#marine life AU apparently

[sparrowmoth]

Wylan Van... Otter? A birthday gift for my beautiful friend, Kam. 💖

Please do not use, edit, or repost my art without permission. Thanks!

[coralinnii]

❋If you are a villain, then let me be your accomplice❋ ↳ reincarnated into a new world as the bad guy aka villain/ess au part 2 feat: Jade genre: drama, partners in crimes-to-partners in love?, slow burn romance note: sequel to "being reincarnated into a new world as the bad guy" Jade ver., no pronouns used for reader, some actions are ethically questionable (Jade and reader are just up to no good),

part one series masterlist

You cursed the lovey-dovey fools who drone on about the bliss of married life, fondly speaking of the joy and romance that leads to the big day and beyond. With the right person, life as someone engaged to be married would be a dream come true. 

With the right person, that is 

Unfortunately, you didn’t have that pleasure when you’re faced with the man you happened to be engaged to; the mysterious Jade Leech. 

“You seemed to be very occupied with something.” With a quizzical look, you asked the teal-haired heir as he sat at his study desk. While you exaggerated, there was a sizable amount of papers atop the merman’s desk, with names and locations you recognised as you managed to glimpse upon the reports. “Am I allowed to inquire about the mountain of reports on your desk?” 

Unperturbed, Jade gave you his well-practiced smile. “Of course, I would never hide anything from my wonderful betrothed” 

This brazen liar 

Having chosen to willingly participate in the Leech family’s goals, you were aware of their plans to monopolize the marine-related business and operations, including taking over the coastal territories from other nobles. 

Which was exactly what Jade was currently trying to do apparently, as he had his family’s men research a baron whose territory included a lively strait between this kingdom and a flourishing island nation nearby. But the baron was an incompetent leader with an unfavorable reputation amongst the merfolk and islanders due to his actions as a businessman.

“Baron Byrne seems to be causing quite an issue in his strait as the large amount of cargo ships constantly coming through the strait is disrupting the islanders’ livelihood as well as the merfolk that made the nearby reefs their home…” 

“But since he seems to have a good relationship with the prince’s new lover, his behavior is not reprimanded by the royal family,” you continued his thoughts and let out a frustrated sigh. “He’s a greedy, impatient bastard but no one can stop him” 

Jade kept his courteous smile but you couldn’t imagine he was thrilled about any of this. Despite the human-merfolk peace treaty being established, the merfolk were used as the antagonists in this world so the story ignored their issues or crimes against them. 

“This was a romance webtoon, I supposed. No attention was given to the repercussions of the lives outside of the main leads” 

You looked through the reports on the baron’s family and you noticed a more detailed section on a certain person; the baron’s wife to be precise. You recognised the young woman as an admirer of Jade, recalling how envious she seems every time she looks your way. From what you knew, she married the baron for his new status as a noble but fell for Jade when she first saw him at a gathering.

“So you’re planning to go through the wife for information” you let out a noise of intrigued as you looked through the papers “you even found out where the salons and stores she frequents. That’s impressive but tell me, how do you plan to approach her?” 

“Oh my, does the notion of me meeting her upset you?” Jade reached for your hand to hold as he looked up to you from his seat, peering at you with convincing concern and acting like a worried fiancé, “I would never intend to hurt you in any way or give doubt to my devotion to you” 

“Firstly, don’t mock me by lying so blatantly” you sneered as you pulled your hand from his grasp. “Secondly, I agree that meeting the baron’s wife is the best way to find out about his weakness”

Jade raised his brow inquisitively before changing back into a look of worry, “Then what is it that causes such concern on your face, my dear?” 

Again, that fake term of endearment sends a shiver down your spine. 

“I’m only asking so I can act accordingly” you looked at the tall merman with mocking sweetness in your eyes. “Should I be the naive partner who knows nothing, or perhaps I’m grieving over the audacity of my dear fiancé meeting with someone other than me?” 

For a moment, you thought you saw a glint in Jade’s dual-coloured eyes before a look of amusement took over his face. He chuckled behind his gloved hand before smiling at you, his sharp teeth peeking behind his lips. “I will leave that decision to you, my dear. I’m excited to see what you’ll show me”

Weeks passed since your conversation with Jade as he quickly put his plan into motion, finding chances to meet the baroness by “coincidence” and gaining her trust immediately. You weren’t surprised how quickly Jade managed to befriend the smitten woman. If you were none the wiser, you didn’t have the confidence to say that you could withstand Jade’s good looks and charming persona either (it would be paradise in the underworld before you would ever let Jade know that, however).

Of course, meetings like these tend not to stay secret for long, especially amongst the high social circle. Many of the gossiping noblewomen whispered around about the possible tryst between the lovestruck baroness and the attractive Leech family heir. However, most of the attention fell to you as the supposed tragic lover of this “affair.” 

Being part of a well-respected family, you were ultimately the envy of certain nobles who would love nothing more than to pull you off your high horse, in sadistic glee in watching a family like yours be sullied. One of these nobles included the woman involved in the rumour herself, Baroness Byrne. 

“Please don’t misunderstand,” the baroness spoke with such fake sincerity, you almost laughed at the poor acting. “Sir Leech and I just get along so well that these rumours seemed to misconstrue our closeness” 

It’s almost insulting to think that this woman assumes that you can’t figure out that she was most likely the one to start these rumours in the first place since you knew Jade would try not to catch too much attention if the situation does not call for it. Despite being a married woman, you wondered if she’s hoping to break your engagement and take him for herself. 

“If it were that easy, I wouldn’t be in this nonsense” you scoffed internally but hid your thoughts with a maintained smile (Jade has given you some bad habits). “If she wants to play mind games, then let’s play~” 

“It’s quite alright, really. I’m not worried at all” you put on your best smile, a look of understanding displayed in your eyes. “In fact, I’m happy that my fiancé has made a friend like you, Baroness Byrne” 

“R-really?” The baroness stuttered which secretly delighted you. You hid your glee with a sickly sweet smile, however. 

“Of course, Jade and I tend to be quite busy since we often have to work tirelessly in maintaining our lands, assets, and the responsibilities we will inherit” you sighed as though life bears heavy on your shoulders “We spent so much time together since Jade likes to inspect every valuable item in my possession, taking in all its beauty and worth. He has quite an eye for such things, you see.”

You looked to the baroness, your gaze demanding her eyes to meet yours. Once she did, you curled your lips slightly to display just a hint of taunting smugness. “With the baroness, Jade can enjoy a simple and humble company without much to entice his personal interest.” 

One could almost see the steam escaping from the baroness’ face as she turned red with humiliated rage. With that, you decided to swiftly take your leave lest you wanted to get your eyes ripped out by a madwoman. 

After some time, you decided to make your way towards the carriage area to go home, you were shocked to see Jade standing outside alone. Once your eyes locked, he immediately made his way to you with an ever-present smile. Was he…waiting for you? 

No, that couldn’t be. 

“Jade, I assumed that you were still at the ballroom” Last you saw Jade, he was mingling with his brother Floyd and Count Azul. 

“Hmm, I was. But then, I heard some commotion amongst the ladies and decided that it’d be best to call it a night.” 

You made the right choice to leave when you did, then. You wanted to smile at the little chaos you caused but decided to stamp down that hidden glee. 

“Fair enough. That reminds me, you may be receiving an invitation from Baroness Byrne very soon, and it is in your best interest to accept it.” 

You seemed to pique Jade’s curiosity, though it seems that you always do. “Oh, and could you share the reason as to why?” 

“Because if she fell for my taunt, I would bet that she will try her best to entice you with whatever treasure or asset she can access.” You smirked, a sly glint in your eyes. “And hopefully you can convince her to show her husband’s warehouses where he stores the items the baron imports in, perhaps some hard-to-procure rarities” 

From what you see from Jade’s reports on the baron’s history, you’re betting that the greedy noble would be the type to obtain and sell anything that would bring him a fortune. With his focus on sea-related products, he might be acquiring and selling items from the merfolk community without their approval which is currently illegal with the peace treaty. Merfolk-specific products were now harder to obtain through human merchants which increased their value even more. 

“Pearls, mermaid scales, valuable minerals from the seabed…anything in the possession of a human who intends to sell them is grounds for punishment for treaty violation”

As if your minds were one, Jade was quick to realize your plans to trap the baron family. It was sneaky, dangerous, and if it works it would be ruining two people with no hope of salvaging their reputation. The baron would be stripped of his title and his merchant career while the baroness would be shamed for inviting an engaged man in an attempt to seduce him. Jade knew that you were intriguing, willing to act however necessary to protect yourself but to instigate the downfall of others, even if they were guilty of their crimes…

Jade can’t ever take his eyes off you. 

Still, he had to ask you something, “You seem to have quite the confidence in me. Do you not worry I will not live up to your expectations?” 

The teal-haired man expected a snarky quip from you or perhaps question him back over his competence. But instead, you furrowed your brows and looked at him adorably (in his perspective) with confusion. 

There was one thing you were sure of; Jade Leech would never get caught. No matter the situation, no matter the evidence, Jade will always find a way to slither his way out of trouble when he wants to. You were better off worrying about your own safety than his. 

“Why would I worry? You’ll never fail.” 

Your voice was so full of conviction, without a hint of doubt or hesitation. Jade felt a strange surge of glee upon hearing your answer. He found a compatible partner that never fails to amuse him. You brought new entertainment to his personal life. 

Jade let out a chuckle, a smile that almost seems genuine to you. The tall man looked to you, his mix-matched eyes staring with such unusual softness. Gently, he took your hand in his own so he could raise it to his lips where he then pressed a soft kiss upon your skin. In surprise, you locked gaze with Jade’s eyes as you felt warmth coursing through you though you played it off as uneasiness towards Jade’s strange actions. You continued to watch Jade as he kept his mouth barely touching your hand, but you could feel every brush of his lips as he spoke close to your fingers. “I will not disappoint you so keep your eyes on me, my dear.”

[luxthestrange]

OP Incorrect quotes#39 Mi Corazon

Okay, an Idea came to mind...About Corazon Surviving Au and how he cut ties...with others to save Law, Imagen that you and he were secretly married...no one knew about you his little spouse...who thru out his...self-hazard ways...his not so sauve flirting-You loved him even when he worked so dangerously...NO ONE KNEW ABOUT YOU Doffy sure didn't not even Sengoku...law did tho...so when you assumed he died in his line of work...

So it was everyone's big shock from your crewmates to the straw hats...and the pirates de heart to see you two apparently knew each other...

Law being the most troubled knowing about you from corazon drunk talks-

You gasp as if seeing a ghost... and drop the books that you were holding with a clatter, You stand some twenty paces ahead of him, blocking the path, And let out an audible shudder upon seeing him...Ex-Spy/Marine now Pirate you fell in love even the not-so-good moments before...his fake demise

Cora*Rattled but holding his chin up*I know what you're going to say, How could I have done this? Stayed away all of this time, And why didn't I come back to you? To our home...

You steps towards him, wide-eyed and speechless

Cora: Well, what sign did I have that they could change!? That anyone at that time could?

Cora: I pleaded so many times to doctors to help him, to find another answer, but did any of them listen?-I couldn't leave him and couldn't risk you being known by him!

Brook*Standing ackwardly beside the straw hats* This is why I will never marry~ This and one other reason...Yohohoh!~

You continue to close the gap, mesmerized. With every step, Corazon becomes increasingly flustered, And he back into the wall, with nowhere to go, and You are just a few paces away

Cora*Tearful but still hissing at you* I know that I left you alone... but I thought you be better off without me, And I was wrong, I see that now*He eyes glance at Strawhats who brought you to see him*but...

You gently reach a hand toward his face

Cora: Oh stop being so stoic, Y/n!?- Go on... SHOUT, SCREAM, SAY SOMETHING!

Y/n*Tears up seeing him so close again, with a breathless whisper*You're as beautiful as the day I lost you...

Your words snuff his retort, rendering him speechless, and he softens despite, yielding his cheek to your palm. You caress his skin as a reluctant tear runs through your fingers

You pull him into a kiss, Which he resists briefly, then gives in, The pirate crew alliance all softly sigh in relief seeing you two, pleased to see you both happy once again...

Inspired by:

[maple-tree-hills]

Percy Jackson AU where instead of Poseidon being absent in Percy’s life, he helps raise him. But Percy doesn’t know his dad is Poseidon. He thinks Peter Johnson is a marine biologist and a fisherman who is frequently on long business trips for his job. Maybe Sally and Poseidon are divorced, and she marries Smelly Gabe or maybe they’re still together, who knows.

Just, instead of Percy being in anger at the gods for neglecting their children he’s in disbelief that his very normal father is Poseidon. They go on fishing trips together all the time and he dresses like a tacky Hawaiian tourist. Not a god. He refuses to believe this despite Grover being a satyr, and Mr. Brunner being a centaur.

I’m not sure if Percy should know all of the gods or not. Maybe he knows Mr. D already as Cousin Dexter. Cousin Dexter has shown up a couple of times in his life. He’s a devil for the drink and a known alcoholic, so why is he at this weird camp playing cards with Grover and Mr. Brunner? And they start talking about the gods and demigods again. And Mr. D calls him ‘mortal.’ And Percy’s like yeah, no Cousin Dexter has had a bit too much to drink despite the fact that he can’t smell any alcohol on him, and he’s only been drinking Diet Coke. Percy switches subjects as to why Mr. D isn’t drinking any alcohol. Apparently, his father won’t let him drink alcohol anymore and is forcing him to work at this summer camp. Percy is happy to hear this because at least someone isn’t having Cousin Dexter’s shit anymore.

Then they switch gears back into the conversion about gods existing and he’s sure Grover, or Mr. Brunner, or Mr. D will say sike, but none of them do. They all seriously believe in the gods. Well Percy is stubborn and won’t be convinced this easily.

And then he finds out that Hades stole the master bolt and has his mother, and he’s like uncle Hector? Uncle Hector is a god of the underworld? And he has my mother and stole Zeus’s lightning bolt? No way. Uncle Hector lives in LA and works at a music producing studio. He is not the god of the underworld. He is not Hades, this is insane and Percy does not appreciate being punked. He’ll admit some supernatural stuff is real because a minatur killed his mom, but being a demigod no way.

And they keep telling Percy about the family drama and he’s still in disbelief. All he knows about uncle Zane is that his father is not on good terms with him. There’s no way uncle Zane who his father HATES, who works in the Empire State Building is Zeus. There’s just no way.

And then he finds out about the Big Three and forbidden children thing. And he goes ‘That can’t be true uncle Hector has two kids: cousin Bianca and cousin Nico.’ And he just accidentally spoils to everyone that Hades has not kept his end of the pact about fathering more mortal children.

And then they’re on the road going through quests fighting against Alecto again, Echidna, and Medusa and Percy still can’t believe the gods are real.

It isn’t until he gets to the underworld that he starts believing. There seated on a dark throne surrounded by skeletons is Uncle Hector? Uncle Hector is actually Hades? He’s freaking out he’s never seen his uncle this way before. He’s terrifying and keeps demanding this Helm of Darkness thing in exchange for his mother. Where’s Nico he wants to hang out with his cousin?

And maybe Percy sasses him because what the heck uncle Hector sending furies after your nephew and holding your sister-in-law hostage and accusing your nephew of theft is not cool. And things for the most part will proceed like they do in the book for the most part. I could see Hades when he’s pretending to be a human behaving similarly to Jay Duplass’s portrayal of him in the TV show. Just a comical uncle who is most certainly not lord of the underworld.

(I’ve only seen the TV and I’ve almost finished the first book so far, but I do know Hades has two kids named Bianca and Nico)

[profoundbondfanfic]

Hello! I love the recommendations you've done so far.

I was hoping if you could provide me with some recommendations for AU Destiel Detective fics?

Thank you so much. Keep up the good work!

hey! Thank you, here are a few:

A Beginner's Guide to Communing with the Dead by suspiciousflashlight [Mature, 77k words]

Maybe it's the little girl whose disappearance turned into a murder, and whose murder turned into a cold case, and who has now apparently decided to move in with him. Maybe it's the unacceptable hole left in his life when his dumb best friend and partner in (the prevention of) crime decided to go and get himself killed. Maybe it's his brother, whose high-profile career and fantastic girlfriend and first-child-on-the-way are steadily leaving Dean in the dust. Pick one. Pick all of them. The why doesn't matter so much as the what, and the what is this: Dean is pretty sure he's going completely, certifiably insane. Sure, he hasn't started wearing all his clothes inside out, and he still showers on a regular basis (anyways, that's not crazy, just a little eccentric); but there's no getting around the fact that he just threw away his life, his career, and his reputation by dragging out his mom's old necromancy book and summoning a Class A Forbidden Entity to his attic. A cranky one, too. With horrendous bed-head.

As The Sparrow by hubrisandwax [Explicit, 18k words]

It’s 1947. Dean is an ex-marine fighting crime and a very different sort of war to the one he faced in the Pacific as a detective on the streets of LA. This city isn’t all the glitz and glamor it’s made out to be, however, and Dean finds himself tugged in to a world of life-threatening unknowns when Daphne Novak’s body is discovered. Castiel Novak, her husband, was one of Dean’s battalion mates in the war, and he's just as deadly and dangerous as he was two years ago when he saved Dean’s life during the Battle of Okinawa. Except now he’s wanted for his wife’s murder, and Dean just doesn’t believe Cas is capable of that. Is Cas really who he says he is, though? And what will Dean have to sacrifice in order to repay the debt he feels he owes?

Casicorn by everandanon [Explicit, 56k words]

When Detective Dean Winchester suddenly finds himself with a new roommate, a mysterious man who doesn’t speak but seems to somehow be connected to the department’s recent vigilante problem, he has no idea what he’s in for. The guy doesn’t know how to work a TV, brush his teeth, or even take a shower, and he stares at Dean all the goddamn time. Not to mention he insists on sleeping in Dean’s bed. While Dean is in it! Weird, right? Except the longer Cas sticks around, the less Dean starts to mind; the more he kind of dreads Cas leaving for good, actually, even though nobody really knows who Cas is or where he came from. And then, one night, Dean happens to witness their vigilante firsthand and realizes he knows Cas even less than he thought . . . (Loosely inspired by The Little Mermaid)

Chronicles Of A Serial Killer by Duckyboos [Explicit, 52k words]

Dean Winchester has the perfect apple pie life with his shy-but-sweet boyfriend in the suburbs. He has a steady, well-paid job with the LAPD and he’s charming and attractive. Really, he’s living the American Dream. It’s his extra-curricular activities that some may disagree with, as he’s also an accomplished serial killer. To date, his kills amount to around 36 and he’s never been caught. He’s employed by the law, remember? He knows how these things work.

Grounds for Murder by cinderellasleftshoe, sarcasticbones [Explicit, 199k words]

"The weirdos in that coffee shop are always dancing, or playing 'strip Clue,' whatever that is. Once there were sock puppets, and, I'm not kidding, a cookie trebuchet." "Eyeliner?" "Really, Dean? That's all you got out of all of that. That there's maybe a bangable emo guy over there?" Dean shrugged and took another too-large bite of his sandwich. He'd been a detective with the Phoenix PD Violent Crimes bureau for three years, and he'd see a lot stranger things than sock puppets, old ladies, and strip Clue.

like a thief in the night by kingdumbass [Mature, 28k words]

Plagued by nightmares since the death of his mother as a small child, Dean Winchester is no stranger to grief. After the sudden death of his brother and the unexplainable disappearance of Sam’s fiancee Jessica leave Dean reeling, the former detective turns towards alcohol to cope with the loss, but when the news of another missing peron’s case all the way out in Pontiac, Illinois jogs Dean’s memory of an old unsolved case with possible connections to the mysterious note his brother left behind, he feels compelled to pick up where he left off. Though once he rolls into town, he encounters more questions than answers. Namely: what’s real and what’s delusion? And how is the creature from his nightmares tormenting the residents of this small, suburban town?

The Trouble With Blue Eyes by FriendofCarlotta [Explicit, 14k words]

For years now, Dean Winchester has had a mutually beneficial arrangement with Castiel Novak, a fellow private eye. It’s good, it’s easy, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Well, except for one thing: Dean’s caught himself a bad case of feelings, and Cas doesn’t feel the same way.

What Once Was Sacred by saltandbyrne [Explicit, 55k words]

Los Angeles detective Dean Winchester works tirelessly to atone for the sins of his father one case at a time. When his best friend Charlie drags him to visit Sam at his new job, Dean stumbles onto a bizarre string of deaths that brings him uncomfortably close to his past. Dean can't stop thinking about Castiel, an enigmatic DJ who plays the sexiest music Dean's ever heard. A chance encounter at Castiel's house reveals that Castiel is an incubus, and Dean must face the lies and the reality of his childhood as a hunter. Dean comes to see that he and Castiel have more in common than he thought, and that guilt can be the hardest thing to cast aside.

You can also check our law enforcement!castiel and law enforcement!dean for more. Also worth mentioning the DestielNoirBang as a future source.

[quinloki]

Birthday Request Event v2024

Gift Details ♥ Reader Style: afab Character: Dracule Mihawk Vibe: NSFW yandere-ish dubcon-ish AU: Canon Prompt: Forced Proximity Gift Giver: @hellcatsworld

Summary: You loved Mihawk, and it was requited, but the details about how things would be going forward caused some... tension

Content Notes: teasing, fingering, no gender pet names or terms, reader is wearing a dress, consent is on thin ice, yandere vibes in Mihawk, but nothing explicit, no dark content, kind of fluffy, mdni

This birthday party is 18+, consensual unless explicitly stated otherwise, and BYOB

Mihawk’s small skiff had almost nothing to it, and for two days you’d been stuck on it.

The swordsman had given you water, and food, but until you gave him what he wanted, he wasn’t letting you off the tiny boat. You’d jump into the water so many times over the last two days that you were currently in his lap.

Your wrists were tied to his forearms, each individual finger held in place with a delicate web of thin rope. You couldn’t flex your fingers enough to dig your nails into his skin, and you weren’t strong enough to force his arms to move against his will. In this way he could feed and water you both as needed.

What he wanted was your consent. Your acceptance.

The swordsman had declared himself to be in love, and had spent days courting you. It had been perfect at first, and, while concerned about having caught the eye of a warlord, you were put at ease by everything he did. After a couple weeks you even accepted his love, but then a harsh truth settled in between you and had caused an issue.

You believed you would stay on your island.

You weren’t a pirate, or a fighter. You were a simple islander and you enjoyed that life. Living on an island protected by the World Government, and not that far from a marine base, it was as peaceful a life as anyone in this world could hope for.

You would be safe, and Mihawk could come calling as his job allowed. Many of the island women had marine husbands, everyone knew what it was like.

Mihawk, however, saw things very differently. There was no safe place, but his home and his island were as close as one could get. There is where he wanted you to be. There was where he preferred to be, and with rare exception spent much of his time.

The argument had gone on for some days. With you, often honestly, walking away from the fight, citing a need to do chores or go to work, or some other “more pressing matter”.

Now that you were out in the middle of the ocean, there was no other pressing matters to be had.

Not that it had made the argument any better. Stubbornness was apparently a shared trait, and you didn’t want to give in simply because he’d kidnapped you and dragged you out to sea. He didn’t understand why it was so difficult for you to simply acquiesce when it was obvious how much you both cared for one another. Why burden yourself with work, and risk the drudgery and dangers of people when you could be truly safe?

It wasn’t the endless sea that was getting to you. It wasn’t the stern face that had fished you out of the water half a dozen times before tying you in place. It was the proximity.

The warm, muscled - chiseled - chest you had your back pressed against was nearly unmoving. Solid. Firm. Warm.

A soothing kind of warm. Not so hot as to be uncomfortable, even beneath the sun, and certainly not cold. His scent carried over the sea breeze, mulled wine and the spices of feisty cuisine. The soft thump of his heart, steady and calming, just strong enough to be felt against your back.

Even the ropes were soft, and his pulse fluttered against your finger tips.

You sink into him with a sigh, relaxing more than you had the last two days. His arms, and yours by virtue of the binds, wrap around your waist carefully. He leans down and kisses the back of your head and it almost irritates you. How he knows, how he’s so sure.

How he is going to get what he wants.

But fighting against it now would be foolhardy and useless.

“Thank you.” He says, the words mumbled into your hair as he carefully starts to undo the knots.

You hum softly in return, watching the elegant fingers untangle the intricate knots so easily. It was okay to be a little salty about it for now, but your mind couldn’t help but wander - just how skilled where those fingers?

You didn’t have to wait long to find out. Once Mihawk had undone all the rope work, he began to soothe you. One part care and concern, and perhaps even one part apology, you were sure.

Soft kisses against your knuckles and tender kisses against the slight rope marks on your skin. He kissed and soothed your fingers and arms, his hands holding you as though you were made of the most fragile of glass, moving you with practiced ease.

Soft kisses on your hands turned into soft kisses against your shoulder. Up the line of your neck until he was nipping at your skin, his hands moving up your sides.

The quiet moan that stays in your mouth is enough for him, and he tugs your dress up, letting his hands press against your skin under the cloth. You can’t keep the moan in your mouth, gasping soft pleasure into the air as he leaves heavy kisses on your neck, cupping your breasts in his hands.

“We’re… outside,” you moan, pleasure overtaking your words as you squirm against him.

“No one else is here.” He assures you softly, pulling your dress up and off, tucking it down into the boat. “I would kill anyone who dared to look.”

“Don’t - ahhh ♥ - kill people because you strip-stripped me!” you cry the words as Mihawk’s hands are groping you even more now, pulling and teasing your nipples. Fevered kisses against your shoulder trail down your back with ease as you curl in pleasure in his hands.

His hand flattens against your chest, pushing you back and against his body as his other hand slips between your folds. There was no teasing anticipation, just swift need. Leave it to the strongest swordsman to get straight to the point.

The pad of his middle finger rubs circles against your clit as he moves you enough to tilt your head back and press his hungry kisses against your mouth. The flush of pleasure heats your face, and your eyes are unfocused when he breaks the kiss. The sun, his warmth, the days before. You hadn’t been starved or dehydrated, but there hadn’t been any pleasure until now.

And now you were drowning in it.

No ropes held you, but there was no escaping his grasp. The pleasure from that single finger was bringing tears to your eyes with how quickly the rush was coiling inside you. You couldn’t say anything, his tongue was consuming every moan and need that came into your mouth. There was no room for protest, no place for your will right now.

He’d indulged your will for two days, now he was taking his due.

And he wouldn’t tell you, now, or ever, that if you had held out one more day, he would’ve given in to your demands in this. He would’ve traveled to your island enough to endanger himself and everyone else there, if such was your true desire.

The relief he felt when you caved was indescribable, and he would show you his appreciation, again and again.

[fran-in-the-deep]

maybe if u wanna do this request i was thinking right. high school au with hange where they’re super geeky, and reader is popular but was nice to them and reader wants to ask hange to prom! i was thinking it could be a little angsty because maybe they would think it was a prank but they go together in the end >_<

also if u don’t want it to be a highschool au it could be like a college party maybe! i love ur work btw <33

A/N: First of all, thank you so much, this is such a cute request and because it got so long I didn't even get to the party part, I might have to write a second part for that. Then obviously sorry for taking so long, but I still hope you have a good time reading it! I decided on the Collage AU because where I'm from we don't really have an event that has so much significance like a prom and Collage AUs are just my passion now I guess.

1,3k words | Collage AU | mainly fluff, a little angsty | just two idiots in love

Wait, really?

You stood outside, back against the white concrete wall of the building E where the natural sciences where located. A flyer whose aesthetics screamed graphic design is my passion by the way the green letters for End of Semester Party have been printed onto the orange background, the cheap paper already starting to disintegrate in your grasp. Maybe your hands were sweating because you were nervous, maybe because it was the middle of July and you had been standing in the midday sun for about half an hour by now, contemplating about a matter that had nothing left to be contemplated about.

The decision to ask Hange out had already been made weeks ago and every day you spend an hour over lunch with them and the occasional text had you received when the Marine Biology major had found another paper about some weird species with a long latin name, you scrambled for a good occasion to finally ask them out. The problem was just that all of their interests, as much as you adored them and were fascinated, were way out of your comfort zone and you really didn’t want to embarrass yourself on what could be a first date. But then you didn’t want to pressure them into anything they wouldn’t be comfortable with either. You weren’t exactly in the same social circles after all.

Like, you could just go somewhere and people would know you, there was always someone to talk to and that worked out just well for you but-

“Heyyy! Are you heading to the cafeteria as well? We’ll have to hurry up if we still want to find some good seats.”

As you whipped your head around, Hange was leaning against the wall next to you, wearing a t-shirt with a long fish captioned Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri). You had no idea what this meant, nor how you did not hear them approach you, nor how the hell you were supposed to ask them now. So you didn’t.

“Sure, I was just waiting for you actually.” Well, that was true at least.

“Let’s hurry, I think they have pizza on the menu today.”

Hange waited for you to join them on the way, all too happy to tell you about their shirt. Wahoo was a real fish apparently that often was confused with mackerels or barracudas, but the name was funny.

Over lunch they asked you about your day, letting your rant about how bad group works were and then told you about that paper on this newly discovered sponge they read the last night, but in terms a normal person could actually understand. And when you asked about the other sponge paper you tried and failed reading after they send it to you, their eyes were just sparkling and they were brimming with excitement and it was just so infectious. You had never seen anyone be so happy about a sponge they wouldn’t ever get to see in real life. Just, how were you not supposed to have at least a crush on them?

Hange with their funny patterned shirts for every occasion, who was so unashamedly themselves and passionate about the things they loved while never hesitating to share this enthusiasm and passion with others.

So on the way back to the train station you finally whipped out the flyer as if it was sword to fight this battle with. Just that a crumpled piece of paper wasn’t exactly sharp enough to stand against the absolute boulder of how badly prepared you felt for this. It wasn’t like you to be that nervous. Although apparently now it was.

“Have you heard of the End of Semester Party? The student councils of the different faculties coordinated it together and every faculty will also have booths and games and stuff. So it’s not just about getting drunk or anything. I thought you’d like that, so I wanted to ask whether you wanted to go there with me?”

You felt like you sounded like an 80s teleshopping segment, all that was missing was a look at the camera and listing of the phone number to call to order the absolutely legit product.

“Wait, you mean like a date? You’re not serious, are you?” Hange laughed nervously, averting their gaze.

They thought you weren’t serious. The realization hit you like a cold bucket of water. Or the boulder, or maybe the bucket had this Wahoo fish in it, whatever nonsensical metaphor would be the most appropriate to describe a verbal slap to the face.

Was it because they wouldn’t consider you as someone to go out with? But then they would have just said no, or something nicer to reject you, they didn’t even have to bring up the date. Did they think it was some kind of prank? The kind of things that were always pulled off in highschool? Maybe Hange had bad experiences with that. People were assholes after all.

But Hange was the last person who deserved to be treated like that. Damn it, they deserved all the love and appreciation and being asked out, even if they would end up turning you down. You would deal with this somehow.

“Yes, I’m serious. A date on that party, you, me. I thought we could participate in those games as a team or so. Of course you don’t have to say yes.” At this point you were flailing around with your hands, or at least it felt like it. It felt awkward to show so much vulnerability first, but then, maybe it was the right thing to do. Hanges eyes widened slightly.

“Wait, does that mean you’re asking me out right now?”

“Yes, that’s what I mean.” After this you would be the most confident person in the world, because how the hell would you be able to keep talking now otherwise.

Hange covered their face with their hands. “Oh fuck, I’m so sorry. I screwed this up so bad.”

“What? No no, don’t be. It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.” Some beats of silence, or maybe it was your heart not beating, you were unsure. “If you want, you can think about it for a while. Don’t feel pressured or anything, it’s all good. I just hope we can stay friends.”

“Yeah, of course- I mean, we can stay friends. Ah no, I mean- I’d like to go to that party with you. On like the- the date. The date. With you. You and me. On that date. On that party.” Now Hange was flailing.

“Wait really?” You had this whole communication thing down, definitely. But then, being nervous should be okay. Considering Hange was just as much of a mess as you were.

“Yeah, really. I just didn’t think you’d ask me out. I mean I guess I haven’t really been asked out before? And then you’re so popular and I thought you already were in a relationship… seems like I was overthinking again.”

Hange just gave you the sweetest smile in the entire world as their tension eased and even let out this little laugh that you adored so much and if you weren’t smiling like some love struck idiot yourself you would be surprised. They had agreed and the happiness made you feel all fuzzy and happy and it was perfect despite the awkwardness, because it was just you and them.

“Not only you. But at least now we can be overthinking together. And you really need to tell me where you get those shirts from.”

So that’s what it was, a party, a date. Hange and you.

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

A/N: Hange's shirt this time was presented by the following meme from my fish meme folder:

[gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan]

Consequences Part 1

Author's note: This is some more of a snippet thing, than an actual chapter. @kit-williams and I were talking about the Consequences of the soul mate au. And how- due to time shenanigans, sometimes two copies of the same soul can be on Terra at the same time. Among other things. Like how some people have 'broken' soul timers.

Summary: Of consequences of timers that don't tick. And Reincarnation.

Warning: uuhh.. Angst? Let me know if I need to add anything.

Tagged: @barn-anon, @bleedingichorhearts, @c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @egrets-not-regrets, @kit-williams

Tagged: @sleepyfan-blog, @ms--lobotomy , @thevoidscreams, @i-am-a-dragon34, @gra93fruit-blog

You stormed out of his apartment. He had simply said the reason for his cheating was just "she's my soulmate!"

“I hope you get the Karma you deserve!” You shout at him. Tears in your eyes as you sob, broken heartedly. 

You had grabbed everything that you owned and put it into your pair of rolling suitcases and stuffed it into your car. You had managed to grab everything important, medications, clothes, and other things that you had left at his apartment as you had lived with him at his apartment part of the time for several years.

You are glad that most of your clothes and important stuff was still at your apartment, he had been pestering you to move in with him. You are glad, now, that you hadn’t moved in with him. Gods, that would make this much harder if you had to pack up everything.

Especially as he had been trying to take you shit from your hands as you took what was yours. You had glared at him and warned him that you’d call the police- or your older sister who has met her soul mate- a Chaos Night Lord who’d be happy to help out. At least, if your sister sweetly asked him to.

Despite needing to go back to your apartment. In the head space you are in- and the shitty weather, you were more likely to crash your car than get anywhere safe. So you lock your car after putting in your stuff and go for a walk to calm down.

God, how many times had you heard that excuse from previous partners? Just because your partner had found their soul mate didn’t mean they could cheat on their current partner! Or he could have done the right thing, and broke up with you.

Or he could have told you he had found his soul mate and met them. But no, he had decided to cheat, like the bastard he apparently is. You curse yourself for being a blind fool. It wasn't your fault your timer was broken. 

You have a suspicion that his bitch of a soul mate knew he had a partner outside of soul mate bonds and didn’t care that he was a cheater. You scoff, cheaters, will always cheat. No matter who it’s with. You wish the bastard and his soul mate the best of life together. May they rot in hell forever.

You just sit and cry on the bench not caring about the rain. How many partners have gotten with you to only find their soulmate not long after?

It wasn't fair. You hear the churring of an Astartes as the rain is suddenly no longer hitting you. The malformed wing covers you from the rain.

The chaos marine feels his hearts sing... He's found them! Her timer wasn't broken... He just lives so much longer than her. You stare up at him, eyes wide.

You feel it- the bond of soul mates. You reach out- hesitantly pausing as you want to hold his hand. He reaches out and grabs your hand. You hear a rumbling purring sound.

It is coming from the Chaos Marine who’s covering you from the rain with his wing. He gently tugs you into his arms. You don’t resist. Happy. Finally happy.

At least you have found your soulmate. Now you know why it always seemed to be broken. You had heard that Space Marines can live a long time.

They can pop up out of nowhere- how they had just appeared out of nowhere one day. There is so much that you and humanity doesn’t know about Space Marines… but at least you’ll be able to figure some things out… after all. You had just met your soulmate, who is one.

[littlesniggy]

Tying a knot

Soooooo....I'm not back but I really wanted to write this so yeah....hope you like it. Reader is a new recruit in the marines and is actually doing pretty well....if it wasn't for those stupid knots.

Warnings: modern day AU, military AU, dub-c, power dynamics, older man x younger woman, reader is fresh out of high school but over 18, swearing, slightly ns.fw

Pairing: Admiral Sakazuki x female recruit reader

Word count: 4.4k

When you pictured yourself in the future you always thought you’d go to college, get a job, settle down, have some kids, and live the rest of your life together with your husband on some lone range in the middle of nowhere, your grandkids running around while your kids prepare the Sunday dinner in your kitchen while you hold hands with your husband and reflect on what a blessed life you’ve had.

Or maybe you would’ve pursued your carrier, made a fortune by inventing something crazy useful or made the right investment at the right time and by the age of 35 you would’ve been so rich that you never had to lift a finger for the rest of your life. You could’ve traveled abroad, see the world and see where the wind carries you. 

The harsh reality hits you when your commanding officer screams into your face, his spit landing in your open mouth by default since you are breathing heavily. Your muscles are burning and you’re not sure anymore if it’s because of the thousands of sit ups you’ve been forced to do or because you ate something funny (the food is really not the best and you’re not sure how long some of the cans have been hidden in the cabinets, forgotten until the canteen lady unsuspectingly found it and decided it was still edible). 

“MOVE. YOUR. ASS! We’re not in sissy camp, recruit!” he yells, more spit landing on your face. Sweat is covering your entire body, your brown shirt and pants soaking wet, coloring it a shade darker than it actually is. You grunt and follow is order, trying to move faster but everything is simply burning. Your officer luckily moves on to the person next to you to scream at him as well. 

If you remember correctly his name is Cody. You saw him briefly at the briefing in week one but haven’t really noticed him ever since. Apparently, he is also still trying to become a marine, taking the 8 week training camp as seriously as you are. 

The whistle blows and everyone is collapsing on the hard ground, loud panting and groaning can be heard over the entire training ground. “Two-minute break! Then we’ll go over to push-ups!” your commanding officer yelled. Internally your groan in frustration but instead shield your eyes from the burning sun above you to get some shade. Once again, you’re contemplating why you chose this path in life and not the ones you’ve dreamt of when you were younger.

It's not that you are stupid. Rather the opposite. You studied hard to get into university after high school, had a high GPA and all the ambitions to succeed. The only thing you didn’t have was money or a scholarship. Your parents couldn’t afford to send you to college and for some reason you also couldn’t land any scholarships. Contemplating if you should apply to universities anyways or not your uncle mentioned that you could join the military for a couple of years and they would then pay for your studies. So, that’s what you decided to do. Taking online classes is the best possible option but they won’t start before September and you had to survive the first 8 weeks of this hell hole first. 

You roll over onto your stomach and reach for the bottle of water to take a big sip before you have to do a shit ton of sit-ups. 

.

.

.

“Listen up! Tomorrow we will have a high-ranking visitor at our compound. Your orders are to behave at your best, to not complain and to fulfill every task given to you! Not that it’s any different from any other day but I won’t have you lot embarrass us in front of admiral Sakazuki!” a nervous murmur can be heard amongst the recruits, earning everyone a “Shut the fuck up!”. 

“He and vice admiral Garp will stay until the end of week 4 when you will take your second academic test. I don’t need to remind you to study for this test since you will not be able to continue your carrier in the navy unless you pass all tests!” he reminds you all.

Thinking back you noticed some faces didn’t return after the first test but you didn’t really pay it any mind. You scored in the top 10% and are more than content with it. You are also not too concerned about the second test since the questions asked are not too hard anyways. 

“That is all. Dismissed!” the officer yells and immediately stalks off. You and the rest of the new recruits slowly make your way over to the shacks where you share everything with one another. No privacy, only the bathrooms and showers are separated by sex which you are very grateful for. 

.

.

.

After taking a shower you feel much better; still sore but much better. “Dinner” is served exactly at 1830 (630 pm) and if you’re later you won’t get anything to eat and have to wait until the next morning. One of your new friends here made this experience the very first day because he was late. You didn’t really feel bad for him since they said not even 6 hours prior when breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served so it was really only his fault. You have no idea why you engaged in conversation with him since he did nothing but complain that night but you somehow became friends and have sticked together since then. 

“What do you think about admiral Sakazuki coming tomorrow, Y/n?” you look up from your food at Rosinante and shrug. “It’s kinda surprising for him to come here. Maybe he has some business to attend to near the base or even on here….” You muse and take a bite of your meat (?) which tastes just like a show. Rosinante hums and watches your face contort in slight disgust at the taste and texture of the food. “You might be right. Still, I haven’t heard anything good from him.” His voice is hushed as to not attract too much attention. 

“Ever since he’s become an admiral some missions abroad have been somewhat….” He pauses, trying to think of the appropriate word. 

“Questionable?” you finish and he nods in agreement. “Yes, questionable.” He agrees and also takes a bite before spitting it back out. “Disgusting.” He huffs and you smile at him. 

“I heard he’s planned some reform for the marines.” Surprised, you turn around to look at none other than Koby who is sitting right behind you. “I’m sorry for eavesdropping.” He apologizes with a small smile but you wave it off. “No worries.” You assure him, also inviting him to continue. 

“I’ve heard some of the officers talk about him visiting another training ground and he personally threw out some of the new recruits even though they passed the tests. They don’t know why but ever since he’s been promoted the atmosphere within the navy has changed.” He informs you. Both you and Rosinante gulp at the story. Sure, there is always the possibility that you might fail a test but being thrown out even after you passed? 

“This almost seems personal…” you murmur and the others nod in agreement. 

“Guess that’s why commander prick seemed a little nervous earlier today.” Rosinante muses. You stay silent, following your own train of thought regarding this revelation.

You need to pass all the tests and become a marine. This is one of the only ways to pursue your academic carrier without falling into a crushing amount of debt. This visit might be a bigger problem than initially expected.

.

.

.

You are used being yelled at. You are used being spit at. You are also (unfortunately) being used to indecent touches by some of your male comrades. All of this you can look past; you know how to deal with it, are not getting intimidated or flustered by any of it. But this is different. 

You have met a lot of different people in your life; some demand more, some demand less authority when entering a room but you have never, ever in your life met anyone who had such a dangerous and commanding aura like the admiral. The moment he stepped onto the training compound your blood ran cold. Chills covered your skin and your stomach dropped. Since now you have never seen anyone as dangerous or a threat. Call it privileged but despite your poor family you were raised pretty well in a surprisingly good neighborhood and there were not a lot of potentially dangerous people in your area. 

You want to look down when his eyes muster the recruits but you know you are not allowed to. This is an entirely new situation and, quite frankly, you have no idea how to behave. And you don’t like it.

Out of the corners of your eyes you can see that your fellow recruits are feeling the same and you feel some kind of relief. At least you’re not the only one.

“When I look at you, I feel disappointed.” His voice is gravely and sends another shiver down your spine. It also makes you listen up even more. This is not a good start for a speech. 

“I visited other bases before and I came to the conclusion that the navy will have to be more selective with new recruits. It should be a privilege to serve in the navy and people should act accordingly. That is why I will personally conduct interviews tomorrow with each and every one of you. If you’re not convincing, you can go back home. That’s all. Dismissed!” 

There is a long stretch of silence where nobody dares to move, even long after he is out of view. Even the officers are speechless, but not for too long. 

“You heard him! So, you better prepare tonight! We will also be judging you on your progress today so you better get your act together!”

.

.

.

You don’t have problems with neither the physical training nor with the academic part but something you certainly are not skilled at is knot-tying. It seems so easy – everybody else can do it – but you can’t to get your head around the right way to tie this stupid knot. You’re constantly yelled by your officers and it also doesn’t help that the admiral and the vice admiral (who you’ve seen for the first time today at knot-tying practice) are watching you with sharp eyes. Or at least the admiral is, vice-admiral Garp is idly chatting with some of the lower ranking marines. 

A frustrated groan leaves your mouth when this stupid rope keeps loosening up every time you’re about to tighten it. “Fucking stupid shitty rope….!” You mumble under your breath and are about to start over again when a large shadow is covering the light coming from the lamp above. You look up, ready to be yelled at again when your body turns to stone. 

You’re looking at the admiral himself, his arms crossed in front of his chest and a displeased look on his face. Everyone around you is silent, shooting stealthy looks in your direction. “I suggest looking for a different carrier when you’re not even capable of tying a simple knot, recruit.” He says and stretches out one hand expectantly. You have to forces your body to move and to give him the rope, your hand briefly brushing against his bigger one. 

You can only watch his massive hands deftly tie the knot you’ve been struggling with, somewhat amazed at how easy it is. With a loud thud he puts the knot down in front of you on the table, an arrogant look in his eyes. “I’ll keep this in mind for the interview tomorrow, recruit.” His words are nothing short of a threat and you feel dizzy. That you’re entire future depends on this asshole and a fucking knot is ridiculous! You look down at the perfectly tied knot and ignore the admiral disappearing. 

.

.

.

You are usually not nervous before interviews but today is different. You feel like throwing up and your hands are shaking. Not only will you be stepping in front of Sakazuki very soon but he will also decide on your future. Some of your comrades have already come back but so far none of them seems to have been kicked out. Nevertheless, they looked terrified. 

Another thing that bothers you is that you can’t anticipate how long the interview will be. Some of the others came out after 10 minutes, others stayed inside for 20-30 minutes. No way the admiral will be able to interview each and every one of you in a single day. 

The door opens and Koby comes out, his face pale as a ghost. You look at him concerned but he simply sighs in slight relief. “Good luck”, he whispers as he slowly walks away. 

“Y/n!” you’re being called into the room. As soon as you enter, the door is being shut behind you and you’re alone with admiral Sakazuki sitting on the opposite side of the room at a big desk. 

He is wearing the standard dark blue admiral uniform but no tie. All his medals are decorating the left side of his chest and you wonder what one needs to do to earn so many awards within the navy. 

You stand in front of the door, whole body straight and a (hopefully) stern look on your face. Sakazuki looks up at you after opening a file – your file, supposedly. 

“Sit.” He orders you and without hesitation you follow his command and sit down on the opposite side of the table, taking your hat off.  

Sakazuki looks at you for a moment before looking down at your file. 

“So, recruit.” He begins, not even bothering to read your name even though your file is right in front of him. “I’ve read your file. Good academic carrier so far.” He remarks but you don’t feel complimented. You know there is coming more. 

“Thank you, sir.” You reply regardless. 

“What made you join the marines and not go to university?” you knew this questions would come and you have thought about the right answer all night. You wanted to tell the truth but you decided against it last minute. 

“I want to serve our country and give back to this great nation.” You reply instead, swallowing the lump in your throat. There is a short silence in the room before the admiral huffs. 

“Serve our country….give back to the nation….stop bullshitting me.” You freeze at his words and his harsh eyes bore right into you. 

“S-sir?” you dare to ask. 

“I asked you why you wanted to join the navy after school and I expect an honest answer. You’re already on thin ice. One wrong step and you’re gone….” He mused, his eyes never leaving yours. The fight or flight instinct wanted to kick in but you desperately tried to suppress it. Neither would serve you good in this situation unless you wanted to lose face completely. 

“I-“ you cleared your throat before starting over again. “I wanted to go to university. But it wasn’t meant to be. So I decided to join the navy. I plan on taking online classes later in my carrier but right now I am entirely focused on my training and becoming a good marine. 

“A good marine should be able to tie a simple knot.” You couldn’t help but look away as your face heats up in embarrassment. You hear him move and pull something out of a drawer. When you look up you see a long rope in front of you on the table.

“How would you tie an enemy’s hands when you’ve captured them and have only this rope?” you know you learnt this the other day but by God you can’t remember!

You take the rope in your hands, looking lost but you decide to improvise. Maybe you’d be lucky…

You start to cross both ends to start tying the rope but Sakazuki interrupts you. “Try it on me.” His suggestion is much more an order than anything else. You want to protest but he has already placed both hands on top of the table in front of you. 

You don’t want to tie his hands together; mostly because you are scared to touch the man in front of you. But you have no other choice. You reach out and take both his hands into yours; his palms are warm and calloused, the rough patches brushing against your own hands. You slide the rope underneath his hands and start winding the rope around them. You know this is wrong, you know there is a right way but you simply can’t remember. 

The admiral watches you and lets you finish, his expression unreadable but you know you messed up once again. When you tighten the tow ends and look up at him you are met with a disappointed and annoyed look. You press your lips together and wait for his judgement. He lifts up his hands so both of you can take a good look.

“Tell me what you did wrong, recruit.” He demands. You look at your work but remain silent. Frustrated with you lack of answer Sakazuki simply flexes his arms and hands and rips the rope apart, freeing his hands in the process. 

“This was a sad excuse of a knot but an even sadder excuse of an aspiring marine. You want to defend this country?” he huffs derogatorily and you shrink into yourself. 

“First of all, you never tie an enemy’s hands in front of them. Always on the back.” He gets up, grabbing a second rope from the drawer and rounds the table. You slightly glare up at him. Of course, this was a set-up. He deliberately placed his hands in front of him on the table and not behind his back. 

“I must’ve misunderstood the assignment, sir. I thought you simply wanted me to tie your hands.” You admit but this answer is no good. 

“The order was clear, recruit. Tie my hands like I was an enemy. Would you tie an enemy’s hands like this?” you shake your head. 

“This is pathetic.” He mumbles. Suddenly, his hand grabs your hair, pulls you from the chair and presses your flat on the table. You gasp surprised and instinctively try to push yourself back up but the admiral has both your hands already grabbed behind your back, holding them  in an iron grip as his free hand slides around your wrists.

It doesn’t even take 10 seconds and your hands are tightly tied. You squirm underneath him, trying to get up but your tied hands combined with a single hand that is lightly pressing down between your shoulder blades is preventing you from getting away. 

“This is how you subdue an enemy.” You try to look at him over your shoulder but his hand moves to your head back again and presses your face onto the surface. You gasp, your legs kicking backwards to hit him but he steps closer and presses his body against yours. To be precise, he presses his legs against the back of your thighs, preventing you from moving at all. 

You struggle against your restrains but his grip only becomes harder. “Fuck!” You breathe out frustrated and give up, accepting your defeat and the likely end of your military carrier. 

“Pathetic.” He comments but lets go of you, pulling you from the table and onto your feet. You feel humiliated but suppress the tears that threaten to form in your eyes. You will not let him see your defeat, not Sakazuki. 

“You should just quit and save yourself from further humiliation which will come.” He says demeaning but you shake your head, “All due respect, sir, but I will not quit.” To underline your point you turn around to face him, the slight glistering of tears could vaguely be made out but either Sakazuki doesn’t see it or he ignores it. 

“I can be useful and I know I will be of value. I will not quit.” You look right into his cold eyes. Sakazuki remains silent for a moment before he steps forwarder, forcing you back and to bump against the table with the back of your thigh. 

“What will happen if you get captured?” he asks you, stepping another step forward and leaning forward deliberately slowly. You lean back instinctively, swallowing hard. You are not comfortable with this close proximity. 

“Will you be able to keep your mouth shut and not rat out your comrades?” he leans down further, forcing you to back up even more until your back is lying on the table again. 

Sakazuki places both hands next to your head, trapping you between his body and the table. 

“Y-yes, sir.” You affirm his question, forcing yourself to keep the eye contact. 

“Is that so? Even if they torture you?” his right hand traces down your arm until he reaches your hip. The warmth of his hand radiates through the fabric. It’s almost burning hot and makes you squirm under his touch. 

“Even if they do unspeakable things to you?” he continues, his hand moving upwards, riling your shirt up in the process, exposing your soft skin to his gaze. 

You let out a long breath you didn’t know you were holding, body slightly shaking under his touch. “Yes, sir.” You affirm once again, your heart hammering inside your chest. Sakazuki’s eyes slowly leave yours and instead travel down your body, taking in the curves of your breasts and then the exposed skin on your stomach.

You have so many different feelings racing inside your mind but the most prominent one is what is he going to do? Is this even legal? 

The admiral leans down, his mouth brushing against the shell of your ear, his hot breath against your neck. Your body heats up when a low groan rumbles through his body, revibrating against yours. His hand traces your naked skin up, inching closer to your breasts. Your body arches against his touch and you have the urge to wrap your legs around his waist. You know your pussy is wet from his short ministration and you want to be touched.

However, there is this small part in your head that screams at you that this is a trap. But this tiny voice keeps being pushed to the side with every touch from his big hand. You sigh and let your head fall to the side when his hand pushes underneath your sports bra and starts fondling your breast. 

A thin sheen of sweat has formed over your skin and you feel the heat inside your body. How did it come to this? This was supposed to be nothing but an interview! You know this isn’t right, but fuck! – his mere presence makes you feel things that should be forbidden!

Your mind is racing, trying to form a single thought but Sakazuki won’t let you. You feel his body shift, his legs nudging your legs apart and he presses his body between you. Your eyes open wide and you can’t hold back the moan anymore as his penis presses against you, hard and hot. Your hips rut up against his, wanting more friction. 

The admiral raises his body to look down at your flustered form, his right hand buried underneath your shirt.

“So pathetic. As soon as some man shows you some kind of attention you crumble like a cookie. Look at you. You’re so needy you will even risk your carrier to get that dick.” As if to emphasize his words he thrusts his hips forward against yours, forcing another gasp from your lips. 

Sakazuki lets go of your breast and pulls his hand out from underneath your shirt, leaving you breathless and flustered. Your slowly turn your head to look at him, his eyes giving no indication of his erect penis between your legs. 

“I am not pathetic….” You mumble. You don’t know why you said that but it was the only thing on your mind you could communicate with the marine above you. 

“And if I am then you’re as pathetic as I am.” You add, bracing for what’s about to come. Sakazuki lifts an eyebrow, surprised at your reply. 

“Care to explain why?” you swallow hard but know there is no going back.

“You are the one who initiated this. You are the one who felt the need to touch me. And you’re as aroused as I am.” Now it was your time to emphasize your words by pressing your hips against his. The admiral doesn’t answer right away, he simply stares at you. Then, the corner of his lips slightly lifts up, indicating a smile. 

“Gotta admit, you’re braver than you look.” He steps back, giving you some room but also robbing you of that sweet pressure between your legs. 

He pulls down your shirt, deliberately brushing against your breasts one last time before he pulls you up by your arm. 

He steps between your legs once again and reaches around you, his muscular body pressing against yours while his hands reach around you to untie your restraints. You sheepishly breathe in his cologne, his musk reminding you once again of the wetness between your legs. 

When your hands are free again, he drops the rope on your lap and returns back to his seat behind the desk. 

“Come to my office tonight after dinner.” He simply says without looking up, your file occupying his attention again. 

“Why?” you dare to ask. Sakazuki glances up at you, his eyebrow raised once again. 

“You are brave, not stupid, aren’t you? Follow my orders and we will get along well.” He simply said and waved his hand dismissively at you to leave. You murmur a “Yes, sir” and slowly make your way over to the door. 

“Oh, and one last thing, recruit. Bring that rope with you. I think I need to teach you some more knots.” Your face heats up one last time, your hand clutches around the fabric, and you hurriedly open the door to leave his office. 

What the fuck did  just happen?!

[lurafita]

Pirate Malec AU

Mostly raw dialoge that I will likely never write.

Okay, but like, pirate au but with powers (of ones choosing). The premise is that marine Sergeant Alec went undercover in order to arrest the notorious captain bane. When he hasn't returned after a year, his siblings grow worried and against orders, go in themselves. They find the Pirates in some small Port town, partying with the villagers. They spot Alec quickly in the midst, seemingly enjoying himself. Thinking their brother will give them an easy in with the captain and Crew and then they can help alec take them all in. Of course that doesn’t happen. Not only is alec extremely unhappy to see them, he also outs them to the pirates immediately. Izzy and Jace are so shocked it takes them a while to realize that the pirates aren't attacking them.

Later, in a more private accomodation, talks happen. Alec: "They aren't bad people." Jace: "They are pirates!" Alec: "They saved this very town from a tyrant. They beat two of the ten most dangerous and wanted pirates out there and left them for the Marines to imprison. It's because of them the corruption of the 46th unit of the marine corps came to light. the year I sailed with them, I have saved more people than in my whole military career. Magnus is good, and kind, and more noble than a lot of the people I used to serve under. I won't let you or anyone else lay a hand on him. …. or anyone else of the Crew." Izzy: "You are in love with him." Jace: "You could have told us. We could have arranged a covert meet up. Hell, you could have sent us a fucking carrier bird with a written message. Anything would have been better than letting us think that something may have happened to you!" Alec: "I couldn’t trust you." Izzy, hurt: "Couldn’t trust us? Us?!" Jace, hurt also: "Alec!" Alec: "I'm sorry. I really am. But…. Not with him. With anything else. With my life. But not with Magnus. " Then izzy and jace get up and leave the room. Alec stays behind, dejected.

Later Magnus finds izzy and jace.

Magnus: "This might not be my place to ask, but please try not to be too hard with your brother." Izzy: "he said he doesn't trust us." Magnus: "He does." Jace, scoffing: "Apparently with anything else but you." Magnus: "you all are victims of poor Timing. He does trust you. He missed you. Right now, he just isn't in the right frame of mind."

Izzy: "Why? What could have possibly happened that he would question our loyalty to him?" Jace: "And it better be a good fucking reason because he pissed me off big time!" Magnus: "It's my fault. A while ago, we were anchored at a bigger Port. There we met … someone from my past. An ex girlfriend, and the kind of pirate that you really should arrest if ever you get the opportunity. Captain Camille Belcourt. She came to me asking for help. Said she had changed, that she was trying to make up for her past misdeeds. That there were children in danger. Alexander was suspicious, so was the rest of the Crew, but I… I thought I knew her, that I could read her. Maybe I just wanted to believe that she was capable of more than casual cruelty, and that the Version of her I had loved once, wasn't just a facade. Maybe I was just cocky and reckless. I went alone to meet up with her, and she captured me abroad her ship and sailed off. I was her prisoner for 3 weeks, and the accomodations… left a lot to be desired. When Alexander and the Crew finally caught up and managed to free me, I was on the verge of death. It took me almost 4 months to recover, and for a while, we weren’t sure if I would ever be able to walk again. It's still too fresh in his mind. In everyone’s. It's the reason we came here, to get a bit of a change of scenery. Alexander has been very protective of me. Seeing you has most likely brought up some unpleasant associations with the Marines and incarcerations and seeing me in chains. He loves you. He trusts you. Right now, it's just bad timing."

(do forgive the typos I wrote that on my phone and my phone hates me)

[rollinouttahere-writes]

(the train could also be Lucky & Doll)

No like he’s about to land the kill only to get tackled by Shanks at the same time that Buggy accidentally flies ass first into his face

Just two old men being desperate for (1) crazy chick who showed up out of literally nowhere, and just the one old man also being desperate for the approval of his tween daughter; in the process of doing that, making the life of other old men hell (Akainu & Sengoku being the other old men)

Akainu gets up after they’ve gotten off of him to see them apparently using Ace for a game of tug-of-war that Shanks is winning, and then see the fearsome red haired emperor of the sea kneel down and present the screeching younger man (who is actively trying to choke and set Shanks on fire) to a girl who seems to be about eleven or twelve years old and is switching between the emotions of joy and dread, while Lucky stands behind the girl looking immensely relieved

(Akainu thinks Lucky is relieved because Ace is saved, she’s actually relieved that Shanks saving Ace means she doesn’t have to marry Buggy)

Meanwhile Sengoku is watching this mess thinking that he should have retired years ago, or better yet, not even have become a marine in the first place

God I love how unserious Marineford becomes in the Strays AU

Akainu can handle a lot, but losing because a clown landed on him ass first might break him. The disgrace and dishonor of it all...

I'm cackling at the idea of Shanks carrying Ace while Ace is actively trying to kill him. It's like watching a vet handle a feral cat.

Doll is dreading making good on her promise, Lucky is trying to corral Luffy and stop him from picking a fight he cannot win, Lizard is being hauled off by Lucci with Crocodile giving chase, Akainu is fighting for his life trying to land a blow on Buggy, and Ace is attempting to melt Shanks' face off.

Sengoku takes a good, hard look at the situation, turns around, and leaves. He quits. Fuck this noise, he's too old for this shit.

[writtenbymisunderstoodnerds]

I never wanted this, but maybe it's not such a bad thing (Preath x Reader)

Soulmate Au, requested by anon. This turned out to be really long and it's still not finished so I decided to split it up into 2-3 parts. Hope you enjoy!

If I haven't done your request yet it will be coming. I try to write in order of request, but my brain chooses what I write without my consent and I can't focus on anything else. Perks of ADHD.

Words: 2.7k

---

Soulmates. It was a concept that I had always despised. Why did the universe or whatever you want to call it get to decide who I was meant to spend my life with? I didn't like being told what to do at the best of times, let alone when it came to one of the biggest decisions one might make in life. Apparently when you meet your soulmate a tattoo appeared somewhere on your body of something that represented where or how you first met. I hadn't found my so called soulmate yet and I really didn't care if I did or not. It's not like I would do anything about it anyway.

"Where are you heading in such a hurry?" Ali asked, as I was getting my stuff together. Ash was my older sister, Ali had practically been my sister since they met, I loved her as much as I did Ash. They had let me stay with them after I got out of the marines last year after being injured in a bad wreck, I was struggling to readjust to normal life and move past the wreck. There were a lot of bad dreams and sleepless nights which had me turning to alcohol. Ash had pulled me out of it before it turned from a bad habit to an addiction. She got me into therapy, stopped me from drinking, slept with me every night for over a month until my dreams started to settle down. 

"I'm going surfing, tell Ash I'm heading to our spot if she wants to join." I ran out the door, but quickly turned back kissing the kids and Ali's cheek, "Love you all, aunty will see you both soon, be good."

"Be safe, love you. Remember some of the team is coming for lunch, it would be good to meet them before you start." I was starting with the team as security in two weeks. With being deployed, trying to sort my life out and working, I had never met most of the team. Unfortunately, I had even missed their wedding because I was deployed. The only person I had ever really met was Megan. 

"I'll be there!" I yelled over my shoulder. 

After what felt like hours and good few wipe outs, I finally made my way back to the beach. I had my wetsuit sitting down around my waist, drying myself off when a voice spoke up, "You're pretty good."

There was a brown haired girl, probably about my age, staring at my abs. I smirked before speaking, "Guess you didn't see the part where I totally wiped out?"

Her head shot up. As soon as our eyes met, an intense burning sensation shot through my wrist. I hissed, gripping my wrist. The stranger seemed to be doing the same thing, but the pain was so intense, I couldn't pay much attention. After a few seconds the pain subsided and I finally looked down at my wrist. Previously bare skin was now covered by a wave tattoo. What was happening finally hit me. The stranger was my soulmate.

I looked at her for a second, feeling a sense of calm wash over me as it felt like everything was falling into place. It felt right. Which was not what I wanted to feel. Honestly, it scared me. I had heard stories about it, but I never wanted to feel that way towards my soulmate. 

"You-"

Before the stranger could say anything else, I ran away. Literally, I picked up my surfboard and sprinted down the beach. I never wanted to meet my soulmate, I didn't want a soulmate to begin with. In that moment I figured that if I ran away, I wouldn't have to deal with it or see her again. 

"Woah, I know you are not about to come into this house with your wetsuit still on."

"Right sorry," I quickly stripped off my wetsuit, making sure to hang it up before rushing upstairs to shower and try forget what happened on the beach. I was in the shower for probably half an hour before moving to sit on my bed, staring into space for another good half an hour. There was a knock on the door, bringing me out of my thoughts, "Yeah?"

"You coming down? The team is starting to arrive."

"Uh yeah, let me just get dressed. I'll be down in a minute."

I quickly got dressed before pushing any thoughts of soulmates out of my mind. Before I could get far, crying from the nursery caught my attention. Ali called up the stairs asking me to get him before heading down. 

"Hi baby boy," I whispered as I picked him up, moving to change his diaper before we went down stairs, "I could definitely use some cuddles from my beautiful nephew right about now, how does that sound? Maybe we can get you a bottle while we're at it, everyone loves good food after a nap."

I was too invested in my one sided conversation to notice the amount of girls gathered in the kitchen as I walked in. As I looked up, I found my gaze drawn to a curly haired brunette. That was until my wrist started intensely burning again. 

"Take him."

Ali looked confused, "What?"

"Someone take him now." Ocean was quickly taken from me as I gripped my wrist, trying not to swear because I knew Sloane was in the room. This almost felt worse than the first time, maybe because the area was already tender.

"Y/n! What's happening?" I heard Ash ask, voice laced with worry as her arm wrapped around me. The pain subsided once again as I looked at the stranger. I got the same calm feeling from the beach wash over me. Ash was still standing next to me, concern radiating off her as I looked around the room, eyes stopping on the stranger from the beach. Before anyone could say anything, I ran again. This time out of the house and back to the beach. I was confused, why did I have that reaction twice? There was no way I had two soulmates right? That doesn't happen.

I finally looked down at my wrist. The wave tattoo now accompanied by a house. I sunk down into the sand, tucking my knees against my chest as I stared out at the water. 

Someone sat down next to me, I knew it was either Ali or Ash, they were the only ones who knew about the little corner of the beach I came to hide. Ali's soft voice spoke up after a few seconds, "Thought I might find you here. You found your soulmate?"

Of course it was Ali. Ash was always there for me, but it was more support, spending time with me, fighting for me. Ali was always the better one at making me talk. I chucked humourlessly, showing her my wrist, "Two soulmates apparently. First one happened on the beach earlier."

"That's why you came in so hurriedly. Going by who you were looking at when it happened, I have a feeling I know who your other is. Do you want to know who they are?"

"I never wanted to know them at all."

Ali wrapped her arm around me, pulling me closer. Her perfume creating a sense of peace as it always did, "I know, I know you don't like the concept of a soulmate, but you're going to be around them a lot Y/n. They're our teammates."

"Of course they are. Fuck this, fuck the world, fuck everything."

She chuckled, rubbing my arm, "You're being a bit dramatic."

I groaned dramatically, "Just let me be dramatic for a second before I have to face this."

"Okay, let me know when you're ready." 

After a few minutes I decided to just face it. It wasn't something I could run from. Ali was right, if they were on the team them I would be around them a lot, "Tell me."

"So the one in the house is Christen, now I'm assuming the one from the beach is Tobin."

"Why do you assume that?"

"Christen and Tobin are together, they're soulmates. They've mentioned a few times that they felt like someone was missing. I know you don't want this Y/n, but you should at least talk to them. It effects them as well, they deserve to know your stance."

Once again Ali was right, just because I didn't believe in it, doesn't mean they didn't deserve to know that I wasn't interested instead of me just running away or ignoring it. I could be an asshole, but not that much of an asshole, especially when it came to potentially breaking some ones heart. "I know. Give me 5 minutes once you get back then you can send them out if they want to."

Ali left, once again leaving me to my thoughts. I didn't know what I was supposed to say. I was never good at talking to people I just met or having to potentially hurt someone. Add them both together and I was slightly panicking. 

Shadows covered the sun making me look up. There stood my two soul mates. Who I guessed was Tobin spoke up first, "Uh hey, Ali said we'd find you out here." 

I quickly looked down, trying to stop the feelings that started to rise being this close to them. It was comfortable, calming, peaceful, but I was nervous at the same time. Nervous about what to say, how they would react and how I would feel about it once it was done. It wasn't what I wanted, I didn't want to be forced to be with someone. There was a small part of me that wondered if I would regret it, "Hey."

"I'm Tobin, this is Christen."

"Y/n."

They sat down, looking about as nervous as I felt. There was silence for a few seconds before I spoke up, "I'm sorry for running away. Twice. It was a shock I guess."

"It's okay, we get it."

"Look um I have to be honest with you both. I don't believe in soulmates, well I do, but I don't believe in the concept of just being with someone because you're told you should be. I'm sure you are both great, but this isn't something I'm looking to pursue."

They tried to hide it, but I saw the hurt fill their eyes. My heart ached knowing I hurt them. Hurting people was the last thing I wanted to do. Christen smiled softly at me, "We respect that Y/n."

"I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's okay. We understand."

"We're going to head back in. Are you coming?"

"I will. I'm just going to take a minute."

After getting my mind back in order, I made my way back to the house stopping by the door to take my shoes off. It wasn't my intention to eavesdrop, but I accidently overheard the conversation going on. "Yes she's our soulmate, no nothing is going to come of it. She's not looking for that right now and we understand that. Finding out you have two soulmates is a lot especially when you're not looking for a relationship. Yes, it kind of hurts, but please don't let this effect the way you interact with her. We don't hold any negative feelings toward her."

There was quiet conversation as I waited a few seconds before going inside. I appreciated that they had my back despite what just happened. It was one of my worries that it would effect how the team saw me. I couldn't do my job easily if they hated me. I also didn't want my sisters bestfriends to hate me. Sloane was the first person to notice me, she ran up pulling at my hand until I picked her up, "Otay aunt Y/n/n? Ouchie? Kiss better."

I held my wrist out for her to kiss better. It was something I always did for her when she got hurt, "I'm okay superstar, it's all better now thanks to you."

"Ladies, this is my sister Y/n. As you may know she's starting as head of security in a couple of weeks."

Things weren't as awkward as I expected. They didn't seem to hold it against me. Interacting with me, getting to know me. Tobin and Christen kept their distance, choosing to interact with anyone but me. It wasn't unexpected, I was doing the same thing. It was just easier that way.

---

No one warned you how weird it would feel to not be with your soulmate or soulmates in my case. It was kind of hard to describe, there wasn't a constant pain or heartache like you would read in stories, it just felt weird. It was a sort of empty feeling, like something was missing. Which I guess there was. It had been three weeks since I first met them and a week since I started working with them.

We were friendly when around each other, but Christen and Tobin kept their distance when they could. I didn't blame them, I knew it hurt that their soulmate didn't want them. Ash had told me when I had asked how they were. Just because I didn't want it, doesn't mean I didn't care. If I'm being honest, I was still drawn to them, drawn to how right everything felt when I was around them. That scared me so I kept even more of a distance. 

I was heading up to my room when someone stopped the elevator from closing. Christen and Tobin got on, standing awkwardly across from me. This was the first time we had been alone since the beach on the day we met. The elevator jolted to a stop, not opening or moving despite trying the buttons. 

"They said something went wrong with the system, some ones coming to fix it, but it could take up to an hour." Tobin informed us as she hung up the phone.

"Great. That's just fucking fantastic. Of course this would happen now of all times"

I noticed Tobin clenching her jaw, "I know you don't want to be stuck with us, but you don't have to take it out on us. It's not like it's our fault."

I slid down the wall, tucking my knees to my chest. Tobin and Christen followed my lead, sitting down on the other side of the elevator. "Sorry, that was just a general statement, it wasn't aimed at you. I have an appointment with my therapist and I don't do well in confined spaces anymore." There was silence for a few minutes before I spoke up again, "It's not that I don't want to be stuck with you guys, I have nothing against you, you're both really nice people."

Tobin sighed, head resting back against the wall, "I know you have a thing about soulmates and we do respect that, but why won't you even just try to get to know us before completely shutting it down?"

"I don't know. To be honest I didn't even think about it. Everything happened so quickly, I got scared."

"What scares you?" Christen asked, voice softer than Tobin's was. I was starting to think that was just how Christen was. She always seemed so soft spoken. I admit it was comforting.  

I was never one to easily talk about my feelings, but I figured I owed them more of an explanation seeing as I broke their hearts with little to no explanation to begin with, "I don't want to be stuck in a relationship with someone I don't like or have anything in common with. I want to choose who I'm with, who I build a life with, not have it forced on me. Having two soulmates didn't help either."

"Chris and I aren't asking for a relationship Y/n."

"Y-you're not?"

"No, we just want to get to know you, see if there is anything there beside the soulmate connection. We never expected you to just jump into a relationship with us, all we wanted was to get to know you. Seeing how you reacted to us, we didn't want to push you."

"No expectations?"

"No expectations."

"That might be okay. For now can you guys just tell me about yourselves? Distract me from what's happening because I'm about to start panicking."

[cxcassii]

*ੈ𑁍༘⋆ merman x human EM au *ੈ𑁍༘⋆

prompt summary:

Mikasa and Eren are both in a marine biology class and are both passionate environmental activists against ocean pollution. Mikasa has always felt extra strongly about the specific subject, more than her friends, more than her family, more than anyone she knew in her life.

The only one to ever trump this passion of hers is Eren. Mikasa just can’t figure out why.

He looks like the opposite kind of person who cares about nature—with messy brown hair, scraggly and lacking a level of grooming in his overall appearance—not to mention he smokes cigarettes. However, it is very apparent in how Eren behaves like ocean pollution is on a personal matter.

Then Mikasa goes on a scuba diving trip—in search to catch some marine photography of rarer tropical fish—when she is suddenly face to face with an all too familiar face.

Eren.

Except he wore no scuba diving gear—instead a flash of emerald green swishes behind him. A tail.

Eren’s a mermaid—or make that man?!

snippet:

⋆.ೃ࿔*:𓇼⋆.ೃ࿔*:⋆

It was her first day on campus that she initially noticed him out of her peripheral vision.

In the beginning, he was quiet, reserved. At first glance, Mikasa concised perhaps he didn’t want to draw attention to himself.

Then she thought twice about that when she noticed him next—after their very first lecture—a cigarette cushioned between two plump lips. The smell caught her nose firstly, not the visual source. Once she looked up and registered the awful aruoma emitting was from him, she chalked him up for an edge-lord emo.

No one else on campus smoked cigarettes—they vaped like most new age nicotine users.

He looked the part. Piercing aligned his ears in rows. His skin, though caramel and tan in the sunlight, is covered with sloppy ink from his assortment of tattoos. His hair was long for a man—stereotypically anyways—and it was messy, nearly always thrown up in a disheveled half-man bun. Then there’s a light amount of stubble above his lip and dusting his chin and jawline. His clothes were usually baggy, looking far too loose on his form, which she caught glimpse of the more she noticed him. Some days he would wear a tight camisole under a baggy jacket, except he wore it down around his waist one day. She noticed how his body ripples with muscles. She thought it was odd that he seemed to go to a good amount of lengths to cover up all that taunt skin he hid under his baggy clothes.

She thought it with suspicion, yet, it was massively unidentifiable. For heaven's sake, Mikasa hasn't even managed to talk to the man yet.

Anytime she gathered enough courage to make an attempt at using the simmering of bubbling sensations inside her chest, her mind raced to come up with something clever to say—before the moment of bravery would disappear next in a blink of an eye. The words stump at her lips, cut off from her tongue, receding back deep into her being. Unmoving.

Somehow, he appeared to sense it. He’d turn his head and meet her eyes. She’d grow so lost in them that she’d completely forget what she was aiming for in the first place.

And what stopped her every time wasn’t his expression or his demeanor. No. It was his inhumanly beautiful eye color. It was otherworldly—unnatural.

Caribbean sea foam green. Though, ultimately his color is not what captivates her attention the most. It was the manner in which his orbs glew.

Unnaturally bright.

Exceptionally distracting with how enchanting their colors glow. She felt drowned in their oases and by the time she pulled herself out of the trance, he was gone. Leaving her feeling dazed and a little confused.

It’d been like this for a month now.

The only emotion she ever saw out of him was when they’d be in the midst of a heated lecture. Where his tone grew thick with respited skepticism and twinged with detested sounding reproach. It was as if he came alive, a fire lit under him. He had this manner of always challenging the professor's teachings. He was severely underwhelmed with how unproactive big corps that have the means to keep waste and pollution to a minimum, how they choose to turn blind eyes. When he spoke like that, a cord had been struck in her.

She learned through unwilling enamorment that the gloomy and yet passionate emo man’s name was Eren.

Eren Jaeger.

That name didn’t have any intention of slipping her mind. Not any time soon.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:𓇼⋆.ೃ࿔*:⋆

[brother-kaelan]

Space Marine Husbandry AU - Aethon

Previous - Next

Content Warning/Trigger Warning:

Bullying, Threats of violence

The Pull

As he waked up to regular beeping a groaned. The lights were too bright and the air smelled clinical.

"You had an allergic reaction to some of the blood we gave you. You were very lucky we could find a compatible donor in time."

The baseline human doctor told him while pointing to a young human in the chair next to him. They looked tired if the bags under their eyes was any indication.

They looked up at the Night Lord apothecary from before.

"Can I leave soon, I still have lot's of work to do in the server room." Aethon didn't really understand why he felt so strongly protective and worried about the baseline that apparently saved his life.

"You have to stay here for a while longer, Odysseus. We had to take a lot of blood this time. You will need to stay under observation for a while." The baseline doctor said, his tone clearly indicated this was a recurring situation.

"I'm grateful for your help, human, I will help you with your work after we're both rested." Aethon didn't really understand why he felt compelled to make the baseline safer but the pull was very strong. They looked like an older version of Nova, he shook the memory of the young baseline away from his mind, it hurt to much to know he would probably never see them again.

He hadn't felt his eyes close again and himself drift to sleep. When he woke up again, they were gone... He didn't see them for a few days, he had been given a small and confortable cell while he adapted to his new life.

He was going towards the training room when he came chest-to-face with the baseline from a few days prior. If he remembered right, their name was Odysseus.

"You promised to help me, right ?" They were out of breath, their body barely standing upright. His eyes looked over to their cane. This was interesting, baselines didn't usually didn't need canes this early in life. He would have to ask a few questions to the apothecaries. His eyes went back to the youth.

"I did. What help do you need, human?" He was curious, what could possibly make the clearly painted human run.

He didn't have time to try and figure it out when 2 older baseline came menacingly in their direction.

"Look, the useless monster found a new person to annoy." The first one spoke.

"Always the taller ones..." Aethon shook his head before disappearing.

Odysseus started panicking, the space Marine had been there, where had he gone ?

"Looks like you're all alone now. We'll make it fast if you beg... After all we can't have you blable about what you saw in the break room, can we?" The second one smirked sadistically as he approached.

Odysseus shook violently. Until they stopped and their eyes widened.

[blondeboyfriend]

𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐀 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐘 (𝟏𝟖+)

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐃𝐍𝐈

[ PAIRING ] Zeke Yeager x f!reader [ AUTHOR'S NOTE ] One of my Kinktober fics from 2021. [ SYNOPSIS ] You had no idea adopting a dog would be this complicated. [ WORD COUNT ] 2.5k [ CONTENT ] Modern AU, hybrids (Zeke is a dogboy and he wears a collar), y/n is kinda dominant, pet names (you call him puppy), oral sex (f receiving), Zeke knows when you ovulate (and I have no good explanation for it), creampie, knotting, a fluffy ass ending.

When you moved up to the coastal north you didn’t think much about how isolated you truly were. Your closest neighbor being a mile away didn’t dawn on you until your first night in your new home. The wood floors were cold and creaky. The Monterey cypresses that shielded your home from the salty, onshore winds trembled outside your window, making the most heinous noise. Cell service was shaky and you didn’t have the foresight to get a landline. 

Overall you were woefully unprepared for this new chapter in your life.

One day you wandered over to your laptop and set out to find a dog. You flipped through adoption sites trying to find the perfect fit. You didn’t want a huge one, but you didn’t want anything small enough to get carried off by a hawk. You needed something cute and loud, preferably.

It took about an hour of searching until you stumbled across a Shiba Inu mix. After doing remedial research you knew a creature capable of letting out a “Shiba scream” was the perfect match. The listing was rather mysterious, but it seemed promising.

“No pictures? Whatever, I know what dogs look like,” you told yourself.

You submitted your inquiry and crossed your fingers hoping you and the dog would get along.

The next morning you heard an urgent knock on your door. You rolled out of bed and threw a robe on top of your nightgown. The wood floors were anything but kind, the cold oak freezing your feet with every step. The knocks grew harder and you flung the door open.

“What?!”

In your sleepy daze you tossed civility to the side. You glanced at the blonde man standing in front of you. He was tall, slender but well-built, and his flaxen hair was windblown and looked exceedingly soft. You barely noticed his fox-like ears and floofy, curled tail.

“Can I help you?”

“You wanted a dog, right?” he asked plainly.

“Are you from the agency?”

“You could say that.”

“Are those part of your uniform?” You pointed at his ears and they perked up much to your surprise.

“My ears?” He barely spat the question out before he was overcome with laughter. “The things I use to hear?”

“Ye—yes,” you stammered.

“Are your ears part of your uniform?”

You ignored his snide comment, hoping he’d leave as fast as he came.

“Where’s the dog? I’d like to meet him before I make a commitment,” you paused, gathering your thoughts. “Doesn’t seem like a great idea to blindly adopt a dog, you know?”

“Oh you’re going to love this,” he said, stepping closer to you.

You backed up and nearly stumbled back into your home.

“I’m the dog.”

“What? No, seriously where is he? His name was Zeke or something, right?”

You peered over the man’s shoulder looking for the dog you had conjured in your mind. You called out the his name, thinking maybe he was hiding behind a tree or placed out of view.

“Yeah, it is his name. My name. Hi, I’m Zeke. You’re officially stuck with me.”

Zeke came in even closer, standing chest to chest with you. He stared at you hard with his grey eyes, they reminded you of the fog that drifted in on the marine layer. Nothing like the big brown eyes you expected your dog to have. Taking a good look at him, he wasn’t like anything you imagined. You were rendered speechless. He smirked, clearly taking joy in your stunned silence.

“Can I come in? I’m cold. I had to walk here. Well, not the whole way. The guy kicked me out the car because I kept sticking my head out the window. Apparently I was letting the heat out.”

He ended his sentence with a dejected sigh.

You reached up and squeezed one of his ears, feeling the soft fur that coated them. They felt real and they matched his hair color so well it was almost uncanny. You were stunned. In your absentmindedness your thumbnail scratched one causing him to yelp.

“Oh fuck! I’m so sorry! I just thought maybe you were a really committed furry.”

Zeke cocked his head to the side, rubbing his ear. He gave you a quizzical look.

“What the fuck is a furry?”

Zeke was much more even-keeled than you anticipated. You were expecting a screaming Shiba Inu, but instead you got him. He alerted you of weird noises in a manner you considered too lax. He would stare out the window, eyes narrowed, and calmly mutter, “I think something’s out there.”

However when a man tried to break into your home he came at the guy with a baseball bat. You ran downstairs to see him dressed only in his underwear, standing over the unconscious man. He was catching his breath, bat in hand, immersed in a silent rage. You never saw him so incensed, so wild. When he glanced up and saw you standing there with your eyes wide he softened his expression, flashing you a sheepish smile. Wagging his tail, he suggested calling the police. 

Once the cops drove off with the intruder in tow, Zeke carried you upstairs to bed and spent the night spooning you. After that encounter he slept beside you every night.

Zeke demanded that you collar him even though you told him it wasn’t necessary. You thought it was rather strange and held off on buying one, hoping he’d forget about it. But he didn’t. He sat you down and explained how it made him feel wanted and safe. He knew you’d never throw him out on the street, but after a life of getting shuffled around from home to home he needed the security.

He was fairly casual during the conversation, even cracking a few jokes. But his eyes gave him away; they revealed the melancholy that pooled inside him.

It killed you to think of a sweet, little puppyboy getting tossed out of someone’s house. You wanted to go after all the people who mistreated him after he described how cold he'd get when he was forced to sleep in a literal dog house. How he’d curl up into a little ball with his tail wrapped around him, trying to stay warm as snow blew in through the shoddy door. One family even refused to let him walk upright; they made him crawl around on his hands and knees.

You got him a lovely leather collar in a rich mahogany color the very next day. He nearly squeezed the life out of you when he pulled you in for a hug, his tail wagging like crazy.

From that day forth you were determined to make up for all the awful things that happened to him.

One night while you were cuddling in bed Zeke was considerably more affectionate. He spooned you, muscled arms wrapped around you, nose buried in your freshly washed hair. He took a deep inhale and his warm hand cupped your breast, giving it a little squeeze.

Your eyes fluttered open and you turned over to face him.

“Zeke, what the hell?”

“You’re in heat, don’t play coy,” he said before licking your neck.

You clumsily patted him on the head and scratched that special spot behind his ear.

“I’m not in heat. Humans don’t have estrous cycles.”

He sighed and nuzzled his face into your neck, his breath hot against your skin.

“You smell like it,” he murmured.

You thought about the random pain you felt in your left ovary the day before. It had to be a coincidence.

He tightened his arms around you and ran his hands down your back, stopping at the small of it. His eyes were dark with lust. Zeke looked at you like this quite a bit, but it would only be for a moment. He was good at keeping composure. You couldn’t count how many times he busted into your room while you were getting dressed. His gaze lingered on your body before apologizing and shutting your door, acting like nothing happened.

Zeke licked your neck again. Usually he only did it to annoy you, popping up from under your desk and straddling your lap just so he could poke your face with his tongue. He’d stumble off, snickering the entire time. A much different context compared to the current one.

You stroked his head, tangling your fingers in his blonde locks. His hair was like silk; it was hard to keep your hands off it.

“We can’t do this,” you said.

“Aw, what? You don’t like me anymore?”

You gritted your teeth, trying to ignore the growing wet spot in your underwear.

“You’re my pet.”

“Oh so now I’m a mere pet,” he said, mocking your apprehension.

He had a point. You didn’t treat Zeke like he was a dog. Why would you? He cleaned the apartment while you were at work, did the grocery shopping, and occasionally played amateur therapist when you got hit with an existential crisis. He was so much more than a pet; you held no dominion over him nor did you want to.

Zeke lifted your nightgown and peeled your underwear off. He grabbed your ass and squeezed, digging his trim nails into the flesh.

“Please,” he said, borderline begging. “I need it.”

He looked so sad with ears tucked down. If he was guilt tripping you it was working. You stroked his cheek, your fingers grazing his beard. It was silly to lie to yourself, to think you didn’t want to fuck Zeke.

“Fine, but we tell no one.”

You heard his tail thumping against the mattress.

“Really?”

You sighed, “Yes… Really.”

Without another word Zeke flipped you onto your back and yanked your nightgown over your head, throwing it over his shoulder. He left a trail of kisses down your body before stopping at your throbbing cunt. He forced two of his fingers inside and prodded the inside of you.

“Nice,” he said, pulling them out and licking them clean. “I knew you’d taste good.”

His breath was hot against your cunt, beard tickling the inside of your thighs. You felt his warm tongue drift along your folds before he encircled your clit. Your toes curled as gently sucked on it. 

He peered up at you and your heart melted. He was so eager to please. You scratched behind his ear causing him to moan with a mouthful of your cunt.

“Such a good boy,” you cooed, remembering the things he murmured when you caught him fucking your pillow.

His eyes lit up at the sweetness radiating from your voice. It was probably not something he was used to hearing.

“I’d even say you’re the best boy.”

“Do you have the authority to make that claim?” he asked, adjusting his glasses.

You pinched his ear.

“Don’t make me take back what I said.”

He let out a pained little whine. Eager to please he ran his tongue along your slit, prodding the opening.

“I’m gonna have to reward you.”

His tail wagged with a fervor you didn’t know it was capable of.

“Aw,” you said, patting his head. “Such an eager puppy.”

His glasses were fogging up. His cuteness was truly unparalleled.

“Are you enjoying this?” he asked, resting his cheek on your thigh.

“Very, but I don’t remember asking you to stop.”

“I know, but I need to fuck you. It’s becoming distracting.”

You giggled. “Oh, you poor thing. You need me that bad?”

“Yes,” he growled.

He crawled on top of you, his face obscenely close to yours. The heat coming off his body was immense like those rogue, hot days that reared their heads in October. You wanted to immerse yourself in him, feel the weight of his body against yours.

You smiled and cupped his face in your hands, kissing him. You didn’t expect him to be so sloppy but his desperation should have clued you in. Biting on his bottom lip, you guided his erect cock inside you.

“Oh f—fuck,” he stammered, breaking the kiss.

You tightened around the length of his cock and watched as he agonized over the sensation. He buried his face into your neck, trying to hide his expression from you.

“Is it too much?” you asked, petting his head.

“No,” he responded, voice muffled by your flesh.

You rolled your hips against his and he started to thrust.

“I don’t know. It sounds like my precious boy can’t handle it.”

“Your precious boy is going to come if you keep talking like that.”

Your body nearly sang at the thought of him filling you with his cum.

“As if that’s not my end game,” you laughed.

He beamed, tail still wagging. He really was your precious boy, so eager to please.

Vulgar noises emanated from your wet cunt as Zeke drove his cock deeper inside you, your fluids intermingling. He panted and rutted against you in a haze of ardor. You looked into his eyes and saw nothing behind them other than lust. His brain had taken a vacation.

“Aw, such a dumb puppy. Are you gonna come, hm?”

He rubbed your clit with his rough thumb.

“Not yet,” he choked out. “You fir—first.”

The weight of his thumb against your throbbing clit was almost too much to bear. His cock was brushing up against your cervix. Your breathing labored as your orgasm crested the horizon. You locked your legs around his hips, grinding up against him. You held onto him as he fucked you harder, driving your body into the mattress.

“Shit,” you said through a moan. “That feels so good.”

A devilish gleam came over Zeke’s eyes. He bit down on your shoulder, the pain making you wince. However you felt yourself becoming overwhelmed with euphoria.

You held his face in your hands and told him, “You’re such a good boy, Zeke. You are my good boy.”

He softly bit at your neck as you were engulfed in rapture. Your body quivered and writhed underneath him, exuding delectation. You hung onto his shoulders and rode out your orgasm as he continued rutting against you.

“Can I come inside you? I’ve been good enough, haven’t I?”

You smirked and kissed the tip of his nose.

“Go ahead, puppy. You earned it.”

His cock swelled and released a deluge of cum inside you. It was a completely new sensation; nothing prepared you for it. Honestly had you known it’d feel this good you would have propositioned him the day you met him.

His loud moans filled the room and you instinctively checked to make sure the window was shut. Once he finished he collapsed on top of you, cock still buried inside your cunt.

“I’m… We’re going to be stuck like this for a while,” he muttered, blushing. “I can’t pull out yet.”

You rubbed his back. “That’s alright. I mean, it is weird as fuck.”

He playfully bit your ear.

“I guess it is kind of weird, huh…” His voice trailed off, heavy with sleepiness.

He held onto you and rolled over onto his back, letting you rest on top of him. He kissed your neck before letting out a hearty yawn. He looked so peaceful, so relaxed. You were happy you could give him a better life and hoped you could make up for the years of shit he endured.

“I like weird things,” you said softly.

[enobariasdistrict2]

odesta week modern au monday:

i will inform you right now that i am in high school with no previous background experience or interest in marine biology and anything that comes off as scientific information is dubious and came from quick google searches. i also have little knowledge of the UC school system so if this is inaccurate then sucks to suck lol.

There was no topic Annie could get lost in as far and as easily as she did other than marine biology. Thankfully, living in a prime area to study the ocean and attending a program to pursue this passion at a renowned school, the University of California at San Diego, afforded her many opportunities to study marine life.

She observes different creatures with unfeigned fascination, those both widely known and even some obscure to common society. It surprised her how so many Californians were uninformed of the natural beauty of the sea and the wealth of information it provided readily as well as the secrets that were hidden with the frothy waves. How her fellow citizens weren't interested in learning about the many different versatile species all contributing to marine biodiversity and ensuring the health of the planet. Moreover, she was often frustrated by how many cynics reduced what made her life feel purposeful as a waste of tuition money and argued she wouldn't be making a particularly large sum of income through this path. And it enraged her that people in her family sometimes believed marine biology students simply went on fun little field trips to the beach and made sandcastles and pointed at starfish like they were a novelty. Which, they were, every organism on Earth down to the worms digging through the soil had inherent worth, but it frustrated Annie that people who were supposedly her support network trivialised her passion in such an insulting way.

The golden boy sitting on the dock without a shirt wearing black cords wrapped around the tanned column of his throat, like some kind of Peter Pan character designed for... adult entertainment, so to speak - he stares curiously at her from his seated position. Doesn't even shy away from her when she makes eye contact, or indicate embarrassment at having been caught. But he watches attentively, with no hint of mockery or apparent desire to make fun of her. She knows this is what if feels like when a stranger is intrigued by you.

It feels incredible, but Annie doesn't indulge the feeling as she would like to, instead continuing to document her observations of the coast without paying the boy - man, really - any heed. Even as she feels his watchful gaze prickling against the back of her neck, searing through the skin of her nape like California summer heat.

Annie dutifully ignores him. Traces the drawings of one of her favorite salmon species and then closes her notebook with a sense of finality, done for the day. Gives her severely antagonistic college roommate turned minor-attachment friend, Enobaria, the catch-up call she'd been meaning to all month. Updates her grocery list. All mundane tasks designed to eat away time and still the man has not ceased his staring at her. She might have called him rude but that isn't what makes her uncomfortable with this interaction.

Since his staring is open and unencumbered by societal expectations of politeness, she feels free to look back. An unfortunate mistake. Annie is unable to tear her eyes away. A glowing expanse of sunlit chest that tapered off into knotted pants, golden curls that were incandescent in the daylight, and piercing diamond-cut blue eyes. Then she fixates on the jawline that reminds her of seaglass, a sharp unfairly smooth jut of cheekbones.

But California was full of handsome men. San Diego certainly had plenty more than any woman attracted to men knew what to do with. What captivates her isn't the surfer-boy charm of a stereotypical Californian character in a movie or the pretty face. It's that he stares out at the ocean with a kind of haunted look and glazed over eyes that she understands, having probably had the same expression on her own face more times than she could count.

She steels herself before she can lose her nerve, accepting mental encouragement from the Johanna Mason in her head, another surly and easily irritated woman she'd known from college and against reasonable judgement befriended, and continued to stay in touch with despite the other woman having returned to her Oregon hometown. Johanna's advice is more or less an angry uttering of "Well, what now Cresta, are you going to stare like a pussy bitch or go get that gorgeous piece of ass?"

Annie doesn't simply walk over. She sways with the sea breeze, feeling lighter and buoyant because of it. Watches as he perks up with renewed interest realizing that she is about to approach him. She herself stands at attention, feeling bold and positively hopeful for this interaction.

"You stared at me. For like an hour," she points out, voice ringing out across the beach. Sand gathers in soft clumps between her toes as she stares down at him with arms crossed, brown waves billowing across her face. The man cranes his neck to get a better look at her, evidently amused.

"So I did," he replies blithely. His voice is much more pleasant than she could have imagined, like a waterfall cascading across smooth pebbles that slide against each other as they move.

"Are you a stalker," she inquires bluntly. It's an odd question - surely a stalker with violent intentions wouldn't blatantly admit it - but he takes it in stride.

"No," he says dryly. "What were you drawing in that notebook?" His eyes bore into hers, inquisitive, pressing.

"My work. I'm doing field research," she informs him helpfully.

"Well, you should be careful. We've got sea monsters and terribly frightening beasts too," he warns her humorously. He doesn't wink at her, but mischief glitters in his eyes all the same like the sun's light against cresting waves.

"And do you have a name, monster hunter?"

He laughs warmly. "Oh, I'm no monster slayer, darling. If one were to show up behind you I'd run and leave you to your fate. My name is Finnick."

A light zap of recognition stirs within her. Those eyes, the charming smile and voice, the familiarity of the shirtlessness...

"You're in those commercials," she realizes out loud. He nods in confirmation.

"Yeah, I get a lot of good modeling gigs for different shit. Body spray. Ocean perfume. Beach vacations. Even to be on the cover of some raunchy pirate romance novel. But since I'm on a brief hiatus right now," he jerks a thumb to the area behind him, and Annie follows the movement to a shack-like structure with a sign reading Odair Fishing Equipment. "I'm helping my Grandma Mags and her wife Coral with the shop."

"That's lovely," she says sincerely.

Finnick's already impish grin widens. "Well, if it's lovely, then come inside, Miss Field Researcher. And tell me where exactly you go to."

Annie accepts the invitation for some reason - mainly curiosity and the desire to follow a good smile. Besides, she has her pepper spray in her pocket if things go south, paired with some self defense moves that Enobaria and her protégé - a small runt of a girl named Clove, back then recently graduated from high school, whose personality was at the intersection of Enobaria's lethal calm and Johanna's brash outspoken attitude - had taught her when she'd stayed in Enobaria's cabin near the Rocky Mountains for spring break during senior year of college.

"I went to Panem Community College - it's a little over the state border - before transferring to UC San Diego for my last two years," she tells him breezily, content to share. Normally, she would refrain from providing such an extent of information to a stranger, but Finnick's openness encourages her to be that way on her own and she's honestly more than happy to. "Then I got into grad school. Marine biology is my dream subject to learn about, and I always wanted to explore the ocean for as long as I could remember."

He nods along with her story as they walk, clearly invested. That has never happened on any of the dates - not that this is one - she went on, where men drown her out in favor of devouring her her petite frame and glancing at her lips, or some were polite enough to listen but couldn't manage to be as enraptured by her speaking the way Finnick was. The intensity of his stare almost made her blush.

"That's actually really amazing. I was never as passionate about learning, but it's always really cool to meet someone that is. I myself make a living mostly off modeling gigs - gotta put my looks to use," he jokes with a lighthearted laugh. Somehow, this self-compliment about being attractive doesn't come off as arrogant as anyone else would have sounded. "But Grandma Mags has had this store for decades now, and it's my childhood sanctuary. I wanted to do my part to keep it going."

Annie hums her agreement. She can understand wanting to stay near family. After... after what happened, with the devastating consequences it had had on her mental health, the reason she'd survived was because she had stayed in close proximity to her parents and the remaining sister. It was why Panem Community College had been the best fit for her, even though she'd gotten into some of her dream schools. Even now, though it would take only a forty minute drive to return to her family, hug her mother, kiss her father on the cheek, embrace her sister who still couldn't bear to look at her but loved her all the same, the pang of loneliness still affected her deeply.

They enter the shop, bell ringing with the door's opening and marking their arrival. A sharp-looking older woman with russet hair that had greyed over time and narrowed eyes sits at the counter, already seething with contempt.

"Coral," Finnick greets her coolly. Far less dreamily and soft-spoken than when he'd told her of his Mags.

"Boy," Miss Coral rasps. She meets Annie's eyes emotionlessly before returning to a worn ledger with yellowing pages, probably keeping documentation of decades of finance records.

Finnick gently pulls her into a corner space far away from the counter. "I'm guessing she's not a sweet little old lady like Miss Mags?" Annie ventures teasingly, now strangely comfortable with this boy.

His eyes roll upwards to the ceiling, almost as if praying for patience. Annie tries not to find it adorable. "Coral isn't the nicest woman anyone has ever met. She's seen a lot of shit that would melt my brain, I get that, but we have an understanding that she's a part of my life because my grandmother loves her."

"Mm," she hums, noncommittal. Right now Annie is battling the temptation to sweep away a tantalizing golden lock that falls onto his forehead. Plus, they are remarkably close together for people who have just met.

"But anyhow, you've seen my humble abode. Now tell me about your marine biology." She's startled to see no inflections of sarcasm, no sense of him obliging her for the sake of politeness. He... he only wants her to talk. About something that interests her.

Really, it's the bare minimum for any man, but her heart pounds anyways.

So she begins to tell him about the unique behavioral patterns of a species she's researching, how many organisms are capable of forming remarkable emotional connections with one another and how this varies across the board. The chemical basis behind the smell of dead fish. The resurgence of endangered dolphin populations as the Covid pandemic put a brief, forced stop to overfishing.

And he listens attentively. No interruptions, just him holding her gaze with a heated intensity that alludes to activities - but he makes no move to kiss her or touch her.

Annie finds herself wanting that, but this is... this is nice too.

Coral passes by them, shuffling in that way old folk tend to, with a grunt in Annie's direction. Annie bites her lip to keep from giggling as she looks to Finnick for explanation.

"Yeah, Coral likes you. Other guests I bring by... not so much."

Her heart stupidly drops just a centimeter in her chest - not sinking, she has no claim to a man she just met who is obviously desirable - with the mention of guests. Annie hides this quickly enough.

"Well, if you want to make yourself useful other than staring at me like a creep," she grins at him cheekily when reminding him of how they'd met a half hour ago, "you could be my research assistant. Help me collect data, and... other, um, duties. Of a research assistant."

Annie bites her lip as she waits for a response. A weird mix of hope and attraction entwined in her chest.

"I'd be happy to, water nymph." Annie snickers at the new endearment - that was certainly more original, she thinks, than "babe" or "sugar" or "sweetheart." Not that Finnick had any reason to call her these things, obviously.

"I always wanted to befriend a water nymph," he confesses softly, with only traces of humor that makes her believe Finnick might be being wholeheartedly serious. His eyes hold hers for far too long to be appropriate for acquaintances. Neither break the spell.

"I'm gathering samples tomorrow with some colleagues. You're more than welcome to join," she invites him. It implies that Annie will leave, but she has really no desire to, so she just... keeps standing still there, with this nice and funny and really hot guy. Next to a display of fishing rods. A totally reasonable plan.

"I'll be there the minute you need me," he accepts her invitation smoothly.

Annie has dedicated her life to the study of ocean life and is living her dream. But suddenly she wonders if this boy might be an essential additive element to that dream.