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mjorthehighway · 2 years ago
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Kinda tired of femininity being forced down my throat as a trans man tbh. All the posts about trans men now seems to only vomit "It's OK to be feminine and not medically transition and have a femme voice and dress femme" (which are valid statements don't get me wrong, it's just all i seem to see now)
So this is a Trans Man Positivity post for the men like me:
You are valid if you never want anyone outside your partner(s) to know you are trans.
You are valid if you regularly pitch your voice down/do vocal training
You are valid in wearing clothes that make you feel safe and comfortable, even if you'd rather wear something else (you'll get there, take your time!)
You are valid if the idea of not being able to bind for a day scares you/makes you anxious
You are valid if you get upset being constantly misgendered, despite all the hard work you've put into your appearance.
You are valid in going incognito for your own ssfely (I.e. according to everyone who knows you, you are a "cis man")
You are valid in lying about your agab to anyone for your own safety
And finally you are valid if you're even afraid of being transgender at all. Realizing you are trans is sometimes a frightening feeling rather than a euphoric one, especially with all the anti-trans laws sweeping across the US and the almost absolute lack of trans protection laws everywhere else (with a few exceptions obvs) Of course the majority of people are loud and vocal in the support of trans people, we're still nowhere near the state of "every trans person can come out and not be persecuted/hurt" so please be kind to the trans people in your life who are scared/closeted and make decisions about their gender expressions that make them feel safe. If a trans man says "I look really cute in this skirt but I'd feel really unsafe and probably dysphoric if I wore it" maybe take them at their word and don't (even though most people would see it as helping a homie with some dope fashion choices) pressure them into wearing something femme just to "stick it to the man" Yes gendered clothes are bullshit, and the gender binary is bullshit, but don't you ever make a trans person feel bad for playing the gender binary game for their own safety, please and thank you.
Another small slightly related note: Unless someone explicitly states to you that they are OK with you outing them, DONT REVEAL OTHER PEOPLES TRANS IDENTITY. Even if the person you're talking to is open minded and obviously pro-trans it's still not your place to out someone else without permission. Ever. Trans people aren't here to give you more woke points by being your friends, so stop parading us around to other people like trophies. Stop it.
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mbirnsings-71 · 2 months ago
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A REN FOR YOU!! A REN FOR YOU BECAUSE I NEEDED TO PRACTICE DRAWING HIM!! I'm stealing that locket idea now for the funnies he just opens it up and it's just them in their larping costumes SDVKNDFVNF
I know what his pfp is and I'm just saying, non-dog hybrid Ren is still so cursed to draw DFVKDNFBKNFGB-
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Struggled with today's art but I have to draw Scar Daily or I implode basically- also Ren for @pup-pee because I have to practice drawing him and Martyn after all-
Also I think Non-dog hybrid Ren is cursed but like it's what we're working with here we're balling-
#also I see your tags don't worry I can talk about Scar and Grian enough for the both of us#Ru literally did doodles of them for me last night I was having a great time!! OH AND EVEN DOODLED A MARTYN YOU SHOULD SEE THE MARTYN#WAaDW AU :>#u make me wanna draw ren from ur au ;; ill prolly do it when i finsih eating WHO KNOWS IDK BUT JUST HES SO!!!! gotta draw him & martyn bing#<- Prev#Jay :D!!#IF YOU DO I'LL FUCKING CRY MAN I'LL CRY I'M STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DRAW HIM#ALSO YES PLEASE EAT EATING IS GOOD PLEASE#ALOS I LOVE THE IMPLICATION THAT REN JUST WEARS DOG EARS he wore ears + a tail in school hes just like meeeeeee.....akshfljksaf NO BUT#i think he should......bc uhm bc uh bc uhhhhhh bc hhh bc if u havent alr decided bc uhhhhhh#<- Prev | I HAVEN'T DECIDED YET FDJV NFJBGN RU SAID CLIP ON EARS AND I KNOW HE'S AT LEAST DOING THAT FOR LARPING I DON'T KNOW ABOUT REGULAR#but also like Headband because for funsies- He definitely will wear it to contain his massive amount of hair- (I say this but suck at drawi#headbands so this will be a personal challenge for me#ALSO MADI BC UR DRAWING THE SCENES U CAN PUT THEM IN THE FICCCCC OHHH MY GODDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!! LITERLLY SO TASTYYYY ur single handedly feed#<- Prev | LITERALLY I HAVE THE FIC PLANNED OUT AND AM JUST DRAWING SCENES FROM IT AND I'M SOBBING ABOUT MULTIPLE OF THEM AND CAN'T SAY SHIT#JUST I'M GLAD YOU'RE EXCITED FOR THIS AU ESVJNRGJF BECAUSE I WANNA WORK ON IT SO BADLY ONE OF THESE DAYS#the doc now has hot guy colors on it for dialogue it's so beautiful the doc is my pride and joy#ALSO GLAD YOU LIKE MY DESIGNS PLEASE I JUST LIKE DRAWING THEM THEY MAKE ME SO HAPPY AND SCJNDSV- I need to draw others for this au#I should draw Tango with a flour covered apron and I should draw him kissing his boyfriends actually it would be banger#ANYWHO GLAD YOU LIKED THE REN DOODLE JAY HE HAD TO OF COURSE HAVE SUPER FLUFFY HAIR HE HAD TO!! Also I like giving him two tone hair to#break up the darkness of it it's very nice to me in particular#LOVE YOU JAY <3
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cursed-peanut · 7 months ago
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A/N: Hello everyoneeee!!! As promised, here is part 2 of Reunited!! I will be making more parts however it won’t be like a fic, more like a combination of scenarios, headcanons, etc. If you have any questions or thoughts on this AU, my ask box is always open and so are my comments. My taglist is also open! If you’d like to be added, lmk! Please make sure I can tag your account first though. May sound silly but I couldn’t tag some people because they had tagging disabled. If you were one of the people who asked to be tagged but wasn’t, please change that in Tumblr settings :) Anyway, this kinda gave yandereish vibes at the end??? If you want me to turn it into that or write a spin off where Sukuna is a Yandere for reader, lmk in the comments 💗 Anywho, happy reading and I hope you all enjoy this as much as you all did in part 1 <333
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“You are to be monitored by me at all times! If you get caught walking around by yourself well…I will either get an earful from the old hags at the top or they’ll have both of our heads, no in between!” Gojo Satoru tells you in a tone way too cheerful for what he was telling you.
“What? Why? I don’t even have any cursed energy, I’m just a regular human, I’m not some powerful sorcerer.”
“That is exactly why. We’re keeping your presence under the radar for now, but as soon as it inevitably slips out that you’re back and so is Sukuna, so will immediately become a target.”
“That’s not true. ‘Kuna may not be back to his full power, however he is still strong. No curses and sorcerer’s alike would dare hurt someone so close to the King of Curses.”
“While you may be right that he’s powerful even though Sukuna isn’t at his full potential, your ‘Kuna’ currently has the power of one of his fingers and is stuck in a fifteen year old boys body. He could easily be evaded by fellow special grade curses and curse users. Please realise this is for your safety.”
This doesn’t make sense to you. Yes, he’s not at his full power, but it’s not like you’ll be leaving Jujutsu Tech anyway. After all, you don’t go on missions, you’re not a Jujutsu Sorcerer and you will never have a chance to — not that you want to anyway. So logistically there is no need for your protection. Are they worried sorcerers might attack you? That’s surely a fault in the system of their schooling and society if they’re scared of that. Or maybe…they don’t trust you?
“They want me dead because of my relation to ‘Kuna, don’t they?” Gojo’s deafening silence answers your question. “Why?”
“Because they’re afraid that there’s a possibility you’re hiding a powerful technique from us. I personally don’t believe you are deceiving us, but even if you were, I’d be able to stop you anyway. So don’t be become all cocky with delusion. Thinking you can defeat me.” He grins.
“Mhm, well…thank you then.”
“Hm?”
“Thank you for believing in me,” You shakily sigh. “I’m happy to know someone is willing to stand up for me.”
“Of course! I would get a mopey Yuji if you died, and who knows how Sukuna would react, but I know for a fact it would not end well. Talking of Yuji and Sukuna, we should go check on them now!”
That’s right. Itadori has recently been announced as dead, however it seems Itadori must have made some sort of pact with Sukuna to revive him. You and Gojo, along with a few others at Jujutsu Tech, are the only people who know he’s alive. Gojo seems to take this opportunity to train Itadori well, and what that truly means is most of the time he conducts experiments that mainly consist of Gojo purposely annoying Sukuna to see how Itadori’s body would react. Most experiments involved you in some way — he found Sukuna’s threats very amusing, but what he found even more amusing is your ability to make the King of Curses sulk for a day by simply lightly reprimanding him for these threats.
“‘Kuna! That is no way to talk to someone. He just wanted a hug.”
“Yeah ‘Kunaaaa. I just wanted a hug.”
“Gojo-Sensei, please. Stop angering him. It’s getting harder and harder to suppress him.”
“This is exactly why I’m doing this! To help you learn how to suppress Sukuna, no matter the circumstances.” Gojo explains. While that may be partly true, Itadori knows that’s a lie. He’s doing this because it’s funny to him.
“You better watch it, Sorcerer scum,” Sukuna grits. “May I remind you that when I make this idiots body my own, I’m killing you first.”
“‘Kuna!” You scowl, hugging Gojo tighter to Sukuna’s dismay. Gojo flashes a shit-eating-grin Sukuna’s way for one last time and lets go of you.
“Thank you, Sensei. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could suppress him for.” Itadori sighs. You sit down next to him and give him a warm hug, rubbing circles on his back. Itadori looks up at you with warm eyes as you press a kiss to his forehead. You always bring the mummy issues out of him.
Meanwhile, in Sukuna’s domain, Sukuna is looking at you through Itadori’s eyes and he can’t help but marvel at you. You’re even more beautiful than he remembers, and you’re so unbelievably near. He wishes he could take his vessel’s place, return to his former glory with you by his side, but that will have to wait.
He will return to his former glory and you will be at his side when that happens. But above all else, what makes his wait all the more worth it, is the world he plans to create will be perfect for you and him. You wouldn’t need to worry about any disgusting sorcerers killing him and sealing you again.
Even if you hate him for killing the sorcerers, he can live with that. As long as you still love him, and stay by his side, he can deal with that.
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Taglist: @makuzume @spicyhyunn @pearlescentwonderland @namjooningera @six-eyed-samurai @natriae @domainofmarie @lixern @fluttershyfangs @girlyuuta @anabort @yu-87 @sukunaglazer4ever @madison777x @dervngedgf @calisnewworld @ilybbg @the-banshee @mostnormalsukunastan2024real @williamafton26 @mythoswarrior-23 @megantheefan @mindless-rock @kimsunoo2003 @anayesha1 @lelelenlenn @shyshybabyy @unlikelystay @shigemis0ra @iloveboysinred @eresel4mordemivid4 @meo66 @frozen-waffles @mrsslytherin00 @lazyperfectioniste @whosmarjj @itawifeyy @sugurubabe @hanniebanggi
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Pulse - Portgas D. Ace
Portgas D. Ace x Reader
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CW: trauma, mentions of death, and slightly suggestive teasing, kinda proofread? I got tired :/ | wc: 15,671 🫠 SPOILERS: Amazon Lily / Marineford / Post Marineford Y'all can thank @captainportgasdace for this. as agreed upon previously, @silentgravesdontexist you're tagged for this piece MasterList (linked at bottom too)
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There had always been a somewhat wistful quality to Ace.
It wasn’t always apparent, but it was there, lurking, much like the many sea kings of the Calm Belt. The Calm Belt…you huffed a little, you could liken Ace to that stretch of sea - so much lurking beneath the surface. 
If you looked at him hard enough you’d be able to see the large shadows swimming not too far away. Though today, or rather, following the first anniversary of his very close call with death, the summit war, you couldn’t help but feel those shadows had migrated closer to the surface. Large, dark, intimidating - moments from attacking.
That needn’t be a bad thing. Maybe you could finally take them down. Maybe he’d even let you help.
Or so you hoped.
No mind. You had patience to spare. Especially when it involved your loved ones.
You studied your dear friend from afar, starting from his head - his hair had grown longer over the course of the year or so he’d been recuperating for. A trim was in order - if only to remove the bottoms and promote healthy hair growth. Regardless of your skill with scissors, he’d probably let you trim it for him if you asked him to. Anywho, he sat cross-legged on the sand, his shoulders hunched slightly forward as he hugged his knees. Your eyes were immediately pulled down to the marred skin of his back.
Where his back was once crowned with the mark of the strongest man on the seas, there was now an empty patch of scarred skin: a testament to the void left by the loss of a father. It was still the same back though. The same back that had stood between you and adversaries unthinkingly: raising both morale and wrapping you in security. It was the same back, just…missing a little something.
You couldn’t help the way the sand crunched under your feet, still you tried your best not to disturb his reverie. He did little more than glance over to confirm you weren’t a threat, before silently turning his gaze back to the sea that he would no doubt be taking to soon enough. He would be much like a child returning to the embrace of his parents in a sense…as he was “a child of the sea.”
There really had always been a somewhat wistful quality to Ace.
You had to tear your eyes away from him. Quite the feat when the sun was starting to set, casting a golden glow upon your friend - who was already beautiful enough under the dingy lights of pirate ship cabins, let alone during this golden hour. You knew well enough that you’d give yourself away if you kept staring at him. While it wasn’t wise to wait, you also knew that confessing to a person in the midst of grief was insensitive. And, you had patience to spare. Especially when it involved your loved ones.
You instead took a moment to trace his line of sight, attempting to follow it with your own gaze. You soon took a seat beside him, sitting cross-legged much like he was, only that you opted to hold your hands within your lap, rather than hug your knees.
It had been a while since you’d both come to this island after all that had happened. While walks on the beach were regular, and you did leave the house, it had been a while since you’d really taken the time to admire the vastness of the water. It had been a while since you’d really focused on the way the breeze felt as it tousled your hair tenderly. It had been a while since you’d really dug your feet into the sand and enjoyed the little poking sensations of the sand under your toes.
“Y��think I can get my back tattooed again?” 
You blinked yourself back from your thoughts, turning to look at the man to your side, his brows furrowed as he continued to look out to the sea. In the time it took you to process his question and consider how to respond, he’d already found his answer: “I can’t, can I?”
“I think it would be better not to,” you agreed nodding slowly, “were you considering getting another back tattoo?”
His grip on his arms tightened as he hugged himself tighter, gaze finally moving away from the sea, falling onto the sand instead, taking your heart with it. You leaned back to study his back once again, contemplating.
“There’s always your lower back,” you rocked forward to try and capture his attention, “or your butt.”
The incredulous look he gave you had your eyes crinkling in mirth. Though you did find yourself looking away soon enough, your embarrassment catching up to you. It went down a little bit-kind of…when you heard him give a quiet, but amused chuckle, “nah my butt won’t work!”
You glanced his way, and the instant that he recognized you were looking at him, he continued, “unless you’re suggesting I go around with my ass cheeks out.”
“Ace!” You groaned, your hands immediately going to cover your face, your whole body hunching forward in embarrassment as he erupted into boisterous laughter.
After a moment, and through the scalding heat of your cheeks, you asked, “would you wear a shirt to compensate for having your bottom half exposed?”
When you heard him hum, you braved a peek through your fingers to see his brows raised into a thoughtful expression, brown eyes reflecting the warm pinks and oranges of the sunset. You looked away the moment his eyes met yours, cheeks burning yet again.
“Y’know what?” You looked up again, and he grinned, teeth glistening in the light as he answered you. “Nope! I wouldn’t.”
When you hid your face all over again, you were entreated to even more of his beloved hearty laughter. You could feel the way his shoulders shook beside you, despite not being in contact. Your pride battled against your satisfaction trying to force you to be upset even though you’d invited this kind of teasing, and enjoyed the effect it was having on him.
Though laughter right now was mostly just an anesthesia: it numbs things, but doesn’t really address the cause.
When his laughter died down, he let out a long breath, “I remember pops had it on his back.”
You turned to look at him again, he was more relaxed now, one arm resting on a bent knee, the other behind him as a support with his other leg stretched out in front of him. Looking down at his chest, he placed a hand on it, “guess my chest wouldn’t be a good idea either.”
At his suggestion you found yourself staring at the terrifying mark marring his front. You gulped, seeing the crimson of the past. The crimson that had finally become a warm peach. A warm peach that rose and fell rhythmically with the breaths he took. A closed, covered, mostly healed warm peach.
“Hey! Hey! Breathe!” He poked at you.
You shook your head, blinked violently, and took in a deep gulp of air. Snapping your eyes to his face you were treated to his raised brow and remorsefully awkward grin. You pursed your lips petulantly. Looking away you answered, “I think we should avoid,” you paused, “tender areas.”
“Tender, huh?” He looked back at the great blue.
“I’m so grateful you’re still here,” you let it slip out as you too looked out at the sea.
He chuckled humorlessly, “you say that a lot.”
“It’s because I am,” you stood firmly by your opinion.
“I must’ve given you a real scare,” you hated how guilty he sounded.
“Marco told you, didn’t he?” You mumbled, hugging your knees to your chest.
“Yeah, he told me you wouldn’t stop crying unless you fell asleep,” he huffed out, “something about you not eating well either too.”
“I’m so grateful you’re still here,” you reiterated, looking at him, taking him in.
“You already said that,” he raised a brow at you, a corner of his lips upturning slightly.
“Just let me count my blessings Ace,” you rested your head on your knees.
He didn’t respond, but you could hear him shift a bit beside you. Turning your head you saw that wistful quality of his resurface on his face, the pretty features relaxing once again. You pondered on what he’d said…
“Hey Ace,” you raised your head and he turned to look at you, “what if you got it tattooed on your pulse?”
“Huh?”
You raised your arm up to reveal your wrist, pointing to the area you mentioned, “it’s one of the places you can check for a heartbeat.”
He stared at you, the gears in his head turning, “it’s a little less obvious than your back, and much smaller,” you continued, “but it’s still readily visible,” you looked down, “and it’s got something to do with the heart too.”
He was in your space immediately, “that’s a great idea!” You looked up at him, his eyes glimmering pools of molten chocolate. “You’re so smart! Thanks!”
“Happy to help,” you smiled back at him, and he pulled back a little, staring at you for a moment too long - ah, “what’re you thinking about?”
Much like you had earlier, the pirate blinked himself back to attention with a shake of his head. He looked away for a moment, scratching at the back of his head, a sheepish smile taking his features as his eyes flickered back to you, “‘s nothin’.”
“Fair enough,” you shrugged, “I’ll help you find a tattoo artist and get the design down if you’d like.”
“You would?” He lit up some more, sparks of his old vigor reigniting.
“Of course.”
-_-
It hadn’t taken more than a week or two to find a tattoo artist on the island. There were a couple and Ace found himself liking the older lady artist more, so you went on over to her with Whitebeard’s jolly roger proudly etched on a paper. The fiery man had burst into full-bodied laughter at the offended scolding she’d given the two of you: of course she knew Whitebeard’s jolly roger! The…late…Emperor had come and established a sort of peace over their quaint little island a decade ago or so, even going so far as to chase off some thugs from her little shop.
The former division commander was grinning from ear to ear when the artist sang his father’s praises. She did not withhold any of her opinions about how manly and handsome he appeared to her either. There was a small prickling in the back of your eyes, but you managed to keep it together, especially as a warm hand came to rest its weight between your shoulder blades. Turning to Ace, you were greeted with an equally warm grin as he excitedly told you he had a great feeling about this lady.
Oh! And that you did an amazing job finding her, “leave it to you to find such great people!” He beamed. 
“I’m so grateful I found you too,” you stressed, returning his grin with a smile of your own. 
Your delightful buddy froze momentarily before coming back to his senses, “thank you.”
“I’m happy to help.”
“Not just for finding the lady.”
“No thanks needed.”
“Though if I remember things,” he thought aloud, “didn’t I find you?”
You rolled your eyes, “oh no, a very good person found me.”
He chuckled lightly at your sarcastic tone, before your attention was required by the tattoo artist.
She did a truly spectacular job with the tattoo, and even provided the ointment he’d need to help promote faster healing. Over the course of tattooing the young man she seemed to realize you’d probably remember the aftercare instructions better than he would. 
She wasn’t wrong about that.
Ace felt like his tattoo was mostly healed by the end of the following month. The old lady had mentioned that given the location, it would take a while to heal fully though, so…You were the one worrying most days. Especially as Ace began to make the necessary preparations to embark back out on the seas again - he was healed enough for it, per the instructions and information Marco had left you with. 
It was a great deal of fun though, working on building your small ship together, you were just constantly worried he’d scrape himself and get the tattoo infected or something. He often shrugged it off, reminding you that he was made of fire after all, and could avoid scratches.
“Ah yes,” you nodded, “you’re hot in the literal sense.”
He burst out laughing again. He did seem significantly more lively these days. Especially following the tattoo. Though you weren’t sure if he’d slain some of the beasts within, or if the shadows had simply chosen to recede from the surface.
You got a glimpse of the answer one night as the two of you sat in front of the fire he’d started up, staring at the tattoo on his wrist while waiting for the fish and veggies you’d caught and scavenged earlier to cook. Your dear friend’s wistful quality resurfaced from the unfathomable depths that made him up, though with a tinge of nostalgia this time. There was a very small, very deeply fond, uplift to the line of his mouth.
You marched over to his side, plopping yourself down beside him, a basket of fruit and a knife in hand. He looked up at you, eyes reflecting the warmth of the fire beside him…or perhaps the warmth of the fire within. He was always so warm.
“Dinner’s almost ready,” he grinned and you could feel the warmth of domesticity mix in with his naturally warm aura and creep up on you.
Looking back at the basket of fruits in your lap, you picked up a pineapple, “well a little snack before won’t completely ruin our appetites,” you were about to begin cutting into it when he took it out of your hands.
“Here, lemme show you a neat trick,” he proceeded to twist the top of the pineapple off, hit the bottom of it on his knee, and forcefully roll it between his hands, “now you can pull out each piece, no knife needed!” He grinned, pulled a piece out and handed it to you.
You took it, impressed with the new piece of information, “that is neat!”
Silences had become increasingly common between the two of you. Tonight was no different, the two of you sat side by side, snacking on a pineapple, he did have to hand it over to you to switch out fish and vegetable skewers. At which point you decided to poke at the corner of his mouth with a piece of the fruit and he opened to eat it  without thinking twice. Given how your relationship had transformed over the course of his healing period, this level of closeness had also become commonplace between you two.
It didn’t mean anything though. It could be likened to the way you’d feed any of your close friends. 
You were trying not to fault yourself for wanting something more though. It wasn’t as if this feeling was new. Ace always burned so bright, and was so warm-and you weren’t unique in these feelings. What was unique about you, was the situation you were afforded. Again: it didn’t feel right to burden him with your feelings while he was essentially fighting for his life in a whirlpool of turmoil trying to drown him.
“What’cha thinkin’ about there?” He asked as he passed you a skewer of cooked fish.
You shook your head. You were a coward. You’d think almost losing him would push you to reveal just how important he was to you. Verbally reveal it that is. 
“Don’t wanna talk about it?” He nodded, understanding as ever. “Got it.”
“So you’re going to be setting off soon huh?” You chose to change the topic.
He hummed, stoked the fire a bit, and paused. He turned to look at you, brow furrowed.
“I’m going to be setting off soon?” He reiterated, confused. “You’re not coming?”
“Would you want me to?” You looked at him. “I mean, I remember you were upset over me staying with you when you were relegated to bedrest.”
“That was because you had better things to do than take care of me,” he bit back.
“If I wasn’t actively caring for you I might have gone insane though,” you worked to remove the skin from the fish, “it helped me.”
“You,” he tore into his fish with an aggressive bite, chewing in frustration, “you have your own dreams and adventures, and you wasted a whole year here with me though, the least-”
“Time spent with you is never wasted,” you cut in, effectively stopping his mouth from moving, “time spent with you, is never time wasted,” you repeated again meeting his gaze as he stared at you.
He just continued staring at you, with nothing but the crackling of the fire and the soft rolling of the waves filling the space between you.
He remembered to finish chewing and swallow his food soon enough though, blinking himself back to reality as he did so and looking at the fire he confirmed, “you’re coming with me,” his tone was firm with his conviction, “we’re setting sail, together.”
“Okay,” you nodded, nibbling into your fish, “I’m glad.”
He muttered something, or perhaps he whispered it, the words were stolen away by the breeze before you could make out what he said though. “What is it?”
“I wouldn’t leave you here on this island by yourself,” he shook his head, “not after everything you’ve done for me.”
“I did all that because I wanted to,” you drilled into him, “you don’t owe me a thing.”
Your brow pinched, your displeasure making itself evident on your face, “if you’re just going to befriend me out of obligation and guilt,” it was your turn to bite into your fish aggressively, “then leave me here.”
“I never said that!” He shot back. “We were friends before all this, and I’d rather die than lose you.”
“Please don’t talk about dying,” it was a quick, breathless, desperate request.
“Sorry.”
You shook your head, “no no I’m sorry,” your appetite was vanishing rapidly, “what you went - what you’re probably still going through - is worse than,” you swallowed thickly, tears welling up, “than me just watching it happen.”
“Hey,” you tried to wipe away the tears, fish skewer still in hand, “hey, look at me,” you turned to face your dear one - his intensity entrapping you.
He took your skewer from your hand, stabbing it in the sand next to his own. His larger palm enveloped your own as he pulled the appendage towards his chest pressing it right above his heart. You found your face warming inordinately-and it wasn’t because of your proximity to the fire. You felt the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he took deep breath after deep breath, felt the rhythmic - kind of quick - pounding of his heart.
“I’m alive,” he reminded you, “I’m still here.”
You nodded, bottom lip trembling, “I’m so grateful you are.”
He opened his mouth, about to say something, then looked away with a huff. His brows pushed down on his eyes, “I want to take you off this island with me.”
You nodded at him, hand still held above his chest, where you could feel his heart rapidly pumping blood to the rest of him - intact. Alive.
“I want to leave this island together,” you agreed.
“Then it’s set!” He grinned, and released your hand leaving it to fall limply to your side as he grabbed the skewers and handed you yours again.
That was also when he remembered the food he was still cooking. Seems he’d almost burnt the remaining fish, but they were thankfully saved just in time.
-_- 
Ace clearly loved being at sea again.
It suited him so well. Surrounded by blue on all sides, blazing his own path - own course through the waters. 
A child of the sea come home. 
You could see it in the way light seemed to dance off of him every instant of the day: the ethereal glow of dawn upon his defined features, the halo that the afternoon sun drew on his head, the gleam of the sunset on his back, or even the twinkling of the stars in his eyes. You could see how at home he was out on the restless waters.
Perhaps he was so at home on the restless waters was because he could actually see the restlessness? Maybe that was why when the sea calmed, you would catch him glancing back at his newest tattoo from time to time.
One of the times, he’d been laying down on one of your small sailboat’s little benches, his head resting near your own, as you sat on the floor of the deck beside him. He raised his hand up, staring at his wrist under the blanket of stars in the sky. You couldn’t help but notice, looking away from one beauty to another.
You weren’t too sure what possessed you in that moment, but you reached out a finger and began to trace the iconic crossbones and mustache embedded within your dear friend’s skin. It was as your finger finished dragging along the mustache that he maneuvered his hand so that his fingers could clamp down upon yours.
The first time he’d done this (held your hand) after the…after the war, you’d both been gripping each other’s hands like you were both on the edge of a cliff, afraid the other would fall to their demise if you let go. Though the first time he’d gently held your hand, you’d startled and he’d let go soon after. Of course since then, you’ve held him and been held by him as the grief of it all washed over you in waves. 
So anyway, hand holding didn’t mean anything. 
His thumb pressed down on the vein in your wrist, making you more aware of how fast your heart was beating. It didn’t really mean anything though - what he was doing right now. 
No matter how much you wanted it to.
When he stopped pressing down on your pulse, choosing instead to rub circles into your skin, you turned to look at him and meet his gaze as he gave you yet another of those bright smiles, leaving the heat to crawl up your chest and squeeze it.
-_-
When you arrived at the island the pose was pointing to the following day, Ace once again took your hand - to help you disembark. You spent the day scouring the place for new information, trying out the local dishes (with Ace falling asleep mid bite), and taking in the local sites. It involved a lot of you being dragged from corner to corner, your hand clutched firmly within his own as he led you around. By the time the evening fell, you both found yourselves on a beach front again, your narcoleptic buddy’s head on your shoulder as he snored away.
Hmm…you’d probably camp out somewhere near your Mini Moby tonight. Your brain couldn’t help but wander about as you played with the thick waves of Ace’s hair. You’d decided to do honest work for the time that the former Division Commander was healing. The reality was you’d been thrust into piracy due to your…”scholarly” pursuits, so of course you’d be doing honest work. It hadn’t paid much is all. After all, the island that Marco had left the two of you at was a quaint, quiet place that wasn’t too far from Saobody, and friendly to Whitebeard pirates. 
You had to admire his wisdom in choosing the place. It had both mountain and beach environments and a lot of greenery, so it would be soothing to the mind as well as the body. The local doctor was also very adept, and there was an extremely talented apothecary there as well. Marco had thought of everything.
You could hear your friend’s usual grumble, moan, and whine that he made whenever he woke up from one of his spells. The weight on your shoulder lifted, as his inky tresses slipped past your fingers as he sat up.
“Good morning,” you hummed jokingly.
“Morning?” He yawned, stretching out. “Did I sleep that long?” He was squinting at his surroundings.
“Nope,” you rolled out your shoulders, “I was thinking of setting up camp near the Mini Moby.”
He blinked at you, “food first,” and grabbed your hand to pull you up with him.
How he was so awake already was beyond you. Perhaps it was a consequence of having to deal with this regularly. 
“Usually you ask if the person is hungry first,” you huffed, working to steady yourself on your feet after being sat for a while.
“You aren’t hungry?” He blinked at you.
Truly it was fascinating how this man before you managed to be fierce, fiery, and beautiful one moment, and then absolutely boyishly adorable the next. “I am,” you nodded, your mouth pulling itself up and pushing your eyes into a smile.
Your dear friend stared at you in silence for a bit, before tugging you by your conjoined hands with a loud declaration of, “then let’s eat!”
And eat, you did. On the house too. Thanks to Ace’s battle prowess he managed to stop the restaurant from getting looted at gunpoint. It wasn’t some casual dine and dash, this guy was threatening the cook’s life!
Though Ace  likely cost the owner the same amount as what he’d have lost from the looting with how much the commander ate. The old man didn’t mind though. 
His daughter definitely didn’t either. You noticed her sneaking glances the pirate’s way the whole evening. You couldn’t blame her, even if you didn’t look directly at the sun, it was still impossible to ignore.
It seems that the personified sunshine in question didn’t notice her longing gazes as he, once again, took your hand to lead you out when you were both done. He was talking your ear off about Luffy again, just like he used to before…
…before everything happened.
The only difference was the way he was holding on to you this time. You found yourself squeezing his palm and watched as he stood at attention and turned to you with a curious expression, “what is it?”
“Nothing,” you shook your head, “I’m just happy.”
You were greeted with a warm silence following your layered confession. Soon enough he was squeezing your hand as well, “me too.”
You didn’t get to see his face as he began pulling you along again.
-_-
On the next island, your friend once again dealt with an issue. Well he dealt with it prior to you even getting there. Due to some Marine’s negligence, there were sea kings terrorizing the locals of said island. Three sea kings to be exact. You found that out when you were greeted with cheers as you docked right after helping Ace take them out so you could arrive safely. Free food, free lodging, among other things were offered to the two of you.
Given you had contributed somewhat, you didn’t mind, the food was going to be made from the Sea King meat anyway. You also didn’t mind much when all the joy resulted in a revelry with your companion at the center of it all. 
You sat, a mug of spicy cocoa in one hand, your cheek pressed into the other as you watched him, arm in arm with other men, children, and the occasional lady: smiling, laughing, celebrating. 
Were the shadows lingering deep within the waters? Or were they on the verge of bursting forth from just beneath the surface you wondered.
There was no denying you loved seeing this side of your beloved friend. Joy suited him well. You just couldn’t help but be concerned that it wasn’t unburdened.
Oh! He was looking at you now. 
He waved you over with an excited smile, to which you raised your mug of cocoa. That made him furrow his brow. Before you knew it he was marching over to you, snatching your hand again, and dragging you to join him. He was kind enough to wait for you to chug your cocoa…well…kinda. He chugged a bunch of it for you when you couldn’t get through it fast enough.
After attempting to do the local dance with him, and laughing along with the crowd at your miserable failure to do so, you were invited to eat some more. In true Ace manner, he fell asleep mid bite, causing everyone to panic. You on the other hand simply chuckled and did your part: lifting his head, wiping his face and his bangs, before gently placing his cleaned head on the table and adjusting his hair a bit. You then unpacked your shawl and transformed it into a makeshift pillow, before sliding it under your unconscious companion’s head. 
It would seem that display resulted in some misunderstandings as the lodging you were offered subsequently was a single room with a bed of a moderate size meant to be shared. You were too embarrassed to ask for a change given they’d given you this room out of their own generosity. The man to your side didn’t seem bothered by it though. Well, it wouldn’t be all that bad really. 
Or so you thought. 
Or so you thought.
Because the former commander was not a peaceful sleeper. You woke up as you’d fallen asleep for the most part. If you’d shifted while sleeping then it wasn’t anything too drastic. Ace on the other hand was a complete starfish. His forearm was on your neck, one of his legs bent over your stomach, with his head off his pillow and a hair’s breadth away from rolling off the bed.
And when his head did inevitably roll off, while you were trying to figure out how and if you even wanted to untangle yourself or not, it took the rest of him with it. As anyone who grew up the way he did would, his instincts kicked in and you found yourself being dragged across the bed while he crashed onto the ground loudly - groaning as he did. You’d ended up tightly tangled in the covers now, with part of Ace’s weight pulling it taut and making it difficult to roll out of the cocoon it had wrapped around you.
When you asked him to get off of your cover, he began apologizing, “ah jeez, did I wake you?” You hated the guilt seeping into every word. “Sorry.”
“Nope,” you shook your head, still tightly bound in the covers, “I woke up right before the disaster struck.”
He didn’t look completely convinced that was the case, so you decided to elaborate: “I was trying to figure out how to get up without disturbing your sleep, when you rolled off.”
He raised a brow at you, and you shot him a pointed look of your own, pursing your lips to further solidify your stance in this staring war. Seems like it paid off because soon enough his shoulders shook with his chuckles. You soon found yourself chuckling along, which of course reminded you that you were still stuck.
“Uh Ace,” you wiggled about, tugging at the cover still under his bottom, “a little help.”
“Oh yeah! Sorry!” He was grinning as he moved aside this time, going so far as to clamber up onto the bed again and help unroll your burrito self. He chuckled at your bedhead when you finally got free, his eyes crinkling and his dimples popping up as he looked at your disheveled appearance. 
It was weird. 
Feeling at ease and self-conscious all at once that is. He’d seen you in worse states, yet you still wanted to look pretty in front of him.
Though as his calloused hands came to pat down the mess your head had gotten itself into to help you get it under control, the emotional pendulum swung more towards being at ease. 
“Y’know,” he hummed as he continued to pat and play with your hair, “I think I like this look on you!”
Just like that you were slung straight back into unease, the heat clambering up your face. You groaned and covered your face, pulling away from him-and receiving a little complaint-as you threw yourself back on the pillows.
“What’s with that reaction?”
You turned away from him, still covering your face. “Oi!” His hand was on your arm turning you back towards him. “Don’t hide from me.”
You decided to peek out from behind your hands, “you know most people don’t say ridiculous bedheads look good.”
“Well yours does!” He grinned, ruffling your hair without any regard for how difficult it may be to style.
You huffed, lips gently curving upwards. You were blanketed by a gentle warmth, and it wasn’t from the sun. No this warmth could only be achieved in the presence of the man beside you. You let yourself look at him as you smiled - and he mirrored your expression. 
-_-
After that first day on the island you started to feel bad about not paying for things, so you decided to offer labor in exchange given the islanders wouldn’t take your berries. At the bath house you fixed a few things around the lady’s home, then bathed. When it came to the food, you washed some dishes in the back including all of the dishes both you and Ace ate out of. He helped of course. 
The rest of your day was spent wandering around, reading newspapers and picking up information from conversations. At one point the two of you separated to explore different areas. You found a cute little shop where you could make things out of wood. When its artisans noticed you staring, they invited you inside. They’d even taught you some basics before leaving you to your own devices with your own small slab of wood.
You became completely absorbed within the atmosphere the shop had to offer, completely losing track of time with the family of artisans as you all worked with gentle conversation flowing. You hadn’t fully realized just how much time had passed until you heard the breathless voice of your traveling companion, frantically inquiring if they’d seen you. Of course he noticed you soon enough, given you’d turned to look at him.
“There you are!” He beamed, relieved to see you,  before his expression flipped into something frustrated.
“Oh my!” The voice of a lady, who’d been patiently teaching you how to whittle, cut into your conversation. “Dear, we had so much fun we didn’t realize we’d worked ourselves well into the evening!”
Sure enough when you turned to the clock it was nearing 10:30 in the evening. The sun had set at least three hours ago. Oh. Looking back to Ace, you paid closer attention to the fact that he was still breathing heavily.
He’d been worried. 
But why? It wasn’t that late. What had he come across during his time wandering on his own?
Hmmm…you could empathize with his concern, though that wasn’t enough to completely appease you. After all it wasn’t like he didn’t go missing for hours on end. You still remember the panic of going about searching the island for him: especially when he was still in bandages!
“Seems like now you know how I feel when you go missing,” you stood up, patting the wood shavings from your project off your lap, and taking off the apron.
“You!” You could almost see the little flickers of flames coming off of his barely clothed shoulders. “I thought something happened to you!”
The father of the little family of artisans began laughing loudly, standing up to give Ace a pat on the shoulder, “now now, I know you’re frustrated,” then he leaned up and whispered something into the former commander’s ear.
Ace’s eyes met yours for an instant before his face and shoulders turned red, his eyes going as wide as saucers, and a little flame flared out from his head. When the older man laughed some more, the pirate tore his gaze away and put on his hat so it covered his face, grumbling, “thanks for the advice.” 
Looking back up at you-face still pink-he announced, “we need to get going.”
“Just a moment, I need to sweep away my wood shavings,” you responded.
“Why don’t the two of you stay for dinner?” It was the elder lady - the grandmother of this quaint family - that offered.
You smiled and shook your head, “I appreciate the offer,” then you jabbed a thumb at your companion, “but this man can eat twice or even three times his weight in food.”
“Hey!”
You turned to him, your smile cheeky, “I’m glad you can.”
That took the wind out of his sails entirely. It was a bit unfair of you, but you really were glad that he could eat like he used to. The whole event was settled and you were promptly shooed out, your shavings left on the floor, as they intended to work some more and there was no point in you sweeping before they finished. 
“Come back tomorrow to finish your work, alright sweetie?” Was the parting they gave you, and you agreed to return the following day.
Ace took your hand the moment you were outside the little family shop, grip tight on yours as he led you through the dimly lit streets. “I got us a room with two beds this time,” he said, eyes forward, “it’s at a different inn though.”
“Oh,” was all you could say, “are you - are you okay?” You squeezed his hand in yours. “I was a little insensitive earlier.”
The action made him halt altogether, his shoulders dropping the tension they were holding as he breathed out. 
“I saw some Marines,” oh. That explained his earlier outrage.
“What’re they here for?” You sped up a little to look at his face. “Do you know?”
“Remember those sea kings we took down?”
“They’re here to finally deal with them?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “now they’re just staying here because the island folk are mad at them for ignoring them for months.”
“Urgh.”
The corruption and hypocrisy of the Marines was something you had always been critical of. Of course this meant you were also privy to the hypocrisy and hegemony of the World Government (more like World’s Ratified Mafia). And of course such knowledge and attitudes were absolutely intolerable under their dictatorship so soon enough you had a humble bounty on your head.
Justice. 
They had gone and assumed themselves infallible deities: justifying all their behavior through the abuse of the word, they’d completely perverted the concept of justice.
Urgh the sheer egotism.
Disgusting. 
“I saw them not too far from the Mini Moby when I went there looking for you,” he broke you out of your angry reverie, “then I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
You squeezed his hand, “thank you for worrying about me.”
He squeezed your hand back, a silent “you’re welcome.”
“Good thing my bounty doesn’t have a photo right?” 
The marines could never get a clear shot of you for some reason…
“The most they had was a really awful looking drawing, like Blackleg from the Straw Hats!”
Ace’s lips pulled into a massive, very amused grin. 
You still remembered the way he’d laughed himself to the ground, little tears forming in the corners of his eyes when he first saw the wanted poster. Even Marco and…Thatch…had gotten a laugh out of it. 
“It looks nothing like you!”
“What do you mean?” You grinned holding the paper up to your face. “You mean my nose doesn’t look like a carrot?”
And they’d laughed some more. Ace’s laugh was especially memorable, his strong shoulders shaking, his freckled face completely consumed by unbridled mirth. You never stood a chance - sweet, with a smile like that?
You never stood a chance.
“They didn’t see you right?” After all, his wanted poster was much clearer than yours. 
“Nope,” he shook his head, “I’m keeping a low profile until we get back to the New World,” he winked at you, “like we agreed.”
“Good!” You squeezed his hand again.
Later, you’d squeeze his shoulder as you shook him awake. 
Nightmares.
You moved out of the way just in time as he gasped himself awake, chest heaving as he panted for air. He looked around frantically as you soothed him. Which was when he finally turned to look at you. You’d barely gotten a sentence out before he’d tugged at you, crushing you into his embrace.
Your nose was essentially being crushed against his right pectoral muscle. It hurt a bit, so you pat his back while squirming to liberate your nose. He loosened his hold for a moment and you quickly adjusted to be in a more comfortable position, before you were once again being crushed into him. 
You held him back of course.
But not before he could readjust his hold so that his head rested on your chest-more specifically his ear.
Oh.
You began tracing your fingers along his scalp as they weaved through his thick locks. Had his nightmare featured you this time? His grip on you only tightened, a shiver wracking through him before you heard a shuddering breath.
“Ace,” you hummed in an attempt to soothe him again, “Ace, I’m okay,” you tried to keep your tone soft, “I’m okay.”
He nodded, but continued clutching you, body trembling under trapped his emotions within it. You on the other hand continued to run your fingers through his hair, with him gradually getting heavier and heavier in your hold. His grip loosened slightly as his consciousness slipped - if you waited a bit you’d be able to slip out and back into your own bed.
Looking at him, you could see the remnants of his tears sparkle on his lashes. You wished he’d just let himself cry more openly, rather than fight to bottle it up. 
A quiet sigh left you as you looked at the man in your hold, people really were as beautiful as their souls. You continued to play with his hair, basking in the relative silence. 
You ought to tell him that to his face really. Your lips softly pulled upwards as you gently brushed his bangs from his face. 
You wouldn’t have dared to even consider doing that when you first met him: back when he’d convinced you his bravado was confidence. You knew better now though.
He’d probably still tease you if you did. His teasing made him just about intolerable to you initially. 
Yeah…your road to friendship hadn’t been the smoothest. You grinned at the memory, tenderly poking at the little furrow in his brow - coaxing him to relax. He’d very much made you regret your efforts to be kind(er) to him initially with his insufferable teasing. You were reconsidering altogether when he showed up and made amends after realizing he’d gone too far. The teasing remarks soon became playful jabs…which soon became thoughtful discussion when no one else was around.
You smiled at your dear-incredibly dear-friend, and readjusted yourself slightly thinking maybe you could go back to your own bed now. Of course no sooner had you started to consider that, than his grip on you tightened. You’d rather wait a little bit longer to make sure he was definitely asleep enough.
-_-
It was warm.
Too warm.
You found yourself regaining consciousness with a strain of agitation at the temperature your body had achieved while you were resting. You tried to kick off the covers in hopes of revealing your feet and cooling down, however you found that they were much heavier than they ought to be. It wasn’t until you heard a very familiar groan echo throughout the bones of your body that your eyes flew open.
Well…you’d figured out why it was warm.
Soon enough your friend’s eyes also opened, an absolutely criminal pout on his lips. You’d curse Ace’s luck with his genes if they weren’t why he suffered so much all his life. Though you didn’t get to admire him for long as he blinked himself back to the conscious realm, slowly realizing the position he was in, the position you were both in. At which point, a similar kind of alarm found its way onto his expression as he looked up at you.
“Good morning?” You tried.
That was all it took for him to hurriedly grant you freedom from his clutches…and some relief from the heat. Once you were both seated a respectable distance apart, though still on the bed, he shot you a sheepish look, “guess we didn’t need that second bed after all.”
You found yourself snickering at his comment, him joining in soon after, and with that any and all tension was cast away. You went back to your bed, slipped under the cool sheets and slept for a little longer too. So there was a use for the bed after all.
-_-
The rest of the day went well after the initial surprise and awkwardness. You went back to the wood whittling shop and Ace…well he went about doing his own thing. He came back to find you around night time, he’d already stocked the ship up, and set up camp as this time you’d be camping around the Mini Moby. The pose would reset as of dawn of the following day after all.
Bidding farewell to the quaint little family, you couldn’t help but think back to your own, way back on your home island. You did your best not to let your emotions choke you up. Though it was particularly difficult to hold them all in while you were hugging the lady who was old enough to be your aunt and then the grandmother. It was a pleasant surprise when the lovely family invited you to spend the night chatting until it would be time to leave.
“Hey! I can go catch us some wild animal,” your companion raised a brow at you with a smug little grin pulling at the corner of his lips, so you don’t have to worry about how much we eat, was the part he left unsaid.
“Would that be okay with everyone?” You turned to the homey family, who had absolutely no qualms with the suggestion.
The evening zoomed by: you had a fun dinner, exchanged stories over tea and biscuits, and even played some fun family games. It was after the elderly had retired, and your companion had, true to his nature, fallen asleep mid-bite again, that the more sensitive questions were brought up. In true auntie nature, the auntie-aged lady asked about your “husband,” especially given your lack of wedding bands.
You smiled at the auntie while heating up. She wasn’t wrong in her assumption. Prior to letting you escape with the then-captain of the Spade Pirates, your parents had you and Ace sign a marriage contract.
You appreciated him deeply for going along with it. That your parents would let you marry a wanted man though, even if it was supposedly just on paper, even if it was just for the sake of preserving your honor and dignity, showed just how dire and desperate a situation it had been. That he’d gone along with it though…and was remaining true to the agreements made with your family too…
For a pirate, he was an honorable and trustworthy man.
Then again…even the fearsome Whitebeard had more honor than the allegedly just marines.
So anyway, you didn’t correct the auntie, instead nodding and saying how you two were currently sailing together. She seemed relieved that you didn’t correct her on your relationship status, but she didn’t need to know that it was just a marriage on paper.
-_-
“Mornin’ sleepyhead,” was the greeting you’d gotten when you’d exited the singular cabin on the Mini Moby.
Squinting at the light, you rubbed your eyes and grumbled, “there’s no way it’s still morning.”
“You’re right,” you blinked blearily at your companion as he agreed with you, “it's afternoon.”
Which earned a tired groan from you. Which in turn drew an amused laugh from Ace as he continued adjusting the sails.
“You had fun talking with them didn’t you?”
You hummed in agreement as you shrunk back into the cabin. 
“Hey! Where are you going?”
“Water, I need water,” you croaked, opening the door and re-entering the darker environment. 
It felt nice not needing to squint anymore.
When you made your way back out you were assaulted with another question, “how did they figure out we were ‘married’?” He asked you. 
“I mean if you look at them, they seem marriage oriented and traditional,” you shrugged, “it could be a case of them just getting lucky we were in line with their hopes.”
“No wonder you got along with them so well,” he approached you from the helm, “I had a feeling they reminded you of your family.”
“They did,” you nodded, taking a seat on one of the benches on the small deck.
“I remember your folks giving me a hard time when we just needed to get you off the island before the navy got to you,” he recounted.
“I’m relieved they didn’t arrest any of my family members,” you exhaled deeply.
“You got lucky that it was Smoker that responded to the call,” Ace grinned.
“My mother said the same,” you agreed, “in her letter she said that what Smoker lacked in fashion sense he made up for in reasonability and honor.”
“She’d absolutely hate my sense of fashion then,” he laughed.
“She does,” you deadpanned, earning an even more boisterous laugh from him, “but I think she’d appreciate knowing you kept your promise.”
He raised a brow at you, “you mean the one about not laying a hand on you?” He made a show of taking a moment to think, then, “hmm but I forced you to share a bed with me just the other night.”
“Ace!”
He burst into even more boisterous laughter, “I broke that promise almost immediately while we were on the Spadine!” He was clearly relishing in teasing you, “I was always laying hands on you.”
“You know what they meant by that,” you groaned, “and you only ‘lay hands on me,’” you huffed, “to save me from going overboard and keep me out of trouble! That’s the whole reason we insisted on the contract prior to letting me board the Spadine,” you stoof gesturing to him and then the boat you were currently on, “they knew that you’d need to grab me for my own safety.”
As if to prove your point the ship lurched and you almost went overboard. Luckily Ace had the muscle to pull you onto the deck-or well onto him really, as you came crashing into his chest…which was…still clothed! Seems he’d forgotten to take his shirt off - which was currently to your benefit, so you weren’t complaining.
Looking up at him as he held you to him, you gave him a dry look, “see what I mean?”
“Yeah,” he grinned at you, readjusting his hold on you as another wave rocked the ship, “but, I’ve been pretty handsy this last year,” he cocked an eyebrow up, “wouldn’t you say?”
You found yourself heating up. What was he trying to achieve teasing you like this? You instead sent him your most unimpressed stare and he laughed some more. 
“Everyone needs a hug sometimes,” you grumbled, “I wouldn’t call that being handsy.”
You could feel his chuckles from where he held you, you could hear them loud and clear through his chest. You needed to get some space between you. Though you couldn’t even begin to move away before the waves threw you onto him again.
The sooner the two of you regrouped with Marco, the better. You needed to get yourself under control. Having Marco around would help. Probably. You tried not to touch him any more than necessary as you gingerly removed yourself from his grasp and moved away a bit looking for a way to make yourself helpful.
“I think the island after this is Saobody,” Ace grinned tugging on the ropes for the sail as he deftly maneuvered your small vessel, “after that we can get to the New World.”
“Well we’d have to go to Ryuguu first,” you corrected, “I wonder how Madame Sharly is doing.”
“Madame Sharly?” He glanced away from the waters to raise a brow at you. “I thought you didn’t agree with her fortune telling.”
“I don’t,” you approached him to help where you could, “but there’s no denying she’s gorgeous,” you took a rope, “and soothing to listen to.”
“So I’m competing with a mermaid?” He shook his head.
“Competing how?” Was he trying to be the most soothing presence in your life or something?
Ace looked startled by your question, furthering your confusion. He blinked at you silently once before sheepishly scratching the back of his head, “it’s…nothing.”
“But how would you be competing with a mermai-” you found yourself nearly thrown off again by the ship lurching yet again. Your work on the ropes came undone as you held onto them for dear life. It wasn’t a moment and a large, warm hand helped pull you back up and helped you regain your footing.
You couldn’t help but notice the ink on your friend’s wrist as he gently pried the ropes out of your hands and secured them himself. You stood there for a moment watching as he deftly tied them up before shaking yourself out of your reverie and making your way to the helm instead. 
-_-
You actually ended up at Saobody Archipelago. Which was convenient. Now it was just a process of trying to get your little ship coated. Oh and to avoid marines and all that. 
Unfortunately the “friendly neighborhood ship coater Ray-san” wasn’t available. Only that made sense. He was with Luffy, training him. His partner was manning the joint though. You weren’t sure of their relationship status but, “if I were Mr. Rayleigh I’d make sure to at least attempt to propose to you.”
That earned you a chuckle from the lovely lady, “mmm some men can be cowardly in the romantic arena,” she was grinning.
Which was when you heard choking to your left - it was Ace, thankfully he’d started coughing. You immediately began patting his back, and then turned back to the lady, “So um Ms. Shakky, would you happen to know how to coat a ship?”
“Nope,”  Shakky took a puff of her cigarette, “I run the bar. Rayleigh runs the coating service.”
And he’s the most trustworthy man to coat the ship on the archipelago. Well…
“Can you suggest any other coating services?” You tried.
She hummed as she took a drag off her cigarette, before elegantly tapping out some ashes into an ashtray. Breathing out she grinned at you, “I don’t think you have to bother with looking for anyone else.”
Well that had the potential to be ominous.
“Are you saying he’ll be back soon?” It was Ace who was asking the question through his coughs.
“Oh did he say he’s on his way back?”
“No, just my intuition,” her expression looked fairly amused before it settled into something more cheshire. 
She was humming as she studied you, “I have to say you do have a way of making a woman feel appreciated dear,” she threw a wink your way.
“I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable,” you sheepishly returned her smile, “my friends and I used to ‘flirt’ with each other all the time to express our love for one another and y’know?” you shrugged. “Boost each other’s confidence, all that.”
Shakky rested her cheek on her palm as she chuckled at you, “it didn’t make me uncomfortable at all, it’s very cute,” she looked over to your side, “wouldn’t you say so Porto-chan?”
He sputtered, almost choking on his drink again, “way to put a guy on the spot huh Shakky?”
She giggled at him,before turning back to you, “I’m sure this was only between you and your girl friends, given Porto-chan’s reaction here.”
“Well I wouldn’t want to give any guys the wrong idea,” you shrugged.
“True,” Shakky tapped out some more ashes, once again glancing to your side. 
-_-
True to what Shakky had said, Rayleigh came back not three days later. When you mentioned that she had really strong intuition he’d let out an amused whistle and, “women’s intuition can be scary,” before regaling you all with the tale of how Shakky’d been on the mark with something else.
The Pirate Empress, The Most Beautiful Woman in the World, Boa Hancock herself, had fallen in love, and fallen pretty hard. You heard the beautiful woman whose presence you were currently in giggle with, “see, I told you Monkey-chan was pretty good looking.” 
“Scary,” Rayleigh grinned as he breathed the word, “you women and your intuition are scary.”
“Eh?!” Ace was the one to vocally react. “She’s in love with Luffy?!”
Somehow his surprise was what had you laughing. “He’s a real charmer that Luffy, isn’t he?” You beamed at his older brother who looked like a mix of surprised, proud, and disbelieving all at once…maybe even a tinge jealous? “He takes after his brother.”
His owlish stare turned to you, and you saw a little lick of fire escape off his shoulders. All the while you simply shot him a lopsided grin given one cheek was smushed into your first. 
You’d briefly met Luffy while with Ace in Arabasta. He reminded you of Ace in some ways: bright, bombastic, straightforward…reckless…and…very loving. There was one thing about Luffy though: you could say he was more honest about his feelings and less prone to prejudice - oh! Though you’d also say that while Luffy was dependable, Ace felt more responsible, which made sense given he was the older one of the two. You wondered what sort of kindness Luffy extended to the Pirate Empress that she fell for him.
“Whatcha thinking about there?” You blinked yourself out of your trance as you felt a warm finger poke at your forehead.
You looked up into your dear (oh so dear) companion’s eyes and felt yourself melt at the warmth they held, “I’m wondering which of Luffy’s traits caused the Pirate Empress to fall.”
He huffed, and you found yourself following the corner of his lip as it curled upwards, “he’s always had a way with people, that kid brother of mine.”
His gaze was distant, as though he was looking at something very far in the past. Or perhaps not that far away really, these descriptors could be relative.
“So how is Luffy?” You turned to Rayleigh. “Is he doing well?”
The old man’s expression could be described in a singular word: proud. “He’s got another six months of training by himself, but I’m sure he’ll be fine,” he turned his gaze to another person in the room, “he’s real excited to see his crew, and his brother again.”
The beaming smile on Ace’s face said more than words ever could.
-_-
The evening before you would depart for Fishman Island, you’d gone to take a stroll alongside your dear friend. The tree canopies got in the way of you being able to see the stars, but the bubbles twinkled in their stead. 
You turned to study your beloved’s form yet again. Your hands squeezed the straps of your pack, soon enough the world would know about him - that he’d survived. They’d be back to hunting him down, only with twice as much zeal. Marines and enemies of his late father alike.
“What?” He glanced at you, raising his eyebrow. “Do I still have salsa on my face or something?”
You shook your head quickly looking away, “I was just thinking about how, soon enough, you’ll be back to being hunted.”
“Are you worried?” You could hear his amusement, and he even had the gall to laugh when you scowled up at him. “Dumb question, of course you are.”
“Very dumb question,” you grumbled and he laughed some more.
“Hey! I’m pretty strong!”
“I still don’t want to see you get hurt,” you let out a long, tired breath, “when you’re back to officially being a wanted man.”
“Wanted huh?” He was again looking out into the distance, mumbling. “Wanted by everyone but the person I want.”
The person he wanted? 
“Who would that be?” You found yourself asking despite yourself. 
Despite the way your heart hammered at you begging you to remain silent. Despite the way your extremities lost heat. Despite the clammy feeling in your palms as they all but squeezed the straps they held. Despite the ringing in your ears. Despite the way your stomach sloshed as though you’d swallowed a sea storm.
It was such a dangerous question to ask. He’d just said with certainty that the person he wants doesn’t want him - that rules you out. For some reason your thoughts jumped to the Pirate Empress. He mentioned getting to see her while he was stuck in Impel Down.
You watched, your head feeling as though it was full of cotton, as his Adam's apple bobbed with a thick swallow. “Can I…” he wasn’t looking at you as he asked, “can I hold your hands?”
Did he know? Was he trying to hold your hands to let you down slowly? Ace was always a little clumsy with these kinds of things…or was he? He was kind regardless. You had to repay this kindness, so you plastered on whatever smile you could.
If Ace had found someone to love, even if it wasn’t you, you’d be happy for him.You could be heartbroken later, but happy for him now.
You nodded, feeling the pain in your joints as you unclenched them. Your hands were slightly trembling and cold as he held them in his own larger, warmer ones - oh this was a horrible idea! Your hands were starting to get sweaty! Instinctively you started pulling away, “wait my hands - sweat - they’re sweaty!”
“I don’t care,” he tightened his hold on your hands, and as he spoke you noticed, “so are mine.”
He looked at you, and he seemed absolutely convinced of something. You kept up your little smile. 
“I,” he swallowed again, bringing your hands closer to his chest, “I don’t think I can keep my promise to your parents,” a little flame escaped his shoulder as he said that, “I-” he pulled your hands even closer to him, “I want to be real.” 
What?
“I mean I want our relationship-er-marriage to be real!” He rushed to correct himself. “I want to be with you! But in a real relationship! Not just on paper! I want you - ah!” More flames escaped his shoulders as he got louder. “No! Not like that! I mean yes like that- but not just like that! I mean I want - can I?”
He threw his head back, a loud groan of frustration leaving him, meanwhile you just stared at him, brain abuzz as it tried to process what he was saying. He looked at you again, determined expression back full force, “can I be your husband? Your real husband? Can I be,” he glanced away before mumbling, “yours?”
Your mouth had opened slightly to let some air in. The world was almost spinning - save for Ace. The warmth that was flooding your body was practically dizzying. Something stuck out to you - well two things as your legs gave out and Ace lunged to soften your landing and crouch in front of you, in that silly way he always did, still holding your hands. 
“You can’t keep your promise to my parents?” You blinked at him.
“That’s what you heard?” He groaned.
“No I heard it all Ace,” your breaths were heavy, “my brain’s struggling to keep up,” you gulped, “give me a minute to catch up.”
“No, I don’t think I can,” he shook his head, cheeks fully flush as he looked away from you, “I want our relationship to be real… and my promise-it wasn’t a problem back then-but now..” 
He trailed off, struggling to make eye contact with you as he admitted, “now, it’s a major problem,” he shook his head at you seriously, “I can’t keep it. I want to have a real relationship - I’d regret not trying to have a real relationship with you.” 
He did not shy away as he concluded his confession, “the promise gets in the way.”
You blinked at him, finding the air suddenly too warm.
“Can,” you gulped, head still full of static and the sound of the heavy thumping of your heart, “can you ask me to be yours?”
He blinked at you confused by the response, so you pressed on, “instead of - instead of,” your bottom lip was trembling and you could feel heat radiate from your cheeks, “asking to be mine,” was this a dream?
Your heart did some kinda fancy somersault at the way Ace straightened at your last word, much like he would whenever he was excited about something.
“Are you asking me to call you mine, like that?” He leaned into your space.
You couldn’t help the way your whole body was zapped to attention at the giddiness that consumed it when the word: “mine,” left Ace’s lips.
He looked at you with an equal amount of giddiness upon comprehending what your question implied, and his bravado seemed to find him again - but more than that, it was hope that pulled his lips into a massive, luminous grin as he asked, “then, will you be mine?”
When your lips wobbled into a smile, he decided to continue on, “y’know be my wife? My real wife?”
Your head was moving up and down in agreement before you were fully aware of it, “yes.”
You barely registered the pure unadulterated joy, and maybe even the glimmer of liquid in your…husband’s eyes before he was pulling you into a tight hug, gurgled chuckles leaving him. You weren’t any better, you were practically clinging to him as you began to sob, the salty blobs washing away the maelstrom of emotions with liquid relief. You might have felt some wetness on your own shirt.
You probably had, with how he sounded wobbly when asking, “did I make you cry, darlin’?”
Which of course made your tears worse, as you gulped and tried to force yourself to be calm, “I’m just happy it was me.”
He chuckled, “who else could it be?”
Who else - well…wait.
“But, are you sure?” You let go to look at him, his brow furrowed and lips pursed in confusion. “Are you sure this isn’t just because of the past year and a half where all we had was each other?”
His frown deepened for a moment before it relaxed into something sheepish, “I think I started feeling this way since,” he paused to think about it, “maybe even before Pops took me in.” 
“You mean when you were still captain of the Spades?”
“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” he chuckled some of his nerves out, “you’re a real catch y’know?” He raised a brow at you. “I even had to play the husband card a few times back then.”
“Really?” You paused to think about it. “I remember us arguing most of the time back then.”
“Yeah, I remember I used to complain to Deuce about that,” he let out a hearty laugh, “but remember that time when everyone was celebrating-”
“And I found you sitting by yourself in the crow’s nest when I went up to hide from everyone?”
“Yeah,” it was there - the wistful quality to Ace, “that was probably when this all started.”
“Wasn’t I just talking about why I had a bounty on my head back then?” You tried to remember.
“Yeah,” he sighed out, “you were really passionate about it too,” there was a dopey quality to his smile, “and I couldn’t help it - you reminded me of my brother and I thought you were really smart.”
“Sabo?” You asked tentatively.
He nodded, “in the beginning it was because of that - I just wanted to be by you and hear everything you had to say, it made me feel like my brother was alive again.”
“That explains the way you kept nagging me back then.”
“Nagging?”
“That’s how it felt to me back then.”
He shrugged, “when we were on the Moby Dick though - I stopped thinking of Sabo, I just wanted to know what you had to say.”
“Really?” He chuckled as you lit up. You wondered if he realized how deeply his confession touched you.
“Really!” He grinned at you, and you felt a warmth wrap around you like a warm blanket.
He looked so boyish as he shrugged, “ anyway, Marco tried to push me to confess to you after I woke up,” he grabbed your hand, tracing your knuckles with his thumb, “he told me all about how much I made you worry,” he turned your hand over in his, “but I was too scared to believe it meant anything.”
“Marco knew about it?” You asked when he was done.
“Everyone knew!” He chuckled. “Heck even Pops knew,” he grinned now looking at the tattoo that sat on his pulse, “of course they knew, I pulled out the husband card on some swabbies.”
He burst out laughing, “you should’ve seen their faces!” He calmed down. “It wasn’t so funny when the commanders heard me though-” he grimaced, but smiled soon enough. 
“I’m glad they did though,” he went back to rubbing warm circles into your skin, “forced me to reckon with myself,” he looked into your eyes, “put a name to what I was feeling.”
“Put a name to what you were feeling?” You breathed out - head as light as ever. “What did you come up with?”
You watched his shoulders rise and fall with the deep breath he took, as though steeling himself again. There was a ferocity in his gaze as it locked onto yours, “I was jealous,” he brought the hand he held to his lips letting them carve his answer into your skin, “whenever I saw someone else trying to win you over,” his hand squeezed yours as yet another wave of heat crashed over you, “I felt jealous and gross because it wasn’t like you were really my wife.”
“I’m not good enough for you,” what was he- “but your parents told me to protect you. And I would -will, and not because they asked me to. I just want to.”
“Ace,” you felt the warmth foment into wrath instead, “you’re confusing me,” you frowned, yanking your hand back, “what do you want from me?”
You saw it then, a flicker of the shadows of the monsters beneath the waters.
You loved Ace. You knew this. You knew that it made you lenient towards him at times. But right now…no. You needed clarity.You weren’t about to enter this new stage on shaky foundations. Because you loved him you couldn’t afford to be lenient about this.
“You ask to be mine,” you couldn’t help the way the fear seeped into your words, “then tell me you aren’t good enough for me,” you looked away with a frown, “I know you don’t have the best idea about yourself, but…just…” you were struggling to put words to it, “what are you trying to achieve?”
When you looked at him again, his eyes were wide, his mouth slightly ajar. He probably didn’t expect things to go like this. Especially given you could have said they’d been going well initially, until you ruined things with your overthinking…but still…you didn’t want some kind of accidental or pity romance. You didn’t want Ace to feel indebted to you, or make decisions while confused or vulnerable.
Though as you looked at him, all the shock left his body, his singular brow arching in that unique way it did with him, while his lips curved up. “Hey, can I hold your hand again?”
“O-kay?” Where was he going with this?
He took your hand again, carefully spread out your fingers, and then pressed it to chest, right above his heart, like he had back when you’d started hyperventilating. He held it there and you could feel the rabid, slightly erratic pattern it was taking, “y’feel that?”
You nodded.
“You’re right,” he was sheepish, “telling you I’m jealous, and that I want you to be mine, and that I can’t keep a promise to keep my hands off of you makes it sound like I’m really horny, huh?”
He was laughing as you sputtered in embarrassment, and held your palm firm to his chest, “to be honest with ya, I really like having your hand on my chest here - kinda wish I wasn’t wearing a shirt really.”
“Ace!” You barely garbled out.
“I think you’re amazing,” he continued, holding firm - and you could feel his heart pounding under your palm, “and like you said, I hate the cursed blood I carry.”
“It’s not-”
“But you know how I said I want to live a life without regrets?” You stopped struggling. “I’m not good enough, never will be, not for you,” his hand squeezed yours, pushing it further against his chest, “but, I’d regret not trying to be good enough, I’d regret not shooting my shot.”
“How can you say that with such certainty?” You frowned. “What if I’m not good enough for you?”
“What’s that thing you like to say?” He hummed. “It’s my opinion?”
“I hate your opinion.”
He guffawed. “I’m a coward,” he confessed as he calmed down, “and a selfish bastard,” his smile rivaled the sun, “but I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, even if I’m not worthy.”
“You are,” you glared at him.
His expression went back to that charmingly confused one. “I’ve deemed you worthy,” you huffed - genuinely upset with how he was speaking about himself, “regardless of all this worthy-worthy talk, you’re the one I want to spend my life with too.”
You genuinely could not find it in you to care how cute his grin was right now, “and that’s the worst proposal I could receive!” You were fuming. “I hate it when you insult yourself like that!”
“I’m below you, but please accept me,” you scowled, “well no can do!”
His face fell at your rant. “I want an equal Ace,” you gestured with your free hand, “I want a partner, not an indentured servant! I don’t want to be put on a pedestal! If my husband isn’t willing to be on equal footing with me then-”
“Hey that wasn’t what I meant!” The object of your fury (and affections?) argued. “I’m just saying you’re out of my league!”
“That’s one thing to say,” you were rather animatedly ranting now, “and we’ll have to agree to disagree on that-because hot stuff you’re within a league of your own,” you continued what was likely years worth of frustration with his self-deprecation leaving you, “and for argument’s sake, let’s say you weren’t - that sounds like an excuse not to work hard to become worthy once I accept you!” 
“I didn’t mean that at all!” He cut into your rant. “‘Sides I already said I’m gonna bust my ass trying to be good enough for you!”
“Well that’s all any girl would ask for! You absolute dumbass!” You yelled back at him. “No one wants to hear their loved ones talk smack about themselves the way you do!”
“Just imagine we had kids one day and they hear their father talking about himself in such an awful way!” Seriously, where did this idiot come from? Talking about himself in such a terrible way. “What kind of lessons would you be teaching them? What kind of example are you setting? They’d learn to-”
“Kids?” He blinked owlishly at you - oh.
Ohhh…
Ohhhh nnnoooooo.
If he wasn’t holding your hand to his chest, you’d have put more distance between you two, but for now you’d have to settle for covering your face with one hand while looking away. It was silent for a long minute…was it a minute? You weren’t sure, but you felt Ace’s chest vibrate with a series of chuckles and braced yourself.
“You’re a real difficult woman to please, y’know?” You met his amused stare with your own unamused one.
“I don’t want to start our relationship on anything but a solid foundation,” you muttered, “if you don’t feel worthy, then put in the effort to feel worthy.”
His grin only widened, “y’know I’d take that to mean you want me the same way I want you.”
“I think that fact is pretty well established by this point,” you grumbled.
“If I understood everything,” oh he looked so smug right now, “then if I wanna tell you I love you, I can’t say anything about how you’re out of my league?”
“You think I’m out of your league.”
“Oh that’s right, because I’m hot stuff.”
He laughed some more when you rolled your eyes. His laughs died immediately when you said, “you are hot stuff.”
“Because…I’m made of fire?” He gulped.
“No.”
“I forgot how assertive you could get,” he blushed, stunned, “it’s been a while since I pissed you off huh?”
Your embarrassment was beginning to catch up to you, as you adjusted yourself to be able to rest your cheek on your palm. You were avoiding looking at him, even if he was essentially burning a hole into you with how he was unabashedly looking at you.
“That bit about our future kids…I never wanted any, but I’m starting to like the idea,” he was being such a tease.
“Yeah? Well, I want kids!” You huffed, still not looking at him.
“Mmm, even if they’re mine?”
“Especially if they’re yours!” You huffed. “You and the idiots in the World Government are the only people with such a weird fixation on Gold Roger’s blood.”
“Darlin’ you’re being really bold right now,” he was grinning, “how mad at me are you?”
“I’m livid,” you finally turned to glare at him, “you’ve been saying absolutely awful things about my d-dear darling husband! It’s-it’s unforgivable!”
One corner of his lips curled upwards at the way you stuttered, but the little flickers of flames popping off his shoulders revealed he was just as embarrassed as you were. “Sounds like,” he swallowed thickly, “sounds like you really like this husband of yours.”
You swallowed as you looked him in the eyes, “I love him.”
His eyes widened, then he scowled, “hey! I wanted to say it first!”
“Well, be faster next time!” You stuck your tongue out at him - wait. “You did though.”
“Ah! So you did hear me!” He pointed a finger at you, finally releasing your hand, letting it drop from his chest.
“Yeah,” you grumbled, crossing your arms over your chest, “but you were being mean to yourself, so I had more important things to deal with.”
“More important than me telling you I love you?” He looked at you incredulously. “For the first time?”
“Well maybe if you didn’t put yourself down right after,” you poked his nose with your index finger, “I would have focused on the ‘I love you’ part more!”
His eye twitched for all but a moment, expression indignant, “you’re really hot when you’re assertive y’know?” 
You sputtered at that and looked away to maintain some semblance of composure. You didn’t see that coming. He called for you and you looked at him again, “you asked me if I was sure about this.”
You nodded at him, frustration finally cooling down.
“I’ve never been so certain about anything in my life,” he declared, “I want you by my side, I want to be by yours, I want to spend the rest of our lives together until we’re nothing but skeletons in a grave.”
“I love you,” he stated it like it was as factual as the sea being blue, “even when you’re mad and yelling at me for confessing to you badly,” his grin settled for something more solemn as he asked, “what about you? Are you sure?”
“I am,” you nodded, “I want to build a life together. With you.”
“I love you,” he breathed it out like a prayer then, and you couldn’t help but describe his expression as reverent.
“I love you too,” you responded firmly as though it were an irrefutable fact, and you could feel your smile threaten to split your face in two.
“Satisfied?” He asked. “Is this ground solid enough for us?”
“I think so,” you nodded, “I want nothing but success for our relationship.”
“Me too,” he grinned as he ruffled through his pockets, from which he pulled out two velvet boxes. “I got these with-what did you call it again?” He grinned. “Honest money?”
You simply stared at the boxes in shock, then back up at your husband, then back down at the boxes. “What?” There was an amused lilt to his speech. “Y’didn’t think I would confess to you unprepared now did ya?”
You guessed you did, with the surprise you were feeling, as you tentatively reached for one of the boxes and opened it up. To your greatest fortune the silver band was clearly meant for a groom. Your eyes widened when you looked over and saw the ring he’d picked out for you, raising a brow at him you couldn’t help but wonder, “how did you get the funds for this?”
“I did some work around that island we were on,” he beamed, “and sold some of the gifts they gave us when we beat those sea kings.”
“It’s so pretty,” you admired what was going to be your ring, it reminded you a little of fire, the ruby red gem was cut in a teardrop shape however the surrounding gems were arranged in such a way that it looked like a flame, you giggled your shoulders relaxing, “it reminds me of you.”
“That right?” He smiled, removed the ring and packed the box up in his pocket, as he took your left hand in his, “I kinda wanted it to,” he admitted as he slid the ring on your finger.
While you were admiring your finger, Ace tried to grab the other box from you, however you pulled it out of his grasp, “ah ah ahh,” you tutted, “I’ll be the one to do the honors!”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “I really like it when you’re assertive.”
He laughed at you as you pointedly avoided his waggling brows until you had the ring ready. He already had his hand out for you to slide the ring into, seemingly more than happy to wear that symbol that seemed so silly to him…until now, you supposed as you slid the band onto his finger. 
“Should we say vows?” You asked. “Wait, didn’t they say the vows before the rings?”
Ace hooked his pinky with yours, “I promise - er - vow, to…” he gulped and you could feel him heat up, “love…you…uh until I die - for as long as I live?” He slacked. “I’m not great at this poetic stuff.”
“Then don’t be poetic,” you smiled at him, “just say what you want to say.”
“Then,” he tightened his pinky, “I’m gonna work hard every day to be a man worthy of being by your side,” he looked you dead in the eyes, “it’s true that it’s due to pure luck I even got the chance to get to know you, but I won’t ever let this opportunity go. I’ll love you to the day I die, and even beyond that if I can.”
“You already said that,” you smiled at him, “maybe we didn’t need to do vows.”
“I’ll say it every day if you want me to.”
Somehow…somehow…now that you had a ring on your finger, and with your pinky linked to his, and with him reiterating how strongly he felt…somehow…
All you could do was blink at him. 
This was really happening. 
The last remnants of indignation flickered away into the breeze that toyed with the waves of your beloved’s hair.
Oh.
This was…you were…Ace was…you blinked up at him, “is this real life, or am I dreaming right now?”
His determined expression was wiped off with one that was very unamused, “I’m out here pouring my heart to you - wait you dream about me?”
“Maybe once or twice?” You continued to gape at him. Noticing his own surprised expression, you shook yourself out of your trance, and pulled at your joined pinkies. “Oh-yeah, my-my turn.”
His gaze carried that same softness you’d seen for a while now as he waited to hear your vows, “I know it won’t always be easy, the same way painting a masterpiece isn’t easy, but,” you paused your joy teasing your lips, “I am determined to spend the rest of my life here with you,” you looked him straight in the eyes, “you’re worth every bit of love I have to give, and I’ll prove it through my efforts and commitment, I’ll work hard so you’ll never regret choosing me.”
“Never,” he affirmed.
“Using a negative term…feels rather…negative, don’t you think?” You thought aloud.
“Then,” he shook your pinky-linked hands, “I’m going to work hard every day to make sure you’re always happy you married me.”
“And I’m going to make sure you’re always happy you chose me.”
“Always,” he affirmed again, the two of you laughing at the repetition of the pattern.
“Pops was right,” he let go of your pinky.
“About?”
“He kept telling everyone to calm down and stop meddling because our relationship would happen in its own time,” he sheepishly scratched at the back of his neck, “though he did tell me not to wait forever after a while.”
“How long is a while?”
“A few months?”
“Oh pops,” you chuckled as you reached for his tattooed wrist tracing the mark of your late captain, “Marco found out about my feelings for you from Thatch.”
“From Thatch?” He looked surprised. “Marco knew?”
There was betrayal written all over his expression.
“That’s probably why he was pushing you to confess after the war,” you continued to trace his tattoo even as he shuddered, “Marco tried to get me to confess too.”
“He did?”
“It felt wrong,” you shook your head, looking up at him, “you’d nearly died, pops had died, I was a mess mentally, I figured you’d be a mess mentally,” you continued to shake your head as your breathing shallowed, “I told him as much, and he stopped trying to convince me.”
“How’d Thatch find out?”
“Teased me about hosting a wedding banquet given we didn’t have one because y’know?” Your smile was gentle as you remembered the late Fourth Division Commander, your finger resuming its path along the inked mustache. “I told him not to joke about that - and he figured it out immediately.”
“Then he went and told Marco?” Ace guessed. “Wait, I remember there being a day when you were chasing after Thatch on the deck, looking really desperate about something.”
“Yepp,” you nodded, taking in a deep inhale you traced the crossbones on your husband’s skin again, “got him to promise not to tell anyone else after I found out he’d told Marco.”
“Y’know, at that point I was already a goner for you,” he confessed, “and the crew already knew about me.”
A silence passed over the two of you, as you continued to play with the mark on his skin.
“To think…you liked me too?” He scratched the back of his head with the hand not currently in your clutches. “I mean back then!”
“Is it really that surprising?” You pressed down on his pulse a little.
“It’s just,” you looked up at him, “darlin’,” there was that sweet, sweet adage again, “you ended up on my ship due to pure dumb luck,” his hand moved to grab your own that was still tracing his tattoo, “you’re practically a princess in comparison to a pirate like me.”
You scoffed at that, “please, I am far from being a princess.”
“To me you are,” this might be the softest you’ve ever seen your friend, “and this isn’t me talking down about myself,” he poked you in the forehead, “you’re smart, you’ve got a family that wouldn’t hesitate to shoot me dead if I ever tried anything funny-”
You laughed at that bit, “my cousin especially.”
“She was more than ready to have my head and I hadn’t even done anything yet,” he laughed alongside you, “‘the only reason I’m letting you take her is because I have to! Who knows what they’ll do to her in the marine prisons.’ was what she said before threatening to hunt me down.”
You both laughed at that, “if she sees you keep me safe and make me happy she’ll love you, you know?”
“Love me like that?” He raised a brow at you.
“Maybe!” You shrugged.
“You see?” He gently poked your cheek with his knuckle, “you’re royalty. Way out of my league.”
“Technically you’re royalty,” you flicked his forehead.
“How?” His confused expression was absolutely adorable.
“Pops was an Emperor!” You beamed. “You’re a pirate prince.”
The two of you shared a laugh, the ridiculousness of the notion amusing both of you until, “oh that’s right!”
“What is?” Ace startled as you suddenly straightened up, shoving your hand into your own pocket, and pulling out a small wooden plaque attached to an adjustable black cable.
Upon further inspection it became apparent that it was a bracelet - one you’d whittled back at the little family’s shop. On the main plaque there was Whitebeard’s jolly roger, and it was surrounded by two wooden “beads” - could you call them that? One was a flame shape and the other a spade, you’d had to make sure they were thick enough that you could put a hole through either one.
“This is for you!” You beamed at him as you offered it to him.
“Did you make this?” He stared between you and the bracelet.
“Yeah!” You grinned. “I tried making your happy and sad faces, but it didn’t work out, so I made a spade and little flame instead!”
“You sure know how to make a man feel loved,” he gently traced at the jolly roger etched in the wood.
“I hope you always feel loved in my presence,” you beamed.
“I do,” he grinned at you, “so much it’s almost scary,” he held out the bracelet to you, “will you do the honors?”
“With pleasure,” you took the trinket out of his hands and slid it onto his bare, right wrist.
He barked out a laugh, when you went straight back to playing with the tattoo on his pulse. “What’s so funny?” You couldn’t help but ask.
“Nothing,” he shook his head, “I’m just thinking about how we could have been real years ago.”
“In that case weren’t we technically a real couple at that point? If everybody knew?” You rubbed your thumb along his tattooed pulse point. “Except for us, that is.”
“Mmm but I wanted to do, coupley things with you,” he wiggled his eyebrows at you, relishing in how that seemed to make you shy.
Though, it seemed like you weren’t one to simply let him have the last say. You weren’t looking at him as you took his tattooed pulse and brought it to your lips. He jolted at the sensation, heart leaping. Little flames flickering out of his shoulders as you made eye contact with him afterwards, “how’s that for coupley things?”
He was quick to grab and tug you into him, relishing in your mild surprise, “don’t you know better than to play with fire?” He grinned at you as he readjusted the hand that had found its way to your waist. 
“I remember being told I have to ask a lady for permission to kiss her,” he nodded his chin at your lips, “may I?”
You were too embarrassed to say yes, instead choosing to cover your face with your hands. “Ace!” You whined. “Have mercy on me.”
“I didn’t realize you were this shy,” he was chuckling, “where’d your bold attitude go?”
He guffawed when you let out an embarrassed screech at the reminder, “I was absolutely shameless earlier, don’t remind me!”
“I didn’t think so,” oh you could hear the smug grin on his face, “you felt more fierce to me,” he sounded closer, “it’s a real turn on, y’know?”
“Ace!” You garbled out.
He chose to press a little kiss to your forehead instead, “I’m not gonna push you, just teasing you a little is all.”
True to his word, he readjusted his hold, and repositioned the two of you so that he could hug you from behind. He was kinda like a koala bear in that regard.
“Hey Ace?” He gave a small hum in response. “Can I see your tattoo again?”
“You sure like playing with it huh?” He asked as he handed his hand over to you and you turned slightly in his hold.
You could feel his eyes on you as you pressed your thumbs into it, feeling the steady thrum of his heart. Once again, you brought his wrist to gently brush your lips against it, and felt him jolt. Finally you brought his pulse to your forehead, “I’m so happy you’re alive.”
When you turned to face him again, his cheeks were bright, dusted in those freckles you adored, as he smiled, not a shadow in sight, “me too.”
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As always I am OPEN TO CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, and would like to know if anyone seemed out of character. Please and thank you! Reblogs and comments appreciated!
Want more Ace stuff? Check out my MasterList
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wonysugar · 1 year ago
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can u make a sunoo fic?
missed you | kim sunoo
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synopsis : kim sunoo, your favorite stripper from the hybe boys establishment, started missing you after a while of you not showing up, so he had a lot of things to show you when you did come see him.<3
pairing : stripper!sunoo x rich!femreader
genre : smut :]
tags : sunoo is a male stripper, ricky from zb1 mentionned, jake from enha mentionned, reader is rich but it’s like not really relevant to the story, fingering (male receiving), biiiggg mommy kink, sub!sunoo, dom!femreader
warnings : none he’s just horny
word count : 1.5k
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work was rough.
sure, going to work in itself wasn’t super difficult, but it was mostly the people working with you that made it unbearable. i mean, for god’s sake, you were a superior to the most of them, the least they could do was actually listen to you, and obey you when you gave orders.
which, they didn’t.
so naturally, you felt like going somewhere special, somewhere people knew their place and didn’t talk back to you during every second of the day.
immediately upon finishing your shift, your mind wandered to one place and one place only.
hybe boys.
-
you stepped foot into the establishment and was greeted by the comforting and familiar ambience, the music and lighting welcoming you with open arms.. you particularly noticed the usual customer seemingly going absolutely crazy over three of today’s boys, hoshi and jake. the third guy, whose name was apparently ricky has probably been staying for a short amount of time, due to him not being a employee you recognize, but it’s not like he was completely new either, since he clearly knew what he was doing. it takes someone with experience to grind on a pole like that with such a lustful expression. anywho, the said girl was having the time of her life and pushing everyone out of her way and honestly? who could blame her?
as cute as the boys were, though, you came for someone else. someone who caught your oh-so-precious attention since day one. to you. this whole strip club was like a restaurant, while he was both the main course and the dessert.
you spot him, kim sunoo, sitting down at the bar, probably on his break, talking to some seemingly older man as he’s being his very touchy self as usual. that quickly ceases once he sees you approaching him, immediately ignoring the other guy with a big cute grin on his face, as he clearly just saw that man as an opportunity to get more cute hand bags. that idea was quickly killed off by seeing you though. you always knew you were his favorite.
“y/nnnn, where have you been? it’s been soo long!” he says, clinging onto your arm and pulling himself in closer to you. you, in response pat the back of his head, returning the affection in your own way.
“work, baby. i’ve been super busy lately.. i barely have any time to see you anymore.”
he pouts, making your heart skip a beat. he always knew how to act adorable for you. “i missed you.. you could have told me, you do have my number, after all.”
you hum, wrapping your arm around his fairly skinny clothed waist, admiring his look for the night. you particularly noticed that he wore a piece of almost see-through lingerie that you bought him a few months back, probably walking around with it fully aware of how well it suits him and the impact it has on people.
despite how good it looked, though, you still felt the very intense urge to rip it off of him right at that moment. you knew you couldn’t though, not right now, at least.
“how much did you miss me, babyboy?” you whisper into his ear, careful not to let anyone near hear it. because yes, as hot as it probably looked, his regulars were pretty crazy about him, and his whole paycheck depended on them, so he kind of does need to act like he belongs to them. but really, you both knew that he belonged to you, and exclusively you.
“mmh, so much, mommy. i kept checking around the club every shift to see if you were here, but you never wereee.” he was already turning a little red, and his voice was getting higher and whinier with each word. the temptation to just cup his cute ass right then and there was strong, but you managed to contain it.
“you’re on break for another 30 minutes, right?” you asked, still whispering into his ear, his skin tingling in response to the warm breath it felt. he could only nod, poor baby was probably already so needy for you.
as to not waste any more time, you took his wrist and took him upstairs, where there were private rooms for “VIP lap dances”. now, let’s be realistic, as a regular, you knew that nobody ever used those rooms to get a personal show. while yes, this was technically a strip club, but it was also considered to basically be a brothel, too. not every employee here is comfortable to fuck clients, but most are. sunoo is one of the uncomfy ones when it comes to sex, but he seems to be way more than perfectly fine with it when it’s with you.
as soon as he closes and locks the door behind him, you take his lips in yours, immediately entering your tongue into his mouth, roaming the insides of it. cute whimpers coming out of him, you could clearly feel his hard-on as he lightly humped your clothed thigh, trying to make how horny he was not too obvious. he was failing miserably though, and viewing that sight made you chuckle involuntarily, voice low.
“so needy for me already, hm?” you teased.
“please fuck me mommy it’s been so long.. not even jerking off works anymore.. i - mmh oh my god - thinking about you while i jack myself off isn’t enough, i need your hands on me pleaseee.” he’s desperately whining and begging, being so good for you like this, you would just hate yourself if you couldn’t give him what he wanted. if you had known, you’d bring your strap-on if you were planning on staying for a long time, but.. fingers will do for tonight.
“then, sit on that chair for me, sunoo.” upon hearing his name, he immediately did as told, and even spread his legs so you could get better access. “so obedient for mommy, aren’t you? good boy.” you knew how desperate he’d act for praise, so he pouted and nodded eagerly, in hopes of making you understand that his dick was probably aching by now. he needed to feel your touch.
it didn’t take long before his cute cock was sticking out of his tight set, throbbing at the feeling of your thumb gently grazing its tip, teasing and feeling all of the precum leak from it. sunoo was a whining mess by this point, and he made it very well known that he wanted more, according to the bucking movements of his hips. his moans slowly becoming fuel for you, you progressively went faster, making sure to thoroughly stroke every inch of his adorable twitching dick. he was throbbing at each swift motion you made, his body shaking, already threatening to shoot his load all onto your hand.
not even 5 minutes went by before he started begging and calling out to you, mommys loudly spilling out of his mouth before a big amount of warm, white and thick liquid spurts out of his tip, most of it landing on your fingers and palm, the rest on the chair he’s sitting on. you loved the look he had on his face, everything about it drove you absolutely crazy. he was already far from being innocent, but you just wanted to corrupt him even further.
if you weren’t in a hurry, you would’ve started riding him a long time ago, taking all of his length and watching him squirm under you like he always did, moaning like a bitch at the feeling of his dick inside your tight pussy.
“f-fuck i missed you s-so mu-“
before he could even finish that sentence, you quickly grabbed him from the waist and turned him around on the soft chair, earning a small yelp as his soft ass was now facing you. you couldn’t bother to tease him, not when he was being this good for you. so, like anyone in this situation would, you spat on your fingers and gently rubbed them on his entrance, hearing how his whimpers and whines get higher.
“m-mommy, i just c-came - god - please..” he begged despite unconsciously arching his back so you could get better access. you chuckled at his poor attempt of not seeming like a desperate little puppy for you, he was so unintentionally adorable.. you just couldn’t wait to rim his ass roughly like he oh-so deserved.
inserting two fingers into his hole, his immediate response was to gasp and push himself deeper onto your digits, whining and sobbing at the pressure that was being applied.
pleads and begs for you to go faster escape his open mouth, “pleasepleaseplease”, “y/nnn” and “fuckk..” were the only things that could come out of his mouth, his drool slightly drooping out, just looking like a total slut from getting gently fucked by your fingers. if you knew he got like this desperate when overstimulated, you would’ve done it a lot more often.
“it f-feels so g-g-oodd momm-myy..” he moaned out shamelessly moments after, not giving a single fuck about somebody, anybody walking past and potentially hearing. his legs shaking uncontrollably at your digits. “didn’t you miss this, sunoo? didn’t you miss being fucked this good by mommy?”
poor baby could only nod his head, trying and barely succeeding in keeping his teary eyes open. he looked a mess, his cheeks all flushed, his messy and wet covering his sweat-coated forehead– fuck he looked so pretty. you were ravished by undoing him like this.
despite your inability to express it with words,
you missed him too, and that night,
you made sure to showcase it for hours to come.
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eywamygoddesswrites · 2 years ago
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— 𝓱𝓸𝔀 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓸𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓭 — (multiple x fem!reader) | 1
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pairing: avatar men x fem!human!reader
tags: just men taking care of the reader during her period, can be seen as platonic/romantic
warnings: like one pussy joke and that's about it HAHAHAHAHA
a/n: neteyam, lo'ak, ao'nung, and rotxo are aged up! this is for the men characters since i don't want it to be too long. the ladies of avatar will have their own post because let's all be honest, we love women. also i made this 'cause it's currently shark week and everything hurts ;-;
also sorry for the lack of any new fics. i'm hella hella busy with school and i have duties next week (just 3 days) but i will be in the hospital with no data sooooo yeah :cc and the rest are regular f2f classes. i hope y'all understand.
also, happy one month everyone!! i've been posting for one month now and i hope we continue this flowery road together 💙 anywhos, i hope you guys enjoy!
word count: 1.3k
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jake sully
this man was a human in his previous life, he knows what the fuck he was doing
when you got your period in the middle of work, jake (with his strong avatar senses) caught a scent of you
he asked norm where they keep women's pads and norm pointed to where they were
he got some pads and getting a few more stuff that you liked
some chocolate bar, a venti cup of coffee/juice/tea, and a heating pad
you were surprised when he stood beside you with said stuff in his hands
then you finally got the idea
oooooooohhhhh… is it that time already?
yes, baby girl. but don’t worry, i’ll help you
he goes with you until you reach the lady's comfort room
he gives you the pads and tells you to holler for him if you need anything else
waits for you while you do your thing
younger!jake would rock back and forth on his feet and bite off the skin of his lips (a habit i canon him of having) while he waited by the door
older!jake would go to get the stuff he forgot if he forgets and comes back before you knew he even left
once you were done, he suggests you take a rest now before the cramps start
you told norm this and being the great friend he was, he lets you go rest
jake would be there for you like your personal cocoon
he would massage you abdomen, lower back, head, or wherever you felt pain in
would get you whatever that is you need
just honestly the best in the bunch since he knew what human women go through
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neteyam sully
you yo daddy’s son !!!11!1!!
but for real, he’s like a mini jake with neytiri’s face and her nurturing aura
he learned how to care for human girls because of his dad
literally cried when you first got your period since he thought you were dying
but jake reassures him it’s a normal thing human girls go through (since na’vi girls and women don’t go through this | i agree with the fanon that na’vi women don’t get periods)
would learn basic human anatomy just so he understands what was happening during your periods
kinda scared because of the side effects of periods
would do anything and everything just for you to be comfortable during your monthly bleeds
since na’vi bodies were a lot warmer, he uses his hands as heating pads to put over your abdomen
would purr when you’re on his chest as he massages your lower back
sings his songcord to you to lull you to sleep
kisses are a must with this man
would litter you with kisses to make you smile and feel better
he just loves you :ccc
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lo’ak sully
obviously, like neteyam, he knows that human girls get their period
he’s similar to neteyam but a bit different in his approach to periods
he didn’t really know what he was supposed to do at first
like, should he massage you or should he not because it might worsen your pain
do you like chips or chocolate more?
what pussy size you got because there are so many pad sizes—
tAMPONS ARE A THING WHAT—
lowkey scared of that thing and why tf does it go in?!>!?!
still, his effort counts really
it’s the thought that counts
he still helps you around (even with the smallest thing like grabbing a cup of water)
would follow your commands especially when the pain is unbearable and you need assistance
he would stay with you in your room even when you sleep just in case you wake up and need help (even if you told him it’s okay to go home and rest. he insists on staying)
would go to norm and ask for extra gas air when he runs out of it
would bring you some pandora fruits because weirdly, you crave them more than the regular food you eat
would treat you greatly 1000/10
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tonowari
like his son, he didn’t know what periods are so he asks his friend jake about it
upon learning what they were, he immediately goes into his ‘teddy bear’ mode
he would be cuddly as fuck
like  c u d d l y  cuddly
a cuddle bug for sure
he would always bring you fresh food to eat
would help around your home despite being a busy man himself
would treat you as if you were a porcelain doll
would weave you a reusable period underwear (with the help of ronal) so you can just clean them and reuse them
would do your laundry and wouldn’t be bothered by the blood stains at all
when you need him (especially when you’re a lot emotional), he would stay with you until you feel better
doesn’t matter if you fell asleep. he will do his duties once you wake up and say that you’re feeling better
only then he would be comfortable enough to leave to tend to his duties
would ask tsireya and ronal to look after you especially when he’s a lot busier and can’t go to you physically
overall like my man jake but a lot more domestic
would recommend to everyone
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ao’nung
he didn’t understand what a period is and why you got them because he didn’t care at first
you’re a sky person, the cause of distruction
but you were different (or whatever jake sully and his kids say)
but the more time he spent with you, he must at least learn what you go through, being your period
it was weird that you had to go through this every month until you become old
like, his mom and sister never got these so why were your kind cursed with them?
would ask jake or his kids what he can do to help you out
you stayed in a makeshift house with regular oxygen so you can eat without having the stupid mask on
ao’nung literally didn’t like the mask he has to breathe pandora air in but after one time that he didn’t use them, he didn’t like the feeling so he uses them religiously when he’s with you
he would bring you gifts and meals he caught so you don’t feel too isolated when you don’t leave your home
would ask you constantly what you were feeling and if you feel uncomfortable at every moment of the day
are you okay? does you abdomen hur—
i’m fine ao’nung!!
would still ask for confirmation if you’re really really okay
would carry you every time you leave your house (even if you went out to walk and stretch your legs)
shy with physical affection (hugs, kisses) so the most he can do is carry you
call it his love language in a way
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rotxo
he was absolutely lost when he sees you bleeding. like neteyam, he thought you were dying
he thought he would never see you again
but when you explained that human women bleeding was normal, he was like:
dude, that must suck so bad
it does, rotxo, it does
but still, he wants to help you out the best way he can
like the other metkayina men here, he would bring you food to eat and bring little trinkets to make you feel better
since metkayina bodies were a lot cooler than omatikaya bodies but still warmer than human bodies, he does his best to warm you up
he stays with you as much as he can just so he can help you
craving for a certain fruit? he’ll get it for you
need a soothing cream from ronal? he will get it for you
you feel tired? he can go into your home, use the stupid-looking gas mask to breathe and stay with you longer, and keep you company
he’s just a sweetheart man give him compliments pls
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taglist: @nyotamalfoy @hanhanartz @murderousmushroom @myvath @iwaslikeblah
— part 2 with the avatar ladies here
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vaxyl · 3 months ago
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ever start writing a long ass meta post, get half way through, then sorta sit there and realise you're jusy saying a whole load of fucking nothing?
anyway, sat on my Vax feels and done self care since the recent episode and i feel less sad and angry now but still hurt enough that i don't like it yet
i respect Matt and the others, I respect whatever he and Liam decide to do with Vax's story - and I do appreciate the story as a story, for the record, ite just not a story I particularly enjoy
im depressed and autistic and i heavily relate to Vax, so no, I don't want him to be this sorta half-dead psychopomp for all eternity never to be with the woman he loves or their family ever again - i see aspects of myself in Vax and the thought of lingering, unable to move on like he is, fucking terrifying so of course I don't want this for him, that's my worse nightmare
however, my initial response to the episode was emotional and reactivate and occured during a violent depressive spiral that had already started before I started following what was happening through the tags
to put it bluntly, i was furious at the idea of Vax never resting and being truly happy, ever, and I got loud about it
so sorry for that, i don't mean to undermine what Matt and Liam have done and are doing - this is the cast's story, not mine
but that said, I still prefer my fanon over the canon and that will likely never change - i am but only human and humans are fickle beings often raised to be even just a smidgen selfish
also i worry about Keyleth, her relationship with Vax's death is so fucking unhealthy and idk if she can handle much more of it
Vax, stop being unintentionally toxic and stop harassing your living girlfriend from beyond the grave oh my fucking gods
i know you love her and just want to be near here and keep her company, but i can't lie, this behaviour is just not it, king
stop sending the damn ravens
please, let her move on! even if it's not your intention to keep her stuck in her grief, this is almost definitely doing that
anywhos - doesn't anyone else just love getting seasonal depression on top of regular depression paired with trauma depression caused by recent events you're still processing?
then throwing silly fandom depression on top of that?
because I sure do! (/sarcasm)
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zeldaversed · 1 month ago
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Hi!!! I love in depth analyses of LoZ and I’m v excited to see what else you will post!!
I have, not really an ask I guess, but wanted to share my thoughts??
So you know how in totk it feels like everyone’s kind if forgotten who link is?? Or at least that’s how it seemed to me (it’s also been a minute since I’ve mostly been playing through botw rn, can’t remember properly anymore if that’s what happens)
But anywho, my personal headcannon is that he’s getting the Clark Kent treatment-most definitely bcuz of his open hair and replaced arm.
Link?? Nah that’s just some scraggly guy, but slap a regular arm back on him and suddenly It Is He.
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Hi! I actually have a lot of drafts right now I've been writing out, I think it's 14 or so? I'm covering everything from lore to information specifically about the franchise as a game. And I'm always excited to hear others' thoughts!
I'm doing the opposite of what you're doing, actually. My husband got me ToTK for my birthday a couple weeks ago, and I've been playing it nonstop.
Mostly just exploring. But.
You're absolutely right. Besides a select few-- most of which are quest characters like Sidon, Purah, or Teba-- I've not met many Hylians (or Zora, or Rito, the only races I've interacted with so far) who remember Link. They all seem to have this image in their heads of this majestic hero who's tall and strong and powerful. They've met him once or twice but not long enough, I guess, to form a coherent image of him.
In ToTK-- which is at least six years after BoTW-- it feels like he and Zelda either stayed in Hateno or was with Purah and their groups the whole time, trying to rebuild Hyrule. Very few people recognize him. Who's this??? Link??? Funny you've got the same name as the hero! I mean this guy is obviously lucky to look like the Hero of Hyrule who destroyed Ganon and saved Princess Zelda. But it's not like he ever corrects them. Makes me wonder if he'd be annoyed or enjoy not having to hold up these higher standards he's used to since nobody realizes who he is. He's definitely more wild (in appearance at least) than he was in the previous game. Honestly, if I lived in Hyrule and didn't know who he was, I certainly wouldn't recognize him.
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Like Clark Kent's glasses, it's amazing what long hair and a new arm can do.
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Have something to add or you'd like to join the tag list? Reblog with your thoughts/ask or drop it in the ask box!
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mysteria157 · 3 months ago
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🌻 and ❄️ for the ask game please!!
My sweet Ashe!!
You gave me some doozies what the hell LOL.
🌻 tag someone you appreciate but don’t talk to on a regular basis.
- hmmmmm. I appreciate all of the mooties I have. But if I REALLY had to think, I would say @nikkento is someone I want to give my appreciation to right now.
When I made this blog, I had no idea how to create anything. And she was one of the first blogs I read and followed when I created my account so I took a chance and sent her a DM. And she responded! It was such a simple thing, but her words of encouragement helped me create my first post!
❄️ what’s your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?
*paces restlessly, my hands behind my back, fingers sweaty and sliding against each other as I think of something to satisfy Ashe’s curiosity*
THIS WAS HARD UM I would love to read a Pride and Prejudice themed fic. Obviously Nanami Kento would be the MC/Mr. Darcy and obviously, I would be the reader. I come from a low middle class family, my sisters are insufferable except for my closest in age who is quiet and shy. I hate men (I truly do) and reject all societal norms that dictate I marry for something other than love. But WAIT, Nanami is the new neighbor, he’s broody, stoic and well-mannered, said something out of turn at the local ball and now we hate each other (we don’t), hands brush, rain arguments, barely there kisses and—
…anywho. I think for a fic like that, and the way I absorb words, I would like someone who writes emotionally and descriptively. So maybe @pmpmyread @rahuratna @flaneur001 (yes YOU), @pseudowho or @wibben
Yall will have to fight that one out so 🤷🏽‍♀️
But in all seriousness, I would love to read that kind of fic from anyone. I love to see how other writers put their own spin on things with their way of writing 💕💕
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hells-wasabii · 1 year ago
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Just to be clear, did something cause you to be aware that minor(s) were requesting you to make nsfw/smut stories? I'm curious cuz I saw a post had a smut request denied entirely. Is this related to that, and if so, did you find it out so that they were a minor? Just curious, don't take this as anything aggressive as I am a regular fan of your works (just curious on what caused such post)
Oh you’re good, I don’t perceive this as aggressive. Unfortunately yeah, I was made aware that a minor had requested smut. I’m not gonna go too into it as to not cause any issues between involved parties, but yeah…
I already tend to go through bios of accounts who request stuff anyways, but I put a lot of trust in you guys when it comes to nsfw/smut requests. Like I said in my post I can’t completely control who reads my stuff, but I am able to control who can ask for what. Someone was kind enough to point out that someone in my inbox is a minor, though they did so as an anon.
And let me just say, as an account who survived the great tumblr purge and seen various other shit go down on the internet this was utterly terrifying to find out
The post you mentioned that I denied it, already had a couple of red flags that made me not want to really touch the smut part of the req, though it was mostly the vibes as dumb as it sounds. Admittedly I felt bad since I usually don’t turn requests down unless I don’t know what the request is about but the fact someone reached out only cemented my decision. And I’ll make one thing clear. If I had gone through with making that smut, it would have been deleted in a heart beat, doesn’t matter. I’m not having that be connected to a minor.
I already tend to go through my follower list to make sure no one super young is loitering around but it’s also not exactly hard to lie about age on the internet, hence why I put trust in you guys about it. I’m a pretty passive person, but stuff like this is where I draw the line. I keep my smut tagged as such and include warnings so there’s also no way a ‘I didn’t know’ excuse works either
The way I see it, I want to continue producing works for you guys safely as much it’s I want it to be consumed safely. I care a lot about my readers and I don’t want anything bad happening to anybody.
I’m currently deciding whether or not I want to put regulations on how smut works are requested, and if I do, what kind to put in place, but I also know how embarrassing it can be to ask for it so for now anonymous asking stays on.
This got a little more long winded than I had expected but anywho, stay safe out there everybody
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hashimasims · 7 months ago
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Hello. I wanted to ask how you organize your post? Im hoping to learn how to put my post in order so that my story can be read in order and your way is by far the best ive seen. Love your story by the way!
I'm not quite sure I understand your meaning. Like the chronological links? If yes then I kind of found that on accident thanks to @Anotherplumbob with their Lacey Legacy, @trash-llama with their Swan Legacy and now @justkeeponsimming with their Quick Legacy. I followed all of them before I even started a tumblr (follow them too their stories are A-MAY-ZING!)
But anywhos I noticed that all three of them had URLs which you can set up in your Blog settings (not regular settings seen on the left) and then with that you just add chrono to the end of the URL I guess??? I don't explain well apologies
OK let me try better explanation with steps maybe? So first you need your URL which is set up in Blog settings - pretty sure Tumblr set that up I just had to confirm it - so i.e. mine is hashimasims.tumblr.com
Then you need to add what tag you want to read. My #1 tag is the Glynnan Legacy so the url would be hashimasims.tumblr.com/tagged/Glynnan Legacy and then every post with that tag would come up but with the standard most recent post with that tag being on top
For chronological order you would add /Chrono to the end so again for the entire Glynnan Legacy the url would be hashimasims.tumblr.com/tagged/Glynnan Legacy/chrono
I repeat the same thing for each of the separate generations but I use the heir's name instead of the Glynnan Legacy tag. So using my current heir Elucea as the example to get just her posts in chrono order the url would be hashimasims.tumblr.com/tagged/Elucea Glynnan/chrono
I hoped I helped at least a little bit. I am sorry for the utter word vomit but I am absolute garbage at explaining anything without physically showing someone the steps I took to get the result they're looking for.
AND THANK YOU!!! 🥰 I am so happy to hear someone likes my story as much as I do. I also just binged all of your story so far and your storytelling is just *chef's kiss* (I think better than my dumpster fire but it's MY dumpster fire lol)
Alright, I hope you're having a fabulous day! Bye bye!
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eyeofhurakana · 2 years ago
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Holy crap... Nearly all the fluff fics hit 100 notes. Wow…
Thanks so much, everyone! Honestly, I’m pretty stunned. I just got back from vacation and this was a very pleasant thing to come back home to. Plus all the comments and reblogs were fantastic to read. XD Ya’ll are a great bunch and I’m happy to be here. 
Soooo it’s that time again~! Response time!  
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From Last Week's Responses
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@avast-me-alien XD You are so funny. Oh my gosh. And thank you for your words! I’m super happy to hear that my writing helps sate that Sampo Koski Itch. I am delighted to make even more as this game carries on. 
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About Tag Lists
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@avast-me-alien Absolutely! I will ensure that you are well-fed, fellow Sampo admirer.
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@https-jjessica Ahhhhhh... I want to tag you but Tumblr won't let me. What in the world...? And thank you so much for the compliment! *swells with happiness* Now if I can just figure out how to tag you... Do you have another tag that I can use to notify you? (I get the feeling that Tumblr will magically work after this posts, but just in case... if it doesn't tag you, then let me know. I'll do my best to fix it on my end.)
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From Chapter 2 of “Bouncing Brings Us All Together”
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@mleegi Thank you!! Plus, bless your kind soul for your patience. I am still rehashing the final chapter. I’m so darn picky. I’m sure it’ll come to me soon enough. It’s gotta have the Koski flare before I give it the green light to post. =D
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@rebeccawinters I’m so happy to hear that! Ahhhh! I hope the final chapter meets expectations. Thanks so much! 
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From Chapter 1 of “Unlike Fiction”
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@baby-lisuga I will! I'll make a post for everyone being tagged when I get the chance!
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@rebeccawinters Daaaang. The keyboard spazz response is always a great compliment. XD I’m glad you are enjoying him. 
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@haliyamori YEAH. I KNOW. I’m the one writing this and even I’M MAD. Tsk tsk, Gepard. TSK TSK.  
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From Chapter 2 of “Unlike Fiction”
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@lunasun Oh my god. I know, right? I gotta make a mini blurb where the reader just squeezes his exposed hip, catching him by surprise. Oh, and about getting kidnapped… Honestly, any time spent with Sampo is time well spent. Worth it.
As for why the reader isn’t with him anymore… Well, that’ll get explained soon enough. But I’ll be nice and drop a hint. “What does Gepard have that Sampo does not?” If you can answer that, that’s pretty much the reason. 
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@hansel-the-pierrot Yessss. I always love hearing these comments. He’s so perfect. This is why I can’t stop writing him. XD UGH. He’s just so much fun. The fact that he’s so easygoing is great.  
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@eugeeneshwed No problem! I gladly contribute to the Koski cause and feed my fellow Sampo admirers. Heavens know that ya’ll need it. 
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@https-jjessica For real. I was just doing single pulls on the regular warp and was stunned when he came home again. Now he’s eternally in my party. That DoT is no joke. 
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@rebeccawinters *spazzes* Ahhhhh! Three comments!!! This is like getting a 5 star in one pull with no pity! Oh my gosh! Thank you!! I’m so glad you like him as well as the fic! It’s such an honor to make people obsessed. XD It truly is. As for having a tag list, I'm working on it and I'll definitely have you added on. I'll make a separate post for it too so everyone can see where they stand on the list. And oh my god, you are such an amazing fan. Being blog-stalked for updates is like... the ultimate compliment. <3 I can't stop feeling so giddy now. Thank you very much for this.
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@helloyuki Awww. Of course. I’m glad you liked it. =D
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@worriedvision Awwwwww!! Thank you for the endorsement! Whoo! Definitely got a smile out of me.
XD AHHH! I thought the same thing! But that’s what makes him wonderful, eh? Always keepin’ us on our toes. 
Me too. Ugh. This man won’t leave my head. Though I bemoan this with an endearing tone, of course.
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Anywho, thanks so much to everyone that commented, reblogged, or even just remembered to poke that little heart button. Seriously, you're all wonderful and I hope that we can all run around HSR's universe with E6 Sampo Koskis.
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fqiryspit · 2 years ago
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Hey love so thank you smmm <3 it helped a lot and I literally noted everything down!! If you don’t mind I got a few questions :(( so obviously its dumb but how would I make a master list and and what are ideal first posts I could do and how could I attract people to my writings? im sorry my questions dumb but im slow… tysm !! 💕💕
-💁🏻‍♀️
GIRL DONT EVEN SAY THAT IT'S NOT A DUMB QUESTION AT ALLLL!!!!
I literally was like...blink..blink. when i saw people making masterlists for the first time
(BTW, THIS ONLY WORKS ON A COMPUTER, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT IF YOU'RE ON A PHONE)
guide on how to make links:
SO! Just like how you color text (by highlighting over the text like you're gonna copy and paste it) a bar of commands will pop up
so, the fifth bubble that looks like 2 chat icons will be there click it and it should say https:// . now, have a separate tab open with your fic on it, make sure it's on your profile and not your dashboard lmao. go up to the search bar and copy it, go back to the other tab, into the chat icons, and paste it into the bar with https:// on it.
now, you have a link
guide on aesthetics:
a quick and easy way to an aesthetic master list is going and typing "eren headers" obvi eren doesn't need to be a part of it but ya'know. "white headers, green headers" and stuff like that, that should look like this:
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be sure to tag the person who made the header or at least reblog it, it's the right and nice thing to do because you're using it.
you can do this for your pfp, just type in "pink icon" and you'll find some cute ones :3
now, your masterlist should look like this (again, highlight text, go to the little separate bar that says (Regular) and change it to bigger or biggest if you want your intro to your masterlist to be bigger:
💁‍♀️'s masterlist
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fic 1
fic 2
fic 3
header from: @hyugasite
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and boom. of course, if you have any more questions don't be afraid to ask!
now, for your first post, if you're really truly blank make some headcanons. I wouldn't recommend smut right away because it's really embarrassing when you're just starting up and the field is competitive. obviously, post whatever you want. smut is the most attractive genre but is also very bloody!! (lmao) I kinda think its slow right now so post some smuty hc if you have the guts!!!
hc are suuuuuuper easy and fun! short attention span readers love it and blank writers love it!
lets say it's about fluff, you'd have it be like this:
eren x fem!reader
cw: just fluff
bf!eren who does this and that and this
bf!eren who is so cute yada yada
and you'd do a couple more of those, it's super nice if you're just trying to test the waters, If you want recognition I say do something a little different than just "bf!eren"...something like "rockstar!eren" or "model!eren" and format them like, "rockstar!eren who takes you to all his concerts" or smth
another way to attract people with your writing is, again, banners! it's what catches the eye, humans love pretty images!!
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bf!eren headcanons <3 header from: @winknono
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bf!eren who does this and that and this
bf!eren who is so cute yada yada
.
also, get mutuals! reblog posts and go to some writers' asks box and ask to be mutuals or smth!! mutuals arent ppl you talk to a bunch, its just people you cant talk ideas to and just be cool with.
anywho, I think thats all! Don't be afraid to ask anything else and your questions arent dumb!! <33
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aohendo · 2 years ago
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It was so hard to pick just one to be curious about, but I wanna know about your WIP Now!
That sounds more demanding than I intended...
Yes, ma'am! Now!
This one is one of the ones where it's not so much in progress, as it is an "I wonder whatever happened to that thing" - finds it again - types in it again - goes off to do other things and forgets about it for a year. Rinse and repeat.
There's regular humans and then there's spider people. Most of the human/spider relationships are surprisingly good--veering on utopian--and then there's the forest spider crew. Not so utopian relationships with these guys. But anywho, after long negotiations, etc., somehow it comes around that the forest spiders dudes have agreed to stop terrorizing the human/non-forest spider dudes as their coming of age ritual. This, of course, has left a big "now what?" for that ceremony.
The MC is a leader of a small group of travelers who are crossing the mountainous region by foot due to ~reasons~. He knows the people he's traveling with, and they trust him just as much, but whoo boy are they surprised when he mentions they've got an extra person tagging along on their journey. They're cool with an extra, mind--they're a little less cool with the fact that their tag-along is a forest spider dude on her coming of age ceremony.
Cue some not-really-enemies-but-certainly-not-friendly to friends to family bonding over the course of their travels, and some all around wholesome fluff.
I've got more of it written down somewhere other than the Now document, but I haven't figured out what notebook(s) or paper scraps its ended up in.
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suicidal-vampyre · 2 days ago
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So let me preface this with I use to go to the Vent app and that is where I would rant about missing my ex, my substance use, my sexual frustrations, and when I was in the club, I would talk about stories or irks on there.
I really liked Vent because it was cutesy girlie for the most part but you could say pretty much whatever you wanted, nsfw or not, as long as it was not essentially illegal (aka p3do shit or serious hard drug use like @ngel du$t or ice) but as long as you were in the correct “group” and tagged or put trigger warnings on it, you were free to speak your deepest thoughts. Additionally they had cute little emojis that you would pick to start your post off, like a how are you feeling type vibe and if you were a Vent Angel (I think it was a four or five ninety nine type subscription type deal but I remember thinking it was not much compared to other social media paid levels) then you could pick a cute background, had access to all emoticon emotions, and I believe you also had the ability to create groups for people to join and speak in.
I found vent when I was in high school, when my twitter had started to gain followers from people I knew in person. Additionally, my tumblr those days was very bl!the, if you can even remember those days where pretty much nothing was restricted on this site and if you were looking for something you just needed to know where to look and do a bit of digging.
Anywho I found vent during this time and deleted and redownloaded it many times over the years, but mainly it helped me during my toxic past relationship because he did not have access to my vent, it was locked by code and he did not think it was worth the time to control I suppose.
Even though I did pay for the subscription, or the extra fees or whatever I really just did it for the background and access to all the feelings. I was not a regular daily user. I would get on the app when things were too heavy, when my other apps were too political and overwhelming, when i need to rant about missing my ex, when I was under the influence, or when I was having lewd thoughts I had no one to share with.
Well I went to get on it the other day, and it was gone. The app itself is still there, all of my vents still there, but a goodbye message from the app designers and no way to get into messages, create new posts, or interact with others. I think I liked it so much because it was deeply anonymous, way more than people think twitter is or can be.
Maybe one day I will attach some of mine.
But now I am going to treat tumblr like vent but do my best to censor so my entries can stay.
Tags will be #ventapp or #ventrip
I will also be organizing or prefacing my posts the same way.
I have chosen to attach some photos just as an example, not that any of this matters or that that many people will be reading this but maybe so yeah here ya go.
0 notes
findroleplay · 9 months ago
Note
``` A 1960s Romance.
All characters are 18+
Tags: 60s, ELVIS, Canon x Canon, Literate RP.
Pairings: FxM
Notes: 1x1 only, no groups, multiple characters are welcome but must be within the universe of the main two.
-----------------------------------
*Plot Sneak Peek.*
Elvis Presley. Ohh how that name sent shivers down a girls spine any time they heard it. The man was a national sensation, heartthrob of memphis. Swooning every school girl possible all over the world. However, one stood out more to him than the rest during his service in the army.
Priscilla Ann Beaulieu. The star had kindled a connection with the girl at one of his parties, usually always chatting and discussing personal issues he couldn’t with anyone else whenever hosting another one. He had a deep fondness growing for her, however, once he fell back into his regular glamorous life in the United States, The young lady became only a pleasant memory.
It was now 1968, and Presley’s acting career was coming to an end. Despite him putting his musical talents aside for the last 7 years, his needs and desire with acting were never met. So, here he was. NBC studios Burbank California. Getting reading to put on the greatest show anyone has ever seen. However, when he found himself pacing on that tiny little stage, a familiar face far in the crowd caught his attention.
hello, hello ! my name is Dahlia, and I was in search of perhaps pursing a plot similar to this little example between the two iconic love birds. Of course the fairy tale marriage was not perfect by any means, and I feel that is what makes it so special and “fun” to play around with. I’m not sure if there is anyone who is as indulged in the “Elvis Fandom” here, but I thought it would be worth a shot at trying!
If this doesn’t interest you though, I am more than happy to share other ideas or fixations in mind separately from this one.
Anywho, circling back to the plot and idea itself. In this romantic angsty role play, I would be likely taking the female counterpart, as I find playing his role quite tedious and difficult.
Now, I would like this to be sort of a world building thing, I don’t want there to strictly be nsfw
or sfw, there needs to be a gradual build up and a proper balance between certain aspects. I find only nsfw role plays BORING.
I also am willing to discuss other plots I have in mind for these two, or add on to it, whatever you want! As long as we both have an agreement.
Please feel free to reach out to me if this caught your eye!!
```
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0 notes