were pirates whose bounties increased.

You had asked for another bottle when the bartender questioned how you would be paying for it. You didn't answer. He rolled his eyes and muttered as he moved onto the customer a few seats away from you.

As you looked through the bounties, someone's booming voice chuckled as they entered the pub.

"Hey! Bartender, give us your finest liquor. Today is a day for celebration!" You turned to glare at the cause of loud noise when you realized at first glance that he looked familiar. You quickly whipped your head around to look at the posters again, shuffling through them.

Just as you found the one of the pirate that had just entered the pub, someone snatched it from your hand.

You turned to find that you had caught the attention of the pirate, Nepto Edda.

You saw the poster long enough to know his bounty would be more than enough to pay for your bill and get you back up on your feet.

"Looky here, men!" He chuckled again, showing his wanted poster to his crew with pride. They laughed as well.

Edda turned to you. "What are you planning to do with these, girl? You shouldn't be messing in these parts of the turf."

He slapped the posters off your hand, causing them to scatter on the pub floor. The bartender was too intimidated to reprimand the pirate.

Despite your recent loss, you held your chin high. You turned to completely face him.

"I'd love to hear you say that after I turn you in to the Navy."

He laughed before he swung to hit you, which you quickly avoided, sliding off your seat in the process. One of his crew was about to reach for his sword when you kicked his hand down and took the sword for yourself.

He and his crew kept his distance as you held the sword between you and them. At the last second, you sensed someone behind you. Before you could turn around, their blade was to your neck, their arm around your waist to keep you in place.

You clenched your jaw hearing their captain chuckle.

Your arms quickly fell to your side as a plan came to mind, though you were surprised to find the other person at the bar jumping into action.

He had taken one of his three swords and sliced at one of Edda's crew, catching everyone's attention.

You took the chance to slice the person behind you by their leg, the blade barely grazing your neck as you got away and sliced towards their chest.

The rest of the fight was a blur with the rush of adrenaline, though you had taken out your hidden gun at some point and pointed it to Edda.

His chuckle was nervous now, unlike how it was full and confident just moments ago. Who wouldn't be nervous, being at the mercy of a gun and a katana?

"Hey, back off, he's mine." The man that had jumped into the fight was first to speak.

You let out a surprised exclamation. The man certainly had the audacity. "How is he yours? I found him out and did the hard work, I didn't even need your help."

"I've done more damage to him than you have. It's only right that I'm the one to take him in," the green-haired man justified.

"Bullshit. I don't abide by that logic."

"Well, that's not my problem."

"I need to pay for my bill," you reasoned.

"So do I," he retorted.

"Please, it's both on the house if you just leave," the bartender, already sick of the bickering, pleaded with the pair of you.

Still, you continued even as the bartender spoke. "You wanna take this outside?" You said in a flurry of anger.

"Fine." He started to head out. You watched as he did, hitting Edda's temple with the butt of your gun to knock him out. You tied the pirate up before you quickly followed.

You settled right outside the pub, readying yourselves for a duel.

You recognized from his Three-Swords Style that you had challenged Roronoa Zoro, the notorious pirate hunter. Still, you did not prevail, taking out your own sword and placing your hand on your gun.

Before taking on the business in the seas, you had mastered the skill of swordsmanship and marksmanship, at least to your own extent.

"No guns," he announced.

"What, afraid you'll be at a disadvantage?" You knew he could most likely deflect bullets just as you could, but that couldn't stop you from taunting him.

"Fine. Do whatever you'd like."

Still, you obeyed, crouching and throwing your gun to the side. You instead equipped brass knuckles onto your now free hand.

You were now both ready, observing each other, waiting to see who would be first to offend and defend. Getting impatient, Zoro charged towards you.

His right hand rose to strike, which you quickly blocked with your sword. He pressured his sword forward, grunting when you didn't even seem to struggle upon keeping his blade away from yourself. You deflected it and stepped away as the blade swiped downwards, leaving a trail of dust as its trajectory hit the ground.

Your duel had caught the attention of a crowd, though it slowly depleted in size as your fight went on for hours.

Though you were exhausted, sweating and panting, the fight went on. You had both grazed each other multiple times, your knuckles even inflicting bruises onto his face, but neither cut a wound too deep into each other. The pub was closing and the moon had long risen by the time the bartender from earlier called your fight off, announcing it as a draw.

Reluctantly, and because the bartender had run his mouth off with scoldings, you split the bounty and parted ways. You never saw him again after that, and you were glad you never did.

* * * * * *

Once is an accident.

After leaving Baratie, you pulled out your map to head for Cocoyashi Village. It was under Arlong's reign but he allowed you to make trades with the village. As long as he got a share of your profit, of course.

You arrived every midweek to trade with the fruits they bore, most specifically the tangerines one villager named Nojiko grew. In return, you would give a few of the fruits and vegetables you traded from other villages. You would also give a few Berries to Genzo to help them pay for their monthly tributes.

For sailors and pirates of the sea, at least those with common sense, fruits and vegetables were essential to have on board to avoid getting scurvy. Naturally, you had to get the best of products to have a greater profit.

It took a few days for you to arrive. Though it was night when you did, the village seemed livelier than you had ever seen before.

Genzo greeted you as you docked your ship. He seemed to be in a bit of a drunken stupor as he called your name with joy. "Welcome!"

"Genzo, what's the occasion? I'm surprised Arlong let you have any fun," you remarked as you placed an arm around his shoulders to support him.

"You came at the right time! This marks the start of a new age in this village. We've been set free!" He announced, your eyes widening in disbelief.

"Coco's free?" You questioned for confirmation.

Genzo nodded with the grin that has remained on his face since he began to approach you. You had never seen him smile this much.

"This kid named Luffy beat Arlong into a pulp!" He then chuckled.

"Luffy?" You repeated. Genzo laughed again.

"And he had the nerve to challenge Marine's Vice Admiral Garp!" He said through his laughter.

"He fought Garp?"

Genzo nodded enthusiastically. He had begun leading you into the village at some point. "The Marines left without arresting them, though. Even if Garp could have completely beaten the kid."

"The village has been celebrating for four days now. Especially those pirates, they never seem to get tired!"

Just as he said it, you caught sight of Zoro sound asleep with a bottle of beer by his side.

"Oh. I guess it's just their captain that has endless stamina," Genzo concluded.

"Nojiko is resting, you ought to wait until tomorrow comes before you can trade."

You nodded in understanding.

"Have you eaten yet? You should try tonight's dish – tangerine garlic chicken." He grabbed you by the shoulders and led you to where the food was.

"Oh? Sounds interesting." You turned to face the person serving the food, your heart jumping in surprise as you did.

"Sanji!" Genzo had walked away to conversate with Luffy.

He had been keeping his eyes on the pan of cooked chicken as he scooped up a serving, his head suddenly whipping up to look at you as you called his name in surprise.

His eyes lit up as he called your name as well. "What are you doing here?" He was too shocked to tease you with something along the lines of, "how did you know where to find me?"

"I'm here for business, I trade for tangerines and other fruits with Nojiko. What are you doing here? What happened at Baratie?" You asked with confusion.

He shook his head and smiled, scooping a serving larger than usual to put on your plate. "I was, but I quit. I was too good for that place, anyway. I joined a pirate crew."

"You joined Luffy's crew?"

"You know him?"

You shrugged. "He pestered me at Baratie."

He chuckled as he looked away to find his captain, shaking his head in disapproval. "That idiot."

Usopp suddenly approached them, "Say, Sanji, have you eaten? Maybe you should take a break," he recommended, and something in his eyes told Sanji he was not taking 'no' for an answer.

"Hi, nice to see you again, miss Trader." He held his ground and stood with confidence beside Sanji as he greeted you with a grin.

"Likewise, I suppose, Usopp."

Usopp's confidence and courage seemed to crumble in less than a second as he cowered behind Sanji. "She remembers my name���!"

You fought an amused smile off your lips. "I'm not an ally to the Marines, there's nothing to worry about."

He didn't seem at all convinced, yet decided to trust you anyway. "A-Anyway, you should take that break, Sanji. Don't worry about the food, I'll handle it."

Sanji looked at him for a few seconds, almost reluctant, before taking a plate for himself.

"Make sure Luffy doesn't get near it – the village needs it more than he does, especially when he's had five servings and he's still starving," he instructed as he scooped himself a serving and took utensils for himself and for you. He handed you a fork and a spoon.

"Yes, sir!" Usopp saluted the chef before the latter gave him a grateful smile and began to walk away, a hand gently on your back to lead you along.

"What really happened?" There was silence on his end for a moment, so you spoke again. "I went back to Baratie the other day."

He chuckled. "Missed me that bad?"

You rolled your eyes yet a smile was on your lips. "The owner said you'd left. Figured that since I was a sea merchant, I'd be bound to run into you. That's all he said."

"Well, the old man's an idiot, he knows I'm headed for the Grand Line."

"You are?" You asked before taking a bite out of the chicken.

"Good?" He asked for your feedback.

You closed your eyes. You hated raising men's egos but you also couldn't lie. "It's the best I've had," it almost pained you to admit.

He couldn't help but chuckle at how cute you looked as you blurted it out, almost as if it were against your will that you did.

A somewhat comfortable silence fell between the two of you.

"I left Baratie because I wanted to find the All Blue." He looked at you and, as expected, you gave him a puzzled look. "It's a place where all the Blue Seas meet. You can find fish from all seas there."

You hummed with interest and intrigue. "Sounds like quite a chef's paradise."

He only smiled at you for a moment. He liked how you understood how he felt in an instant. "Exactly."

"So you're setting off to the Grand Line?"

"That's where we're headed. We just came here to get Nami." Your brows raised in surprise as you looked around.

"This is Nami's hometown?" He nodded.

"Turns out she joined the Arlong Pirates to buy her village back," he explained, "He set the price to a hundred million Berries then cheated her when she was about to reach that goal."

You couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief. "A hundred million?"

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?" Sanji laughed as well just thinking about how Nami collected a hundred million Berries in eight years. "Luffy beat the shit out of Arlong for that. Now we have our navigator back, we're headed for the Grand Line."

You could listen to him talk for hours, and so you did just that. You and Sanji talked for the rest of the night. Next thing you knew, Nojiko had awoken and approached you to trade.

Sanji helped load the crates of tangerines onto your boat, despite him usually refusing to use his hands for anything other than cooking.

"Come with me," he offered as Genzo loaded the second crate onto your boat. "Come with us."

"The Straw Hat Pirates?" You asked for confirmation. He nodded. Genzo left the two of you to talk.

You smiled and shook your head as your eyes avoided his gaze. "I'm a merchant, not a pirate."

"We're headed for the Grand Line."

"All the more reason not to go. That place is treacherous," you retorted.

Sanji suddenly had a cocky smile. "You'll miss me."

You matched his smile. "I'll live."

"You'll miss my cooking," he rephrased. You rolled your eyes again, unable to respond.

Sanji, dejected, forced a smile despite the rejection. "If your mind's set."

You only watched as he departed, hands in his pockets as he watched his feet with every step he took. You, too, watched his feet as he left. You felt like you should be doing something to get him to stay – maybe change your mind and come with him, become a pirate.

It was the first time you had made a real connection with anyone. Even before entering the business of a sea merchant, you never really clicked with anyone, platonically nor romantically. Sure, there were people who were there, but they never really felt right.

As you watched his feet, you looked curiously as they stopped, then turned around. Your eyes travelled up to his eyes when he turned.

"Maybe I'll come see you once we've left the Grand Line – once I've found the All Blue."

He spoke as if he was confident that he would leave the Grand Line. You knew the chance was small, but you decided to hope that he would leave the Grand Line, too.

"I'll look forward to it."

* * * * * *

Twice is a coincidence.

"Zoro, what's the deal with you and that merchant from Baratie?" Usopp had been the one to ask this time. The whole crew was curious, they just didn't want to pry, but the questioning and the lack of answers was getting to everyone.

"Please, just answer them. The asking is getting irritating," Nami complained as she looked at him.

They were currently strolling along a village they had come across while on the way to the Grand Line. They decided to stop by only with the purpose of buying supplies for the kitchen, yet everyone decided to come along. Everyone reckoned they needed a walk around for what they had gone through in just less than a month – what they had gone through ever since they became a part of Luffy's crew.

Zoro rolled his eyes and gave in. He told them the story of how he and you fought for a bounty, only for it to end in a draw.

Sanji smacked him upside the head as he finished telling the story of your first interaction. "You don't have a single ounce in you that's a gentleman, do you? How dare you fight her?"

"She was the one who challenged me," Zoro defended himself, facing the blonde.

"That's not an excuse." Sanji faced the moss head.

"She pissed me off."

"She had every right to after you tried claiming her find."

"You wanna take this somewhere else?!"

"Hey! Don't you dare fight or I swear, I'll knock you both out myself," Nami threatened.

At that, both men went silent. As they both turned to face the main street forward again, both pairs of eyes landed on you.

Sanji called your name again, in confusion and in surprise.

You hadn't heard, as you were in the market where all voices overlapped with each other.

"Oh, it's the bounty hunter!" Luffy exclaimed with a grin.

"Shh…! She might hear us!" Usopp covered his captain's mouth as they all kept their eyes on you.

"Her again?" Zoro groaned in frustration.

"Shut up, moss head." You were picking out fruits, picking the best ones then asking for their prices.

As Sanji watched you, a cigarette between his lips, he saw your eyebrows furrow, your eyes darting between the fruits in your hand and the merchant. Upon seeing the conversation begin to get heated, he quickly made his way to you without second thought.

The rest of the crew watched as Sanji spoke to you, still with the cigarette in his mouth. You had been surprised at his seemingly sudden appearance, though your anger quickly returned.

You spoke to him, though the crew wasn't near enough to hear exactly what you said, but all they knew was it was enough to rile their cook up as well.

Luffy scratched his head as he watched you and Sanji argue with the merchant who began to sweat anxiously. Sanji had approached you with the purpose of diffusing the tension, though he seemed to only add to it as he, too, became frustrated with the merchant and his product's pricing. His cigarette almost fell from how much he was yelling at the merchant.

"They're a perfect match," he concluded. The others agreed with hums.

"Zoro, you said you fought and it ended in a draw?" Luffy affirmed, his first mate nodding.

"Great! She's joining the crew."

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed at his quick decision making.

* * * * * *

Sanji found that the village they were now docked at was your hometown. You visited every once in a while to check in on your parents, who Sanji offered to cook for as the Straw Hat Pirates resided in your home for the day to rest.

You were one of the first to receive their captain's wanted poster, being considered an ally of the Marine despite you denying it time and time again. It was yet to be shown to the public, but you knew it was bound to appear in newspapers. It wasn't often that someone's first bounty would exceed the former highest's by 10 million Berries.

You would depart the next day and so would they, just in time to avoid having your parents seen as associates of the pirates.

Sanji offered you to join them again, telling you the captain's decision to invite you along as well.

You declined, again.

Sanji could see in your eyes that you wanted to, and not just because you wanted to join him. There was another reason that wasn't there the first time he gave you an invitation. Still, he knew he was in no position to pry.

You parted ways once again despite the both of you knowing you wanted the exact same thing.

* * * * * *

Third time's a pattern.

Only a few weeks passed when you saw each other again. You saw him first this time, almost thinking your eyes were deceiving you as he shopped for kitchen knives, while you searched for a better sword.

This village was known for their blacksmith being the best in the East Blue, so you knew to head here after earning just enough Berries.

You slowly approached him as he examined knives. He caught sight of you from one's reflection, his leg swinging towards you in defense as he was surprised. Only halfway through his action did it process in his mind that it was you.

Still, though he couldn't stop himself, you deflected his leg with your forearm. You knocked him upside the head afterwards.

He rubbed his head to ease the pain. "You are good."

You didn’t ask how he knew of your abilities when he had never seen you fight. "Thank you."

You already knew he would ask what you were doing here. "I'm looking for a better sword," you answered his silent question, "I'm thinking it's about time. I recently turned in a million bounty, anyway."

"Good job, darling." Your eyes darted to his with surprise at the pet name, a chuckle leaving your lips as you looked away from his eyes that bore into yours.

"Thank you." He smiled as you tried to hide your flushed cheeks.

"Have you eaten? I'd love to cook lunch for you." It was comedic how he didn't trust any restaurant, only offering his own cooking every time you ran into each other. He knew you only deserve the best in everything, so he always offered you his cooking.

Still, you never really refused.

You had to admit that he had every right to be cocky about his cooking skills – he wasn’t just all talk, anyway. You do believe that he was the best chef in the East Blue – maybe even of all the Seas.

After finding the right sword for yourself, you walked through the market to buy supplies for lunch. Sanji couldn't help but complain to you how Luffy had consumed a month's worth of food in less than an hour just as they had left the village prior to this one.

You couldn't help but laugh as he told the story, imagining Sanji chasing Luffy around their ship and pleading to Nami for a lockable fridge. After buying meat and vegetables, you started to head back to the boat.

Luffy was more than delighted to see you, Usopp still a bit skeptical (it was only in his nature), and Nami welcomed you aboard. Zoro was asleep.

Sanji cooked lunch for you, making something special for you and Nami as well as dessert, staying by your side as you ate your food.

You stayed with them for dinner, as well, finding that you made a connection with the rest of the crew as well.

"Do you really not want to join?" Sanji asked for the third time, you only chuckled as you already expected the answer to pop up at some point. You sat with the crew on the main deck's floor, deciding to dine under the night sky instead of inside the cabin.

"Yeah, it’ll be fun, come on!" Luffy urged you on before stuffing his mouth with the contents of Usopp's plate.

"Hey!" Usopp scolded him as soon as he noticed his plate empty again.

"I thought you were heading for the Grand Line, what are you doing here?" You asked while Usopp stood and went to the kitchen.

"Don’t change the subject." Sanji caught your attempt, causing you to give him a sly smile.

"We were, but Luffy can’t keep his hands off our fridge.” Zoro glared at the oblivious captain who only continued to eat.

Nami hummed in agreement. "We keep needing to stop by islands to restock every other day, even if we stock a month's worth of food."

"Your turn to answer," Sanji urged, leaving you no choice but to do so.

"I’ve told you – I’m a merchant, not a pirate. I’m not in these seas for gold or adventure, I’m here to make a living."

"You’re a negotiator," Nami chimed in.

"And a good fighter!" Luffy exclaimed with a full mouth. You could only assume that Zoro had told them of your first encounter.

"Pirates don't negotiate," you chuckle out.

"Usually not, which is why we need a great fighter if things go south," Luffy explained persuasively.

"You already have good fighters on board," you motioned towards everyone.

"It wouldn't hurt to have one more."

You ran out of rebuttals.

"Still, I’m not joining a pirate group with him." You cocked your chin towards Zoro's way. He had finished his dinner and shut his eyes to go to sleep while still sitting with his arms crossed.

"Done, he’s off the group," Sanji concluded in a heartbeat.

"You don’t get to decide that," Zoro reminded him without opening his eyes.

Usopp had returned with a plate full of food while you had started rebutting. He kept his eyes on it the whole time, yet it disappeared the second he looked away to listen to what you were saying.

"LUFFY! Stop eating my dinner!"

* * * * * *

Fourth time's a sign.

It was less of a surprise than a concern, the fourth time you ran into each other. You headed to Loguetown not long after you left the Straw Hats again. You arrived at the town and stayed for a few days.

You were currently in Captain Smoker's office. Usually, it was pirates that passed by Loguetown, as it was the island closest to the Reverse Mountain in the East Blue. He wasn’t expecting that his ex-subordinate’s merchant of a daughter would be found in a place such as this. He knew this was your father's hometown, but you being in his office told him you weren't here for family reasons.

"Will this take long?" You asked impatiently.

"Not at all." He pulled out a piece of paper. You waved your hand around the air in front of you, trying to swat away some of the smoke to see even a little bit of the writing on the paper.

He flipped the paper and slid it towards you. "State your purpose here, write your name here, sign here." He pointed at different lines on the paper.

"You will not be permitted if you’re after the One Piece," he informed you before you started writing, "You’ll be considered a pirate and arrested, effective immediately."

"And if my purpose is private?" You questioned.

He only sighed before replying, "You have to put something down."

At that, you began to fill up the details. "Your father, how is he?"

Your brows raised at his decision to make conversation. You knew he wasn't the best at it. "Fine. Better since he finally retired."

It was difficult taking care of your father. Once an ex-marine, then a merchant, his life had always been on the line especially in this age of pirates. You always worried and wondered whether or not your father would come home. It was only four years ago that he retired at the age of 71.

"And your mother?"

Your mother had been supportive of every decision you and your father made, finding that it would be difficult to get either of you to change your minds anyway.

She always wanted at least two children, though fell ill and became unable to before she could. Your mother always assured that you were enough, though she never really said it.

She was remorseful that you grew up alone, and you were sad that she never got to completely have what she wanted.

However, she had recently begun teaching art class to the children of your village as a way to pass the time. You were happy she did – it made her happy.

"She’s fine, too. Dropped by for a bit before I head for the Grand Line."

Silence filled the suffocating atmosphere that wasn't even as severe as when Captain Smoker would be alone in his office. As you finished filling up the form, you flipped the paper again to face him.

"I'm not going there for the One Piece, by the way."

"I thought you weren't," Captain Smoker affirmed, as if to elucidate the trust he had on you, despite your father's other connections.

He read your reasoning and seemed to be stuck on it. He glanced between you and the paper multiple times before he put out his cigar on the paper, putting out the fire so it didn't completely burn. That served as his seal of approval.

You left his office afterwards, and you couldn't help but scan the streets as you walked. It had become somewhat of a bad habit, looking for Sanji in every village you visited.

As if fate was on your side, maybe even rooting for you, you heard the certain North Blue accent of a certain blonde haired chef call out your name.

You cannot hide the smile from your face as you turn to face the source of his voice, and it is evident by the grin on his face that he was all the more elated to have been able to run into you just before he entered the Grand Line.

"What are you doing here?" You asked, though you already knew the answer.

"Heading for the Grand Line," he answered as if it didn't need to be questioned at this point, which it really didn't. "You?"

"Heading for the Grand Line," you mimicked with a grin.

Though you expected him to be joyful, his face fell with confusion. "What?"

"There's something I have to tell you," you admitted sheepishly. "Lunch?" You offered before you gave him the news.

He couldn't help but smile at your offer, knowing he couldn't refuse it.

* * * * * *

Sanji found out your favorite food in your hometown. Given that, to your parents, it was a blessing for you to come home, they had decided to cook your favorite food for you. It was a simple tonkatsu, yet he wanted to make it perfect for you – just the way your parents would make it.

You learned that every Straw Hat had gone to different parts of the town, looking into every shop and spoiling themselves for as long as they could before they entered the Grand Line.

Meanwhile, Sanji set aside the task of buying supplies to cook for you instead.

"Why are you suddenly going to the Grand Line?" He asked while chopping up a cabbage. You sat at the dining table of the place you rented for a few days.

"It was never my intention, I always planned to stay in the East Blue," you admitted. "But my father, he…" you couldn't help but chuckle at how ridiculous it was.

"He and an old friend hid their family treasure in the New World – swore to one day come back for it."

"Your father entered the Grand Line?" You nodded.

"He really did make the most of it during his golden age back then," you remarked.

"So now, you're going to the New World to get your family treasure back?" You nodded again.

"And his friend's. After everything my parents have done for me, I think this is the only way I can repay them. Especially since my father grows weaker everyday now."

He nodded in understanding. He moved to sit next to you while he waited for one side of the tonkatsu to cook. He usually wouldn't, but he wanted to savour the moment he had with you – to be as close as he could to you.

"So, would you want to join us, now?" He offered again.

He noticed you took longer than usual to respond.

"I can't."

Sanji chuckled, unable to feel gray by the fourth time you rejected him. "Do you at least think about it?"

You couldn't help but chuckle as well. "I've always travelled alone," you reasoned, "and I think this should be something that I do alone."

"Agree to disagree," Sanji decided.

"I'm still not changing my mind." He raised his hands in surrender and he stood to turn the tonkatsu to its other side.

"So, I guess this is the last time we see each other," you deduced.

"Unless we run into each other at the Grand Line," Sanji added.

"Right." You looked at each other for a moment, and being under his gaze suddenly made you feel small, so you straightened your posture as you and he made sure to take with you every detail of each other. You weren't even sure either of you would be able to enter the Grand Line safely, yet somehow you were both still confident that you would.

"There's different islands and different paths to take in the Grand Line," you brought up, implying that your paths may not cross again.

"Well, if it's our fate to meet again, I will continue to ask you," Sanji reassured.

You chuckled. "Your captain has the highest bounty in the East Blue, you might not even leave the town."

"Please, our captain's an idiot. People, even in the Grand Line, will underestimate him and end up regretting it." His tone was distracted as he spoke, his eyes darting between your eyes and your lips.

Your corner of your lips knowingly curled up to a smile, "You might meet other women."

"I will meet them, but I wouldn't pursue them – can you please just let me kiss you?" He asked impatiently. His eyes had settled on looking only at your lips by now. He knew by the smirk on your lips how you knew about his growing need to kiss you every time you two saw each other.

"Yeah, alright," your answer was all the more casual as if it didn't make your heart skip a beat to hear how desperate he had sounded. The words barely left your mouth before he had gently cupped your cheek and his lips met yours.

A groan left his lips and vibrated against yours as your hand tangled in his hair, his hand now resting to cup your jaw so he could feel how fast your heartbeat was from your pulse point.

You soon pulled away for air, your hand still in his hair and his on your cheek. Your foreheads touched as you leaned onto each other, both panting. You smiled and soon chuckled, pressing a kiss on the apple of his cheek.

"The food might burn," you reminded him that he was cooking.

He panted out a few more breaths and savoured the moment. It seemed as if the sentence you uttered took a moment to process in his brain after you had stupefied him with your kiss.

"Shit."

He quickly left your side, disconcerted as he overcooked one side of the tonkatsu.

Oh, well, he thought. He supposed he would have to endure eating this one if it meant you would have a perfect meal.

* * * * * *

Fifth time's an obstinacy.

It was as if your fates had been intertwined the moment you two first met.

You glanced at your Log Pose every once in a while as you waited for your order at the restaurant. As you did, you couldn't help but wonder where Sanji was at this point and time. It was taking quite some time for your Log Pose to record the direction to the next island with the path you chose to take, so you wondered if they were already far ahead of you.

"Man, I'm starving!" A familiar voice exclaimed upon entering the restaurant.

"You just finished eating every free sample at the market," another familiar voice responded, his tone nonchalant.

"Yeah, those were the appetizers!" You turned to face the entrance with a confused look, both heads immediately turning to face you, too.

"Oh, hey, it's you again!" Luffy walked towards your table, his first mate reluctantly following suit.

"What are you doing here?"

"We got lost, I think!" He announced as if it were something to boast about.

"Don't say it so confidently," Zoro scolded.

"Good to see you, moss head," you greeted with sarcasm.

"Hey, don't you start, too." You were about to give a snarky remark when Luffy spoke again.

"We just came from an island called Little Garden! We're planning on heading to Alabasta since we have their princess on board," Luffy explained, unknowingly preventing another duel between you and Zoro.

"For the record, we didn't kidnap her for ransom," Zoro cleared up due to the nature of Luffy's odd way of phrasing.

"Technically, we did, because Nami's asking for one billion Berries in return," Luffy argued.

"That's Nami we're talking about," Zoro retorted.

"Oh, waiter! I would like to order, please!" Luffy's voice boomed at the restaurant.

"Where's Sanji?" You asked. Your eyes had scanned around in search of the chef the moment you saw Luffy and Zoro, though you knew deep down that Sanji would only trust his own cooking. He would probably even scold you if he caught you dining here.

"Buying food supplies," Luffy responded while still eyeing the waiter who was serving another table.

"You ate it all again, didn't you?"

Luffy grinned at how well you seemed to know him. "I did!"

He was an open book – he seemed oblivious of the fact.

The waiter soon arrived with your food and Luffy took the chance to order every dish on the menu.

"Oh. Zoro, do you have any money?" Luffy had asked in the middle of his fourteenth dish. Zoro only looked at him, then they turned to you in unison.

Your eyes widened at the pair. You had finished your meal by Luffy's eighth dish, yet you stuck around both because of your amusement and manners.

You cleared your throat and looked away from their gazes, slowly taking out a few Berries that were enough for your meal before you stood and fled from the restaurant.

You could hear Luffy's frantic exclamations from outside the restaurant, growing distant as you continued to run.

You let out a surprised exclamation as you ran into someone upon your lack of focus. They had stopped you from completely crashing onto their chest by grabbing you by the shoulders.

He called your name and your head whipped up to face him.

"Sanji!" You grinned and threw your arms around his neck in an embrace, glad that he had entered the Grand Line safely. He wrapped his arms around your waist as well, lifting you off the ground as his grip tightened a bit.

He placed your feet back down on the ground a moment later, pulling away from the hug.

"Glad to see me again?" You teased.

"Very much, darling," he didn't attempt to deny, a wide grin now on his lips.

You noticed that he was with Nami, Usopp, and an unfamiliar woman with blue hair. You greeted the pair and gave the woman a puzzled look.

"This is Vivi," Nami introduced her, telling Vivi your name as well.

"It's nice to meet you," Vivi uttered sheepishly.

"Oh, are you the princess?" You presumed, panting from your running.

"Wait, you know?" Usopp questioned with confusion.

"I ran into your captain and swordsman. They almost trapped me into paying for their lunch at the restaurant." You pointed your thumb over your shoulder at the restaurant ahead of them.

"That's our captain for you." Nami shook her head in disapproval as she looked at the restaurant.

"Would you like to join us for lunch?" Sanji offered, smiling. "I'd be delighted to cook your favorite for you again."

You gladly accepted.

You were once again found boarding the Going Merry. Luffy and Zoro were yet to return, and presumably got lost, so Usopp volunteered to return to the village to search for them.

Once Vivi and Nami retreated to their shared room and left the two of you alone in the kitchen, you couldn't keep your hands off each other.

Your lips met again and things turned heated until you soon had to stop yourselves and let Sanji prepare the crew's lunch.

Sanji had a sly grin on his face as he buttoned back up his top button that you had unconsciously unbuttoned.

"I'm still not becoming a pirate." You could see the question coming from a mile away now.

Sanji clicked his tongue in playful annoyance. "Think about it."

"I have!" You chuckled as you spoke.

"And do you see yourself coming with us?" It took you a while to respond, contemplating whether or not you should tell the truth.

"I do," you admitted.

"So why don't you want to?"

"Because I feel like I'll forget what my goal is when I'm with you." He seemed taken aback by your response. "I forget about everything else when I'm around you. I forget there's a whole world with real people beyond that door and that it's not just you and me."

"I won't let you forget it," he reassured you, "I'll be there to support you, to help you."

He took your hands in his. "It pains me to be parted from you."

You rolled your eyes at how cheesy he sounded. "You'll live."

"I'll live in agony." You couldn't help but chuckle despite how serious he sounded. You squeezed his hands in comfort.

"Well, I do recall my father telling me that his friend left a clue somewhere in Alabasta." His eyes lit up at the thought of seeing you again, of having certainty of when and where you'll be able to meet again.

"Suppose I head there next; are you willing to find me?"

"I would scour all of the Blue Seas to find you."

Your heart jumped. "Then it's a date."

* * * * * *

It had only been two weeks since you last saw Sanji. You had encountered one more island, an autumnal kingdom, before you arrived at Alabasta.

Your father and his friend had made a riddle. It was almost as if you were on a scavenger hunt on the world's most dangerous land and waters.

In a desert land where droughts hold sway,

Soon an oasis, you'll find me one day.

But don't expect to see a mirage's grace,

I'm real, with life, by North's palace.

Rainbase. It had to be. It took days for you to travel to the location, the desert just as deadly as the open waters of the Grand Line.

You looked at the map of Alabasta, with it the piece of paper with the riddle your father had given you. In the event that neither he nor his friend would be able to return to their treasure, they decided to mark their clues with their initials.

And so, the paper was signed 'A.P. & G.D.R.'

Though there was commotion near the casino, you scoured the streets and alleys of Rainbase to find any sort of clue. Once you were sure to have checked every alley, your shoulders sagged as you failed to find the clue. It was only when you entered the pub that you found what you were looking for.

There was a wall of photographs in the corner of the pub. You drank a bottle of beer as your eyes scanned the unfamiliar faces of the pub's patrons.

You almost spat your beer out when you found one of your father and his friend. You unpinned it to take a closer look, noticing that it was slightly indented at some parts. You turned the picture around and found another riddle written with messy handwriting. It matched that of the riddle in your possession.

Way up high a place God is resided,

On stolen land from which its people are prohibited,

With fate and luck you will reach this land of Vearth,

Found far within the clouds where you will prove your worth.

– A.P. & G.D.R.

…What was that supposed to mean?

Rainbase was a piece of cake to decipher, but this one seemed to be utter nonsense.

You supposed it was up to par with how the Grand Line was. Nothing made sense and everything made you clueless.

You walked away from the wall, glum as you headed for the exit, when the bartender called for you.

He had been bartender long enough to recognize your father's face and your resemblance of him. He gave you something your father and his friend had left – something they entrusted to him to keep until someone came looking for clues.

Your eyes widened as you looked at the gold coin with Gol D. Roger's Jolly Roger. His flag had long fallen, yet the coin still assured your protection so long as you had it on your person as you continued in your journey.

And so, you left the pub with a photograph and a rare treasure.

"Oh!" Someone called your name just as you were walking back to the inn. You lifted your head off the ground to see Sanji up ahead.

A smile immediately found its way to your lips as you began to approach him, his arms raising as an invitation to an embrace.

You burrowed your face into his chest as you hugged him, his chest vibrating as he chuckled upon seeing you again.

"I hope you didn't miss me too much," he remarked.

You shrugged with nonchalance. "I survived," you retorted.

He had a cigarette between his lips that curled up at your reply. His hand took yours. "Come on."

Your eyes widened as he began running, leading you along. "Where, exactly?"

He forced a laugh to lessen your soon-to-be anxiety. "Err…Me and the gang are sort of on the run from Crocodile."

"The Warlord?!" He nodded.

"We got split up, but we're headed towards Alubarna to stop a war," he said too casually. You sighed exasperatedly.

"Nothing's ever dull with you guys, is it?" He only laughed.

* * * * * *

You successfully helped stop a war.

Luffy had fought and successfully defeated Crocodile. Unfortunately, he had been poisoned in the process, though was quickly given an antidote. This caused him to be in a three-day coma which fortunately left the rest of the crew to rest as well.

Since the last time you first saw them, you found that they recruited a reindeer doctor that had eaten the Human Human Devil Fruit.

You and Sanji decided to go out for dinner during those three days. By that, it means that Sanji cooked a five-course meal for just the two of you. You insisted that he didn't need to, but he insisted otherwise.

You both had taken hits and gained wounds during your attempt at preventing a war, so Sanji made sure to implement food that would help your wounds heal faster and give you more strength.

He told you the story of how they had met and recruited Chopper, the reindeer doctor. Nami had fallen ill days after their stay at an island called Little Garden. He also told you how the island had dinosaurs and two giants who had been in a century-long fight for a reason they didn't even remember anymore.

He told you of Baroque Works and the members they had come across and defeated, and how Crocodile had secretly been the organization's boss.

You noticed that he was yet to ask you the question that came every time you came across each other. Throughout your night, you waited, and it never came. You supposed he had come at peace with your seemingly compelled answer that never changed every time he asked you.

By the third day of your stay in Alubarna, Luffy finally woke. His crew was quick to devise a plan to leave the kingdom before the sun rose to quickly get back to your ships.

Vivi was torn between staying for her kingdom or joining the Straw Hat Pirates, so they had given her twelve hours to decide, which was just enough for their ship to pass by the eastern part of Alabasta and let Vivi board if she ever decided to join them.

Vivi chose her kingdom. She bid the Straw Hats farewell during her coming-of-age speech, staying by the coast as she showed off her 'X' tattoo that matched the others. It was a symbol that said no matter where they were, they would always be a Straw Hat Pirate.

The others had shown off theirs, too, while they sailed away from Alabasta.

Now, you remained on the Going Merry. Your boat was connected to the ship by rope. You were lounging at the main deck with the crew.

"We'll untie your boat from ours once we get far enough away from the Marines," Nami explained.

"Alright…" You replied, seemingly distracted.

Naturally, Sanji was the first to notice this. "Something on your mind, love?"

You had gotten used to the pet names at this point. You looked up at the ship's Jolly Roger as you rethought your decision one last time.

You closed your eyes. "Fine," you started.

You opened your eyes to see everyone looking at you curiously and expectantly.

"I'll join your crew," you clarified.

In the blink of an eye, Luffy lifted you to your feet and began to dance you around in celebration, Usopp and Chopper joining in. You couldn't help but chuckle at their delight.

Once the moment passed, Sanji approached you and held your hand.

"Are you sure?"

You smiled up at him. "I've thought about it a lot, like you said."

You looked around at the faces you've come across multiple times already. "And I guess I wouldn't mind being with a few friends – the journey to the New World is long, anyway."

You turned to Sanji. He had been looking at you with a smile.

Then, he suddenly swept you up into his arms and kissed you right there and then, finding himself too overwhelmed with emotions to say anything – so he just kissed you.

Most of the crew let out a surprised exclamation while Luffy began to laugh gleefully.

Nami was about to scold the cook as she saw your flushed face when you pulled away and chuckled sheepishly.

"Not in front of the crew," you spoke through gritted teeth as you gently smacked him upside the head.

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I got carried away."

"Sanji! This calls for a celebration! Cook something for us!" The Straw Hat Captain boomed.

"Aye-aye, captain!"

The door to the cabin swung open just as Sanji began to approach it. He halted in his steps.

"So, we've finally left the island?" Nico Robin, Miss All-Sunday, seemed to have snuck on board.

"...AAAHH!"

* * * * * *

a/n: i wonder if anyone figured out reader's father's friend was roger before it was stated…?

taglist: @inf4ntdeath @x-uno @miloonmetis @angeli-fucking-cat @zzbloody-animezz @watercolorskyy @saltyfriendsaladbandit @mbekgsv @mischiefmanaged71 @leslielovestedalot1 @theamazingtrinitysky @stevenknightmarc

[arcane-ish]

@alisha-on-arcane

So on rewatching I've convinced myself that the flashback is very, very rose-tinted. That we're seeing Vander's heavily processed memory of their lives together (though the vanco love shack looks pretty cosy) minus the fights and the hardship and the dirt.

The main thing I got from the flashback is that Vander is secretly the world biggest Silco simp and to him, through his mind's eye Silco was just the cutest most stylish little twink, complete with fuzzy water colors.

Now there are parts that are certainly real (the shack and the letter). But Vander's memories. Eh..

The problem is that there's always the character level and the meta level.

1.) Who is the flashback for?

IMO the flashback, particularly the music sequence to me is complicated that to me it doesn't feel like it is primarily about Vander.

In the end, this show is not about Vander and it's not about Silco. It's about Jinx and Vi (+ a little bit of Cait). And to me that Memories sequence felt even though within the story it is triggered by Vander, structurally, within the episode, I think it's much more about showing us young!Vi and young!Powder being happy. Because the whole vibe of the arc to me is about Jinx getting better and almost getting a better life unless if it brutally ripped away from her again.

Vi and Jinx reuniting for the sake of Vander, getting their family hugs in plus the memories montage about how happy they once were is supposed to make us feel wistful about Vi and Jinx so we can then be crushed by the Isha ending and Jinx going back to having her hallucinations.

Like how the montage imo shifts from a Vander POV (Vander thinking of Silco, Vander thinking about boxing with Vi at various ages) to the point of view of the children.

This is Felicia greeting her children, not Vander. This is Felicia giving Vi her glove, from Vi's POV, not Vanders.

This is Vi smelling the food and turning around and seeing her mom cooking for Powder, this is Vi remembering her mother cutting her hair.

To me those moments just don't feel like moments where Vander would have been around (ie the moment where the POV camera moves to look into the soup the mirror images contain Felicia, Vi and Powder but no Vander, so another vote for Vander was not part of this moment).

I don't think that there's any in-universe reason to why the memories switch in perspective. Like Vi and Vander's minds are connected. Or being around Vander makes Vi think a lot about her own mom. So I think the sequence is just "vibes" based. It shifts from Vander's POV to Vi's POV simply because somebody (probably Christian Linke....) wanted to have those scenes in there, whether they make sense of not and structurally/dramatically this montage is there as a calm before the storm before Isha eats it.

(also note that the sequence starts on Vander, his memories, then switches to Vi's POV and then the sequence exits on Vi, Jinx and Isha, with no Vander in sight:

, so yes, my read that it starts on a Vander flashback but it morphs into a Vi respectively Vi/Jinx centered one for artistic reasons)

2.) artist fuckups + fanwank or intentional varity or fuckup followed by intentional variety?

I have to find it but I recently came across another person complaining about the flashback and noting that in Silco's version of the The Drowning his hair is shorter and styled different and they also claimed that Amanda Overton said that the original flashback was a fuckup and Vander and Silco were not supposed to look that young.

So, here's my thinking. If Vander's POV is rose tinted glasses. Who says that Silco's version of events is the real one? Maybe the truth was somewhere in the middle?

And there is some basis for a "memory is relative" approach. Jinx has always had a warped perception of the world. But now we at least have Vi's flashes of Caitlyn. Or Viktor's version of Skye not having glasses and fewer freckles. Or Cait's warped view of the world or how she pictures Jinx right after her mom's death.

Now IF we take this line that ALL flashbacks are colored by the perception of the characters and we can't take any of them 100% per face value, that brings up a ton of interesting things to think about. (maybe Silco is the cutest twink in Vander's memories because that's Vander saw him, maybe Silco is much grimier and the world much darker because there's some self hate there, maybe Vander is scary and bearded on the bridge because that's how Vi sees him in this situation).

But even though this is a fun fanwank and you can get some mileage out of it, I always run into "okay, but how much are we just covering up production fuckups and the creators just being messy and not as careful.

To me the idea that Vander is still "lying" in his memories is a super interesting character idea to me. But the problem is that I have no faith that this will ever be anything but a theory. Because I don't think that with just 3 episodes left and so much shit left to cover we will get another dark version of those memories to reveal that there's a contradiction. Like it could easily fit in just maybe before the final Warwick transformation. But I just don't think it will happen.

But yes, as just a fun character theory, I can get into Vander being strapped down being tortured by Singed and just retreating deeper and deeper into happy memories of his cute boyfriend even if those memories aren't real, they need to be made even lighter and prettier because they have to balance out so much torture. Vander doesn't want to think about the dark things they did together because he's trying to preserve his sanity in the face of a ton of torture and chemicals.

sure if you like they can both have been in love with Felicia, though I think the jackets make a much stronger zaundads case, and 'three close friends' is a thing),

At this point my read is still 100% Zaundads were an item and they were friends with Felicia and Connol and they care about them as fellow friends. I can maybe get into the "but Vi looks like Vander and Jinx has Silco's hair" (but let's remember, Silco could just have styled her hair after she started living with it rather than that being a physical property), but just on what is being said, the looks being exchanged, my read is that they are just concerned friends. (especially with my read that at least part of the Memories montage is Vi gazing onto Felicia and not Vander gazing onto Felicia)

But yes, I can see why the normies might read it differently.

I don't need Vander to have been in love with Felicia for him to freak out after her death. Right now my pitch is, Vander was really into project ankle biter and lived a bit vicariously through Felicia and Connol's family.

And if Silco maybe does something reckless that gets Felicia killed this is more deeply symbolic about how he just doesn't respect Project Anklebiter at all the way Vander wants him to. (with my personal presumption that they maybe were on rocky terms about Project Anklebiter before)

(that said, if all that Silco did was throw a molotov cocktail that is still weak sauce if they are really not going to add anything to that. Like I was at least counting on Silco I dunno, wanting to fuck up the air vents or something like that. Especially since in Vi's version of the Day of Ash Vander still seems moderately into it at the beginning rather Vander never wanted Day of Ash because he wanted to stop way before Vi was born and Silco kept provoking more and more fights. And if Vander didn't lead the charge on the Bridge how the fuck did he ever get any reputation as a revolutionary if all he did was found a moderately successful bar. It feels like there should be more to the story, I'm just doubtful it will ever come)

ETA: I should probably note that project ankle biter doesn't just have to be read in a mpreg "Vander wants to breed his boyfriend" kind of way as much as a joke about it. It can also be seen metaphorically about what status children should have within their community. Especially if you consider that Silco's arc ended up being all about valueing Jinx's life and freedom over Zaun and this arc just ended with Jinx becoming a symbol for resistance and almost instantly her pseudo daughter gets killed. [and of course there's Ekko as the middle ground, who has child aged people fighting, but not doing full on revolution, so maybe there is a middle ground between kids should be tools or soldiers or ignored and kids need to be kept protected and in the dark]

[jungshookz]

smitten mean jimin is … 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️ it would complete my life if u had made a smol mean jimin drabble 😫😫 love love loveeeeeEeew ur works and have been reading for a long time!

“watch where you’re going!” jimin snaps, adjusting the strap of his messenger bag over his shoulder before scoffing, turning to look down at where you are on the ground 

there he was, just minding his own business and making his way to class when all of a sudden you decided to ram yourself right into his shoulder and knock yourself to the ground 

and not to mention, he did upper body yesterday at the gym so his shoulders are particularly sore today! 

god

some people are so inconsiderate 

“watch where i’m going? you’re the one who shoulder checked me-“ you grumble, picking your textbook up from the ground and dusting it off, “thanks for offering to help pick my things up off the floor, by the way, really courteous of you-“ 

“i didn’t shoulder check you, you were literally in my way-“ jimin pauses, bending down to pick up your student ID by his boot before bringing it up to look at it, “y/n y/l/n.” 

“oh, fantastic. now you know my name and you’re going to send your people after me, princess. give me that-“ you snatch your ID from his slender fingers before slipping it into your back pocket, “thanks for making my first day here so lovely, sir.” 

“sir- i’m- we’re practically the same age!” jimin rips his sunglasses off with a scoff

sir??

SIR????

his skin is plush and bouncy and glowing and he doesn’t get a snail mucus facial every week to be called SIR by someone whose skincare routine is probably just using the generic drug store brands and rubbing that in with hard tap water 

and if this is your first day here then it makes sense as to why you don’t seem to know who he is 

because everyone on this campus knows who he is 

“yeah… it’s okay to dress your age, you know. getting older is a graceful process, truly-“ you shrug with a shoulder and jimin feels his grip tighten around his bag strap

“we are the same age, i saw your graduation date on your ID-“ he snaps, faltering a bit when he feels your gaze pinning him in place a little, eyes peering at him through your lashes before you blink twice and offer him a sweet smile 

“i skipped two grades in high school. maybe we’re graduating the same year but we’re certainly not the same age. and you know what- now that i realise you are much, much older than me, i will go ahead and apologise to you for bumping into you. we really do have to be more caring towards our senior citizens-“

“you- i don’t know who you think you are-“

“well, you already know my name is y/n y/l/n, so do with that information what you will.” you chirp, spinning around on your heel, “see you around, sir!” 

for the first time ever, jimin is rendered speechless as he stands there with his mouth agape and his sunglasses in his hands

did you just- 

are you- 

who are you-

what the hell just happened?!? 

🎙️ ask jimin where his sunglasses are from (talk to my characters!) 

📚 why not explore the rest of the library while you're here? (go say hi to yoongi and y/n in la vie en bonsai!) 

💫 or perhaps you want something shorter to read? (drabbles and mini series!)

🌟 or something even shorter? (teeny tidbits like this!) 

[usafphantom2]

345 days left in uniform... Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1 yet, go back and start there-- the story makes a lot more sense... X just doesn't give us the capacity to write novels on here.

----------------------------------------------------------

Epilogue

Sandy, Earned.

Nellis Air Force Base, 2008

My fingers dug into the skin on either side of the bridge of my nose, trying to rub the stinging from my eyes as they again stared in disbelief at the lying hands of my wristwatch. Dammit it’s late. One a.m. and we were just about to get started with the debrief. We probably had a good four or five hours ahead of us of attacking and rehashing the lessons with our students. We called them WUGS, short for Weapons UpGrade Students. I guess technically “upgrade” isn’t the two words that we assign via the multi-placed acronym, but then again someone would’ve probably disallowed the calling of the students WUS’s. Such is life.

I had stood in their exact shoes five years previously, sweating through every briefing, flight, and excruciating debrief of the six-month Weapons Instructor Course. It was a different perspective, being the one holding the spotlight instead of trying to survive the effects of its ubiquitous shining. My time at Nellis was growing shorter, and this would be my final class before moving on to attend a professional military education course. For the students, the light at the end of the tunnel was beginning to catch their eyes, but they still had to finish the CSAR phase of training.

I don’t think I’d have wanted to be a student under the scenarios that we came up with as we both attempted to impart lessons from the 2005 rescue and recovery into the syllabus training. We spoofed them, placed survivors in between enemy gun emplacements, provided survivors who had been captured but managed to escape during someone else’s rescue, created propaganda videos and doctored Al Jazeera newspapers that taunted the Sandys. There was even a scenario where one survivor was snatched from right beneath Sandy One by an “enemy” helicopter. Never having even considered such a situation, the young Sandy One floundered and attempted to use low passes around the adversary helicopter to convince them to “give up” their prize of an American aviator. We laughed about some of the “solutions”, but quickly turned the debrief as deadly serious as we could possibly make it. “So, if you knew for a fact that the enemy would murder that survivor, and broadcast his violent execution on every website and television station that would air it, would you take action while he was still on the helicopter?” They’d look at us blankly for a moment. “I’m saying, would you shoot him down? If he’s as good as dead, would you allow the enemy the propaganda victory of humiliating him in the way they want to? Would you spare his family the fate of having to potentially witness that?” They couldn’t believe we’d ask such a question. The empty stares would continue, or they’d search their scribbled notes for answers that weren’t there. They’d even try to turn the question back at us--hell, I don’t know, what would you do? the implication being that since we had asked the question, we must have an answer or some semblance of the reply that we instructors expected from our students. We’d return their gazes and admit that we didn’t have the answers either. Occasionally, the students would drop their pencils in exasperation and frustration, and in no-uncertain terms inform us that our queries were bullshit. We’d nod and acknowledge the difficulty in addressing a damned-near impossible situation--certainly one in which there was no correct answer, but only ones that attempted to mitigate associated losses. As they’d cross their arms and glare at us, we’d try to explain that the true lesson was not in the selection of an answer, but in the thought process to attain a solution. However, to glean these lessons, we had to be willing to ask the impossible questions and consider the unthinkable. We had to explore the haunting options that we hoped we never had to confront in combat, because to leave them unanswered in peacetime left us without sufficient resources in battle. I didn’t want to face situations for the first time under fire, but hoped that I had at least considered the possibilities beforehand. I want to think that we gave those students a few more keys than had been given to us; not in any way a backhanded compliment to the outstanding instructors who taught us. Combat has a nasty way of showing you the scenarios you never had the ability to comprehend, much less train to. I had thought that our instructors had thrown every trick in the inventory at us in 2003. I knew we could never impart every imaginable contingency to these young men, each of whom would be shortly leading squadrons into battle as the respective Chief of Weapons and Tactics, but we hoped that we could give them the opportunity how to learn to out-think, out-plan, and out-maneuver an adaptive, elusive, and deadly enemy.

I turned back to my own scribblings as the students hurriedly placed the final touches on their own notes and reconstruction of the training sortie we had just flown. The late-night hour blurred my vision as I again tried to rub away the dryness creeping into exhausted eyes. With my eyes closed, the rushed whispers of the WUGS masked the entry of the other pilots gathering for the debrief. We referred to them as adversaries, but they had flown alongside our WUGS tonight as Sandys in their own right, a handful of young pilots from the 74th and 75th Fighter Squadrons, flying the same airplanes we had thrown into Red Wings a few years previously. Some of these promising young pilots would make their way through this course in the years following my departure. The voice of one of these men snapped me from my own thoughts.

“Hey Zero, before we begin, I just wanted to introduce myself--I thought you’d want to know that this is your Sandy patch I’m wearing.” My eyes had caught his gaze, and I quickly slid them to the patch on his left shoulder. The patch there was certainly one of the handful of patches I had designed over the years--a conglomeration of ideas that had existed on several patches dating back to the original Sandy designs put forth in the Vietnam War. Those Sandy patches featured a simple outline of an A-1 embossed over flames being forced downward from the front of the aircraft. Some proclaimed “Super Spad: Sandy!” while others simply stated, “Sandy.” The aviators of the time delineated the rankings of the Sandy from the Sandy Ones on these patches, and the design transformed along with the A-10’s adoption of the mission. Over time, the Sandy patch of choice, the patch that I had lost nearly eight years earlier, had featured a close up an A-10, the word SANDY, and the phrase, “so others may live.” On one of my first Friday nights in the 75th, my commander poked me in the patch and said, “You know, that phrase is incorrect. It’s supposed to read, ‘that others may live.’” With this heritage and ideas in mind, I crafted a new series of patches; ones that continued to differentiate between a Sandy and a Sandy One and carried the historical references to the original designs, with versions that were also produced in subdued desert colors. We had made a big deal out of handing out the patches to our new Sandys and Sandy Ones at our first Roll Call following the Atlantic Rescue exercise in 2004, and it was with a humbling sense of pride that I saw the patches continue to populate the community and adorn the shoulders of the A-10 pilots that made their way through the Trough. I recognized the patch as one that I had designed, but didn’t realize that he was speaking to the history of this particular patch until he continued.

“This is the same patch you gave Stroker a few years ago, and he gave it me when I became a Sandy. He said I had to know the history of the patch and pass it on.” He laughed as he looked up, “I’d hate to be the guy who has to know its lineage years from now--I only have to remember a couple of names!” I smiled in relation to the story, but my mind had already drifted off to the Officer’s Club in Korea… back to the expectant gaze of a Weapons Officer throwing down the gauntlet of a challenge to the punk wingman still licking his wounds at the bar from the shots received earlier in the evening. I didn’t think that this moment even came close to making up for that single lost patch, but I believed that I had given something back.

My eyes drifted back to the patch on this pilot’s arm and remembered the days when that same piece of cloth had proclaimed my own membership among the ranks of the men and women entrusted with that precious call sign. Locking onto the letters adorning the top of the patch, I began to wonder less about the history of that collection of stitching and velcro than about its future. How many young pilots would pass that from one to another? Which Sandys would pass that amongst themselves as they welcomed a brother to the fold? I briefly found myself hoping that no Sandy would endure the disappointment at losing something so simply constructed, yet so meaningful in incalculable value, but quickly returned to the considerable prospects ahead. I looked at the patch for one more moment.

That others may live!

Sandy One.

I thought about the next Sandys, and the Sandys holding the line outside of the insulated training environment I had been living and flying in for the last three years. I thought that for all the tricks and curveballs we threw at our students, for the countless hours spent planning missions and explaining techniques, for the unholy but invaluable debriefs that lasted until the sun had already began its ascent once more, we were merely forging the Sandy iron into the steel we hoped to deploy wherever it might be needed. The foundation of the mission rested in the hands of the operational guys that we didn’t get nearly as much visibility on out at Nellis--the line pilots shouldering their deployment burdens and rotating back and forth to the sandbox.

And I found myself missing the line… missing the operational times and the instructing of the young pilots. Although we came up with (or tried to, at least) the toughest scenarios that a Sandy One could face, we didn’t pass down Sandy patches, nor did we hand them out for the first time. We had passed that responsibility off to the next generation of young Sandys, and from the looks of it, they had accepted that responsibility heartily. I again thought to this patch’s future, and smiled at the thought of the next Sandy to earn it--to trade his “Sandy” for a “Sandy One.”

It’s just a call sign, right?

Were we not effective with the Boar, Hog, or any other call sign that was written into the air tasking order? Was there a requirement to fly as Sandy? After all, what is that but a momentary transmission or frequencies solely designed to identify the speaker? How quickly the mind returns to the secondary battles simmering while the primary rages before you. I realize that they could have slapped a demeaning handle on our flights and we would have accomplished the mission all the same. The missions over the Korengal in 2005 did little to prove any “earning” of the Sandy call sign. Our little victories of switching to the call sign under the cover of secure frequencies were of little consequence to the overall war effort, but spoke to our devotion to the title and its historical significance as it was passed down to us.

It’s just a call sign, right? So why not let us fly with it?

Those battles raging on the periphery of importance faded to the relegated files of memory that they deserved to be stored in. The CAOC could have told me to fly as Pinkwing and I would have flown with the same ferocity. Tell me to refer to myself as Boar, Hog, Cherry, or any other moniker, and I’ll accomplish the Sandy mission when there’s a comrade to be brought home, regardless of what name is carried over those radio frequencies. It will matter little, and time will quickly erase the consideration (and possibly the argument). The next generation will care little about whether we flew as Boar or Hog, but will ask repeatedly to hear the stories, hoping to glean the techniques they may be called upon to use someday. The battles waged against our own forces become the humorous anecdotes that keep the banter lively, and leave the young pilots shaking their heads at the ludicrousness of what our “leaders” and staffers feel is important in the conduct of combat operations. We bring our glasses to our lips as we quell the laughter and refresh our spirits, only to return to the deadly seriousness of the mission.

“There I was bro, no kidding. I don’t know how I got under those clouds and into the valley, but you should have seen what this bastard pulled off,” as you poke your brother-in-arms as he smiles sheepishly and continues to pass the story…

“Ah hell bro, that wasn’t nothin’. You’d have done it better--I just got lucky is all.” And the banter would continue long into the night, with the young pilots hanging on the words of their older comrades, just as we had done nine years before. The tests of combat that every veteran wonders about before the exam comes to pass, and the young ears that strained to unlock the lessons before their own opportunities confronted them.

Behind me, the WUGS began to finalize their preparations for the debrief and made their one-minute announcement. The time for random musings and the philosophical reinvention of history was pushed aside, and I turned back to my notes and continued rubbing my stinging eyes. On the top of the lineup card that we carried in the cockpit, I saw it again:

Sandy.

Just a call sign, right?

Damn right. But whether you’re allowed to use it or just ask for it in combat, it remains a call sign that still must be earned. I took one more glance around the room and noticed again that every young pilot supporting our training was wearing a Sandy patch of some flavor or design. Each one proclaimed himself as having earned that coveted title. I nodded to myself, smiled, and turned back to the mission at hand.

An entire room full of Sandys.

Sandy, earned.

---------------------------------

"Attention Cobras! There are 345 service days remaining... secure your lights and rooms please!"

@thundercrate6 via X

[blissfullylankartz]

📱: She sounded more leisurely, though a bit hurried.

“Have you asked your Master about us meeting? Mine didn’t visit me today, and I-”

“Are you ready to go, Dearie? Mr. Hurst is waiting outside.” Glinda’s voice had the electronic bite of a Shrink wrapped around something as close to motherly as possible. It made Freya freeze; she prayed Lok would receive this later, so she wouldn’t have to explain his voice if he answered the moment she dialed his number.

With her face to the wall, she mustered every ounce of normalcy she had. “Yes, Glinda. Please tell him I’ll meet him at the threshold in just a minute. I need to say goodbye to my friend first.”

“Be quick, Little Dove.”

“Yes, Glinda.” She ended the call with a quiet, nervous lilt: “I’m about to head out, with a sponsor, to a party. If we see each other, however unlikely that chance is, I’ll try to say hi. But just know my wings will be completely hidden. You might notice me as a very tall Mudokon beside a Glukkstar.”

Lok: groggily Lok would wake up from his spot on the couch, seems he had taken a nap today had been slow though he would soon be busy. There was a party going on that of course Lorelei would be attending, and so Lok too would be attending. Reaching his hand over to the insistent buzzing that had woke him he listened to the message, half processing it half not. Though slowly he would sit up, the message finally processing as he filling woke up, would it be the same party they were to attend...wait...what time was it?

As he would catch the time a grunt would escape him, slipping off the couch as he would behind to get himself ready for the party. He wouldn't have time to leave a response and it would be pointless to leave one knowing she wouldn't receive it till after the party. All he could do was attend with loreli and perhaps they would cross paths. He had no idea what the queen looked like, but she certainly knew how he looked it seemed. She had his picture after all.

With that he left his flat to meet with loreli and his master to attend the party. He had heard Arabella, another child of his, would be in attendance this time too, back from a spot of touring it seemed. He doubted they would have any time to chat however.

_

Or course when they would arrive it was only natural Lorelei would be hanging around the food and beverages, the model thankfully had a high metabolism, otherwise master would have scolded them. Though lok was usually attentive to his job, his eyes wondered the room, scanning all who entered. She had mentioned her wings would be hidden, so what other indicator were he to go by to spot the queen other than her master she had mentioned. Though his wondering gaze wouldn't go unnoticed as a gentle smack on his arm from Lorelei reminded him of his job and why he was here.

" focus! Don't go getting lose on your job with me now" the younger Mudokon would huff out before raising a glass delicately to Thier rounded snout as they took a sip, the beverage lightly bubbly.

" right, apologies" bowing his head apologetically he then folded his arms behind his back, fixing his posture to be up straighter as he stood by the much more angelic coloured Mudokon. The shorter Mudokon in somewhat see through clothing, though it wasn't like there was much to hide, Lorelei, always the boldest it seemed. While Lok remained in his usual tactical leather pants and compression shirt, he didn't think he could ever boldly have his body on display like Lorelei, especially in a room of praying eyes. It was already a lot for him to have the open slots on the thighs of his pants, he was thankful they were corseted though. Otherwise it would be much more uncomfortable.

[thethirdromana]

Mina says in her letter to Lucy that she has delayed writing to Lucy despite their upcoming vacation together because she has been "overwhelmed with work". Did the schoolmistress assistants work long hours?

So last year I read an absolutely fascinating article about the economics of Victorian schools for genteel young women - precisely the sort of place that we assume Mina works at.

It said that the schools and the teachers at them were required to present themselves as being of the same social class (upper middle class and upper class) as their pupils. But that was expensive, and the fees paid by the pupils were often not high enough to support that kind of lifestyle, so it was a difficult balancing act for headteachers to manage.

I can't for the life of me find that article again, infuriatingly, but assuming I've remembered it correctly, headteachers would have been under a lot of pressure to squeeze as much work out of their staff as possible, and to cut expenses wherever they could.

In the process I did find this interesting article about salaries of assistant schoolmistresses from 1904 - note that Mina is almost certainly earning less than the amounts specified in the article, since we can safely assume she doesn't have a degree.

In some industries, negotiations between employers and unions secured shorter working hours, and there was some (minimal) legislation. For instance in 1886 the Shop Hours Regulation Act limited the hours of shop workers under the age of 18 to less than 74 hours a week. There were greater restrictions on working hours in factories and coal mines. But servants, by contrast, could expect to work 14+ hours a day and only stop when they were asleep.

Mina's working day probably isn't quite that bad, and we know she gets a long summer holiday. But if I had to take a guess (and it really is just a guess!), I wouldn't be surprised if 10 or even 12 hour working days are routine for her.

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 22nd December ✨

I have been SO ill this week oh my god, I can’t even express how much hands this virus has 🤧 Thank you to all the shows who have kept me company this week!

🌲 @hellofromthehallowoods (178) Olivier!!!! Oh, it is breaking my HEART that his parents essentially pulled him out and dropped him in bloody France with no more power and no way of finding out what happened to the rest of the expedition. He doesn’t even know about Riot 😭 Also, I wish the gang had just been told the truth about that chapel because, my god, if it’s not Marco that goes wandering in there, it’s definitely going to be Hope!! Eek, Cole, man!!! You are not showing that you understand any of the principles that made Clem a good detective!! She had a process and a Shelby and years of practice!! You, sir, are going to fuck this up! We obviously now know for sure that Heather was one of the quartet and I feel like Ignatius is probably one because of the fire. Who knows! The game is still definitely afoot! 

🦋 @remnantspod (20) I was warned that this episode would break my heart but did I heed that warning as I listened on my walk through the city centre? No. Did I pay the socially embarrassing price for that hubris? Maybe!! Pushing down the trauma of that remnant leads to some qs from me (please share if you have thoughts!!). We know that Stephen Grenville was just one of many names that the keystone character was using - do we know if the man in this remnant was the ‘original’ one or a ‘fake’ SG? I’m thinking about what he said about Celine’s paintings and her being unable to stop her own style peeking through, I didn’t catch a flash of the Perry/Stephen/Apprentice in this man. I feel like it would add such an interesting layer if the murderer we know about was stealing identities from nasty people. But maybe that's wishful thinking! Does it make the murdering better if there's a good reason?? Idk! No? I might need to dedicate myself to a relisten sometime soon! 

🎃 Waiting For October by @monkeymanproductions (2.5) Ah, Poe. I love that there are still people fond enough of him to listen to his story no matter how irritating he is generally! I am definitely not well read enough to catch all of the references to other authors and stories but I found his cawing belligerence amusing all the same!! I’m looking forward to what’s next for Karo and Yvonne! 

🎙️WTNV (260 - December Monologues) Such a great time of year. I love hearing from characters we don’t catch up with as much like the Faceless Old Woman. I don’t know what’s about to happen with Steve, but I am buckled in and ready to find out!! 

🍾 @ameliapodcast (39) Amelia and Alvina are just on a prison tour at this point! Sometimes there are quotes that you just need to immediately add to the mental bank and “I piss on your mother's grave and wipe my ass with your birth certificate!” is 100% one of them 😂

🧳 Travelling Light @monstrousproductions (Q+A part 2)  my three take away points from this second part of the Q+A were 1) complete gratitude that Hero and I are on the same page about Scarry (who will most certainly return in late S2 right?). 2) I am soooo intrigued about your vague references to Olí and the Traveller’s relationship in S2 AND 3) Matt, that impression was genuinely horrifying. Thank you. 

🌵 @desertskiespodcast (1-4) I have been putting off listening to Desert Skies for too long because I knew it would make me emotional. Until Leon @tellnotalespod very correctly told me that a few tears are so worth it for the rest of the experience of listening to the show. I’m only a few eps in but I absolutely adore the balance of humour and heartache. I’ve literally had these characters for 2 hours and I would already kill for them!!

Have a lovely week, everyone! The days are getting longer and the nights are getting shorter!! 🫶

[thatdarkfanficstuff]

Flutter - Chapter Six

Pairing: Mafia!Steve Rogers x Adopted Stark!Reader

A/N: Filler on the shorter side. Sorry.

Steve took a few minutes to compose himself before calling Bucky into the room. Bucky’s usual smirk broadened into a grin as he ran his gaze over his friend, taking in all the little details of his appearance. “Enjoy your meeting?” he teased.

Steve managed a grin and ran a hand through his hair. “You could say that.” He tapped the desk as he thought, planning out every move that needed to be taken in the next several days. His eyes moved from his friend to the still open door, as if he could catch a glimpse of you if he tried hard enough. “She goes nowhere without an escort. At least two men at all times.”

Bucky frowned at that. “Has there been a threat?”

“Just protecting what’s mine,” Steve assured. “Call it a preventative measure.”

Bucky said nothing but his brows lifted in surprise. It would certainly send a message. Sharon had only been guarded when there was trouble brewing. Day to day, Steve tended to bitch about her even using one of the men as a driver. But then, that was an entirely different sort of relationship.

The king locked eyes with him once again. “Nothing happens to her, Buck. Nothing.”

“You got it, boss.” Bucky turned and strode from the room, eager to spread the word amongst the men.

***

The next morning, you were running late for a brunch meeting with Tony in his office. It didn’t matter what time you met with him or where, he always made certain some sort of food was present. It was his way of taking care of you, making sure you were eating.

You hurried to the door, only to be stopped when Sam stepped in front of you with a smile. “Morning, Ms. Stark. Will be driving yourself or using one of the cars today?”

You blinked as you processed his question. “Excuse me?”

His smile morphed into a grin at your confusion. So glad you could entertain him. “Boss has ordered an escort. Are they riding with you or are they driving you?”

“Is something going on I should know about?” Your life could be a dangerous one, you knew that, but normally if trouble was stirring you would have heard about it from one of your informants.

“Per Buck, nothing happens to you or it’s our heads. I guess you’d know more about the boss’s sudden protective streak than me. I just do as I’m told.”

You shook your head. You didn’t have the time deal with this right now. “You might as well drive then. I’m already late.”

He sent a text before opening the door for you. He lead you to a non-descript dark sedan and held the back door open for you. You slid in, surprised to find a blond young man already in the driver’s seat.

He glanced back as Sam got into the passenger seat. “Greetings, Ms. Stark. You can call me Pietro. Where may we take you today?”

“Stark tower.”

Pietro flashed you a rather attractive grin before Sam huffed out in annoyance. “Quit flirting, Maximoff and drive.”

“I was just saying hello,” the blond pouted.

“For you that’s flirting,” Sam countered. “We’ll have you there in a flash, Ms. Stark.”

You smiled at their interaction before turning your attention to your phone to text a certain king. What’s with the guard detail?

Strictly a preventative measure, Flutter. Don’t want any harm coming to my guest.

The corner of your lips curled into a smirk. Why don’t I believe that?

Come to my office and we can discuss it.

You say that, but we don’t seem to do much talking when I’m in your office.

Several minutes passed before he answered. I think we communicate just fine, flutter. Where are you?

Meeting with Dad. That conversation will have to wait.

You slipped your phone into your bag as you arrived at the tower and directed them to pull up to the front. “Sorry, gentlemen but you won’t be allowed in the building. I have your number, Sam. I’ll call when I’m ready to leave.”

Sam turned to look at you as the car came to a stop. “Please take care of yourself in the meantime. I’m too pretty to die.”

“What he said,” Pietro said, causing you to laugh as you stepped from the sedan and headed into the building.

***

Your meeting with Tony took much longer than it should have. He seemed reluctant to let you leave though you’d been spending plenty of time with him. You’d think he was lonely but he still had Pepper and your siblings at home. You sighed as you headed to your room, eager to kick off your shoes and put on some more comfortable clothes.

An arm wrapped around your waist and a hand covered your mouth as you were pulled into one of the many rooms along the hall. The door shut behind you and you were turned so your back pressed against the wall. You sucked in a breath of air, prepared to scream until your gaze found the familiar blue eyes of Steve.

You shoved lightly at his chest. “You’re a dick.”

His low chuckle sent a shiver up your spine. “Sorry, Flutter. Couldn’t resist.” He pressed a kiss to your temple. “How was your meeting?”

You let you head fall forward to lean on his chest. His hands found your waist and he pulled you closer. “Exhausting,” you answered after a beat.

His grip tightened briefly. “Any particular reason?”

Your head lifted so you could see him while you spoke. You gave a little shrug. “Not really. He’s just used to me always being there so he’s having to handle more of it on his own. He’s been making a list between meetings of things he needs to ask me or tell me. A lot of it’s not important but I’m no longer there for him to make random comments to most of the time. It’ll get better.”

Steve tilted his head and ran his gaze over your face. “I have no intention of making you leave Stark Industries or any of the other business, you know. You could have someone drive you in every day. I want you to be happy here.”

That brought a soft smile to your face. “We’ll see how things settle, Steve, though I appreciate the sentiment. As much as you two cooperate, you are still competitors so to speak. Though, I suppose Roman doesn’t have much to do with your business, does he?”

“Roman has fuck all to do with you,” he snapped.

You arched a brow even as your heart raced at the declaration. “Is that so?”

He dropped his head forward with a sigh. You let him just breathe for a moment before you lifted a hand to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. Tension seemed to flow from him as he pressed a soft kiss to your lips. He pulled back only far enough to lean his forehead against yours. “Things will work out, you’ll see, Flutter. Just give me time.”

And wasn’t that a tired line used by cheating spouses the world over.

You swallowed your disappointment and kissed him again. “Okay, Steve,” you said with a pat to his chest. You stepped out of his hold and moved to the door.

A hand grasped your wrist as your other hand twisted the knob. You turned back to see him watching you with worried eyes.

“Trust me.” It was a demand. A request. A plea. When you didn’t immediately respond, he said it again. “Trust me, Flutter. I promise you won’t regret it.”

The corners of your lips curled in a gesture not quite friendly enough to be called a smile. “See that I don’t, Mr. Rogers.” With that, you disappeared to your own room as Steve headed to his office to make a call.