#need to marinate on it for a bit to collect my thoughts

[loudmound]

i want to make a post abt why i like james and harry as a pairing in spite of it all bcs it's really a matter of like "No Wait Please If You Give Me A Moment Of Your Time I Would Gladly Explain To You My Thoughts And It’s Not Just Because They’re Two Guys I Promise You I Don't Ever Want To Solely Operate On Yaoi Brain Please It’s Way More Complicated Than You Think PLEASE."

[innerfare]

Smutty Mihawk Headcanons

Summary: a collection of NSFW Mihawk headcanons

Genre: pure smut (afab!reader)

CW: a little bit of knife play (cutting clothes not skin), dirty talk, low-key masochist Mihawk, exhibitionism on the down low

———

Bisexual icon.

King of sexual tension.

Marine hunter? More like marine fucker. 

Is eternally bored, but has a keen interest in lingerie, and he rather likes cutting it off you. He never thought he would enjoy drawing a knife or sword during sex, but he finds the trust you put in him invigorating. 

A very passionate lover. His insistence on being the best carries over into the bedroom. As such, he’s no fan of quickies. He wants you tied up in his four poster bed, the curtains pulled back to allow moonlight to filter in from the balcony, your naked body sprawled across his silk sheets until the sun rises. 

Talks dirty but getting a moan out of this man is like pulling teeth. Also won’t tell you if you’ve pleased him. Your only indication is that he comes back for more. 

Of course, if you do want to get a moan out of him, the best way is to hurt him. Likes if you rake your nails up and down his back, yank his hair, bite him (especially the spot between his thumb and index finger after sucking his fingers), squeeze his face in your hands, maybe even slap him.

And then there's his bondage kink. If you tie him up, it better be to whip him. He'll start out goading you in that bored tone of his, accusing you of half-assing it, telling you to hit him harder. You know you've gotten to him when the comments cease and he bites his lip, his brow furrowing.

Doesn’t just fuck. He spars. 

Saying it again, cannot emphasize this enough, he loves a biter.  

Wants a partner who wants to be chased, as most people either throw themselves at his feet or run away with no hope of being caught. Will chase you down the halls of his castle and ravage you wherever he catches you. Poor Perona has a list of sofas she no longer sits on, counters she refuses to put food on, and entire staircases she avoids. There are even certain mirrors she doesn’t want to look in, even if the marks have been wiped away. Zoro doesn’t fully believe her when she gives him the rundown, thinking nobody can be that feral, particularly not his stoic teacher, who in his mind is the picture of restraint and civility, until he’s training by himself one day in the courtyard and happens to see you appear in one of the towers, only for Mihawk to appear after you and rather lewd sounds to follow. Also sees Mihawk fucking you hard in a window one time, and over a balcony another time. Zoro quickly learns not to enter the wine cellar between the hours of six and ten PM. 

Lives for dangerous sexual situations. Has fucked you in the woods at night despite the menagerie of dangerous beasts running around, has fucked you from behind in an open window several stories high, your front half hanging out, has even fucked you in his small boat on stormy, raging seas. Every duel he has ever enjoyed has been charged with sexual tension.

In addition to these trysts, he wants you in his bed every night after dinner. You either shower or bathe together, and then he works you into a sweat so you need another one.  

Worries deeply if you ever reject his advances, thinks it must be his fault. “Have I displeased you in some way? Tell me, my love, and I will make it right.” It’s times like this that any veneer of disinterest falls away and you see just how much he cares for you. 

Has certain pet names reserved for the bedroom. “My mewling kitten,” is his current favorite. 

Always does that thing where he strokes your temple with his thumb when he fucks you in missionary. It’s supposed to be a reassuring gesture when you’re struggling to take all of him, but it riles you up more than it calms you down. Uses his other hand to pull one of your legs up as far as it will go, so he’s pinning you down but comforting you about it. 

Loves to feel you up in the bath.

If he has more than one glass of wine, he will be going down on you. The more wine he has, the bigger his appetite for you. It gets worse with stronger liquor. When the Red Hair pirates come to stay and Shanks insists on breaking into the whiskey Mihawk keeps for that very occasion, you know you won’t be sleeping until they leave (and that Shanks will be going down on you, too). 

His favorite is to go down on you on his dining table. It makes you feel very exposed considering he strips you down but remains clothed (as is common with Mihawk when he's domming) and the dining room is very large with many doors that anyone could walk through. But that's what Mihawk enjoys about it.

If you go down on him, his hands will most certainly be in your hair. He loves smoothing your hair, and if it’s long, pulling it back into a makeshift ponytail to get the best possible view of your pretty face. 

Once moaned Shanks’ name in bed. Neither of you ever addressed it, but you do always flirt with Shanks when he and his crew come around because it seems to peak your lover’s interest. You haven’t proposed a threesome because you don’t want to share him with the Red-Haired drunk. 

———

Hope you enjoyed it! If you want more, you can check out my masterlist here!

[lissomelace]

THE EUROPA CLIPPER LAUNCHED THIS MORNING, AND I AM SO NOT NORMAL ABOUT IT!!!!!

Space is so fucking awesome. We're headed to one of JUPITER'S MOONS!

Every time a launch happens, it makes the latent space enthusiast in the back of my brain jump up and down. It also derailed all my plans for today. I did have plans.

Instead, someone made one comment about how I could now maybe make mission patches on my embroidery machine, and the space thing crossed over with my current hyperfixation (silm) to produce THIS:

Mission patch for the launch of Gil-Estel! A bit messy, but a good place to start!

Design and linguistics details under the cut, because I put WAY too much thought into it and now must talk SOMEONE's ear off about it. Feel free to ignore this bit:

So, to start: Elvish NASA. I chose to call them Vardildi Elengolmo Vilciryamoyë, or VEV. The Followers of Varda, Astronomers and Astronauts. This could very much be totally wrong. Vardildi is Varda+the suffix used in Yavannildi, the followers of Yavanna. Elengolmo comes from the coined word for astronomer, Elengolmë (star-lore), with the -o suffix from nolmo, wise person. Vilciryamoyë takes the vil- from the root of vilya, meaning air, sky. ciryamo is mariner, and yë is the suffix added to the second word meaning 'and'. (I may be very, VERY wrong on this! If anyone has better ideas, I very much welcome input/guidance/constructive criticism)

So I stuck the tengwar for this on either side of the patch. (None of the tengwar is all that legible, though, I'm working on getting that sorted out) Most NASA mission patches don't actually have NASA on them, but I put it on anyway. Here is the tengwar and the start of a logo I made an attempt at (the tehta is supposed to be a shooting star, but that did NOT come through clearly in the embroidery [because it's tiny]):

(Probably going to try to make an elvish NASA patch before too long, honestly)

Most NASA patches (from research I did with great self-restraint here) have the (last) names of the astronauts. Not sure if they also have the name of the craft or if that's generally somewhere else, but I put both--Eärendil Ardamírë (his fathername and mothername) are the tengwar at the bottom of the patch, and Vingilotë is written on the keel of the ship. None of these are legible because they are small, and my machine has limits. It's a work in progress. Also I apologize for the bad lighting in the photo.

NASA patches sometimes also have a mission motto. That's the tengwar across the top of the patch here-- aiya Eärendil elenion ancalima, Hail Eärendil, brightest of stars (a common cry among elves and Frodo [when facing Shelob]).

(I half wanted to do something a bit more funny--maybe something like 'Now I have become Venus,' or 'Do I get to come down?' but this was a bit easier since it comes pre-translated into Quenya and tengwar, and also I have no faith in my Quenya translations that are any longer than a word)

The horizon is flat because Númenor exists, in the middle there between the shore of Middle-Earth and a teensy bit of Valinor and the Enchanted Isles.

The design for the Silmaril is sort of taken from the heraldic device Tolkien designed for the Silmarilli (though it isn't clear), and it is rayed with the six-pointed star from Eärendil's device. (I stuck the moon phases from the same source around the edges as well)

This was really fun, even if it might be the silliest thing I've ever made! It definitely needs some workshopping--i don't mind the black lines framing some sections from the background fabric, but I might try turning all the tengwar into lines of stitches instead-the satin columns really are illegible.

I now need to restrain myself from doing some sort of NASA/Astronaut Earendil AU, because it now sounds kind of fun (I do not have the background knowledge for this)

Sources:

NASA patches here: https://www.shopnasa.com/collections/patches

Quenya translations here: https://www.elfdict.com/

Tengwar transcriptions here: https://www.tecendil.com/

And if you want info on the Europa Clipper mission, here: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper

Embroidery digitization done with Embrilliance Stitchartist 1, embroidery done with a Brother SE630 machine. Thread is Brothread Cotton and YLI cotton bobbin thread, with a little sulky rayon on the Silmaril. Cloth is a black linen from Fabric Wholesale Direct.

[thedroneranger]

Fireside

Jake "Hangman" Seresin

Synopsis: Jake wants to make sure his wife's terrible work week ends with a bang.

Notes: Part of the To-do List collection. Shoutout to my BB™s that listen to me drone on and on about Jake (and Glen and all 32 teeth): @cherrycola27 @roosterforme @beyondthesefourwalls and @mak-32 🖤

Warnings: 18+ only; smut.

Word count: 3.3k.

This week was one of those weeks Mrs. Seresin had to remind herself she loved her job. Most of the time, her clients were a joy. Even her selective clients—she enjoyed the challenge they brought.

What made her sometimes rethink her line of work were the naysayers and women who were mean to her because their husbands had wandering eyes. 

She was not looking forward to potentially taking a client to court. Her drive home was spent on the phone with her attorney and accountant, revisiting the terms of her work agreement. She always had the option to terminate a contract but needed to weigh the financial loss.

Jake knew his wife had been having a rough week, and he was determined to end it on a high note. 

Many of his higher-ups had a soft spot for his wife, and he wasn’t afraid to use that to his advantage. Yesterday, he used it to ensure he was able to leave work early today. On his way home, he picked up some groceries to surprise her with dinner—any excuse to use the outdoor kitchen.

A sucker for his wife’s three-legged best friend, Jake also came home early enough to take Ruck for a run. After their jaunt, he prepared the things that needed to be marinated for dinner before popping upstairs to shower.

Mrs. Seresin was surprised to see his truck in the driveway as she neared the house. Tempted to rush her call, she patiently sat in her vehicle and finished it. She was not surprised that Ruck was the first to greet her as she entered the house.

It was silent as she set down her things and wandered around, looking for Jake. Finally, she stumbled upon him, barefoot, shirtless, clad in gray sweatpants—slung low on his waist—and messy, wet hair. He was dicing okra and tending the grill.

“Hi, chef,” she said as she slipped out the door into the backyard. He greeted her with his bright smile. Jake stopped and sat the knife on the counter as she wrapped herself around him. She rested her cheek on his bare chest, relishing the feeling of the hair there as they hugged. The tension in her body told him her day was just like the other four this week. 

Jake kissed the top of her head, and then she looked up at him by resting her chin on his pectoral. He leaned down and kissed her lips. She pushed onto her toes to deepen it. He smiled into the kiss, and then broke it. “You should shower while I finish dinner.”

She closed her eyes and pushed her lips into a pout, pretending to think about it. “Fine.” Feigning a whine, she untangled herself. He smacked her ass as she turned to head into the house, and then he acted like he’d done nothing as he went back to cutting okra. She glanced over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at him.

The shower was a welcome reprieve from the day. She stood under the showerhead and let the water rush down her body. She replayed her day in her head before letting herself think about the evening with Jake. Curled up, with healthy pours of wine, next to the outdoor fireplace. Ruck at their feet.

Her thoughts of the evening ahead were interrupted as her stomach growled. Remembering she had skipped lunch, she quickly finished her shower to get to whatever deliciousness Jake was cooking. She had a hunch she was getting a signature Texas comfort meal.

Since his outfit was nothing but gray sweatpants, she decided on a silk tank-short set and a long cardigan. 

Ruck escorted her down to the kitchen where Jake was aerating one of their favorite red wines. She sidled up behind him and wrapped her arms around his narrow waist as he poured the last bit of the bottle into the decanter. She placed a few kisses along his spine, and then moved to stand beside him. She rested her palms on the counter as she patiently waited. Finally, he slid a glass in front of her.

Her lips curved into a soft smile. “Thank you.” She rocked onto her tiptoes to kiss him. Jake turned toward her, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her to him. A moan escaped her as he licked into her mouth. “You were sipping while you poured!” she teased as they parted. 

He grinned, and then placed a kiss in the center of her forehead before he snagged his glass and headed back outside. “I should check the grill.” He sniggered as he walked away.

While he was grilling and sautéing, she wandered over to the fireplace. It was one of her favorite renovation projects in their home. She returned the smoke-stained, white-washed brick to its former glory.

Wine in one hand, she shuffled logs from the woodpile to the hearth, stacking them in the perfect formation. One match and a handful of fire-starter later, flames began to creep along the ridges of the logs. The wood began to char as the heat bled into the cracks.

The sun was beginning to set and it was going to be the perfect night. Cool enough the flames and a sweater provided an extra warmth, but warm enough not to be wholly dependent on the fire.

Mrs. Seresin poked and prodded logs, moving them to prolong the burn. Ruck sat just out of range of jumping embers and supervised as she worked.

Soon after the fire was blazing, Jake summoned his wife to the dinner table. Her chair was pulled out, and then he stood behind and pushed it in as she sat. She looked up at him and he bent over her to give him a thank-you kiss. 

Jake was no slouch in the kitchen, especially the outdoor kitchen. Her mouth watered as she looked at the spread on the table—fried okra, garlic parmesan crusted carrots and a quick-and-dirty smoked brisket that he had come to perfect over years sans smoker. 

“Oh! One more thing.” He jumped up and jogged over to the grill. She spied the wine bottle and topped off hers and his glasses while she waited. Finally, he came back over with a single-serve baking dish. 

The minute he sat the container down, she knew what it was. She smiled as he pulled the lid off to reveal crispy, bubbly golden macaroni and cheese. 

Jake took his seat beside her and began to fill her plate. As he filled his own, she moved her chair so they were angled toward each other and their plates touched. 

She watched Jake until he was finished and looked at her. “I hope this is helping your week end on a high note.” He gave his signature smile. 

It was infectious, and she couldn’t help but respond with a grin. “Mhmm, feed me some mac and cheese, and we’ll find out.” Jake stabbed a few cavatappi and fed them to her. She closed her eyes as she chewed, enjoying the buttery, salty combination that coated the noodles. They fed each other bites of brisket, okra and mac and cheese until their plates were empty. Never forgotten, Ruck got his own cubed piece of meat to enjoy. 

Jake shooed her away as he cleaned up after dinner, so she wandered back over to tend to the fireplace. The flames crackled as the charred wood crumbled into white ash, collecting in the hearth. She stared into the flames and nudged the embers with the poker.

“Might as well throw at least one more log on.” She turned to find Jake with another bottle of wine, refilling their glasses. He took a swig of his drink and then wandered to the logpile. He sidled up beside her to position the log among the embers. Once his hands were empty, he snaked them around her waist as he stood behind her and his lips met her temple. She closed her eyes and enjoyed his embrace. She hummed as his lips found her jaw and then her neck.

She pressed herself against him as he continued to kiss whatever bare skin he could reach. Using his chin and nose, he nudged her sweater off her shoulders to expose more. She obliged him, helping slack the fabric to rest in the crooks of her arms.

Her backside pressed against his crotch, which made him groan. His hands found their way to the waistband of her shorts. He practically growled as his fingers dipped to her bare pussy. “Before I go anything further, how exactly did you see the rest of the evening going?” The fire danced as she stared into it. They swayed ever so slightly while Jake ghosted circles on her pubic mound and peppered kisses on her neck as he awaited a decision.

A moan dropped from her mouth as he kissed her in just the right spot. She spun in his arms to face him and forced his hands to shift to her rear. Tucked under her sweater, one of his thumbs absentmindedly stroked her “good girl” tattoo. Her arms coiled around his waist as they stared at one another. 

“Well,” she began, “I was thinking I could sip wine on the couch while you ate me out.” Jake groaned and felt himself grow harder at the thought. “Or,” she continued, “it could be cathartic if you fucked me doggystyle over the back of the couch.” His breath caught in his throat. Her lip quirked ever so slightly at his reaction.

“Mmmm, I should’ve chosen white wine in case of spills.” Jake was shocked he was able to say his statement with a straight face. However, he did allow himself to look down where they were pressed chest-to-chest. 

The swells of her cleavage gave him thoughts of his cock between her tits… He needed to focus. “So my takeaway is, at some point, we should end up naked,” he clarified.

“Mhmm, yes.” Pushing onto the balls of her feet, she cupped his face as she kissed him. Jake practically melted into her. 

Her lips still on his, he followed her over to the outdoor sectional. Only then she broke the kiss to push him down and straddle his lap. His hands were immediately back under her sweater on her ass, squeezing and kneading. Meanwhile, Mrs. Seresin ground herself into his lap.

They continued to make out and she stealthily began to push his sweats down until his cock popped out. He groaned as the smooth silk of her shorts rubbed against him. She smiled as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. 

Unable to help herself, she positioned him between her pussy and her shorts, which allowed her to slide along his length. Jake felt her wetness. “Fuck.” He hissed as he leaned back, resting his head against the sofa and looking at her with hooded eyes. 

A smirk grazed her features. Without a word, she slipped off his lap. Jake groaned again, this time, at the loss of her body heat. He watched as she gathered the open wine bottle and their glasses. She handed him his glass. “Let’s drink some wine and enjoy the fire.” She kept Jake’s gaze as she took a sip from her glass.

Then she shimmied out her shorts and sweater. Jake helped her as she climbed into his lap. This time, her back to his chest. While his free hand came to rest on her lower belly, her free hand guided his cock into her heat. Jake’s head lolled back again as he reminded himself to take deep breaths. Nonchalantly, she sipped her wine as they shifted until they were both comfortable. 

Jake’s rough fingertips lazily swirled patterns on the exposed skin from her belly button to her cleft. Every now and then, he’d pick up his chin from her shoulder and trail kisses there. Mrs. Seresin was content as they watched the flames lick the inside of the chimney and the smoke tangle with the growing twilight. “The fire is getting low,” she said as she hopped off his lap. 

“Come back!” Jake whined and extended a hand in her direction. Realizing his begging was for naught, he leaned forward, tucking himself back in his sweats and setting his now empty wine glass on the table. Elbows on his knees and chin on his palms, he watched her tend the fire. Of course, Ruck was at her feet. Not in the way but close in case of emergency.

Happy with the fire, she turned to see him watching her. Her shoulders slumped a little and she pouted her lips. “Is the fun over?” She finished her wine as she came back to the table and filled both their glasses. 

“Not at all.” Jake leaned back with his hands laced behind his head. His half-hard cock glaringly obvious. “It’s a little chilly without you keeping me warm.” She grinned into her wine glass.

After setting her cup down, she ventured around the back of the couch behind him. Leaning down, she kissed the shell of his ear as her hands glided down his chest to his waistband. He closed his eyes as her fingers dipped into his pants. Meanwhile, she alternated between nipping and sucking his ear and neck.

Now he was at full mast. Legs spread wide to allow her the most room to work. One hand played with his balls, while the other ghosted along his shaft and around the head of his cock. Jake felt his muscles tightening more and more. “Keep this up, and I’ll be coming in my pants like one of the neighbor boys seeing you in your swimsuit.” 

“Mmm, could you not mention the neighbors right now.” She tugged his earlobe with her teeth. His chuckle turned into a moan. She continued to tease him, bringing him closer and closer to the edge. 

“Shouldn’t I be the one edging you?” he stammered out. 

She planted a wet kiss on his neck. “But it’s way more relaxing, and fun, for me this way,” she explained. His only response was to moan as she touched him just right. One more move and he was done, so to prolong him, she recoiled.

Jake almost came off the sectional. He looked over his shoulder to see her, cleavage pushed up just right in her silk tank, chin on her fists, looking at him. “Why don’t we play out that second scenario?” She winked. 

His million-dollar smile appeared as he leapt out of his seat. Their gazes stayed locked as he rounded the sofa. He watched in awe as she grabbed the bottom hem of her tank and pulled it over her head.

Seeing her naked never ceased to amaze Jake. She leaned against the couch back, arms spread to support her, and waited until he was standing directly in front of her. “You’re wearing too much clothing,” she told him, running her knuckle from his belly button to the waistband of his pants. 

“Turn around,” he commanded, never breaking eye contact. There was a split second she thought about disobeying but decided otherwise. Quickly, Jake discarded his pants and on his way back up, he kissed a trail from the round of her ass to her neck. 

Her elbows resting on the couch, she looked at him over her shoulder. His lips finally met hers, and his hands came to rest on either side of her, caging her in. She pushed against him as they continued to make out. He knew she was getting impatient. He smiled into their kiss, and she tugged on his lip. “Hey, now!” he teased.

She did it again and pressed against him again. “Will you fuck me, please?” Jake’s smile grew wider, and he looked into her doe-eyes. She wiggled against him again, and he grunted in response. 

“Since you asked so nicely…” Before she could reply, he buried himself in her to the hilt. A gasp got caught in her throat, and Jake covered her open mouth with his while his hand found its way to her neck. 

Zero hesitation, he immediately began a steady pace. He kissed her lips one more time before directing her to bend further over the couch. She melted into the cushion, pushing up onto her toes as Jake’s hands moved to her hips. As his pace picked up, a hand eventually came to the back of her neck, pushing her further into the sofa. 

Enjoying the manhandling, she was pliant in his hands. Her whimpers and moans kept him going. Soon, the only tension in her body were her walls squeezing him. “Fuck,” he groaned out as he continued pounding into her. It was total bliss for them both as he felt her juices dripping down his balls.

Jake’s voice began to strain. “Where do you want me to come, baby?” Her answer was barely coherent and a smirk crossed his features—he’d poke fun about fucking her speechless another time. 

Ready, he slowed as he felt himself beginning to spasm. He always enjoyed watching where they connected and the oozing white ring that formed as he continued to fuck her until he was soft. Slowly, he pulled out. One hand still resting on her hip, he used his free one to catch any fallout. 

Bottom lip tucked behind his teeth, he smeared his cum back on her swollen pussy. Her sounds spurring him on, he popped two fingers into her and stroked her G spot. “Ohmygod.” It came out as one word and her legs kicked off the ground. Jake caught her thigh to hold her steady as he continued to finger fuck her.

She supported herself on her elbows as she tried to look back at him. Jake leaned over to give her the sweetest kiss while his fingers were buried inside her. “Don’t. Stop,” she said between strokes.

“Yes, that’s it, baby,” Jake cooed. He was also enjoying her squeezing his fingers. So much so, his cock was on the rise. 

She drawled his name and said, “I’m so close.”

“Good thing cum makes the best lube.” She gasped and arched her back as he plunged back into her. He slipped a big hand between her and the couch, and pressed on her lower belly. Almost immediately she began to flutter around him. Jake held her steady as her toes curled and she moaned, lacing her hands together behind her head. Her face buried into the cushions.

Carefully, he untangled himself and unfurled her onto the couch. She gladly stretched out with an arm over her face. Jake leaned over the back of the coach and watched in awe. Finally, he moved to put his pants back on. Then he sat her up and helped her back into her silk set. 

Wine glasses full, he rejoined her on the couch. She cuddled into his side. “Cheers.” She held up her glass. Jake gently touched his to hers, and they drank.

“Was that a good way to end the week?”

She burst into laughter. Jake immediately bore a confused expression. “Good? Are you kidding me?” His expression morphed to match hers. “It was excellent.” She captured his chin between her thumb and forefinger, holding him for a kiss. When she let him go, she grabbed his arm to read his watch. He observed her. “We have a few hours left to make this week end on an even higher note.” 

“What do you have in mind?” He was smirking at her. She licked her lips as she looked at him. He could tell the wheels were turning. 

She slipped off the couch, placing her wine glass on the table. “Meet me in the outdoor shower in five.” She pulled her shirt back over her head, and then she turned to look at Jake over her shoulder. She was silhouetted by the firelight. “Then maybe we can go for a night swim.” It was more of a statement than a question as she strutted away. 

Enjoying the show, Jake stayed put and watched her until she was out of sight. Then he looked into the sky, thanked his lucky stars, finished his wine and followed her.

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[grapejuicestyless]

People Pleaser

Harry Styles x fem! bandmate reader

summery: Y/n gives too much and Harry is the only one to give back.

Angst(kinda) to fluff!

If you were to ask the public, ‘Who embodies love on tour?’ The majority, if not everybody would be quick to conclude it was Harry. He was the front man, it was his tour. A man who grows flowers with his voice and encourages affection between even the most different strangers.

If you asked the people involved, they would say Y/n Y/l/n.

Y/n is a woman with so much empathy she walked in others shoes more than her own. She spends her free time devoted to helping her friends and family. Constantly doting on them despite how grave the situation seemed.

So yeah, if you were to define HSLOT, it would be Y/n, Y/l/n. The pianist who sat quietly in the back of the stage, tucked away behind Sarah and Pauli, quiet as a mouse.

——————————————————————————

The sun was high, burning into the black chevron of the HSLOT Wembley stage floor. The white and black paint radiating vastly different temperatures in the June heat. The backtracks boomed through the stadium, muffling the farther backstage you got. Humidity suffocated everything in a sticky wetness.

Harry was dancing in a black bunny shirt, sleeves rolled to his shoulders and shorts shorter than my own. Today the sun was more brutal than ever and the effects were obvious. Skin was redder than before and water bottles could be found empty and scattered beneath the instruments. The HSLOT band was huddling under the small amount of shade they could find over the small overhang mounted on the stage. Lucky for me, because of how tucked away my space was, I had full access to the cool shade and the slight breeze of the AC blasting through the backstage area. Mitch, however, due to his front and center stationing, was falling victim to the peak heat of the day.

Harry hummed into the microphone, lazily speaking numbers out of order to get a laugh out of anyone, though the heat seemed to be getting to him too as he seemed out of his usual pre-show element. The only thing there seemed to be more abundance of than Harry’s pitiful jokes, was the sweat drenching each and every one of us.

“Y/n/n?” A soft voice called from just in front of me.

Mitch stood just in front of Pauli who was stuck half in the sun and half in the shade, his body squished into the darkness. His hair was matted with wet and held up tightly in a man bun, his shirt drenched in sweat more so than the rest of us.

“Eh, Im sorry to ask but would you mind if we could just switch positions for just a bit? I’m overheating over there and need a small break.” He pleaded.

Ever the people pleaser, the urge to stay in the shade was pushed down and away as my body moved quicker than my mind. I was eager to make Mitch happy, loving the satisfaction helping a friend out gave me.

He traded me a small hand held fan for my perfect shady spot. Though the plastic wings barely moved and the air barely soothed the heat, the thought was nice enough of him to suggest.

So I stood in the sun, the rays casting down on me like a blanket that could only be described as hell on earth. Sweat collected more aggressively on my forehead but the quick look over to Mitch, who had a lazy smile on his face from the shade and the inconsistent AC gusts made it a whole lot more worth it.

By now we were on Satellite, Harry mumbling the song, waltzing over to Elin to make sure she was still feeling okay. It was moments like this that I believed we were soulmates. Bonded together by the environment that seemed to tug us together like some sort of gravity. His straightforward kindness and appreciation one of his best qualities that I loved.

I let myself marinate in my own wetness, my legs heavy from the heat and my cheeks growing sore from the sun. My eyes grew heavy and the fan grew weaker and weaker. Truthfully, I was struggling.

“Y/n..?” I heard a small yell from Sarah, who I was sure was boiling surrounded by all that plastic and metal, despite the shade. She was still blocked off from the AC air, so the heat might as well have been just as bad.

I nodded to her, making my way over cautiously, the floor slippery with the dew from the humidity and the sweat dripping off our noses.

“What’s up, babe?” I smiled, leaning against the edge of the platform her drums were set on.

“I’m struggling a bit here. I’m a little trapped.” I raised an eyebrow, ready to take a seat to listen to what she had to say. I wondered if it was about the baby or if it was a mental block. I was ready to be a good friend when she needed it.

“Do you think I could borrow that fan? Just for a second? It’s like a hotbox in here.” My eyes drifted to the soft vibrations rumbling through my palm, the soft buzzing sound from the hand held fan spinning softly in all its neon green glory.

Forming my lips into a thin line, I nodded, plastering on a smile and reaching up to hand it to Sarah.

She was thankful for my generosity, flashing me a smile and holding up a weak thumbs up. I reflected her gesture, hunching my shoulders as I spun to return back to the spot I’d taken in the sun.

Just now, I began to realize how much I took that tan for granted. Even the soft wind was able to move the still air that casted over the UK today.

My heavy feet turned into cinder blocks and my eyes became unbearably heavy. I seemed sway on my feet a little, every blink becoming stickier as my eyelashes bunched together more and more. It felt like hours going by. Realistically it had only been five minutes, but everything moved in slow motion now.

I think Harry was singing Matilda now, but it seemed to be silenced by the clogging of my ears. I felt faint suddenly, my body too heavy to hold up. I felt myself stumble. It was usually now I would focus all my attention in on his beautiful melody, but my ears seemed to reject any sound whatsoever other than shouts and belly laughter across the stage.

“Hey Y/n!” I heard loud and clear, the bubbly voice belonging to none other than my best friend. The man who I’d been stuck with since his very first show and the person in my mind that hung the stars and moon single handedly in my life. The closest thing I had to a home on tour, Harry.

I’m not sure if I was able to lift my lips into a smile or not, everything blurring together in a mushy mess. It was like I was on psychedelics while being totally sober.

Trying to remain polite, I tried to be more welcoming to him, reaching up to wave only to find myself stumbling back into the elevated stage platforms, hands slamming into the wood so hard the corners caused red lines to form, blood peaking in blots on my skin.

“Y/n!” He sounded more frantic now, not as light and airy like before. The sound of a microphone falling to the ground was ear piercing, if I could cover my ears I would. His feet sounded heavy, the sound echoing through the empty area like bricks. My elbows collapsed under the pressure of my body and my knees buckled.

I waited for the ground to come, braced for it even. Ready to bruise my face and bleed from the nose. But it never came. Instead I was wrapped in a wet body, my face smushing against a hard chest.

“Shit, can I get some medical help?” Harry. Harry had caught me. How quick he was to rush in to help.

I couldn’t quite make out his face with how jumbled up my brain was from the heatstroke I was almost sure my body was going through right now, all I saw was black dots and blurry pink lips moving quickly. I think he mumbled, “You’re okay, it’s fine.” But maybe that was an illusion I made up for some sort of comfort.

We met eyes, a worried shock painted on Harry’s face before I was met with the soothing darkness of sleep.

——————————————————————————

I woke up to a cooler climate. A buzzing sounding through the vent on the ceiling. Tassels of pink and yellow blowing in the wind. I had an ice pack taped to my forehead and one wrapped around my stomach with velcro.

My head was pounding with one of the worst headaches I’d ever dealt with in my entire life and my eyes were aggressively watering despite my excessive wiping.

I tried to sit up, but could only groan with how sore I was, my hand pressing against the ice pack quickly.

“Y/n, oh thank god.” I felt the couch dip by my head, Harry’s body kneeling on the ground in front of my face and his head hovering over mine as he hunched over me. The carpet ruffled beneath his knees as he settled into place. His breathing was slightly jagged, a little quick. Maybe in his panic it had picked up. Compared to mine, which was slow and steady. A good long sleep will do that to you.

“Did I faint?” My mouth was dry, so everything that came out of my mouth was strained and rough. Sandpaper scratching my vocal cords.

The question was obvious, I knew I had gone down before I even fell. I knew I was going down as soon as I handed away the shady spot and the fan. Maybe not directly, but that small tugging feeling that fought briefly with my body knew. I couldn’t help but let the smallest smirk grace my lips, trying to be funny and light hearted in a time of need.

“Gave everyone a proper scare, really did. Went down pretty fast.” He lifted an arm from his sides to gently move the ice pack from my forehead, sensing the slight discomfort it was giving me, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. We watched each other quietly in the quiet of the communal dressing room.

His smile was infectious, always was. Harry had that kind of bunny tooth smile that made my stomach do secret summersaults and flutter occasionally. Despite the strict platonic relationship we’d established, it was hard to not fall for the other half who understood the urge to put others before myself just as well.

Lost in the dreamy thought of him, I snapped back to see the white smile slowly wipe off his face, eyebrows pulling together in worry and his gaze becoming less lighthearted and more serious.

“Was it dramatic? Could I win an Oscar for it?” I joked, lightening up the mood, or attempting to.

“Yes, and yes. Would’ve swept them, I think.” We laughed weakly, not finding the situation funny but the inability to stay so serious for so long amusing.

“We shouldn’t have had soundcheck outside. I knew it was too hot out, I’m sorry.” The warm bareness of his fingers engulfed mine gently, his thumb brushing my knuckles so light it almost barely ghosted over my skin.

“It’s not your fault, I made a couple bad choices that got me there.”

“Such a pushover.” I snorted, removing my hand from his in fake offense to his comment, though it was both true and not in any sense mean or bad intentioned.

“And to think, I had the perfect AC spot in the shade too!” We continued to joke, not finding anything about this at all serious. We probably seemed fucked in the head to the outside perspective. Who treats heat stroke like it meant nothing?

“I need to learn how to say no.” Harry silently agreed, eyes flicking up to mine slowly, almost like he was tracing my body in an outline in his head. Saving a mental photo of his best friend covered in sweat, melted ice and plastic icepacks.

“You do.” I smiled.

“I know.” He raised a brow.

“You do. Can’t have that happening. Scared me.” His sudden confession lacked any previous lightheartedness that we’d bounced off of each other just moments before.

I grabbed his hand again, now my thumb was the one to merely ghost over his skin smoothly.

“I know, I’m sorry. Don’t wanna worry you.” It was the most sincere thing I’d said all day. The only thing I’d truly meant really. All those “My pleasures” and, “Of courses” only being half hearted and made based solely on the idea that someone else could benefit from it more than I would.

“I love you.” Silence hugged the room around his confession. Not that we hadn’t exchanged the sentence consistently. Throwing it around so much it was a habit to tell each other before we left any room or made a joke so good it deserved the praise. But somehow, the words sat different than before. They held more seriousness and more honesty than the other times, and I couldn’t help the giddiness it gave me.

“I love you too.” Maybe if the situation wasn’t so dramatic and the heat wasn’t getting to both of us incredibly bad, maybe then it wouldn’t have happened. Some sort of forced confession out of the blue.

He showed no signs of having any interests in me. Other than the constant presence he seemed to enjoy having in my life and the fact that nobody knew me like him, he could have fooled me completely.

“Yeah?” He laughed through his teeth, breathy and light.

I nodded slowly, sure of myself but shy on the idea he could be playing with me. He would walk me to the door of hope and send me home crying. Maybe it was the feeling of giving so much and never getting anything back. Maybe it was the all too familiar feeling of being used because of the overflowing empathy I was dealt at birth and the nagging persistence in my mind ordering me to please the people around me that was responsible for the twinge of doubt I held to him. But his eyes held kindness and full trust, I couldn’t help but feel that fluttery feeling.

It could have been from the heat, but most likely from him rushing the blood from my heart straight to my cheeks.

“I hope you mean it in the way I think you mean it, because if this is the heat stroke playing with my feelings, I’m about to look really stupid.” My arms outstretched around his neck, pulling him to my lips. My fingers tangling between his puffy curls and damp with the sweat beaded on the back of his tanned neck.

His kiss was just as sweet as I expected it. It wasn’t an intricate make out with a long battle between our tongues. It was needy, but not in a rushed way. It was short, but did more than any sloppy kiss could possibly say.

“Is now a good time to say I only see you as a friend?” I couldn’t help but silently laugh at that. My chest moving up and down while my mouth was pulled into a large smile that broke out on my face.

Harry was still so close, yet to pull back completely as his breath fanned my nose and his forehead almost touched mine.

“Now that I’ve wooed you, does this mean you’ll let me play tonight?” His lips silenced mine, pressing hard and smooth against each other. He pulled away with a wet release.

“No.” For the millionth time, we laughed. We laughed, feeling happy. Content that I was okay, that this was okay. That we were whatever we were. Maybe we had crossed the line between strictly platonic. Maybe we were towing the line between lovers and best friends. But it didn’t matter because whatever we had was warmer than the June heat and bigger than any crowd Wembley could pull in our hearts.

It was all some sappy story of the girl who gave too much and the only man who gave back, very on brand for the HSLOT crew.

Maybe heat strokes could be good.

Read part 2 here!

[kaiijo]

ALL WRAPPED UP — PORTGAS D. ACE

pairing: portgas d. ace x gn! reader content: canon-typical depictions of injury and blood notes: after months of obsession, finally a one piece post

Your eyes drift to the open ocean again, watching the horizon with a hawk-like awareness. You shouldn’t be this distracted, not when you need to be formulating a strategy to propose to Whitebeard and the rest of the Division Commanders. 

“You know he’s going to be fine,” Marco reminds you for what feels like the millionth time, giving you that same, knowing look. 

You nod back. “Yeah, I do,” you reply but you can hear the tightness in your tone and the voice in your head reminds you that he’s been gone three days longer than expected. 

You know that Ace is one of the strongest members of the crew; it’s the reason Whitebeard promoted him so quickly to Division Commander, the reason your captain sends him on solo missions often. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he has the power of the Flame-Flame fruit, but even the strongest of pirates have been beaten — Gol D. Roger being a perfect example.

You see a dot in the distance, which grows bigger as it draws closer. You hope it’s Ace but you put your crewmates on alert, just in case. To your utter relief, you recognize the yellow of Ace’s Striker but the relief is short-lived as he comes into focus. He’s gripping the boat’s mast, cuts and dark bruises marring his tanned skin. You don’t think twice as you jump off the side of the Moby Dick, landing steadily on the bow of the Striker. 

Ace shoots you a signature lopsided smile, though it’s a bit pinched. “Don’t think you asked permission to board.”

You sigh and roll your fondly, trying to quell your racing heart as you slip an arm around his shoulders. His own arm drapes across your shoulders as the crew hoists the two of you up. With a cursory glance over him, Marco says, “Let’s get you to the infirmary.”

Ace untangles himself from you as soon as his feet land on the deck. “I’m fine, Doc,” he says. The way he stumbles a little as he tries to right himself and the blood slowly dripping from the deepest laceration at his shoulder doesn’t help his case. 

Marco levels him with a stern look and a firm grasp on his uninjured shoulder, both of which make Ace sigh in acquiescence and follow Marco down into the ship. You chew on your lip, about to follow, but Thatch says, “Let Marco work. We’ve got a Division meeting. Check on Ace after.”

You glance one more time at the way the two men left before following Thatch to the captain’s quarters. 

You’re hurrying down the steps towards the infirmary as soon as the meeting ends. You’re not even really sure what you all discussed. You can only assume it’s something about swords and cannons and the Marines, and you’ll get Thatch or Izou to catch you up on it later but you have more pressing concerns right now. 

You nearly collide with Marco in your rush. “Sorry,” you say breathlessly. “How is he?”

Marco peers down at you through his glasses, half-amused, and answers, “Good. He’s been whining about not seeing you and it’s my duty to keep patients happy. So…” He slides over and you open the door. 

Ace is wrapped in gauze and bandages, reclined grumpily in one of the infirmary beds. His face lights up when he sees you and he tries to sit up, wincing when he does. “Don’t get up,” you say, pulling the chair that is next to his bed closer to it. You adjust the pillow and unconsciously reach up to brush a stray strand of hair from his eyes. They follow your motion and when you realize that he’s now staring at your face, you quickly drop your hand. 

There are so many questions racing through your head but the first, and most logical, one is: “What happened?”

Ace groans and huffs, “Got ambushed. Thought I was finished collecting intel and let my guard down a little too early.” When he sees you studying the dressing Marco wrapped around him, he nudges you with his elbow. “You should’ve seen the other guy.”

It makes you laugh a little and in turn, Ace’s smile grows wider. “You know,” he says, leaning close. You hold your breath as he puts his face only an inch or two away from yours. “I’ve always heard that a kiss makes everything hurt less.”

He wiggles his eyebrows teasingly, a mischievous glint shining in his dark eyes. You gulp down the knot that has formed in your stomach and your cheeks are on fire. He smells like sea salt and the open sky. You can count every freckle that dots his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Ace’s smile falters when you don’t answer and he jerks back, stumbling over his words. “It’s no pressure or anything! It’s just something I’ve—”

Plucking up all your courage, you shift forward and move quickly so you don’t lose your nerve. Gently, you let your lips brush against the worst of his injuries: the cut in his right shoulder. You draw away swiftly and when you survey his face, you push down the pleasant warmth in your belly at the way his face goes red.

[ccazimi]

Hiyahh saw that u said ur reqs are open my idea is pretty simple tbh but maybe could ya write sum abt sukuna lets reader bleach his hair to re-dye it but ends up failing horribly so he has to shave off his hair n he's js acting like a soggy cat 🫡

sorry if this didn't hit the mark! new to this haha

"I'm going to fucking kill you, woman."

You pouted from where you stood behind Sukuna as he scowled at his reflection in the mirror.

"Hey, it's not that bad..." You started nervously, trying to alleviate the situation you had created.

"Not that bad?!" Sukuna angrily interjected before you could even finish your sentence. "My head looks like an overused toothbrush."

And with uneven splotches of yellow, orange and white with short stiff strands that sat like straw after being freshly dried, the comparison was actually quite accurate. Accurate enough that you had to look away with a hand over your mouth to suppress a giggle.

"Are you laughing? Is you fucking up my hair funny to you?" He grit his teeth, irritation only growing at your tittering.

"No!" You squeaked, before stepping up to where he stood by the sink counter. "Is it really that fucked up?"

He watched you from the corners of his eyes as you lifted your hands to gently grasp a small tuft of hair sticking out. It was dry and brittle as though someone had air fried it for a bit too long. You tested its flexibility by bending it in your fingers and it gave way with a soft crunch leaving you staring at the dead hair between your fingers, and Sukuna stiffening even more. "Oh."

"Oh? Oh? Is that all you have to say for yourself?" You could practically see the steam exiting Sukuna's ears. "Give me that." He snatched the fossil of his once beautiful salmon colored hair that you'd collected and inspected it for himself. "How'd you even mess it up that bad? Were you using industrial bleach or something?"

"I don't know, I just used the old bottle of bleach I found under the sink." You mumbled. "The 'forty' brand."

"Forty?"

"It had the number forty on it."

He spun around at looked down at you incredulously, making you furrow your brows. "What, is that a bad brand or something?"

He brought his palm to his face, closing his eyes as another growl escaped his throat. "That wasn't the name of the brand, you idiot. 'Forty' is the level of the bleach"

You kept your mouth shut as he seemed to only become more livid.

"They come in volumes from weakest to strongest: ten, twenty, thirty, and forty."

He opened his eyes to glare down at you, leaving you to marinate in your guilt and feeling dumb as hell. "I'm sorry, Sukuna. Listen, I'll pay for you to get it fixed at the salon-"

He dismissed your attempts at reparation with a wave of his hand, holding up the tuft of broken hair up to your face. "You see this? There's nothing any professional can do when your hair is fucked this bad. I'm going to have to buzz it."

He watched you drop your gaze trying to hide the growing pout on your lips. Honestly, you'd really liked his hair too.

With an exasperated sigh he decided to take pity on you, trying to make you feel better in his own way. "Its fine, I'll just shave it so that it grows back fresh. Also I am never letting you near my hair again."

"Do you need any help buzzing it?"

He shot you a death glare that had you scrambling to exit the bathroom as quickly as possible.

You were laying on the couch, reading a book with Yuuji curled up on your lap when you heard the door to the bathroom open. The last few minutes were marked by the buzzing of an electric razor and you snapped your head up as Sukuna finally revealed himself to you.

He stared at you silently with his arms crossed, waiting for your commentary. "Well?"

Your first thought was that he reminded you of a lion that had its majestic mane shaven off - more so due to his demeanor rather than his appearance.

As for his appearance...

"You know I actually like the look." You said with a genuine smile. His chiseled features and sharp inky tattoos gave his face enough structure that he could actually pull off the buzzed look.

He deadpanned you, clearly skeptical of your approval.

"Look Yuuji, doesn't he look handsome?" You scratched the golden retriever's ears, prompting him to look up. Although Sukuna supposedly didn't like the puppy, Yuuji absolutely adored Sukuna from the moment he'd met him and would routinely piss himself in excitement whenever Sukuna would visit (much to Sukuna's disgust).

But Yuuji caught sight of Sukuna and growled, before laying his head back down.

You might have never seen Sukuna look so genuinely offended in his life.

"Don't mind him, he probably just needs to get a little used to your...new look." You tried to reassure Sukuna, but could barely contain your laughter at what a dirty scowl he was giving the dog.

"Let's go out for dinner tonight."

"No."

You sighed, dramatically throwing yourself on Sukuna's lap where he sat on the couch snacking on chicken katsu. "Come on, how long are you gonna keep sulking over this?"

He grabbed a pillow to throw it over your face and kept eating. "I am not sulking." He grumbled.

You fought against the pillow, finally managing to get it off and grin cheekily up at him. "You so are. Seriously, it doesn't look bad."

For the past few days Sukuna had refused to go outside, slinking around the apartment like a wet cat. His pride, his joy, his beautiful hair that he normally only trusted with high end salons had fallen at your hands, and he refused to let it go.

"Look even Yuuji's warmed up to you again."

Upon hearing his name, Yuuji got up from where he was slobbering on a chew toy and nosed Sukuna's ankle, tail wagging back and forth like a propeller. Your dog wasn't the smartest and it took him a little to be convinced that Sukuna was still his grumpy self and not some hairless replacement.

"Tsk. I don't care about your rat dog - in fact i'd rather have it not be all over me."

You chose to not mention it, knowing damn well Sukuna had perked up if even a bit when Yuuji went back to fawning over him. Instead you sat up, cozying yourself on Sukuna's lap in that way that you knew would always grab his attention.

"I'm seriously sorry I messed up your hair, okay? And you know I find you sexy with or without your pretty hair. So lets go out so I can show off to everyone how attractive my boyfriend is." You teased him on purpose, knowing that his ego would take some coddling while his hair grew back.

He rolled his eyes but you knew you were getting somewhere when he set his food down to snake his hands around your waist. "Fine. But only if we get sashimi."

"Yes!" You chirped. "Sounds good to me." You raised a hand to pet his head but he caught your wrist before you could feel his buzzed scalp under your fingertips.

"You're still not allowed to touch my hair, though."

[socially-awkward-skeleton]

tagged by @mkdecimation to share a little something this week and considering i've done nothing but share the absolute worst of my ship or smut as of late I figured I'd go with something a little more chill. So here's a bit from the last chapter of Evening of Score:

Seabirds strained against the wind blowing at them as dark clouds amassed in the sky, stormy seas crashed against the shore and waves broke with white crests of foam. Late autumn was rolling into winter and the ocean’s angry tides stood in fierce opposition to the Christmas lights strung up along the pier twinkling brightly. In the distance, over the cry of gulls, the tinny sound of Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” traveled over the briny air. 

Two lone figures stood out at the end of the wooden slats, silhouettes against a backdrop of somber gray on gray broken by the subdued glimmer of colored bulbs rustling in the marine breeze, resting against the railing of the pier.

Rory’s hair blew around her face as rain pelted down against her, matting it with the deluge; her long coat flapping in the wind as she dug her hands into the pockets, collecting her cigarettes and lighter. Cupping her hand around the flame as she lit her fag, the inhale of coiling smoke filled her lungs before all being blown back up towards the sky. “What are we doing out here, John?”

Leaning forward, shoulders hunched, bristling against the torrent, his blue eyes reflected the stormy scenery around them while puffing away on his cigar like a smokestack. “Wanted to have a chat.”

She hummed, “And you chose a soggy fucking pier over your apartment?” Her sideways glance cut into him, already determining the meaning behind his course of action. 

This was another classic from the Captain Price playbook. He was going to ask her something that needed a quick answer, doing so in a situation where she couldn’t take the time to think in comfort. Making her act, think on her toes. Immediacy.

“Starting a Task Force,” he said, shifting his weight between his feet. “I want you on it.”

“Me?” Her brows knit together with incredulity. “Why?”

“You are kidding, yeah?” His voice was gruff as he took another pull from his cigar, brow furrowing at her reply. 

“Is it so you get to keep an eye on me?” Her gaze slid sideways to meet his, her brow lifting.

Meeting her look in kind, he returned the same lifted brow at her accusatory tone. “You’re a good soldier, have skills I want and need.”

Endless ocean blurred into the horizon, and as Rory stared out, lost in thought, her jaw clenched. “People are going to claim favoritism.”

“Let ‘em claim what they bloody like,” he husked, bouncing on his heels.

The pungent scent of salt and decaying seaweed on the beach scoured her throat more than any whiskey could as Rory breathed in the sea air. “So, now not only will I be in a secret relationship with a superior officer, but my commanding one as well?” She scoffed and shook her head before taking another drag. “Just digging the hole deeper for us, eh?”

“Not under British military rules anymore, love. It’s my rules now,” he said, full of conviction.

The cigarette dangled from the corner of her mouth, clinging by her lipstick as it hung off her lip. Staring at him skeptically, she grimaced. “Don’t know whether that worries me more or not, quite frankly. Considering you’re the man who ignores rules on a good day and outright breaks them on a bad one.”

“Rules were made to be broken, my girl.” A sly grin pulled at his lips as his thumb and finger wrapped around the stub of the cigar in his mouth.

She brushed her hand through her wet locks, sighing briefly. There were variables in this equation that she worried John wasn't focused on in his bid to get what he wanted. Despite being the tactical type, planning and preparing, thinking steps ahead, a part of her wondered if he wasn't rushing into things with this decision.

“And what of my work with the SRR?”

“You were focused on AQ. Not much is changing,” he said with a shrug.

Resting her elbows on the railing, Rory brought her hands to her face, fingers steepling in front of her. “What about my plans to become an officer?” She pointed a finger toward him judgmentally. “You were the one who bloody convinced me to go for it.”

“I did, yeah.” He flexed his shoulders, fixing his collar against the rain. “You still can.”

“My rank is going to freeze,” she said, continuing to debate.

“You’re telling me what I want to hear.” Her smile grew as she laughed and her dimples became more prominent. “Fucking Satan could be out of a job with you about.”

“Yeah, it can freeze at Lieutenant after you finish your training.” He turned to face her, leaning his elbow against the pier, needing to make his point known and have it sink in. “I’m not gonna deny you your career, love. But I do want you by my side, fighting together. It’s what we do best… well – one of the things we do best together.” His self-assured smirk lit up his eyes as they crinkled at the corners. “Come on, darlin’,'' speaking in a low, conspiratorial rasp in her ear as he bumped his shoulder against hers, “You know you want this. No more restrictions. The action. Boots on the ground, weapon in hand. Going where the real threats are, dealing with them the way only we know how to.”

Shaking her head as she snickered to herself, the wet strands of her hair slapped against her cheeks. “Christ, you know if you weren’t a soldier, you’d make a very good businessman. Certainly know how to sell something and make a deal, don’t you?”

“I’m just telling you what you already know.”

John laughed loudly, the barking sound traveling across the seaside. “I’d at least give ‘im a run for his money.”

Rory rubbed her hands down her face. “Fine,” she conceded, with an overt heavy sigh. “Fine. I can hardly argue with you, now can I? I’ll finish my officer’s training at Sandhurst and then I’ll join your task force.”

“Atta girl,” his proud grin overwhelming his face as his hand cupped the back of her neck and squeezed it tightly, kissing the side of her head. “Gonna make this worth your while, you know that, yeah?” He purred into her ear, lips pressing to her wet strands of hair.

“Is that right?”

He circled behind her, his hands resting on the pier’s railing, caging her in between his arms and body with no escape. His mouth lowered to whisper in her ear, “You. Me. Wherever this war takes us.” Pressing a kiss to the side of her neck, his breath hot on her compared to the ocean air, he wrapped an arm around her waist and held her tight against him. “We’re gonna stir up a lot of trouble.”

She hummed, “I bet.”

Rolling her eyes, Rory took another drag of her cigarette. “Are we sure I didn’t just make a deal with the devil?”

“Gonna take care of you too,” he promised, nuzzling up against her, his whiskers rasping her skin. “No more time apart. Missions together. You’re gonna get sick o’me.”

Her giggle was soft, hidden by the roar of the ocean. “I don’t doubt that.”

“Either way, you’re stuck with me now, love.”

He tipped his head to the side slightly as if pondering the rhetorical question. “I’m better looking.”

“Sometimes,” she said with a soft purr.

Her body shook in his arms with laughter, the rumble of his own vibrating through her back. “Jesus, you’re an arrogant bastard sometimes.You know that, yeah?”

Price’s lips pursed, seemingly unfazed by her remark. “You love it.”

[COD taglist opt in/out here]

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[hahaifolded]

The Siren, the Cook, and the Sister (4)

Sanji x PirateHunter!FemReader (Masterlist) Chapter 4: A Sister's Dream (Previous) (Next) Summary: While thinking about your future, you make a shocking discovery. Warning: In-World Violence, Panic depicted (or at least attempted)

Happiness couldn’t even begin to describe what you were feeling as you returned to your room. You had just reunited with the woman who gave you and your sister a second chance at life, spent all night talking to her about your worries and dreams, and even got to help her and her friends for a bit. 

God, Robin is so nice. I didn’t think anyone can be that nice. Even her crew… a little weird but super nice too. They can sure eat though, you thought as you climbed the stairs. And much to your annoyance, even Sanji seemed like a decent person albeit not towards you, but you respected his deep sense of loyalty towards his crew. You chuckled as you remembered the vivre card that Robin gave you. He’s going to be so pissed. You couldn’t remember the last time you had been so content with life. 

However, your high spirits immediately dimmed as you felt an eery presence seep out of your room. With your mask activated and blade out, you slowly opened your door. Seeing nothing in your line of sight, you stepped in. As you glanced to the right, you were ambushed by two fingers. You quickly greeted them with your blade.

“Glad to see that our training didn’t go to complete waste on you.” 

“Good to see you too, Doberman.” You retracted your blade, aware that violence would only endanger you.

“It’s Vice Admiral Doberman to you!” the marine growled. You looked him up and down for some clue for his presence. I see he still has his stupid mustache… dumb scars… wait, is that a red Marine coat?  I’m surprised Akainu hasn’t reprimanded his ass for that. Nothing on the marine explained why he was in your room, but the smirk on his face let you know it wasn’t for anything good. 

“You know I’ve never like you. You or your sister,” calmly began the Vice Admiral, “but much to my dismay, you proved yourself to be a valuable asset to the Marines.” He let out a small chuckle, almost excited to continue. “But you’ll never believe my luck when I got tipped that you were seen with Nico Robin. And instead of doing the thing we trained you for, the thing we pay you to do, you let that demon get away.” He grabbed your neck and snarled in your face. “So tell me, Siren, why would someone who needs to collect 1 billion berries miss out on such a big bounty?” 

Who tipped him off, you thought at you gasped for air. You gripped your arms to your side and waited for Doberman to let you go. This wasn’t the first time that Doberman or any Marine for that matter manhandled you like a mutt. Unfortunately, like any dog, you couldn’t bite the hand that fed you. 

Disgusted by your disobedience, he pushed you against the wall. “If I personally catch you with Nico Robin or any of the Strawhats for that matter, I’ll make sure that you or your sister never know peace again.” And just like that, the Vice Admiral marched out of your room. 

Standing against the wall, you threw your mask off to catch your breath. Inhale… exhale… inhale... exhale. As air returned to your lungs, anger filled your core. At that moment all you wanted to do was chase after Doberman and strangle that man. You knew it would be easy. That’s exactly what the Marines trained you to do. 

After Robin saved you from Crocodile’s wrath all those years ago, she knew you nor your sister could stay in Alabasta. So, she snuck the two of you on a Marine battalion, with the hope that you and your sister would end up at an island with a Marine base, a safe place for you to raise your sister. And that was initially the plan.

But, when your sister fell incredibly sick on the voyage and they caught wind of your devil fruit, the Marines struck you a deal. If you trained under the Marines in the New World and became their perfect hunter, you would get paid for your services and given access to all of the Marine’s medical resources. Desperate to provide for your sister, you agreed. 

However, what the Marines didn’t tell you that access to their resources meant just that. You were allowed to use resources not readily available to the public, but that did not exempt you from their costs. And unfortunately for you, your sister seemed to fall ill to an unknown disease that only got worse over time.

So since then, you continuously hunted pirates for the Marines to eventually give that money back to pay for your sister’s medical expenses. And many Marines knew of your dependency and used it to their advantage, like Doberman, to abuse and torment you, knowing that you wouldn’t retaliate. 

But that’s soon coming to an end. After years of trails and errors, it seemed like the doctors found a cure for your sister’s unknown disease. With a high-risk, but high-reward procedure, your sister would be able to leave her life of sitting in a hospital bed, allowing you to leave your life as a pirate hunter.

However, due to its novelty and difficulty, the procedure was priced at a little under 1 billion berries. With your sister’s deteriorating health, you scheduled her surgery for a few months out, giving yourself a strict deadline to collect enough bounties for her surgery.

And with your most recent catch, you finally made more than enough money to ensure it. Now with a week before her surgery, you were ready to return.

Your heart fluttered despite the growing ache in your neck as you thought of your sister. After the death of your parents and destruction of your island, it’s always been just you and your sister. It was like life gave you a new purpose when you escaped with your baby sister in your arms. Her laughs and curiosity reeled you from your dark thoughts and showed you that there was still good in this unjust world. Hopping from one island to another, struggling to survive in each one, never seemed like a hassle when she looked at you like you hung the moon and the stars just for her. She saved your life. That’s why you were willing to steal from Crocodile or join the Marines and endure their torture to ensure that your sister lived a good life.  And now you can do that.

Because all I have to do is take my chest and— Your thoughts came to a halt when you failed to see your chest at the head of your bed. 

All air left the room. 

Your blood ran cold. 

Panic filled your chest. 

A slight tremble overtook your body. You frantically looked around your room, lifting and flinging furniture around. Silence naturally fell in your room as the whole world disappeared around you. 

Without a doubt, your chest was gone. 

You slumped to the floor with your head down. Your vision blurred as you realized that everything that you had worked for was gone.

What am I going to do? There’s no way I can make it all back within a week. 

As you stared at the floor where the chest once stood, your vision slowly focused on a strand of long orange hair. The realization hit you like lightning. Maybe Doberman was right, maybe it was time to do what you were trained to do.

Word Count: 1258

Previous - Masterlist - Next

Author's notes: Prepare for a long word vomit here: Not going to lie, I'm not the biggest fan of chapters where it's just the reader. I don't know if that is a hot take or not. Like I love it when they're interacting with the characters or just in their vicinity. But as I write this story, I felt like it was necessary to learn more about the reader (aka you) and your aspirations in this story. So maybe… just maybe… I changed my mind on reader only chapters…

Additionally, I needed a Marine character here but I didn’t want to create an OC Marine character just cause I lack creativity (which is crazy cause one can say I made two already) and also I personally hate not being able to put an exact face on a character so now that I needed a Marine character who will be a reoccurring figure in this story (wink wink), I was like fuck. So I googled "marine characters" and boom found this guy that was mentioned in Ennies Lobby. Will be honest, I have no clue who this guy is in the greater context of One Piece (from what I read he comes back later) so if he's out of character...my apologies. But I just needed a marine character who has a face for y'all to imagine while reading.

[vrmxlho]

bruh i posted my fucking hcs while i was in middle of writing them 😕 anyway here it is copied and pasted:

omg aiku is so fucking ajfsdkhjbf every time i see him i go feral,,,, ALSO YES MORE PEOPLE NEED TO READ GOKURAKUGAI THE ART IS BEAUTIFUL +++ i'm pretty sure this is gonna be ooc because i'm really just making shit up so i apologise in advance lmaoo +++ also im sorry its so short i have no idea what to write 😭

cw: swearing + not proofread because who wants to relive this nightmare??? + probably really ooc but this is my blog so i will do as i please honestly 😒 + suggestive but nothing sexual

LEONARDO LUNA レオナルド・ルナ

his love language is either physical touch or giving gifts

he absolutely adores holding you and he always physically on you, either an arm over your shoulder or a hand on your knee, sometimes he even makes you put your legs on his simply because he likes it that way

but at the same time he is 100% the most infuriating person alive and he prides himself in being annoying

at least he's funny ig

he's constantly teasing you, flirting with you excessively

if he hadn't already told everyone in his life that you were his s/o people would've still been able to guess as much

he's like an annoying puppy who always follows you around asking you to play

he's also incredibly petty, like if you ignore him by mistake or leave him on read because the conversation had ended he's purposefully going to do the same to you

even if the subject of the conversation is actually quite important

nothing can get in the way of his pettiness

"leo, can you please fucking answer me???" he only looked at you briefly before continuing with his stupid hair. it had only been like this for about five minutes but you honestly felt like it had been a century. he was being so fucking annoying. "leonardo luna i swear to god, if you don't fucking answer me this instant i'm going to bash your head in." "i'd still be really attractive though, so i don't really-" "will you please stay on topic for once in your life?" "annoying isn't it?" "THE CONVERSATION HAD ENDED YOU SAID 'OK' AND THAT WAS THE END WHAT ELSE WAS THERE TO ADD????" "you can always add an 'i love you'." "boy. be fucking for real."

forgot to mention that he's also rlly vain

by that i mean he pretends to be vain

he pretend to care about his looks more than he actually does because he thinks its funny

it is sometimes

i am a firm believer that he was one of those kids that was fascinated by the ocean and just any type of water body

he wanted to pursue geography and maybe be a marine biologist before he became a football pro

that's why is his ideal date is renting a boat and going to sea caves to scuba dive in

he insisted on the two of you taking scuba diving lessons together because he wanted to swim with sharks and sea turtles

i feel like he was a summer baby, specifically a leo

because my irl best friend is a leo leonardo

he's also the type to collect shells and make shell necklaces for you

once tried convincing you to change your name to sally and start a seashell business because he thought it would be really funny???

concerning

he's naturally funny but at times he says the dumbest things unironically

his favourite way to destress is to have long bubble baths with you while you both chatter about your day

not necessarily in a sexual way

he just enjoys being physically close to you while also being surrounded by water

leonardo luna was exhausted. you could tell as soon as he entered the house. his usually bright and blindingly positive aura had dulled. his eyes looked distant and he walked with a sway. fatigue made his limbs heavy and he hummed softly before he collapsed on the sofa. "are you okay? leo?" he had already begun snoring slightly when you finally reached him. you chuckled a bit. you wouldn't mind leaving him like this. he looked so cute. his silky hair falling gently on his nose and his cheeks a bit red from the slight chill in the air. but he smelled. reeked of sweat. he must've been too tired to even shower after practice. you weren't about to let him sleep in his sweat, it was simply gross. so first, you tried pulling him off. but not only was he a massive man who weighed a lot more than the usual groceries you carried. he was also resisting making it even harder for you make him budge. so you kissed his forehead, hoping it would wake him up. nothing. this time you pinched him. which worked, because now he was stirring. he opened his eyes which burned with anger and frowned at you. "come have a shower with me." suddenly his eyes were wide and bright again. he basically jumped off the sofa and carried you to the bathroom. he was tired but he didn't mind the extra exhaustion that would come from carrying another human being, since it was you. as soon as you got to the bathroom he basically ripped your clothes off and you were in the shower giving him a massage. then washing his hair and running your hand over his back soothingly. he didn't look tired anymore, it seemed like your presence had woken him up. or perhaps he just didn't want to miss out on your touch. "how was practise?" "couldn't stop thinking about you."

his kisses are always hot and passionate

loves holding your face when he kisses you

as if its the last time he will

he loves how his hands are big enough to hold your entire cheek

your first kiss wasn't awkward at all except for the fact that it was in front of the paparazzi because he loves PDA

unless you genuinely hate it he's always holding your hand in front of the cameras, kissing you, full on making out and everything

is a failure in the kitchen but is surprisingly good at following instructions

you'll never have to cut an onion when he's around!!

real men cry 👍

OLIVER AIKU 愛空

you've made it

you are now dating the hottest man on earth, the biggest playboy in the world has settled down

cuz you're just as hot

but that's exactly what makes him so possessive and jealous

it's not that he doesn't trust you he's just a little insecure, why else do you think he always broke up with his previous flings?

he's scared that if you got to see him for who he really was (as if you haven't already ☠️)

however, whenever he sees you talking to someone he doesn't particularly like he'll come up beside you and pull you close to him by the waist

and if you look uncomfortable he'll literally take you to another setting so you feel better

his love language is words of affirmation!!

he loves hearing how much you love him and how much you wanna spend time with him and how you'd kill for him

but at the same time he absolutely loves teasing you and making you get all flustered

oliver had been feeling down. he didn't really know why. it was 3am and he had this deep pit of despair in his stomach. you looked so peaceful on the bed, sleeping softly and scrunching the blanket up a bit. "how can someone so perfect want to be with me?" "if you're going to be so depressing i might actually break up with you..." you had turned around to stare at him with your tired barely open eyes. you weren't a light sleeper per se but your deep connection to aiku meant that you could feel something was off even if you couldn't see if with your own eyes. "sorry, did i wake you?" he moved back into bed. pulling the sheets over you a bit. "you know i love you right? and i wouldn't even dream about leaving your or whatever you were worrying about." "but-" "no, shut the fuck up. it's late," you pulled his arms around your body and placed yourself right onto his chest, " and i'm cold, so do your job. warm up the bed."

bought you an emerald promise ring after the first date because he instantly fell in love with you and he's suddenly discovered that he was actually a big romantic

(emerald to represent his left eye, left being the side the body your heart is in)

as a playboy, the first date was all a ploy to impress you but also give the impression that he wasn't available so breaking things off or ghosting you wouldn't be a hassle

he took you to a fancy restaurant

for once he wasn't two timing you

anyway after all this he took you to the beach to go on a walk where he asked you if you wanted to go skinny dipping

it was his first challenge, if yes, it would be fun, if no, then he had a reason to break things off with you

but the look of indifference you gave him made him crave more

he could already feel his cheeks heating up and from that day onwards he couldn't stop thinking about you like at all

after you got into an actual relationship you both avoid going back to that restaurant because of just how dull that night was

now your dates consist of going to the arcade, doing some karaoke and then maybe watching a movie while living off of buttery popcorn

he honestly has such a beautiful singing voice

would definitely be an idol if he weren't a footballer

he's a huge ABBA fan i can feel it in my soul

his ideal date is having a picnic by the beach and then playing beach volley until you both decide it's too hot and go for a swim

honestly any summer activity would be his ideal date

oliver aiku was probably breaking countless laws right now. it was the end of summer, the nights were short but warm with the skies clear, starry and gorgeous. aiku wanted to celebrate by firing his homemade fireworks he had spent about 2 months making. and you were certain that this was illegal. but he didn't care. "oli- i don't think this is safe..." "don't worry about it, i'm here to protect you." you could almost hear the smirk he was wearing. "you're no lawyer, i won't be breaking the law with you." "oh you're no fun." he looked at you with fake disappointment. frankly, if you weren't in a good mood you would've just left him to his frolicsomeness but you were also sort of intrigued. you really wanted to see what two months of firework building could get you. "make sure we don't get caught." "i'm no amateur love."

likes pulling your hair when kissing

and he's not one to give one quick kiss and run, they need to be deep every single time

pecks on the lips are meaningless in his eyes

he's also one to engage in PDA

he absolutely loves kissing in front of people he dislikes

to sort of one-up them

kisses you all the fucking time for absolutely no reason

you'd think the novelty would have worn off after being kissed so much but it really doesn't

somehow he keeps getting better at kissing

is he practicing behind your back????? (no, i'm jking)

[rubykgrant]

I finished up all the outfit designs for my RVB OC, Junonia! I put her here in a line-up with Poppy (another RVB OC, but she's been finished a little longer). I wanted to get a good idea for what her vibe was, but also have some variation as well. Some casual looks, a few a little fancy. Poppy's style leans a little more boho-folksy, with a splash of sporty here and there (here armor is mostly white with tan accents, so she has lots of different rosy-brown tones in her outfits). Junonia has a more casual-elegant style, not formal exactly, but lots of feminine/chic clothing, and few different comfy street looks (her armor is dark purple with pink accents, so those colors show up in her clothes).

More info for them below~

Junonia is tall and chubby, but not very curvy. She has sharp and elegant features for her jawline and cheekbones (very pretty and striking). She uses a mobility aid, a cane and some knee braces that help ease stress. She has a cane with her armor as well, but it's more high-tech, and doubles as a weapon, while the suit itself helps compensate stress on her knees (the idea of having a character who needs mobility aids, specifically canes, actually came from seeing a different character from another series; the character used them in a civilian form, but when fighting bad guys, they just magically could walk fine... I thought, hey, if sci-fi magic is involved, shy not just give them a SUPER COOL cane, that can adapt to their needs in battle and what-not! so, I transferred this thought process to Junonia. the high-tech one can automatically fold-up into a gauntlet when she's sitting, and has several other adjustments, making it like multi-tool). Her armor would be dark-purple with pink accents.

She has two prominent tattoos; around her neck/collarbone is a design of a gold chain, pearls, and a seashell. On her arm is a design of a seahorse, with the tail wrapped around her wrist (the way they sometimes hold on to rocks with their tails~). She has most of her hair pulled back, in box braids (they are short on one side, getting longer as it goes to the other side, in sort of an asymmetrical line).

Part of her story involved getting tricked into working for an organization that claimed to help people without being "restricted" by government rules... which is a cool idea in theory, but unfortunately, the people in charge of this group were insidious a-holes. Junonia was in charge of gathering intel, a medic for her team, and occasionally helping with defensive fighting (not that she isn't perfectly capable in any forms of battle, but she's a bit like Doc, not entirely a pacifist, but reserves violence as a last resort, or to defend herself/others). When the organization began to fall apart, including the people running the show trying to take out the underlings to erase evidence, Junonia got out of there quick and hid under the radar for a while... more recently, she's been involved with helping people find resources for recovery, and she's also gotten back into her habit of collecting information (like what happened to other people in her group, and where the ones responsible for the problems are hiding).

Junonia is generally a calm and graceful person, but she's also VERY clever, and can have an icy form of anger when dealing with somebody unpleasant. She's very compassionate, but doesn't compromise in specific situations. She grew up being fascinated by sea creatures, but never got to visit the ocean until she was an adult. When she was hiding, she finally was able to find a place to stay by the water, and worked on putting all her knowledge of marine life into practice. Within the group, she's something like a "reverse" of Carolina, without being an adversary/antagonist. She has the same level of tenacity as well, but more tempered (if Carolina is a bit hot-headed, Junonia is more cool). It's a bit ironic, because she knows about all the others, and at first some of them wonder if this will somehow be "uneven", but Junonia is open to sharing facts about herself, and it's very easy to enjoy/accept her companionship. She really likes horror and action/adventure movies. She's in her late 30s, and is a trans lesbian.

Poppy is short, with a fairly thick and solid build, and soft features. Poppy didn't actually "join" the army. She was "selected" to be part of a "special training program", which turned out to be tricking poor and homeless people into working at dangerous outposts. When one area was getting attacked, a lot of the people running the show took escape ships for themselves. Poppy was able to find a set of armor, and now looking "official", she helped guide all the people who would have been abandoned to safety. When she got them all to a rescue ship, a soldier asked if she had been in charge of that outpost. She basically pretended that- she TOTALLY was the boss. Yep. Hired herself, and gave herself a promotion. Before she could back out or escape, she was thrown into a new "assignment". Whoops!

She was then sent to a different group of Red and Blue Flag Zealots, meant to identify needed supplies and order more ammunition. She was designated "neutral", and had white armor with tan accents. When the teams ran out of bullets, they kept fighting in non-lethal ways, which Poppy thought was preferable to a clearly pointless war, so she just never put in the order for more. Both teams considered her a friend, playfully fighting over who's side she was on. After a dangerous incident left her knocked-out and recovering, Temple's group arrived to recruit more Sim Troopers. Poppy's group refused to join. When she woke up, they were all gone, and she had to work on making cybernetics for herself. Because she's still considered part of the Flag Zealots, the UNSC decided to throw her back into a new training program (which was actually pretty shady in terms of motives), and that's where she meets Sarge.

Poppy is meant to sort of mirror Simmons. The fact that Sarge likes her, and she's a nerd, SHOULD make Simmons hate her guts... but after one conversation, he internally just clicked with her- "Oh, sibling? Sibling!". Also, she and Simmons are trans in opposite directions (Poppy never cared much about having surgery, but she always wanted really long hair). Poppy’s got a bit of a “cheerfully dismissive” attitude when she’s not in a mood to deal with somebody. She also likes making people laugh, and when she’s really close to them, she tries to be a source of comfort. She’s got a temper brewing under there, though (she can shout and rant with the best of them, but you really need to worry if she’s coming after you quietly). For the most part, Poppy is easy-going (because she’s been through a LOT, and knows what she’s capable of), and pretty quick with sarcastic little comments. She also feels her painful emotions VERY deeply, and freely cries when upset. One of her skills is messing with audio communication, and her favorite trick is to play annoying songs as a distraction. With white armor, the prophecy of Red Team being the lesbian flag has been fulfilled!

[plantinghobbies]

The Same Damn Thing - Part 3

Haven’t read the previous parts? Catch up here!

@solipsisticno1 and I are so grateful to everyone who’s read and supported our little Valentine’s collab that has (to absolutely no one’s surprise) taken almost the entirety of February to get three parts done. But we are halfway there! Hope you enjoy!

Part 3: “…I knew you’d haunt all of my what if’s” - Taylor Swift——————————————————————————————————

Val avoids him after that, volunteering for work trips no one else wants. A day here, two days there add up to weeks before she knows it. It’s harder when she’s in the office but not impossible. She’s the first out of the conference room after a meeting, flying out the door with her nose in her phone in case he follows her. And the last one there at night, only leaving her office after she knows he’s gone for the day. She’s subsisting on non-perishable foods for lunch and is shocked she hasn’t developed a UTI from holding it all day but both these bleak realities are better than the thought of being alone with him again. Of the whoosh in her stomach as it drops when she sees him, the heat that pools seemingly everywhere at the thought of what almost happened. What did happen.

Before she knows it, it’s May and her mum is texting her to ask whether she’s coming home on the 24th. Val dreads the day each year. Not the actual anniversary of her sister’s death (though that’s the worst day of the year) but the one where she disappoints her parents again by saying she won’t be there with them to relive the worst day of their lives. It’s not that they’ll be alone - her aunt always comes down and Val’s cousin who lives in town stops by - but she knows it’s not the same. The first year she had tried, but everything in her told her it wasn’t where she needed to be. After they went to bed, Val had thrown her bag in the car, driving until her mind subconsciously brought her back to the last place she’d felt close to Marin - physically and metaphorically. The calm that engulfed her when she stepped onto the damp grass of the courtyard felt like a relief and a selfish indulgence at the same time. 

Ever since then, Val had come back to campus every year on the anniversary, making up work trips and last minute emergencies to avoid telling her mom the truth - that being home with them didn’t bring her anywhere near the comfort that being there did. That the best times of her life were at uni that year.

The 24th dawns with a bright sun and cloudless sky. There’s a slight chill in the air as Val catches the train to her destination, wrapping her hands up in the long sleeves of her jacket. It’s not even 7:30 when she makes it to campus, wanting to avoid the Saturday early birds at the farmers market that wasn’t there when she was in school.

Lying down in the grass under her favorite tree, she tries to remember the bits of advice she picked up in the grief group that she’d gone to for a few months. Use the day to remember old memories, but also to make new ones, your loved one is always with you. (Val’s not sure that she believes that but  she has pictured Marin standing beside her during particularly difficult times over the years and it has helped). 

Flashes of memories play against her eyelids - Halloween when the whole group had dressed up as Mario Kart characters, complete with little cardboard cars that had been left in a pile by the dumpster of their favorite bar after they couldn’t squeeze into the booth with them on. Marin’s face when Val had given her her secret Santa gift - a limited edition of Mary Oliver’s first collection that Val had spent three months saving every penny she had to pay for (worth it).  Matty’s and Marin’s drunken duet of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, cackling when Matty’s voice cracked around the high notes, his indignant claims that he was sick, not just shit at karaoke. 

The memories transport her back, so vivid that Matty’s voice sounds like it’s right next to her. 

“Val? Val, you ok?” A hand wraps around her shoulder gently and she bolts up to sitting, throwing an elbow out on instinct that catches the offender with a low “umph.” It sounds familiar. 

The “fuck me” he whispers lowly confirming what she already knew. A part of her wants to keep her eyes closed - to continue to live in her memories instead of face the reality in front of her. Out of sight, out of mind. 

“Ummm listen I didn’t mean to….” No such luck. 

Her eyes peel open slowly, blinking against the heavy sun. Sunglasses would have been smart. He’s crouched in front of her, one hand on the ground to balance himself, the other resting on his knee (the bad one. Val remembers the brace he had to wear for weeks after he twisted it trying to learn football tricks to prove he was better at it than James). 

“What are you doing here?” The accusation in her voice isn’t intentional but he reacts to it, steeling his shoulders and leaning back away from her. 

“Same thing you are I reckon.” A smile pulls at his lips before he seems to think better of it and tugs it back in. 

Of course, the one year that she is actively trying to avoid him, they end up here at the same time. She’s not surprised he had the same idea, he always did like ceremony. “Do you, umm, do you want to grab a coffee? Talk? Or not talk?” She is surprised by the invitation, her behavior over the last few months wasn’t exactly hospitable. But then again, neither was his. 

He looks lost, eyes sunken into heavy bags as he gazes up at her through his lashes. She wonders how long they’ve been there. His fingers twitch around a cigarette the isnt’ there. She shouldn’t, she shouldn’t, she - “Uh yea, sure.” Clearly he’s retained his ability to charm her into doing things against her better judgment. 

They walk to an old haunt where he used to sing at open mic nights, the destination unspoken between them. It’s only when they’re sat face to face, steaming mugs between them, that she realizes the mistake she’s made. Her other interactions with him since the incident (as she’s taken to calling it in her head) have been short, work-related, no direct eye contact or conversation needed. 

It seems it’s dawning on him as well. Matty traces the rim of his mug and then clears his throat.

“I uh I -“ He mutters something under his breath that sounds like “Christ man” before continuing “Uh, how’s the rest of your day been?”

Val snorts as she looks up at him but he beats her to a retort “Fuck me, I’m sorry, dumbest question ever. Don’t answer that. I just - I don’t know what to say after - “ 

“Don’t.” It comes out sharper than she intended. But she can’t think of that night, of what Marin would think. Not today at least. Maybe not ever. 

They’re plunged into silence once again. Matty fidgets and crosses his leg, knocking the bag over that Val hadn’t noticed he’d been carrying until now. 

“What’s that?” She knows he hates small talk but chickens out for safe ground. 

“Baby onesie from the bookstore.” Her eyebrow arches, eyes flitting between him and the bag. “No, not what you’re thinking. Not for me. For the kid. I mean, not for my kid, I don’t have one.” He’s always been cute when he rambles. Fuck. “It’s for James’ baby.” 

Her surprise must show on her face. “Oh I didn’t realize he had one?” 

“Yea, just a few days ago. He and his husband - he’s a great guy, you’d like him. As patient as you’d imagine you’d have to be to put up with Jay.” His voice bears no judgement though it’s clear he knows that she hasn’t kept up with anyone beyond perfunctory texts.  It’s not that she’d gone out of her way to cut ties. But after she’d transferred schools, it became so easy to pretend she was someone else - someone who knew what they were doing, someone who didn’t pine after a guy who didn’t want her (at least not in the way she wanted). Someone who hadn’t lost her favorite person (people, really). She liked that version of herself - confident, detached, focused - more than the sad, lonely, and depressed reality that she was trying so hard to hide. And her friends would have seen right through her. So she kept them from seeing. 

It’s the odd silence that draws Val out of her thoughts and back to the table. Right, Matty had been talking about James. “Aaah so he hasn’t slowed down with age?”

The smile he gives her then is small but warm. “Nope, far from it. I think the older he gets, the more frantic he gets about the number. Trying to squeeze as much wild shit in as possible. I mean, it’s crazy but life is short, you kn-

Val watches as he pulls up, looking for all the world like he wanted to shovel the words back down his throat. Eyes flitting everywhere but her face.

“I mean -“ On instinct, her hand is covering his, not able to see him anxious even after all these years. 

“Matty, I think we both know.” 

He cocks his head at her hand, and she pulls it back. Aware that it’s the first time they’ve touched since That Night. 

“Can we talk about something else? Please.” God she’s a prick but after a morning spent solely focused on sad, she needs some relief. Hopes he won’t mind. 

He snaps his jaw shut, clearly taken aback with the desperation in her voice. “Uh, yea, course. I’m sure it’s tough to think about today…” (Truth is, she could talk about Marin all day. Matty and Marin, that was a different story). 

Eye contact seems to be hard for both of them, each flitting around for something to distract from the heavy intimacy that has settled over them. God, why did she say yes to this. Their relationship - she indulges herself with using that term to describe it - is one third rail topic after another. 

And just like so many times before, Matty throws her a lifeline. “Did you hear that I’m still office snooker champion?”

The laugh she barks out startles the sleeping baby at the table next to her, both of its mothers sending her death glares as the hiccuping cries begin. “What the fuck? How’d that happen?”

A cheshire grin settles on Matty’s features as he leans in conspiratorially “Fucking cheaters. They got Dawes - he was judging, remember? Well they got him drunk and then kept fudging the score. Someone caught them and turned them into the party police.” 

Val settles against the back of her chair, crossing her arms. “It was you, wasn’t it?” 

His laugh sends a spark from her ears to her toes. “Now what would give you that impression.”

“Besides the fact that I saw you bring Dawes four rounds of shots?” 

“I think you’re mistaken.” 

“Even if I was, there’s no one else who cares enough about that competition to go through the trouble of reporting that.” Matty’s eyes narrow as she points at him, following the path of her fire-engine red nail. “Except you.”

The grin he was trying to suppress earlier breaks free. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She’d missed his mischievous look, like the cat that swallowed the canary.

“Oh well my mistake then.”

“Too right.” 

Another memory.“You remember when Daisy tried to impress that guy and ended up needing to replace the whole top of the snooker table at Shea’s?” 

“Oh my god - and we all nearly went broke because of it. Who the fuck knew felt could cost that much?” Matty says, raising his mug to his lips before realizing it was empty. He sets it down gently, looking between his mug and her forehead (he’s struggling to look at her, which would offend her if she wasn’t also mesmerizing his hairline right back). “Umm I’m getting another. You want one?”

The line had grown substantially since they’d come in, giving her plenty of time to observe him as he waited with their mugs. More time than she allowed herself at work, always worried about people’s noses stares and misguided assumptions about their relationship. There’s that word again. Time had been good to him, preserved his boyish good looks but filled them out, added a little ruggedness that was laughable when she thought back on how posh he’d grown up. Matty had struck up a conversation with the woman in front of him (of course he had) and not for the first time, Val wonders what he’s been up to since uni. Who he’s been spending his time with, the information that she can’t get from LinkedIn and the abandoned social media accounts she found one night after a few glasses of wine. He was always charming but watching him try to pull (she assumes, the woman looks like his type) now, she can see the quiet confidence that wasn’t there all those years ago when they sat in this dingy coffee shop, splitting pastries for lunch to save cash so they’d be able to buy more drinks at the pub later. That time seems like a million years ago now.

Val wishes that she could have outgrown her crush on him like she’d outgrown so many other things from that time. She didn’t need to flirt with the barista for free leftovers at the end of the day, could afford the good gin instead of the rail shit that was so bitter that she had to chase it with fries. Adulthood had changed a lot - but not everything. Her eyes still find him in any room they’re in, her laughter still bubbles up at his dark jokes, and her heart still stutters when Matty’s lips twitch into a soft, familiar smile when his gaze catches hers. Like it is right now. Fuck.

It’s not even worth pretending that she wasn’t staring as he makes his way back over, her eyes tracking his moves as he weaves around student’s backpacks and groups of friends huddled around a table meant for just two. 

“Jesus, that took forever.” Tea dribbles over the lip of the mug as he passes it to her. 

“Well, seemed like you enjoyed the company while you waited.” It was supposed to sound teasing but comes out with a hint of possessiveness that she hopes he misses. “You get her number?” Great save, Val. 

Matty cocks his head at her comment, that knowing gaze of his back in full force. “Um noooo. She asked if I’d been here before, couldn’t decide between the sticky bun and the chocolate croissant. I told her to go with the sti-

“Sticky bun” they chime at the same time. 

“Exactly. Told her she should go with that unless she liked the taste of stale poo in a dry diaper. Then the croissant would be the obvious choice.”

“Ewww” Val’s nose turns up at the visual. “I can’t believe she was charmed by that.” 

Matty’s eyebrow perks up. “Oh, she was, was she?”

“Fuck off, like you didn’t know. They could probably see the bedroom eyes she was giving you from bloody space.” 

The shirt he’s wearing rides up as he crosses his hands behind his head, subtle flex in his biceps. “Well, looks like I still got it.” 

Doesn’t she know it. Flashbacks of the incident erupt behind her eyes. His hand up her skirt.  His filthy words. His fingers as he sucked them clean of her. No no no no no.

Attacking his ego feels like safer ground. “Yes, congratulations, you can still pull undergrads.”

Matty opens his mouth to retort but then looks around, clocking the other patrons as if for the first time. “Jesus, was she that young? I can’t tell anymore.”

The same thought had occurred to Val every year she’d come back here.  “I know, right?! I feel like we were younger at that age.” She risks a glance up at him, finds his warm eyes focused on her. “If that makes any sense…” 

“Yea, I get it.” Matty always seemed to get it, to get her. 

Val isn’t sure if it’s the familiar surroundings or the memories that they unlock, but as they talk, the tension that laced each word when they first sat down is easing. Enough that she remembers the man in front of her, the kind of person he was. Is still probably. She’s flooded with feelings, confusing ones that have her heart in her throat, but also comforting ones, friendly ones, nostalgic ones. She missed this. Missed him. She wonders if he feels it too. 

A comfortable lull settles over them. The half-empty sugar packet spills onto the table as she fiddles with it. For the first time since they reentered each other’s lives, it feels easy to talk to him. 

She takes a deep breath, “Listen, I -“ 

Just as he starts to say “About that night -“

Their words collide and they fall silent again. For the first time in she doesn’t know how long (yes she does), the fog of loneliness that followed her around like an imaginary friend had lifted. She felt lighter, the world a little less gray. She wanted to hold onto that feeling and he was going to fuck it all up. What would she even say?! Oh, that night? You mean the one where I almost exposed my years long lo- CRUSH - on you? Came on to you? At our workplace? Mistook your concern for interest, like I always have. That night?! Nope, no memory of it at all. The feminist in her - who sounds an awful lot like Marin - screams that this isn’t a completely accurate characterization, it taking two to tango and all. But Val’s also a champion at self-criticism - Olympic gold-level really - and she’s the one who’d drunkenly started it. She can’t blame him for trying to finish it, even if it was a monumentally stupid idea. 

The tension was back. She needed to get control of the conversation. “You first.” Always a gentleman. A good man. Someone she needed to have in her life again, even if it’s not in exactly the way that she wants. 

“I was going to say, I uh I missed this. Us.” Her chair scrapes as she sits up with the force of gathering her courage for the next part. She’s spent almost ten years rehearsing her next words, in texts she never sent. The words tumble out of her before she can lose her nerve. “I’m sorry I was such a shit friend back then - “She throws up a hand to silence the retort she knows is on the tip of his tongue. “No, just don’t. I was, even if I had a good reason.”

He sits back, palms up in response. “But I’m here now and I’d like a second chance at it. Being friends again…..if you’ll let me, I mean.”

The breath she takes gets stuck somewhere around her ribs, probably because her heart is in her throat. Please Matty. I need this, need to feel like I haven’t fucked everything in my life up. I still haven’t figured out exactly how to be around you but I’m trying. Just give me time. I promise, nothing that you have to go to HR about.

She used to be able to read him so well, curses herself once again for the distance between them that makes understanding his expression now impossible. Matty hasn’t taken his eyes off her, squinting his right eye as if looking for something. 

Val’s just about to word vomit something out onto the table when he clears his throat, putting her out of her misery. “Yea, uhm, I mean, yea. Course we can.“

Relief is palpable, she understands that phrase now, her shoulders sinking down from her hairline with his words. Thank god.“Good. Then I won’t feel bad about telling you that I forgot my wallet and I need you to buy me a sticky bun.” 

His laugh, she thought, that’s what she’d missed most of all. 

[onim5]

Vampire Ace x Vampire Queen Reader!!!

Chapter: 3  

Warning: Mention of drunk, embarrassment, Ace turning, drinking blood, and probably more, but idk.

This chapter is a bit more romantic. Kinda. . . . . .

Hope you enjoy. - onim5

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

"Would you like to see them again?" Queen Y/n asked moving her hand away to look at him. "YES!" Ace practically yelled, not that he planned to, but he missed all his friends and Luffy. "Well then, let me propose a deal for you."

"What kind of deal," Ace asked, glaring at the vampire queen. "I turn you into a rank one vampire and give you a job as the new captain of the Red Blood Pirates. That way you can visit loved ones." The queen explained. The Red Blood pirates, I remember Marco mentioning them to me. A cold-hearted captain named Ruder kidnapped humans. Wasn't his bounty 900 000 000, did a marine take him? "What happened to the old one?" Ace asked. "One of the vice-captains caught him killing humans for fun. So he's in the dungeon now." Queen Y/n explained. "Wait, that's illegal?" Ace asked. "Of course, we need humans to survive. It would be a complete waste of food."  

"How do you know if a human tastes good or not?" Ace questions. "When humans commit an evil act, the sin species the said humans blood, making it taste delicious."

"Okay, that's why the celestial dragon tastes so good," Ace confirmed. He knew plenty who committed evil acts, he could easily please this queen. "What if I fail to bring good-tasting humans, will I end up in the dungeon too?" Ace asked, knowing he could not keep hurting his pride and body as a slave. "Well, as long as it is not intentional you stay captain. Does this mean you agree to work as Captain for the pirates or stay a slave?" Queen Y/n asked. "I want to have more information you're speaking of the Red Blood pirates as if it's a form of job, and not pirates?" Ace asks. "I don't know, the humans called them pirates so we also called them that," Y/n answered signaling with her hand that he could sit on a chair at the table. 

Ace moved his body to the chair getting once again reminded of how his body had acted like a machine for this woman. As he sat down he got to feel the comfort of the soft fabric. Sitting on the stone floor has been a real pain. "So what kind of information do you want?" Y/n asked smiling. "How often would I need to eat blood?" Ace asked wanting to avoid it as much as possible. "Well, depending on the rank of the vampire you need less or more. And since you have to be a rank one vampire you're gonna need at least one meal per day." You explained. "Oh, that's less than I thought. Can you elaborate?" Ace asked taking his food from the floor up to the table. 

"I'm just gonna explain what you're supposed to do. First, as captain, you're gonna have to bring humans for the whole kingdom. There are five ranks of vampires, the first rank is the strongest. Most of them are Mayors in some cities, the rest are either huge businessmen or students, training to become more powerful. They need about one bowl of blood per day. The second rank are mostly generals, sheriffs, assistants to first ranks, and some other normal workers or pirates, of course. Most of you're crew are second ranks, if you agree to my deal that is. They need about one bowl of blood in a month. Ace's eyes widen at the difference between first and second."

"The third rank, fourth, and fifth are all normal citizens and get the work they're capable of, there is a difference between how much blood they need third needs one blood bowl per four months and the other two have the same except for some weeks you can add." Queen Y/n explains. Ace nods his head understanding. "If you agree to become the new captain of the Red Blood pirates then you must collect humans so we can feed the whole kingdom, you will deliver humans to a building in the city where they take care of the humans emptying them on their blood." 

"Uh, I heard an old guy in a bar once say that vampires are stronger than the yonkos, is that true?" Ace asked worryingly. "That guy probably met a rank one vampire if so." You answer. "So do you agree to my deal, I'm sure there's someone you want to kill badly." Ace reacted to your sentence and a picture of Blackbeard showed itself in his head. "I agree, to become the new captain of the Red Blood pirates." Ace wanted to get out to the sea again, to meet his brother Luffy and remind him of his promise never to die. Oh, he will be so surprised. I wonder if he is okay with me eating and kidnapping people, on the other hand, I will mostly take selfish nobles and celestial dragons. 

"Now when you have agreed, I want you to live in the castle with me. Not as a slave, but as a friend. Please?" Y/n asked, surprising Ace. "Why?" He asked with a kinda blunt voice. "Well almost all vampire royals before me have been born without emotions, but in some cases a royal, like me gets born with emotions. If the other vampires get to now, they're gonna think I'm a fake and then a huge conflict might start or even a war. The only one who knows is Virus, but she's the royal family butler so she has a lot of duties making sure the kingdom is running like I want it. Also, she's kinda emotionless herself." You explain, sounding scared about revealing the secret. 

Ace began to think, it was true that you had treated him like shit for the past three nights, but he had also kinda chosen himself to be a slave, when he slammed the table and run away. And you had felt bad about treating him like that, even giving him a second chance. "I have nowhere else to live anyway," Ace answered. "So how do I become a rank one vampire?" He asked soon after. You stood up and walked over to him, I'm gonna bite into your neck and mark you as one. 

"Alright. . . . ." Ace moved his black hair curls for you, waiting nervously. Your soft lips pressed against his skin and soon after he felt two fangs sink in. Biting his tongue not to moan, he waits for you to be done. His body loses temperature and he feels every vein in his body. How weird. Letting go of Ace you stood up. "What's your name?" You ask, still not knowing. "I'm Portgas D. Ace," Ace answered as his eyes turned red and fangs replaced two of his human teeth. "Ow." Ace whines, he takes the two human teeth out of his mouth and looks at them. "They don't keep you bound to the past, but are a good reminder of who you were." You say patting his hair. 

You and Ace spent the day talking and getting to know each other. "In three nights Cassandra will be back with the ships. So you can check them out." Y/n said. "Ships?" Ace repeated, showing his confusion. "There are three big ships that transport humans. The main one is named Fang and then there's Black Claw and Red Eye." Y/n explained smiling. Ace nodded, "So, I got a huge pocket full of unknown abilities, could you take me to a place where I could start training?" Ace asked feeling nervous about how much stronger he felt after the transformation. "Of course, let's go to the training arena." 

Time skip, like a month. 

Yawning Ace forced himself up from the bed. A strong headache poured over him as he stumbled to the bathroom. Last night he'd spent partying at a bar not too far away. Groaning Ace tried to recall anything from the night and half of the day. "Why did I drink so much?" He mumbled picking up his hair brush. Looking into the crystal blue mirror, his eyes widened as his sight landed on one bright red kiss mark on his cheek. Ace put his finger on it and patted his cheek. Who would kiss me?

Ace combed his hair trying to ignore the kiss mark and his headache. After a much-needed shower and a change of clothes, he walked in the corridors of the castle. The walls moved so it became a straight path to the dining hall. "Good evening Y/n." He greeted her with a smile. "Ace, how much did you drink last night?" You immediately asked annoyance hidden in your voice. "I didn't think animal blood would get me so drunk. I don't remember anything, and I have a headache." Ace answered sheaplesly. 

"You're so embarrassing." You said, hiding your face in your hands. "What did I do?" Ace asked walking up to the table and settling down. "The bar called the castle to come get you, 'cause you had passed out in the middle of a fucking wall!" You yelled disappointed at him. "Oh, I must have shown off by walking on it," Ace answered scratching his head. "Ace! Every vampire can walk on walls, you're literally the only one who's amazed, and you have had the ability for a month." You complained. "But, it's so cool! Just look." Ace said as he walked on the wall as if it was the floor. 

"I thought it was so weird to have so few stairs, but now it makes sense. There's just no need for stairs." Ace said as he walked on the ceiling. After he was above the table he jumped down and landed perfectly in his seat. "Anyway, look," Ace said, pointing at his cheek. "You got a girl last night?" You asked folding your arms. "Oh, come on. I know it was you." Ace said with a bright smile. "And why do you suspect that?" You asked. "Well, before I showered I smelled like you and it's the same brand that I bought for you," Ace explained leaning on his elbow. 

The other door opened and in came Virus carrying a massive amount of food for Ace with levitation and holding two bowls of blood. "Oi, what's up Virus, how's your evening?" Ace asked with a cheery tone. "Better than yours, you were so drunk last night." Virus answered with her emotionless voice. "Yup, did you pick me up from the bar?" Ace asked. "Yes, but you drank more after waking up and whined like a pup. (Not a baby dog, but a baby bat.) "Oh, yeah Y/n's right, that's embarrassing. But wait, why was it so embarrassing for you?" Ace asked changing his sight on you.

"Virus, why don't you tell him?" You asked, drinking a sip of your blood while turning red with embarrassment. "Sir Ace, last night you refused to leave unless the mistress became your girlfriend. Luckily for us, she decided to come with me disguised as someone else. And manage to get you home with a kiss. " Ace hit his head on the plate full of food. "Pretend I fell asleep because of my narcolepsy." Ace groaned out feeling his whole body fill up with shame. 

"Wait, if that's the case why did I smell so much of her?" Ace asked looking up from the plate. "You passed out in her lap." Virus answered. Ace returned his face to the food and sighed. "Why would you want me as a girlfriend anyway, did you forget how we met?" You asked blushing. 

"I forgave you for that a long time ago, and now I have seen multiple sides of you. Like when you agreed to leave the castle with me to see all those singers perform in the city, and not to mention when you came with me on Fang disguised as my assistant and helped me with my first mission. I was nervous when Cassandra asked me if she could adopt the child who had been abused by a celestial dragon. Like how was I supposed to know I got to decide that? And what if you didn't want it to happen, but then I looked at you for your opinion only to get a nod and a smile." Ace explained, hiding his face more by moving his hands to cover. 

If you didn't have such good hearing you wouldn't have understood what Ace mumbled to the food. "Is there anything more you like about me?" You asked rolling your thumbs. "I like that you allowed me to still eat human food after I turned and how you woke me up after I fell asleep because of my narcolepsy, but I think I mostly like how much you trust me. The fact that you believe in me, makes me feel confident. And you can add how honest you are when you don't trust me, but still give me a chance. Like when you said I would blow my disguise on the trip, and still supported me, saying I can do it, which I did." Ace added to please you. 

"What do you think of me as a queen?" You asked feeling anxiety rise within you. "At first I thought you were useless for this kingdom, but then I got to know about all the changes you made when you got the crown and realized you had come up with solutions without trying to ruin traditions, but still fixed the heavy discrimination against the weaker. Hell, you even fixed a place for humans that tastes bad, where they can live only paying with a reasonable amount of blood. You even let people who are homeless or flee from other powers that we find on trips live there."Ace answered, this time looking for your eyes. 

Taking a big breath, Ace began his confession. "Y/n last night I was drunk and tried to force you into a relationship, but now I'm fully aware of what I'm saying, and I will accept a no. Truth be told I have fallen in love with you, and I don't plan on denying that. You have shown me how ruthless you can be against an enemy, but also how much you care about everything that needs it. You are an amazing woman and I understand I'm not the man of your dreams, but you have made me feel so special, you have been so kind and patient to me. Queen Y/n is it possible for you to see me as a potential partner?" 

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

Oh no, a cliffhanger, I wonder what the answer will be?

Also, I'm sorry for making Ace a bit out of character. 

Have a good day, and please 🙏 give me a heart. They motivate so much.

[meta-squash]

I'm reading Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield and I'm halfway through and I don't generally write about books I'm reading until I've finished reading them but I need to get this thought out of my brain.

(Also for anyone who hasn't read this book, I highly recommend it. It's so good, I'm blazing through it.)

Anyway, I'm completely in love with and blown away by this narrative tactic that's been revealed halfway through.

All of Miri's POV bits have been punctuated by her confusion and feeling of being ignored when Leah sits there in their flat and just speaks as though she's giving a talk on marine biology at a conference, just spouting facts and looking off to one side. She gets annoyed, wants to tell Leah to stop. But she doesn't, mostly.

And then, halfway through, Leah talks about how she told a story to her crewmates and then realized she'd told it as though she were telling it to Miri, including little "teaching points" that her crewmates obviously already knew. And she talks about how she always felt like she was telling Miri stories, or gathering information in order to tell Miri stories.

And we as an audience get that moment of realization that the traumatized Leah at home on the sofa isn't saying things at random. She's telling Miri all of this, as she would tell a story, but it's coming out all wrong and weird because of whatever happened to her and whatever is still happening.

And it's so weirdly romantic, in that strange disconnected way. Miri is desperate to have her wife back and yet knows it's not going to happen because Leah is so distant and different, and Leah is (in her damaged and distant way) doing something that she used to do because she loved Miri so much, telling information she collected.

[cyborg-franky]

Sorry, I needed to collect my thoughts and get some sleep. Anywho -- Fallout/OP au. I'm mixing show and video game lore here, but thoughts:

- Devil fruits are the result of a botched vault experiment that got out into the Wasteland

- Celestial Dragons/World Government are the Enclave, Marines are obviously the Brotherhood.

- I think raiders would be the stand-in for pirates, and I get an absolute kick out of Luffy saying to poor unsuspecting wastelanders, "We're raiders!" Then being confused when they shoot first and ask later.

-Brook is of course a ghoul.

- Most of the crew is from settlements, but I think Robin would come from one of the Vaults, potentially Sanji too, originally at least.

That's all I've got for now, sorry if it's a bit lackluster 😅, but please feel free to add on!

*slams my hands on the table*

Yes, to alllll of this.

Imagine if chars who died in op are now ghouls in this cross-over? cowboy ghoul Ace for example. I think certain 'crews' would also work as factions like 'Gunners' etc [I don't remember all my video game lore, it's been many, maaaany years.. groups.. settlements, I think you get what I mean] It would be funny if Buggy was a thrown out overseer and just managed to keep getting a huge following until he took over half the wastelands. If DF are botched vault experiment's does that mean the OG lot came from vaults, married/had kids with wastelanders and powers got passed down? or are the fruits themselves made in the vault and they all get out and people would find them like natual? Some zoan's could be like, deathclaws or more of the fallout world monsters/beasts. SMILEY AS A GOBBLER it works perfect.

Yonko could have like sections of the wasteland that they kinda run and every vault that pops up in their area is 'theirs' Doffy and his stringclones can be the Gary vault.

I'm digging this.

[taestarii]

𖧷 airlock - mingi

[marine biologist!mingi x reader]

synopsis - y/n gets left out of her dive, and has to clean the airlock with mingi instead.

genre! thriller, bits of romance

warning! themes and descriptions of drowning, mentions of attempted murder

a/n! - thank you so much to everyone that has given me support on my past stories! i'm thinking of making this a collection, like different idols as marine biologists, let me know if you would like to see that!

link to request page

They left without you.

"Fuck.“ You cursed under your breath. You thought you had finally gotten through to them, it wasn't as bad at it looked and you barely got hurt, one dive in a exploration was like nothing. You slammed your hand on the control panel before speaking into the intercom. "Daniel, you asshole.“ He laughed into the mic before responding. "I see you're not happy about this.“

"Of course I'm not! I should be down there right now. I'm fine.“ You hissed. "Sure you are. You're really okay after your tussle with Lijing?"

"Yes!"

Lijing is your shark. You've trained her and been by her since since she was a cub, but your recent experiment didn't go as planned when rushed you and instead of turning, went for the bite. Luckily, you got out with nothing but scratches, but everyone is convinced you need some sort of special treatment for your injury, like you're going to lose your leg or something.

"Her name means beautiful spirit for a reason, you're too quick to judge her.“ You could practically hear his eye roll. "You really think you've trained a shark? She bit you Y/n. You can't tame an aggressive animal."

"I hope her family swallows you.“ You said, switching off the intercom. "They left without you?" A voice rang out.

You turned around to be met with the face of Mingi, more specifically, your crush Mingi.

You and Mingi have been training together in the institution, learning here, and living here all of your life, ever since your father founded the institution long before your birth. All of the staff lived here alongside them, mostly because it was in the middle of the ocean.

"Uh yeah.. Daniel's still hung up on the incident with Lijing.“ Mingi's eyebrows raised in understanding. "Still can't believe they left without the head diver, but as long as you're hereee..“ He smiled. "You can clean the airlock with me!" You groaned. "Is that what you do when we leave for explorations?" He nodded. "We have to clean it out before you guys get back, which Daniel and his crew should be back in an hour thirty.“

"MY crew.“ You grumbled, walking with him to the airlock. Mingi typed in the code and pressed the button, the big metal door lifting with a hiss. You got to work in comfortable silence, a few minutes passing before Mingi decides the silence isn't comfortable anymore. "So.. what do you usually do on dives?" He asked, looking up at you. "Wear these giant clunky suits, sink to the bottom, walk around for a little and get pulled up at the end of our tanks.“ You summarized. He nodded in completely fake understanding, a small 'oh' leaving his lips. "You know, I've always.. admired you.“ He confessed bashfully, hiding his face. "What?"

He took a deep breath, preparing his next comment before the main door began sliding down with a metal-on-metal screech. "Wait, no!" You exclaimed, running to the door as it shut with a heavy bang. "It's okay, use the panel.“ Mingi pointed out, getting up to punch in the code. You let out a sigh short-lived relief.

"I-Its not clicking." He panicked, frantically pushing the buttons. "What do you mean it's not clicking?" You watched him push in the code, the panel staying the same solid gray color. "It's broken.“ You sank to your knees, defeated. "We can't get out of here and the diving team should be back in like 45 minutes." Mingi sighed, still trying to punch in the code. "Do you.. hear that?"

You both turned around to sight of running water raining down from the top of the room. "Fuck, the airlock is filling!"

Water pooled at bottom of the room filling up agonizingly slow, giving time to really let the panic sink in. "Could it be the dive team coming back?“ You shook your head, pointing to the overhead light. "If they were, it'd be flashing red. This is happening from the outside.“

Water was pouring into the airlock from all four corners now with a deafening volume. "Is someone trying to kill us?" You shrugged your shoulders. “Honestly, it's likely. And there nothing we can do.“ You said, plopping onto the water filled floor and hugging your knees. "Maybe we could get someone's attention by banging on the door, or we could-"

"No, Mingi!" You lifted your head to meet his eyes with your teary ones. "Anything you can think of, we can't do." Your lip quivered as you yelled. “We are 500 meters underwater, the panel is broken, the room is filling, and even if the divers came back right now, the water pressure would fucking kill us.“

You put your head back down and sobbed into your knees. Mingi took a seat next to you, not knowing how to comfort you when he felt just as helpless. "You remember when I said admired you?“ You lifted your head and sniffled. "Yeah?“

He smiled. "I meant it. Ever since we were younger you've always been brave, like the time you jumped into Lijing's tank unprotected when we were 16.“ You laughed, wiping half-dried tears from your cheeks. "I mean, you go out on dives to explore god knows what in the Midnight zone, and I'm just.. here.“ You face turned into a frown. “What are you talking about?"

"Who's the one that jumped into Lijing's tank to get me out? The one who stayed by my side everyday when I was hospitalized? Not to mention you also keep this whole place running.“ He smiled. "You mean it?"

"Yeah.“ You smiled back, turning your head to face your feet, red-hot blood rushing to your cheeks, the realization you're both standing now, the water up to your shoulders and steadily rising cooling you down. "I can't believe this is really where we die.“ You whispered, her tears mixing with the water. A pair of arms wrapped around you, pulling you into him. "Listen, It's okay." He whispered, himself crying as well as the water lifted them off their feet.

The ceiling was approaching, you both clinging to each other, taking your last few breaths before the cold water enveloped you. Your eyes started spotting, black speckles dancing in your vision before you slowly lost your consciousness.

-

"Y/n, wake up!" Foggy voices clouded your mind. Were you alive? There was a strange weight on your abdomen, a pair of hands switching between shaking you and pressing down on your chest. The world suddenly came back to you as you gained control over your body, sitting up and coughing out water. Mingi had both arms wrapped around your torso, sobbing into your shirt when his head shot up, red puffy eyes meeting yours. "Y/n!“

"Hi, Mingi.“ You smiled weakly. He practically jumped on you as you wrapped your arms around his head. "How did we get out..?" You asked, staring at the now drained airlock in front of you. "I saved your asses.“ You turned to face Wooyoung, who wore a smug grin on his face. "Man I really thought we lost you, I was doing CPR for about 10 minutes.“

"Thanks Woo.“ You groaned, standing up. "How did this even happen?" You coughed out. "Something malfunctioned, an accident I guess.“ He shrugged. Just as he finished talking, loud alarms blared from the upper levels. “Is that.. the control room?“ Your eyes widened. "Daniel!"

The three of you raced up the stairs to the S level, huffing as you reached the top, sirens getting louder. You reached the panel, frantically pulling up stats for Daniel's team. "The radars don't detect them.“ You said, pressing a few more buttons before you spoke into the microphone. "Daniel, can you hear me?"

You turned to face Mingi and Wooyoung.

"This wasn't an accident.“

-

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