#maybe I'll still try to get myself to do some drawing every now and then someday; idk

[starsmuserainbow]

Inspired, as always by all those cool artists out there (including some friends, I can't believe y'all are so talented I love you), my brain went "oh I wanna draw my chars in outfits/poses/sth too!".

Nice idea, brain, but the problem is, I'd need to actually be able to draw nicely for that.

Mmmmaybe someday. Unlikely, but maybe someday.

[jaylleoo14]

"Can I kiss you?"

Octavinelle x gn!reader

A/N: Simple. The sea trio has corrupted my mind and so here I am writing this at 1:03 AM and finishing this up two days later LOL. I actually took forever because I kept squealing and getting off track during the writing process. "I NEED TO DRAW THIS" I would say to myself haha. I wrote them without much consideration on how long each might be so one of them may be shorter compare to the others or it may be longer, but please do enjoy^^ (May or may not do the other dorms, unless...)

[Disclaimer] TOO MUCH FLUFF

[characters] Floyd, Azul, Jade

Azul

3:24 PM - The Mostro Lounge sits under blue and silver burnished lighting as the sound of music fills the air. Accompanied by voices and the clinks of dishes, there you sat in the more private area of what adds to Octavinelle - Azuls office.

Something you both have learned to get accustomed to was to just do work alongside each other without the need of having to talk. It was just work. Nothing more. Of course some small talk here and there, asking opinions or maybe asking for help- though it was usually you who asked for it and less of Azul- but regardless it was back off to work. It's quite simple really, Azul is a busy and hard working person so he'd naturally have a lot to manage with. You had to keep up with your studies and try to manage how to handle your money and savings accordingly, along with planning events into your calendar for upcoming school occasions.

You and Azul have been dating for about half a year now, and although not all the time, most of the time you spend your free time here doing your work accompanying Azul as he does his. You both simply enjoy each other's presence, the silence between you two which is filled with the scritches and scratches of his fish-bone felt tip pen and your pencil against the many pages of papers were not at all awkward. It showed a sense of comfortability and familiarity, a tranquil silence in the room. Though of course, like almost any couple you begin to crave some attention from your dearly beloved.

3:27 PM - Placing your pencil down, it now rolling off to the side a little due to the momentum, you lean back onto the back cushions of Azuls couch placed in the middle of his office. Working for about 15 minutes now you decided you needed a break, stretching your arms back as you release your breath through your nostrils.

"Going to take a break Angelfish?" Without even having to look up, the sound of you leaning into his leather cushion and your stretched out groan already tells him enough information that you're ready to just try and relax and rejuvenate yourself.

"Mmmh yea, I think 15 minutes of work is good enough for now. I'll go back to it once I rest up," is all you say in response as you lean your body over to lay on the couch. He only lets out a hum to let you acknowledge that he was listening. Now that you weren't focused on your own work, you can hear him writing with a rich shink-like noise and papers constantly flipped and turned every 30 seconds.

I wonder what he's working on, you think to yourself as you stare up at the dark blue arched ceiling. You prop yourself up with your elbows, pushing yourself up as you move your legs off the couch. Springing off, you head on over to where Azul was working around behind the desk and peered over towards him. "Whatcha working on?" Voice soft and curious, an undertone of boredom.

"Just some useful material intended to aid students," he says in a gentle manner, his eyes still glued onto the papers. "Oh yea? How much longer till you finish up with those study guides?" You lean over a bit closer as you stand next to him, his handwriting as intricate and beautifully cursive as ever; yet still eligible for those who have a harder time understanding.

He lets out a little inquisitive hum as if trying to accurately calculate when he'd be finished by. "About in an hour or so," he says finally after seconds worth of time. "I'd say make that an hour-thirty to two from now" you say with a little soft laugh escaping your lips.

3:30 - Standing next to Azul as he preps material, you slowly come to look at Azul himself instead of what Azul was working on. Being able to see the sight of his silver crowned locks of hair that curls into beautiful waves. Only after making your comment does he stop his hand and turn to look up at you from where he sat.

After finally not being able to properly see Azul's face the entire time you were working, seeing his face was a sort of refreshment to your heart and the soft smile on your face shows that. "And what prompts you to assume such a thing my dear?" He can only be met with a giggly response, his serious and quizzical face only prompting you to let out more chains of giggles.

"Tell me what you are suddenly finding so funny? I certainly am positive that I haven't done anything humorous." You tilt your head a little to the side, your grin getting slowly bigger as you clasped your hands behind your back. Azul can already pick up that you're trying to whip something up.

"You know Azul, when was the last time you kissed me?"

And there he goes, short circuiting as the sudden change of mood drifts him like the ocean currents. "I-Is this what you're on about?" He certainly has picked up by what you meant with your earlier comment now that you've voiced your question. "Oh dear, do you perhaps feel neglected since i've been working so much Angelfish?"

"Don't try to act smug. Answer my question, when was the last time you kissed me?" You immediately shoot down his question as you direct it back to yours and it sends his cheeks a pigmented red while he tries to keep his cool. He understands that you wont stop asking him this question and so he answers away.

"I recall it to be a few weeks back."

"And where did you kiss me?"

"I-I don't see how that- hah, on the cheek. Seriously (y/n) what is the relevancy in asking such- "

"Ah! Hold it! So you're telling me you've been giving me kisses and I've been giving you kisses but we've never actually kissed at the same time?"

3:33 - Here you are facing Azul as you look at his tinted red face, picking up where your suggestion leads. What awaits is permission to boldly take your relationship to the next level.

"Can I kiss you Azul? And not on the hands or on the cheek like we usually do." You give him a soft pleading look, your cheeks also decorated in a lovely shade of red as you wait for his response patiently. Clearing his throat and having the need to suddenly fix his not crooked glasses, he gives you a very shy yet still doing his best to be serious look. Before answering, he quickly resolves himself and a more confident smirk is plastered on his face. As he pushes himself up from his chair he closes in the distance and comes in close towards you, wrapping an arm around your back.

"Ask and you shall receive, a small kiss is worth the price of my time for you my Angelfish," he says it ever so calmly and confidently. Though the redness of his cheeks give away that he was otherwise and it makes your heart squeeze and beat crazy because of how cute he was being right now.

"You're being so cute right now you know that? You don't have to force yourself, you know." Your voice is gentle and smooth as if it were raw honey. Bringing a hand to tuck the longer piece of hair that made up his hairstyle, you give him the most adored stricken smile ever and he can only feel his heart beating out of his chest.

"No no, it's about time we started to get more intimate considering how long we've been together now. Thank you for going at my preferred pace, I'd like to give you an honorarium payment." You let out an amused chuckle and let him prepare himself, closing your eyes as you wait for him to go in at his own pace. Though you least expect it when he suddenly goes in very quickly. His lips are stiffly pressed against yours for a couple of seconds and it has you opening your eyes in surprise. You're met with a red faced Azul -which can be compared to a steamed and cooked octopus- looking flustered and a little awkward as he seemed to have a little dissatisfactory expression on his face. "That... Did not go as well as I had hoped it to be."

A jovial and convivial laughter fills up the room in your sound and it only makes Azul shrivel in embarrassment. You can practically see the steam coming from his head as well. "Well that was a little anticlimactic don't you think?" Wrapping your arms around his neck he can only let out an embarrassed groan at your little comment. "What do you expect from someone who's inexperienced with committing such an act? I'm positive however that with enough practice I can redeem myself and satisfy you." He tries to sound all the more reasoning, which only prompts you to laugh even more.

"You want to kiss more?" Saying through slips of giggles. You feel his hold on your back tighten a bit more, still applying gentle and reaffirming pressure as he presses you both together. "How else do you suggest I be better then?" You turn and motion your body over to the desk, leaning your lower back against it as Azul follows along. "Hmm, I'm absolutely positive that it'll take you two hours to finish those study guides now." You pull a little amused laugh out of him as he slowly goes in once again, tilting his head to the side and his eyes looking to align with yours. "Mmm perhaps. I guess we'll have to see just how long it'll take for me to get better then." And in he goes, the kiss feeling much more natural and a mark of showing a deeper significance in your ongoing relationship.

Jade

The nights on campus here were unusually less disturbed and a lot colder now, which makes sense considering that it is now winter break. The students here at Night Raven College had all gone home to reunite with their families after departing to pursue and complete their highschool education. However a certain group of individuals tend to stay during this time period, and that being the dorm leader of Octavinelle, the vice dorm leader, and the vice dorm leader's twin brother.

Like a lot of teenagers, its normal to come across at least 10 students at night since many are nocturnal people and they share the hobby of walking around. Especially when the sky is dark. You are one of those people. Someone who indulges themselves into the canvas of black paint littered with shining splatter of stars. Regardless of what the weather is like, you willingly go out of your way to enjoy the peacefulness of the night, watching it as it goes through the different seasons. Walking around in the winter's night air you can see your breath whenever you huff out, a shiver going through your shoulders. A little reminder that its the cold season now.

The chilly weather seems to be getting to you so you turn back from where you presently are and walk back to your good ol' home, Ramshackle dorm. As you make your way back from the main road you can make out a tall dark figure up ahead, prompting you to slow down and start to get wary. Upon getting closer and squinting your eyes a little, you can see teal hair shining a bit under the orange light which was radiating off a nearby light pole. Oh, it's Jade! You remember Jade mentioning that he liked to also go out late at night, though this is your first time ever encountering him on your usual walks. Perhaps he too is taking advantage of the quieter nights.

You and Jade have been a little on and off. You cant quite describe it, its complicated really. Sometimes you feel like you cant understand Jade because he's always making things open-ended, leaving them up to your interpretations. You like him, that much is obvious. But there are plenty of times where he's shown interest in you, and other times where it may not feel as so and it throws you off. Its frustrating not knowing how he feels about you, as if its some sort of game you two play. Regardless of his little plays though, you continue to enjoy yourself in the game.

A slight breeze hits your figure and it causes you to shiver, rubbing your arms to enforce friction in hopes of warming you up. You figured it may be best to leave Jade alone so he can enjoy himself in peace doing whatever he was doing. And off you go, turning on your heel and continuing your venture.

The sky is so pretty, you think to yourself. It has you arching your neck up and leaning your head back as you stare at the night sky, continuing your walk. You cant help but look at how pretty the stars are knitted together in a beautiful cluster, zoning out a bit as you continue forward.

Suddenly a hand is placed on your shoulder and it causes you to jolt up like a scared cat, making you break out of your trance. A yell is ushered out of you as you quickly turn around to see who this person could be, and you're only met facing Jade.

"Oh dear, I do apologize for my sudden notice. But your voice sounds lovely even when out of fear fufu"

Your heart is still pounding and your eyes are opened widely, staring at him with disbelief and shock. "J-Jade! What are you doing?! God you freaking scared me oh my gosh." Your little scared moment certainly has him entertained as he lets out another chuckle.

"You seem to be so infatuated with the sky that you failed to notice your surroundings. I was only doing my part in trying to help you realize that."

"What do you me-?" As you turn around your quickly met with a lamp pole right in front of your face and it causes you to flinch back a bit. "Oh." Turning around to face him again you feel yourself feeling a bit embarrassed that he caught you about to do something embarrassing. "Thanks Jade... What are you doing out so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing. I was just taking advantage of the quiet night and looking at the nature of the trees." He looks over you, a genuine smile on his face plastered as what you can assume to be looking at the area around us. "However I stayed aware of my surroundings despite having my own infatuations." His little snarky yet calm remark causes you to let out a groan, a pout slightly forming on your lips.

"I was also taking advantage of tonight as well thank you very much." Straightening your back, you cross your arms and give him a slight frown as if trying to regain back your little pride. Then quite suddenly a gust of wind howls a bit in your direction, causing you to shiver and quiver a bit. "Tonight is quite cold I must say." His slight remark makes you shiver even more as you are reminded of the cold.

"Yea, no kidding. I didn't prepare well enough so I'm going to head back." Your face is cold to the touch and your nose and cheeks can be seen slightly red under the pale moonlight. "Oh I see, perhaps I can accompany you then." He offers yet you turn him down in a polite manner. Your reasons? It's obvious you like Jade. You really like him, though because of all these mixed signals you can't help but feel like you need to stop. It already frustrates you enough and so you need to let these feelings die down even though sometimes you really do get a kick from the things he does.

"You seem to be quite cold indeed (y/n), if I can't accompany you back then please allow me to warm you up for your trip."

His words seem to catch you off guard and you look up at him quizzically. He doesn't seem to be wearing any sort of jacket, how can he offer you warmth? He chuckles a bit, amused to see your confused scrunched face. Gently bringing a hand to your cheeks your eyes can't seem to help but widen in shock a little from the sudden gentle advancement, your brain going blank.

"Can I kiss you, Prefect?" He says it ever so softly, his voice wrapping you up like a soft blanket. Did Jade really just ask to kiss you? What's going on, is this even real right now? Are you dreaming? Is this another one of his games? You feel your face starting to heat up and your heart is starting to race.

"W-Wait, what? Did I hear that right?" You say in disbelief, but he knows you heard it correctly because of your red face. His hands cupping your face causes you to freeze in the moment and all you can hear is the loud drums of your heart. Leaning down a bit more you can see his eyes perfectly now, his heterochromia jewel like eyes shimmering. "I must admit i'm a little hurt to see you trying to avoid me recently Prefect. I apologize for beating around the bush for so long, I hope you can take this kiss as a form of acceptance for my feelings and my apology."

This eel.... THIS EEL! He knows what he's doing, he knows! You're left stammering a bit before you could answer, the feeling of your head spinning. "I...accept your apology." And with that he goes down in one smooth motion, his lips in contact with yours with a perfect fit. Once he leans back, your eyes are met and he lets out a content hum. "I'm glad to see you're quite warmed up now. And if I must add, happier too." A big goofy smile is placed on your face as if you just won the lottery, your face all red and heated. "You know, I actually wouldn't mind if you were to accompany me back now. Who knows what might be out here."

You seem to be in a giddy mood, no longer holding back. Finally, you can understand Jade's true feelings for you now. It makes you overjoyed, a feeling of happiness now that you understand. And with a smile on his face he agrees, playing along with your little game of words. The feeling of warmth and fluffy happiness fills you up, and the cold cant compare with that as you make your way back with Jade, his little darling Pearl.

Floyd

"WHAT THE HELL FLOYD?!"

Crash!

Ah yes, just another regular day. You, Floyd, your phone in his hand, breathless, a cheeky and amused grin on his face, and just constantly trying to snag your phone back in the spacious long hallway. Call this a regular day occurrence considering how many times he's come to bother and mess with you now.

"Floyd, give me back my pho- STOP SCROLLING THROUGH MY CAMERA ROLL!" Running up and trying to snatch it away by jumping, only to fail because he's now outstretching his arms away and tip-toeing to refrain from you reclaiming back your item.

"Haaah? Your camera roll is so boring, just full of pictures of the sky. We see that everyday, you should take more pictures of other interesting things!" You really were running out of breath here and he seems to take great amusement with it since he's still here messing with you.

The sun shined brightly against the two of you, the open wall of the hall letting the air roam freely.

"Ahaha! What a funny picture of Crabby-chan! Oh, and you got one of little Mackerel too." Floyds not listening to your words, enjoying himself as he indulges in your camera roll. You let out a tired and heavy sigh, heaving a bit as you try to catch your breath. "F-Floyd, why are you doing this? Argh, I swear you've been bothering me so much lately." He only give you a little "hm?" in response as his smile now fades, turning to something more neutral and casual as he continues to indulge himself in your selective memories.

"Ya have soooo many pictures of other people lil' shrimpy. Ah! You even have a picture of Jade and Azul! No fairrrr!" Letting out a whine, you can see his prominent pout as he pinches his fingers on your screen to zoom in on you which was in between Azul and Jade. His eyes stick to the screen as he stares at the picture of your sweet smile looking as if you just finished some heavy and tiring labor just before.

"That was when we went camping during Vargas's stupid camping trip. Of course you weren't there!" You huffed out as you wipe a sweat off your neck, placing your free arm on your hip while you just watch him on your phone. At this point you just gave up and let him do what he wanted on there, of course as long as he's in the camera roll and nowhere else.

"But i'm here now aren't I? And you were even there when I went camping, jus excuses." His slightly upset voice makes you feel a bit guilty yourself, but you try to find a way to dispute his words anyways.

"Not true! If you keep scrolling more you'll see yourself in one of the pictures I took with Ace!" A huff escapes your mouth as you try to stay strong on your claim and he only lets out a disappointed groan. "I'm in the background Shrimpy, and you cant even see my face properly. Ya dont wanna have people mixin' me with my brother now dontcha?" His eyes look over towards you now as he drapes his arm down, just very offended with the lack of pictures you have available of him.

"It's not like i'm gonna show anyone Floyd. No one's gonna know its you except for me." You try to reassure him but he still isn't satisfied at all with your response. The sun shines in as its rays changes its direction and hits Floyd in the eyes, causing his already sour mood to worsen and he lets out an annoyed huff. The shadow of the pillars drapes over you like a veil and the sun hits him like a beam, so he then places his hand over his forehead to block the sun out while walking closer to you in venture for refuge. The light reflects into the phone causing a gleam hitting your own eyes and so you step back, squinting your eyes away. For a moment you actually forgot he had your phone if not for the reminder the gleam gave you.

"Floyd, could you please hand me back my phone now?" You say in a more gentle voice in consideration to his sour mood. His droopy eyes meet yours as a slight pout forms on his face which then looks over at your phone in his hand. Suddenly, his pouty face lifts up into a gleeful smile, his toothy lop-sided smirk giving you unease as if he's planning something not so great.

"Ya know, why not jus' take some pics right now? Say cheese~!" Suddenly, with his longer legs he quickly makes his way over next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling close.

"Wha-? Hey-!" Before you could even ready yourself though, he brings the phone above you two, angling the camera as he tilts his head against yours and maneuvers his thumb over the camera shutter button, pulling your bodies together.

Click! Click! Click!

"Hey stop taking so much! You're going to take up my storage!" Quickly swiping up your phone you press on the little square in the corner to open up the pictures. His arm continues to drape on your shoulder as he looks over at the pictures with a happy hum. Floyd looked as photogenic as ever when he wants to be, his silky skin reflecting in the pictures as his smile radiates and shine while his cheeks being a dusty pink. You on the other hand....Not so much. You were even blinking in one of them, most of the pictures of you looking off and funny.

"I wasn't ready Floyd." A stern look is scrunched on your face as you swipe and look at the pictures with a judgmental stare. A giggle can be heard right next to you as Floyd also looks over you in the pictures, a tinted pink running on his cheeks and a soft look in his eyes; his heart speeding up just slightly as he continues the close and intimate proximity.

"I think you look cute anyways." He says it ever so casually and in a gentle voice, causing you to look over at him. Upon turning your head to face him, its only then did you realize just how close he was. How intimate you two were being right now. His side profile looking perfect as ever, his olive colored eye locked on the screen staring only at you, his arm draped over your shoulders, your bodies practically meshing together right now as his pecks touch your back. You feel your cheeks starting to heat up, your heart begins to speed up as if you are starting a morning run the more you begin to get conscious. His eyes suddenly dart to look at you and you flinch back, jumping a little due to being startled; however his arm keeps you in place from moving any further.

"Seriously, you've been messing with me too much..." You grumbled out as you turn your face back to look at the now black screen. It shut off due to the lack of inactivity, and in the reflection you can see your furrowed brows and tightlipped frown. Though from the side Floyd can only give a bigger grin upon seeing your velvet cheeks.

"Cus' I like ya, aint it obvious?" The speed to which you flip your head can be compared to one of a bullet train and your jaw drops, mouth wide open and agape as you're left with no words. "HUH?!" Your whole face is now a full on red, your eyes filled with shock as if he just dropped the most jaw dropping information ever. Well, technically he did.

Tilting his head to the side a little, his face also grows a darker shade of red, though he lets out a giddy chain of giggles to your reaction. "Eh? You're quite bold Shrimpy, movin' kinda fast there huh?"

"W-What?" He can practically see question marks floating around your red beet face, his toothy smug face still apparent as he wraps another arm in front of you. He's basically giving you a side hug right now -a sweet and tender one.

"Hehe, nothin,'" smiling as if its something only he knows makes you a bit bothered and curious, but then he suddenly swings himself in front of you now. The sun hits the back of Floyd, making him radiate ever so brightly. "How bout' we start off a bit slower hmm? Whats it to ya Shrimpy, do ya like me back?" His soft and droopy slanted eyes adoringly stare into yours and you cant help but feel your heart turn into a big wet sopping pillow. Adverting your eyes down, you can only give a little nod. "Well i mean, I don't hate you. So yea, I.... I do in fact, Like you too."

Honestly, Floyds been nothing but smiles now and its as if he found the most pretty set of flowers ever on a grassy field. "Is that so? Ya really like me huh?"

My hearts beating so fast right now.

"Yea, I really like you."

"Shall I give you a kiss then Shrimpy?"

Tilting your head back up at him you can only give him a shy and flustered face. But with the silly state you're in right now, you let out a slip of a tongue response.

"C-Can I kiss you?" Totally unexpected to Floyd, his eyes widen for only a moment till he's flinging his head back with laughter and squeezing you into his chest.

"Hahaha! Will you kiss me?" Calming himself down a bit he looks back at you with you in his arms now, the suns rays slowly shifting over.

"Will I kiss you?" saying almost in a smug manner now, feeling yourself succumbing into his giggly state of self as you yourself now start to get giddy with your red cheeks.

"You will" He says it with a reciprocal teasing tone as he leans forward, the comfort in his lean arms making you feel as if you've been lovers forever.

"I will?"

"I will" And with that he softly goes in to press a kiss on your lips, the sun shining and hitting the both of you and its as if you two were getting the spotlight of a movie.

Click!

Huh? As you turn to slowly pull back from the kiss, slowly opening your closed eyes you see Floyds phone out. His arm is outstretched and propped in the middle of you two from the side to capture the kiss perfectly and you can only let out a gasp.

"A picture for me hehe~"

"FLOYD-"

[furiousgoldfish]

I have this reoccurring problem where I feel like I've found a friend in someone, and then some time later, this person does something to hurt me, and rather than apologizing, they snap at me, act like I'm awful and a nuisance to them, and generally get very angry with me. First it makes me feel guilty, and I go over everything I did to see how I deserved this, but then I realize I didn't do anything, they just hurt me and snapped at me, made me feel like it's my fault. And then I get scared that this person could do that, because I can't even imagine doing that to anyone, it's so deeply unethical and shitty, but people do it like it's their second nature. Once I realize that this person scares me, I know I have to get distance and move away from the friendship if I don't want to live a very anxious and triggering life, so I do that. And thus I have no friends anymore.

Now for me, this occurred easily over 30 or 40 times with different people, to the point where I've started to wonder if I maybe draw this behaviour out of them. Because I will usually pick people who I believe would never do that, who seem to be kind, understanding, gentle, funny, easy going, I go for that almost every time, and still they snap at me. I'm wondering if it's because everyone in their mind thinks there's one person somewhere they're allowed to snap at, and since I'm very mild tempered, easy going and understanding, it feels to them like snapping at me couldn’t possibly have any consequences?  Again, I don't understand this, I would rather never snap at any person in my life.

My problem is that sometimes, I end up very bonded to these people, and I start building hope that maybe I could be normal, have friends, function in society, just because it feels for a bit like I'm accepted, I'm allowed to socialize and chat and joke around and tell things to someone, and this means the world to me. I've lived in an environment where I was not allowed any of that. So when these specific people snap at me, my hopes crumble to the ground, and I'm back into the place where I don't feel like I'm a person anymore. Even worse, I get triggered back into my childhood, where my parents screamed at me telling me how disgusting I am, how nobody will ever want anything to do with me, and how I'm the worst thing to ever exist on the planet. That's how I end up feeling when anyone turns against me, or abandons me. I keep it to myself, because I don't want the triggers affecting the friendship. But they affect me deeply.

That feeling of someone I care about finding me disgusting and awful and poisonous gives me so much pain I want to curl up and disappear. I want to not exist anymore. I would rather be alone forever than experience more of that. And that's exactly what I do; I curl up in my own little corner and don't socialize out of terror that more of this will happen, because it does happen so often and I still never see it coming.

I know on some deeply logical level, that people are snapping at me because it's easier for them to do that than to face that they've done something wrong, that they've hurt our friendships and acted badly towards me; they need it to be my fault so they'd feel better about themselves. Taking it out on me is just an easy route because I have zero vindication in me and probably won't ever snap back or get angry in return; I'll just withdraw. I'm always too worried I've genuinely done something wrong when it happens, I'll apologize a thousand times, I'll spend a while trying to figure out what's the truth, and then before I even think about getting angry, I'll be swallowed by pain and sorrow that this happened to me again.

Has anyone found any ways to have people not snap at you when they hurt you? What kind of change in attitude would achieve this? Do I just have bad friend-picking skills? Is this just a normal part of life that other people can handle because being snapped on doesn't make them suicidal? Is it considered normal that your friend will sometimes snap at you when they hurt you? Is it not a glaring red flag? In some cases people will not only snap but also gaslight me about what happened, and I know gaslighting is way over the line. Has this been happening to others? Please give me any opinions or experiences of this, especially if you found a way to deal with it.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

104/150 with lethal company?

104) I can hear it calling my name

.........

[Y/n], January 29th, [Log 001]

---I'm afraid this will be my last log. So I'm keeping this encrypted.

Everyone's gone, but I'm still here. And I'm terrified. We started on this job as strangers, and we became family. Now I'm all alone because of a stupid mask. A piece of scrap we should've just sold off.

But he thought it would be funny to wear. I don't blame him. He was always a jokester, willing to do anything to turn a frown upside down and make light of our dreary trips. I know he didn't mean to hurt us. He thought it was harmless. Honest to god we thought so too.

Until he started vomiting blood and tried grabbing me. He tore off my helmet, along with my tracker, but I managed to get away. I still don't know how. But I wish I was smarter about it, because I got lost.

Then I heard the ship's engines.

They must've thought I was dead. Or maybe they all died and the autopilot kicked in. I'm not sure. I don't even know the current time. But what I do know is that I'm stuck here now. Possibly forever. I could make an SOS but that monster is still outside. I had to barricade myself in this storage room and wait until it goes away.

It keeps knocking. I can hear it calling my name. But I know it's not him.

To anyone who reads this, don't pick up the porcelain masks. They aren't worth shit. It'll tempt you to put it on. Don't. You'll find better loot elsewhere. If you see anyone already wearing it, kill them. Stun them. Run. Whatever. Just don't let it take you.

And if you see me wearing it, put me out of my misery. I promise I'll understand---

Finishing what would likely be your final log, you sighed and slumped back against the wall, letting the tablet slip from your hands.

You don't know how long you've been stuck here--whether it's been hours or days.

But all you know is that the Masked on the other side of the door hasn't left. It was using your coworker's corpse, mimicking his voice as it pounded on the steel and tried convincing you to let it in, even shattering the window. For some reason it refused to leave you alone, and kept begging and begging until it began screaming unintelligently...

That would go on and on until eventually it would cease, weakly clawing at the door, only to rinse and repeat once it rested its voice.

You were starving, trying your best to ration the jar of pickles you were luckily able to find in this storage room.

Unfortunately, that's as far as your luck will go at this point. They were sour and made you want to vomit every time you ate one. But while you didn't want starvation to take your life, you weren't exactly sure how you really wanted to go out instead.

It sure as hell wasn't gonna be from that bastard who took away your friends.

"It's clear....all clear......come on out....the ship is leaving..leave....out.....COME OUT..!! COME OUT!! COMEOUTCOMEOUT-!!"

With your heart hammering in your chest, you curled up and covered your ears, squeezing both eyes shut. 'Fuck, it's losing its mind again...this is a nightmare..why did I ever take this job?' You tried not to focus on the screams so much, and instead prayed for some kind of miracle.

But in space, would anyone really hear your prayers?

Yet somebody must have, because the screaming abruptly stopped a minute later, being replaced by the sounds of heavy thumping and growling drawing near.

You only knew one other alien creature that made those.

And you knew it was pissed off.

Getting up and backing away from the door, you fearfully clutched a stop sign as you heard a series of terrified shrieks, roars, slamming and crashing sounds....before silence followed, save for the low growls you heard earlier and chewing noises.

Cautiously, you went back over and pushed aside one of the things covering up the window, and the sight on the other side was quite nauseating:

The Thumper was hovering over the Masked's body, teeth covered in blood and flesh as it tore into it, clearly wanting to savor this midnight snack.. But eventually it decided to drag the rest of the corpse away and to another part of the facility, only leaving behind a few shattered fragments of white dirty porcelain.

You couldn't believe it.

You were actually happy that a Thumper, of all things, saved your skin.

But you sure as hell didn't want it coming back for a second lunch. Now was your window of opportunity to get out of here. The adrenaline pumping through your veins was the only reason you were able to grab your loot and book it out of that storage room, being careful not to run into that Thumper again.

At least now you could go outside and (hopefully) send an S.O.S.

[twiniverse]

So here's the thing.

I'm jealous of other creators. Surpassing me in likes, comments, follows... getting recognition, getting all kinds of kick ass fan projects... and I hate being jealous, because there's no reason to be. All of my issues boil down to 'I would be more popular if I tried with my art and posted more often.' That's 100% on me and has nothing to do with other creators!

That's it. That's all I have to do. And I would like to begin actually trying on this comic more after. But now we get to THE THING. The early comics are bad. Like, really bad. Because I didn't care! I just wanted to get the story out and move on. But the beginning comics are supposed to draw in your audience. Seeing just a bunch of blobs with no real effort put into them... that's a turn off. I wouldn't read a comic like that!

SO. I'm going to be redoing a lot of them. Maybe all of them, maybe not Mirror Gem and Desert Dance because those are both decent... We'll see. I'm still going to try to do actual story updates. If all goes to plan I will alternate between an actual new episode and redraws of the old ones. Of course some of the old ones are really small updates, so I can knock out more of those in a shorter amount of time.

I'm just asking that you all bare with me here. I know this is frustrating, waiting all this time between updates just for me to go back and redraw a bunch of stuff I already drew... but I think this is what I need to do to be happy with myself. Because right now, I'm not. I'm disappointed. I know I can do better, I've been proving that for years with various other works I've done. And Twiniverse deserves better.

So, yeah, that's the thing.

I hope you all keep sticking around, and I'll try to be more attentive and definitely try to update way more often. I know it doesn't seem like I've been working much, but I've actually been finishing the references for almost every major non-human character. Gonna do the humans, too, at some point. So I've been hardcore focusing on the designs. I know you don't get to see them yet, but I just need you to know I AM working on this comic all the time in various ways.

I'm also jealous of Chekhov's dog. I love Wensy so fucking much.

[mellybabbles]

If KOSA pases and tumblr explodes, I'll leave this here.

Thank you all. Seriously, I've managed to pick myself up, and finally become the person I want to be, because of you all. Mutuals, followers, or maybe just some random that popped by and thought "cool, have a like/reblog" You have all helped me recover and actually take that step into becoming a better person. I'm happy, and I can say that with full confidence. You've all given me an unfathomable amount of joy, and let me meet the love of my life, and people I thought I'd never be able to interact with. For my mutuals:

Thank you @italic-doing-random-shit for inadverately helping me take that first step into trying out tumblr properly again, instead of running away. Thank for you being an amazing friend and always being there for me. Thank you @largefound for giving me the pushes I need to get confident on my art, and branch out and try new things. Thank you for being one of the best friends I could've asked for. Thank you @tundra116 for being a mood booster every time I see soem crack fuckin post or ask in my inbox. You motivated me to keep going and give others the same joy you give me, even if for a split moment. Thank you @still-got-no-idea for fulling up my notifs and giving me a big smile every time you begin to like my posts. We don't talk much, but I'm glad we're mutuals. Thank you @panda-of-the-trash for motivating me to actually be creative with my ideas, and inspiring me to properly write. Thank you @godofautism for accidentally teaching me to be more aware of what those around me are feeling, and allowing me to take a step into treatment for my alexithymia. Thank you @systematic-err0r for being the mutual I always really wanted to get to know. You're always giving comments, reblogs and likes to the point the support can be mindbogling at times. Thank you @c00kietin for motivating me to give new people a chance, and to finally work on the relationships I have now. Thank you @phymarsh for giving me that first boost of excitement of an inspiration of mine following me and interacting with me. For giving me a smile every time I see you on my dash. Thank you @switchthedragon for always remaining strong, inspiring me to do so despite all the hate and threats I was receiving. Thank you @liliallowed for inspiring me to try new artstyles and finally figuring out the one I love the most. Thank you @inka-boi for being one of the biggest beams of light, helping me to learn how to sympathize again and love myself and others. For helping me to go back to my roots and mend what was broken. Thank you @juno-punk for inspiring me to make my own OC's and AU's, instead of locking myself up with shame in fear of what others would think if I made them. Thank you @mikerooksi @lust-sans-vios-rpaccount @wonkus-bonkus @doodlenovaa @killersansofficial @dustsansm1 for showing me back to the joys of interacting with new people and finding joy in it, instead of forcing myself into uncomfortable situations. Thank you @safwunnz for making me feel noticed and big in the grand scheme of everything. Allowing me, even if this might all be gone, to feel like I've made enough of an impact to reach out to artists that inspired of me in the first place. Thank you @elizakai for the first step in art. You're the reason I draw and enjoy it, allowing me to actually have something to do when I'm in a pit or rut of depression. Thank you @/swiftmitsu @/artpepkin for making my month by a simple button click. For all the smiles and laughs your art and animations have given me. The joy I once never got to experience. (Too nervous to ping) Thank you @ant1quarian for allowing me to read stories that actually make me feel like I'm there, and escape how horrible reality can be sometimes.

Thank you all for giving me the love and life I'd lost from being beat down. For those who weren't pinged, I was too nervous. Thank you all so much. For all my friends outside of tumblr that are mutuals on here, you all know how much I care for you and I'm happy to have you all in my life. Thank you for everything.

[differentpostrebel]

Lost and Found: A Pirate's Promise

Chapter 42: Unforeseen Encounters 

Sanji in whole cake island was both Sad, but they gave us incredible angles

A/N: We are back at it again with another chapter! We finally made it to Whole Cake Island Arc!!! WOOOO!! Now get ready yall cause this one right here!! I am beginning to color coordinate with the chapters, i'll go back and do the previous chapters as well, but for whole cake island, thats going to be blue, and will be highlighted on the masterlist. Thank you guys for reading my fanfic, liking, sharing, reblogging, commenting! I love you all so much! And without further ado, let the adventure begin! 

Word Count:

Sanji x Reader, Sanji x Y/N, One Piece x Reader 

Sanji POV…

As the ship draws closer to Big Mom's territory, the cotton candy clouds drift lazily from the sky, dissolving in the wind. Yet, no sweetness from the air can ease the bitter knot of dread twisting in my stomach. Solitude. That’s what I feel most keenly now. I’m surrounded by her subordinates, and yet, I’ve never felt more alone. I chose this path, but it doesn’t make the weight any lighter.

Y/N’s face flashes in my mind—a vision I try to cling to, to remind myself why I’m doing this. The very thought of her being forced into the same situation I am, married off to that bastard Ichiji of all people, makes my blood boil. There’s no way I could let them find her or drag her into this nightmare. It’s better she stays far away. Better she doesn’t come here at all.

The letter I wrote her was my truth. No one else knows what’s in my heart, how deeply she’s become a part of it. My eyes are set on her. I’d sacrifice everything before letting her be pawned off in some arranged marriage, even though I’m in the same damn boat. But it’s different for me. I can handle this. I have to.

Bege was adamant about leaving Zou without her, and for that, I’m grateful. I refused to give them any clue as to where to find Y/N. Let them look, let them search—it won’t change a damn thing. Once I settle this twisted mess, I’ll find my way back to the crew. I’ll see her again. And when I do... maybe, just maybe, I’ll find the words to tell her everything that’s been locked inside.

"Now, I do hope you’ve decided not to be stubborn." The voice of one of Big Mom’s subordinates snaps me from my thoughts. His tone is smug, dripping with authority as he stands over me. "Remember, it’s not just Big Mom’s family you’ll be tied to. You’ll be swearing allegiance to Germa 66 as well."

I don’t flinch at his words, though it feels like a punch to the gut every time they bring up Germa. Those bastards. I swore to myself that I was done with them, but here I am, heading back to the hell I thought I’d escaped.

The subordinate narrows his eyes, as if something has only just dawned on him. "As for the princess, why is she not on board?" His question is laced with suspicion, as if he’s beginning to sense the gaps in the story I’ve woven for them.

"Like I said, the princess will not marry Ichiji," I snap, my voice firm as I stare down the subordinate. "Besides, she’s engaged to me."

It’s a lie—a bold one—but I wasn’t going to let them take an inch. I’d say whatever I had to, anything to keep them from dragging Y/N into this twisted mess. My stomach twists with guilt, knowing she really isn’t engaged to me. But in that moment, it’s the only card I have left to play.

The subordinate narrows his eyes at me, suspicion creeping into his expression. "Engaged to you?" He seems to weigh the words, looking for any crack in my story, any sign of hesitation. I hold his gaze, daring him to challenge it.

After a tense moment, he lets out a low, dismissive chuckle. "Doesn’t matter," he says, waving a hand as if swatting away a nuisance. "She is still set to marry Ichiji. Arrangements have already been made. Whether you claim she’s engaged to you or not won’t change a damn thing."

My fists clench at my sides, a surge of anger burning through me. These bastards think they can control everything, including her future. But I’ll be damned if I let them. They may have me in this stranglehold, but Y/N is where I draw the line. I’m not about to let them manipulate her life like they have mine.

"I told you," I grit out, my voice low but filled with resolve. "She’s not marrying that bastard. Not now, not ever."

The subordinate smirks, clearly enjoying my frustration. "We’ll see, Black Leg. We’ll see."

"You think I give a crap what that bastard wants?" I said with defiance, my frustration barely contained. "I never want to see him again. He makes me sick."

I lit a cigarette, taking a slow drag, trying to calm the anger bubbling beneath the surface. "I only came here to bring this to a close," I said, my gaze steady, focused.

"No need to get so antagonistic." The subordinate smirked, not missing a beat. "Mama is looking forward to both your arrangements. You should feel honored."

I exhaled a cloud of smoke, disgust settling in deeper. The thought of Big Mom pulling the strings on my life, dictating my future… it made my stomach churn.

"Mama’s well aware of your connection to Strawhat Luffy, but she holds you in high regard," the subordinate added smoothly. "After all, you trained at a prestigious restaurant in the East Blue. But the princess... well, it’s more than that. It’s about Ichiji. I remember watching her battle at Punk Hazard, taking down Monet. Quite the performance."

I clenched my jaw, the mention of Y/N’s fight bringing a flash of memories. She was strong, relentless, and fierce. They had been watching her, too. Of course, these bastards would want to use her.

The subordinate’s grin widened. "In fact, with Germa’s legacy behind her and her impressive abilities, they’d make a perfect match. The union of her skill and Germa’s technology? They’d be unstoppable together. Don’t you think?"

His words cut deep, filling me with rage. The idea of Y/N being paired with Ichiji, being forced into their sick plans, it was beyond unbearable. They didn’t care about her, only the power she could provide.

"You’re insane if you think I’ll let that happen," I growled through gritted teeth.

"Screw what they want!" I shouted, my frustration boiling over. "You see these hands?" I held them up, shaking with anger. "They’re made for one thing and one thing only—cooking for my crewmates. For as long as they'll have me!"

A flash of memory hit me like a punch to the gut—us, aboard the Sunny, all together, laughing, eating, enjoying each other's company. That’s why I went through hell and back—to become a better chef for them, for my family.

"I went through hell itself to become the best chef for them!" I yelled. "And I bet right now, they're starving—stomachs growling, eyes full of tears. And my beautiful fiancée, Y/N, must be craving something sweet right about now," I added with a smirk, blowing out a puff of smoke. "But punks like you? You aren't worthy of my food!"

"Vito!" The subordinate shouted, holding up something in his hand. "We've got a special photo from Whole Cake Island, lelo, just for you to see."

I didn’t bother turning around. "There’s not gonna be a wedding, jackass. What difference does a photo make?" I muttered, still seething. "And for the last time, my betrothed is Y/N."

"Just take a look," Vito insisted, inching closer.

I was ready to kick him into next week, but when my eyes landed on the picture, everything stopped. I couldn’t help it.

The girl in the photo—her face. Her soft, sweet eyes. My heart suddenly started racing.

"This is your fiancée, lelo," Vito grinned, knowing he'd hit a nerve. "The 35th daughter of the Charlotte family, Lady Charlotte Pudding."

I felt my heart pound in my chest as I stared at her. I wasn’t sure what to say, the cigarette barely hanging from my lips as I looked at the photo. This… this was the girl they wanted me to marry? My fiancée? My mind was racing, and for the first time, I didn’t have a quick retort.

Time had passed since I saw that photo of Pudding, but eventually, we docked. I walked silently, my mind still racing, trying to shake off the image.

"So, what do you think, lover boy? Quite the sight to see, lelo. Glad I showed you, lelo!" Vito’s irritating voice broke my focus, making me halt mid-step.

"It doesn’t matter what picture you show me," I said, my voice low and firm. "My heart belongs to another woman." Without missing a beat, I continued walking, trying to leave him behind.

"By the way," Vito started up again, "do you ever read the WEJ? It’s a major paper, lelo. They used to run this awesome comic strip, Sora, Warrior of the Sea—had a giant robot and everything. And the enemy? Well, it was the evil army of Germa 66."

I clenched my jaw but kept walking. He wouldn’t shut up. "People all over the world loved that comic," he continued, grinning like this was some big joke to him.

As Vito rambled on about Germa 66 and the comic, I just kept quiet, ignoring every word that spewed from his mouth. The last thing I needed was to be reminded of that cursed family, and even less of what they were planning with Big Mom.

When Vito finally led me to my room, I noticed Caesar locked up in a cage, ranting and raving as usual. "Would you stop following me? This is supposed to be my room," I said, glaring at Vito.

"It’s supposed to be my room too! Why am I locked in a cage?!" Caesar whined, throwing a tantrum.

"Serves you right for wishing ill on my princess," I shot back, settling on the sofa, trying to calm my irritation.

"I wish her nothing but hell!" Caesar barked, making my blood boil. My hand twitched, wanting to deck him across the cage bars.

"Listen, we were told to capture you, not pamper you, lelo," Vito chuckled. "But Sanji here, and what was supposed to be Princess Y/N, lelo, are the stars who will bring the Vinsmokes and the Charlotte family together as one!"

"Not happening," I shot back, crossing my arms defiantly.

Vito smirked, looking over at Caesar. "So you may be a genius, but they are worth more.���

 “I'm not getting married, and neither is Y/N. Now get the hell out of here." I lit another cigarette, my resolve firm.

"What did you just say?" a hitman named Gotti interjected, stepping forward menacingly. "Ain't nobody disrespecting my boy Vito! Now apologize or you're dead!"

"Gotti! It’s fine; he didn’t hurt me," Vito said, trying to control the situation. "He was just playing around."

"No, I was serious," I retorted, maintaining my stance with my arms crossed. "Now both of you get the hell out of my room right now!"

Gotti’s anger flared, but before he could respond, a female voice rang out from the doorway. "Gotti! What the hell are you trying to pull?"

She stepped into the room, her tone fierce and authoritative. "Please forgive me, I'm sorry, ma'am," Gotti stammered, suddenly on the defensive.

"Sorry ain’t gonna cut it. Gotti, do you realize he is one of the Vinsmoke family?" she scolded, pointing an accusing finger at me. "If you lay a finger on him, my Bege's head is going to roll! It’s bad enough my Bege couldn’t bring the princess, but you will not impose threats on a Vinsmoke!" With that, she yanked Gotti away from my line of sight, clearly not willing to let him escalate things further.

I took a moment to process her words, and as I watched her, something about her looked familiar.

The door closed, leaving me with a moment of peace as I blew out the smoke from my cigarette, the tension still thick in the air.

"Big Mom is going to kill me for sure!" Caesar whined from his cage, his voice trembling with anxiety. "None of this is fair! You're a Vinsmoke, and that princess is marrying that Vinsmoke, so you both get star treatment, and I get the giantine!"

I ignored him, my thoughts drifting back to Y/N. The weight of the situation pressed down on me, but I was determined. I wouldn't let them dictate my life, nor would I let them take Y/N away from me. The fight was just beginning.

Y/N POV…

I wiped the sweat from my brow, the sweltering heat making it hard to focus. Nami and I had switched outfits to survive this unbearable temperature. Nami opted for a white tank top and blue ruffled skirt, while I followed suit, wearing a white cropped tank with a few buttons undone and a blue mini ruffled skirt with open-toed heels. It didn’t help that we were stranded without Sanji and with nothing to eat.

"Alright, I was wrong... I'm gonna die after all," Luffy groaned dramatically, trying to catch something in the water. "It’s so hot, I might melt before I starve. I want Sanji back on this ship!" He complained, flailing about as the rest of the crew—Chopper, Brook, and Pedro—worked to catch something edible.

"Ugh, I’m hungry, it’s hot, and I’m tired," Carrot whined, lying across Nami and me in the shade. We were all feeling the exhaustion.

"How much longer will it take?" I muttered, feeling my arms turning to jelly as the sun continued to beat down on us.

"I know it’s hot, but someone please catch something while the sun’s still out," Nami pleaded weakly, echoing my fatigue.

"Go team food..." Carrot groaned from her position beside us.

Suddenly, Pedro called out. "Luffy! Pull quick!" Luffy reeled in a giant fish, causing us all to stare at the catch, momentarily hopeful—until we saw its strange, purple skin.

"Uh… why is the skin purple?" I asked, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.

"Yeah, that color might be a bad sign," Chopper said hesitantly.

"It could be poisonous," Nami suggested, eyeing the fish warily.

"If it’s a fish, then it’s food! You don’t know what you’re talking about!" Luffy insisted, delirious from hunger, as he began cutting into the fish’s skin.

Chopper rushed to Sanji’s locker, pulling out a cookbook, flipping through it frantically. "Let me see if Sanji has something on this type of fish."

A few moments later, Chopper returned, his eyes wide with alarm. "The skin is poisonous! You can eat the fish, but not the skin!"

We all turned to look at Luffy, who was chewing happily on the purple flesh. "The skin’s so good," Luffy said with a grin, offering me some. "Here, Y/N, you should try some too!"

"Hard pass, Captain," I said, shaking my head firmly.

"Wait, what? Poisonous? Oh no," Luffy groaned, but then he quickly shook his head. "I feel great. Maybe it’s not poisonous after all."

"Sanji’s notes say once you peel the skin, the rest of the fish is safe to eat," Chopper read from the book, sounding relieved.

"Alright, peel the skin, and I’ll cook it up!" Luffy announced, ready to spring into action. But Nami quickly smacked him on the head, reminding him that one kitchen fire was enough.

"You sit here and don’t do anything crazy!" Nami said sternly. "Y/N and I will cook the fish."

I peeled off the skin while Nami followed Sanji’s recipe to the letter, the kitchen filling with the mouthwatering aroma of the fish cooking. "That smells amazing, Nami," I complimented as we plated the food.

Minutes later, we brought out the plates, handing them out to the crew. Everyone dug in with tears in their eyes, relieved to have a decent meal at last.

"It’s so good!" Carrot cried, her energy coming back instantly.

"Chopper, eat something before you pass out," Nami urged, handing him a plate.

But despite the momentary relief, Chopper looked panicked. "Luffy’s doing really bad. I’m afraid he’s going to die!"

"I already used up all our antidotes," Chopper continued, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Oh no," I gasped, feeling the gravity of the situation settle in. "We need to find an island, Nami!"

"Unfortunately for your captain, we won’t be able to get to land for medicine," Pekoms said as he removed his bandages, his tone grim. "We’re about to hit Big Mom’s territory."

Our jaws dropped in shock.

"Black Leg Sanji has probably reached Whole Cake Island by now," Pekoms continued. "No matter what, don’t lower your guard."

Pedro moved to keep watch, and the rest of us tensed up. "At the first island we dock at, we’ll find an antidote for Luffy," Pekoms reassured.

Just then, I noticed something unusual. "Why is it snowing?" I asked, squinting at the sky.

"That’s not snow—it’s cotton candy rain," Nami said, her voice filled with disbelief. Cotton candy began falling gently from the sky, landing in my hand.

"We’ve entered Mama’s territory," Pekoms stated darkly.

"I see something!" Pedro called out. "It’s a ship, coming right for us."

"It’s one of Mama’s tart ships!" Pekoms warned us. "You guys, hide!"

As we scrambled to hide, Chopper worked to slow the effects of the poison spreading through Luffy’s body. "This is bad," he whispered.

"Do you see anything?" I asked in a hushed voice, squinting at the ship.

"Is that a transponder snail?" Nami asked as we peered out cautiously.

"It’s not Big Mom’s ship," she said, sounding confused as we stepped out from our hiding spots. The ship had an eerie presence.

"They call Germa 66 the warmongers," Nami explained, making me tense up. My heart skipped a beat.

"Isn’t that…?" I started to say, turning to Brook, who instinctively moved to shield me in case it was Ichiji.

Suddenly, we spotted someone on the ship with a familiar, curly eyebrow.

"Sanji!!!" Chopper cried, running toward the figure.

"Sanji?" I whispered, hope blooming in my chest. Could it really be him?

I grabbed my sword but quickly dropped it, my heart racing. I leapt forward, using all the momentum I had, and landed gracefully in front of the figure.

"Sanji!" I threw myself into him, wrapping my legs around his waist, hugging him with all my strength. My arms tightened around his neck as I buried my face into his shoulder. "Sanji, is it really you?" I sniffled, planting soft kisses along his neck.

"I have so much to tell you! Oh my goodness!" I said, holding onto him, relief and joy washing over me. But then, I clenched my fist and smacked the back of his head. "Why the hell would you say we were engaged?! We never even had that conversation!" I scolded, still clinging to him.

He tensed at first, his grip on me slightly different than what I remembered. But I brushed it off, my emotions clouding my judgment. "It’s okay, we can talk about that later," I said, loosening my grip.

But then, his hands tightened around me, the pressure becoming uncomfortable.

"Sanji… you’re kind of hurting me a bit," I said, squirming in his hold. Something felt wrong.

"Sanji… you’re kind of hurting me a bit," I said again, my voice firmer this time, but he didn’t release his grip. Instead, a dark laugh escaped his lips, sending a shiver down my spine. Something was definitely wrong.

"You can let me go now!" I demanded, but his grip only tightened. My patience snapped, and with a clenched right fist, I swung, punching him square in the face. His hold loosened just enough for me to leap backward, putting distance between us. As I caught my breath, my eyes locked on him—something was off. He wasn’t Sanji.

Before I could retreat back to the ship, he stood in front of me again, removing his hood with a smirk. My heart dropped.

"You're not Sanji," I whispered, my blades starting to hum with a white hue as I clenched my fists, electricity crackling through my right arm.

"Y/N!" Brook called from the distance, his voice filled with worry.

"Stay back, all of you!" I shouted to the crew, not taking my eyes off the imposter.

"Stop calling me Sanji!" he snapped. "You got the wrong guy. My name is Yonji," he said, his eyes scanning me from head to toe with a disgusting grin. "I gotta admit though, you're even better in person." His gaze shifted into heart-shaped eyes as he ogled me.

Disgust flooded through me as Yonji suddenly lunged forward, grabbing me by the left arm, yanking me closer. I struggled, trying to wrench myself free from his iron grip.

"Oh no, Y/N!" Nami gasped, watching in horror.

Yonji's grip tightened further as he sneered, "I don’t care if you’re my brother’s fiancée—you should’ve been mine from the start."

My heart raced, not out of fear but from pure anger. "I’m not anyone’s fiancée!" I yelled, and in one quick move, I sent an electrical current surging through my right hand, shocking him hard enough to make him release me. I leaped away, landing back on the ship just in time.

"Y/N, are you okay?" Carrot asked, rushing to my side.

"I’m fine, Carrot. Thank you," I said, catching my breath and standing back up. I turned toward Yonji, who had retreated to his ship, his eyes still filled with those disgusting heart shapes. His grin only widened.

"A feisty woman," he chuckled. "You’re so hot."

I clenched my jaw, anger boiling inside me. Just as I thought I was safe, Yonji extended his arm from his ship, grabbing me again, this time with even more force.

"Y/N!" Chopper cried as I struggled to break free. His grip was suffocating.

"Let me go!" I shouted, kicking my legs in vain as he pulled me closer.

"Why?" Yonji sneered, tightening his hold. "You liked me better when you thought I was Sanji. Why don’t you give me kiss, huh?"

"Wait, come back! Sanji!" Chopper yelled, his voice frantic.

"Ugh, I’m Yonji!" he growled, his annoyance flaring.

I had enough. Just as Yonji was about to pull me in closer, I lifted my right leg and landed a swift, powerful kick on his arm, forcing him to release me. I plummeted toward the water, but before I hit, I clenched my left hand and used the momentum to leap back into the air, landing safely on the ship once more.

I gasped for air, my heart pounding from the close call. "That was close..." I muttered, sheathing my blade back into its thigh holster.

"Oh no! Luffy!" Chopper suddenly cried out. "He’s developing a rash—he can’t fight it anymore!"

"Stay with us, Luffy!" Nami pleaded, kneeling beside him.

"Don’t give up, Captain!" I added, rushing over as I spotted my sword on the ground. I picked it up quickly, making my way back to Luffy.

"You must have some antidote!" Chopper yelled toward Yonji, his voice thick with desperation.

Yonji slid his glasses on, grinning arrogantly. "Sorry, guys, I’m not into the whole saving lives thing. But if you want that medicine, why don’t you come and take it from us? I mean, you are pirates, right?" His grin widened as he toyed with us.

Nami, fuming, clenched her fists. "He only has Sanji’s bad parts, none of the good ones! He’s just a playboy jerk!"

"That’s it," I muttered, fury burning through me. I clenched my left hand and, without hesitation, leaped into the air once more, my sword gripped tightly in my right hand. I was done with his games.

"Y/N, be careful!" Brook called out, his voice echoing behind me.

"Princess, can’t get enough of me, I see," Yonji teased, smirking as he moved to intercept me.

But I was ready. Pressing the red gem embedded in my sword, I expected the familiar blaze of red flames, but instead, a mix of red electricity and a vibrant blue hue surged from the blade. What is this? I thought, momentarily stunned. My sword had never done that before. The energy crackled around me, sharper, more powerful.

Just as Yonji reached out to grab me again, a female voice cut through the tension. "Yonji... Stop being so stingy, will you?" Before I could react, Yonji was sent flying into the air, crashing into the water below with a loud splash.

The sheer force of the kick had me blinking in shock. "That kick’s strength... it looked similar to mine," I muttered as I made my way back to our ship. I pressed the red gemstone on my sword once more, deactivating the energy, and placed the sword behind me.

"What is going on?" Nami asked, her voice filled with confusion.

Suddenly, the female who kicked Yonji out of the way gracefully landed on our ship. "Do forgive him. He’s rather heartless... a creep too, but never mind my little brother. I’ll set this straight." She flashed a charming smile, completely unbothered by Yonji’s embarrassing defeat.

"Creep is an understatement," I muttered under my breath, still glaring in the direction Yonji had been launched from.

"Little brother?" Nami echoed, her eyes widening as she looked at the mysterious woman who had just arrived.

"Are you related to Sanji?" Chopper asked, his curiosity piqued. "She’s got curly eyebrows too!" he exclaimed, connecting the dots.

"She’s lovely!" Brook said, hearts practically radiating from his eyes.

I couldn’t help but slap my forehead and shake my head at his antics. "Reiju!" Yonji yelled, now flying out of the water and into the air.

"He flies?" Chopper gasped, his eyes sparkling with amazement.

"Damn it! What were you thinking, humiliating me like that—and in front of the princess?!" Yonji was clearly furious, more bothered by his embarrassment than anything else.

"Baffoon! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Reiju scolded him, hands on her hips, clearly not taking his tantrum seriously.

"I wonder how he’s floating," Brook mused, observing Yonji's ability to stay airborne.

"Maybe it’s the same thing that King gave you, Y/N?" Nami suggested.

"Impossible," I responded, shaking my head. "I trained for two years to wield the power I have. It’s definitely not the same."

"Maybe it’s a Devil Fruit power?" Chopper guessed.

"It’s not like Sanji’s Skywalk or CP9’s technique either," Nami noted, trying to piece it together.

"Well, whatever it is, I just want him away from me," I muttered, turning my attention back to Luffy, who was still struggling.

"That’s because they didn’t acquire that skill through training," Pekoms chimed in, stepping forward. "It’s technology. They’re powerful, but the strength of Germa 66 is science-based. That’s why Big Mom wants them—she wants their technology."

"Does that mean I can fly with super shoes too?" Chopper asked, his excitement bubbling over.

"I don’t think that’s how it works, Chopper," I chuckled, despite the tension.

"Sanji’s family is amazing… I wonder why he never told us," Nami mused, her gaze lingering on Yonji and Reiju.

"Vinsmoke… the leaders of Germa 66," Brook said, his tone more somber now. "Pekoms, that name rings a bell. If I recall, Vinsmoke is the name of a royal family."

"Wait, like Vivi or Neptune’s family?" Chopper asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"So… they’re really famous?" I added, glancing up at Yonji, still floating above us with a smug grin on his face.

"That’s right. Their name is synonymous with evil. In fact, they were portrayed as villains in a comic strip," Pekoms explained, his voice carrying a note of warning.

I stood up from my position and sighed, running my hand through my hair, feeling Zoro’s bandana still securing it tightly. "Great… so my fiancée is not only an assassin, but he’s also evil."

The weight of everything felt like it was pressing down on me. How had I ended up in this mess?

Reiju laughed lightly, her composed demeanor masking any surprise at Brook’s bizarre request. “I’m impressed, you're quite the historian,” she remarked.

Brook, blushing despite his skeletal appearance, chuckled nervously. "Well, I have been alive for a long time... and dead as well," he said, taking off his hat and bowing. "You see, it’s not just a story. Even now, we are royalty. Germa is a land without soil. Although we own no territory, we are still given the right to join the Reverie, all the same," Reiju explained, her voice proud yet calm.

"I see," Brook said, still bowing. "May I see your royal panties, most honored lady?" he asked, this time falling to his knees in front of her.

Without missing a beat, Nami delivered a swift kick to the back of Brook's head. "Stop it!" she yelled, hands on her hips in frustration.

I shook my head at Brook’s antics but couldn't help smiling.

Reiju turned her attention to me. "As for you, Princess," she said with a warm smile, "It appears my brother is quite fond of you."

I rolled my eyes. "Which one?" I asked sarcastically, pointing at Yonji, who was still hovering nearby. "Because this guy over here seems to be rather fond of me too."

Reiju laughed again, this time a bit more warmly. "No, no, not Yonji. I’m talking about Ichiji. He hasn’t stopped talking about you since the moment he decided he wanted to marry you."

I crossed my arms, feeling defiant. "Yeah, well, the feeling isn’t mutual. I’m not interested in marriage—any marriage, for that matter," I said firmly.

Reiju’s smile didn’t falter. "The terms are already set, Princess. You will marry Ichiji."

I blinked, my mind racing. "What does he even want with me?" I asked, frustration creeping into my voice. "Out of all the women in the world, why me?"

Reiju’s eyes softened. "He never said. All he did was tell our father to arrange the marriage. And since Sanji’s wedding was already set, yours was arranged on the spot."

"Is that why my wanted poster suddenly says ‘Vinsmoke’?" I asked, the realization hitting me like a ton of bricks.

"Yes," she nodded, confirming my suspicions. "He wanted to ensure no one else would try to claim you. He's... quite a jealous man."

"Great," I muttered, my stomach churning. "And what about the ‘only alive’ part?" I pressed, interrogating her further.

Reiju tilted her head slightly. "He added that because, after watching you fight, he knew he wanted you by his side... alive."

I froze. "Wait... what do you mean, watched me fight? The only time my fight was broadcast was—"

The realization hit me hard, and I took a step back, my eyes widening. "No... It couldn’t be."

Reiju’s calm gaze held mine, and I could tell she wasn’t lying. Ichiji had been watching me, possibly for longer than I realized.

"Now if you don’t mind, I’ll be taking that from him," she said, making her way toward Luffy.

"Taking what?" Nami asked, confused.

Reiju knelt down in front of Luffy. "I’m going to guess he ate the skin of an Armor Fish from the Poison Sea," she said.

Chopper’s eyes widened. "Yeah, how’d you know?" he asked, bewildered.

"This poison has a rather unique set of components. He’s a glutton for eating it. Not even a giant could survive this," Reiju said matter-of-factly.

Chopper panicked, tears forming in his eyes. "What?! There’s nothing you can do?! I’ve failed! I’m the worst doctor in the world!"

Reiju, however, remained calm. "But this is good. You’re lucky, it’s the best kind of poison. Down the hatch," she said before locking lips with Luffy and beginning to extract the poison.

"Luffy is getting a smoochy!" Brook exclaimed, his voice filled with a mix of surprise and excitement.

"Ahh, that’s so gross," Nami groaned, turning her head away.

"That’s so scandalous," Pekoms said, blushing.

I blinked rapidly, feeling like I was intruding on something personal. "I feel like I’m interrupting something," I muttered, covering my eyes but peeking every few seconds out of curiosity.

Chopper, still panicking, yelled, "Whoa! If you suck out that poison, you’ll die for sure!"

"Oh, I’m so jealous!" Brook wailed dramatically. "If only I could trade places with him, but alas... my lips are long gone! Yohoho!"

As Reiju continued to extract the poison, we all watched in shock as the rashes began to transfer from Luffy’s body to Reiju’s.

"What?!" we all yelled in unison.

Chopper examined Luffy. "There’s no more rash! It’s all gone!" he exclaimed.

Reiju stood up, unphased by the poison she had just absorbed. "I’ve never felt better. After all, I’m ‘Poison Pink,’" she said calmly, giving us all a faint smile.

Luffy finally came to, coughing a bit as he regained consciousness. "Whoa, what happened?!" he asked, looking around.

Carrot and Chopper began crying in relief.

"Wait, did I fall asleep while eating that giant fish? That skin part was really good. Do we have any more?!" Luffy asked, completely oblivious to how close he had come to dying.

Nami and I were both in tears, frustration and relief mixing together. "No!" we yelled in unison.

"You don’t remember? Not even the part where you almost died?!" Nami shouted, her voice rising.

Luffy blinked, then turned to Reiju, mistaking her for Sanji because of her curly eyebrow. "Sanji!" he said, grinning.

Chopper sighed. "That’s a woman, Luffy."

Luffy looked at her again. "Actually... you’re right," he admitted, scratching his head, confused but still Luffy.

“Luffy… she’s the person who just saved your life,” Brook pointed at Reiju with a skeletal finger.

Luffy, with his typical grin, turned to her. "Huh, thanks, lady!" he said, his carefree tone easing the tension for a moment.

I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. It felt like I was drowning in the weight of everything happening around me. But Luffy’s casualness, as usual, brought a strange comfort.

"I never knew Sanji had a big sister!" Luffy exclaimed, his grin growing wider.

"Yes, that’s right," Reiju nodded. "Sanji is a Vinsmoke like us."

My body tensed again, and Luffy caught it, his sharp eyes flicking to me, but he didn’t say anything. I tried to focus on what Reiju was saying.

"He was separated from us when he was young. Our father’s been searching for him for a while. When Sanji’s wanted poster began circulating two years ago, my father made a call to the government to prioritize catching him. But, well… they ended up catching a man named Duval by mistake,” Reiju said with a slight smirk.

“Sanji was not a fan of that whole mess,” Brook chimed in, causing me to stifle a laugh. The memory of Duval’s ridiculous face and the chaos that followed flashed in my mind. Even in the middle of all this madness, the absurdity of that situation was hard to forget.

“When your crew made a surprise comeback, the World Government shared the news with us,” Reiju continued. “My father then replaced Sanji’s wanted poster with ‘Only Alive’ and raised his bounty to make sure he’d come back to us.”

Nami crossed her arms, nodding. "So that’s why we knew something was off with his bounty, but we couldn’t figure out the reason."

Luffy’s focus sharpened. "Okay, so where is Sanji right now?" he asked, the easygoing air disappearing for a moment as concern for his crewmate replaced it.

Reiju sighed. "I can’t say for sure. He could be with Big Mom or with our father. We thought we might catch him along the way, but it seems we were too late."

She turned toward me, her eyes softening, but her words carried a weight I wasn’t ready to deal with. “At least I got to see the woman who’s going to be marrying my other brother,” she said, her gaze lingering on me.

I clenched my fists, every fiber of my being resisting that statement. But Reiju smiled knowingly. "He’ll be thrilled when I tell him you’ve arrived."

The thought of being married off to Ichiji—someone I’d never even met—made my stomach churn. My future, my choices, were being ripped out from under me, and no matter how much I wanted to fight it, the Vinsmoke family wasn’t about to give me a choice.

I shot Reiju a look of defiance. “I’m not marrying him, or anyone for that matter,” I said coldly.

Reiju’s expression didn’t change, as if she expected that response. "We’ll see," she said calmly, almost too calmly.

"But we will see Sanji at the tea party along with Ichiji’s fiancée, that’s the important part," Reiju said, her voice steady as she looked at me. The weight of her words pressed on my chest, reminding me of the looming wedding, the plans that were being made without my consent. I tried to stay calm, but my mind was spinning.

"It won’t be long now," Reiju added, her gaze shifting to Luffy. "And I even got to meet you. You took care of Sanji, Strawhat, for that, I am grateful."

Reiju was about to leave when Luffy shot up from where he sat, fire in his eyes. "Sanji’s sister!" he called out. "Thanks for saving my life for real, but still, we are taking Sanji back and stopping Y/N’s wedding. They’re my crewmates and friends!"

I couldn’t help but feel the strength behind his words. He was standing up for me, for Sanji, for all of us. Luffy’s loyalty, that unshakable determination, reminded me that I wasn’t alone in this. No matter how daunting things seemed, we would fight this together.

Reiju turned back around, her eyes scanning us—each one of us standing with defiance on our faces. We were ready to fight for what mattered most.

"I won’t give up on them," Luffy declared with conviction, his voice like a solid anchor pulling us all together.

Before I could dwell on those feelings, Yonji’s loud voice cut through the tension. "Hey, you! You’re Pekoms from the Big Mom Pirates. Just what the hell are you doing hanging out with the Strawhats?"

Pekoms stood firm, his expression unyielding. "I have my reasons, and that’s all I gotta say. Things might be different after these wedding ceremonies, but for now, you’re just some random guy."

Reiju glanced at him and nodded. "Can’t argue with that," she said, then leaped into the air, landing gracefully beside Yonji. We watched, a mix of apprehension and curiosity swirling among us.

"Raise the anchor! Let’s move!" Yonji commanded, his voice booming. He turned his gaze from his subordinates back to me, and for a heartbeat, our eyes locked. I couldn’t help but feel a flutter of discomfort under his intense stare, like he was weighing something in his mind.

As Reiju and Yonji headed off in another direction, I felt a rush of determination. We couldn’t let them dictate our fate.

"Okay, we better get moving," Nami said, breaking the tension. As we began to set sail, I sank into my thoughts, finally sitting down and closing my eyes for a moment.

Chopper began to examine Luffy, who was looking worse for wear, and the relentless ringing of the transponder snail filled the air.

"Geez, shut up!" Luffy and I exclaimed in unison, irritation bubbling up. It felt good to share the moment of frustration, a reminder that we were still on the same side.

"It’s a warning signal; it won’t stop even if you pick it up," Pekoms explained, his tone calm and collected.

"Well, that’s annoying," I huffed, crossing my arms.

"Poison made me hungry," Luffy grumbled, the usual sparkle in his eyes dimmed but not extinguished.

"We are still short on food supplies," Nami reminded us, her expression serious.

Pekoms continued, "You’re on one of Mama’s 34 islands. Whole Cake is in the center, and each island has a minister that runs the show. It’s Totoland."

Pedro piped up then. "Another ship is heading toward us."

"If they find you, it’ll be a whole pain in the ass," Pekoms warned, urgency in his voice. Without hesitation, we all dashed back to our hiding spot, adrenaline coursing through my veins.

Once we docked, we stayed hidden until Pekoms finally gave us the signal that it was safe.

"Where are Luffy and Chopper?" Pedro asked, scanning the area with concern.

I couldn’t help but smile at the situation. "We should have expected this, except I’m not with them this time," I said, a playful glint in my eyes.

"They bought my cover story, but we better not stay long," Pekoms urged us, urgency lacing his voice. "So do what you gotta do, then scram! We are in a rush anyway."

He handed out disguises, and as I slipped mine on, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of excitement and apprehension.

Nami and Carrot stepped out first. Nami looked stunning in a white and red overall short dress, the pink bow at her waist adding a touch of charm. Carrot twirled into view in a playful green short dress that suited her lively spirit perfectly.

And then it was my turn. I stepped out, and my heart sank as I caught a glimpse of myself in the reflection. I was wearing a white short dress with sleeves that fell off my shoulders, and the sweetheart neckline accentuated my chest. Rhinestones adorned the neckline, glistening in the light, while the ties at the back created the illusion of an hourglass figure. The bottom flared out gracefully, and my silver heels clicked softly against the floor. My hair was half up, half down, with a few strands framing my face.

Overall, I looked like I was heading to a wedding reception.

"Now why the hell am I wearing a white dress?!" I exclaimed, a mix of disbelief and frustration flooding my voice. The last thing I needed was to draw more attention to myself, especially dressed like this.

Nami chuckled, clearly amused by my predicament. "You look great! Just go with it," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Easy for you to say!" I shot back, though I couldn’t help but smirk.

"You look gorgeous, Y/N!" Carrot said, her eyes lighting up as she took in my ensemble.

"Thank you, Carrot," I replied, smiling at her enthusiasm, even though I felt a bit out of place. The dress was beautiful, but I wasn’t used to wearing something so formal, and the feeling of it clinging to me was a constant reminder of the situation we were in.

Suddenly, a loud voice echoed from behind. "There’s our young bride!" Brook called out, his usual cheerfulness somehow both amusing and alarming.

"Brook, what are you...?" I started to ask, but he didn’t let me finish.

"Ohh, I knew this day would come!" he exclaimed, looking as though he was about to break into a song at any moment.

"Brook, I’m not—" I protested, trying to cut through his joyful delusions.

"I told you, you’d make a blushing bride!" he continued, tears flowing from his eye sockets, each drop a testament to his excitement and unwavering optimism.

"Brook, I’m not getting married!" I insisted, my voice rising in exasperation. I could feel my cheeks heat up, and I desperately wanted to hide.

"Could have fooled me! You still look fantastic, yohooo!" he replied, spinning around as if to emphasize my supposed wedding attire.

I shook my head, laughing despite my embarrassment. "Thanks, I guess?" I said, trying to take it all in stride. The situation was bizarre, yet Brook's antics somehow made it easier to breathe amidst the chaos we were facing.

Pekoms then coughed, bringing us all back to reality. "It’s going to take a whole day to get to Whole Cake Island, so be sure to get all you need, especially food."

"Oki dokie!" Carrot yelled, her enthusiasm infectious as she bounced on her heels.

I went to grab my sword, trying to figure out how I could carry it along with my thigh halter and blades. "Hey, Nami, do you have a bag big enough to hold my essentials?" I asked, hoping she had something suitable.

She nodded and made her way to find it. When she returned, she handed me a small but discreet bag. I placed the thigh halter and blades inside, then focused on my sword. "Hmm, what if I pressed..." I mused, pressing all three buttons on the hilt. To my surprise, the sword began to shrink. "Whoa! I didn’t know it could do that!" I exclaimed, marveling at the magical functionality as I placed it into the bag.

I also took off Zoro’s bandana, placing it inside the bag as well.

"How did you fit that giant sword in there?!" Nami asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"I know that moving the hilt to the right creates a shield, but I didn’t know pressing all three gems would make it shrink. King really thought of everything," I said, smiling as I grabbed the strap and placed it over my shoulder.

Carrot was watching everyone in the town, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "It’s a land where every race can live without discrimination," Pekoms explained, his tone proud.

He went on to tell us the rules about eating chocolate since you could eat anything in Chocolat town. Suddenly, Brook piped up, "So… are the panties made of chocolate as well?"

"Of course they are!" Pekoms replied, barely able to contain his laughter.

Brook began to fantasize, his eyes glazing over with ridiculous thoughts until Nami sent a punch right to his head. "Just get the food and go!" Pekoms ordered, shaking his head.

"Alright, we’re ready!" I said, feeling the adrenaline start to pump through my veins.

"Oh my! Somebody ate the whole café!" yelled a voice from afar.

"There they are!" Nami exclaimed, pointing in the direction where Luffy’s unmistakable energy was.

We began to run toward Luffy, and I could hear Carrot urging, "Come on, guys, we gotta go faster!"

"We are trying too!" we all shouted in unison, pushing ourselves to keep up with the energy of the moment.

We caught up to Pedro and Brook, but we halted when we saw something unusual coming down from above.

"What the heck?" Nami exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Is that a carpet singing?" I said, squinting up at the bizarre sight.

"Not the owner of the café," Brook added, his curiosity piqued. We watched as the café owner covered for both Luffy and Chopper.

"What did she save them for?" Carrot wondered aloud.

"Maybe she’s just really nice," Nami suggested, though I felt a nagging hesitation about Luffy and Chopper’s savior.

"No one's that nice," I said, crossing my arms, my instincts warning me.

"We sure got lucky," Pedro chimed in, lighting his cigarette with a spark of electricity from his fingers.

"You gotta teach me that trick, Pedro," I said in awe.

He chuckled, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "You got it."

"Captain Pedro?!" yelled someone from behind us. We all turned, surprised.

"It really is you! What a surprise! It’s been a while," the familiar voice exclaimed.

Pedro quickly shushed the mink. "I'm sightseeing; don’t tell anyone," he said as we moved forward.

"Is something wrong, Pedro?" I asked, noticing a hint of tension as we made our way toward Luffy, Chopper, and the café owner's chocolate building.

We all sat down at a table while Luffy and Chopper continued to eat the walls, the sight both hilarious and alarming. As I settled into my chair, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about the café owner.

"Can you cool it for a second?" Nami said, her brows furrowed as she eyed Luffy and Chopper. "You were stuffed a second ago; where’d all that food go?"

"You gotta try this, Y/N! I know you're going to love it!" Luffy exclaimed, handing me a piece of chocolate. He passed one to Brook and Nami as well.

I looked at the piece and politely declined. "Sorry, Luffy, I’m not a sweets kind of person, but I’m sure it’s really delicious."

"Oh well, more for me!" he shrugged, diving back into the feast.

Brook and Nami took bites of theirs and simultaneously shouted, "It's so good!"

Time passed, and Luffy turned to Pudding, the café owner. "Thanks for saving me back there!"

"Oh no, don’t thank me; I should be the one thanking you," she replied in a sweet voice that made my skin crawl.

"This girl is acting," I thought, crossing my arms defensively.

"How is this woman real? She’s too sweet!" Brook exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with admiration.

"I don’t mean to be rude, but we need to get going," Nami interjected, trying to steer the conversation.

Pudding then offered us tea, but I decided to stand and take a walk around.

"Where are you going?" Nami asked, her tone concerned.

I turned to her, smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll be right back," I said as I headed out the door.

Once outside, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. "I just know this ‘Pudding’ isn’t being truthful," I murmured to myself. "She’s hiding something, and I’m going to find out."

I took in the sights around me—the whole city was made of chocolate. "Best be careful; don’t want to dirty my outfit," I thought, holding the straps of my bag tightly, which contained my blades and sword, ensuring they stayed secure as I navigated through the sweet chaos of the city.

To my right, I noticed a jewelry store and chuckled, shaking my head. "Chocolate jewels? Now this I gotta see." I made my way inside, intrigued by the assortment on display.

"Now isn’t this creative," I thought, admiring the craftsmanship. My eyes landed on the rings, sparkling under the shop lights.

"Find something of interest?" the shop owner asked, his voice eager.

"At the moment, I'm just looking, but I will definitely let you know if I find something," I replied, about to walk away when he called me back.

"Miss! Would you please come for a moment? I must show you something!" he insisted, guiding me back to the rings.

"This ring is one of our finest collections—the rarest of rare," the owner proclaimed, presenting a stunning gold band adorned with diamonds and a captivating red ruby at its center.

"My, it's quite pretty," I said, genuinely impressed.

"Yes, it is... Would you like to try it on?" the owner offered, a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

I laughed, shaking my head. "As long as it’s not made of chocolate, I'll try it."

He slipped the ring onto my ring finger. "A perfect fit!" he declared, clasping his hands together in delight.

"So it appears," I muttered, returning the ring back. "Thank you for your time, but I must be on my way."

The owner tried to stop me once more, but I was already out the door, eager to continue my exploration.

As I strolled through the streets, taking in everything around me, I suddenly lost my footing. Just as I was about to trip into a chocolate fountain, a strong arm pulled me back, spinning me around until I landed against a hard chest.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concern etched across his face.

"Yes, I’m fine... thank y..." I started, taking in his features. He wore a white long-sleeve dress shirt, the fabric a sleek v-neck that revealed a hint of his chest, paired with dress pants. His vibrant red hair caught the light, and his glasses had a red tint that matched perfectly.

"Wow, this guy must really like red," I thought, taking a step back to create some distance.

"You gotta be careful; a pretty girl like you would have been drenched in chocolate," he said, his compliment making me smile and blush slightly.

"You're right; we wouldn’t want that now, would we?" I replied, laughing. The man chuckled as well.

"Well, I gotta get back to the café. Thank you for saving me," I said just as I was about to turn when he grabbed my wrist, halting me.

"Wait?!" he said, his grip rather strong. "Why don’t I walk you to the café? That way you don’t trip on any more chocolate," he suggested, chuckling.

I pulled my wrist back and replied, "If you want." We continued to stroll through Chocolat town in comfortable silence. I noticed some of the shopkeepers trembling in fear, which made me wonder why.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, and I turned to look at him, noticing more of his features—his nose was delicate, his chin chiseled, and his arms looked buff without making his dress shirt tight.

I nodded with a smile. "Everything is just fine," I assured him, feeling a small blush creep onto my cheeks. I noticed that he also blushed slightly, the color deepening in his cheeks as he glanced away for a moment.

"Well, this is it," I said as we approached the café. "Oh, I forgot one thing!" I exclaimed, making my way down the steps. I turned back to him and said, "Thank you for walking with me," as I placed a gentle peck on his cheek.

As I made my way back inside, I didn’t hear him say softly, "No problem, fiancee"

[chronicbeans]

Hi! Since I saw the illustrator wally series I've been exited to request this, it was also sad to see how nobody has yet come with this idea or at least I haven't seen anyone else bring this up so here I come!

It will be interesting how It would work a relationship between Human wally and reader who has maladaptive daydreaming along with autism, I thought of how would it be to meet someone who has to experience something familiar with you. ( since maladaptive daydreaming can be described as a variant of schizophrenia with some small differences ) anyways, I'm a desperate for representation-

ET TU, BRUTE? Omg I maladaptive daydream too (if I am reading it right and you mean to say that you do IT-). My therapist says that I am like, addicted to it lol. My family counselor also likened my case more towards depersonalization/dissociation/a variant of DID due to me only daydreaming myself as other people. This is actually the first time I have heard of it being described as a variant of schizophrenia, but it actually makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it! I need more representation too, so let's do this! I'll try to make it as broad as possible, because everyone daydreams about different things!

Illustrator Wally with an Autistic Reader who Maladaptive Daydreams:

TW: Mentions of Hallucinations, Maladaptive Daydreaming

🖍️ He is a bit confused when he sees you pacing around your living room. He is visiting, and decided to try to surprise you by sneaking up behind you and giving you a gift! Now, though, he is a bit enamored by how you are prancing around, muttering little things to yourself as you seem so carefree and happy in your little world. This is the first time he has seen you like this.

🖍️ You finally end up turning around, in his direction, and your face grows a bit pale from shock and embarrassment. "Uh... Hello... I'm so glad you came to visit!" You try to play it off, but he is too intrigued. Maybe you are like him, and hallucinate, too?

🖍️ You explain what you were doing. You daydream... WAY more often than other people! Intense worldbuilding, character arcs, and more all take place in your head the majority of the day. You like to prance or pace, finding it helpful to feel more comfortable. You also tend to stim in other ways if you cannot pace or prance. The odd facial expressions and mutterings were just you getting in character and reacting to what was happening in your daydreams.

🖍️ Wally is intrigued. It is so... similar, but different, from him. Both you and him are autistic, yes. He's known that for a while, since you told him around the second or third meeting between you two. THIS, though, is so amazing to him. He wants to know more about the stories in your head!

🖍️What do they consist of? Are they horror? Romance? Action? Comedy? He wishes to know. Are you in them? Do you play someone else? Is it from a third person perspective, watching over your creations? If it is something child friendly, maybe you can write a book and he can illustrate it!

🖍️ Even if it is something more... dark, disturbing, overall NOT a kid friendly topic... he would still want to draw it! Maybe he can start to expand his illustrations into more adult books. He is shockingly good at drawing horror, you know. Some of his vent art is a really disturbing treat to view.

🖍️ You might get onto the topic of how both of your conditions are similar and different. You have a lot of characters floating around in your head. Different worlds, stories, everything! Wally does have, in a way, characters, too! The little voices in his head count, right? Sometimes the same one will pop up every now and again. Both of your conditions seem, in a way, uncontrolled. Due to Wally preferring to not use medications, he simply lives with the voices and hallucinations, going to therapy to help him cope and learn to live with it. You just go with the flow, in a way. As far as you've heard, the best and only way to help deal with it is therapy. No real medication or anything.

🖍️ You both are finally happy to find someone similar to yourselves. The best part is that it is similar enough to be familiar, but different enough to have such interesting conversations!

[void-of-unparalled-chaos]

Twice now I have tried to make a reblog reply about Walter and twice now Tumblr has eaten it. So let's try it this way @chaos-bringer-13

Allow me to take you back to the ✨QUARANTINE DAYS✨ and tell you the tale of a pumpkin that may or may not have housed a god

So back in good old 2020/21 we are in the thrall of the COVID-19 pandemic. My state in particular had super heavy quarantine restrictions, and as someone with lung issues, my mom and myself were not taking any chances. I haven't left my house in maybe 5 months. Nor have I seen any of my friends outside of video calls. Senior year of High School so far has sucked.

I'm talking to my friend, we'll call her Marie, and I mention off hand "Yeah I'm starting to feel a bit lonely." Now Marie has known me for a solid 8 years at this point. She knows my type of humor and attachment to what we would now and days call "skrungly" objects. She decides "hmm. I can fix this!"

Marie's mom (who was... certainly a human being) for some god forsaken reason decided to buy a white pumpkin and give it to Marie with the idea that she would harvest the seeds from it and plant them in the garden (why she did this instead of just buying pumpkin seeds I will never know). Instead of doing this, Marie takes this pumpkin and draws a realistic face on it that can only be described as similar to the handsome squidward meme. She drives to my house, sets the pumpkin on my doorstep with a note, and then FUCKING BOOKS IT.

I open the door to see this pumpkin with a note that reads "Hello Momther, I am Walter."

(Not the best photo but this is in fact Walter sitting in the dark in my front yard while Marie (not pictured) stands on my driveway holding a single candle and chanting).

Anyway immediately I take him inside completely smitten and unknowing as to what this pumpkin will create.

At this point of quarantine, we have gone back to classes but they are completely online. I decide that the best thing I could possibly do with Walter is set him on a stack of notebooks behind me so that when I turn my camera on he would be there... watching. Notably, one guy who never unmuted himself did so just long enough to ask "Void... what the fuck is that."

Needless to say I got endless entertainment from the reactions, but all good things have to come to an end. Unfortunately, I live in a desert and pumpkins simply don't survive. They typically would rot within a few days where I was living at the time, so my Mom told me to move it outside at least. I decide to put him by the front door. This front door has a little half wall that leads up to it. I put him on top of it facing the walkway so whenever a package is delivered the mailman would be faced with Walter and have to make eye contact before leaving the mail. I figure I'll probably get a couple more days out of him before he rots.

This is where it starts to get weird

Another week passes. Two. Unlike every single pumpkin I've ever had for Halloween, Walter shows no signs of rotting despite being exposed to the elements. The pumpkin is at this point about a month and a half old and still perfectly fine. Marie, our friends, and I all kind of laugh it off as a random one time thing and expect it to rot within another week.

IT. FUCKING. DOESN'T.

4 months into having Walter and he is still as good as new. Around this time the vaccines for covid started rolling out, so my friends and I get to see each other again. They are just as baffled as me about Walter. Of course, us being us, we have been referring to Walter like an actual person this whole time because that's just our humor. We give him little head pats and forehead rubs as we enter or leave my house and say hello/goodbye to him.

Also around this time, my mom and myself are beginning to prep for moving to another state. We have also started doing some in person classes again. I had been cleaning out my room one morning, and just so happened to leave a piece of sea glass in front of Walter as I left for school. I had a strangely good day. Managed to get an A on a test if I remember right. I come home, see the glass in front of the pumpkin, and start thinking. The next day I leave him something else. Another good luck day! I try this again and every single time I leave him an offering something good happens! I tell my friends about it and they start doing it too and experiencing the same results. We decide that he must be some god of luck inhabiting this pumpkin vessel and rewinding time on it to keep it from rotting.

At some point someone gave him an orange and I swear to god the pumpkin started getting orange marks on its forehead. He still wasn't rotting though! We decided that he obviously has been absorbing the power from the offerings.

Around this time I realise the I have somehow created a partially serious cult and decide I might as well lean into it. I actually enlisted the help of the neighbor kids to take this photo.

Time passes. Walter is about 10 months old now and still going strong. We have graduated highschool and I'm going to be moving in a week. I can't take Walter with me, so Marie decides she will take him. But first, she is going to help us move. It's a 6 hour drive. We put Walter in the passenger seat window so that all the cars passing us can see him.

After she helps us, Marie and Walter continue on to yet another state where Marie will be attending university. Walter is almost if not a year old when he finally starts to rot. Marie, in her dorm room mind you, makes a plaster cast of his head and redraws his face on it. To this day Walter hangs in his new, more durable vessel, guarding her spice cabinet.

By the end of Walter's reign, he had reached his 1st birthday, scared who knows how many mailmen, met 3 of my teachers in person, visited 3 USA states, and briefly had an instagram account.

[decadeduo]

Helloooo welcome, call me Decade or Impostor or just about anything you want! This blog is for a Ask Goldie Anything au I've been working on ever since I found the now discontinued comic back in 2019!

I have ADHD and multiple other projects, so if I'm quiet for a bit feel free to poke me because I probably just forgot to update the blog. I also have a tendency to over-explain, so if you have trouble with reading long blocks of text then the colored text is there to highlight the important stuff! I believe you can only read the colored text and still understand the post, if I did it correctly. I'm sorry for people that struggle to read with colored text, but uh, I'm sure this paragraph alone shows how much I yap vs how much information is useful - it's kinda necessary. Alt descriptions of images are also available for all of the important posts, usually with some side notes about making said drawing or giving some context.

dms and asks are always open! This au only relies on asks about 30% of the time, but I'll always answer asks 100% of time (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠) that number will change as we get further into the story, mostly the introductory act and the last act is gonna need asks, as well as asks in-between each act to pass in universe time :]

In order to hold myself accountable and actually keep. Working on this thing, as well as to let everyone know I'm not dead, where am I currently in making this au?

Plot: it's been complete for 2 or 3 years and atp im making DLC for it whenever im bored, right now I'm aiming to complete the story with 4 - 6 Acts (⁠・⁠∀⁠・⁠)

Timeline of said plot: it's roughly laid out, and I'm currently working on fixing any plot holes [since originally this au was more like 14-17 segmented scenarios I've stitched together]

The actual comic: I'm currently working on the first comic pages! I'm also working on the cover art for each act, and after the first page is posted I'll work on asks (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

More info below!

What is this au about you may ask, so far I've said nothing about it you say? basically I looked at aga, and then looked at actual FNaF lore with the crying child and Cassidy possessing golden Freddy and decided the more ghosts the merrier. When Evan died, he started possessing Goldie, and gave him the ability to float, teleport, etc. Goldie can also exit the suit and be a ghost at any time, but he tends to stay inside unless he needs to be alone or do something that Evan can't.

If you send me any asks that are non-canon or spoilery, I'll just redirect you to my main account @impostorsshow and answer it there anyway. No asks will go unanswered [like said dlc I mentioned (⁠?⁠・⁠・⁠)⁠σ I might post about said non-canon stuff unprompted since I like my phasmophobia and shadow Bonnie au alot] Also I just like yapping so if you go to #fnaf ranch dip on my main account, you can find some old posts about this au (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)

Every time I edit this post I try to trim it down and make it less wordy and fail horribly. It'll get better one day. Maybe. Anyway here's some extra stuff <3

Bonnie: why does he always do weird stuff....

[partyhorn]

Very long personal 4am rambling. Honestly, I'm trying to really think about what direction I want to take MFM in. I will say that I'm still always going to make it as a comic first and foremost, I'm very excited for the story and don't plan on putting it on hiatus or discontinuing it (my love for comics as a medium is too strong to NOT see it through to the end!) I hate to talk about personally on this account, but in all honesty, I'm trying to figure out what's best for my own health. Drawing all these pages physically exhausts me, especially with how much more complex the art is becoming. My passion for the story is endless, but it's almost at a detriment. Came to the realization that it's one of the only things I feel genuine joy for anymore (...but that's already kind of shown itself in the themes of "passion can drive you to crazy lengths" in the comic.) I'm pretty much in the same regard when it comes to making this whole story. I completed all of chapter 45 in just 2 weeks, a whole 27 pages of highly-rendered panels in a very short amount of time for that kind of work. And I love it! But it's exhausting.

But really, I'm not sure what else I could do. My current financial situation isn't great, and I'm just trying to focus on what I can do to finally get financially stable (and then I'll focus on my health and crazed work ethic later). In relation to art, my main idea is to try to jump back in the indie animation scene to help draw more attention to the comic, which I'm getting a start in with the coffee short film. That's a ton of work as well, even more so than comic work in some aspects, but animation IS more popular and is sure to draw in at least some new folks. I'm just gonna have to see where this little short film leads me when it's finished a good few months from now (luckily 3D animation is miles easier than 2D for me.)

I feel like I've expressed my frustrations before at how unpopular comics are as a medium in general. It's a ton of work and deserves much more recognition for sure. I've enjoyed drawing comics tenfold as much as animating, and that's what I'd majored in during college! But comics are just not a popular medium. I don't even really want to jump into huge animated projects again with my current exhaustion (and a couple projects already still sitting on the back burner... sorry Parvey) but I feel as though I have no choice if I truly do want MFM to reach a bigger audience. Which in all honesty, I'd love more than anything in the world to happen.

I've put years of work and driven myself to physical exhaustion working on these comic pages. It's me alone who's drawn all 1100+ pages of this story (with a handful of commissioned chapter covers every now and then), and I'm tired of lying to myself- it IS a ton of effort. I'm considering really shifting gears to focus on more animated content relating to MFM- first the short film, then maybe jumping right into the huge animated adaptation, and then whatever comes after that. 2D or 3D, I don't really know at this point. Both are a lot of effort, and it's hard to judge when I'm so tired. But it might be a better investment of my effort in the end if it gets me anywhere in life. If it's any indication given how I've drawn these thousand pages myself, I could probably one-man-band this as well. But, that's also just the passion speaking.

I'm not really sure where I was going with this at this point. My brain is kind of fried. I don't plan on quitting the comic, I'm going to draw it to completion no matter how long that takes. But I'm also becoming very aware of how it's affecting me to be working myself to death for seemingly nothing, driven by an extremely intense passion. I don't even know if I'd be able to slow my pace down on making these pages if I tried- it's like an unscratchable itch to keep the story going, even during times where I force myself to focus on other more important tasks. I feel as though it really reflects in recent themes in the comic itself: grind culture sucks, and once you slip into that mindset it's hard to climb out. Even if it's something you do entirely to yourself, even if it's something out of love, it can still severely affect you. That's as best as I can describe it.

But that's not all to say that I'm ungrateful for the amount of support for the story I've gotten- in fact, it's one of the things that really keeps me going. It's great to get asks, genuine or goofy, and I appreciate everyone who's ever told me how the story has impacted them and such. It makes all of the time and effort I've put into this whole comic feel worth it. Frankly, I'd love for this whole story to get fandomized to hell and back. I don't know if it'll ever get there, but it'd be cool. Thank you all for the continued support, for real.

I think I just want to focus on ways for this story to reach an even bigger audience, even just for the sake of putting this endless passion into something that'll do me good as a physical person. If I suddenly shift gears and decide to jump headfirst into making a full animated adaptation, then that'll probably be why. But I also might wake up tomorrow and completely change my mind. Either way, chapter 46 is probably going to be done in a few week's time, just because I know that's how my brain works.

[skeletoninthemelonland]

It's never too late for improvement! I love both Hunter and Beatrix, but personally I think Beatrix is my favourite.

She is such a deep character: the details you gave us about her backstory, her character and how she grew as one are just absolutely wonderful and so well done.

The fact that I love about her it's probably her saddest one: that she was given a mind and a body against her will and had to forcefully live like that. I'd really like to see more about her earlier days where she struggled more because of that. Not because I like to see her suffer ofc HAHAHAHAH But because I think that would be very interesting to see how she grew from that to the B2 we all know and love now :) (and because that gives me more than one reason to hug her and caress her head UEUEUEUE)

I'd also really love to see more about her and Val! God, those draws of them are stuck in my mind, I love duos like them GNFJFNFJDBF

About her and Hunter- GAAAH LLEEEHHFBFJDNFIEJ I love them and I'd really want them to be together, but maybe it's better in another universe where he hasn't done all that stuff :'') (I was too late to vote on the poll that said to forgive him or not, but I would've said no. Yeah I wouldn't hate him for the rest of my life because, as sad as it is it's the past so "it is what it is", but still I'd never forgive him for what he did)

But as I said, don't put yourself down like that. It's never too late to give us a new image of Beatrix and to give us more about her character and the rest of the story! I think that whatever you gave us until now is already so BBBBBBBEAUTIFUL, so I'm really curious about what you will give us in the future about that IDBFJSBFJSBHDE

But take your time and take care Starbs! 💖💖💖

Ahh i'm glad to hear about your point of view on Bee. Maybe I was overthinking a lot these past few days because I couldn't draw Fusionsprunt comics. Turns out I was basically forcing myself to make art for every bit of lore shared... I'll try my best not to do it again and simply post some bits of lore here and there.

There's honestly so much about being given a body and mind against your will, and it's not the first time these themes have been explored (IHNMAIMS for example, like you mentioned!). I was afraid B2's character was pushed aside because Hunter was getting more attention, despite the fact he is not the main character. It was upsetting at first, because I'm very attached to her. I'd like to give both of these two some time to shine. They have a lot of stories to tell (and many battles to fight).

Thank you for your ask! This made me feel a little bit more relieved.

[starry-pierrot]

Sleeping Critters

So I'm not the biggest fan of Poppy...at least until CH3 had come out. Don't get me wrong I still dislike the creators and I'll never pay for the game but the smiling critters and Dogday got me. So have this super indulgent fic! Also this is canon divergent so not 100% accurate to the lore!

Warnings: Mention of cannibalism, death. Kissy Missy is dead (Hoping she's alive in CH4)

Characters: Dogday, Reader, Poppy, Smiling Critters

After defeating the prototype you, Dogday and Poppy try to rebuild what you can of PlaytimeCo to offer whoever is left a safer home.

===================

You were tired. 

Very tired. 

About a month ago you had finally defeated the prototype, freeing whatever toys that were left in PlaytimeCo from its claws. But that also left you with a lot more work to do. You could have just left it all behind and maybe taken Poppy and Dogday with you but that wouldn’t be fair to the rest of them. 

Not to mention you did not have the space to house a partially giant dog. 

And he had wanted to stay to watch over the rest of the smiling critters…wherever they are.. Now that Catnap was out of the way they might see some reason. Which is why you were so tired. After everything had been dealt with you agreed to help Poppy and Dogday find the others, to build a new home in PlayTime Co, even if it was temporary. 

Who knew when whoever owned the damn buildings would come and legally claim them someday. Sure it’s already been years but you wouldn’t be surprised if the titles were transferred to someone else after so long. But until then rebuilding would at least make everyone more comfortable. 

The problem was that…you three had hardly found anyone just yet. Poppy knew there probably wasn’t much of the toys left but still she encouraged you to check every nook and cranny you could. So far you’ve only found a few Mini Huggy’s, a Cat-bee and a Candy cat. It’s not much but it's cute to see them all snuggled on some of the beds in the orphanage. 

 “Angel, are you sure? I can go by myself.” Dogday asked as he looked at you, the two of you were standing at the entrance to Playhouse. “You haven’t been sleeping much lately.” 

“No, I can do it. Besides I’d rather not leave you to potentially cannibalistic little fur balls if I can help it.” You manage to hold back a yawn before reaching for the door. “I’ve handled them before, I got the flares.” 

Meanwhile Dogday only had his hands and a pipe you had torn off from the wall when it was loose, you’d be more worried if you hadn’t closed his lower half with a sewing kit. And now he seems to get around alright on that little bright yellow gym scooter. But still you worry he might get overwhelmed. 

“If you say so. Just please don’t go too far from me.” Dogday urges as you open the door and slip inside. Much like the last time you visited the place was a mess, meaning those wheels on Dogday’s scooter aren’t going to be much help. 

“Seems the dog is gonna have to do a trick to get around.” You tease as you step over some toys that were left on the ground.” 

“Har har, Angel.” There was no malice in the fake laugh, planting his hands on the ground he hauled himself up into a handstand he began to follow behind you as you searched. If it was one thing that was annoying it was all the crawling you had to do, your knees weren't meant for all this crawling!

“Hey Little critters! We have food back in the orphanaaaggee!” You try to draw them out but so far the two of you haven’t seen any of them. You don’t remember seeing many on the prototype, it couldn’t have killed all of them could it? No, there were far too many. 

“Catnap is gone, you don’t have to listen to him anymore!” Dogday called out as he crawled around on his belly, “Come on you little fellas!” 

Where the heck could they be hiding? This play house wasn’t that big! Maybe if-

CRACK!

“ANGEL!” 

Suddenly the floor snapped under you, you would think you would have remembered to check that considering what happened the last time. But suddenly you were tumbling down and down..and down-what did you find a secret deep tunnel or something?!

“Ooof!” Hitting the ground hard you could help but gasp as the wind was knocked out of you, your already tired body screaming in pain from the impact. 

“Angel!?” You could barely hear him calling from the top of the hole, “ Angel are you okay?? Say something!” 

It took you a moment but eventually you turned over, “Yeah…y-yeah I’m alive.” With a groan you sat up noticing that you seem to have fallen into a hidey hole. It looked like it had been dug out, there was another hole further up but there was no way you could reach it. 

“Stay there I’ll…I’ll come find you!” Dogday said, “That or I’ll find some rope.” 

“Nowhere I can go!” You call up and after a few more moments of talking Dogday was off to find something to pull you up with. Which just left you here…alone…in a dark and quiet spot. Oh this was going to be terrible. You didn’t even have your phone or heck even a book on you. 

Sure you were fine when you were moving around but now that you had to sit here and wait in an admittedly comfortable little spot…your eyes were drooping after the first ten minutes. You knew you should have listened to Poppy when she told you to get more rest. Jerking your head up you shook yourself trying to wake yourself up a little more. But that didn’t seem like it was working much. 

“Dogday?” you tried calling up hoping that he was still nearby but with no response you had no choice but to sit and stay. “Well shit..” Your eyes grew heavier and soon against your will your eyes closed as your head dipped into the crook of your shoulder. 

Only for you to jerk awake once more which quickly turned into a little spat with your body as you tried to stay awake. Too bad your body had won out eventually. 

You had fallen asleep.  --

“Angel!” 

“Angel!!” 

You cracked your eyes open to the darkness, feeling awfully comfortable in the little hole you had fallen in. Was it always this warm down here? 

“Angel!” Dogday yelled whispered at you, frantically trying to get your attention. Looking up you could see him erratically moving a hand only to stop once he’s realized you were awake. “Oh thank god! Don’t move! I’ll l-lower the rope down!” 

He must've found some rope. Good thing because your legs were starting to cramp from the curled position you were in, “How long was-” 

“SHHHH!” He quickly hushed you. “I said don’t move! Be quiet!” 

What? “Wh-why?” 

“Sh! Sh! Just-quiet! And..don’t look down.”

 Well now you had to look down. And when you did you had to force every bit of nerve in your body to stay still, a squeak just barely escaping your lips. Even stuck in the dark you could make out a Catnap Smiling Critter sitting right on your chest, sleeping. Little growling snores filled the space and when you looked around you could see at least one of every single smiling critter either sleeping next to you or outright on top of you. 

Something touched your head and looking up revealed the rope Dogday had lowered down to you. Craftycorn had taken your right arm hostage but luckily the left one was free. 

“Just hang on…gonna t-tug you up alright?” It wasn’t much of a game plan but the idea of being tugged out only to have to run was better than staying down here in a potential feeding hole. Lifting your free arm up you almost grip the rope when you feel movement. 

Looking back down your eyes stare into the little Catnap’s eyes alight with their white pupils. The two of you stared at one another for a moment. It wasn’t attacking. But if you broke the spell that seemingly had overtaken the two of you…would it? You did come here after all to try and get them to go back with you, to save them. 

Best case scenario Dogday pops your shoulder out of your socket while pulling you up to get you away from the man eating plushies so the both of you can run. 

Worst case you become a meal. 

Taking a breath you lick your dry lips “T-the prototype is dead....we can feed you. At the orphanage.” You whispered, “I can fix you up.”  You knew the Critters were experiments made from children but did they even know that anymore? Dogday had made it sound like they still could understand what was going on like most normal children but would the years of being down here change their view point to follow the strongest out of the pack? 

Still the little creature stared at you for a long while before it bumped its head against your cheek making a little sound. 

You felt your heart beat hard in your chest as you stayed still, soon it became apparent that the little critter wasn’t going to hurt you. Lowering your arm down you carefully petted between it's ears, “Um…ya know what just let them nap for a moment.” You say while looking up at a panicked and still nervous Dogday.  --

It took almost an hour before the other Smiling critters in the hole woke up and much like the Catnap one they all just stared at you. It was a little unnerving in the dark but once Dogday pulled you up and the little critters climbed up behind you, you couldn’t help but coo a little bit at them surrounding your feet. 

“Ohh who’s an adorable little monster?” You smile as you pick up a Hoppy Hopscotch and scratch right under it's chin. Catnap had climbed up onto your shoulder and a Dogday one had been attached at your ankle. 

“Angel…please don’t tease them like that.” Dogday’s voice was flat, clearly unamused at you acting like they were adorable little creatures and not the monstrous flesh eating plushies they were. 

“But look at them!” Holding out Hoppy you pouted at the dog, “They’re harmless!...at least now they’re harmless!” 

Dogday’s eye twitched at that, “I question how much self preservation you have. Lets just get them back to the orphanage. I’m sure Poppy will be happy we found more toys.” Seems the dog still had some nerves about the critters, but it was only right considering what had happened down here.

"Okay okay, I'm coming!" Pulling Hoppy back you began walking behind the dog and the smiling critters followed closely behind. 

“I’m cooking all of you some beef.” 

--- Please like and reblog if you like!

[solarpunkani]

My Plans for Solarpunk Aesthetic Week 3

Solarpunk Aesthetic Week 3 begins in a week! I hope everyone's excited--I sure am!

Knowing me, I likely won't get to everything on this list (I haven't the past two years, after all). Also knowing me, I'll likely think of things after I post this list that I might wind up doing instead. But! Hopefully this list of plans helps inspire you, or at least holds me somewhat accountable.

So what am I planning to do to celebrate the event?

On the very tippy top of my list is finally putting together an above-ground mini pond idea I have! I still have to draw up the plans, and I'm not gonna pretend to be an expert on making mini ponds, but I'm excited to give things a shot! I've been sitting around with the materials for a week now biting the urge to do it because I want this to be one of my Big Solarpunk Things.

I've been working on a crochet dragonfly cloak for awhile, and I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of SAesW! Even if I don't wind up finishing it, I think at least posting a project update during this time would be nice!

Maybe I'll finally crochet myself a cute turtle. I've seen patterns online of turtles with sunflower shells so I might give that one a go!

At the very least I have a granny square tote bag that I literally just need to sew together (and make a lining for but shhhh). And a gift for my mom but yknow.

Initially back in April-May era I was planning to write a short story to share for the event, but I couldn't come up with anything? Every idea I came up with had too many holes and at this point I wouldn't count on me posting a story during the event. Buuuut I might start a short story (or resume work on my Solarpunk Zombie Story that I haven't worked on since May 14th 2023).

If my tablet behaves, I might try making solarpunk art? I struggle with feeling like I can make solarpunk art but I have a few ideas I might try to do!

I wouldn't place any bets on me whipping out the sewing machine because I've been meaning to for months now and it hasn't happened. But if I do, I'll sew a lining for my sunflower crochet bag, and maybe make some more face masks while I'm at it!

Is this when Ani finally begins her Learning Embroidery Era? Who know! Not me!

Depending on the weather maybe I'll see about convincing myself to check out the local Aboretum that I did not know existed in my city until this February. Maybe convince Dad to come with? We must keep in mind the temps have been in the 90s lately (and that's before counting humidity) so it really depends on my willpower.

My tomato plants aren't doing as well as they were last year but if I get more tomatoes I'll see what happens. At the very least I can post pictures of bugs on my gardening blog.

That's what I'm planning! What are you guys hoping to do?

[goodluckclove]

A Meandering Ramble on AI Art Because I Have a Cold and I'm here to Hopefully Not Start an Argument.

Okay, so I had someone comment on some post I made about writing advice that causes shame, and they decided to add the clarification that my words didn't apply to people who use AI in their writing. I responded, mainly saying that I saw their point, but that I'd say shaming someone who uses AI in any fashion is far more likely to just get that person to double down. They seemed annoyed by me saying this for a variety of reasons. I blocked them because if someone says "it's not my job to educate" it's rarely an earned perspective and it only reminds me how it's not my job to have a conversation with them.

It is my job to make too-long essays about things to help me process thoughts in a way other people might find interesting. So for your consideration I have a sort of wandering, cough-syrup addled Think Piece about AI art that is not pro-GenAI, but also doesn't just say fuck AI and fuck anyone who uses it because that is also wrong. I have a ton of links that I'm hoping are right, as well as a ton of outsider/folk artists, as well as a few AI artists I think are great.

Also there's a drawing of Link I did. He's nude. There's no dick but it's still very bad. He's either about to eat trash off the ground or he's screaming at a bit of hot dog.

Enjoy???

I mean I get it. I'm also easily aggravated by the type of person who is staunchly, aggressively defensive over Generative AI tools. They might be the kind to talk about the "democratization of art" and how genAI means anyone can be an artist. This line of thinking makes me very angry - not because I don't think anyone can be an artist, but because the fact that so many have been sold on needing some Big Tech start up to make that happen is infuriating. Anyone can already be an artist.

Anyone can be an artist. Anyone. Anyone can be an artist! This has been a case for a long, long time.

I get the sort of novelty of image and text generators. I'll go ahead and say what other writers might be unwilling to admit - if there was a provably ethical LLM I would absolutely love to collaborate on it for a project. The ethics of a lot of genAI is debatable - truly coasting on legal gray areas and hidden opt-out buttons - but it's enough that I'm not into it. Even without the practices of OpenAI, a company where every headline I see around it makes them sound comically sketchy. A lot of the reasons why I wouldn't collaborate with an LLM as they are now are the same things that would keep me from collaborating with another human writer (Maybe stealing, almost certainly wrong about potentially important things, loved by Elon Musk, ect.).

But I don't see myself ever using a genAI to do the entirety of any of the writing process for me - because I enjoy writing. I've been doing it for a long time now. I am objectively skilled enough that a select populous of people are willing to pay me for it on purpose, and since I find it fun and fulfilling I have yet to found a form of even minor automation that appeals to me.

But I also draw and paint, and I am far less skilled at that than I am at writing. I could certainly tweak at various Midjourney prompts to create something visually cool, but if I did that I'd be robbing myself the joy that came from trying to draw Link from Legend of Zelda from memory (he's either eating trash or lamenting his fallen lunch, I can't decide).

My wife saw this and their first note was that he "looks like the Grinch". Their second note was that his ass should be bigger. They also drew the fart cloud. Collaboration. This was the hardest I've laughed all day.

If you're a person who uses AI to help in art, or to do the entirety of image/writing/music creation - at this point you have to know the arguments against it. GenAI uses energy for each output - more for images than text, probably even more for videos. But so do tons of other things.

I did my best to research and calculate, and it seems like every 100 outputs of genAI images uses roughly .29 kWh, which is the rough equivalent of three hours of streaming video, running a Dyson vacuum cleaner for an hour, or using an average microwave for 10 minutes straight. It also uses water to cool the servers, right? A lot of water during a time of looming water scarcity across the globe. It's pretty likely that the water is being reused through a closed-loop system, meaning the 16 ounces that are spent for every 5-50 queries on ChatGPT aren't likely to go to waste. But with the exponential spike of data centers being built - some in parts of the country that require far more water to stay cool - that's still a pretty big water footprint. It does good, useful things for society and it's also used for crimes. This is true for most technology. But it seems, from what I've seen, that the parts of AI that are the most accessible to the public at large (GenAI mainly, run by a select major companies) are the ones most likely to be used for questionable purposes right around now.

But in all honesty I don't imagine a majority of people using genAI are using it for crime, or even deepfaked nudes. It's happening, but I imagine that's a loud minority. I don't even think most people using it to tout about being artists. I imagine most people just find it novel, or an accessible way to get into a craft that otherwise feels unavailable for them for whatever reason.

For a lot of people with no experience in forming any sort of creative practice, the concept of a machine that can fairly effectively mimic the styles of existing artists without their consent might come across as inconsequential. It might even get harder to find that understanding as you get deeper and deeper in the practice of genAI art - which, as far as I understand it, removes the creator entirely from developing an individual style.

When I say style in this point, I don't mean a completely original perspective free of any outside influence. I mean a combination of background, influence, and medium used that allows someone to recognize you in your work without you needing to say you made it. I know my writing is not entirely original. I can happily list what I've been influenced by. At the same time, I've heard a lot that people can tell my writing just on paper without my name attached at all. I believe there are ways to train a genAI to create an effect similar to this, but I'm also certain that it would require a technological influence that most people using the main programs out there don't have.

Because there's good AI Art. I'm not afraid to say it. There's AI art that I find super interesting and would pay money to see. Anna Ridler created a piece called "Mosaic Virus" that uses machine learning to generate a morphing video of tulips blooming that changes based on the market value of bitcoin. She created her own dataset. This rules and I love it. 1 the Road is an AI-written novel composed across a massive real-world road-trip by Ross Goodwin, a creative technologist. I won't call him a novelist - but neither would he. He did strap a surveillance camera on the car he drove, rigged it with a microphone and GPS, and put a shit ton of effort into something I will say sounds abstract and pretty rad.

The AI artists I think that don't really struggle to sell and exhibit and overall collect accolades for their work, from what I've seen, tend to be people who put a ton of effort into the structure of the AI itself. The artists who create from existing programs are limited by what that program is trained off of, unless they alter or edit their work after the fact.

And I know people who do the latter. My own view on how valid of a choice that is depends on the intent of the work, the meaning behind having the foundation be generated, and how you choose to credit it once it's done. In a lot of cases I just sort of tend to wonder why people think they need the machine to start at all.

I get it's hard to start making an individual piece. It's even harder to start making art at all, especially if you were taught to think somehow that you aren't a "naturally creative person". If that's you then I'm sorry, because that means you somehow internalized a pretty terrible lie.

We're a creative species. Just because it doesn't fit within the deeply narrow spectrum of Marketable, Blockbuster, Bestseller Creativity, doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile.

You can only draw stick figures? Great maybe you should give one of them a hat and then he'll be a Hat Guy. You can't even draw a straight line? Sick, sounds like these are going to be some Wiggly Stick Figures and at least one of them will have a hat. That rules.

You don't know what to write? What if a guy bought a new hat? What if the hat was cursed? What if the guy was Naruto? I don't know man I've taken a lot of cough syrup today and most of my suggestions are hat-based, I'm finding.

People might give you shit. They might give "constructive criticism" - a phrase I learned quickly that people online use very loosely. And that can be scary and discouraging. I'm not going to try and say you should do it anyway because it's the Ethically Right thing to do because I have seen the way some people treat newer artists and it made me so fucking grateful I didn't share really anything I did online until I was pretty settled in my own personal vibe.

But if you use genAI because you think it does something you can't otherwise do - you can do things too. And it might be worth trying sometimes, even if you never share it. You might think it's bad - but if you don't treat that like a failure of your character it doesn't feel as important.

Might I offer as example - my son, Fart Ass Trash Link?

My child. My legacy. My wife insisted that sometimes Link would go fully nude. I understand now that they were fucking with me.

[zmb1eslut]

Never healing wounds.

convinced myself I was alone.

word count: 535

warnings: animal violence, threats.

a/n: Luke Castellan's POV. First draft.

Another night without an ounce of sleep, because the summer air costumes itself as the warmth of Thalia's fingers wrapped around my arm when we hid together. And I can't both breathe and drawn on the shame. I was not enough to save her.

I draw the bow I borrowed, using the moonlight as a guide.

The best swordman in the last 300 hundred years. Yeah, get the last one for me and I'll show him why I'm tired of his fucking shadow. Distracting myself with just a dumb title to forget why I even pretend to care. She left it all for me. Us. And Annabeth is still here, and new children come every year. Everyone needs this guy. He's so much fucking fun. Worth dying over, apparently.

So die.

I shot without a warn and didnt move until the bird smashed itself on the ground. And as it's blood drained onto the dirt mine started flowing through my veins like it hadn't for a long time. I felt like myself again, just a moment. When survival meant killing, in a way, every day. To eat, to breathe, regret.

I kill myself everyday for them to live. Watch me care.

And watching me she was. I wasn't sure if I wanted to bother with awknowledgment or explanations. She was kinda nuts on her own way but never spoke out of place. Maybe she would just go back to cabin eleven, twirl her hair for another edgy prick's attention and leave me alone this once.

I hoped.

And I was wrong for doing so.

"Why?" She asked, seating nearby on the floor.

It almost made me laugh. She had a way of sucking with words that made me wonder if maybe it was me who didn't tuned in correctly. Always lacking some fundamental sense. She made me feel like I was going mad. And for cringy it felt to think, just her presence made me wanna punch a wall, a sweet way to say, strangle the voice out of her throat until the lack of air turned off the last of her half-assed idiotic thoughts forever.

"Why what?" I asked prepping for the next blow.

"Why not just use your hands?"

'It doesn't scratch me right' was my first thought. Did it even make sense? Was it even true? It was a weird question to make so I shouldn't worry that much anout a good answer. Still I did, I kept trying to aim as an excuse to not speak yet. And eventually I had no running away. "It would feel inhuman." I admitted, maybe to myself before shooting the nest.

"You aren't one." She said, and when I turned to look at her over my shoulder, she was fixed on the broken eggs like I was a moment ago. I wasn't human she said, and somehow I was many people's favorite.

"I'm at least a half." Was my first clever retort as I tried to not let her words dig too deep in my thoughts.

"So, less than one."

"I'm never 'less than'" And silence.

My night was already spoiled so I went to retrieve the arrows, put it all back on it's place, run away, hide under my sheets and never truly sleep. To wake up tomorrow and held a funeral for the bird on the floor after some camper reaches for me with teary eyes. Bury it deeply with the guilt and shame, wash it from my hands in front of everyone, and be a hero like every other day.

"Can I shoot?" She stopped me.

"I'll rather have someone teach you on daylight" Literally anyone at any point that isn't me and isn't now.

"But if I wait I'll get no chance of it being you will I?" At least she didn't played dumb. I had to sigh either way though. Was she so bad at getting cues. Yes. It won't ever be me If I have a choice, still I smiled, I wasn't a stone.

"Not my grounds, no."

"Then just guide me like they do in romances."

"Why exactly?"

"It'll make me feel alive."