#i can tell him she thought he liked me and i liked him i'll just keep the part about her liking him out of the story

[moth2flamewriting]

He's Mine

I really want to see a fic where Annie is possessive over Smoke. So I wrote one.

Also, be on the lookout for more Annie x Smoke. THAT'S THE ONLY COUPLE FROM THE MOVIE I WILL WRITE ABOUT.

Warning: Unprotected sex. Dirty Talk.

Modern Day!

ENJOY.

"You really think your body can forget me?" She whispered seductively into his ear.

His knees buckled under him. She knew just what to say and do to get him going. And it just wasn't fair.

"Annie, why you doing this?" He tried for months for her forgiveness.

...

Even though the twins had their own club, they decided they were going to throw a good ol' fasioned house party.

Tempted for a good, illegal and sexy time.

They invited the whole neighborhood. Smoke went and invited one person in particular.

Annie.

"I done told you to leave me the fuck alone,' she hissed through the screen door.

Not once thrown off by her tone or demeanor, he proceeded.

"We havin' a house party tonight, wanted to swing by and see if you was lookin to come?" Smoke was always a confident man. Even when she rejected him over and over. Some people were just unwavering.

"Who all gon be there?" Curiosity in her voice.

"Everybody."

"I'll think about it,' and with that Annie closed the door.

What Smoke didn't know is what was going through her head on the other side of the door.

After the last time she rejected him, he promised himself he wouldn't chase her. But that was impossible to him.

He was still coming by in person to invite her to things, checking in with her even when she made clear she didn't want that from him.

He couldn't help but to wonder if it was true, that she didn't want him anymore.

It was just better for him to not think about.

Annie's House..

After she closed the door on Smoke, the breath she was holding in was let out.

He was handsome as hell.

'This nigga hand delivering invites for a house parrty?' she thought to herself.

She hated how quickly he made her forget the principle. She had been doing good since he's been back. Not one relapse. Not a kiss. A hug. Nothing.

He was so persistent. She couldn't help but feel like she was punishing him too hard. She loved him so much. The only man she loved in her whole life.

She went to call Pearline on the phone.

"Hey girl, wassup?" Pearline picked up.

"Girl, guess who just came by my house AGAIN!?" Nothing like gossiping with your friends.

"Don't tell me Smoke not catching the hint," she inquired.

"Well, there may not be a hint to catch anymore.. I think he deserves a second chance kind of?" Annie was confused her damn self.

"I been saying that for months girl. Sammie always saying all he talk about is you, blah blah, and he love you blah blah," you could hear her smirking through the phone.

"You going to the party tonight?' Annie asked.

"Girl fuck yes. This a Smoke Stack Twins House party!"

"Okay, if you going. I'll go." The decision was final.

They hung up the phone.

It was about 6:00 pm now.

She had enough time to shower, do her make up and still show up at a reasonable time. Not too early and not too late.

10:00 rolls around and she's finally ready to go.

She calls Pearline to confirm that she's already there and she is.

Let the night begin.

House Party..

She walks in the party, the air is hot and filled with smoke.

People crowd the hallways and living room as she walks towards the kitchen.

She finds Pearline with a big drunk ass smile on her face.

"Well damn girl, why not just come naked", she jokes on her.

She had on sun dress, yellow that hugged her wasted and curves. Her titties sitting high up on her chest. Ass poking out the back. She looked good and she felt good.

Before she could respond she caught Smoke out the corner of her eye, but he wasn't alone.

He was standing up against the wall with some girl, whispering in her ear.

He fucking with girls now? She needed a drink and fast.

"Pearline where the liquor at?" She asked.

"Ask Smoke, he the one who gave this to me. Aint put nun out, aint want it gone to fast," she replied.

Annie sighed, alerting Pearline that she was moving.

She approached Smoke and the girl. They was so busy having they own conversation they aint even notice her.

That wasn't like him, he always sensed her.

"Scuse' me," she cleared her throat.

"Annie I-," he turned around startled looking between Annie and the girl.

"Smoke, I dont need all that. Pearline said you had the liquor?"

"Uh, yeah," he said straightening his back.

He looked to the girl and excused himself for the next few minutes.

She had an uneasy feeling, everybody knew Smoke and Annie history. Him leading her into a back room didn't sit well, but who was she to say anything?

"Whatchu want? I got beer, wine anything you could think of," he asked her.

She didn't respond.

"So what? You fucking with bitches now?" Annie tried to control the crazy in her, but her eye was twitching and she was furious.

"What the fuck that got to do with liquor?"

Oh.

"You like the bitch or suem?" This was her man. HER MAN. HERS. This is the same man she was rejecting for months.

"So all of a sudden you see me with another bitch and you care? I don't have time for this shit Annie. What the fuck you want to drink?" He boomed.

"You don't have time for me Pa?" She cooed.

She knew was she was doing. Jealousy taking over her.

She moved closer to him. Pressing their bodies together. Both of them breathing heavy.

"Annie cmon' now," he was on thin ice. He would fuck her right here. His dick growing in his pants.

"I know you got time for me baby, you always find time for me," she purred at him.

"Ann-,"she cut him off quickly with a hot kiss. Tongues dancing. He missed her. She missed him too. Without an exchange of words the knew.

She broke the kiss, chest rising and falling slow.

"Go head, and be with the bitch. Just know you always gon be mine. I'll take the wine," she said.

"You jealous." He smirked. He could see it all over her face. From the moment she approached them in the hallway. The nasty looks, the questions about other women.

"Jealous of what? The two cent bitch you making giggle with them corny ass jokes?" She laughed.

"Its gon be corny when my dick in her?"

"Fuck her Smoke, that aint got shit to do with me," she would eat those words later. Anger banging on every part of her body.

"Ain't no issue for me, here go ya drink," and with that he left the room swiftly.

Standing there she didn't know what to do. She just knew she wasn't going to take to kindly to him fucking somebody else. When he supposed to be getting her back.

She left the room. And there he was back in the same position with the same girl.

Annie was so mad you could see steam coming out her ears. She walked passed them purposely bumping him so that he fell into her.

She figured tonight, she could drink her problems away. Saving her from watching him and some random bitch together all night.

He watched her, watch him. Distracted by her eyes he couldn't even pay attention to the girl.

He watched the rage grow in her like a building on fire.

All night she been shooting him dirty looks, flipping him off, demanding liquor from him.

He was so lost in his thoughts, when he came to she was standing in front of him shaking her cup in his face.

'Damn, another refill?' he thought to himself.

He had another reason to be alone with her. To address the issue head on. Shit, why not? They was both fucked up.

He excused himself and guided her to the back room for the 8th time tonight. Her steps lazy but careful behind him.

They entered the room, the door swinging closed. Only cause she slammed it. Additude prominent. She waited for him to refill her cup.

But he just stood there. Looking at her. Trying to find an explanation without words.

"What the fuck is your problem? Huh?" He didn't realize how upset he was.

"I ain't got no problem Smoke," obviously drunk.

"You don't get to do this shit! YOU FUCKING ME UP ANNIE! I CANT FUCKIN FOCUS CUS YOU BURNING HOLES INTO ME ALL NIGHT!," he was screaming now.

Thankfully the music drowned out what was being said.

"Oh fuck you! FUCK YOU! You think parading that bitch around the party aint annoying me? You my nigga-" the words slipped out by mistake.

"I'm not, you made that clear. Bad as I wanna be," he's seething. He could tear down a fucking building.

She ignored his words. "You grinding and shit! She can't even dance. Yall look fucking stupid. She doesn't know what to do with you," she didn't care how she sounded. She didn't care if she was drunk. Annie wanted her man back.

"So what?! I'm trynna have a good time," he was in complete shock. She was trying to control his night.

"She not gon' fuck you like me," her eyes low.

"She don't know what you like, how you like it," she was walking towards him again.

"Annie cmon' now, you drunk," he tried to resist her.

Annie wrapped her hands around the back of his head. Pressing into him, sitting her titties up on his chest.

"I'm not that drunk Pa," she teased him.

'Pa' when she need some dick.

She had to decide whether she wanted this man on not. If she was willing to give him another chance after all he did. He worked so hard to get her back. The back and forth was wearing him down.

"Annie what do you want from me?"

"Right now?" she teased.

She lowered herself down onto her knees. Rubbing his dick through his pants. Pressing her face up against him. Unable to control herself, she moaned at his print against her face.

"Oh my god, your dick is so big," she was panting over it.

Looking up at him, she took her bottom lip into her mouth, "Let me suck on you, Elijah."

Hands reaching for his belt slowly, she pulls down his pants. His dick springing through his draws. Annie wraps her hands around the base of him. Peppering kisses down his shaft.

"Fuck," he groans out. She always stroked his dick like a pro.

Opening her mouth just enough to take the head into her hot, wet and ready mouth. She's slurping on his tip. Wrapping her tongue around him to catch all the warm pre cum spilling out of him.

"Your dick taste so good Papa," she was moaning in between sucks.

She pulls him out her mouth, slow. Making sure to make eye contact with him.

"Fuck Annie," he growls.

She stood up, running her hands up and down his body. Gripping the base of him.

He threw his head back.

She dragged her body against his as she stood up.

"You really think your body can forget me?" She whispered seductively into his ear.

His knees buckled under him. She knew just what to say and do to get him going. And it just wasn't fair.

"Annie, why you doing this?" He tried for months for her forgiveness.

A thousand drunk thoughts running through her head. She didn't like what she did, but she loved him. She loved him so much it was sobering. She wanted him. She tried so hard to stay away but this is where she was supposed to be. With him.

"I love you," she said just above a whisper.

"Whatchu say?"

"I love you. And seeing you with that bitch made me angry. I couldn't see anything but red. Cause no matter how hard I try, it's always going to be you."

Their lips crashed into eachother. Tongues dominated eachother. Heavy panting coming from them both.

"Ahh- Elijah," she moaned.

His fingers were sliding around in her sex.

"I missed you," he grunted in her ear.

And the truth is, they REALLY missed eachother.

His fingers slipped over her clit, eliciting moans and gasps from.

Annie's hand slid down his chest, on to his belt buckle. Fumbling she got it undone and his pants dropped to the floor.

She dropped to her her knees, abandoned by his fingers, on a mission. With no desire to wait or have him fully erect, she wrapped her mouth around his dick.

Moaning at how warm it was in her mouth. She took him all the way in her mouth while she still could.

"Fuck Annie, suck that dick baby," he groans.

She bobbed her head lazily on him, leaving a trail of spit on his shaft and it dripping from his balls.

"She couldn't do this to you Pa," her doe eyes looking up at him all innocent.

"Were you going to fuck her?" she asked while she pumped his dick rapidly.

"Fuck- I," he couldn't think straight.

"No," he mustered.

"You belong to me," it wasn't a question. She was telling him.

She let him go. And stood up. Stripping down to nothing at all.

"Come get inside of me, I can't wait to have that dick fill me up," she turned her back to him as he lined himself up with her wet pussy.

"Fuck, you're so tight. Put your leg up for me," he tapped the table in front of them.

She threw her leg up and he slid inside of her.

"Fuck Smoke, your dick is so big baby," she whimpered.

He was stroking her slow, letting her feel all of him.

Grunts and groans filled the air as he pumped into her. His balls smacking her clit as he fucked her. Sending her into a frenzy.

She threw her ass back on him, meeting him thrust for thrust.

"You love this pussy don't you Pa," his hand came across her ass. Watching it jiggle from contact.

He did it again and again.

"Fuck Annie, you gon make me cum in you. Your pussy so good," he was moaning uncontrollably.

"Papa please, give it to me," she begged him shamelessly.

"Give me that dick baby, oh my god," her body gave out collapsing onto the table.

But he was merciless. He pounded into her, pussy squirting all over his dick.

"Fuck here it come baby," he was cumming in her.

"Thank you baby.

Thank you.

Thank you so much," she finished with him.

Cum dripping out her pussy, he spread her ass to see how far he stretched her.

Pleased with the view, he kissed her on her ass cheek.

"Now, go tell that bitch you belong to me," face dead serious.

"That ain't no problem with me," Smoke grinned.

The End.

i never talk to yall after but this was so much fun to write. i'm trying to figure out what direction im going in for options. but its just so unclear.

thanks for reading as always. 🩷

-m2fw.

[emeraldserenade]

omg im obsessed with ur writing????

would u be down to write a joaquin torres x gotg!reader?? i think it’d be really cute if reader doesnt know what to make of him since theyve only known the guardians their whole life and arent keen on new people..so joaquin, being joaquin, makes it his mission to break down their walls and show them that they can trust him??

( giggling bc im thinking of the scene in gotg 1 where peter attempts to dance with gamora and she tries to fight him because she didn’t know what he was trying to do )

does that make sense? i am v bad at writing reqs i apologize oh my goodness😭😭😭

Who Doesn't Love Me ~ Joaquín Torres

synopsis: Joaquín is used to everyone loving him from the moment they meet

tw: fem!reader, gotg!reader, reader has a small self deprecation moment, barely edited.

fic, ficlet, drabble, request

I'm obsessed with this idea! A little disappointed I didn't even think of it!! And yes this makes PERFECT sense, I am the queen of nonsensical rambling when I get an idea stuck in my head (my best friend can attest to that). Are you all sick of me writing yet? Probably not, I'm taking hours between posts 💀

➽──────────────❥

Joaquín Torres truly believed everyone was going to love him as soon as they meet him. Not in a cocky way, but in the way that everyone in his life has loved him pretty much as soon as they met him.

Then you came along, you were smart, pretty, capable of getting anything done, and you didn't like him. Ok, you didn't not like him, you just weren't sure about him.

You grew up on Yondu's ship with only the people on it as your social points, you weren't the greatest when it came to new people. You were polite, you smiled at Joaquín and gave him a small wave, but nothing more. You didn't necessarily go out of your away avoid him, you just tried to stay out of his way. You would slink off when he entered a room, you would keep your interactions short, and you would be polite yet short with him in unavoidable conversations.

It drove Joaquín crazy, he couldn't stand the thought of someone, especially you, not liking him. He tried his hardest, he would keep talking to you and seeking you out until you liked him. But it never worked, you kept running from him like he was diseased.

"I just don't get it Sam," Joaquín fell onto the couch of the little lake house everyone was staying in. Your crew's ship outside and broken and unusable until someone came with a replacement piece. "Why won't she talk to me?"

"Have you tried letting her come to you? She's been in space her whole life, she's probably not used to all of this," Sam gestured to around them vaguely.

"You're probably right," Joaquín mumbled and shifted to look at the TV.

✧°˖ . ݁˖︵‿❀‿︵˖ . ݁˖°✧

Joaquín did what Sam said, he let you come to him. And you did, after the third day of Joaquín not coming to you, you started to miss him. You missed his stupid jokes, his attempts to include you, and his voice. You missed his goddamn voice and face, and you hated it.

"And then boom!" Peter was telling a dramatized version of some events.

"That's not what happened, he was too busy staring at Gamora," you muttered under your breath, not thinking anyone was listening to you. But you were wrong, Joaquín was and he let out a quiet laugh at your words.

✧°˖ . ݁˖︵‿❀‿︵˖ . ݁˖°✧

Your relationship with Joaquín changed from that moment, you would spent more time with him and got more comfortable with being around him. You were in the room he was staying in as he was putting his laundry away, his music was playing. In a language he said was Spanish, one of the many spoken on Earth. Joaquín extended his hand out to you and you gently took it, confused.

"Dance with me," Joaquín told you and you tilted your head.

"Dance?" You questioned.

"You do now how to dance?"

"I don't know what dance is," you muttered, looking away in embarrassment.

"I'll teach you," he told you, his voice soft. He moved one of his hands to your waist and you took a step back ready to fight him. "You need to trust me," his voice was quieter but you nodded, letting him grab your waist gently and pull you closer to him again. You may not know how to dance, but you could tell that you were moving too slow for the song. Joaquín guided you to sway side to side with him, both of his hands on your waist while yours were locked behind his neck.

"This is how you dance?" You made eye contact with Joaquín, uncertainty dancing in your eyes.

"With someone you like, yeah," Joaquín felt the wave of confidence he had wash away when your eyebrows furrowed and you stopped moving for a moment.

"You like me?" It came out more self deprecating than you wanted it to, but you couldn't take it back now.

"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"

"I'm from space, I know I'm a little weird," you said it like it was an end all be all.

"I'm from Florida, I'm used to weird," you scrunched your eyebrows again.

"Florida?"

"I've got a lot to teach you, mi vida," Joaquín gently laughed as he pressed his forehead to yours.

"Does that mean you actually like me?" Joaquín could see the hopefulness dance across your face.

"Yeah, it does," Joaquín affirmed and you smiled at him.

✧°˖ . ݁˖︵‿❀‿︵˖ . ݁˖°✧

"Ready to go?" Nebula grabbed your arm but you just stood there, your expression neutral as you stared at Joaquín standing there waving at you.

"I," you looked away from Joaquín and towards your friends, your family. "I think I want to stay," you muttered, looking down at the ground beneath your feet.

"We know," Peter gave you a small smile and you whipped your head up to look at him.

"What?" You all but shrieked.

"We see the way you look at the bird boy," Mantis informed you. "I can feel the love radiating from the two of you," she continued.

"You're not mad?" You questioned and they all shook their head.

"Stay safe, kid. We'll come visit," Rocket gave your leg a hug and you smile down at him. You said your goodbyes to your family before stepping back to stand with Joaquín, his arm wrapping around your waist as soon as he could.

"Think you're ready to learn some more?" Joaquín asked, trying to ease the tension in your shoulders.

"Can I pick what I learn first?" You questioned, fighting off the smirk threatening to take over your face.

"Sure, go ahead," Joaquín smiled at you. You said nothing as you kissed him, it was a quick peck on his lips but it lingered long enough for him to process it.

"Think you can teach me how to improve my skills?" You tilted your head as you spoke, your smirk finally breaking free. Joaquín had a smirk of his own before pulling you to him by the waist, your lips meeting in the middle.

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Masterlist | Requests If you want to be added to the tag list, follow the directions on my masterlist

[heyimkana]

I think Jin would leave a ✨S✨ shaped hickey on the neck and maybe a heart one ?

And made his wife stay at home for awhile to let them disappear and when they did ....

Booom a new hickeys

i think he'd leave her dozens of different shapes 😌 most of them in places that people can't see, but he always leaves the darker ones like the nasty kinds on places that people can see 😏 because he's possessive like that especially when he has to go somewhere far for a few days like to clean up a dungeon break in a different country, he's gonna make sure that she carries his mark everywhere she goes (along with a hundred of shadow soldiers under her feet).

his wife always gets upset when he does that. there was a time when she slapped him on the shoulder after she saw her body in the mirror the next morning, horrified by all the purple bruises blooming on her neck and collarbones. "Sung Jinwoo, how many times do I have to tell you?! Don't leave hickeys on my neck!"

jinwoo, still wearing only his sweatpants, only lifted his hands in the air, surrendering but with his goddamn smirk still intact, "it was an accident, i swear" he said, definitely doing it on purpose and didn't even bother to hide it.

"I have a school meeting to attend today, Jinwoo. It's like 40 degrees outside, I can't wear a scarf!"

"Then don't go. Igris can take your place."

"Oh, you're so—"

She punched his chest but he only laughed. "That's domestic abuse, Sweetheart." he felt literally nothing from the punch. damn him for being so strong. he then captured her wrist mid-punch, held her by the waist, pushed her back against the wall, and pinned her hands above her head. "you act like this now but you didn't even try to stop me last night, did you?" he gazed down at her with a cheeky grin "actually..." he leaned down to whisper in her ear, his smirk brushing against her lobe, "i think you were begging me to do more."

she was she definitely was but she'd rather die than admit it out loud. "you were folding me in half, i was just... saying stuff."

he just hummed, still so fucking cheeky and sexy. he dipped his head low, his breath fanning her neck. "then what about now, hmm?" he kissed her there, just right over her pulse, light but lingering. "would you stop me now?"

"Jin—" she gasped when he suddenly lifted her up the wall, pressing himself firmly against her, her legs wrapping around his hips instinctively. his fingers framed her by the jaw, angling her face to the side to expose more of her neck, and he took a bit of her skin between his teeth, nibbling, sucking, marking the already bruised skin, leaving another one that was even more obscene than before. she could only moan, her nails sinking into his bare shoulder, all of her thoughts gone just from one kiss.

he mapped his way back to her mouth, devouring her once before he set her back to her feet. he left her dazed and breathless, still captivated by his lips. jinwoo thumbed the new mark, satisfied and pleased. "I wonder what Son-seonsaengnim would think if he saw you like this?"

only at that she gasped. "You did this because you were jealous? of our daughter's teacher?"

"No," he said, his voice taking a slightly darker tone, leaning down until he was just a breath away, his grip on her face possessive. "I'm doing this because you're mine. and I want the world to know that." he then caressed her cheek, smiling sweetly, "and I'm sure Son-seonsaengnim would appreciate a friendly reminder. he tends to be forgetful, after all."

her heart pounded, not in fear. excitement. "you're crazy."

"crazy for you." he pecked her on the lips before he walked away, yawning as he stretched his arms above his head. "I'm gonna go make breakfast. you're craving for something sweet, aren't you, angel?" he throws a smile over his shoulder. "go take a shower and make yourself look pretty for me. I'll make you your favorites."

she sighed. the duality is concerning and yet thrilling at the same time. "with whipped cream?"

"of cour—wait, i think i already ate it all last night. off of you."

"get to the kitchen."

he giggled. "yes, ma'am."

[ooffmlsorry]

Heyy!! If youre not too flooded with requests i hope you can take this second one <3 again ignore this if you got too many 🩷 I wanna see luffy with the "step away from the tree and put the present down" prompt! I feel like it matches him alot!

Hopefully this brings you some joy even though it's been literally a year and a half!! The world is on fire so hopefully this is a pleasant surprise! Also I'm sorry it skips around so much, I had an idea with a lot of moving parts, but it was fun to write and I hop you enjoy it! It's quite long but maybe that's a good thing! Also also I'm very, very, very, very, very very, sorry!

Loving You is Easy

Luffy x f!reader; pure fluff

Dividers by @nicodefresas

A/N: this takes place over the holidays because this was supposed to be finished in December of 2023...

A new island, clear sky, tame locals. Usopp puts a foot on the ship's edge, chest puffed out and hands on his hips. He breathes in the salty sea air mixed with the scents of the town.

"Now this is an island I can get behind," he says pleased.

Gulls screech and waves crash.

"How scenic," Robins agrees.

"I SMELL FOOD!" Luffy's already headed for the side of the ship. He pulls you so hard you're nearly falling behind him, like you do every time you come to a new island. Your boyfriend is perpetually tugging you along on the next adventure, smile bright, eyes shining, and his hand warm and tight around yours.

"C'mon, Y/N! Let's go!"

"Unh uh, not so fast Luffy! Where do you think you're going?" Nami yells. She grabs a hold of his vest before he can make it off the ship, hooking him like a fish on a line, and reeling him back.

"One second, Y/N" Nami says sweetly. "I just need to remind our captain of something very important. You go on!" She shoos you away with her hands.

You watch in confusion as Nami whispers something in Luffy's ear. Whatever it is, you're clearly not meant to hear it.

"Ooooohhh!" Luffy exclaims at Nami. He pauses to think for a moment, tongue poking between his lips in thought. "I guess I should do that today, huh?"

Something about that enrages Nami. "You guess!?" She yells. She grabs the bridge of her nose as if trying to stop an oncoming headache and whispers something else.

Luffy pouts, "Why can't she come with us? 'M gonna miss her!"

Sensing whatever this is, you're not supposed to be a part of it you come closer. "It's okay, Luffy, I'll see you later. Then we can tell each other about our adventures."

Luffy frowns, indecisive, "it'd be better if you were with me, though."

How is he so sweet!? Your heart squeezes with affection. "I know Lu, but it looks like you've got something secret going on. It'll be fine." You press a kiss to his cheek that makes him glow. somewhere in the distance Sanji groans in jealousy. "Go do whatever you have to do."

Luffy brightens immediately. "I'll do whatever I need to do and then I'll come find you, okay!?"

"Aye aye captain," you salute him. You decide to be on 'keep Zoro from getting lost' duty in order to distract yourself from missing Luffy, while he does....whatever Nami's so insistent about.

◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟⠀ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟⠀ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟

"Now pay attention," Nami says, striding through the street with Ussopp, Robin, Chopper, and Luffy in tow. "The Holiday is in three days, you better have something in mind to get Y/N while we're in town. You've got a girlfriend now, and it's your job to act accordingly."

Luffy stares at her, a dull look behind his eyes that they all know as the "Luffy's not getting it" look. He scratches his head in thought, "act accordingly?"

"Yes! You bonehead, something that shows you know her and you love her," Nami says. Her voice turns rough and dark, a threat forming. "You do love my best friend, right Luffy?"

"Of course I do!" Luffy puffed up. "You're her best friend, I'm her boyfriend! I love Y/N more than anyone in the whole world!"

A satisfied smile spreads across Nami's face, obviously the correct answer, "so we're going to go find her something together, I'll pay for it, and then you pay me back...with interest of course." Her eyes gleam. Everyone could practically see the Berry signs flashing in them.

"Should I warn him it'll be at 400% interest?" Ussopp whispers loudly to Robin.

"250% interest, actually," Nami says. "I like Y/N and she deserves a good gift. I think we should get her something shiny."

"Nah," Luffy says. It doesn't feel right in his gut. He knows you wear only the same necklace, dangling from your neck whenever you bend down in front of him. Never takes it off. Never changes. "I don't think she likes that kind of stuff."

"Books?" Chopper suggests.

"Oh! A sketch book!" Ussopp says.

"New clothes?" Nami adds.

"She said I'm not allowed to pick her clothes after the neon yellow pants." Luffy's small smile breaks from a grin into a full blown laugh at the memory. "I thought she looked great in 'em, though! You should've seen her!"

"It was hard to miss her," Robin laughs behind her hand. "We were there Luffy..."

"Oh...I forgot." Sometimes that happened, not all that often, but sometimes he felt like the two of you were the only people in the world and the world was only as big as the room the two of you were in. And he sorta liked that.

"Best to respect her wishes," Robin says.

"Just think of something she likes," Chopper suggests helpfully.

"Or something she's mentioned she needs," Robin adds.

They could all practically see the steam coming out of Luffy's ears as he tried to think of something. All he could recall is you. Your smile, your laugh, your hand in his, soft fingers on his skin and in his hair. The high sun sharpening the color of your eyes. Nights tangled in each other where he slept better than he could ever remember.

Luffy slumps as he walk, "now I miss Y/N even more!"

Nami slows until she's in pace with her captain. Honestly, she should've seen this coming. Of course they all know Luffy is obsessed with you but romantic gestures aren't really his forte.

"C'mon Luffy, there has to be something in there you know she likes."

"She likes when I show her cool stuff, like rocks, and dead bugs, and flowers, and sea shells" Luffy grumbles. "Why can't I just get her more of that?"

"Good grief," Ussopp rolls his eyes. "This is going to take all day..."

The group walks through stalls and stores, picking up things they need (and a few they don't) until their feet feel sore and the sun has sunk lower into the sky. Luffy's brain (what little the crew thinks there is) is practically leaking from his ears.

"I can't believe you can't think of a single thing to get her!"

"I never would've thought Y/N would be so hard to shop for..." Ussopp says glumly.

"Wouldn't it be easier if she came with us? Then I could ask her and I'd know exactly what to get her?"

"It's supposed to be a surprise," Ussopp sighs. "That's kind of the whole point."

"Uggghhh" Luffy groans loudly.

Robin's face stays placid, unlike the rest of them, she has no doubt things will turn out fine. "Maybe a night's rest will help, you still have tonight to see if she's mentioned anything."

Nami droops like a wilted, "and Y/N got you such a good gift..." She whines.

Luffy stops in his tracks, head cocked to the side and eyes wide. "She did?"

"Yeah," Nami moans. "That's why you have to find something just as good."

The others wait while Luffy takes in this information, suddenly he speaks, "well what did she get me!?"

"I CAN'T TELL YOU THAT!" Nami clocks him on the head just for asking. "C'mon..." She drags a dazed Luffy by his vest behind her. "Everyone else has probably made it back to the Sunny by now."

◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟⠀ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟⠀ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟

Luffy watches you with intense concentration, an unnerving amount of concentration actually. "What's the matter, Lu?"

"I'm looking for hints," he says seriously. Luffy sits on your bed, legs criss-crossed, with one of your pillows in his arms. He'd much rather have you, but he'll settle for something that smells like you.

"Hints for what?"

"Can't tell you," he says, his words still shortened with concentration.

"Okaaay," you say sweetly.

You continue to straighten up around him while he watches you. By now you've figured out that he's trying to think of something to get you for the holiday. You watch him out the corner of your eye, lips pursed in thought, brows furrowed. You want to kiss the line forming between them but stop yourself. To be honest, you didn't really want anything, so you had nothing to mention. You're happy with him and the others on the Sunny, going on adventures and being with your friends--family, at this point honestly.

"You know..." you say slowly, gently. "You don't have to get me anything."

What!? No!" Luffy shoots that down immediately. As if that's not an option. Not possible. "You deserve a really nice gift! Nami says you got me something really nice too! Wait! What did you get me?"

You grin mischievously. Damn right you got him a good gift. If Luffy thought you were hard to shop for, he's downright impossible. He would be happy with almost anything, but what do you give to someone like that when you truly love them? "I can't tell you," you sing at him, wagging your finger.

"Aww," he pouts. "Why not?"

"Because it'd ruin the surprise!" You say," And all my hard work!"

Luffy's rubber arms stretch around you, pulling you into his lap. His chin fits into the crook of your neck like a puzzle piece clicking into place. "But I wanna knoooow! Just a little hint?"

"Nope!" You giggle.

"Then you're staying here until you tell me or until I think of something!" If it weren't for the dinner bell, he may have made good on that promise.

◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟⠀ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟⠀ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟

Luffy gave up pestering you about it after dinner, but that didn't mean he wasn't still thinking about the gifts.

"I don't think I've ever seen him think this hard about one thing in his life," Zoro says.

Brook nods solemnly. "Our captain is indeed doomed. My heart would be racing with panic...if I had one."

"Shut up!" Luffy says miserably. "I'm trying to think. If she got me something really nice, I need to figure out something nice to give her..." You love collecting the little things you've picked up on your adventures: seashells, flowers, rocks, pictures. You're so loving with everything you find, rearranging them, always looking for some way to keep them safe. It was one of his favorite things about you. But what could he do with that?

"Why don't you just look?" Zoro says, looking bored but clearly invested in helping. "There's a big stack of gifts, a tree, decorations, the whole thing, sitting in the aquarium bar, you'd know that if you ever went in there. Just find what Y/N got you, maybe it will give you an idea?"

Luffy sits up, "I could do that?"

"You'd have to sneak...." Zoro shrugs, "but yeah, probably."

"That's not the worst idea...is it? If he just peeked?" Usopp says.

Luffy groans, "Why is this stupid holiday so complicated!"

◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟⠀ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟⠀ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟

Luffy lays on his back, one hand behind his head, the other petting you as you sleep. Your breath ghosts over the scar on his chest. Normally, he sleeps sprawled out on top of you, but tonight he wanted you in his arms. "I'm gonna find out what you got me, and then I'm gonna get you something just as good," he says quietly. A promise.

It's settled then.

Luffy maneuvers from underneath you, quite possibly the quietest he's ever been, and watches as you curl into a ball without him. Like a roly-poly. You're my little roly-poly. He breaks out into a grin at the thought and smothers his laugh with his hand. On the way out he passes all of your knick-knacks and keepsakes, the crew's bounty posters, pressed leaves, and whittled statues from locals. He stared at the empty spot where one of your keepsakes had been. You were so heartbroken when it shattered.

"Just gotta be super quiet and super sneaky," Luffy says to himself while he sneaks down the hall of the Sunny. He has no idea what time it is, except that it's dark and starry outside without a hint of sunrise. "Good time for sneaking!" He giggles. "This is actually gonna be fun!"

Luffy opened the aquarium bar door quietly and shut it behind him. The sight of the room makes him gasp. A tree sparkles and shimmers in the middle of the room; dappled light reflects across the glass.

"Woah! This place looks amazing!" Luffy slaps his hands over his mouth instantly and spins towards the door, waiting tensely.

1....2....3....Nothing.

He lets out a deep sigh and continues to the presents. There are whole bunches of wrapped presents from everyone to everyone.

"Now I just need to find the one that's from Y/N to me." Luffy rubs his hands together and begins to dig through the pile carelessly, saying "nope!" as he moves through each one until he finds an unassuming-looking chest.

From: Y/N To: My captain and beloved

The box is smooth, except a few scratches and dents, and clearly crafted carefully, the shining wood reflects his smile back at him. "Found it!" First, he shakes it, hearing something rattle dully inside. Then, he tries to pry it open with his hands.

It doesn't budge.

He tries harder. And then even harder.

It doesn't creak.

"Damn! What's this box made of!?"

"Step away from the tree and put the present down, bro," Franky says.

Luffy startles, dropping it to the floor. He tries his best innocent face even though he's clearly been caught. "What present?"

Franky just laughs, loud and hearty, as if it isn't the dead of night, "You're full of it, man," he says and walks toward him. "You're not gonna be able to get into that thing. I built it out of the scraps of Adam wood left over, just to keep anybody out of whatever Y/N got you. Including you."

Franky picks up the box and Luffy feels his hope dwindle. "Got half the crew to test it out, see how it's kind of messed up?" He points toward the thin slices. "That's Zoro." And the burn marks. "That's Sanji's attempt." The wood's surface was crackled slightly. "Nami." He went on. "I really tested this thing. Anything in here is going to be safe for at least a lifetime."

"Woah..." Luffy stares at it in amazement. The gears in his brain begin to turn. "Anything?"

"Just about, I mean food would probably rot in here," Franky says thoughtfully. "If you put like glass and then a rock, the glass would probably break if they bumped into each other..."

Luffy's head shot up. "What if something held the rock down?"

"Oh yeah, then everything in there would be super safe."

Luffy's smile lit up his face like dawn. "You wanna help me with my gift for Y/N?"

◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟⠀ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟⠀ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟ ͜ ◞ ྀི◟

Luffy's in a better mood this morning and up before you're even out of bed. He wakes you up by flopping on you, pressing kisses to your face and laughing in your ear.

He barely lets go of you the whole morning, always an arm around your waist, a hand in yours, fingers in your hair, noses touching. You're smothered by an excitable Luffy and all his affection for you. He's practically vibrating by time presents begin to be unwrapped.

"I have to open mine first!" Luffy says. He stretches to grab the box, but otherwise doesn't move, doesn't want you to leave his lap where he can keep you close and occasionally latch his lips to your soft skin.

You expect him to struggle with it, after all, Franky said was damn near impossible to get into. But Luffy opens it easily, doing the trick that Franky showed you.

"Huh?" Luffy holds up a key in front of both of you. "You got me a key?"

You grin. "Yup!" You chirp happily.

Luffy adjusts you so he can see your face, his head cocks to the side. "A key to what?"

Your smile turns devious, "a key to the only thing locked on this ship you'd ever want to open."

Silence has never been so loud as it dawns on the crew where that key goes.

Sanji stares at the key.

Zoro chokes on his sip of sake.

"You're going to kill us all!!" Chopper yells. "WE'RE GONNA STARVE!!!"

"Starve?" Luffy says, staring at the key. You delight in watching his face change from confusion to absolute joy. "THE PANTRY KEY!?" Your laughter confirms. He wraps his arms around you twice over and crashes his lips to yours. "You're the best girlfriend ever!" Luffy hops up, setting you down, and races away.

"Don't worry," Sanji says. "I hid enough that we won't die. We'll change locks at the next island, let him have a little fun."

You smile at Sanji knowingly, "Thanks for being a dear, Sanji."

Sanji sighs around his cigarette, "I can't say no to an angel, even if it's to let our gluttonous captain eat all the food on the ship."

"OH!" Luffy runs back, his face beams like the sun itself. "I have your gift, Y/N! It's the box!"

"After all that you got her a box!?" Nami yells.

"I didn't think you'd come back," you say.

"Course I would, I'll eat later," he says, distractedly looking through all the wrapping and tissue paper. I'll eat later might be one of highest praises Luffy could give and you glow under it. He puts me above food. "This box is really strong! AH!" Luffy holds up the box triumphantly and hands it to you. "Now you can keep all your treasure safe?"

You're still basking in the realization he loves you more than food, so you don't understand. "My treasure?"

"Yeah," he says. "All the pictures and seashells and stuff, this box will keep 'em safe and they won't knock into each other!"

You stare at the box now in your hands. You hadn't thought of that...you were thinking of keeping everyone out and not what you could put in it. But Luffy did.

It's such a Luffy gift to take something discarded and give it a new purpose. To think of a new way to protect the things you hold dear. Luffy isn't good with words or romantic gestures but everything he does is loud, including love. The things that mattered to you, mattered just as much to him just because they were yours.

"And, it's got all our marks on it," Luffy says. He begins to explain each scratch and dent on the box and the fact that's made from the same wood as the Sunny. "This one's mine." He points to two dents overlapping in the shape of a heart. "It's like we're all a part of it too!" He grins.

"Oh, Luffy..." You press your palms to your eyes before hot tears can begin to fall.

"Pretty good, right!?" He says proudly.

You nod. The lump in your throat is too big to speak, and then finally. "Yeah, it's pretty good."

Luffy feels warm against your skin as he wraps his arm around you and pulls you close. There's no box big enough to contain all the love you have for each other, but this is a pretty good start.

[volpeenthusiast]

love me ⚾︎ a. volpe

your life over the years of loving anthony volpe. this is so long bc i have so many thoughts. this is very she fell first he fell harder bc i eat that shit UP

You first meet Anthony Volpe when you’re three months old.

He’s only a week old- your mothers had known each other since freshman orientation in college, and it only made sense for their children to forcibly become friends too. You're blinking at Anthony, who's sleeping in Isabelle's arms.

“She’s going to look just like you,” Isabelle says, and your mother beams. “She’s so beautiful.”

"I don't care what she looks like, as long as she's mine," your mother coos, laughing at how you don't tear your gaze away from the other baby. If you had eyebrows, they'd be furrowed, and you kick your leg in a way that almost looks irritated.

"Look at that," your mother muses, adjusting you in her arms, "have you already made a new friend?"

"I don't want to play tennis," Anthony says, and you frown.

It's hard for your six year old self to comprehend Anthony doing anything without you. You two are always attached, and you expect him to follow you when your parents are signing you up for spring recreational sports.

"I don't want to do t-ball," you retort, hoping that Anthony will look as bothered as you. He doesn't.

"That's fine," your mother interjects, setting a plate of snacks down in between you two. "You can do tennis, and Anthony can do t-ball."

Anthony sticks his tongue out at you, and you attempt to kick him under the table. You only manage to tap his foot.

"Are we still gon' be friends?" you ask, suddenly sounding very concerned. Your mother laughs from where she's washing dishes at the kitchen sink, and you pout at her lack of urgency about the situation.

"Of course you will. You two don't have to play the same sport to be friends," she soothes, and you nod, looking back at Anthony. He's more interested in a pretzel stick than your conversation.

"I'll go to your t-ball if you come to my tennis," you say, sticking your hand out for a shake like you've seen your parents do. Anthony thinks for a moment, then nods.

"Deal," he says, pretzel crumbs flying out of his mouth. In irritation, you tap his foot again.

You and Anthony sit knee to knee on your back porch, eating popsicles that you’d dug out of your freezer. You glance at him, only to find him already looking at you.

“Jenna Macklin asked me about you,” you say, looking down to your flip-flop covered feet. The nail polish that you and Olivia had done earlier in the week is chipping.

“What’d she ask?” Anthony questions, reading the joke on his popsicle stick as you ignore the weird feeling brewing in your stomach.

“She asked if you like anyone,” you say, biting the last of your treat as you swap your stick with his. You sigh, nudging your knee against his. “I think it’s because she likes you.”

You’ve known Anthony your whole life. You’d seen each other in the best of times and the worst of times, and yet your twelve year old self thinks that his answer to this question might determine how you feel about him for the rest of your friendship.

“I like someone,” he nods, kicking the grass under his feet aimlessly, “but not her.”

You relax, not even realizing your shoulders were tense. You nod, folding your arms over your knees and leaning your chin on them.

“Do you want me to tell her?” you ask, unable to look at him anymore. You feel like your skin is breaking out in a rash where your elbows are touching.

“You can if you want,” he shrugs, scratching at his forehead, “I don’t care what she thinks.”

You wait for a moment, listening to the cicadas chirp in the bushes nearby. “Who do you like?”

It’s Anthony’s turn to tense now, and you almost laugh at how scared he looks. He chews on the inside of his cheek, and you watch a butterfly dip behind his head.

“Nevermind,” you say, rising to your feet. “It doesn’t matter. As long as it’s not Jenna.”

Anthony’s brows narrow, and he stands up to meet you. He’d hit a growth spurt last summer, and now he's almost a foot taller than you. He taps your foot, and you don’t tap back.

“Why can’t it be Jenna?”

You pause, hesitating for a moment. “I don’t know. Forget I said anything.”

Anthony watches as you start up the steps into your house, and he grabs your arm. You turn, feeling your cheeks grow warm at him touching you.

“Why not Jenna?”

You pause for a moment. Jenna was a volleyball player who had every boy she could ever want at her feet. You were a tennis player who got bad sunburns and could barely keep your best friend off of a baseball field long enough to hold a conversation.

“She’s a bitch,” you shrug, heading back into your house. “C’mon. Let’s go play catch or something.”

Anthony drops the conversation, seeing that you’re clearly not into it. You don’t notice the way he watches you, or how you tap back when you lock your front door to head to the baseball field.

You’re sixteen when you watch your parents' wedding tape.

Anthony’s parents had left town for the weekend, leaving him and Olivia alone. Your mother had offered your house as a place for either sibling to stay if they wanted, and Anthony had come over the second his parents’ car was out of the driveway.

You’d been going through old VHS tapes in your basement when you’d come across your parents’ wedding tape. You’d watched it a handful of times before, mostly when you were younger and you believed that some kind of fairytale love would be attainable.

“How long ago was this?” Anthony asks, and you hum in thought, moving to lay on your stomach in front of the TV. He mirrors you, noticing how your eyes don’t leave the screen.

“They got married three years before I was born. So twenty, I guess,” you respond, leaning up on your elbows. Your parents are having their first dance, and you smile at your dad crying.

Anthony likes your parents a lot. He doesn’t really like them enough to watch them get married, though. He belatedly realizes that he’s only doing it for you. He can’t help but let his gaze drift towards you next to him. You’re far enough away that your shoulders don’t touch, but he almost wishes they would. You always smell nice, a scent he can’t ever pinpoint.

"What song is that?" he asks, and you tilt your head towards the screen as you try to listen better. You look over at him, brows knitted.

"It's Elvis," you decide, going back into your earlier position. "My mom said it's called Love Me, or something."

The song is nice. Your carpet burns against Anthony's elbows, and he tries not to notice how you look so much like your mom when she was younger. He blinks to try and force the images of you in a wedding dress out of his mind.

“Isn’t it so beautiful,” you murmur, almost in awe as you turn your head towards Anthony, “to be loved like that?”

Anthony feels like you’ve stabbed him through the chest. You look so hopeful, your gaze full of obvious admiration towards your parents. There’s a smattering of freckles across your nose from where you’d gotten tan playing tennis that summer, and Anthony thinks he could count them if he leans closer.

“Yeah,” he breathes out, swallowing harshly as you turn back towards the screen. You don’t notice the way that he continues to look at you even when you’ve turned away. He taps your foot, and you tap back.

Your last semester of high school is when you realize that you and Anthony aren’t kids anymore.

It should’ve clicked for you much earlier than a week before you two graduated high school, but everything had started to feel serious. You were looking at colleges and jobs out of state. Anthony committed to Vanderbilt, and you tried to ignore the pit in your chest when you thought about him leaving.

You two are lying on your high school tennis courts, tossing a ball between each other. You’d been hitting around for a while, but Anthony was slightly terrible at keeping the ball in play.

“My mom wants to know what you’re doing after graduation,” you say, tipping your head towards Anthony as you toss the ball. "I think we're gonna have a small lunch or something, if you want to come."

He looks back at you, squinting in the late afternoon sun. He throws the ball with a huff. ���I don’t know. Stuff with my family, I guess.”

You nod, catching the ball. You sit up, looking down at Anthony who’s still laying down.

“I have something to tell you,” you say, voice nearly a whisper. Anthony sits up, looking slightly concerned at your tone.

“What is it?” he asks, no longer concerned with the ball. He taps his foot against yours, and you tap back.

“I committed to Duke.”

Anthony gapes at you, reaching out to grab your shoulders. “Shut the fuck up. You’re kidding.”

You shake your head, unable to stop the smile that’s bright on your face. Anthony looks just as excited as you, and you choke out a laugh.

“D1 tennis, AV,” you laugh, grabbing his hands that are on your shoulders. “Jesus, I haven’t told anybody about that.”

Anthony’s eyebrows nearly shoot off of his forehead. “Nobody?”

You shake your head. “Nobody. I got the email last week. I just didn’t want to tell anybody because-“

You pause. You think over your words for a minute, letting your hands drop into your lap.

“It would make everything real, you know?” you murmur, wringing your hands in your lap. “We’re leaving. We’re not gonna be three houses down anymore, or spend all of our time together. It’s just shitty. I don’t want to leave you.”

You could’ve expanded on the truth a bit more, but you think your little spiel did the trick. You’re going to miss Anthony more than anything else about New Jersey. You won’t mince words- there’s not enough days left in the summer for that.

Anthony pauses, his smile fading slightly. He nods in understanding, folding his legs so he’s sitting the same as you.

“But look at what you’re gonna do,” he responds, smile returning tenfold, “Duke isn’t some community college. You’re gonna be surrounded by the best players in the country, and you’re probably gonna beat a lot of them.”

Your smile turns shaky, and you duck your head before he can see you cry. "Yeah. North Carolina's kinda far, no?"

Anthony shakes his head, not commenting on your tears. "Nah. A day trip. We'll be a bit farther from each other at school, but I'll make the drive to come see you."

You huff a laugh. You know he's lying- you'd looked up the distance last night. Duke is seven hours from home, and nine hours from Vanderbilt. You don't have it in yourself to correct him.

You finally look back up at him. He looks just as internally upset as you, and it comforts you somehow. You sigh, tapping his foot. He taps back.

"Make me a promise," you say, and he nods. "That no matter what happens, we'll stay friends."

"You've known me since I was born," he responds, holding out his arms for a hug, "you're not getting rid of me that easily."

You and Anthony miss each other's milestones the next few years.

You're not with him when he signs to the Yankees because it was move in day. You were devastated- you'd called him sobbing, saying just as much.

"I'm so proud of you," you'd heaved, cries echoing throughout your dorm, "I'm so sorry I couldn't be there."

It evens out when he misses your college graduation because he was across the country playing in California.

"I'm such a shitty friend," he'd sighed, leaning against the wall outside of the locker room.

"You're not," you'd assured, stepping out into the hallway so you don't disturb the guests at your graduation party. "You were playing. I don't expect you to drop everything for me."

"I would've," he responds, tone growing softer. He can't see your smile, but he can hear it in your next sentence.

"I know. And I would too."

Silence drapes over the line, and you bite your bottom lip.

"I really miss you," you'd said, like it was a secret. Anthony feels something loosen in his chest, and he covers his face with his free hand.

"I miss you, too. I'll be home for a bit in the summer, okay? You have to come see me."

You feel tears burn in your eyes, but you swallow them back. "Okay. Don't forget about me in New York, okay?"

I could never, he thinks.

Your tennis career manages to bud outside of college.

Playing one singles since your sophomore year really pads your resume, and you were greeted with lots of offers from professional coaches after your graduation.

You're not sure that it's something you want to do. You watch Anthony play baseball nearly every night, and you feel nothing but exhilaration watching him in the big leagues. But is it something you want for yourself?

You don't dwell on it often. You have a steady job, friends, and a nice future for yourself in North Carolina. If nothing else comes from your sport, you're okay with it.

Homesickness had started to invade, you'd noticed. It wasn't even like you were homesick for New Jersey. Your parents visited frequently, and you'd taken a handful of trips back home since your graduation.

You're homesick for Anthony.

You see the Yankees Instagram account post photos and videos with him, but it doesn't feel real. That version isn't your Anthony. You wish sometimes that he was close enough to touch. Not even to touch, but to see. You'd kill for a conversation that wasn't a phone call.

It's on one of these lonely nights that you decide to call in reinforcements. Ignoring the fact that the Yankees had finished up their game just an hour ago, you dial one person who you know can help you.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Austin. Can I ask you a favor?"

You stay in New York for a week.

You get to watch the Subway Series, which is amazing in its own right. Anthony offers you tickets in the suite with the other wives and family members, but you decline. You want to be in the crowd.

Besides, you're not his girlfriend. No reason to pretend.

Game three is amazing for the team, an electric feeling in the crowd from fans and players alike. You scream your lungs out at Bellinger's home run, and wonder if Anthony is intimidated in the dugout. Probably not.

Although, it's not lost on you how stressed Anthony might be feeling about how he played.

None of that matters to you, though, when you're led onto the field by security after the game. You're incredibly nervous, stomach churning as you mentally prepare yourself to meet Anthony's teammates. All of your rehearsed greetings are thrown out the window when you emerge onto the field and see him outside of the dugout.

It pains you when you realize how long it's actually been since you've seen him in person. He'd built up more muscle, grown a few more inches, and had solidified himself as part of the Yankees roster. He looks nothing like the Anthony that would tap your foot in English just to get a rise out of you.

You freeze when he turns to look at you, as if sensing you on the field. You feel like a little girl again, only six years old and stupidly in love with your best friend.

He closes the distance before you can blink, and then you're in his arms.

He's sweating and holding you like he's afraid you're not real. You blink back tears you didn't know were falling, reciprocating the hug. You squeeze him, harder than you probably should, pressing your face into his shoulder.

"You did so good," you wheeze, feeling the tears falling despite your best efforts, "Anthony, I can't... I'm so proud of you."

He's laughing into your neck, the noise and action warming your skin. You pull back to look at his face, fingers shaking when he wipes your tears away with his thumb.

"You flatter me," he murmurs, and you nearly sob again at hearing his voice in person. You catch his hand that's wiping your tears and squeeze it, holding it to your chest.

"This probably isn't the place to be telling you this," you admit, and you see him smiling before you even get the words out, "but I missed you so much it was making me sick."

"Me too. Every day, I missed you," he nods, almost like if he doesn't respond he'll never get to speak to you again.

It goes quiet between you two, though it shouldn't be. There are so many things he could say to you, and none seem appropriate.

I'm in love with you. You're my best friend. I called your mom to ask about you because I hadn't heard from you in a week. I have pictures of us up in my apartment. I told the team we're dating. Austin knows I'm lying.

Instead, he settles for tapping his foot against yours. You smile, ignoring the new onslaught of tears as you press your face into his jersey.

-

robin's notes: okay yes childhood friends to lovers! trust this fic is NOT over. there will be a part two i just wanted to split it up bc it's going to be LONG. hope u enjoyed <3 taglist: @benarroz @maudesgf @chuppachuus

[cocopuffsstillinside]

So this is my 6 year old, Lily.

For her birthday (which was several months ago, but I wasn't on tumblr much at that point, so I didn't share, but now I feel compelled to share her awesomeness) she asked for two things - a Nico di Angelo teddy and a stygian sword.

Of course, these are not things one can just buy off the shelf, so once again, a very nerdy, creative, and determined mama set to work.

Making him was... stressful and tiring but so worth it, despite that fact, this teddy has become the bane of my existence. He has to go EVERYWHERE with her. These pictures were taken on the way back from our trip to London to see the #PercyJacksonMusical. During which she made him give running commentary on what was funny, inaccuracies, and general opinions. If she can't find him at bedtime, the house bares a striking resemblance to the underworld riots. She has had him for 4 month and he already looks like the toy completed the fictional quests himself.

Then there is the sword.

My sibling and I started with a basic foam sword and turned it into the one in the video. Safe to say she was a very happy girl. The notches were placed purely cause it looked too boring without them, but my daughter came up with a theory on how they happened:

"He was fighting a monster and hit a rock. Then he thought it looked cool, so he did it again." - Lily, the six-year-old PJO fanatic.

For world book day, she insisted on going as Nico. When I said she couldn't take her sword, she pouted and put it down. Them immediately picked up her bow and arrow and said, "Fine, I'll go as Bianca." Once I explained it was no weapons at all, she switched back to Nico.

I would like to note that no one in her class knew who she was (cause what six year old would? Other than mine...) yet it did not discourage her and she even got up in front of the class and told them all about Nico and the monsters he fights and his boyfriend Will who can "sing and glow and heal like Rapunzel". Her teacher said she had them all hooked.

A week later, I had a Dad come up to me at collection and thank me for letting her go as Nico, cause now his son was wrapped in the show and they had started reading the books as his bedtime story. He had been trying to get his son more involved with reading, but he just didn't have any interest in the younger kids' books, apparently. As of 2 months later, (He is giving me updates in the playground every time they start a new book) they are now on BotL and his little boy has never been so enthusiastic about reading or bedtime before, and the dad has started to get a little invested in the series as well.

She has also come to me with very serious questions, such as: "If Nico is the son of Hades, can he eat the underworld food?" I always happily prod and poke at the questions, trying to help her form her own conclusion. Which for this particular one was "No. He was born in the human world. He just eats the pomegranate seeds. He takes happy meals with him before he goes down." And honestly, I can't fault that logic.

Lily also seems to have a death wish of some kind as she regularly yells at thunder clouds telling Zues to "Stop wingeing!"

For her birthday, as you can probably tell or even guess, she wanted everything PJO themed but heavy on the Nico part. This involved way too much blue food, like these birthday breakfast pancakes...

There was blue lemonade that sparkled with mica powder. There were blue sweets, and if it came in a packet, it was only allowed to be a blue packet. All the presents wrapped in blue or black paper and skeleton decorations littered the place like pop-up Halloween store.

And finally her cake.

The inside was blue, of course (I still don't think my toilet has recovered from the copious amount of blue dye). The decorations are all made of chocolate, either solid or modelling. After blowing out the candles, she politely asked if she could have the trident. I smiled and pulled it free, telling her to be careful because there was a wooden stick in the centre. Taking it, she promptly raised it in the air and yelled, "THE SEA DOESN'T LIKE TO BE RESTRAINED!" Then hid behind the sofa giggling as she ate it. I asked why she was hiding, and stated very plainly, "Poisidon will be mad if he knows I'm eating his trident, so I have to do it secretly."

There really is no point to this post other than to state how amazing this girl is and how proud I am to call her my daughter!

I suppose if you want a moral or something, it would be to just let them be who or what they want. The kids that are free from pressure are often the most amazing to witness grow.

[neonhippiegames]

obligatory Emery appreciation post

Love me a character that's hard on the outside but sweet on the inside. Shaped by the circumstances that made them but soft enough I can make them melt <3333

(One of my favourite tropes)

Anyway it says your scenario asks are open and I have a question for you (I saw this on another blog and had to snatch it):

How would the ROs react to find a usually stoic MC crying? (bonus points if its over something like a kids' movie, missing their parents, or a cat trusting them)

LOVE FOR EMERY LOVE FOR EMERY<33 it makes me vibrate with happiness ^^

And o-ho! This is one of the few scenarios I had saved from last year. Unfortunately the answers aren't about crying over something silly BUT if you'll oblige me, I'm gonna rework and post them anyway otherwise I'll never have a good excuse to put them back up!

How would the ROs react to finding a usually stoic MC crying?

Ramón:

He has intimate experience seeing MC suffer and it still never fails to piss him off. Piss him off about the world, the shit MC went through, the shit he had to watch them go through. Still, he’s almost relieved they’re letting themself feel something. That cool front they put up when they’re feeling down is a damn impressive mask, but it’s a mask all the same. He’s not going to encourage them to pick it up now that it’s finally slipped. He’ll wrap a blanket around them, put his chin on their shoulder from behind while they sit together in silence. It's just what he imagined doing every night in that cell, but never could.

Ry:

He doesn’t know what to do at first, freezing in place, chest tight. A thousand questions form on his lips; his first impulse is to gather all the information he can. What's cracked their shell like this? How can he fix the pain he can feel rolling off them in waves? ...But MC's crying, and it's like his old instincts are being overwritten in real time. He can't turn this into an interrogation. Instead, he finds himself crouching before them where they sit, his hands finding theirs and pressing them to his lips. "Tell me what you need," he practically begs. He'll put the decision in their hands. If they want him to stay, he'll stay. If they want him to fight, he'll go and fight. He's at their disposal, completely.

Dom:

He’s respected their strength for so long that this completely blindsides him. He’ll lurk for a long time without revealing himself, watching. Adjusting himself to this new facet of MC. Wondering why it doesn’t fill him with disgust the way crying people usually do. A particularly loud sniffle lurches something in his chest, and he starts into action. He’ll lift their head, kiss the tears from their face, murmuring some comforting words that've never crossed his lips before, and they feel empty to his jaded mind, but he knows the words don’t matter so much as the fact that he's here saying them. Now he’s seen the vulnerable side of MC, he’s surprised to learn that he respects them all the more for it.

Emery:

Er. Oh god. Her already-large eyes go impossibly wide. She'll look around at first like this is some kind of setup. Shit, this is real. She stops and thinks. If anyone caught Emery crying, she’d be mortified. And shit, what could she even say to make this better? 'I’m sorry your life sucks’? Empty platitudes that might just piss them off? No. MC came to this place to be alone with their thoughts. What they really need is something to take their mind off it afterwards. So Emery sets up that romantic date that she's been saying no to for weeks, and hopes MC won’t make too big a deal of it. She’ll gently (and slightly awkwardly) approach the subject after the date, to see if MC wants to talk about it. But no pressure. She sure knows how important privacy can be, even from those we love most.

Zoia:

Her person is crying? Her person. Is crying. What the fuck? She saw them just a few minutes ago. What, did they scurry away to go cry in a corner by themselves? "No, baby. This ain’t how we do this," she softly scolds. She takes them by the hand and leads them over to a comfortable seat, where she sets herself down beside them, a hand on their cheek. "All the shit we been through together and you wanna do this alone?" She’s seen it a thousand times before—people thinking they’re weak for breaking down, for letting others look after them. Even if MC yelled at her to go away she’d refuse, because they stick together no matter what. Not fucking negotiable. And maybe now the floodgates have opened, MC will finally start to talk about everything that’s been bogging them down.

Aura:

"Woah. Rough day?" she’ll ask, taken aback by this unexpected turn of events. She'll cross over to MC to wrap herself around them. She remembers all the times MC walked in on a similar scene: Aura, black makeup smeared everywhere, burying her head in her hands so they wouldn’t see her face. Compassion; that was key. That was what MC taught her with each instance of her breaking down, refusing the comfort, denying the pain—you don't have to fix things to make them better. That’s what she never understood before MC came along. "Let’s be miserable together for a while, huh?" Aura pulls them onto to the bed and snuggles into them, burying her face into their back. She’ll apologise for the makeup stains later.

[lunshimmer]

she looks like the real thing

summary: cat just broke up with ellie. joel's a little worried about her

In no world was Joel Miller a perfect person, let alone a perfect father.

He tried. He really did. He'd sworn to himself that when Ellie reached her mid-to-late teens, he would do right by her. He would do better than what he could do with Sarah. He'd do better than his father before him.

Ellie was... different. She sure wasn't anything like Sarah. Ellie was a firecracker, hot-headed, often spoke before she thought. Sarah was quieter, polite, and (mostly) followed the rules. Ellie knew there were rules in place. She had just decided to ignore most of them.

Joel didn't mind that Ellie was different from Sarah. It didn't change the way he loved her one bit. He wasn't entirely sure how to parent someone of Ellie's traits. By no means did Joel think Ellie was a bad kid-- the thought hadn't ever crossed his mind. But, when Ellie starts experimenting with weed and booze and girls, Joel finds himself at a loss.

---

That afternoon had been a blur. Ellie had come home, tears flowing and muttering something about fuck her and fuck that with a bottle of alcohol in hand, and promptly locked herself in her bedroom. Joel curses himself for even installing that lock on her bedroom door in the first place.

"Ellie, open this damn door!" He thunders, fist making contact with the teenager's locked door in a frightening boom.

"Fuck you!"

"Ellie Miller, I swear to God I will blow this door right off the hinges--" Click. Thank god.

Joel opens the door hesitantly. He sees the usual; piles of clothes mountain-high near the edges of the room, the sound of Radiohead quietly drifting from the record player. Radiohead was never a good sign.

He pauses, eyes finally meeting Ellie. She's burrowed into her blanket like a cocoon, Converse-clad feet hanging off the bed at an angle. "I'm, uh.. sorry. For yellin'." Joel speaks, shutting the door with a soft click. He cautiously steps around the piles of things on her floor and makes his way to the edge of her bed. "Can I sit?"

"Knock yourself out."

Joel nudges her feet and she moves over ever so slightly. He sits, reaching to pull the blanket off Ellie's head. The look on her face is pitiful. A frown appears on Joel's lips. "What's a'matter, baby girl?"

"You wouldn't understand." Apocalypse or not, it seems the language of teenagers hasn't changed one bit.

Joel's eyes scan Ellie's face. She shifts, moving to lay her head on Joel's thigh. He can tell from the look in her eyes that she's very tipsy, if not completely drunk. "Try me."

"You don't know relationships. You're too grumpy for anyone to put up with." Joel raises an eyebrow. "No offense." She finishes.

"Well smartass, I'll have you know I was married once." Shock evinces on Ellie's face as she not-so-gracefully sits up. "Oh, don' act all surprised."

"Who got conned into havin' to put up with you all the time?" Ellie says, a wide grin forming on her lips. Joel doesn't even care that she's poking fun at a subject he'd rather not discuss-- just to see Ellie smile was enough.

"Her name was Alison." Joel crosses his arms across his chest. "Sarah's mom."

Ellie's face drops. "Oh, shit, you don't have to--"

Joel shakes his head. "S'alright." he continues, "We hooked up awhile in high school. I was stupid. She got pregnant with Sarah at eighteen."

Ellie listens. She doesn't make smartass comments; not when it pertains to Sarah.

"We got married. Tried'ta tough it out for Sarah. Got divorced when she was aroun' five." Joel sighs. A small laugh escapes his lips. "She hated my guts."

Ellie giggles-- there's that smile again Joel loves so much. "Never saw'er again after the Outbreak. Assumin' she's prob'ly passed on at this point." He finishes.

Ellie stalls, face blank as she stares at the wall in front of her. For a moment, Joel's afraid she's gonna toss her cookies right on the carpet. "Damn. Now my thing seems really dumb compared to that." She lets out a quiet laugh.

"Hey, s'not dumb. You're goin' through somethin' too-- ain't nothin' to be ashamed of." He replies, a hand falling on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "S'this about Cat?"

At the mention, Ellie falls backwards on the bed in an exaggerated gesture. "Man, fuck Cat."

A smirk plays on Joel's lips. He sighs. "What, did y'all break up?"

"Yeah. She dumped me. In front of Dina and Jesse. How fucked is that?"

A sympathetic look crosses Joel's face. "S'pretty fucked." He pauses. "M'sorry, kiddo."

"Oh, shut up. Don't act like you'll miss her." Ellie scoffs.

She's right. Joel wasn't very fond of Cat in the slightest. She drank, smoked, did tattoos on dumb schmucks in Jackson who were stupid enough to let her get close to them with a needle (minus Ellie). On top of that, her mother was weird and not friendly when Joel would try to get to know her because hey, I'd prefer to know the mom of the girl my daughter is dating. Joel was convinced that Cat brought out the worst in Ellie. Good riddance.

"Not gonna disagree with you there," He sighs. leaning back slightly on the bed. "Y'need anything? Want me to make y'somethin' t'eat?"

She shakes her head. "I just want this to stop hurting as much as it does." Ellie sits back up, Joel following her lead. He gently wraps his arms around her shoulders, holding her close to his chest. He presses a kiss to the top of Ellie's hair. "S'okay. Everything'll work out. Maybe s'for the best."

Ellie lets out a laugh through quiet sobs. "Fuck you, old man. 'Course you'd say that."

Joel laughs. He doesn't disagree.

---

Later that night, Tommy and Maria come over, Maria's famous chili in tow. Ellie scarfs down two bowls of it. Joel's just happy to see her eat. Ellie had convinced everyone into letting her watch The Brave Little Toaster again for the hundredth time (to quote Ellie, "I love that stupid fuckin' toaster") and had passed out not even twenty minutes in. So much for the dumb little toaster.

Joel shuts the television off with a soft click of the remote. He joins Tommy and Maria in the kitchen after covering Ellie with her designated blanket.

He pours three glasses of whiskey. Tommy takes one with a nod and Joel passes the other to Maria. "The hell was up with her today?"

Joel sighs. "Guess Cat broke up with her. Did it in front of Dina and Jesse. Reckon it embarrassed the hell outta her."

Tommy swirls the liquid in the glass. "Least she ain't comin' around no more." He downs the rest of it. "Fuckin' hate that little asshole."

Joel stifles a laugh. "Yeah, can't say I was her biggest fan either."

Maria sighs slightly, then sips from her glass. "I'm a little worried about her. Ellie, I mean." The ring on her left hand clinks against the glass as she sets it back down. "Hasn't seemed like herself lately."

Joel looks back at Ellie, still snoring softly from her spot on the couch. The look on her face almost reminds him of when she was laying on that operating table back in Salt Lake. He forces the thought out of his mind. "Yeah, ain't gon' disagree with you there." He takes a seat at the table. "She came home drunk today. Prob'ly high s'well."

Maria's lips form a thin line on her face. Tommy frowns. "She ain't tried to.. do anythin' to herself?" he asks, hands clasped around his glass.

It takes Joel a minute to understand. "What, y'mean like.. no. No." he looks at his hands. "Ain't seen anythin' physical, if that's what ur'e askin'."

"Didn' think she would." Tommy responds, shaking his head. "Just worried s'all."

Joel nods. " 'Preciate y'all lookin' out for her." He glances to the clock on the wall. 11:28 pm. Joel pushes out his chair, palms flat on the table as he stands. "Better get to helpin' her to bed."

Tommy nods, helping Joel collect the glass cups and place them in the sink to be done later. Joel walks his brother and his sister in law to the door, whispering a quick thanks for dinner and get home safe.

—-

Joel pulls the comforter over Ellie's small frame after setting her down in bed. She stirs slightly.

"Easy, baby girl. Y'up?" He asks.

Ellie responds with a small yeah. Joel sits on the edge of her bed once more, looking down into her eyes. "Y'ain't ever tried'ta.. hurt 'urself, have you?"

She looks confused, sits up. "What? Why?" Ellie rubs tiredly at her eyes.

"Just worried, s'all." He frowns. "Been actin' not like 'urself lately."

"I'm fine." She answers back. Joel could've predicted that one.

"Well, y'can tell me if 'ure not."

"I know." Her response is quiet, genuine. She knows.

Ellie lays her head on the pillow behind her. Joel smooths his hand overtop of her wild hair.

He stands, quietly striding to the doorway. He watches her in silence for a moment before turning off the light. "G'night, kiddo."

---

ao3 saw it first !!! @/lunshimmer <3

title from "fake plastic trees" by radiohead

[bravetimetravellingaussie]

Title tbd

chapter 1

summary: college au buddie

warnings: none

Two energy drinks and an hour into a lecture on molecular biology and Eddie couldn't focus. He could hear the words but they went in one ear and out the other.

He glanced across at the sleeping figure obscured in a hoodie a couple rows in front of him. He was jealous. He'd give anything to be able to just sleep. Preferably for at least a year.

But then the jealousy morphed into annoyance and anger. Because he recognised the figure. He'd recognise him anywhere.

Frat boy Buck, proud owner of a football scholarship and a careless attitude. Eddie couldn't help a little smirk at the thought of the hangover that Buck must be nursing. He imagined him having the worst possible migraine. And it made him feel a little better. Somewhere from behind somebody was throwing little balls of rolled up paper at Buck. That made him feel even better.

Eddie took his time packing up his notes after the lecture. None of it had gotten into his brain but he had made decent notes until they devolved into doodles. He kept his eyes on Buck, wondering how long it would take him to wake up.

He got his answer when everyone had left the lecture hall and Buck was still there. Eddie hesitated, sighed, walked over to Buck and clapped his hands right next to his ear.

Buck startled awake. That's when Eddie noticed his bruised eye.

Worst possible migraine alright.

Buck looked around, disorientated.

"Uh, thanks? For waking me." Buck blinked a couple times. "Sorry, I don't know your name."

"Eddie."

"I'm Buck."

"Yeah, I know. Nasty bruise you got there, Buck. You alright?" Eddie wasn't a complete monster, it was a concerningly dark bruise.

"Oh," Buck glanced down at the sleeve of his hoodie and Eddie noticed the pale, almost skin-coloured smudge there. "Does it look that bad?"

"Yeah," Eddie replied with a nod. "What happened?"

"I- I had a bit too much fun with a girl who forgot to tell me she had a boyfriend," Buck admitted sheepishly.

"Ah, the boyfriend found you, huh?"

"Yup." Buck grimaced. "Migraine."

"I'll bet."

"Well, thanks again," Buck said, getting up to go. But then he lost his balance and grabbed Eddies shoulders to steady himself. Once he's regained his balance he quickly pulled his hands away and sat down again.

"You sure the guy who socked you didn't give you a concussion?" Eddie asked, crouching down next to Buck. "Can you follow my finger?"

"I'm not concussed, I just stood up too quick. Trust me, I'd be able to tell if I was concussed." Buck stood up again, slower this time. "You- you know, because of, uh, football, yeah, you know a lot of concussions in football."

"Okay?" Eddie wasn't convinced but what could he do? "At least let me walk you to wherever you're going."

"Oh," the sound was soft and surprised coming from Buck. "I'll be fine, you don't have to do that."

"Suit yourself, I'll just follow you like a stalker," Eddie said.

"Okay, it's not far. You can walk with me like a not-stalker." Buck said with a smile that Eddie managed to catch just before Buck pulled his hood over his head.

"So, Eddie, you from Los Angeles?" Buck asked once they'd left the lecture hall.

"Nope, El Paso, Texas."

"Cool. I'm from Pennsylvania. You got any family here?"

"Look, I appreciate the attempt at small talk but I'm fine walking in silence."

"Oh, okay, sorry."

Eddie felt guilt akin to kicking a puppy when he saw the dejected look on Buck's face.

"I'm just not a very open book kind of guy, sorry."

"No, that's alright. Sorry if it felt like I was prying."

They walked the rest of the way in awkward silence.

"Well, this is me," Buck said, stopping in front of a big house. "Thank you for walking with me."

"No problem."

Eddie watched Buck disappear inside and shook his head as he turned away.

Eddie sighed internally. No more directing all of his anger at life at some random frat boy.

@lesbi-hen @weirdoperson19

[kyntypes]

I miss my old system.

I miss my protectors, especially our gatekeeper-protector, Celeste.

I miss our system children. Kie... :( I miss her so much. She was so sweet.

I miss them switching in when things got rough.

I miss them solving math problems before I could even solve them.

I miss telling them goodnight every night before bed.

I miss our inner world.

I miss their voices.

I miss Ren. I miss Kienan. I miss Kieran. I miss Celeste. I miss Kaitlyn. I miss my fictives. I miss introjects that came from out of the blue.

I miss our handwriting.

I miss the inner world gifts I'd get from them. Kaitlyn gave me a teddy bear to hold while I was fronting.

I miss their stupid jokes.

Being ex-plural is so weird. It's so weird seeing other plurals speak about their systems, which are growing, and having fun, and I can't get that anymore. My alters have served their purpose. They started to fade as my feelings towards the trauma that formed them started to go away, gradually. It eventually faded to radio-silence. They're gone. Kieran is gone. Might as well be dead. Celeste is gone. Also might as well be dead. I doubt they're dormant. I remember I was able to clearly see my dormant alters and they'd appear as though they were sleeping in the inner world. They wouldn't be able to be interacted with when approached. I would've seen them by now. They aren't there. I'm too afraid to even try to access the inner world again. If it even exists anymore.

If I could tell them, I'd tell them I miss them. I miss everything about them. Even though switching sucked, I miss that. Switching headaches sucked, the confusion sucked, the constant internal dialogue sucked, but I still miss that. Hell, I even miss feeling blurry. I miss feeling like a conglomerate of them all. I miss the persecutors. I miss the alters randomly appearing and then disappearing, never to be seen again. (By me, at least. My other alters would often be seeing them, according to them.)

Hah, I looked back on old messages with my alters, and I noticed... they all had a sense of humor. I remember cooking with my main protector, Kieran. He hated Spam meat. I love it. I love frying it up and eating it with an egg. I remember him being co-con with me, and being grossed out the entire time. I remember still being co-con with him, and he had to sit and eat it with me. It was a struggle, since he hates it, and I really love it, but I think we did it in the end.

Hah... imagine mourning over someone who probably never even externally existed... couldn't be me... /sarcasm/

The grief has gotten to a point where I'm willing to actually try to "will" them back into existence. I've seriously thought about being willogenic just so I could get them back. It wouldn't be the same, though. Imagine a clone, essentially. A clone isn't the same, no matter what. It won't have the same feeling simply because you know it's a clone. Almost like a shell, even though it can be filled with the same familiar personality and everything. It's just not the same.

Lyka also feels like she's fading. I never even met her, but I think she'll be gone soon. All I know is that she's a lycanthrope, with gray fur, blue eyes, with a human form where she has blonde hair. I think her name may actually be Ophelia. Her name starts with an 'O', I think something told me it did, but perhaps I'm assigning names based on nothing. She felt like she was there, but not aware of her existence. I fear she'll also fade and we won't ever have a chance to "meet". She's my first plural experience in a long time since my old system, so I cherished her presence.

Sigh. Maybe in another lifetime, I'll see my old system members again. I know you guys won't hear it, but I miss you guys. I still remember the little things, and I thank you for being the light I needed during such a terrible period of my life. Thank you for being my guide(s). I won't forget you guys, ever. I promise.

[m-jelly]

hiiii I love your fics!! can I ask for one? 🥺 a reader who's a tomboy and feels insecure about not being feminine enough for levi. btw your post about thinking about him in very romantic scenarios but at also the filthiest is so real. that man could take me on a coffee date and when we get home he just destroys me lol

As a teen, and even now, I was the typical tomboy skater girl with long hair! (showing my age now) I would listen to Blink 182, bowling for Soup, sum 41 etc hang around with the boys, skate and just play a lot of video games. Always had more guy friends too and I worried often my bf's thought I was too much of a tomboy, but they were lovely and Levi would be too! Yes, he'd so take you on a date and then ravage you when he gets you home hehe

My cute badass

Levi x fem reader

Modern AU, fluff, romance, supportive Levi, insecure reader, tomboy reader.

You start to feel a little insecure about how you look and act believing that Levi probably wants someone more feminine, but Levi showers you with affection and gives you a little reassuring boost.

"Why is every rom-com about some cool girl or nerd changing how she is and looks to appease a guy?" You chimed feeling a little annoyed.

A friend of your friend laughed. "Uh, maybe because guys want a nice girly girl? I mean, he'd never want tomboy." She checked her lipstick in her hand mirror. "The popular girl and the girl who gets the guy are always ultra fem. Sexy women are ultra fem." She slapped her case closed and eyed you. "Just face facts." She laughed. "I feel sorry for any guy dating a girl who's a bit of a tomboy."

Your friend sighed. "You're being a dick."

"I'm being honest."

"Dick." She smiled at you. "Don't listen, okay? She's jealous of you and that you have a smoking hot boyfriend." She winked. "Speaking of, he's here to pick you up."

You turned to see Levi walking over to you in his bad boy get-up: ripped jeans, biker boots, leather jacket, and low-cut top. "Levi."

Levi waved to you. "Hey, brat. Movie good?"

"Mm."

He pulled you close and kissed your cheek. "That bad, huh?"

Your friend laughed. "Typical rom-com, but on the more predictable side."

"Ah, noted. Slight disappointment and more watch-at-home vibe than watch at a cinema."

She tapped her nose. "You got it." She waved to you. "Anyway, I'm heading off. See you."

You waved bye. "Bye, I'll text you." You lowered your hand and sighed. "Levi?"

He looked down at you. "Yeah?"

You lowered your head. "Um..."

He gave you a squeeze. "How about we go to my car and you can tell me all about what's in your pretty head, okay?"

You nodded. "Yeah..."

He took your hand and walked with you to his car. He let you get In first before getting in and driving home. "So, what's on your mind?"

You released a long sigh. "I...I feel like...maybe I'm too much of a tomboy and that I'm not...feminine enough for you?"

"Says who?"

You frowned and glanced at Levi. "Huh?"

He flicked his gaze over to you. "Who sets the rules of what you should and shouldn't be with me?"

"Well...no one?"

"Exactly." He parked up at home and turned in his seat to face you. "Also, I'm pretty sure I fell for you and want to ravage the sexy woman in front of me. You are cute, pretty, sexy and adorable all wrapped into one. You have no idea how sexy you are to me. I love you for who you are, don't go changing that because of some stuck-up shithead who's not even your friend and friends with your friend."

You felt your cheeks heat up. "Levi...you...I love you so much."

He leaned over and kissed you. "Plus, who's got the handsome boyfriend who is very lovesick over his girlfriend?"

You giggled. "Me."

"Damn right. Tch, I should give that dickhead a piece of my mind."

You cupped his face. "There's no need, but I appreciate it." You leaned over and kissed him. "I love you so much, you're incredible and I feel blessed every day I'm with you."

"Oi, that's my line." He turned his head and kissed your hand. "Please don't change who you are, okay? If you need to talk more, I'm always here for you." He smiled at you. "Want to play some video games together and then tomorrow go to the skate park?"

Your eyes lit up. "Yes!"

"Good."

Tags under

@ladycheesington @levisbrat25 @nyxiieluna @li-anne @galactict3a @youre-ackermine @thebobaprincess @2moth-anon2 @cypidity @nbinairyn @bts-spnlvr12 @darkstarlight82 @emilyyyy-08 @levistealeaf @pelicanpizza @hideandgopeep @notgoodforlife @demonic-bird @searriously @dreamerofthewest @abiatackerman @minminroie

[mullion-ghoul]

Mullion flinched when she cleared her throat, immediately thinking the worst. He'd probably said too much and made her uncomfortable. His ears immediately drooped sadly beside his head, and he hunched over a little more to try and hide his embarrassment behind the collar of his work jacket. At least he didn't say anything about the actual activities—he wouldn't have been able to bear it if that made her run off or gave her another reason to avoid the old wing of the Ministry.

But he was stirred back to life with her compliments. She was too sweet for her own good, being so generous with her words around him. Slowly, he pushed himself to respond without shooting down the nice things she's said. "... Thank you, my dear. It means quite a bit to me, really. Still, I can't be sure about... Mountain, you said his name was?"

Mullion chuckled, already smitten at the thought of the other Earth ghoul. "He's the tall one, right? Yes, I mean, I've tried to speak with him on many occasions, but... love, I'm just not sure if I can handle one of the actual band members. They've just got so much bravado! I mean, he's real nifty, don't get me wrong, and a handsome one, but—I'm too old for him, regardless. I've gotta be." He huffed, twiddling his thumbs with his hands curled up against his chest.

"I guess I just wish I could be like you, my dear. All... confident and not afraid to shoot my shot," Mullion mumbled quietly, but turned to her with a small smile. "... I'll tell you if it goes well next time I see him, but... could you do me a small favor? What do ghouls even like? Not to sound foolish—I know I'm a ghoul, but I spent most of my life with a human."

As much as this lipstick had cost, it shouldn't have been wearing off already. If she'd been kissing someone or even just eating, Obedience wouldn't have minded, but she'd barely spoken a sentence since her last coat and already it was fading. It was only the faintest hint of purple now. Sad.

She glanced up at the sound of footsteps, catching sight of a ghoul approaching down the otherwise empty hallway. She met his gaze through the mirror of her compact, saying, "I've seen you around, but we haven't been formally introduced, have we?"

(@sister-obedience)

Mullion padded slowly through the Ministry, letting his eyes rest closed as the back and forth brushing of his long tail guided his steps. With every few steps, he stretched his legs far out behind himself until they popped. It wasn't often he had to commit to multiple all-nighters in a row, and he'd gotten very accustomed to his beauty sleep.

But when he heard someone speak, he froze in his tracks, immediately lifting his welding goggles to rub and wake up his eyes. "Oh... oh, hello, my dear—I am so sorry, my mind must've gotten away from me. Ah... oh." When he adjusted his goggles and got them sitting comfortably again, he tried to get a good look at her, but couldn't place her face. "I suppose you're right... We never have introduced ourselves, have we? Forgive me, my charm is hardly what it used to be."

Mullion approached nervously, folding his hands. He couldn't help his ears twitching with curiosity. "My name is, eh... Mullion. And you, dear? Well, I can tell you're a Sister..."

[zestyzigzagoon]

I won't write this because I'm still in a rut and I have other things to catch up on, but fun AU idea: famous person x normal person AU, except the normal person lives under a rock and has no fucking clue who the famous one is

[beef-brisket]

Adam stared at Lucifer for a moment before looking away: It's not important... no one, you know. Not anymore.

Lucifer: "Not anymore"? I'm sure I would recognise a... face like that. And trust me, I don't... my name is Lucifer. I'm the lords Morningstar. If... if you're an angel, you must have a title.

Adam thought for a moment. He had a lot of titles, but after all of this time, there was only one that mattered. One that meant something to him, a name he made for himself because of his hard work and determination.

Adam smirked: Dickmaster.

Lucifer: ..."Dickmaster"? Dick... master... amazing. That's- I've never heard of that title before. But then, I've never seen you around Heaven- or someone that even looks like you. So... you must be truly impressive.

The first man won't admit how much that comment stroked his ego, but it felt oddly satisfying to have the future Sin of Pride call him "impressive." And if shit goes down the same way as it did before, Adam was going to rub that in this thinks face.

Adam: Oh, trust me, I'm really fucking impressive~. Master of every single fucking dick in existence, babe. I can make anyone cum their brains out.

Lucifer: I... don't know what any of that means. But... I... if you're truly... the 'Dickmaster', I... have a question to ask you.

That made Adam sit up: Oh yeah? What question?

Lucifer: ...I'm sure you know of the Eden project- you're literally in Eden- so you must know of it but... DO you know of it?

Adam blinked: Uh... Maybe... might need a refresher, babe.

Lucifer: Babe-? Nevermind. A refresher- right. So.. the Eden project is Life. The first life on this barren wasteland of a planet our lord had created so, so long ago. The angels like myself and... I guess you have made life to fill this slice of paradise our Lord had created. But the humans were the most important. They were the first intelligent life, as they put it. They're capable of... well... thinking.

The angel wanted to tell the strange angel that they couldn't think for themselves or make their own choices or dream of their futures- especially a future that didn't line up with Heaven's wants. The only human that MAY share his views for humans was the first woman. She seemed more aware than the first man. But Lucifer won't get into that- he got in trouble last time.

Adam: ...Huh... strange way to put all that shit. Still didn't ask your question, bro.

Lucifer: You wanted a refresher-? Uh- question. Question! Right. Sure. I'll just... get to that, then. My question is... the angels- the OTHER angels want me to guide the first humans to their purpose.

Even though Lucifer didn't agree with any of it.

Lucifer: I have to show them how to... procreate.

Adam blinked. He didn't remember any of this. But then again, Lilith got a fucking hands on fucking lesson, didn't she? Whore.

After Adam had a small flashback to when he found Lucifer and Lilith beneath that damn tree, he glared up at Lucifer and lent back.

Adam: And what about it?

Lucifer: ...Idon'tknowhowtodoit...

Adam sighed: Speak slower, fuck sakes. I only died a fucking hour ago, I can't deal with your fucking quick talking.

Lucifer gasped: You DIED-?!

Adam: No! Fuck- just- get on with it, alright?!

Lucifer: S-Sorry! Sorry- I... don't know how to help them... make more... of THEM. Adam keeps asking! It's nearly every say! It's driving me nuts!

Adam glared: Maybe he's being fucking pressured by Heaven, asshole. Ever think about that?! No. Bet you fucking didn't.

Lucifer: ...Pressured? I'm the only angel he speaks to.

Glaring, Adam wanted to tell this little bastard how he wasn't speaking to an angel. His father HIMSELF was speaking to him. Not that he could answer him.

Adam: He just... doesn't have a choice.

Lucifer: None of them have a choice-.

Adam: Oh, fuck off with that bullshit... it doesn't matter if BOTH of them don't have a fucking choice, at the end of the day, only one of them fucking matters to you.

Lucifer: I... don't understand.

Adam: Yeah, course you wouldn't...

Lucifer: ...I just want to know how to complete my task...

That's when Adam had an idea. Maybe he could get his angel before that blonde bitch did. Them he could rub it in her fucking face.

Adam: Oh, I can show you how to complete your task, if you really, REALLY want to know~.

Lucifer perked up and got close to Adam. Very close. With his hands on Adam's knees, he smiled widely at the strange angel, making Adam blush more than he was willing to admit.

Lucifer: Really?! How?!

Adam: U-Uh- well... the only way life is made... is by cumming in a fucking hole, babe~. Wanna know how to do it~?

Lucifer: M-Me?

Adam: Yeah. How else will you show the humans~?

Lucifer: Wait- is this a... hands on lesson?

Adam: Do you want it to be~?

Lucifer looked the angel up and down, and he won't lie. He's curious about what's under his weird looking robe.

Lucifer blushed: O-Oh... y-yes. Please.

Adam: Fuck yeah, babe. Let the Dickmaster show you how to fuck nice and hard~.

✨️Inexperienced✨️

@things-arent-what-they-seem66

Lucifer flew above the treetops of Eden. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he knew something wasn't right. Usually, he would be scanning the ground for the first humans, but when he heard the news about some rouge angel being spotted amongst the foliage he really hoped Adam and Lilith were far, far away from this... thing.

Lucifer: Where are you...?

He's never travled this far out in Eden before. He wasn't even sure if Adam had made it out this far- and that man does nothing but explore.

When he started seeing strange trees, Lucifer landed: I'm so lost... great. Just great.

Looking around, Lucifer would usually marvel at trees and plants, but he couldn't when he had so much on his mind and plate.

That's when his eyes stopped on a bright, yellow three. The suns light shone through strange yellow leaves, making the ground appear golden. Lucifer smiled. This place reminded him of Lilith's flowing hair and Adam's golden eyes. The humans and Eden were really one in the same.

But Lucifer was pulled out of his thoughts when something moved at the base of the tree, and two large golden wings stuck out, like they were stretching.

This has to be the angel he was warned of. But he's never seen an angel golden wings, let alone two.

The archangel growled and summoned his weapon, a blue and red trident, and got ready for the attack. Or defence.

He stepped closer and closer. Each step showed more of the "angel," and Lucifer didn't know what to think other than it was big. Huge, even.

Lucifer: Halt! You are hereby detained by an archangel of Heaven! Identify yourself!

The... whatever this thing was opened a completely golden eye and stared at Lucifer. Its face was disturbing, with large, black horns. Lucifer couldn't even see a shape to its body, it was covered in something that looked like a mockery of an angelic robe, not to mention it was covered in golden blood.

Has this thing slaughtered angels?!

After a moment of silence, Lucifer was getting mad. What the fuck is thing?

Adam: Oh, hey, shorty. Piss off, you're ruining scenery.

[maddy-ferguson]

i'm actually not a lesbian yes the concept of heterosexual sex disgusts me on paper but it appeals to me with a few select men. and that's how i've always felt but the lesbian masterdoc which was written by a girl who turned out to be bi got me. and a lot of other bi women with a preference for women. it's crazy to have that much influence when you think about it

[happywitchesofnewdi]

Since these two don't have a lot of interactions, I've been wondering about some of the things they bond over. I noticed that Sora keeps boardgames around in case Tsumugi comes to game club and in this story, Tsumugi recommended Sora books based on games.

Natsume shares strong interests with both Sora and Tsumugi so in contrast it's really endearing to me to watch Tsumugi and Sora find the small places their interests cross over.