#and then i realized it sounded like a ship name and cried

[toonagi]

*shoving art of my silly dogs in your face* BEHOLD MY SONS

[i-drop-level-one-loot]

*NSFW* How to train your pet Human (Yandere!Alien X GN!Reader)

CW: Mind break, training, human pet, pet/owner relationship, humiliation, dub-con, non-con, dead dove

Pt 2, pt 3

(Reader) sat quietly and fearfully in a small cage that didn't allow for any wiggle room, their legs falling asleep under them from being in the same position for so long. They didn't remember how they got here, in a cage surrounded by freaks in what seemed to be a street market, only remembering walking home from the convenience store a little past midnight and seeing a white, blinding light before passing out.

Aliens of all shapes stuck their disgusting faces towards the bars of (Reader's) cage, speaking in sounds that didn't sound like speech at all. (Reader) watched as sniffling cages near them were bought one by one, and feared for their future.

After nearly an entire day (Reader) felt their cage lift high above the ground without shaking, and witnessed a tall creature draped with beautiful deep blue robes raise the cage to get a better look at (Reader's) face without needing to bend down. And bending down to the tiny cage must have been impossible without dirtying it's knees, since it seemed over seven feet tall.

It's face face was smooth, with large, opal colored eyes eyes in a hard shelled face. There was no nose, or lips, on its black and purple iridescent face. It spoke in a human like voice, in an earth language (Reader) couldn't understand.

"What?" Their voice was dry from dehydration.

"I asked what language you speak."

The voice was higher than expected, and melodic, yet still masculine. He lowered the cage to his hip, but didn't set (Reader) down, exchanging chatter with the seller and handing over a bag full of, what (Reader) assumed to be, some type of currency.

(Reader) was carried back to what looked like to be a large ship, dying of anxiety over what was going to become of them. They passed through multiple corridors and gateways, before entering a room decorated with glass cases and blue drapery the same color as the alien's cloak. He placed the cage on the floor and unlatched it, stepping back to give (Reader) space.

They tried to stand, but their legs were dead from the hours they spent bent doubled over. They cried in pain as the feeling began to slowly tingle down their thighs to their feet.

"What is wrong, human?"

(Reader) wiped away the snot and tears rolling down their chin. "My-My legs are numb from sitting in the cage. It hurts."

The one who bought (Reader) reached under their arm pits, raising them up and sitting them on a very high desk. He reached with what looked like scaled hands and began to massage their legs. (Reader) whined in discomfort, both at the pain and the uncomfortable situation, fearful to push the much taller creature away. Now that they were out of the cage, the alien was much taller and imposing, visibly sleek bodied under the fabric, but not scrawny, (Reader) could feel his strength.

"What is your name, human?"

"...(Reader)."

"(Reader)." He practiced saying their name, still massaging their legs. "I am Kirtch."

(Reader) nervously fiddled with the bottom of their shirt. "Why am I here?"

Kirtch pried his eyes away from their legs, looking down into (Reader's) scared face. "This will be your new home."

"What?" (Reader's) heart dropped into their stomach.

"I promise your safety, (Reader). I will do my best to provide you with comfort." Kirtch picked (Reader) up again, but didn't set them down, carrying them around the room giving them a little tour. The room was actually three, entering from the main hall into a study first, with another door leading to a bedroom, a small restroom hidden within that.

"I didn't expect to be bringing you home, so I don't have any human furniture yet. Although I've never owned a human before there is no need for you to fret, I have done extensive research, and I am confident as a first time owner."

(Reader) only just began to fully realize what was happening to them. "I.. I want to go home." The back of their throat got tight, choking back a sob painfully. Their nose began to tingle and they knew they wouldn't be able to hold back their tears for long.

Kirtch rubbed their back in what was supposed to be a comforting manor, but his hands were harder than a humans, and it was rough against their skin. "You'll feel better once your adjustment period is over. I shall bring you something to eat. It won't be a cultural dish from your planet, but it will be made of human safe ingredients."

(Reader) stretched their legs while trying to smile through their tears. 'Like hell. I'd rather die.'

They watched as he left the room, wondering how far away the kitchen or dining area was from the room they were in. (Reader) waited for a few minutes after Kirtch left before shakily rushing towards the door. But the door had no handles or knobs, it was a flat wall with barley any indication that there was an opening at all. They touched all over the spot (Reader) had seen the tall man had placed his hand, but nothing happened.

"no no nO NO!" They slapped the "door" in frustration. Time for plan B. (Reader) pressed their back against the wall, as flat as they could muster, just trying to make sure they wouldn't be visible in Kirtch's peripherals. The fear was destroying the lining of (Reader's) stomach, gurgling uncomfortably.

A whirring noise activated as Kirtch entered the room, holding a tray in his hands. It was quick, but (Reader) snuck right behind Kirtch and out the room without him noticing, right before the automatic door slid shut. The walls of the hallway were very tall and slightly rounded, made out of a blue metal. (Reader) began running in the direction they remembered entering from. They knew the probability that they were still on land was slim, but dying was better than being kept a prisoner without any hope of returning home.

(Reader) made it down only one hallway before strong hands effortlessly lifted them under their armpits. They kicked while crying, not seemingly phasing Kirtch in the slightest. He brought them back to his room, and his lack of anger hurt (Reader's) pride; it was good that he wasn't furious, threatening to hurt them, but his calmness reinforced the futility of (Reader's) escape attempt.

"That was my fault. I read that humans were prone to escaping, especially in the adjustment period. I should have expected this." He sat down, a deep imitation of a sigh rumbling through his hard chest. Kirtch sat down in his large chair in front of his desk, and laid (Reader) across his knees as their face fell. "Knowing this is my fault brings me no joy for what I need to do, however the manual did say that humans will test authority and will continue to do so if not punished."

(Reader) protested while squirming, incapable of breaking free as Kirtch slid their pants down to their thighs, exposing their bare bottom. His shelled hand was cold against their skin. (Reader) clenched to prepare themselves for contact, but it was useless against the inhuman slap, his hard flesh resulting in a sharp pain like they had been struck with a paddle instead of a hand. They yelped, squeezing their thighs together as the tears began to form again.

Another slap connected with their ass painfully, stinging as their tender rear began to bruise.

"I'm so-sorry!" (Reader) blubbered, another whack rippling their buttocks aggressively.

"Humans may appear remorseful, however this is self defense tactic to cease the pain they are experiencing. Unless one establishes themselves as the dominant force, they will continue to act out."

"No! I really am sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!" Their voice cracked as they screamed out the apology between sobs and slaps.

Kirtch smiled, rubbing the skin he had split open, stinging the fresh cuts. "I shall finish with your punishment for now. I do not wish to spoil you, but I would be lying if I didn't have a soft spot for you, my cute little pet. The next time this happens I will not be so gentle.."

(Reader) widened their eyes in horror. That was gentle?!

"Would you rather spend your first night in my bed, or shall I prepare a nest on the floor for you? I will buy a suitable human bed for you tomorrow, of course, but until then..?"

"The floor." (Reader) replied a little too quickly.

A "nest" of bedding was constructed, and (Reader) did find it quite comfortable, but refused to sleep, fearful that at any moment they would be in danger. They rested for what only felt like three or fours hours, max, before Kirtch rose from his bed and begun his day. His routine was uncannily similar to a human's, rising and dressing in his robe, stretching and leaving to five something to eat. It only enraged (Reader) further at their inhumane treatment.

"I am not a dog." They whispered to themselves, as though fearful they would forget.

The ship must have been still docked at the trader's colony, because throughout the day gifts for (Reader) were brought into Kirtch's room and office. With each piece of "human" furniture Kirtch would happily rub (Reader's) head, petting them like an animal and waiting for them to show some kind of sign that they enjoyed their new toys. But (Reader) showed no such sign, feeling humiliated as they were treated like a cat instead of an adult human. But they didn't snack away Kirtch's hand, or tell him off, scared of being punished again, so they simply sulked, trying to hide from his gaze so they could disassociate without interruption.

His new pet's attitude was making Kirtch worried. He flipped through the human owning handbook, wondering what he could be doing wrong. They seemed so stressed, and Kirtch felt it was far worse than the normal stress of a new environment. Then Kirtch flipped to an interesting chapter on chemical responses. "If your human has pent up frustrations or stress, a fun way to help them relieve themselves is the manual release of the chemical oxytocin..."

(Reader) hid under a box, hating the irony of their hiding place while they tried to formulate a new escape plan, now knowing that they were in fact still connected to some type of land. Not every alien could be a cruel monster, there had to be some kind of interplanetary animal rights group or space hippies. The box was lifted and removed from (Reader) sat to the side as Kirtch smiled down on them.

"I'm sorry I haven't been playing with you, pet. I've been so busy trying to make this room more comfortable for you that I have been unintentionally neglecting you." He scooped (Reader) up into his arms, and brought them over to his desk, which he had already cleared off. (Reader) nervously glanced around, wondering what was going to happen to them. "But I wanted to help you become acclimated to your new home. And you still feel more comfortable the sooner we ease your stress." He pulled out a box and a couple of strange bottles with syringes.

(Reader) scrambled to get away, but was quickly held down by one hand, being shushed in what was supposed to be a calming manner. One of the strange bottles filled the syringe, making (Reader) thrash harder. Kirtch pulled down their pants, revealing their still sore ass cheeks, and stuck in the needle, injecting them with the unknown liquid. (Reader) cried out as a warm sensation rippled through their body, turning their limbs to jello and making it difficult to breathe.

Kirtch released them, seeing that they could no longer run from him. (Reader) growled, pissed off that their body wouldn't act as they wanted it to. "What did you do to me?!" Their body was rapidly heating, becoming to feverish to hold up.

"If your human has pent up frustrations or stress, a fun way to help them relieve themselves is the manual release of the chemical oxytocin..." Kirtch opened the box next, revealing a strange rubber looking object shaped like a cup on the outside with polyps inside. "I have always wanted a pet human, (Reader), so I was very excited to see you for sale. You are the most attractive like human I've ever seen, and I promise to give you a long, happy life."

The device was placed on (Reader's) crotch, attaching itself to their pubic area without needing to be held on. It came to life, each nub moving on it's own as it rubbed (Reader's) growing erection. The contraption grew against (Reader's) body, enlarging to fill every hole and crevice, pulsating and writhing like a living creature.

"No! It feels gross! Take it off!" (Reader) screamed in fear, watching as their hips bucked against their will and their nipples hardened through their shirt. Tears over how unfair everything was pricked at their eyes. Kirtch lifted (Reader) into the sitting position, rubbing their back soothingly while giving them a better view of the throbbing toy violating them.

"Shh. There's a good pet.." His words felt like taunts to (Reader) as they kept approaching their orgasm.

(Reader's) body was shaking as it begged for release, but (Reader) held strong, trying to rob Kirtch of the satisfaction of seeing them crumble. Another bottle was opened, this one however was poured down (Reader's) throat before they had a chance to cognitively force themselves to close their mouth. The warm liquid was tasteless and odorless, but the effect was like an immediate five shots of vodka, clearing (Reader's) sinuses and plunging them into a drunken stupor.

"What..? What..?" (Reader) couldn't even form their sentence correctly. Their unfocused eyes drifted around confusedly before snapping down to their lower regions, feeling their stomach muscles clench in anticipation.

Kirtch continued to rub their head and chest, gently rubbing their head like a good puppy while he rolled their nipple between his harsh fingers. "Whose my good little pet?"

"Ahh! No.. I'm not a pet.." (Reader's) whimpering voice mewled pathetically, their quivering lips complimenting their sweaty visage. The tingling feeling that had been building was ready to overflow.

"Don't you want to cum, little pet? It's okay. I'll make sure to always keep you happy like this, all you have to do is ask nicely." Kirtch leaned in, amused by his human's drenched thighs soaking his desk, shaking from being denied their orgasm. Behind (Reader's) back, Kirtch held a remote. They would not achieve relief until they played the part of a good little pet.

Drool dripped down (Reader's) chin, unnoticed by their hazy mind. "I-I want to cum."

"What was that?"

"Please let me cum?" They moaned, trying to press themselves deeper into the toy.

A button was pressed outside of (Reader's) peripherals.

Their body rocked violently as (Reader) was finally allowed to achieve their climax. Kirtch continued to stroke their head affectionately, whispering words of praise to his little human as liquid dripped from between the toy and their wet holes.

Kirtch kissed the top of their damp head, still smiling over how adorable (Reader) was. Although he hoped his pet would come to love him and enjoy his company on their own, he was secretly excited to use this toy on his little pet again. He peeled the appliance off, causing (Reader) to twitch sensitively in Kirtch's arms. Their eyes were unfocused and glazed, but Kirtch found that it wasn't a bad look on (Reader).

"Why don't you lay down for a nap, little pet. We'll play some more when you wake up."

[kanyerealdaughter]

#TROUBLE

sexual content , pet names , face fucking , oral (male receiving , cussing , intercourse , pet names , breeding , and uhh i can’t remember..

—————————————————————————

after arguments and arguments law doesn’t like to argue, but you were complicating it. you wanted to go out, but the heart pirates were leaving the next day, but you kept on insisting on going out until he just walked away from you pouting and still complaining.

now it’s the afternoon and law tried to talk to you, but your stubborn self was too salty about yesterday.

 " i don’t let you go out for a reason." law says his words are hungry and wanting, you tremble as he places his hand on your neck. 

" law.?." your voice trails off as he brings his mouth to yours. his lips danced with yours, the more you gave in the more moans that came from his mouth.

his hands stayed at your waist as he slipped his tongue in the kiss. you tugged at his hair making a slight whimper leave him. when you were about to take his shirt off, you felt a raindrop hit your forehead. you open your eyes to see law smiling. 

 " i suppose we should go inside then, hm?" you smile back at him as he picks you up and takes you inside the ship in the kitchen. he places you on a counter and goes to shut the door.

law pulls his shirt over his head, revealing his hard abs and his chest with his jolly roger design, and smaller heart tattoos on his buff shoulder. he took your shirt off leaving you in your bra as he tossed your shirt on the floor with his somewhere.

" this okay?" he asks softly as he pulls down your pant. you respond with a 'mhm' as he starts kissing you again. he slides down his pants and underwear, revealing his very hard cock throbbing. your mouth watered at the sight. the kiss deepened with every move you both made.

" mm come on, pretty girl." law grunted as he shoved your head down to his hard erection. you looked up at him submissively, but once you said that was all it took for you to start bobbing your head up and down his length.

 " fuck.." he grunted out. you went faster, resulting in his hand taking a fistful of your hair letting him face fuck your face making your saliva come down your chin giving him the sloppiest blowjob ever you could feel his cock twitch inside your mouth.

 " mmmm." he whispers as he lifts your head off of his wet cock as he smashes his lips onto yours, dragging his tongue across your bottom lip where some pre cum was left. 

" i'm going to fuck you so good you're gonna forget your name..." he picked you up and laid you down on the countertop, making your breasts upwards in your bra. he pulled your underwear to the side, revealing your bare, glistening pussy.

 " all for me.." he says out loud but sounded like he was talking to himself in a deeper voice than his natural tone. you could tell he had been waiting for this. he wanted you, so badly.

" mhm all for you." you reply in a needy tone. he rocked his head back as he ran his cock head through your soaked folds, collecting your wetness before he entered you. you let out a shaky breath as he went faster and faster thrusting deeper into your gummy walls squeezing right around his cock.

" this is for all the fucking disrespect you give me, all the shit i do to protect you-" his words were cut off by his groan leaving his mouth as he watched your breasts move up and down. he flipped you and your body over suddenly. he lifted his hand up, and smacked it across your ass. 

" f-fuckkk, law m’ so sorryyy.!!" you yell out. he quickened his pace his thick cock stretching your tight pussy with every thrust. the sound of skin slapping against skin echoes in the room along with your cries slapping your ass hard.

" you like that? hmm pretty girl.?" you nodded eagerly in response, gripping the edge of the counter. tears begin to brim your eyes when you realize you're so close to cumming.

" l-law.., i'm almost-" he cut you off by tugging your hair making you throw your head back exposing your neck he leans over you, one hand grabbing your hair, turning your face so he can kiss you deeply while still rutting into you.

" ill tell you when you're done." he growls letting go of your hair and put both hands on your hips now with a tight grip.

" o-oh n-mhhh! law!.. cumming!" you practically scream as you cum all over his dick. he kept going even after you did cum. your head fell to the counter top, trying to catch your breath.

" fuckk.." law groans as he slows his pace his fingers digging into your hips hard enough to bruise. he swells inside you about to cum as well. his thrusts are sloppy as his orgasm hitting hard as he buries himself to the hilt inside you and unloads his thick, hot seed deep inside your spasming pussy. he keeps cumming, painting your insides with his mark sperm.

𖣂 KANYEREALDAUGHTER SPEAKS - my head hurtsss.

words - 0.8k

», ᴀ ᴋᴀɴʏᴇʀᴇᴀʟᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ

copyright ©️. ᴘʀᴏᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ . «

[yoomiwrites]

Missing Ghost³

Summary: After losing her memory in a storm, a young Marine remembers only the name “Mihawk” and sets out to find him, convinced he holds the key to her past. As she sharpens her skills and follows his trail across countless ports, Mihawk is always just out of reach. Finally, she arrives at a port where his ship waits, knowing her answers are close.

Note: I need to update my work / pinned thingy. But I am waaaaay to lazy to do so now. Maybe later. Anyways, here we go, the next chapter of this story! It's not easy at all to picture how Mihawk behaves, so pls bear with me. Again, I can't give any promise on when I'll update this again but if we hit 30 reactions, the next chapter should come soon!

The port town was a labyrinth of noise and chaos, bustling with merchants, sailors, and the occasional mercenary weaving through the crowded streets. Every step I took felt heavy, my eyes darting over every face, every corner, searching. I had no plan, no strategy beyond following the tug in my chest that pulled me forward, a feeling that whispered he was close.

The whispers from the crowd had grown louder the further I moved into the town.

“Did you see him?”

“He cut them down like it was nothing—”

“Hawk Eyes Mihawk...he’s here.”

I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening as I pushed through the throng. The streets led me toward the edge of town, where the noise shifted from bustling trade to something sharper—shouts, cries, and the unmistakable clang of steel. My feet carried me closer before I even realized it, my heart pounding louder with each step.

And then I saw him.

Dracule Mihawk stood amidst the carnage, his black cloak flowing around him like the wings of a predator. His sword, massive and imposing, gleamed in the dim light as it cut through the last pirate standing, a clean, effortless motion. Blood spattered the ground around him, bodies crumpled at his feet, but his expression was calm, almost detached, as though the chaos around him was nothing more than a passing nuisance.

For a moment, I froze, unable to breathe. I knew him. Not just the name or the reputation, but something deeper, like a half-remembered melody finally coming into focus. His piercing golden eyes swept the crowd, sharp and calculating, and then they found me.

Our eyes locked.

My breath hitched. Something stirred within me—a pull so strong it felt like it might drag me forward against my will. My body moved before my mind could catch up, weaving through the bloodied scene as if the danger didn’t exist, as if the corpses littering the street were invisible.

He watched me, unmoving, his gaze unwavering as I drew closer. There was no fear in me, not even hesitation. The tug in my chest grew stronger with every step, guiding me toward him like a thread pulling me home.

The stench of blood thickened as I reached him, tilting my head back to meet his gaze. Up close, he was even more imposing than I remembered—or imagined. His face was sharp, chiseled, his eyes unreadable yet filled with a weight I couldn’t name.

For a moment, the world seemed to still.

“It’s a surprise you’re alive,” he said at last, his deep voice cutting through the silence like a blade. “For a stupid, clumsy Marine.”

His tone was cold, biting, but there was something beneath it—something I couldn’t name. Relief, maybe? I wouldn’t have noticed even if it had been more obvious; all I could feel was the strange pull toward him, as if I’d finally found the one solid thing in a world I didn’t remember.

My lips parted, but no words came. What could I say? That I’d been looking for him, chasing a shadow, convinced he held the key to a past I couldn’t recall? That the sound of his voice stirred something in me that felt almost like belonging?

Instead, I simply stared, the silence between us stretching as the blood of the slain pirates pooled at our feet.

Mihawk’s golden eyes lingered on me for a moment longer, unreadable, before he turned without a word, Yoru slung across his back like a silent guardian. His boots crunched against the bloodied ground as he began to walk away, as though the entire scene—the corpses, the chaos, and me—meant nothing to him.

I blinked, momentarily stunned, before my feet moved on instinct. “Wait!”

He didn’t stop, didn’t even glance back. Determined, I hurried after him, weaving through the crowd that had started to gather at a cautious distance. The people parted for him like waves around a ship, their hushed whispers trailing behind him.

“Stop walking away from me!” I demanded, raising my voice, though it wavered slightly under the weight of his presence. “You called me a Marine. What do you mean by that?”

No response. His pace was steady, unbothered, like I wasn’t even there.

“I know you,” I pressed, desperation seeping into my tone. “Don’t I? You wouldn’t have let me live otherwise… Right?”

Still nothing. His silence made my chest tighten, but I refused to back down. “Say something!”

Finally, he slowed, just enough for me to catch up to his side. I looked up at him, trying to read the sharp angles of his face, but his expression remained impassive.

“You know something about me,” I insisted, walking briskly to match his long strides. “You have to. Otherwise, why would you…?” I gestured vaguely behind us, to the battlefield he’d left in his wake.

He stopped abruptly, and I nearly stumbled to avoid bumping into him. His gaze swept over me, piercing and calculating, as though he were dissecting every word I’d said. I shifted under the intensity, suddenly aware of how much smaller I felt beside him.

“You don’t remember,” he said finally, his voice low but firm, as if stating a fact he had just confirmed.

I frowned. “Remember what?”

For the first time, something flickered in his eyes—something almost like recognition mixed with irritation. “Anything,” he said, more a statement than a question.

“I remember…” I hesitated, unsure how to explain the fractured pieces of my memory. “I remember waking up on a beach. No one knew who I was, not even me. But I…” My voice trailed off, searching his face for a reaction. “I knew your name. And now, seeing you, I know you. I don’t know why, but I do.”

Mihawk regarded me silently, his gaze as sharp as the blade on his back. For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t reply, but then he asked, “What else?”

“What else?” I echoed, confused.

“What else do you remember?”

I swallowed hard, the weight of his question pressing down on me. “Not much,” I admitted. “Just… flashes. A storm. The sea. And you. I’ve been searching for you ever since I remembered your name. It’s all I’ve had to go on.”

His expression didn’t change, but there was a subtle shift in his posture, a tension that hadn’t been there before. He was piecing something together; I could see it in the slight narrowing of his eyes, the faint tilt of his head.

“You really don’t remember anything,” he murmured, more to himself than to me.

I shook my head. “I don’t even know why I’m here. Why I’ve been chasing you for so long. But you know something, don’t you?”

Mihawk’s gaze held mine for a long moment, and for the first time, I thought I saw a flicker of something human beneath his icy exterior. A shadow of doubt, or maybe… curiosity?

Finally, he turned away, his voice calm but edged with finality. “If you’ve forgotten, it’s no longer my concern.”

“No!” I grabbed his arm without thinking, my grip firm despite the tremor in my hands. He looked down at me, one brow arching in faint surprise, but he didn’t pull away.

“I don’t care if it’s not your concern,” I said, forcing steel into my voice. “You’re the only one who knows anything about me. And I’m not letting you walk away until you tell me.”

His expression hardened, but he didn’t shake me off. Instead, he studied me again, his eyes sweeping over me as if searching for something hidden beneath the surface.

“Tell me what you remember of the storm,” he said, his voice quieter this time, almost contemplative.

I frowned, unsure why it mattered but willing to cling to anything that might give me answers. “There’s not much,” I said slowly. “The waves were huge. My ship—if it was even mine—was breaking apart. I remember clinging to something, and then… nothing. Just darkness. When I woke up, I was on a beach, and everything was gone. My past, my name, everything.”

Mihawk’s gaze grew distant, his jaw tightening as though he were wrestling with something unspoken. Then he let out a soft scoff, shaking his head.

“You were more trouble than you were worth back then,” he muttered, his tone almost bitter. But there was a faint edge of something else—something softer—buried beneath the words. “It seems that hasn’t changed.”

I frowned, unsure whether to be offended or relieved. “So you do know me.”

He didn’t answer, but the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth told me enough. He turned again, starting to walk away.

“Hey!” I called, jogging to catch up. “Where are you going now?”

He glanced at me over his shoulder, his expression unreadable. “If you’re so desperate for answers,” he said, his tone as sharp as Yoru’s edge, “you’ll have to keep up.”

And just like that, he was moving again, leaving me to scramble after him once more.

The silence between us stretched, heavy and suffocating as I trailed after Mihawk. My questions had grown quieter with each unanswered attempt, his cold indifference wearing down my resolve. His steps were steady, unyielding, as if no force in the world could sway him.

Eventually, my voice gave out entirely. I stopped asking. The only sound left was the crunch of boots against the dirt road and the faint hum of the town fading behind us.

Mihawk led us to a secluded spot near the cliffs, where the restless sea stretched endlessly before us. He moved with practiced ease, lowering himself to sit against the trunk of a lone tree. His massive blade, Yoru, rested beside him, its hilt gleaming faintly in the waning sunlight. Without a word, he tipped his hat forward to shield his face, his body language making it abundantly clear that he intended to rest—and that he had no intention of speaking further.

I frowned, standing a few paces away, unwilling to let him dismiss me so easily. “You can’t just ignore me,” I said, crossing my arms. “Not after all this.”

He didn’t even lift his head. “I can,” he said simply, his tone low and unbothered. “And I am.”

My fists clenched. “I’ve been chasing you for years! You clearly know something about me—why won’t you just tell me?”

He let out a quiet, exasperated sigh, tilting his hat back just enough to reveal one sharp, golden eye. “I don’t care about your search for answers,” he said, his voice cold and measured. “And you should consider yourself fortunate that I don’t find your presence intolerable. Yet.”

The word hung in the air, a warning, and I felt a chill crawl down my spine. For a moment, I thought about turning away, giving up. But something in me refused to let go, the pull toward him stronger than ever.

“Why don’t you mind my presence?” I asked softly, taking a step closer. “If you really didn’t care, you could have killed me back there. So why didn’t you?”

His gaze lingered on me, unreadable, before he tipped his hat back down. “You wouldn’t understand even if I told you,” he muttered.

I opened my mouth to argue, but then he spoke again, cutting me off.

“Your name is Y/N.”

I froze, the words hitting me like a jolt of lightning. “What…?”

“You asked for something,” he said, his tone growing sharper. “There it is. Y/N. It’s your name.”

My breath caught. Hearing it felt like a key turning in a long-locked door, a fragment of something lost slotting into place.

“That’s my name?” I whispered, the sound foreign yet familiar on my tongue.

“Yes,” Mihawk replied flatly, already tipping his hat lower again as if that settled the matter. “Now leave me to rest.”

I wanted to say more, to ask a thousand questions that burned on the tip of my tongue, but his tone brooked no argument. For now, I swallowed the flood of emotions welling up inside me and took a hesitant step back, clutching the name he had given me like a lifeline.

Y/N. My name was Y/N. And whatever lay ahead, I wouldn’t let him bury the answers again.

[lady-arcane]

If You Loved Gojo, You Should’ve Cried for Geto Too :

(A eulogy for the other half of the story.)

People talk about Gojo like he’s a myth. A phenomenon. A force.

The strongest.

The honored one.

The boy who walked into battle laughing, who blinded the world and somehow still burned quietly inside.

But nobody talks about Geto.

Not really. Not in the way that counts.

Not in the way you'd talk about someone you lost too young.

-----

Geto Suguru didn’t fall.

He unraveled.

Piece by piece. Year by year.

Not in one great tragic moment, but in the quiet, steady disillusionment that happens when you love too much in a world that keeps asking you to be okay with cruelty.

He was the best of them, once.

Sharp. Kind. Smiling. He used to laugh so loudly it echoed. He used to believe in saving people.

Until belief wasn’t enough anymore.

Until the children kept dying, and no one cared unless they were born with power.

-----

And what do you do when you’re powerless in your grief?

You either collapse…

Or you radicalize.

Geto didn’t want to destroy the world.

He wanted to make it stop.

He wanted silence after years of screaming.

Peace after endless loss.

A future where the people he loved could live without watching civilians beg them for help and then flinch at their existence.

That kind of hope can rot you from the inside out.

-----

They always say Geto left Gojo.

But maybe Gojo left him first.

Not on purpose.

Not by choice.

But when Gojo became the strongest, Geto became the one standing still.

Watching his best friend evolve into something divine while he stayed painfully, helplessly human.

And Gojo Satoru kept moving forward because he had to.

And Geto Suguru stayed behind because he couldn’t.

That’s how people break���not from a single fracture, but from the silence between footfalls when you realize you’re no longer walking beside each other.

-----

You want to know something unfair?

Even after everything—after the ideology, after the murders, after the war—

Suguru still loved him.

You can see it.

In the way he smiled, tired and soft, when they met again.

In the way he said, “You’re the only one who ever understood me.”

And in the way Gojo couldn’t bring himself to kill him, not really.

Couldn’t even finish the sentence.

“At least curse me properly in the end, Suguru.”

Even when they stood on opposite sides of a ruined world,

(They never stopped being each other’s first home.)

-----

So if you cried for Gojo Satoru—

For the burden he carries, for the loneliness he wears,

For the way his laughter covers something too quiet to name—

Then cry for Geto Suguru too.

Because Geto is why Gojo hurts the way he does.

Because Gojo lost the one person who saw him, not as a weapon, not as a god,

But as a friend. As a boy. As someone who could be laughed with.

Because every time Gojo smiles now, it feels just a little bit borrowed.

A little bit hollow.

Because the strongest sorcerer in the world couldn’t save the one person he wanted to.

-----

Geto wasn’t the villain of the story.

He was the tragedy no one was ready to hold.

So here’s to him—

The one who stayed kind for as long as he could.

The one who carried too much.

The one who gave in to silence, because it was the only thing left that didn’t hurt.

You don’t have to agree with what he did.

But if you really loved Gojo Satoru…

You should’ve cried for Geto Suguru too.

-----

Greetings, Dreamers and Readers ✨🌸

So, here’s a random thought that’s been bouncing around in my head for a while. I swear, Gojo and Geto are basically two sides of the same coin. I know, it sounds cliché, but it’s true. Whether you ship them or not doesn’t even matter—there’s this unspoken bond between them, this shared history and pain that’s just too strong to ignore. And, honestly, it’s like they were meant to be connected in some tragic, inevitable way.

It’s funny, every time I write about Gojo, Geto’s right there. Like, I can’t get one without the other, and I don’t even want to. It’s like a natural thing, a reflection of each other’s choices and consequences. They are the embodiment of that one truth that always haunts us—people become the very thing they try to escape.

I don't know. Maybe I’m overthinking it, but there’s something so tragic in how they’re both broken by their own choices. It’s like they were never meant to be fully happy or to save each other, but somehow, in the wreckage, they’re the only ones who understand. That’s the tragedy, right?

---

Anyway, this is just me rambling about them again, because, well... someone has to say it. I hope you liked this meta, and if you’ve got thoughts—please, let me know. I’m all ears. Always love hearing different perspectives on these two, especially when it comes to this tragic duo.

✨ Bye and take care, hope you all have a good day ✨

[photogirl894]

Hey bestie! Congrats on 1300!!!!❤️❤️❤️

You deserve every single one of those followers and more!

Could you do the fluff prompt "Let me help you" with Hunter? Maybe the reader is really stressed/burnt out and Hunter just wants to take care of her. (If you wanna do it with a little hurt/comfort flair I definitely wouldn't mind 😂)

Thanks so much!

Thank you so much, my dear!! 💜 I'm happy to count you among my followers and friends!! 🥰

I got uh...slightly carried away with this one towards the end, I'll admit 😅 You'll see what I mean lol

"Emotional Engineering"

34. "Let me help you."

Pairing: Hunter x fem reader

***

Becoming an engineer was something you'd wanted since you were a teenager and you were asked in school the kind of career you wanted to pursue. You were smart and really good with ship parts, putting them together and fixing them and such. You thought becoming an engineer would be no problem.

Until you got to engineering school at the Republic Academy.

That was not easy by any means.

You were lucky to get an internship as an engineer working in the Republic shipyards that helped with some things during your schooling, but it still kept you busy and only added a bit more stress.

Then you were assigned to a squad during the war as part of your internship: Clone Force 99.

They were a fun group that you got along well with and they were supportive of your schooling, offering to help however they could. You were glad you got assigned to them...but it didn't help that you found yourself distracted by their leader, Sergeant Hunter.

You were so attracted to him in so many ways, it was almost ridiculous. Your thoughts wandered to him when you were supposed to be studying for exams and you couldn't focus. You imagined what it would be like if he held you...kissed you...roamed his hands and lips over your body....

"Stop that!" you'd say out loud to yourself before smacking your own face to break out of your daydream. You couldn't afford to think like that. One, because you were supposed to be studying and two, he was a soldier and technically, your commanding officer. There was no way he'd be interested in anything like that.

Those distractions paired with the stress of your schooling as well as your work was doing nothing for your physical and mental health.

You found yourself feeling burnt out eventually, pushing yourself to do more when you felt you couldn't go any further. You had to. You couldn't let yourself or your squad down, even if it was costing you sleep and time.

This was something Hunter soon noticed.

Concerned for you, he went to your apartment one day to check on you. When he got there, he saw your door was left unlocked, which was already a sign something was up. He walked inside and announced his presence, seeing you with your head down at your desk.

His voice woke you and you cried out, "Hydrospanner!" Then you groaned, realizing you'd fallen asleep again. This couldn't keep happening. You jumped when you heard Hunter say your name. "Hunter! What...how did you get in here?"

"You left your door unlocked," he told you. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," you said, even though your whole body felt heavy and exhausted. "I'm just trying to study for my final test."

"It looked like you were sleeping instead of studying," he remarked.

You shook your head. "No, really, I'm fine."

He walked up beside you and you had to look away. You were slightly freaking out that you two were alone in your apartment. Then he said, "You're not. You've been pushing yourself and not getting sleep. Don't think I haven't noticed. You should take a break."

"I can't. This test is too important. Once I take this test, I'll officially be an engineer."

"Then maybe I can help you study and keep you focused."

An involuntary squeak sounded from your throat at the proposition. You would be far from focused if he were there. "That won't be necessary, thanks," you replied quickly.

"Your heart rate just spiked," he pointed out. "Are you uncomfortable with me here?"

You whipped around in your chair to look up at him and blurted out, "No, no, it's not that! It's just...well, I...I wouldn't be able to focus at all if you were helping me."

He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head curiously. "Why is that?"

You could feel your face turning red and heating up. Guess there was no way out now. "It's because...I'm really attracted to you and part of why I'm struggling is because I'm constantly distracted thinking about you."

His eyebrows rose up in surprise for a moment at your confession. Then he asked you, "What sort of things about me do you think about?"

Your throat closed up and you convulsed slightly in embarrassment as you turned away, not wanting to share the thoughts you'd had about him. What would he even begin to think if he knew?

However, Hunter had been able to sense the rushing of your heartbeat and that gave away everything...which made him smirk with satisfaction.

He knelt down next to you and laid a hand on your shoulder. "Look, sweetheart, you either need a break or you need to keep studying. Either way, I want to be here for you." He reached up with his other hand and gently guided your face so he could look into your eyes. "Let me help you."

The sincerity and care in his voice finally made something break inside you and, before you realized what you were doing, you leaned down and crushed your lips against his, catching him slightly off guard. Just as you were about to pull away, his hand cradled the back of your head and held you in place as he eagerly kissed you in return, which shocked you, but in a good way. Then his hands slid down your body to your thighs, he gripped them and pulled you forward a little, wrapping your legs around his surprisingly thin waist. Once he knew you were secure, one arm wrapped around you and the other came under your leg as he lifted you off the chair and into the air.

Breaking the kiss, he breathed out, his eyes dark with desire, "I'm deciding for you: you're taking a break with me. And that's an order."

Still catching your breath from his amazing kiss, you simply replied, "Yes, sir."

He carried you over to your couch and laid you down on your back. As he climbed over you, he said in a husky voice, "I can help bring all of your fantasies about me to life. I'd love to know the things you think about or imagine about me."

Your whole body went hot at his remarks and you found yourself unable to respond, unable to believe this was really happening.

Brushing some stray hair from your face, he added, "Maybe then, you'll be less distracted and can focus on your test."

"I...think that'll only distract me more," you replied.

He grinned mischievously. "Only one way to find out." Then his mouth found yours once more and his arms pulled you into him, his passion overtaking both him and you.

Needless to say...you ended up passing your final engineering test with flying colors.

Photogirl894's Fluff/Romance prompts

Photogirl894's 1,300 Followers celebration fics

[awkward-tension-art]

Darkness on Umbara Chp.11 (Rex x Reader)

Chapter. 10 Chapter 12.

Hardcase

cw: Rex x Reader, Reader is a medic, incorrect military procedure, graphic descriptions of injuries, blood, swearing, death and battle, Canon character death, Spoilers for the Umbara Arc, Pong Krell is an asshole, reader insert, names of non-canon dead clones, Grief, bottling up emotions to appear strong, Mentions of breakdowns, reader is gender neutral, no use of (Y/N), if i miss a tag LMK

Minors DNI

As it turned out, Dogma was correct. 

Hardcase, Fives and Jesse had stolen Umbaran fighters and managed to infiltrate the supply ship that was the source of such a powerful resistance. You had been outside, walking the airbase to check up on previously injured them when they returned. 

Your heart dropped when you realized there were only two ships. Seeing Jesse and Fives step off the ships, but no Hardcase…

No. 

No. No.

No!

Wordlessly, you turned and went back into the medical bay. 

Ignore it. Hardcase is fine. He's fine. 

You refused to accept his death. It didn’t happen. Hardcase was alright. He was just late.

As a doctor, you’ve seen all five stages of grief. You’ve experienced the five stages before. Felt them in your own way.

Denial.

Anger.

Bargaining.

Depression.

And acceptance. 

Logically, you knew this denial was part of the process. Emotionally however? You were going haywire. Hardcase was your friend. You’ve known him the same length of time as the rest of Torrent Company.

You couldn’t think about it. You had work to do. You had injured soldiers to wake and evaluate. You had others to hunt down and check their injuries. You couldn’t collapse into your grief, not yet. 

So you threw your feelings aside and focused.

“What happened?” Kix’s voice sounded concerned as soon as he saw you walk in, “Are you alright?” 

You shook your head. He had to know. Shifting your mindset, to that of a medical professional, you told him, “Kix, I’m sorry.” your hands were on his shoulders, “Hardcase is gone. He didn’t return with Fives and Jesse.” 

The medic’s eyes widened. They were from the same batch. Cadets together, “Hardcase..?”

“Kix, I want you to go. Go to the barracks and get some sleep. Go be with your brothers.” You commanded him gently. You could swallow your mourning long enough to fill in for him. Let him grieve and process. 

With a nod, he stepped back, away from you. His brown eyes roamed the floor, as if trying to find something. 

Shock, most likely. Hardcase was a powerhouse, almost nothing could take him down.

Except fucking Umbara.

“Kix,” You murmured, “Kix, look at me.” Your hands held his face, forcing his gaze into yours, “Leave the medical bay, go to the barracks, and take some time for yourself.” 

He croaked in response, barely holding it together, “The men..”

“I can handle it.” You responded calmly, “Go. Be with your brothers.”

With a nod, Kix left you. His shoulders were shaking with silent sobs just as he walked out the door. 

The clones were brothers. All of them were connected in a way you couldn’t fully understand. It was a deep familial bond that you were sure transcended the damn Force. Even the word for brother in Mando’a seemed so much…deeper than any other word. 

“Vod.” You whispered the word in Mando’a to no one but yourself, It means Brother.

You didn��t feel the tears as you whispered the language. 

It hit you that Hardcase didn’t speak much Mando’a. Did he know these words? Probably. Most clones knew the basics. You could ask him-.

No. You couldn’t.

“Vod’ika Hardcase…” You breathed, heart tightening. 

Dearest brother Hardcase. That's what the clones would call him as they mourned. Dearest brother. 

You sank to the floor, staring ahead as you silently cried. Your palm slapped over your mouth as your emotions hit you in waves. Just when you thought you could breathe, another sob would rock your body. 

Hardcase. Hardcase.

You let yourself cry. It was good for the brain, you knew that. Your medically trained mind kicked in. You were allowed this grief and this pain. Hardcase wasn’t your brother, but he was your friend. 

So you cried. You let your brain release its emotions. At some point you had moved, leaning against the wall between two troopers on medical cots, Rusty and Cobalt, both down with broken ribs and severe blaster burns. Mindlessly, you ran your fingers through their hair. 

You’ve found that even under the effects of sedatives, they could register touch. Sometimes they would also remember words spoken near them as well. 

“I got you guys,” you stared ahead in your grief as you mumbled, “I got all of you. Whether you hear me or not, I got you.”

You found some comfort in taking care of these soldiers. Maybe it was because you were a doctor and you wanted to help. Or maybe with Rex as your lover, they were your brothers in a way.

Either way, you cared so much about them. 

The doors opened some time, possibly an hour, after you calmed down. Tup walked in on you sitting between Nax and Ink. You were aimlessly massaging Nax’s hand when the young trooper saw you. He took one look into your eye and figured it out.

“You know about Hardcase?” He asked, walking over to you and sitting down on your left. 

“Yea.” you mumbled, “I sent Kix to the barracks. To get some rest, so it's just me here.”

He nodded, draping an arm around your shoulder, “Everyone stable?” Clones were affectionate by nature with each other, so you didn’t read into the closeness. You’ve been hugged and held by plenty of Rex’s brothers. He trusted you, and he trusted the troopers, so platonic affection was just that. Platonic, but still appreciated.

“For now,” your answer was quiet, “What’s going on with Fives and Jesse?”

“Court martial,” He responded, tilting his head to rest on yours, “It's not fair. They did the right thing. Krell is just…being cruel.” 

“I’m sure Anakin will do something about it when he returns.” You mumbled, “He’d probably compliment Jesse and Fives, then let them go.” 

Tup chuckled, but it sounded hollow and sad, “Wish Hardcase would have made it back.”

You nodded slowly, continuing to stare ahead at nothing. Carefully, you rested Nax’s hand back on the bed before resting your head on Tup’s shoulder and closing your eyes, “I’m not going to let this happen ever again.” You whispered, making a promise to the 501st, “I promise, Tup, I’m never going to stand back and let a bad General hurt any of you ever again.”

He hummed softly, “I would pay real credits to watch you rip into Krell.”

“You don’t need to pay me. I’ll do it for free.” you snarked, earning a snicker from the soldier. 

“I’m sure General Skywalker would too, once he knows about all of this.” He responded, moving his head to lean against the wall, “Who do you think would win in a duel? Krell or General-.”

The doors to the med bay opened again. You opened your eyes when you heard the steps come to a stop in front of you. Tup stiffened and sat up straighter. 

Rex was standing above the two of you, His eyes were a storm of grief, agony and frustration. You’ve never seen such a look on your lover.

You raised a hand to him, “Take a break and grieve with us.” You rasped.

He took your hand but remained standing, “Krell has ordered the execution of Jesse and Fives.”

“What!?” Tup scrambled to his feet, “Why!?”

Your eyes widened and you shot to your feet. It felt like someone dumped ice water over your head and your stomach dropped. Desperation hit you like a speeder. Jesse and Fives can’t be executed! They did nothing wrong!

“He has asked me to put a firing squad together.” Rex continued to speak, “Dogma is going to oversee the execution.”

“No, I refuse.” The younger trooper snapped, “I won’t kill my own brothers!” 

“None of us have a choice.” The clone captain sighed.

“Rex,” Your voice cracked, “Is there really no other way?”

“I’m not forcing anyone to execute,” He responded, “The men will have the freedom to choose. I was just commanded to put the squad together.”

Tup looked at his captain, eyes going wide before he shook his head, “I’ll be on the squad.” His voice trembled, “But I won’t shoot.” 

“I can’t force you too.” The clone captain responded. He looked over at you, “I want you to remain here.” 

“Respectfully decline that order, captain.” You answered him, “They’re my friends.”

Rex’s expression was unreadable. Was he proud you wouldn’t look away? Worried you might break down? Or was he angry you declined to follow his orders?

Could be all three.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, the 501st captain didn’t argue, “Go to the back of the tower. Speak with Dogma about placement.” He mumbled to Tup before turning to leave. 

“Yes, Captain.” the other trooper responded with a salute. The both of you shared a look before you followed him to the back of the tower. 

To your horror, Kix was among those selected for the execution.

Rex chose a medic for an execution!?

Was this a particular act of cruelty? Or did Krell specifically order him to pick the only other medical professional on the 501st?

With Krell not present and Rex going to get Fives and Jesse, your ire was directed at Dogma, “Is this some kind of joke!?” You snapped at him, “How are you not sick of the taste of Krell’s boots?!”

You must’ve startled him, but he whirled to look at you, almost seeming scared. To his credit, he did manage to recover quickly and retort, “General Krell has given an order to execute traitors. We are soldiers and we follow orders that will benefit the republic!

“Make your own fucking decisions before your lips need to be surgically removed from Krell’s ass!” 

Hardcase would be proud of you for that one. You thought to yourself.

Kix stepped out of the firing line and approached, getting between the two of you, “Doctor, stand down. Now!” 

Dogma kept a steady glare on you, “We are made to be soldiers. Good soldiers follow orders, something you will never understand.”

Good soldiers follow orders.

Why did that phrase send a shiver up your spine? You swallowed and took a step back, folding under Dogma’s critical gaze, “You all are more than just soldiers.” You responded, “But you're right. I will never understand. But I’m still staying.”

He seemed to accept his petty victory. Dogma was vindictive, something you learned a little too late, “Line up the prisoners!” he called out, and Kix returned to his place in line. 

You remained off to the side, eyes on Fives and Jesse. The ARC trooper had his head held high, as if proud to be in such a position. Even facing down death, he was courageous. 

Rex and Appo had the two prisoners stand in place before stepping away. The former found his place beside you, putting a hand on your shoulder. 

Dogma stepped forward, “Do the prisoners request to be blindfolded?” His question was met with defiant silence, “I’ll take that as a no.” 

“I hope you can live with yourself, Dogma.” Fives spat. 

You knew in your heart that Hardcase would have said a lot more swears. Maybe even try and swing at Dogma for this display of coldness. 

The soldier overseeing the execution didn’t react to the ARC trooper's words, “Ready weapons!” he called. Just as he gave the command, the soldiers in line prepared their rifles. 

Jesse hung his head and mumbled, “I never thought we’d go out this way…”

“Aim!”

Before Dogma could give the command, Fives interrupted, “Wait! This is wrong and we all know it!” He looked over the line of his brothers, desperate to reach them, “The General is making a mistake and he needs to be called on it! No clone should have to go out this way!” 

You noticed Kix made eye contact with Tup. the both of them shifted slightly, body language reading as ‘unsure’. Others in the firing squad did so as well.

The ARC trooper continued, “We are loyal soldiers, we follow orders but we are not a bunch of unthinking droids! We are men! we must be trusted to make the right decisions especially when the orders we are given are wrong!”

You couldn’t help but smile softly with unshed tears in your eyes.

Hardcase would be so proud…

“Fire!”

The blaster shots rang out, startling you. But you refused to look away. Your eyes took in the reality of the situation. 

Jesse and Fives, still alive, stood still, looking at their brothers. Every single blaster shot missed, littering the tower with smoking holes. Yet, none of them went anywhere near the two troopers. The firing squad dropped their rifles, the weapons clattering to the ground in unison. 

Dogma gasped beside you, “Wait what!?” He hurried in front of the line.

“They’re doing the right thing, Dogma.” Rex stepped beside the confused and frazzled trooper, “Because if this,” The 501st captain motioned to the two prisoners as he spoke, “is how soldiers are rewarded for heroic actions then one day every man in this battalion may face a similar fate.” 

You wiped your tears with your sleeve, and Kix looked at you with a chuckle. 

Bastard, stop laughing at me. You couldn’t hold back your own relieved giggle. Apparently you were worried for nothing. 

“Take off their binders!” Rex commanded, and Appo followed his orders loyally. 

Dogma argued frantically, “No! We have orders! We have to go through with this!” 

“Good luck finding anyone to do it,” Your lover damn nearly growled as he approached Jesse and Fives.

You turned away, intending to go back to the medical bay. The arguing of Rex and Dogma was tuned out as Kix and Tup appeared at your sides.

“You ok?” the medic asked you, looking relieved himself. His hands were shaking ever so slightly.

“You stressed me out!” Your tone wasn’t harsh, but it was clear the entire situation got to you, “Next time, give a doctor a warning before you deliberately miss a shot!” In a friendly manner, you grabbed his ear and tugged slightly, “I am going to age as fast as all of you because of this battalion!”

Tup laughed beside you as you manhandled your medic comrade. Of course you didn’t mean anything by your words, and they knew that. Still, you let him go, “Hardcase would have done the same as you, I think.” 

Kix nodded, giving you a sad smile, “He’d probably have gone after Krell himself.”

“I’d have loved to see that,” Tup chimed in, clear in his own state of mourning still.

You looked at the two of them before sighing and grabbing the medic in a hug. At first he was startled, but you felt his arms wrap around your waist soon enough. Wordlessly, you reached and tugged Tup’s hand, pulling him in as well.

Clones are affectionate to their brothers. You always kept such a thing in mind, I’m no clone, but I hope they appreciate it. 

The two melted into the warmth, and it was the younger trooper who mumbled, “Thanks Doc.”

“I’m here for you. I’m here for everyone.” You reassured him kindly. Your grief could wait. It had to, just for them.

Sadly, the group hug was broken up by Kix’s comm buzzing. Once he answered, Rex’s words came through, “Umbarans have stolen clone gear. Krell has ordered we take them out.” 

“So the Umbarans think they can trick us, huh?” Tup put a hand on his hip, “I say we go after them. Care to join us, doc?”

Your nod was uncertain. Not because you didn’t want to join the men and help, but because you couldn’t take the unease you’ve felt over Rex’s words. 

You had the worst feeling about this.

[sanjisboyfie]

๑ keep safe : navarone - g8 (31)

one piece x male reader

『 prev 』

in their speedy getaway, conis and her father were acting as their guides to the proper exit from the sky islands.

“everyone! we can see it now! if you look forward that is cloud end!”

a bunch of the crew members ran forward to the head of the ship, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the gate that was approaching. it looked like a grand castle, a rainbow right behind it and a very obvious sign saying that it was in fact cloud end.

“i wanna come back here again,” [name] announced, his chest puffed out, “it’ll be so fun to take the trip up!”

“that’s to say if we even can,” nami gave him a swift reality check, shrugging her shoulders, “it was hard enough to find the current, who know-”

“no negativity!” [name] cried out, putting his hand in the air to silence her, “who knows? maybe that old man with the monkeys will lend us a hand again,”

“who knows is right, i guess,” nami said, smiling softly when she looked to the side and saw conis, pagaya, and suu running alongside a fluffy clouded lane to keep up with merry. “at least we’ll get to see them again if we do end up coming back!”

“ah, that’s right!” [name] ran to the side of the railing and rapidly waved his arms, “suu! next time i visit, you better introduce me to more sky foxes! i wish i could take you with me!”

conis laughed at his childish remarks that reminded her of the first time they met. suu jumped into her arms, using his long nose to create sounds of excitement to reach [name]’s ears.

“well then, everyone, i’m sorry! we’ll say goodbye here!” pagaya shouted as he ran along.

“take care, everyone!” conis added.

“thanks for seeing us off!”

“take care of yourself, conis-chan!!”

“remember our promise, suu!”

very quickly, the crew scattered across deck to prepare for their departure. unfurling the sails and standing on alert, they were all prepared for their ride down.

“it’s like a rollercoaster!!” [name] shouted as he held onto the railing of the fast cloudy lane they were riding, “it’s a shame that it ends-”

he cut himself off and rubbed his eyes. he blinked a couple of times and squinted to really focus. and then when he realized his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, it was already too late.

the cloudy road that they were gliding on was just to set them off to prepare for their journey downward. because in a second’s notice, the cloudy road disappeared beneath merry and they began free falling.

“you gotta be shitting me!!” [name] shouted, his eyes practically popping out of his socket at the sudden drop. the rest of the crew was in the same conditions they were shocked at the sudden free fall.

but just as quick as it started, everything was seemingly back to normal. after face planting back onto the wooden floor boards of merry, the crew was able to see that an inflated octopus had caught them. and as they were gliding through the air, the familiar ringing of the golden bell could be heard throughout the skies.

hearing it from so far away made [name] somber up and realize that they really had left sky island for good, this time. he smiled softly, looking up at the white sky and relishing in the chimes of the bell.

as the sun began to set, [name] slumped on the railing of the ship, using zoro as his pillow as he got a fulfilling sleep for himself. zoro was napping first, so he didn’t notice that [name] was using him for such reasons, so [name] dodged an earful of a lecture with that.

and just as he happily sleeping, there seemed to be a ruckus happening on board. when he blinked open his eyes from their previous sleepy state, he heard sanji yelling and the rest of the crew looking over the side of the railing.

“what’s going on?” he asked in a groggy tone, making zoro slap him on the head and force him to stand upright by his collar.

“what’s going on is that we’re going to die,” zoro growled in an annoyed tone, shoving [name] forward and making him see what they were witnessing.

“huh, guys the octopus is smaller,” he said, pointing to their method of transport, “you guys didn’t think of doing anything about it?”

usopp quickly moved to hug nami’s waist and arms to prevent her from attacking the tall man.

“shut the hell up, you absent-minded idiot! we’re seriously going to die if we don’t do something about it soon!”

“don’t worry, i’ll save merry!” usopp bravely shouted, equipping himself with some sort of suction shoes with his rope belt (the usopp aah-aahhh-ah) and jumping off the side of the ship.

sanji and luffy crashed back onto the deck and everyone was watching to see what usopp had in store. at this point, merry was falling faster and faster with each passing second.

for a moment, their rapid descent was paused. usopp had done something that saved the ship, but it only lasted for a couple of seconds. because soon after, the octopus shrunk down to its original size and they were falling at an even faster rate than they were before.

“shit, there’s nothing we can do now,” [name] grunted, looking at the blue sea that they were getting steadily closer to, “everyone, grab onto something, and hold on tight!”

instinctively, chopper, usopp, and nami threw themselves onto [name] and held onto his torso. he chuckled, wrapping his arms around them and holding onto them as tight as possible. bracing for impact, he was able to keep them as safe as possible and steady on deck. their crash onto the sea floor was harsh, but he was prepared and unbothered when they did hit the waves.

“at least we made it down here without dying,” luffy said with pure relief and happiness on his face. he thanked the miniature octopus that landed on top of his face with a smile and the rest of the crew couldn’t help but agree.

at least none of them were dead.

but their relief was shortlived since blaring lights were turned towards merry, from all directions. [name] shielded his eyes at the feeling of all the lights blaring down at them and tried getting his vision to adjust as fast as possible.

bells starting going off too, sounding like an emergency signal, and [name] was now standing upright with his shoulders square and stiff. then he finally saw it, the emblem of blue that was flying from a flag not too far away.

“shit,” he cursed, grabbing his sword that had landed a couple of feet away and ripping up some floorboards, and throwing it under and hastily putting the wood back on top, “of all places,”

“what? what’s happening?” nami asked, swiping her wet hair to the side and shielding her face from the bright lights with her hand, “why are you freaking out so much?”

“because, we landed right in the middle of-”

“resistance is futile! we have you completely surrounded!!”

the crew all stilled and looked out to see a bunch of soldiers standing all around them. they seemed to be in the position of holding rifles in their arms, prepared to shoot at the given command. and that’s when it finally clicked what [name] was referring to.

“in the middle of a fucking marine base.” he finished, slouching as he realized that resistance could truly be futile.

“come on, guys, let’s go,” he said, nudging their shoulders and forcing them to pay attention, “i’ll create a diversion and then we can escape,”

“and leave merry here! in the hands of these marines?!” usopp cried out, immediately going to say no.

“we aren’t going to leave her here, we just need to run off for now-”

“running away? i never thought your style was to run with your tail in between your legs when times got rough, [name],” zoro teased, a smirk on his face as he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“it’s not idiot marimo, i just know when to use my head!” [name] whisper yelled, “you wanna go and fight all those trigger happy marines, don’t be my fucking guest because i won’t let you, idiot!”

[name] ran inside, got some bandages from chopper’s medical bay and hastily wrapped them around his face.

“i’ll create a diversion, everyone split up and run. they won’t do anything to merry, she’s just a ship with no one on it. if anything, they’ll just keep her right where she landed. but we — wanted pirates, have to beat it,”

“hey, [name], why do we have to run?”

“i’m not answering anymore questions!”

“he’s unfortunately right, escaping and splitting up is the best option for survival,” sanji added in, “also the smartest choice…”

“thanks, sanji!” [name] grinned, glad to hear someone finally agree with him. “i’ll create a diversion, everyone jump ship and we can swim to shore from here,”

“what if you can’t swim?!” chopper asked, wildly waving his hand in the air.

“pair up with someone that can or i’ll throw you,” [name] easily answered. “now, there’s no time to waste,”

without waiting another second, [name] clenched his fists and ran to the side of the ship. the others immediately jumped off, thinking that he was kicking them off, but in reality he was just trying to get closer to the water.

“fucking marines,” [name] scowled under his breath, clenching his fist and watching as the waters became even more rough. he grinned devilishly, licking his lips as he felt sweat drip down his forehead. “i hope you all drown,”

with a swift tug of his arm, the water beneath merry kicked up and formed a tremendous wave. the marines all looked at the sudden formation of water with shock and fear, especially those that were stationed rather close to the ship. and they all panicked and ran away when they saw that it was sweeping towards them. even those that were on high ground weren’t safe as the wave grew to be at a tsunami level height.

the commanded wave chased the perimeter of the shore line and as far as it could go up, reaching any and all marines that it could before dying down.

and when the marines were finally able to focus back in on the ship, they saw that it was completely deserted and there was no one on board.

the strawhats all split up from jumping off board.

nami, luffy, sanji, chopper, zoro, and [name] were all stranded on their own whilst robin and usopp stuck together. they were all scattered on different areas of the shoreline, some further inside of the marine base than others, but ultimately: on their own.

pirates stranded in a marine base.

[name] could almost laugh. he took off the sopping wet bandages off from his face, wringing them out along with his shirt. he sat down on the rock, stretching and spreading his legs out as he was deep in thought.

he ran a finger over his wet hair, wincing at the uncomfortable feeling.

“i can’t go in there all wet,” he sighed in annoyance, laying his shirt and bandages out onto some nearby rocks to dry. “best to wait it out until i’m all dry then,” he said in a sing song voice, happy to take another nap.

he laid down onto the stone path with his hands resting behind his head and ankles crossed over the other. he bathed in the moonlight, thinking of his plan of action. well, obviously, he had to murder every single marine he came across.

just kidding! not unless they find out who he is, then maybe he might have to.

he woke up from his nap at the break of dawn and became keenly aware of where he was. he put his shirt back on then went to wrap his face with the now dried bandages that were laid out the night before.

“i wonder where everyone else is,” he hummed in thought, easily infiltrating one of the nearby doors, “what role should i play? maybe i could be a pathetic little buss boy? or should i instead be an asshole vice admiral visiting from another base? hehe, i like the sound of that one the most. that way i’d get my fill in bullying these assholes,”

just as he finished speaking, a singular marine had walked around the corner and into his chest. they were several inches shorter than him, making him crane his neck down to peer down at them.

“hah?”

“AGH!! a ghost!!”

before the marine could run away from fear, [name] went and caught him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him back. holding him like a stray puppy, he smirked at the look of fear on the marine’s face.

“i can tell, you’re nothing but a newbie,” he taunted, “you got that scared look on your face, your knees are practically shaking. aw, you poor thing~”

“ghost!!!” the marine cried out once more, making [name] grin in happiness.

“yes, that’s right, i’m a ghost. i’m here to haunt you for all your wrongdoings!” [name] continued on, playing on the “joke” the same joke that was scaring the poor marine shitless, “now take me to the kitchen — i’m hungry!”

the marine blinked a couple of times before nodding. good thing that this marine was a scared piece of shit since [name] was able to scare him so easily. he smirked at the way his legs were shaking and he was practically trying to collapse in himself. all that just by a couple of words and the bandages wrapped around his face.

“are we on the grand line?” [name] asked, squeezing the marine’s shoulder to knock him out of his daydream.

“y-yes…”

“what’s your name?” [name] asked, curiously leaning down and closely inspecting his features. he was a young kid, probably only a little bit older than luffy, and had freckles decorating his face. his hair was light brown and a bit on the shorter side, or at least that’s what it looked like underneath the cap he was wearing.

“i-i’m rengen, but everyone on, or all of my comrades call me ren…”

“like a nickname?” [name] asked, loosening the grip he had on the man’s shoulder and letting him walk freely.

“i guess…?”

“that’s cute, i like it,” [name] said, “i also like your freckles, they remind me of someone,”

“oh, that’s nice…” rengen said with an unsure look on his face, unsure whether or not to be flattered or not from the comment. not to mention, the fact that it’s coming from someone so scary looking.

maybe underneath the man’s bandages, he was more friendly looking. at least that’s what rengen would tell himself to ease his own fear. with the bandages on, he sure looks scary…

“what happened to your face?” rengen asked suddenly before turning completely red, “i’m sorry if that sounded rude, b-but it’s just very…”

“scary?” [name] teased, purposely getting close to the man’s face to scare him even further. and it worked seeing as he backed away with sweat streaming down his forehead.

“that’s not what i meant!!”

“i got burned,” [name] lied, looking ahead and backing off from the marine. “you know, if you plan on being a marine, you gotta grow some balls in facing things that are scary,”

“i know,” rengen sighed, looking ashamed in himself. and [name] wondered if it were normal for people to be so affected by a stranger’s words.

“i was just joking, i’m sure you have balls of steel, man,” [name] said, clapping his hand roughly on the marine’s back to “comfort” him. it did anything, but, and only made the marine more anxious.

“i’m sorry, sir, but what exactly is your ranking? you’re not wearing a uniform…” internally the marine was sweating bullets due to how scared he was. the person he was talking to could possibly be one of the strawhats, the crew led by the deadly captain straw hat luffy.

or worse, it could be the crewmate worth even more than the captain: the cursed orphan [name]. the idea sent shivers down his spine. stories of that pirate had been whispered across many different naval stations and he had only heard horror stories of the marines that have fought [name] and survived — which were very rare.

encountering someone with a bounty that high made rengen almost pass out in fear.

“i’m actually apart of a secret unit, ren,” [name] said casually, crossing his arms over his chest, “the commander is supposed to announce my presence tonight, but i thought that i’d scope out the base myself to see how everything is holding up. let’s just say, i report under vice admiral garp himself and have been sent here to question your commander,”

“question commander jonathan? what did he do that required investigation?” [name] supposes the name drop of the marine hero garp was enough to clear any suspicion.

“that’s classified information, ren,” [name] said, putting his finger to ren’s lips and pressing softly against them, “now, no more questions — show me the kitchen,”

”right away, sir,”

“i like how obedient you are, you’re definitely gonna make a great do- soldier, a great soldier,” [name] cut himself off before he naturally insulted the man, smiling sheepishly underneath his bandages at his slip up.

“thank you, sir, i appreciate your input and will remember it moving forward,” rengen echoed like a machine, but the shy and bashful look on his face showed just how sentimental he felt.

[name] genuinely smiled underneath his disguise, finding the look on rengen’s face endearing and adorable. it reminded him of chopper, a little bit. whenever he complimented the doctor, he would immediately blush and then spout some insult. but instead for rengen, it wasn’t insults and just an automated, flustered response.

and rengen was good company for now. the marine was so new to his position and was an easy push over. he would definitely be good to get some information out of.

as far as [name] was concerned, all he had to do was fake it till he made it. if he acted with authority and with a brash attitude, then there was no way that the soldiers would defy him. he hummed in thought, thinking back on some memories to remind himself on how to accurately act.

“you got a cigarette?”

“uh, no, why?”

“i just thought it’d be funny to smoke now is all,” [name] grinned, shrugging his shoulders in thought, “wouldn’t it make me look cooler anyway? unless, i of course, clumsily got half of my clothes set on fire,”

“uh-”

“forget it,” [name] pouted, waving his hand in the air.

“sir, this is the kitchen,” rengen announced, pointing towards a door before hastily stopping [name] from entering, “the thing is, jessica-san doesn’t let anyone enter the kitchen unless it is a specific feeding time. the batches go in a hundred at a time and no one is allowed inside in between that time…so you have to wait, sir,”

[name] put his hand under his chin in thought, humming at the new information. it’d be smarter to wait until mass amounts of soldiers entered the dining hall so that he wouldn’t seem suspicious, but he really was hungry…

“ren!! didn’t you hear?! there’s going to be a cooking competition!! come on, if we go inside now we may be the lucky ones fed!”

“a cooking competition?!” [name] repeated, stars in his eyes. “let’s go, men!”

“hold on-!”

[name] didn’t let rengen finish his sentence as he tugged him along with ease and barged into the kitchen with no remorse.

“sir-”

“food!!!” [name] cheered, but his words were drowned out with a bunch of other people shouting for food as well. he could perfectly blend in here! “man, i miss sanji’s cooking…” he pouted, pushing his way to the front so he got a front row “seat” to the mass amounts of food that was being prepped and served.

”jessica-san’s cooking is just the best, though!” a soldier beside him moaned, hearts in his eyes that made [name] think of the lovesick cook.

“i know someone’s cooking who is definitely better,” [name] smirked, but his expression was hidden underneath the bandages.

“no way!! if you were a true marine of the G8 base, you’d appreciate jessica-san’s cooking the most!”

“like hell i do, sanji’s cooking is the best!!”

“order for 100 soldiers done and ready to be eaten!!”

[name] turned to the table that had a multitude of plates with steaks and vegetables on top of them, free for them to eat and take. [name] swiftly unraveled the lower part of his bandages, allowing his salivating mouth to break free and eat to his heart’s content.

“yummy!!” he cried out into the air, eager to see what the other chef was cooking. he finished about 20 plates, making some of the marines curse him under their breath, but he could care less.

he was just eagerly looking around to see who was behind the stove and cooking their next meal. unfortunately, even with his height as an advantage, he wasn’t able to see exactly who. they were wearing a chef’s hat, but their back was turned to him.

to not focus too much on his still empty and hungry stomach, he just looked at the table and waited for the plates to magically appear before him. finally, after what felt like hours (it was a couple of minutes), plates full of meatballs and vegetables were placed in front of him and the rest of the marines eagerly awaiting.

the moment the food hit his tongue, he looked up in glee. a fond smile was on his face as he locked eyes with sanji, who’s eyes widened in surprise to see [name] hunched over the table and eating almost all the servings of the food he prepared. the rich flavored and meticulous crafted food was only possible by the hands of sanji. that’s how [name] knew he was the one who made the food.

“i knew it was your cooking,” was all [name] said before smiling so wide that his eyes turned into crescent moons. and he finished thirty plates, making the marines almost throw their cutlery at him in fury. then he turned to the marine he was bickering with earlier, smirking down at them, “see, i told you i knew someone who was the best chef in the entrire world!”

“eat shit! you finished all the food before i could even try, asshole!”

“blehhh!” [name] said, sticking his tongue out at the individual and turning away. when he turned back around to give compliments to the chef, who he was going to pretend he didn’t recognize, his face was met with the sight of a mug being shoved in front of him. “huh?”

“a cup of coffee, to quench your thirst,” sanji said, smoothly blowing out smoke and nonchalantly looking away. he was pretending as if it wasn’t a big deal, to not alert anyone of suspicious activity.

“i love chefs who know just exactly what’s missing in my meals,” [name] said, boasting his role perfectly to their small audience, “i should bring you back to my headquarters base where i’d make use of your full potential,”

sanji rolled his eyes at [name]’s grandiose words, not impressed at all. he only shoved the mug into his hands and walked away, back to jessica to hear her observations of his cooking methods. as he stood before her, his eye trailed back over to [name], before blinking at the sight of an empty spot where he once stood.

‘that idiot is gonna get himself caught,’ sanji thought to himself, shaking his head at [name]’s behavior, ‘and honestly, what a shit disguise,’

a grinning and pleased [name] ran out of the kitchen with his face re-bandaged, “now that my stomachs full, time to get things done around here!”

“s-sir!! where are you going?!”

skidding to a halt, [name] whipped his whole body around and his face contorted into shock to see rengen was following him. running after him, even.

“oi, newbie, don’t come following me — i’ve got important business to attend to,” important business, meaning finding the rest of his crew and merry and then escaping.

rengen took a deep breath before bowing deeply, “it would be an honor to see such a high ranking individual such as yourself in your element of expertise, sir! please allow me to shadow you until you meet with commander jonathan!!”

[name] blinked at the request, wondering if this was any bit normal. marines never acted this way, from his memory. all the bases and headquarters he has been in — they’ve only ever acted in their dirty, scheming ways. like all marine dogs did.

rengen was so new to this lifestyle he hadn’t yet developed that behavior. it made [name] grin in pleasure, “have you ever thought of becoming a pirate?”

rengen flinched at the question before his face turned red, “no way! i hate pirates, they’re the scum of the earth and the marines have a responsibility to purge them off the face of the world!!”

“i share the same sentiment!” [name] lied with a laugh, finding his resolve and strong hatred interesting. he nodded in “agreement,” and added on, “good, that was a test to make sure you’ve got what it takes to shadow me,”

rengen breathed a sigh of relief, running a hand over his face in stress, “sir, please don’t test me so suddenly, you scared me,”

“there we go again with you getting scared,” [name] teased, turning around and walking back in the direction he was originally going in.

“you’re right, sir! i’ll be more mindful!” rengen said, taking mental notes as he ran along [name]’s side.

“and also remember this — in the world we work in, fish is the best source of protein to exist!”

“yes, sir!!” rengen echoed, an unreasonably determined look on his face as he shouted in agreement.

“and that it’s only possible to work when you have a full stomach, working on an empty stomach is out of the question. how do you think you’ll be able to purge the pirate scum off the face of the earth? on an empty stomach?!”

“no, sir!”

“good, ren, you’re a fast learner!”

“i’m happy my notes are to your liking, sir!”

“and quit calling me sir!!”

“but…i don’t know your name-”

”who said you had the right to know a high ranking commander’s name?!” [name] was really enjoying this role, it felt like just a big joke. too bad rengen thought it was all very serious and almost buckled in the knees at the feeling of being yelled at by his superior.

“i’m sorry, sir!”

“no sir!”

“then, your name?”

“no name!!”

“understood!”

“good!!!”

[name] dragged rengen around the base, eagerly turning every corner in hopes of finding at least one of his other crewmates. through his journey he kept feeding rengen completely wrong information, for fun, and also just to see if rengen was taking him seriously.

his search was cut short when there was a sudden alarm sounding off throughout the entire base. rengen flinched at the loud sound and hid behind [name]’s figure and nervously looked around.

“that means all the soldiers have to be with their units! that must mean they finally caught the strawhats!” rengen shouted, looking at [name] with newfound hope, “please look out for my performance in unit 88, i plan to capture those pirates and make commander proud!”

[name] almost wanted to coo at how naive the poor marine was. if only he knew he was conversing with a strawhat the entire time. instead, he just gave him a thumbs up and a confident, “you can do it, rennie! i believe in you, capture those pirates and make fools of them! maybe i can bring a good word to admiral sengoku and he will promote you!”

rengen blsuhed, waving his hand shyly in the air, “if that were to ever happen, i’d be very happy to serve under you! that’d be an amazing promotion — i’d get to learn from you directly when you work on the field,”

[name] smiled softly, nodding his head, “definitely!”

poor rengen…truly if only he knew.

“now make me proud and catch that cursed orphan piece of shit! i know you have it in you, ren!”

“i will try my best!” he shouted, with low confidence but nothing but determination painted on his face.

and the two parted ways, making [name] eager to find the rest of his crew and get the hell out of there. he began humming in thought, wondering where his crew might be running to. logically, they’d be going to merry, so he would just do his best in getting to the docks in time.

he could only hope someone was watching over luffy and zoro. the dumbass gets distracted too easily and zoro was shit at directions. he ran through the halls of the base, skidding to a stop when he passed by a grand room full of books.

“oh, i bet robin would love those!” [name] grinned, going inside and looking around, “should i steal some for her?”

“what do you think you’re doing?! state your name and purpose?!”

a hoard of marines, who were probably answering the emergency call, came from around the corner and were pointing their weapons at him.

“[name], stealing some books,” he answered easily, tilting his head to the side as he stared at their guns. “think fast,” he ordered, giving them about three seconds to react.

they just blinked dumbly at him before simply raising their rifles up in the air to shoot.

”please, think faster than that.” he said with a deadpan expression. but before they could fire, he simply moved his arm in a horizontal manner and the entire unit was sent flying to the direction he moved his hand.

they were slammed against the metal walls and all passed out at the brute force.

“what a barbarian you are, [name],” a familiar voice called out, making him turn his head around in relief.

”robin! you already found the library! i was gonna surprise you with some more books,” [name] childishly pouted, his shoulders slouching inward at the realization his surprise was ruined. she chuckled at his expression and disappointment, walking forward and ruffling his hair. he was leaning down a tiny bit, giving her easier access.

“then, to the docks, right? i assume the others are already there,” [name] nodded in agreement with her plan, laughing in glee with the way their path to merry was so clear. he guessed that all the other marines were too occupied with actually catching the others, none of them were on watch in the hallways like before.

“we better hurry or we might miss them!” he called out to her, grabbing her hand and running at full speed. she was able to keep up with ease, laughing behind her hand at his eagerness to escape.

“that’d be terrible — we’d be at the marine’s mercy wouldn’t we?”

“as if i’d let them do anything to us,” he laughed, as if it were a funny joke.

despite the high stress situation, he was still able to so freely laugh. robin liked that about [name], such an innocent trait to have coming from such a supposed terrifying figure.

“come this way, [name], i know a way to make it to the ship quickly,” robin advised, tugging [name] in the direction she was referring to with their still conjoined hands.

“aye, aye!!”

after they made it to the edge of one of the doors, they were able to spot merry sailing on ahead.

“assholes, they were really going to leave without us,”

“well, only one way to stick it to them,” robin chuckled, sprouting a long “vine” of hands to swing them towards merry. he grabbed ahold of her, hugging her figure with all of his strength so he wouldn’t fall.

“robin-chan!!!” the familiar calling from sanji was the first thing they heard, followed by, “shit for brains?! get your filthy hands off of robin-chan, now!!!”

they landed with ease, luffy crashing into [name]’s torso with a carefree smile as nami hugged robin when the older one revealed a map of the fortress that she stole.

just as their escape was going to be near perfect, nami soon realized one thing. they were missing all the gold that they had stolen.

“[name] turn the ship around and get us back into that base, now!!”

“oi,” he slapped the air with a deadpan look on his face, “that’s such a long journey, i can’t do that. if you want me to sink a couple navy ships, sure, but turning merry around and travelling all the way back with waves alone — impossible.”

“how does that make any sense?!”

“it’s something called: limitations to one’s own strength, nami. god, if only you were more considerate of my health,” he sighed in disdain.

“the gold is on the line, idiot! i don’t give a shit about your health right about now!”

“oh, but when i get into a life threatening situation again, then what will you feel?”

“i’m about to put you in a life threatening situation if you don’t listen to me, idiot,” nami threatened, with a calm look on her face as she waved her fist in the air. [name] understood what she was insinuation, zipping his mouth shut to not get her really beating his ass.

the travel back to the marine base all relied on nami’s navigation skills and the current underneath their ship. [name] helped when he could, but he’d have to take frequent breaks to save himself from passing out in fatigue.

finally, the crew was able to come up with a plan that seemed plausible in working. merry was anchored in an unused deck, idea creditted to robin, and trying to come up with a plan for after they got their gold. it was decided that they really weren’t going to leave without it.

“we’ve got to have 80% of the gold go towards my stash though,” nami said, breaking up the discussion of what they were going to spend the gold on. obviously, everyone immediately rejected the idea. so she calmed them down by telling them the truth of what they were really going to use the 80% for.

“repairs for merry?” luffy echoed, eyes wide and blank like a deer caught in headlights.

“yeah, after all, we’ve made so many memories with merry. it’s only right that we fix her up so that she can continue sailing with us!”

[name] grinned, liking the idea. he could tell from the looks on their faces, they were recounting all the good memories they made with and on merry. and he hadn’t been on merry for a super long time, in comparison with the others, but he felt himself smiling as he thought of how important she was to the crew.

a ship that could sail into the sky and come back down wasn’t any ordinary ship. merry was perfect for the strawhats and all their crazy adventures. repairing her only sounded right.

“the going merry’s great repair! i like it!” usopp said, happily throwing his arm around [name]’s shoulder and rocking the two of them back and forth. [name] smiled, cheering to the idea in agreement.

“anything to get her to be brand new, i’m sure she was even more beautiful when you guys first got her,” [name] grinned, “as everyone says — money can indeed fix everything,”

“[name]’s absolutely right,” nami chimed in, beris in her eyes as she thought of what she could spend her portion of the gold on when the time comes.

“here, eat up. they took all of our food, but not the stuff that was in the fridge,” sanji interjected, placing a large plate full of the crew’s personal favorites in front of them. at the sight of a small section of the plate dedicated for [name], he lit up immediately and dug in. suddenly, as he was chewing his food, he felt sanji put a heavy hand on the top of his head. “sorry to tell you this, shit for brains, but they stole all of our coffee beans,”

[name] frowned, cursing the marines in his head and adding that action onto the list of reasons as to why he hated them. but, seeing as what’s done is done, all he could do was sit there and grumble. he also forced sanji to take a seat next to him after he was done catering to the crew. he easily yanked the cigarette that was resting in his mouth out and stomping it out. then he pressed his share of the food against the chef’s lips.

“eat,” he simply commanded, rolling his eyes at the familiar stubborn look on sanji’s face. “eat.” and he didn’t pull away the food until sanji took a hesitant bite, smiling at the sight of the chef eating.

after settling on what they were going to spend their gold on, they had to figure out how they would get the gold back and where it would be hidden. with a simple observation from robin, they were able to deduce where the gold would be (a multi-lock vault that was deep within the fortress) whilst usopp got prepared on how to prevent merry from being stolen again.

he called for the crew’s help in giving merry a makeover, which lasted until the late night. they worked tirelessly, [name] and luffy sometimes goofing around with the buckets of paint. but, at the end of their hard work, it turned out to be a solid plan since she was almost unrecognizable. she now was masked by a bunch of wood and paper to look like a marine warship. but the illusion only lasted from afar.

chopper, who’s fur was covered with some splotches of paint — courtesy of [name] and him playing around, looked amazed at the transformation and eagerly asked when they would set their plan into motion.

usopp broke down the plan of action with ease, but unfortunately did not include either [name] or chopper in it. there were going to be two teams: the gold retrieval team and the waver retrieval team. zoro, usopp, robin, and zoro were in the former whilst nami and sanji were in the latter.

“chopper — someone needs to watch the ship and be on stand by for whichever group comes back first. [name] — you’re too well known amongst the navy, if they really catch sight of you, they might just be too focused on capturing you.” usopp explained, but it only made chopper more disappointed hearing the reason.

“aw, you care about me that much?” [name] teased, batting his lashes at usopp.

“eh, no, it’s more like, if they’re focused on capturing you, they’re focused on capturing us which could turn this whole mission into unsuccessful really fast. at least if you’re not there, they won’t be in a particular rush in killing us on the spot!”

“oi.”

“usopp is partially right, too much attention focused on you could ruin the whole sneaky part of the plan. once we get that gold, we’re gonna be under the spotlight, but until then we need to remain overt,”

“oh, so you’re bringing luffy for an overt mission,” [name] reiterated with an unimpressed look on his face.

“his abilities of being an idiot, and rubber, could prove useful in escaping,” nami said with a wave of her hand.

without arguing more about it for the sake of time, everyone split up and left chopper and [name] on merry on their own.

“i should make some more medicine!” chopper announced, trying to find something to fill his time. “at least i’m not here alone like last time, i’m glad that you’re with me, [name]!”

“i’m glad i’m with you too, chopper,” [name] grinned, “also could you imagine if they ambush us — they’re gonna have to deal with the two of us as the protectors of merry! they’re gonna be so screwed!”

“so screwed!” chopper repeated, an uncanny evil laugh escaping his lips as he proudly stood atop the deck with his hooves on his hips.

“they’ll be put to death on the spot!”

“put to death!” chopper mimicked, holding his arms up in a karate motion as he chopped the air threateningly.

“man, i’m bored already…” [name] sighed, the liveliness of his voice going away almost immediately.

“me too…” chopper joined in, slouching onto [name]’s lap with a dejected look on his face. [name] pet his fur gently, smiling at the youngest strawhat with a fond look in his eyes.

“it’ll be alright, time will pass by faster than you think,” [name] comforted, “until then, how about we play a game?”

“a game? what kind of game?”

“have you ever heard of…chopsticks?!”

when nami and sanji were the first to return, they saw chopper and [name] sitting face to face with one another with a pissed off look on both of their faces.

“i have hooves, how on earth am i supposed to win at this game?!”

“you’re the smart one, you should have come up with a strategy, chopper!!”

“there’s no strategy that would make me win when i’m at a clear disadvantage!”

“well, that’s not my fault then, that’s nature’s fault! don’t blame me!”

“you bastard!”

“raccoon dog!!”

“oi!! what the hell are you two fighting about so loudly?!” nami shouted from her waver, “have the others not come back yet?!”

“no, they haven’t, you two are the first,” [name] replied, walking over to the edge of the ship, throwing a glare over his shoulder at chopper, “and to answer your question from before: chopper is being a sore loser in this game we were playing, can you believe it?”

“hey!!”

“i actually could care less,” nami sighed, waving her hand, “sanji stay with these two, i have a plan in mind, but i need you to stay here.”

“oh, but—”

“no buts, stay here and wait for the others while i do what i need to do!”

“okay, nami-san!!”

sanji jumped on board with nami riding her waver far, far aaway. [name] came running over to him with a devilish look on his face, “wanna play chopsticks?”

when the gold retrieval group came back to merry, usopp quickly informed them of the new plan. nami and luffy went to find the gold themselves, since the vault that they went to investigate came out to be empty. the others of the group were sent back to merry to prepare it for their escape.

upon nami’s request, they were told to set it out to sea and wait for their arrival with the gold. they seemed confident in its location this time, which made the rest of the crew breathe a sigh of relief that their struggles at the marine base might finally be over.

“it was fun to pretend for a while,” [name] sighed, kicking his feeet up against the railing as he laid on his back on deck.

“what do you mean, [name]?” robin asked, “were you perhaps in disguise too?”

a flash of anger could be seen on usopp’s face as he remembered the events that played out between him and robin inside the base.

“a little bit, i tricked a newbie marine into giving me all the information i needed by saying i was some high ranking commander. he was definitely new to the whole thing because he didn’t even question me that much, just answered all my questions like a good little boy,” [name] said, fondly rememvering the nervous wreck that was named renegen. “who knows, maybe i’ll stick it to him one more time before we go,”

“do you just enjoy tormenting innocent people?” robin asked, finding the giddiness of [name]’s behavior interesting.

“no marine is an innocent person,” [name] shrugged, “besides, me and him are bestest of friends, he just doesn’t know it,”

“imagine his shock when he finds out you’re the wanted cursed orphan, though,”

“he probably screamed in anger since he seemed to hate pirates so much,” [name] laughed, imagining the man’s face, “i wish i’d been there to see it,”

“oh, hold on guys! i see them! they’re coming towards us … and they have the gold!!” usopp announced from his bird’s eyes view.

“perfect, let’s get sailing away and merry fixed up then!” [name] said, jumping onto his feet and ready to follow nami’s orders.

the two made it onto merry with little to no problems, safely storing away the gold and the waver before joining the others on deck. nami wasted no time in commanding them to escape, enjoying the way their escape route was plainly laid out for them.

[name] was about to rejoice before he felt that something was terribly wrong. he held onto his stomach, running over to the side of the ship and puking his guts out. chopper, the overly concerned doctor, thought that there was something wrong with the way [name] healed from skypiea, but in reality it was just his body reacting to the water around them.

“nami, there’s something wrong!” he wheezed, holding onto his stomach as he felt like he was going to be sick again, “the currents up ahead…it’s like they’re-” he cut hismelf off with another bout of puking.

nami took his warning seriously, thankfully, and ran ahead to the front of the ship. seeing that the below waters were completely out of control, she looked up in fear.

“we’re about to be stuck in a couple of seconds, goddamit!!” she clutched her hair in worry, “the water is sinking back because it’s about to be low tide too, the bottom of merry is going to encounter some really jagged rocks!”

“what?! what?! what do you mean?!” usopp parroted, looking extremely worried when it came to merry’s condition.

“it means that there are rocks at the bottom of this lake and they’re all about to be exposed since the water is treading back,” [name] replied, standing upright and standing at the front of the ship with nami, “this is really bad. everyone, brace for impact!!!”

they did as told and then merry was sent into an impromptu rollercoaster ride. she shook back and forth, making the crew move with her until she came to an abrupt stop. inspecting the bottom of the ship immediately, they saw hat she was in terrible shape.

“ha, how much gold is it gonna take to fix all that?” [name] said, kicking the broken wooden pieces aside with a sad look on his face, “poor merry, don’t worry girl, we’re gonna get you back to being brand new soon!”

“well, now that we’re stuck here in the enemies perfect line of sight for blowing up, what should be our next plan of action?” usopp, the ever optimistic individual, asked in exasperation.

“i could bring back the tide, but i doubt that’d be helpful with how many holes are the bottom of merry. we’d just sink.” [name] suggested with a frown. nami went over and pinched his earlobe, bringing him down to her height.

“why didn’t you bring back the tide when it was receeding, idiot?”

“do you know how much effort it is to command sea water — nevermind commanding seawater against its natural current of sea water-”

“is that not what you do when you-”

“there’s no point arguing now, let’s just think about how to escape,” robin said, breaking up the two like the responsible individual she is, “especially with all of them watching now. our escape has to be quick and sure or else we’ll really die,”

as robin said that, the lines from the mountain range surrounding them all turned on and pointed at merry. it was obvious all soldiers were on standby for a quick command to blow the ship up, but for some reason the commander was withholding said command.

he announced to the crew that he wouldn’t have any qualms with allowing the rest of the crew to walk away scot-free, save for [name], luffy, and zoro, who had active bounties on their heads.

but, obviously, surrender wasn’t even an option. luffy wouldn’t allow it, zoro would definitely fight against it, and [name] laughed in the face of it.

so the crew retreated inside and began theorizing plans. with the help of usopp’s impact dial, it was possible that they could have an chance of escaping. but when they realized that there was no point in setting it off if they were just going to crash straight back down.

“if only we had that octopus,” they all moaned in disappointment.

“oh, luffy, you told me you hid it in your pants, do you still have it?” [name] asked, looking to his right and at the grinning captain.

“i have it!”

“oh, he says he has it.”

“he has it then.”

“he damn has it.”

“so, he has it.”

“perfect, he has it!”

“he has it?”

“yeah, i have it!”

cue everyone looking at luffy as if he were crazy, but they were quick in realizing that, for as weird as it was for luffy to hold onto it (in his pants of all places-), it was a situation to be thankful for.

“and if we mix the breath dial with the flame dial, we will be able to inflate him and make him fly!”

“so you do have a working brain,” zoro teased, pressing his finger into [name]’s forehead, where it was very swiftly swatted away.

“so, the plan is we use the impact dial to set us up in the air, robin uses her powers to stretch it out to be across the ship and down the underside, then we use the dials to inflate it…the question is, who is going to shoot the impact dial?” usopp asked, looking around with a scared look on his face.

scared since he saw all the looks everyone else was giving him. grins and stars in their eyes as they knew they were going to be unscathed from handling the dial and that usopp was definitely going to be the one pressing it.

“how about you, [name]? wouldn’t you help your poor crewmate out?”

“usopp, have more faith, you can do it!”

with that weak cheer encouraging him, usopp accepted his fate and everyone got in position to prepare their escape. luffy, zoro, sanji, [name], and usopp were all down at the bottom of the ship with the impact dial. nami and robin were on standby with the still deflated octopus. chopper was in the crow’s nest acting as lookout.

and now all that was left was to execute.

with a quick countdown, to prevent usopp from chickening out last second, they pressed the impact dial down onto the bottom of the lake and shot the merry upwards.

[name] took the brunt of everyone’s weight falling onto him, but didn’t think it as anything hard to handle as he easily shoved everyone off of him.

“did it work?!”

”hold on!” nami called back, before she was ordering robin to spread the octopus out with her devil fruit. after that was done, they were able to blow the air and flame dial upward into the octopus as if he were a hot air balloon.

“c’mon, usopp, one more,” [name] grinned, “i know you got it in you!”

“i really don’t!” usopp groaned, clutching his hand in pain.

“we’ll be here to support you, usopp-sama!” zoro egged on, carrying the man’s frail body to the same slot they were positioned at before and preparing for the impact dial to be set off.

“you’ll feast like a king after this, usopp-sama,” sanji added on, smirking as he got ready and braced for impact.

[name] hugged the sniper’s waist, grinning as he rested his chin on his shoulder, “on the count of 3?”

“3 . . . 2 . . . 1 ! impact!!”

and merry was sent soaring once more, the four being sent flying backwards at the impact. they quickly scrambled up onto the deck to see if it worked, cheering in glee when they saw the view of the ocean beneath them.

their plan worked, the gold was back on board and all of the crew came out of the marine base relatively unharmed.

“perfect,” [name] breathed out, looking back at the base with a grin, “suck it, shit marines. i win again!”

“quit your babbling, idiot,” zoro sighed, covering his ear with one hand.

“oh, zoro, did you miss me while we were seperated,” [name] teased, latching himself onto zoro with a pout on his face. “it’s okay to be honest to what your heart is telling you,”

“my heart is telling me to kill you, so fuck off,”

“zoro, you’re playing so hard to get. keep up this attitude and i’ll lose interest~”

“lose interest faster so i can finally get you off of my back, you fucker,”

“what a way with words, zoro, i could just eat you up!”

“oi.”

inside the g8 marine base, a certain recruit clutched a certain wanted poster in his hands with his head hanging low. rengen looked at the face of the poster once more before hiding his blushing red face behind his hand.

“idiot,” he murmured to himself, crumpling the wanted poster up and throwing it to the random corner in his room, “idiot, idiot!”

he threw himself onto his pillow, but it didn’t do much in hiding his crimson red ears that clearly showed that he was still blushing. he himself didn’t know if he was calling himself an idiot or if he was accusing the man on the wanted poster for being an idiot.

either way, [name] — the cursed orphan with a bounty on his head of two-hundred fifty million beri a, new recruit of the strawhat pirates — was the reason he was a blushing, cursing mess.

fortunately, the man himself didn’t know that so his ego didn’t get boosted up even further.

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[quinloki]

Ik you said it's unlikely to figure out Marco is a yandere but... I keep thinking abt somehow picking up on it and running off anyway. The paranoia, always looking over your shoulder, never staying in one place for too long, but of course he catches up. You're sleeping in a small inn when he finds you, quietly slinking into your room. He preemptively puts the little "do not disturb" sign on the door handle before closing and locking it behind him. When you wake up, it's to a large, warm hand gently but firmly pressing against your back as he lines himself up.

….

I just.

….

/sits down/

Look.

I -

Fuck.

Maybe it’s Ace, or him and Izou and Thatch. They just really like you, and much as they love their brother, they know, right? If they didn’t care about you they’d maybe be able to look away, but you need to know.

So they tell you about his obsession. How deep it runs. How absolute it is. How it’s okay if you stay, but you should know.

Once you know, you can see it. That madness behind his easy expression, the obsession burning in his eyes.

The others help you, you wouldn’t have cleared the ship otherwise and you know it. You have money enough, but your sparse with it, camping mostly at first until days and weeks turn into months.

Until you start risking day jobs and off work here and there at different islands. Just a wandering jack of all trades, nothing exciting.

When you wake to the hand at your back you had been dreaming sweetly. Of the Marco you thought you knew and of the life you could have had. Maybe it’s his name moaned from your lips that changes his plans.

Instead of binding you and dragging you back, he decides to claim you first. While you’re wet, and needy, and able to take him easier.

Your groggy mind needs a moment to realize this isn’t the gentle and kind man of your dreams.

“You’re mine,” he declares, eyes bright with a myriad of emotions, but obsession primary among them. He pushes in slowly, carefully, fingers reaching around and teasing your clit as he leans down over you, the hand at your back shifting up and pressing you down from between your shoulder blades.

“Say it, pretty bird.” His voice is deathly calm, leaving cold knots in the pit of your stomach.”

“Say you’re mine, yoi.”

“I…” a whimper takes over as he hilts inside you, the sweet pleasure nearly cruel in your fearful state. “I’m yours.”

“Good little bird.” He hums, moving slowly in and out, fingers teasing your clit. “I know why you ran, and I forgive you as long as you don’t do it again.” He presses heavy against you, lips against your shoulders before he nips at your ear.

“You won’t do it again, right my sweet little song bird?”

Tears slip down your cheeks as vivid images of being legless and caged flash across your vision. “I won’t, I won’t. I w-won’t,” you gasp as he shifts a little, sending sparks of pleasure through you in that deft way he’s always known. “Luh-leave you, eh-ever again, I swear, I swear!”

“I believe you, yoi.” His words drip with doubt, but you’re too mired in the pleasure he’s forcing upon you to argue. “Make sure I have no reason to doubt you, pretty bird.”

“You won’t, ahh-mmm-fuck, you won’t!” You cry, your reassurances turning into babbled sounds of pleasure as you came hard against him.

Marco’s teeth sink into your skin as he fills your throbbing cunt. By the time he’s done you have half a dozen heavy bite marks sunk into you, bruising kisses mottling your skin, and cum leaking from your pussy.

He’d forced orgasm after orgasm from you, not giving you time to recover between, not slowing when you cried from the painful exertion. Flames flickered against you, soothing overworked muscles just enough to push you into another orgasm, never enough to fully ease the ache.

Now he’s kissing every mark he’s stained onto your skin, gentle fingers easing the ache in your body. Exhaustion overtakes you in the midst of his tender care, and even as you sink into a deep sleep you’re certain when you wake you’ll be back on the ship.

[yandereforme]

Yan!Captive Royals au

You were the second daughter and third born into a noble family of four children. That meant people didn’t tend to give you a second thought, and you could see more than your siblings, since you were basically invisible. While your elder brother is being groomed to take over the Lord ship, your elder sister was being groomed to marry, wealthy, and your little brother was being taught the ways of a swordsman, you had no path and were seen as useless. You were able to do it you’re pleased, as long as you avoided your family. That meant you knew about the captives in the basement, and you hated it.

The captives were originally just a passing thought, but then you found out they were a sickly girl a year younger than you, a pregnant woman, and a boy who was even younger than the girl. You immediately started visiting them and helping them, though the boy was suspicious. You eventually realized that he responded better if he thought it was an exchange, so you ‘traded’ extra meals, blankets and clothes for stories and lectures on etiquette.

You quickly learned the pregnant lady was named Vera, the girl was named Kara, and the boy was named Darrow. You grew to like them, and could tell they were fond of you, even though Darrow hid it.

Then, Vera noticed a bruise you got from when your mother had dragged you into place in the family portrait. You dismissed it, and didn’t notice how they all seemed a little more attached to you and aggressive towards any talk of your family.

Then, after your old tutor was fired for no reason, you got a new tutor who believed in discipline above all else. He often instructed the kitchens to not allow you certain meals if you messed up in a lesson, making it harder for you to bring the others food. He also often bruised you, which you hid, not wanting to upset your friends.

The first time he drew blood, while punishing you, you were shocked. You were so shocked, that you didn’t think to cover any of your injury from your friends. When you went to see them that night, and they noticed, you tried to push the side. But the maternal aura from Vera, and the combined pressure from Kara and Darrow caused you to confess everything. You even ended up falling asleep there.

You awoke to the sounds of guards rushing around. You tried to get up, but Vera held you close and shushed you. You could hear the fighting outside, but were too groggy to realize that the guards were fighting someone else.

Then, the door was broken down, and three men stood at the door, all in different uniforms. Each of them cried out a ‘your ladyship’ ‘my lord’ ‘my duchess’ as your head spun. You couldn’t really process the words around you, just the feeling of being held by another guard who reminded you vaguely of your ex tutor.

You were being carried out of the castle by the time you realized what was going on. You had always been sharp though, so, despite the oddness of the situation, you still noticed the archer at the top of the castle. You moved before you thought, jumping in front of an arrow that would’ve gone straight into Kara’s heart. Your vision went hazy after that, and you fell unconscious, completely unaware that the duchess of Elderwood, the heir to Corera’s throne, and the princess of the country of Jaya now all considered themselves indebted to you, and all wanted to keep you.

If I get more than 50 notes on this, I will write from one of the yan’s perspectives.

[unhappy-last-resort]

Fevered Dreams ( PGR Chrome & ??? x GN Reader)

Warnings: implied somnophilia, manipulation, reader is sick (possibly COVID sick, depends on how my test goes), I am currently ill so I decided to write comfort that's less comfort and more discomfort instead

Lmk any mistakes or improvements I can make.

It started with something small. Just a sore throat and nothing more, but by the next afternoon it had slowly grown into into something more troublesome.

Shortness of breath and fatigue and all while you were on a mission too, how convenient. Gray Raven was quick to shuffle you back to base once a nearby squad arrived to help and off you went back on a ship straight to Babylonia with Liv to accompany you just in case you got worse on the flight back (you did.)

You couldn't help but be frustrated, the day was going well and now everything is going to grind to a halt. You were already dreading what the night would be like when you were struggling even to take a nap. You sit up in your bed and stare a hole into the bedsheets. You didn't feel like doing much of anything, you just wanted to sleep, but that seemed impossible. You kept tossing and turning and even when you did fall asleep for a second you'd have these terrible nightmares; a swelling red tide full of all the cries of the ones you love and care about with their broken hands reaching out to you, looming towers disrupting your vision and transforming your friends- and even yourself into something crazed and horrid, towering trees made of fire and hellish twin faces, a sister in white slowly being torn apart limb by limb as her two red sisters scream in horror and pain of losing each other again as one red sister begs you to do something while the other says to stay away and that you'll never be enough. You're sure there's more, but you're too tired and miserable to try and remember any further.

A light knock disrupts your thoughts, and you're thankful for it. "Come in." You try to say it loud enough so the other person can hear, but you end up giving yourself a coughing fit instead.

"Commandant, I've warned you many times about the cost of exhausting your body." A familiar yet surprising voice sounds through your room and you look up between coughs.

"Chrome?" You croak and your brows furrow slightly in confusion. You're not surprised that he's visiting you, you're surprised that he's back so soon.

You remember earlier...you don't remember when and you can't figure out a time estimate, but he came to see you.

In the midst of your tossing and turning, you opened your eyes faintly to see a blurry figure, the face wasn't close enough for you to tell who it was and judging by the black in the blurry colors, it certainly wasn't Liv. Ah, what was that? It looked like a flash of red, Lucia? But you're not sure that's right either.

It's masculine, so definitely not Lucia or Liv...your brain is so scattered you can't seem to decide on who it is. Names and faces appear and disappear like shards of glass in your mind's eye, fleeting and falling through your fingers before you could catch them.

You open your mouth to ask who it is when the figure speaks first. "Rest. You don't need to fret, I'll be watching over you."

A light pressure forms on your shoulder, pushing you down gently in an attempt to stop the writhing you hadn't realized you were doing. "There's no need to panic, I won't hurt you, I just want to watch over you for a while. I'll look after you and keep you safe."

Noan? Lee? Chrome?...Chrome. It must be Chrome you decided, but why is he here now? You remember Liv saying he would visit at 5PM and while you don't know the exact time now, you knew it was too early to be 5PM.

"Chrome? Didn't you say you'd visit later?" You ask nasally, your throat irritating you to no end. There's a brief moment of silence from the figure before he speaks again.

"I finished my work early, so I decided to come see you early. Is that alright...Commandant?" The voice is melodic, if you didn't know Chrome you'd think he was mocking you right now.

"It's fine, just wondering is all." You mumble as your head falls back onto the pillow, so tired and yet unable to sleep.

"Of course, you wouldn't want a wolf to come in and endanger you." Chrome replies, you feel a finger glide over the line of your torso before stopping right at your midriff. You laugh softly into a coughing fit at his 'joke'.

"Oh my, you really are quite ill aren't you?" A moment later you feel your head being raised and a cool glass press against your lips. Obediently you open your mouth and drink the water and when you've had enough, 'Chrome' gently sets you down again and cups your face.

You keep your eyes closed as he stays like that for a while. You feel his gaze over your face before it slowly drifts down and lingers at your lips, what you assume is a finger runs over your bottom lip before his heavy gaze travels further, studying your neck, then your chest, your arms, your stomach, your hips, and resting a moment between your thighs before the gaze travels the dips and curves of your body back up to your face.

"Go to sleep." If you hadn't known Chrome better it would've sounded like a warning. Regardless, you did somehow manage to fall back into a sleep punctuated with the occasional ghostly sensation of gloved fingers on your skin followed by a soft press of lips, but you couldn't tell if that was from a dream or not, since every time you tried to see who it was...there was nothing.

"Commandant?" Blue eyes swirling with concern and a slight twinge of fear wait anxiously for your answer, a gloved hand stretches out before abruptly hesitating and pulling back. "Commandant, can you hear me?"

"Yeah sorry, I didn't realize I zoned out." You give Chrome a faint smile. "But you don't need to check up on me so often."

Chrome's brows furrow, he seems more anxious suddenly. "Commandant, this is the first time I've seen you today. Did you...perhaps have a dream?"

"Huh? No, you definitely came here earlier." There was no doubt in your mind that that was real. You saw him earlier, you were absolutely certain. You'd even bet your life upon it, that's how certain you were.

"...I wasn't here earlier." Chrome replies, there's no tone of judgement, or mockery in his voice. He says it calmly, confidently, and gently, the same way he does when informing you of strategies or what types of enemies are on the field.

You don't know what to say so you quietly look over the memory again in your mind, combing through it and looking for anything suspicious. It must've shown on your face because Chrome suddenly crouches down in front of you.

"It's...alright if you dreamt of me," Chrome's cheeks flush ever so slightly and he averts his gaze before finding his words once more. "But I want to make sure you know the difference between dreams and reality, Commandant."

There is no hint of judgment in his face, only the sincere and genuine care he has always shown you. "I...you're right, maybe I've been pushing myself too hard lately. I'll ask Liv if I can take some sleeping pills." You're still certain those events were reality, but knowing how concerned everyone already is, you don't want to add hallucinations onto their list of things to fret about so you just go with it instead.

Chrome smiles gently and then it falters for a moment, becoming confused then strained as his gaze lingers on the side of your neck. "Chrome?" You call, wondering what's wrong. Your fingers reach up towards your neck before being stopped suddenly, you look down and realize it was Chrome's hand on your wrist. You stare at each other for a moment before Chrome stands up and clears his throat, letting go of your wrist in the process.

"Ahem...it's nothing, Commandant. I was just thinking about missions. Please get some rest." And with that, Chrome leaves. Quietly shutting the door behind you and leaving you in solitude once more.

Solitude? My, after such a wonderful performance you gave me you think I'd simply leave you to suffer alone? Never, dear little rabbit of mine, would I ever do such a thing.

[k-koriikorner]

DAY 2 - PRAISE

kinktober 2023. - masterlist |

warnings. - gn! reader,, dom-ish!sanji,, french dialogue, reader speaks some french but has no distinguished race,, also some what short

♠︎sanji vinsmoke...

These things were simple, normal nights turned in the nights of pure passion between you and Sanji. You never cease to be amazed at how good he was at these things, despite the well known fact of him being a womanizer. All that stopped though, once he was able to have your warm body against his very own, without the fear of you pushing him away.

A series of events and an intricate collection landed you in the position you're in now. Beneath Sanji, taking every he gives you, as he pushes his pulsing, erect member into the farthest reaches of your canal. ,, hnn, you feel 's good-HAH, right ther' Sanji pleas',,

His length reached into the depths of your canal, dragging deliciously in and you of your tight entrance. The tight pull of your trench sending him nearly toppling towards you, the friction enough to send him into a frenzy. He prided himself at being a gentleman though, and opted at keeping a steady pace unless you so wished him to fasten his pace and increase your overall pleasure.

Sanji laid above you, his lanky but equally strong arms holding him up, his sky blue eyes locking onto your ethereal body beneath him. He loved having you in this position, having you babbling below him, is endearing pillow princex. Your hair, how ever long or short it was and any head covering beginning removed, lay in a halo beneath you, shifting at every thrust he made with his slick hips, covered with the evidence of your and his enjoyment.

A squelching sound began to pick up in volume from beneath your two bodies and so did your whines. The sweet sounds you were making fueled Sanji to speed up his pace, the angle of his member pushed into your gummy walls, the faint rocking on the ship pushing his hips just a little deep.

You reached a warm hand towards Sanji's cheek, he turned his head to the side to catch the hand in a kiss. ,, Mi... amor, lo estás haciendo tan bien,... tan lleno... te llenas tan bien!,, (my love, you're doing so well...so full...you fill me up so good!)

Sanji's member twitched inside of you at the realization of you speaking in his mother's tongue, and once again at the sound of your praise. Yes, Sanji has been praised and complimented for many things, mainly his cooking- but the sound of you praising him during your most intimate moments felt like a angelic hymn from your plump lips. No amount of mermaid melodies could match the enticing chime of your voice, shivers of ecstasy trailed through his abs to his member buried inside of you. A desperate whine leaving his pink lips as he gazed down at you, sky blue pearls locking onto your half lidded ones.

,,encore une fois, ma douce, dis-le encore...s'il te plaît,, (once again my sweet, say it again...please) The increase in his pace did not go unnoticed as you cried out his name at the delicious pace. The feeling of his hips rubbing against your sensitive hips, sending you into overdrive. ,,You're always so good to me- hnm...tu es si grand,, (you're so big)

Bending down to the shell of your ear, warm breath with the scent of faint cigarette smoke and bay leaves fanned the right side of your face. His pace rapidly increased, thrusting a mile a minute, your body begins to rock with every thrust. Subconsciously pulling away from his warmth, his ever encroaching thrusts- but the drag of his cock felt too enticing, the feel of his warm slightly calloused hands on either side of your waist grounded you. ,,encore une fois mon cœur... s'il te plaît, dis-le encore!,, (once again my heart, please say it again)

,,Sanj-Sanji!, tu te sens si bien, trop bien..., close 'm...so close,, (you feel so good, too good)

,,One more time mon amour, je promets que je te comblerai, je promets,, (my love, I promise I will satisfy you, I promise) Your hips began to move in sync with every jolt of his hips, stuttering at times when it became too much. Sanji lowered his face towards you heated neck, your heartbeat practically jumping from your supple skin. For a moment his last request slipped for your mind, the thoughts of you mind seemed to drift away as your lower body began to feel a hot, heavy pressure building up. A hand crept up the valleys of his back towards the nape of his neck, before finally resting, in his golden locks. Before giving them a harsh tug, drawing a pornographic moan from his glazed lips.

,, Sanji I love you, Je t'aime tellement... I... Je ne peux plus tenir,, (I love you so much...I...I can't hold on anymore)

,, Je..Je t'aime aussi ma douce- Hah!,, (I... I love you too my sweet) His voice gave out by the end of his sentence as he left you constricting around him, his member pulsed once more before white sticky ropes began shooting into your canal. You tightened your hold on Sanji as she pumped you a few times, riding out both of your highs.

Sanji gazed down at your spent body, that same otherworldly he loved to see after a night under the sheets, reflecting from your skin. He kneeled down to place a kiss to your forehead before slowly pulling out, softly shushing you at the sound of your soft whine.

Sanji walked to the built in bathroom and drew a bath for the both of you. Returning to retrieve you he blushed at the sight of your and his arousal leaving your previously occupied hole. He slowly walked towards you, gently lifting you up before beginning his routine of after care but not before you greeted his left cheek with a kiss.

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

The Mouse Who Dared to Dream:The Story of Disney in Off the Animation Table.

On November 18th, 1928, a small mouse would come off the page, followed by another. Nobody, not even his creator, could imagine the impact that the Toon would have on the very fabric of their reality.

.

Michael Mouse would never forget the day he came off the page, life was bright, life was new as he blinked to clear his eyes, he saw this pretty female Mouse next to him. Oh but he wasn't interested in her, not quite yet he wanted to explore, the curiosity burned inside, however the human sat in front of them smiled he would forever remember first meeting the man who would become like a dad to him, Walt Disney

“Hello you two and welcome to the world, my name is Walt and I along with my friend have created you together, so you are never alone. We are also placing a huge responsibility on your shoulders. You see due to unfortunate circumstances, our studios are in quite the pickle and we've put everything we had into you 2. Let's just say if you're not successful our studio goes under.”

The Duo blinked sort of understanding the precarious situation, nodding but found they could not speak, the man Walt did not seem fazed by this as he walked over and lifted a door, the pair fliniching at the light that invaded the space he led them out of the building, Mickey didn't realize it at the time but their whole studio was a garage in Walts home,

The mice however just ran around the yard, rolling in the grass happily though, not seeing the other two which they'd find out their names were Roy Disney and Ub Iwerks, smiled at the sight of the two new creations playing,

Soon though the hard work began, Mickey didn't like acting initially, he wanted to roam and be free and wild, biting the men, occasionally getting a smack on the bottom from Walt as a result of his actions he always just hissed and ran to hide in some corner, eventually the man offered food and slowly he came around

Walt held his hand guiding him up the steps of a ship set they'd managed to rent out, he also got to finally meet another Mainstay Toon known as Pete, he was to act like the antagonist,

“You know your scene Mickey?” He held out the script but the mouse motioned nodding,

The men backed off, Walt calling the countdown, he faced forwards he was just supposed to goof around until Pete stormed in,

However,gripping the wheel of the steamship, he actually let out a whistle, a simple noise that he didn't realize would launch him to places he'd never been,

He just felt like it, not seeing the stares from the pair of men. Walt immediatly talking to Ub, ideas glinting, something about a Talkie,

He'd been taken to a larger building apparently a new studio building and coaxed with more cheese to reproduce the sound.

Walt had been so thrilled, Mickey only grinning, he didn't know why his owner was so pleased, but as long as he got treats and to run around he didn't much care,

He was curled up in his favorite sunspot when the man came barreling in. Walt with the joyfulness of youth ran in holding up papers making them all look as he cried out,

“We've done it! Mickey oh my boy,” he was promptly scooped up and hugged, “Just look at these numbers they absolutely love you! They can't get enough!”

The mouse finally laughed with him, catching them off guard but made them all the more excited, especially as Walt sat him down and knelt, saying

“You saved our dream Mickey, you've saved it. We aren't completely out of the woods but we are on our way!”

The celebration that night would become a treasured memory as the trio plus Lillian gathered around to sing Mickey and Minnie's praises, laughter and joy infectious,

[shock]

This one is definitely my favorite so far in my collage solar system, so I wanted to post it. Hopefully I'll get some nice scans once all the pieces are done, but here's a spotlight on Neptune Side 1, "MEMORY".

The photos on the left are all pictures I took as a kid with film my gammaw got me before she died, and most of them are from the same day we took a walk together. The photos on the right all include her except for one. I can't remember HOW I managed to get ahold of the time they hired a stripper for her birthday, but I've always found that set of photos to be really evocative and I feel like I found the perfect use for them! 🤣

The text reads:

One fine day in 2006, a wild deer wandered into a Target store. When animals are traumatized, we make careful, logical calculations. Which is what the deer did.

After falling down the stairs, skidded around for a half hour, like when Odysseus opened a bag of captive winds, would surrender for a second, then dash from one event to the next. Until out of sheer frustration, I threw a bucket. But it made the deer race right through the window.

"F---ed up beyond all recognition."

If I had known what that maneuver would cost, I would probably have let the deer go.

A couple of days before she died, she took me to the ocean.

My log adds, I had some nice things to eat. I have never seen a being, human or animal, always so full of joy. Talking to her filled me with the power of the sun.

I wanted to hug her, but I didn't. I literally forgot to put my arms around her. We talked again that night on a ship-to-ship radio frequency. You weren't supposed to talk long on that because others might need it.

The next day, she died. I went into the woods, trying to clear my head. I could hear the deer breathing in the darkness. It was weird.

The day after she died, I called and cried. I don't like to yell or scream, but a bad storm brings something out of me. Not until I knew there's be no response did I realize how much pleasure I had taken in calling her. I bellowed up at the approaching storm: All right, you have the power of life and death! Love's no good! I know it! I had so many meetings with different people, I forgot! I'm sorry! So deafen me with your thunder! Go on, then! Scorch up my brains! I defy you! I'll defy you to my last breath!

Who was I defying? God? The deer? The storm? It didn't do any good to make noises of my own.

Sleeping helps. In dreams, I reach out my hand and grab the disease with my fist, drive that f---ed cancer back across an entire wavelength, refuse to contemplate the distant future, have a great talk with her held safely inside my arms.

I think It's worst than a nightmare. It's slow torture, it will drive you crazy, cunningly spooled and folded scenarios spin out in your mind.

Two years ago, I watched tapes of her that only reminded me of how I wanted to hear live people. It took me years to learn how to use them.

It is always interesting to see how situations change and people move from one to the other. Then you walk around a rock, and there it is: names and drawings, graffiti, all of one trade— MEMORIES carved in the rock:

Her life was a gift to me. She'd given me a greater one.

She sounded good.

I got the message. Follow the noise.

Retrace my route between the images of a continuous narrative. I went to the spot where she took her last breath. By then I could hear the deer running through the brush. I called again. This time, with a smile.

It worked. I made contact again.

Of course I knew this time she couldn't come, so my approach changed:

All right, REFLECTIONS can't support life.

That's okay. Keep moving.

GO AHEAD AND FREAK OUT.

Keeping busy helps, too— She lived every moment as though it were her last. It was wonderful.

I love her very much.

Do you want to know a secret?

I transformed into something grown for the pure happiness it brings me.

I feel really good now.

My attention most days is on the here and now.

It's the only real escape there is.

[anghraine]

I was tagged by @brynnmclean in the WIP Wednesday meme! Thank you very much—I'm too sleepy to tag, but anyone who feels moved to do it should consider themselves tagged. In any case, this inspired me to finish the femslash Spirk AU version of "The Naked Time" (aka Jessica Kirk vs other people's internalized homophobia) that I wrote on my birthday:

“It’s our only chance!” S’paak’s dark eyes looked clearer, though her face was still drawn and anguished. “It’s never been done!” she said wildly. “Don’t tell me that again, science officer,” Kirk snapped, on the point of slapping her again. It would mostly just hurt her own hand, but if she could shake S’paak out of this—yet she knew it wasn’t just that. Distantly, she realized that the tension boiling in her wasn’t just panic and urgency, but anger, a sudden pained, shocking fury that wouldn’t help anything. She grabbed S’paak’s arm instead. “It's a theory. It's possible. We may go up into the biggest ball of fire since the last sun in these parts exploded, but we've got to take that one in ten thousand chance!” An entirely unreasonable sense of betrayal—no, not quite—abandonment, loneliness, always that, ran through the rage, somehow extinguishing it. The lurch of feeling left her all the dizzier, hot and sweating, even as Uhura called from the bridge and Kirk managed to say something to her. I found Commander S’paak!  S’paak straightened further, tears drying on her cheeks as she dredged up her PADD and started to tap … something into it. Some science thing, maybe. The anti-matter reaction. But it didn’t seem to matter nearly as much as it had the moment before, and Kirk realized: the disease had gotten to her, too. Of course it had. The captain, last of all. Of course, of course.

“I’ve got it. The disease,” she told S’paak, laughing through the blood on her mouth. Not crying. She never cried. “Love. You're better off without it, and I'm better off without mine.”

S’paak gave her a sharp, unreadable glance even as her fingers kept working. Kirk thought of Ruth again, Jan. She could just stick to men; it was always easier, without the secrecy, without having to be so careful, making sure another woman was trustworthy, much less interested in women, much less interested in her. And even if they were, she didn’t always like the way women willing to try could be, in her experience. So often unserious, unromantic. She liked men about as much and could have just stuck to them, made that choice, been fine. But the idea repelled her, felt more dishonest than the secrecy.

She was babbling, she realized, unsure quite what she’d said as S’paak worked. Too much.

Kirk leaned her head against the wall of the chamber. She could hardly feel it through the coiled weight of her hair and turned her face to the side, the wall cold against her burning face. The Enterprise. Her ship, her career. She loved it. But sometimes she nearly hated it, too.

“This vessel,” she said, her voice higher than usual, still choked in laughter. “I give, she takes. She won't permit me my life. I've got to live hers.”

“Jess,” said S’paak quietly. 

Her name, Kirk thought. Hers. S’paak and McCoy were the only ones here who did use it: Bones almost always, S’paak now and then, when she considered it worth her while. S’paak did sound concerned, urgent, but at least not pained or ashamed, and it cooled her mind a very little bit. Jess—Kirk opened her eyes. S’paak stood not far away, calm again, far calmer than Kirk imagined she herself could ever be, below the surface.

“I have a beautiful yeoman,” Kirk said conversationally. “Have you noticed, Commander?” Her head was spinning again. “No, no, you wouldn’t. But Sulu could notice her, Leslie, not us. Not me. The captain. I’m not … I can’t …”

The briefing room was a blur around them, her first officer’s face somehow more so. Her friend. Maybe. Did it count, when—

“Jess, there is an intermix formula,” S’paak told her.

“Now I know why it’s called she,” said Kirk, laughing again.

“It's never been tested. It's a theoretical relationship between time and antimatter,” S’paak said.

This was important. Kirk knew that, in some remote corner of her mind. The ship, the crew. S’paak. She tried to pull her thoughts into some kind of order, anything other than this awful human chaos burning through her brain. S’paak, she thought, must be embarrassed. More than usual.

It didn’t help. She felt like her mind was darting around in crazed lines, each different from the rest, endlessly. Fractals of thought.

“A flesh woman, to touch, to hold,” she said dreamily. “A beach to walk on. Nobody watching. No one would have to see, to know. For a few days at least. No braid on my shoulder—”

S’paak shook her just as Scotty hurried out of the turbolift.

Not in front of him.

He was her third in command, reliable, more than reliable. But such a distant third, not like S’paak, always near, faithful, incisive. Kirk couldn’t do this in front of him, anyone else, though she was hunched over the table, hands splayed as she stared at them.

Even through her blurry, burning misery, she could see that Scotty looked shocked and concerned.

“Captain,” he was saying. He never questioned her. Never had. 

“Scotty,” said Kirk, trying to catch her breath even as she clenched her teeth together. “Help.”

S’paak, as ever, interceded, her voice cooling some of the fever still raging in Kirk’s mind. “Stand by to intermix. I'll call the formulae in from the bridge.”

Then there was Uhura, too, just as steady, her voice crackling over the comms. “Entering upper stratosphere, captain. Skin temperature now twenty one hundred seventy degrees.”

Kirk managed to look at S’paak and Scotty, both troubled in their own ways, her body still bent over the table, hands clenching and unclenching. Troubled! That was the least of their problems. She just had to think. Like one of her students, back at the Academy. They’d called her course the think-or-sink class. Gary told her that, years after the fact. But nothing was more like think or sink than this. She bit the inside of her cheek and her thoughts settled further, the madness receding just out of touch.

“I’ve got to hang on,” she thought or muttered, blinking. Remember. That was the thing, remembering. Who she was, what mattered. Somehow, she managed to gasp out, “Tell them ... clear the corridors, the turbolift. Hurry.”

They rushed off, leaving her alone in the briefing room. Nobody to brief, of course. Just her, alone, nails digging into her palms, the way she always was in the end. Except—not quite, was she? Not now.

Kirk straightened up, gazing around at the walls of the briefing room, the ceiling, letting the rumble of the ship resonate through her awareness of her entire body. She closed her eyes.

“Never lose you,” she whispered. “Never.”

No time. Her crew needed her. Her ship. The Enterprise, always willing to take what she had to give. That was something, anyway.

With an effort she couldn’t conceivably have put into words, Kirk straightened up and staggered towards the turbolift, smoothing her uniform as she went. Once inside, she forced herself to say,

“Bridge.”

Another victim of the disease had scrawled SINNER REPENT in bright crimson letters on the wall. Sometimes she truly couldn’t make this life up. Kirk wiped the blood off her mouth and stared bleakly ahead as deck after deck rushed by. She was still unsteady and distantly miserable when the doors opened, but that didn’t matter. She was the captain. She could always be miserable later.

She stepped out onto the bridge, taking in the familiarity of the panels and the efficient bridge crew, entirely back to themselves. And McCoy was there, too, equipment in hand, grabbing her by the arm and tearing off her sleeve to stab her with one of his damn needles. Worth it in this case. She felt more sane, if not appreciably better. No danger of humiliating herself in front of anyone but S’paak, who she knew would never breathe a word. And it wasn’t like S’paak wasn’t already—

While the entire bridge crew watched her, waiting for the orders that would determine life or death, Kirk carefully made her way to the captain’s seat, sweat still clinging to her face and body. With effort, she hit the comm connection to engineering.

“Engine room,” Kirk snapped out. “We're set. Hyperbolic course.”

The current navigator said, “Direction, ma’am?”

“Direction, direction,” she muttered, then raised her voice. “It doesn’t matter. The way we came.”

All that mattered was getting out. 

“Course laid in, ma’am,” said Sulu, wholly himself once more. The disease hadn’t affected him the same way, she recalled. Just swinging a rapier around, carefree, longing for nothing worse than a chance at dashing heroics. Most of the crew hadn’t been like her or S’paak, either.

Guess we’re special, she thought, and tried to repress the whole thing from her thoughts. She really needed to stop harping on it, even in silence. The ship needed her attention, and anyway, it wasn’t fair to S’paak herself, who would never have said anything under her own power, nor betrayed it in her conduct. Kirk might as well hold poor Riley accountable for nearly getting them all killed.

Then Janice Rand shifted slightly beside her chair, her face nervous, upset. Kirk’s hand twitched towards her then pulled back, refusing to let her eyes linger on anything below her collarbone, instead flicking her glance up at her pleasant expression below the piles of pale blonde hair, lighter and brighter than her own. It didn’t appreciably help.

No beach to walk on. She choked down the words.

“Ma’am?” said Rand. “Can I get you anything else?”

The comm crackled again, and S’paak’s voice broke through.

“Bridge, we’re ready.”

Kirk kept her hands, still curled into fists, on the arms of her chair.

“Engage,” she ordered.

She didn’t know all the details of the reaction happening in engineering, nor did she need to. In another instant, the lights of the ship died. Stars spun out on the viewscreen, and something screamed in her ears, her head, pain radiating throughout her body. Her head jerked backwards in the darkness, but her mind stayed coherent, rational. That was something, she thought, even as she felt her throat tightening, the heat on her skin intensifying, her breaths coming in ragged gasps. Pain could be endured, but not madness.

Then the pain receded and Kirk straightened up, the ship steadying, retreating with increasingly impossible speed as the lights flickered back on. The red alert blinked and beeped. Rand was clutching the arm of Kirk’s chair even as S’paak came hurrying out of the turbolift, alone.

S’paak strode to the other side of Kirk’s chair with her usual decisive grace, Kirk turning towards her without will or deliberation. S’paak’s face was composed, one hand dropping to the back of the chair and the other to the arm, leaning towards her with a trace of urgency in the lean slope of her body. Exactly the S’paak she had always been, almost.

“Are you all right, Jess?” S’paak asked, searching her face as if nobody else on the bridge existed.

“Are you?” Kirk said quietly.

It was a strange, heady moment. Kirk almost felt like everyone else really had vanished, like it was just the two of them amidst a sea of stars. Dimly, she thought that between her ripped sleeve and sweat-streaked face, she must look like hell. S’paak just looked like herself, maybe worried in a S’paak sort of way, not exactly Vulcan and not exactly human. She didn’t seem injured, but if her memories were as clear as Kirk’s, she remembered. Even now, the memory must be far worse for her than for Kirk, worse than for anyone else here. And they might have never seen each other again.

Everything else that Jessica Kirk had thought and felt dissolved, drowned by the sheer force of affection and concern for S’paak, her best friend, her right hand, no one nobler, more faithful, more brilliant. She knew S’paak wouldn’t have liked being sent away, however necessarily, no matter what private conflict battled behind the outwards mask. That was S’paak’s business.

S’paak relaxed into reassuring calm, nodding her head, and Kirk smiled at her. Nothing had to change. She forced herself to remember the existence of Bones, Rand, Sulu, everyone all around them, the Enterprise, whatever the hell was happening outside it.

Something actually had changed, it turned out: the experimental formula had sent them all blasting backwards in time until Kirk gave the border to slow the engines, shifting them out of—time? The stars returned, clear and sharp, the alarms shifted back to green, everything looked and felt normal except Kirk’s own muscles, still coiled tight with tension.

She glanced sharply at S’paak, who was surveying a no-doubt-vast quantity of data at the science station.

“Commander S’paak,” she said. “The time warp—what did it do to us?”

S’paak wheeled around to face her, affect still smooth, but her face alive with interest nonetheless.

“We've regressed in time seventy-one hours,” she reported. “It is now three days ago, Captain. We have three days to live over again.”

Kirk inhaled, her pulse finally slowing.

“Not those last three days,” she said.

S’paak politely ignored that and said, “This does open some intriguing prospects, captain. Since the formula worked, we can go back in time, to any planet, any era.”

Anywhere. Any when. Possibilities, still shapeless, flickered through Kirk’s mind. Not a beach, but something else, perhaps better. Other places, peoples, ways of life, discoveries. Maybe even a place or time where, for a little while, they’d all be safe.

Jess smiled up at S’paak again, fingers uncurling.

“We may risk it someday, Commander S’paak,” she said.

[lutethebodies]

OC Interview Tag: Ruy Acavés

Tagged by @squidgang (whose OC interview is here). To spread the tag game wealth around for my disparate collection of vagabonds and strays, today's interview is with knowledge cleric Ruy Acavés, the Realm's Reckoner (links: Tav Tuesday, Minthara's judgement, general tag). Ruy is definitely the fourth of my Big Four (behind the bard, rogue, and ranger) but he's a crucial connection for two of them, which makes him a bit more than the "just happy to be along for the ride" vibe he exudes in almost every situation. His (lengthy!) interview is below the cut:

Are you named after anyone?

"Yes, my father's father—an Amnian pilot who sailed from Calimshan to Chult and back. I didn't know him well in life (his third ship was lost with all hands southwest of the Moonshaes), but Papa saved many of his old journals and rutters, and I credit those with sparking my childhood curiosity about the wider world beyond Waterdeep, where I was born."

When was the last time you cried?

"Honestly, some time ago! That sounds rather callous, doesn't it? But I swear it's not. It was on my own second voyage, three years past, when the lookout sighted land after a ruinously terrible storm. So many of the crew were lost that our captain-general piloted the ship herself for the final day. The lookout was half-dead from a leg wound that healed slowly, but his shouts of "Land ho!" were so ecstatic and infectious that I fell to the deck immediately and praised Oghma with tears in my eyes. I wept for joy, as I'm sure anyone would!"

Do you have kids?

"Not of my body, no. I…well, it seems ridiculous when I speak of it now, but I never felt lucky in love—and I certainly never expected to be a parent—until I met my glorious githyanki Lae'zel and she chose to protect and nurture the egg we saved from that terrifying créche. The boy Xan is a handful—and frankly I have no idea what to do with him half the time, but he's a precocious child and thankfully Lae'zel believes that fostering his mind is important. I've very much enjoyed teaching him what I know, and while I won't pretend to keep up with his own studies (I'm still trying to wrap my head around the ways spelljammers travel between the stars) I'm fascinated by them and feel grateful there are things we can learn from each other."

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

"As a callow youth I most certainly did, but I grew out of it once I realized it wouldn't serve me in my studies and work. That happened much later than I would've liked, and I'm still embarrassed to say I had to be told by a bard, of all people. You'd think such a person would revel in snide sociopathy, but the Lost Singer showed me that genial persuaders open many more doors than sneering know-it-alls. People share their knowledge more willingly when they're approached with respect and appreciation. Shocking, no? Bah—it's still a tough habit to kick completely."

What's the first thing you notice about people?

"Their curiosity, or lack thereof. I love meeting anyone who's skilled in their trade or has wisdom to share. As a boy I used to sometimes shirk my studies and skip away to the harbor taverns, where sailors like my grandfather told their stories of far-off lands and grand adventures. As an academy student I made a point to spend more time with my peers who studied multiple disciplines, instead of the sorts who got stuffier the more they specialized. I've found it's frighteningly easy to slip into incuriosity with age, so I feel fortunate to have set good habits early on."

Scary stories or happy endings?

"Oh, happy endings of course. Reality is scary enough, so the rare cases when the story of life ends happily for anyone should be celebrated. I used to think such aspirations were hopelessly clichéd, but I can't tell you how glad I am to have grown out of it."

Any special talents?

"Well, unlike my friend the bard I don't like to brag. But academies don't hand out tenure for modesty, so I'll say that my "trivial superpower" is the ability to hand-draw the map of any nation in Faerun from memory. I inhaled such knowledge from books and scrolls as a student, and it paid off when I brought prestige to the Surveyors', Map-Makers', and Chart-Makers' Guild (and my sponsors from the Watchful Order) with my discovery of the concept of longitude."

Where were you born?

"In my family's home above my parents' bookshop in Waterdeep's Southern Ward. My parents came north from their native lands well before I was born, drawn by the City of Splendors' reputation as a haven for scholarship and culture. Both Mother and Father are scribes and publishers, and make their living translating tomes and scrolls to and from their native languages (his Amnian, hers Calim)."

Do you have any pets?

"No, I'm not much of a pet person. I don't dislike them, mind you, but I never felt the need for their company and indeed might even have resented the responsibility when I could settle down with a book instead. And once I began voyaging with seaborne explorers, I wasn't at home long enough to care for a pet properly."

What sort of sports do you play?

"Not much of an athlete either, I'm afraid. However, I'd be a fool to stay cooped up in my study for all hours, so in Waterdeep I made a point to take daily walks around the neighborhood. It helped immensely to clear my head or, conversely, think deeper through a particular question or problem to solve it."

How tall are you?

"A bit over 6 feet or 1.8 meters. In other words, a perfect height for the top of Lae'zel's head to reach my chin."

What was your favourite academic subject?

"Oh, astronomy! That was what first inspired me to think of how to calculate longitude, and after that sparked my romance with Lae'zel. Learning about her home in the Tears high above Toril was both fascinating and fortuitous, eh?"

What is your dream job?

"I'm doing it now! Teaching my specialty to students keen on learning. Adventuring was invigorating and rewarding, but I think my days of danger are done. Self-imposed danger, of course. It may still visit me if Lae'zel's war comes home when she does. You see, she's not always here in Waterdeep or even in Toril—so I strive to keep the home fires warm whenever she and the boy return. I suppose keeping house is my second job, and I'm proud to do it. In my view more men should be."