#she's supposed to be having fun adventures in time and space

[flightlessangelwings]

The Prospector, The Merc and The Treasure Hunter

Ezra x fem!reader x Pero Tovar

Word count-1.5k

Warnings- bisexual mmf thruple, space adventures, kidnapping, minor violence, implied smut, protectiveness, Tovar in the Prospect universe, no use of y/n, no physical description of reader

Notes- Happy holidays @bonezone44 I'm your secret Santa!! Thank you @pedrostories for organizing this event again this year! This was something different and fun to write and I hope you enjoy!!

@flightlessangelwings-updates is my update blog so please follow that and turn on post notifs to stay up to date on when I post new things!

~

“Not here,” Tovar grunted as he sliced down the last mercenary.

“Damn,” Ezra cursed under his breath as he pulled his own knife from the man he just cut down, “This ship is a maze worse than the deepest jungles.”

Tovar scoffed as he turned and looked down the hall, “She has to be here somewhere.”

The desperation was evident in his voice, as much as he tried to hide it. Ezra got good at reading his signs over the past few months, and his own nerves crept up his back too. What was supposed to be an easy treasure hunt turned into a trap, and you ended up taken from their grasp. As much as both men tried to stop them, the mercenaries were too quick, and before they could react, you were gone.

Suddenly the treasure the three of you sought after didn’t matter to the two men. All they cared about was getting you back and having the three of you together again- a team.

“She has strength that neither of us have,” Ezra tried to offer a comfort as he stepped closer, “She’ll be alright.”

“She better be,” Tovar growled as he stared at his companion. As he looked into the soft brown eyes framed by the soft brown hair and just the hint of blonde, his shoulders released the tension they held. Something about this man brought out a tenderness in the merc that no one had done  before. Between you and Ezra, Tovar was a goner before he even realised it. 

Ezra reached for him and grabbed his arm, giving it a single squeeze in a silent gesture that both men understood perfectly. He even managed to pull a flash of a grin from his companion, which made Ezra’s heart pound in his chest. 

But now was not the time for romance and feelings. Now, they had to save you; they had to get you back. Ezra let out a deep breath as he sheathed his knife and moved to the control panel that sat on the far wall. “Let us see…” he mumbled more to himself than to Tovar as he scanned the screens. 

Tovar moved behind him, watching the prospector as he clicked through the controls. His gaze lingered on Ezra for several moments as he watched his fingers move nimbly across the keys. Clearing his throat, Tovar scanned the room, keenly aware of the exits and ready to strike should any other enemies burst through the door. It wasn’t until Ezra let out a howl of excitement that he snapped his head back, “What is it?”

“I believe I found her,” Ezra breathed as he turned to Tovar, “There,” he pointed to the end of a long hallway on the other end of the ship.

“Good work,” Tovar said through gritted teeth as he tapped Ezra’s shoulder, “Let’s go.”

Ezra nodded as he grabbed his weapon once more, “We’re coming, Flower,” he muttered to himself. 

The two of them ran as fast as they could down the cold and dark hallway of the ship. This group of mercenaries had a bigger and nicer ship than they had, but it didn’t matter to them. Their old, rusty, dusty ship was home, and it was only home because the three of them were there together. Exploring the stars and hunting for treasure together was a life that was perfect for all three of you. And things wouldn’t be right until Tovar and Ezra got you back and the three of you were a team again.

They weren’t alone, though, and the moment they turned down the hallway where Ezra said you were being kept, they were met with a new group of enemies. And they looked dangerous.

“Ten men,” Tovar grumbled.

“We can take them,” Ezra sounded confident as he pulled out his blaster, “Ready, Cactus?” he smirked.

Tovar scoffed as he pulled out his own blade, “You know I hate that name,” he replied with a hint of a grin of his own.

“I know,” Ezra quipped back before they both launched themselves at the group of mercenaries.

The hallway turned into an explosion of gunfire and clashes of swords. Ezra stayed on the perimeter to cover for Tovar as he lashed out at the group of men. With ease, the merc sliced through one after the other, barely breaking a sweat. Ezra concentrated his fire, careful not to hit his companion while taking the enemies down.

As Tovar’s sword clanged with one of the larger men, another snuck up behind him. He gritted his teeth as he fought him off, parrying every hit he swung at him. Ezra kept glancing back at the two of them, all too aware of the looming threat to one of his partners. Just as the lurker raised his sword to stab Tovar in the back, Ezra knocked down the man he wrestled with just in time to fire at the enemy, knocking him down to the ground.

“Good shot,” Tovar growled as he knocked his opponent out before stabbing him.

“Good hit,” Ezra responded back with a cheer in his tone.

The two men were alone once more, piles of bodies lining the floor around them. They panted, exhausted from their strenuous search. But, they knew it would be worth it as long as you were on the other side of the locked door in front of them.

“This one,” Ezra said as he approached the door, “Be ready,” he added as he worked the lock.

“I’m ready,” Tovar grunted as he tightened his grip on his sword. Maker help anyone who dared to hurt you.

“There,” Ezra exhaled as he got the door open. Quickly, he grabbed his gun once more, readying himself for another fight. Together, the two men bolted through the door, weapons in hand and muscles tensed.

But both Ezra and Tovar’s mouths dropped open when they saw what greeted him behind the cell door.

“It’s about time you boys showed up,” you grinned as you sat on the bench in the cell. You weren’t alone in there, but no one was a threat to you. Not anymore. Three more mercs laid on the floor, fallen to you. You saw the shocked looks on their faces and couldn’t help but laugh, “What?” you shrugged your shoulders, “I’m not helpless, you know,” you paused, “Even If they did manage to sneak up on me once.”

“Their mistake,” Tovar huffed as relief washed over him.

Ezra nodded, “Shall we take you home now, flower?”

You sighed as your features softened, “That sounds wonderful.”

*

The stars illuminated the tiny room you, Ezra and Tovar shared on your little, old ship. The three of you laid tangled together on the uncomfortable bed with nothing but sweat on your bodies and evidence of hours of passion. You couldn’t remember how long you all spent together, and you almost couldn’t remember a time when you weren’t with the two men. But, now that you were all reunited, everything was perfect again.

“Are you sure you’re alright, flower?” Ezra asked as he cupped your face, searching for any sign of pain.

“I’m fine, Ezra, really,” You reassured him with a tender kiss on his lips. From the other side of you, a grunt called your attention. Smiling into your kiss, you broke away before turning to Tovar and kissed him just as deeply.

“Our cactus was worried about you,” Ezra jested.

Tovar grumbled into your kiss before he broke away, “I…” his brows furrowed, ready to deny any allegations that he had feelings. But, watching you and Ezra stare at him, his resolve melted, “I hadn’t had a fear like that before, tesoro,” he admitted in a low tone.

You smiled as you cradled his jaw, feeling the stuff under your palm, “Is our mercenary growing a heart, I wonder?” you teased.

“Ay meirda,” Tovar spat, but he couldn’t help the smirk on his face as you and Ezra laughed together.

Ezra watched as the two of you shared a special moment. He savored nights like this, where it was just the three of you together under the stars. Committing the image to memory in his head, Ezra sighed, “A prospector, a mercenary and a treasure hunter,” he muttered, “What a team we are.”

You turned back to him, both you and Tovar meeting his gaze, “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” you said as you pulled them both in and settled back down onto the bed. Ezra and Tovar wrapped their arms around you, holding each other while keeping you in between them. Together, you all made yourself comfortable on the bed made for two.

But, you broke the comfortable silence, “Thank you,” you whispered, “For coming after me.”

“We will always come for you, flower,” Ezra replied as he kissed your forehead.

“Even if you can be a pain in the ass sometimes,” Tovar chimed in with a kiss of his own.

You reached for their lips with your own, clumsily kissing both of your boys at the same time. A giggle escaped your throat as you laughed at the bumbling way you tried to kiss them both at the same time. Adventure could wait for now. For now, this was all you wanted, all you needed. 

[sandymybeloved]

honestly the Doctor should be so grateful Martha is even still around in Utopia, considering in the last story she spent months working in a shop in the 60s, and the one immediately before THAT she spent months being his maid in the 1910s. I'm surprised she didn't just walk out the second they landed in modern day Cardiff

[n0vazsq]

Summer nights in Monaco | LN4 x Reader

pairing . . . lando norris x reader

summary . . . You and Lando meet during a night out in Monaco, starting a secret, undefined relationship somewhere between best friends and lovers

request . . . yes!! based on this request!

word count . . . 1.1k+

warnings . . . none!

faceclaim . . . N/A

alexavia yaps . . . this took ages bc i have a neck injury saur......ill finish a pau request then im done for today sorry guys but my neck is killing me

taglist . . . @barcapix ,, @f1lover55 ,, @ilovebarcaaa ,, @httpsdana (lmk if you want to join the taglist!)

. . . You met Lando on a warm summer night in Monaco, the kind of night where the air hummed with life and the streets thrummed with laughter. It was supposed to be nothing more than a brief moment; a connection formed under the shimmer of neon lights, the pulse of music, and a few stolen glances across a crowded bar.

Neither of you had gone out looking for something more, but when he leaned in and introduced himself with a smirk that could knock you off your feet, you let yourself get swept up in it.

One night turned into two. Then three. Somewhere in between, you stopped pretending it was a fluke.

"It’s not serious," you’d told yourself. And he said the same, more than once. "No strings, no pressure." You were just two people who fit together a little too perfectly. The energy was easy, the fun intoxicating.

Lando liked being in control of the night, steering the adventure, whether it was exploring empty Monaco streets at 3 AM or guiding you through the best moments of your time together. And you? You were content to be the passenger, trusting him to take you wherever he wanted to go.

It worked, strangely, perfectly.

Your dynamic sat somewhere between best friends and lovers. It wasn’t messy. There weren’t arguments or unmet expectations because there were no labels. It was about feeling good and living in the moment. And Lando made you feel amazing. He was attentive in a way that surprised you, always knowing what you needed.

Whether that was a quick getaway, a night in, or just his presence beside you, arms wrapped securely around you like the rest of the world didn’t exist.

For Lando, you were a drug. The kind he didn’t need a fix for every day, but when he got a taste, he never wanted it to end. It was the secrecy of it all that made it even more addicting; the fact that nobody knew about you, that you existed only in the quiet spaces of his life.

The two of you had carved out a secret little world, one where there were no prying eyes or judgmental opinions. It was yours, and he guarded it fiercely.

But secrets don’t always stay hidden.

It was a Sunday morning when it happened. Sunlight poured through the windows of his Monaco apartment, casting golden patterns across the sheets.

You were half asleep, curled into his side, your face buried in his chest as his arm draped lazily around you. Lando, hair tousled and still a little groggy, had propped himself up slightly, pressing a lingering kiss to the top of your head.

The picture had been an accident. He hadn’t meant to post it, hadn’t even realized he’d done it until his phone started buzzing uncontrollably minutes later. By the time he caught on, the damage had already been done. He swore under his breath, fumbling with his phone to delete the Instagram story, but it was too late. Screenshots had been taken. Twitter had erupted.

'Who is she???'

'No way. Lando soft-launching someone??'

'That’s 100% his girlfriend. I’m calling it now.'

You didn’t find out until you woke up, squinting at the screen of your own phone and the flood of notifications. Lando was perched at the end of the bed, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor with a sheepish expression when you finally looked up at him.

"You’re trending," you muttered, voice raspy with sleep.

He groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. "Don’t remind me."

You couldn’t help but laugh a little. "So much for being a secret."

Lando looked up at you then, his gaze softening, though there was something else there, something you couldn’t quite place. "I didn’t mean for that to happen. I’m sorry."

You shrugged, shifting to sit up and run a hand through your hair. "It’s not the end of the world, is it?"

He blinked at you, surprised by how calm you were. "You’re not….mad?"

"No," you said simply. "You deleted it. What’s done is done."

Lando let out a breath, his lips twitching into a small smile. "You’re handling this way better than I am."

"Well," you teased, pulling the sheet around your shoulders, "maybe you’re not as good at keeping secrets as you think you are."

He huffed a laugh, crawling back toward you and flopping down on the mattress. His arm snaked around your waist, pulling you into him as he buried his face in your neck. "You’re never letting me live this down, are you?"

"Never," you replied smugly, though you were smiling.

For a while, neither of you said anything. You stayed wrapped in each other, his thumb tracing slow circles against your hip as your breathing fell into sync. It was moments like this that reminded you why it worked; the comfort, the quiet understanding.

After a long pause, Lando finally spoke, his voice low and thoughtful. "You know, I kind of like it. The idea of people knowing about you."

You froze, glancing down at him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he said softly, lifting his head to look at you. "I mean, I’ve kept you all to myself this whole time, but…." He hesitated, like he was searching for the right words. "You’re not something I’d ever want to hide. I’m proud of what we have, even if it’s just ours."

Your heart stuttered at his words, your chest tightening in a way you didn’t expect. "Lando…."

He smiled, leaning in to press a kiss to your temple, then your cheek, then, finally, your lips. It was slow and deliberate, like he was trying to tell you everything he couldn’t quite say out loud.

When he pulled back, his forehead rested against yours, his voice soft. "It’s still just us. No matter what anyone else says, okay?"

You nodded, unable to stop the smile spreading across your face. "Just us."

Lando grinned, his boyish charm returning as he nudged your nose with his. "Good. Now come on, you owe me breakfast for putting up with all this stress."

You laughed, swatting at his chest as he pulled you closer again, his laughter joining yours, filling the room with the sound of something that wasn’t quite love.

But it wasn’t far from it either.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

A Touch of Sweetness 2

Warnings: non/dubcon, mentions of crime, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Character: mob!Loki Laufeyson

Sister series to mob!Thor

Summary: you make a new friend, but that’s not all. (short reader)

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️

You park among the rows of cars as you vibrate with excitement. You asked Jada one last time if she wanted to come. When you told her Thor would be there, she scoffed and said you’d come back crying when you got stood up.

Silly her, it’s not a date. Derrrr. 

Your mom said it sounded fun but also declined your invitation. Something about the allergies you never knew she had before. You didn’t bother even telling your dad. He doesn’t care much what you’re up to. 

Still, they can’t rain on the day. It’s so sunny and bright and you’re going to have a lot of fun and make a new friend. You hope it’s not awkward. You would hate to be a third wheel. 

You get out and follow a family through the archway that denotes the entrance. You pay your entry fee and they put a red wristband on you. You smile and turn, squeeing as you see the best sign you’ve ever seen in your life; Bunny Patch. What’s that? 

You rush over to the pen of bunnies, between the pie vendor and the berry lemonade stand. This is a lot more than you expected. You fawn at the furry little creatures, some hopping, some lazing around, others chewing on carrots and lettuce. You like the ones with the long hair on their cheeks. So, cute. 

“Sweetness,” the thunderous voice scatters the children at your side. 

You turn to face Thor as he marches toward you, his hand around that of a pretty woman in a red dress. It’s sophisticated and cute with bows on the straps. You’re a bit insecure about your own choice of pink capris and a polka dot blouse with heart buttons. 

“Ah, there she is. Kitten, this is the friend I spoke of. Sweetness, this is my beloved, Queenie,” Thor gestures between you. 

“Hi,” you open and close your hand in an awkward half-wave, suddenly nervous. 

“And...” Thor continues then searches behind him. “Brother, what are you doing?” 

“It smells like rabbit droppings,” a voice slithers behind him. 

“Hm, yes, that would likely be the rabbtis,” Thor tuts. “Here,” He reaches behind him and pulls a man up next to him. An inch short and more than a few less horizontally. The man is lithe, like a cat, his black hair as sleek as his suit. “I’ve brought a fourth to even out our party. My brother, Loki.” 

The man’s green eyes narrow on you and he looks you up and down. He turns to his brother with a crinkle in his nose. He rips his arm from the other man’s grasp roughly, “you’ve brought me to this place for what? To stain my hands on crushed berries?” 

“I brought you here to have fun,” Thor deepens his tone. “So, you will behave and be nice.” 

“Yes, mother,” Loki rolls his eyes. He crosses his arms and turns his chagrin upon the bunnies. “Ugh, filthy animals.” 

You look at the other woman and she seems just as unsettled by the whole affair. “Look at that one,” you step closer to the pen door. “The black one. He looks soft.” 

“Ah, reminds me of you, Loki,” Thor slaps his back as he drags the woman at his side up to the stall. “Look, he even glowers like you. Likely why the others keep their space.” 

Loki huffs and doesn’t say a word. You glance over at the other woman and smile at her sheepishly. She looks back at you with a hollow smile of her own. 

“I like your dress,” you say. “The bows are pretty.” 

“Oh, thanks,” she peeks up at Thor. “It was a gift.” 

“Oo, nice.” You say, “um, are you excited to pick berries?” 

“Yeah, sure, I suppose... it’s nice to get out,” she nods. 

“Go on then, we’ll catch up. Save some room in the baskets,” Thor bends to kiss her cheek then lets her go. “I think my brother needs some of that berry wine to loosen his collar.” 

You smile at them. Thor returns the sentiment but Loki just shakes his head. The latter is led away by a large hand on his shoulder. You exhale and return your attention to the other woman. 

“Have you known Thor a very long time?” You ask. 

“Oh, erm,” she shrugs, “we just... it’s new.” She peers around and points toward the table trading baskets for money. “Let’s go get some berries.” 

“Right,” you agree. 

You cross the dirt and wait your turn in line. You’re a bit awkward. It’s just that new people make you nervous and you didn’t expect Loki too. 

“Have you known Thor a while?” She asks you suddenly. 

You blanch at her, “oh no, I met him the other day. He told me... he wanted me to meet you. That you needed a friend.” 

“Oh, he did? I guess I do,” she says thinly. 

“I’m sorry. You know? If this is too much. If you don’t want to know me.” You sink your chin down. “My own sister doesn’t even like me.” 

“Hm, mine either,” she says. “It’s not your fault. Don’t be sorry.” She sniffs and lets out a sigh. “I really could use a friend.” 

“Me too,” you trill. “What are you going to do with your berries? I wanna try making jam.” 

“I don’t know. Didn’t think about it,” she says. 

“Well, you can think as we pick,” you grab her hand and pull her up to the table as your turn comes. 

You get your baskets and head off into the rows of berries. You scavenge a mostly untouched patch at the far end. You tell Queenie about your sister and her friends. She doesn’t say a lot about herself though. 

“Ah, and have we a full harvest?” Thor stamps onto a bunch of berries and they burst into the dirt. He lifts his foot with a guilty, “oops.” 

“Do watch where you step, brother,” Loki sneers. 

“I find it hard to concentrate with such pretty women around,” Thor turns and squats next to Queenie. He picks some berries and drops them into her basket. “Mother always made a nice strawberry rhubard, didn’t she? She might show you the recipe, kitten.” 

Queenie nods. Loki stays standing, right beside you. You look up as his silhouette darkens in the sunlight. He huffs and says nothing. 

“Brother, you should join in. It’s rather fun. I feel as if I am a farmer in the old days,” Thor muses. 

You take a lush berry and admire the redness. You smell it and take a bite, tasting the sweetness. You hum and another scoff comes from above. 

“What are you doing? That is unwashed?” 

You peer up and chew, swallowing abruptly as you hide the uneaten leaves in the basket. “Nothing,” you lie. 

Thor chortles and murmurs something you can’t make out to Queenie. 

“You will get a parasite,” Loki insists, “you should wash all fruit before consuming.” 

“Can you blame her? She is picking all alone. She needs the sustenance for all her hard work,” Thor taunts. 

Loki flicks his fingers at his brother. He stares down at you tersely. You look down then lift another berry, raising your chin at the same time, “try one.” 

“Are you mad? I just told you. You’ll have worms crawling in your brain.” 

“Hm, well, worth it,” you bite the berry. “They’re yummy.” 

“Don’t--” He bends his knees and swats away what’s left in your hand, “that’s dangerous.” 

Thor purrs under his breath as he reaches across Queenie to dump a handful into her basket. You peel your eyes away from the intimate moment. You shrug and look at Loki. 

“I’ll be fine.” You grab another berry and he catches your hand before you can raise it to your mouth. You turn the berry between your fingers and aim it at him. “Try it.” 

He narrows his eyes. You smile. He lets you go and snatches it. He stares it down and takes the smallest bite of the tip. 

“Tastes like dirt,” he flings it away. “Told you, they need to be washed.” 

“Hmm, well, once we fill the basket, I’ll be sure to do so,” you hold up the wicker. 

He gives it a dull look then reaches to collect berries, pinch by pinch until he has a handful. He tosses them into your basket. You put your focus back to the tangled leaves and stems. This isn’t so bad. Better than Jada and her insults. 

[lacyscabinet]

ellie williams with blind reader

I JUST CANT FIND THIS ANYWHERE AND I THINK ELLIE WOULD BE A SOFTIE WITH THE READER😭😭

A/N: HELLO POOKIE!!! I love love love this request so much and I had so much fun writing it, thank you so much and I wish you a wonderful day!🤍🤍🤍 It was supposed to come out WEEKS ago but I got sick because I have the immune system of a Victorian child and I forgot to post this, I beg on my knees for forgiveness 😔✋🏼

give me feedback, gays 💜

NAVIGATION

okay so where should I start...

First of all can we say that being blind ESPECIALLY in an apocalyptic world is not EXACTLY ideal...

While Ellie may not fully grasp how you experience the world without sight, she knows what it's like to feel isolated and alienated

She’d make it her mission to keep you emotionally safe, always checking in with you, and gently coaxing you to talk when you’re feeling down or scared

BUT I'd like to think that Ellie wouldn't treat you like a little child just because of your condition, she knows you just need some extra help for some tasks

Ellie would totally read books out loud for you, because I don't think braille would be a thing in the apocalypse

She doesn't even mind doing it and she actually loves being able to help you with that

she might sit with you at the end of the day and read aloud from any scraps of books she can find out on patrol. If she doesn't have a book handy, she might make up stories on the spot, trying to paint vivid images in your mind

Sometimes if she doesn't have any ideas she'd just tell you about her adventures on patrol

...and it would be hilarious sometimes-

"Alright, so I was getting chased by this huge group of clickers, right? And they’re all like… trying to get me, but I’m just this...stealthy ninja, dodging left and right— Anyway, I had this crazy plan, and I kinda... tripped but, hey, that’s the story of how I almost died!"

I also believe she would be SO worried whenever she leaves for patrol because she knows you'd have to stay alone for a while.

Ellie would likely become hyper-aware of your other senses. Since you can’t see, she would focus on sounds, smells, and even tactile sensations to keep you informed of your surroundings

she might tap your shoulder lightly to guide you if you're about to bump into something

She would hold your hand to guide you when walking through a dangerous area or wrap her arm around your waist to steer you through crowded spaces in Jackson

Even though you’re blind, Ellie might still try to teach you about things that can be learned through other senses.

She could explain how to recognize different plants or what types of birds are nearby by their calls

Maybe she’ll even take it upon herself to teach you how to identify objects or places by their texture or sound, making you feel more connected to the world around you.

"This one’s a little tricky, but feel the texture of this rock—it's rough, right? Man, I love rocks..."

Ellie might get frustrated at times, but never at you, more at herself: she feels like she can’t do enough to make your life easier.

She might worry about how you experience the world, wanting to fix everything but realizing that some things are beyond her control

This would lead to moments where she becomes fiercely determined to find a way to help, trying to make things better in any way she can

"I just wish I could give you more, you know? I wish I could make you see the things I can see, just so you don’t feel like you’re missing out on things."

Overall she would be such a pookie because she's Ellie and she's a cutie patotie (and she also reduced the population of Seattle by 50%)

[louebel]

Hi! Can I request fluff Law x fem!reader where reader is feels sick but tries to ignore it/do things on her own (she’s not used to ask for help) but as a doctor law easily can tell by the signs and it happens during their sea journey on the polar tang? Hope I’m not asking too much love ya 🥺

Feel free to add angst or anything else to your writing ^•^

this is super old and the only request i'll ever do (atm) since i had a wip— ANON SORRY IT TOOK FOREVER <\3 reader is gn since i used the second person and no description.

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: trafalgar law × gn!reader 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨/𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: 6,124 wc. a bit angsty, ends with fluff, emotional reader for the sickness, law is bad at emotions. this turned longer than expected, i hope it's decent xdd hit me up if there's any mistakes lol. supposed to be called windows of the soul,, divider by @ benkeibear my lord and saviour. 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: sickness overtook your body and worsened your already pitiful situation. law has been ignoring you and you have no idea why... but with how you felt, there was no way you could confront him at the moment.

scrub, scrub, scrub... 

"... phew ..." 

scrub... poof! 

"Oh! — damnit — aargh..." 

Cleaning today has been a nightmare. Never been so tedious. 

Like, it was already uninteresting compared to all the other things you could do, but today it was ten times worse. You could bear it, seeking to make dusting shelves fun by humming some random tune to yourself. It was okay, something you had to do every once in a while. You could do it. 

If only you weren't sick. 

"Achoo! Achoo! — urgh... Achooo..! Damn." 

You began feeling like this some days ago, or so you told yourself as you delicately hunched down to the floor, hoping to grasp the yellow sponge soaked in foam and water without experiencing excruciating pain. However, your hopes soon shattered as your back screamed in agony and your legs trembled with soreness, almost giving up on you. 

Just the flu, you insisted, it would go away. A couple of sneezes mean nothing. You would feel better and all would go back to the ordinary. 

... Oh, how wrong you were! And how stupid for not getting a day off. 

You were capable, though! You counted on your immune system (it sounded heroic the first time you thought of that). One night is all you needed. 

Or not. 

"Ow, ow..." 

You should've told your captain. Sure, it would cost your courage, pride, and dignity, but at least you'd be cured. You'd rather die than tell him you got sick because of the one herb he instructed everybody to avoid. 

What's worse is that he's been rather distant, and he's unquestionably avoiding you. The way he shoots daggers — no, whole machetes in your direction every time you do anything, smart or not, is so clear even the crew can see it. And the worst part? You do not know why. 

It had been like this for a while now, and you detested this whole plight with passion. Everything was okay between the two of you, you were sure of it! What did you do that spurred such a reaction? From one so dear to you? 

Those sweet memories... 

From new findings you excitedly presented him, to revealing himself, his past and adventures to you after almost a year of sailing. You knew everything about him. He knew everything about you. 

So why? Why stop so abruptly? You didn't mind when he digressed about his newfound coins. When he murmured under his breath while he pored over medical books or mulled about a particular topic. When he stressed over labor and called for a brief break, where you or the crew would attend to him by delivering him a meal or helping when he wasn’t looking. He's so stubborn.

"Uurgh..." 

From captain, to Law, to captain again. Not to mention how he deftly stopped you from hanging out with him. You thought he needed space at first. Maybe he was tired and had to rest for the next few days. That’s alright. However, your thoughts deteriorated as the days passed. But well, right now it's better if he doesn't see you at all. Nor the crew‌ — oh, the damn crew. Those two.

The "two" being the pair of nitwits that constantly stand by law's side and grin at you. Seriously... 

You do not understand what Penguin and Shachi find so amusing about your situation with him. It's a tragedy, not a comedy. You love them both, truly, the minute you stepped into the polar tang they were the first ones to get you to open up and all, but goodness, you wish you could beat them for sitting there, cackling and clapping their hands while confiding some mysterious comments to each other when la — the captain, showed up in the area and walked past you with an unreadable gaze. He'd constantly salute you and the others with a bow of his head or more, depending on his mood. 

Now? If he saw one inch of your form? 

Sigh. His face always went red. 

Why can't those two just tell you? Even Ikkaku seemed to know something you didn't. She was more subtle about it, though. Jean Bart wasn't slick either. You could see him smile from a mile away. Hakugan and Clione? Shachi and Penguin 2.0, except they hid behind Jean Bart. The rest pitied you instead, sometimes patting your back — sometimes shaking their head almost in disbelief. Oh, and Bepo gave you suspicious smiles! Every time he tried to say something to you, those two animal hat-wearing goblins silenced him. Did they just want you to suffer? 

And if they did want that then their curses were working because even after grabbing the sponge (almost losing your temper as it slipped through your gloved palm twice) and straightening back to an erect pose, your head was still banging with fervor, muscles barely reacting. 

If only you could snuggle with the fluffy, warm mink right now. A bitter sigh rushed past your lips at the thought. 

Those two were just so mean. But Law was much meaner — the captain, the captain... Yes, the captain. That... That dummy. 

You groaned and shook your head while forcing your wobbly arms to scrub the table, exhausted mentally with this never-ending train of thoughts and these fanciful fists leaving invisible bruises all over your poor body. Not to point out those hands pinching your brain like dough... 

Just — you... Goodness, what was it he suddenly despised so much? The submarine felt like home. It was home, especially when he joined you. Now when he does, he — the aura he emanates is intimidating, yet everyone is either unaware of it or not affected by it. 

What made him so resentful? You can barely say anything when he strides into the place, too panicked to learn how he would perceive you or talk to you if you go on. It's like you're back on step one, isolated, too scared to be yourself with your family. Because of one man who's supposed to be the head of it. 

Being you felt like a sin when close to him, as if he preferred the private variant of who you are, and shunned your curious and spirited self. You could understand since he’s rather closed off and well, in a certain aspect you are too, but — did he not like you at all? Was it all an act to not offend you? He didn't seem to dislike your vivid reactions initially, or your foolish gestures when nearing a fresh island. You were often silent, smiling and listening to others converse, but when around your companions, you easily liked to open up since it was the only time you could do so. And they were more than just that. You entrusted all the members of the heart pirates. They meant everything to you. Even him, who stopped including you. 

Ugh... 

You wished it could all go back to normal. 

This disease enjoyed fumbling with your previously scrambled sentiments. Law did mention it brought a high fever and emotional susceptibility. You didn't consider it'd be this severe. 

"... Okay, I'm done." 

You certainly weren't, with your bed unmade and furniture still dusty; floor imploring for a good wash. However, with the croaky voice you had paired with your runny nose, you doubted you could do more. Even if you did, it'd be better not to. 

You peered down at the bucket full of water that probably smelled better than you at the moment, ignoring the small puddle beside it made by your poor handling sponges skills. Grimacing, you decided to leave it where it was in case carrying it back turns out to be a challenge. Hopefully, Ikkaku can provide you help later. 

Looking around, your droopy eyelids dimmed your perspective and further provoked you as both exasperation and exhaustion mixed and boiled in your gut, room so messy it mirrored your current state. You didn't know what was irritating you more: the light of the lamp or the disarray you resided in. 

Howling dejectedly, you turned and plodded to your bed, opening your arms, ready to throw yourself on the mattress. The more you sleep, the sooner you'll get better. Yeah, you're so brilliant. You closed your eyes and — 

knock knock. 

— reopened them a second after, remaining immobile for an extra few before glowering at your door, contemplating whether to go open it or linger to determine if they'd leave. Hmm. 

You waited. 

... knock knock. 

Fantastic.

You gritted your teeth, drawing a profound breath to settle your nerves, haywire thanks to the hellish illness. They didn’t deserve to withstand your rage, but who knows, maybe by seeing your shape, they'll show sympathy and tell you. That could work. 

Okay. 

You sluggishly trudged to the door, not bothering to adjust your unbuttoned pajamas and faking a cheerful facade. You hoped your face didn't look too awful, but you couldn't care less right now. 

Gripping and twisting the knob, you pushed it open, greeting them with the feeblest voice you've ever had, your sore nose making it unthinkable to inhale air. You rubbed the back of your head while doing so, eyelids closed to evade any light. 

"Yo, Penguin, Shachi, how can I—" the words automatically came out of your coarse and blazing throat, opening your eyes a bit to look at... them... 

Then you saw a tattoo. And more tattoos. No white, poofy boiler suits in sight. 

By barely seeing light before, you tried giving yourself mercy, but now you were only slaughtering yourself to make sure the person in front of you was, well. Him. 

Your jaw fell while your brows lifted in consternation, but shortly returned down thanks to your declining headache. Your pupils then scaled the mountain of mass before you and arrived at the peak. Another pair of eyes. 

Cool, gray eyes. The ones that just a week ago welcomed you with compassion and comfort. Now they drive you to wither away from this world. Even if you look up to them. (Hehe, get it? man, you're so silly, wow.) 

"—help … Captain. Uh, hello." and there goes your comfort zone. 

You tried swallowing down air but got pounds of mucus down your stomach instead, curved posture closing up even more in his presence, ashamed to be seen in such a weak state, instantly regretting not managing your appearance as his gaze scrutinized you from top to bottom, probably displeased with how you presented yourself.. 

You looked everywhere but at him. He only looked at you. 

Envy spurted from the plant’s toxins. How could he focus on one thing and have so much confidence to stare at someone without breaking eye contact at all? If you do the same for longer than two seconds, it feels like whoever looked at you has seen your entire personality, life, darkest secrets that you didn't really have, closest people to you — everything in poor words. The windows of your soul, perpetually agape.

How does he keep them closed? Why can't you seal them at all? Why?— 

"—so care to explain the meaning of this?" 

"Huh?" 

You stupidly stared at him, blinking and glancing at his shoulders, then back at him to break whatever spell he put on you, not able to concentrate at all. 

Barely could you see the annoyed expression on his face. You hoped he wasn't dealing with excessive stress. Making him feel worse was not your intention. 

"I said, care to explain what this is? You look... terrible—" you cringed at that, "—and you haven't come out of your room since this morning. Do you have any idea what time it is?" His scrutinizing tone made you want to crawl under your blankets and stay there forever, but his patronizing gaze didn't let you. 

You could merely fidget with your fingers and glance back at the floor to relieve your worries, which mixed with pain, fatigue, and dirtiness. You called for sleep so badly. 

"I'm—I'm sorry, Captain. I, uh, I didn't—" sniff, "—mean to skip my duties. Sorry." 

His brow creased in suspicion at your raspy voice and poor shape. 

"Is that so? Look at me while you say it." if his words weren't menacing enough, his tone was too. He knew you couldn't do that. Especially now. 

"Uh..." you unconvincingly whispered, continuing to play with your fists, until rubbing your nape once more, shuddering at how chilled your hands were compared to it. 

Your actions were, again, spotted by him, and if one more thing occurred, then he'll be correct. 

"Well? I'm waiting." 

"..." 

Sighing exasperated, you raised your head to look into his pupils once again.  

Unbeknownst to you, he already confirmed another of his impressions while taking a further view of your sullen visage. 

"I, uhm, overslept, Captain. That — that happens sometimes, yeah? Sorry about that. I'll—I'll..." stopping for a moment, you squinted your eyes and scrunched your nose while the man before you attentively fixated his stare on your frame and— 

"Achooo!" —covered half of your face whilst he recoiled back at the loud sneeze you let out, not expecting it at all. He blinked, then you sneezed again, and again. Streak of three. 

If your voice and glossy eyes already told everything to the doctor, the continuous sneezes only reinforced his thesis. 

You exhaled haplessly as he sternly said your name. 

"You're sick." his firm and coherent words could not be fooled. Your fate was sealed. 

"...Yeah." at this point, you didn't care. He was gonna scold you, nothing you could do about it. You could only hope he'll do that after you're cured because right now, you could barely stand still without shivering. You were sure if he wanted to do something he would have already, so he definitely will have a talk with you after you're healthy. 

"Why?" you've been proven wrong so many times this morning — afternoon. Evening? That you don't know what's gonna happen next. 

You stared at him numbly, almost done with everything. 

"What do you mean 'why'? I don't, I don't know. Probably our... Ugh, our last stop, isn't that obvious—" 

"Not that. Why didn't you say anything? To the others? To me?" 

If it wasn't for your head beating incessantly and the aching of your tendons ruining everything, you would think this was a dream. 

You kept gawking at him like a goldfish. His timbre wasn't as stern as it regularly was. It was a bit, just a tad bit lower. Like, barely. His eyes were softer, and if you met the man yesterday, you wouldn't be capable of identifying his mood. It's because you knew him for so long that you could distinguish it. 

"I..." you mumbled talks under your breath, awfully feeble to maintain the discussion, barring your eyes and hitching away when Law planted his freezing hand on your forehead. You fussed in protest, although it didn't last long. 

"You're cold... Off." 

"My hands are perfectly fine. You're burning," he interrupted you, stating the obvious. But you were far too deep to listen, fatigued. 

"Yeah... M'sorry." you nodded while deliberately looking down in shame, almost dropping to the ground out of fatigue. Everything seems hazy, the pressure in your skull fading, while the breaths you took were meager. 

Something skimmed over your shoulder and nape — ah, his fingertips — palm carefully tilting your head back up. Your mouth hung open, and you attempted to focus on your captain's facial features and the iconic hat to not fall asleep. 

"It's fine." But his gentle approach and mellow maneuvers set you in a soothing trance, where you couldn't do anything other than auscultate him. 

It’d be an exceptional moment to speak up about these last days, his odd actions. 

"It... It is? You, ah... You're not..." but you struggled to do so, chest too heavy to speak. He narrowed his eyes, striving to make out what you were saying, but it was all incomprehensible to him. 

"I'm not?" he urged you to proceed, getting closer — he felt warm. Wasn't he cold some seconds ago? Ah, he’s draping his coat over your shoulders, so, so cozy, — and holding you as if you were glass. Why was he holding you? It felt nice, undoubtedly nice. Oh, you were going to fall, you think. 

“Hey—hey. It’s okay. I got you. I got you.” 

Cradling you in his arms, Law cursed and crouched down, snaking an arm under your knees and sweeping you up, a short "there" slipping from his tongue, keeping you close to his breast. Naturally, you snuggled close to the source of heat, losing consciousness, unaware of your surroundings, his distress, and jogging to the infirmary. 

“Hey. Keep your eyes open. No, no, open—yes, yes, like that. Good job. A bit more, then you can go to sleep, alright?" 

While nodding lazily when he said your name again, you curled up for more warmth, and he mellowly followed your movement, hefting you up and pressing his lips upon your forehead, his frown deepening at how high the temperature was. He needed to administer medicine quickly. 

"Law …'m sorry if I smell." 

He scoffed. Thinking of such idiotic things was exactly like you, sputtering them out so bluntly. Rolling his eyes was natural at this point. 

"That's my last concern. We'll think of your scent and hygiene later. Don't speak. Shh." 

So stupid, so stupid. He should've confronted you ever since you left the island. He should've. It's been a recurring pattern these days. He couldn't see you because of his work but spoke with the others at breakfast, lunch, dinner... They all grew concerned about your distance. Uni shared that it began right after the departing... He knew something wasn't right with you, he could feel it.

Back in that inhabited location, he quickly took note of your drooping posture and fatigued breathing. He wanted to ask about it, but the following days, you acted normal, and Law thought you were queasy because of the heat.

Then he got busy checking on the crew's documents, medicine supply, the damn broken scope Hakugan sadly reported, bounties, news — and something else. He managed to give a check-up to everyone but you. It was mandatory after leaving an island.

With you evading him and him doing the same, this happened. Great. He could only hope it wasn't contagious.

... Wait.

He gritted his teeth in sour realization — Not once has he seen you in the halls or dining hall. No one mentioned you, either. Have you eaten anything at all? Oh, you imbecile.

He palmed your skin through your suit, easing your laments and whimpers, walking through the hallways of the Polar Tang and reaching the infirmary. Kicking the door open while lulling you a bit, shushing and fluttering his eyelids at your sick and quaking form. 

"There we go. Shh, I know, I know, it's awful." 

Uplifting the blankets, he quickly covered you and began searching for his equipment, rustling and metal clicks tangling with your whines. 

"U- uuh... W- where..?" 

"I'll be there in a second. I'm here." 

As he said that, he quickly came back to you, already stirring medicine in a cup. He had to give to you before you blacked out or fell asleep. Sliding a hand under your back, he carefully pushed you up, gaining a groan from you; you sounded so tired. Tipping your head forward, he brought the rim of the cup to your lips. You were delirious, could barely see or feel, but managed to follow his direct instruction to "open". The first glass was tasteless, fresh... water. 

The second tasted awful. 

"E—eugh..." 

"A couple more sips and we're done. Come on, you're doing good." 

Once you drank it all, with a small praise from Law, he gently laid you back down, about to check your vitals. He knew you were in no condition to do as he instructed, it would be all him. Idiot, idiot... 

Just looking at you made him guilty. He never saw you this awful. However, what truly pushed him were your next phrases. 

“Do you feel better now..?” 

Low and dry, they all were. He halted his movements, his hands in the bag, shifting his attention to you. 

Your question puzzled him. 

Feel better? Him? He was fine. Perhaps you thought the disease was contagious? No; you would've phrased that diversely. His forehead creased, slightly tilted to the side. 

"What?" 

“I … I missed you." 

And as clear drops cascaded down your cheeks, his limbs froze, a bittersweet ache striking his chest. 

"I—I thought I did something wrong … I’m sorry … Should've told you. 'M sorry ... really...” 

Shit. 

“No, no, don’t be. It’s alright, don't—don't speak. You did nothing. Shh...” 

And if you stayed conscious for some more seconds, you could've seen those severe pupils mitigate. The windows of his soul open up; the "stern" gaze he preserved for you withering in an instant at your vulnerability. 

All he wanted to do was clear that up. When, now..? 

“I—I’m the one that should’ve apologized, damn it…” 

"Aargh..." 

Warm. 

"Mmh..." 

It was very warm. Pleasant. 

"Hn..." 

The boilersuit felt different. Heavier, and not … poofy. Hm. 

The pillow was so nice, though... 

You sought a better position under the comforting and amiable regime of your blanket, squinting your glistening eyes as if sand had struck them; eyebrows knitting in distaste and discomfort, choler cramming up your insides — but not for long, extremely achy and sleepy to lament. 

Shouldn't it be easier to relax now that you are tired? Shifting left and right left your muscles throbbing. The peace you could achieve in your dreams was all you begged for. But no, you just had to rise two more times in the span of minutes or hours. 

When you woke up the third time, someone surprised you. He was perching on a chair near the infirmary's bed, head, presumably about to doze off. An encyclopedia of vegetation and exotic environs sat in his palms and dotted jeans, the cover made of green-coloured leather, firm to the touch. 

He looked peaceful. 

"... Law?" 

Your lashes fluttered at the fierce shudder that rocked his frame, the textbook about to fall, his eyes snapping open and rapidly darting up to you. 

"Oh. You woke up. Good. Good evening." 

You were mad at him. You were mad at him. 

His lips were indubitably moving. Whatever he was saying, you were not listening. Something about being out for hours, but you were too out of it to pay attention. 

And looking down at your body, your eyeballs almost popped out of your sockets at the sight of... Not your boilersuit. 

"I'm in my pajamas?" 

"And — hm? Oh. I changed you." Pause. "With my devil fruit, of course. Obviously. You were way too hot in it." 

"..." 

"..." 

Pause number two. 

"I'm hot?" You bluntly said,

"Not in that way." And he quickly retorted, bashful. You immediately got gloomy.

"Oh..." You and Bepo were alike. He couldn’t help but sweatdrop.

"No, no, no, don't — you look fine. That's not what I meant." 

A hoarse chuckle ripped from your sensible larynx, a noise that he hadn't heard in a while. His back loosened at your jovial note, the pressure applied on the envelope of the manual lessening. 

There was a superb illustration of the flora you accidentally whiffed. 

"You inhaled it, didn't you?" 

... Silence followed. Then a sigh.

"A simple allergy with a sore throat and emotional instability in the first phase caused by the pollen, weakened muscles and headache in the second, and heightened senses, nausea, and worsening of the body in the last one. You felt them all." 

Quick and precise, each symptom he mentioned appeared throughout the weeks you boarded on the Polar Tang. He hit the mark. Glancing at him from the corner of your eyes, you nodded sheepishly, feeling hot in your cheeks. 

"Y—Yeah." 

"I thought I mentioned dodging those peculiar red flowers. I don't expect you to recall the name, but to avoid it. Thankfully, you only inhaled its pollen, or else you would've been in this bed the moment we departed." 

"O—oh... That bad?" 

"No, not really. The symptoms would've developed quicker, but nothing dangerous. Perhaps you would have slept over two days, as all cases do when encountering this allergy," He narrows his eyes at you, shutting the book and crossing his long legs, his foot jouncing. "Not at all fatal, only worrying when the patient in question mentions nothing about the symptoms and overworks themselves.” 

“Hey—” 

“You're fine." 

A small huff left your lips, nodding lazily. Nothing was uttered after from both sides. Occasional groans from yours. Only then he spoke. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" 

"..." The answer was simple. He immediately found the illness yet couldn't pinpoint the cause of this? It was almost ironic. Your quietude wasn't taken well. 

"Well?" 

"... You ignored me. You made it clear." 

And he was faking ignorance. That glance, his attitude. You knew him too well, but had no energy to call him out. 

"I—I didn't." 

"Don't play coy, Law. Did I do something? Even the others know. Penguin and Shachi told me. I—" 

You paused when he raised his hand, glancing at it in confusion, then back at him, twice or more. He sighed and dropped it back on his thigh again, using his other one to rub his temple in distress. 

"You did nothing. I don't know what... Shachi and Penguin said," You tilted your head at his peculiar manner of quoting them. "But I've got nothing against you." 

He stopped rubbing and lifted his head to check on you again and you were unsure of what to say. His brows wrinkled the tender skin of his forehead, severity, and minor unease painting every fiber of his appearance. 

You just... didn't know. 

"Really? Then why those weird stares? Why leave the room the moment I come in? I mean." you flailed your hands around, looking everywhere as if you could find an explanation. "You never behaved this way, Law, not with anyone. I... It was fine before, right? Let me ask again, did I do something wrong?" 

"Of course not!" 

At his hasty exclamation, you blinked, uncertain why he became as rigid as stone. Palms back on the blanket, you awaited an elaboration of his thoughts, observing his adumbral face to detect any key to figure out what caused him to alter his ways with you. However, his hat, which you've always appreciated for its fluffiness, turned out to be an issue. Those eyes you've grown so fond of refused to meet yours. 

You just couldn't get it. The surrounding air grew an intoxicating no romance book would mention, one that did the contrary of setting your heart aflame, that poor muscle of yours. 

If he explained, it would've been easier. 

"Okay, 'of course not' ... Sure—" 

"We are not having this conversation. You need rest." 

He briskly cut you off, and your heart felt constricted. The words felt bitter upon both of your tongues, so bitter and revolting, they made his jaw clench and your eyes water. You weren't having it. Absolutely not. 

"I feel better now, thank you, and I say we're having this right here." You pushed, ignoring how he clenched his tattooed fist.

"No—" 

"Yes, Law! I don't know what I did, but if it bothers you, shouldn’t you tell me? There are things we can all miss." 

The pang in your brain was still active, and you had no patience nor strength to argue. Either he spoke up or you'd go straight to sleep. 

"I... You did nothing that bothers me." 

His speech was almost a whisper, a low rumble, and were you in your regular state, you'd feel sad to see him like this. Law had no trouble speaking up— perhaps with apologies, or admitting to be wrong when in the midst of a conversation. Maybe something genuinely bothered him. But he'd tell you, wouldn't he? He had to.

But you weren't the only one who had to consider the consequences. He also had to do his part. 

"... And?" you encouraged him, to gain something, something that would lead you both to that damned thing you were both chasing, that ounce of understanding. 

“And—and what?" alas, it served another wave of blistering dissatisfaction down upon the membranes of your boiling stomach. 

He couldn't be serious. 

"... Whatever. I'm going to sleep." 

"What?" 

You detested how you were feeling, a volcano of passions, the pounding in your skull, and the heat, and the ludicrous, nagging insecurity, all these wretched, gristly sensations shoved in your mouth and scraping your gullet, such a relucting and squalid dish, contaminating your palate and inflaming the gums of your teeth. 

But all Law could see was how your eyes moistened and reddened, the crinkles at the corners of your mouth, the contracted tissues above your nose. 

You couldn't feel how his heart plummeted, either. Again, he caused you to cry. 

"Hey... I—" 

"No, Law, no! I said leave! You ignored me for almost two weeks and now—now you're just..!" 

Perhaps you were being a bit too "dramatic" for something you could solve with a modest exchange, something that, compared to all the obstacles you and Law went through, was a sheer grain of dust in your shoes. Yet you erupted for the frustration, the plant's effects and that nameless thing you'll bring in your grave, for if he knew, he'd probably pity you. 

Maybe, just maybe, he should've kept ignoring you. If solely to dim that warmth. The glow in your eyes that only sparked with him. 

"I don't mind if you need time. I don't mind if you're busy or whatever, that's obviously fine! But can't you tell me? Is it that hard? Instead of treating me like a stranger? Just—just, just leave..." 

Your snotty voice seemed ridiculous, resounding through the infirmary alongside your sobs and sniffles. Vision tarnished by your tears, staring at the ceiling with resignation. It alarmed Law, whose emotions were already scattered; unnerved, anxious. 

He couldn't take seeing you like this. He couldn't. 

"That’s not it! I... I just — I..!" His broken explanations fell as your cries didn't stop; spasms traveling through your frazzled nerves. He swore under his breath, getting up and coming to you, standing close but so, so distant. His fingers jerked, impatient to wipe your tears, to calm you down, to assure you everything was alright, and this was all on him. 

"What..?" you meekly whimpered, gazing at him as he appeared in your sight. 

"I, I..!" if only he could express himself. You'd figure out. If only he could, without buckling and tearing apart at the weight of his own feelings. 

"... You what, Law?" 

It was tough to see with all those tears coating your scleras, but... His lips quivered. His jaw tensed. 

His hands craved yours. 

"I like—I like you!" 

... You wondered if illusions were part of the symptoms. Your eyelids were all but relaxed. Popeyed. 

"There. I said it. I mean it. Seriously. I—I think I love you." 

You could feel his frantic grip, slightly pulling the blankets in his direction, tense as him. You've never seen Law so … jittery with you. Perhaps when he slowly spoke of his past, or when his plan failed. 

"I—I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I... I was confused. I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't... No, okay. I, I love you, but you don't have to reciprocate, really. ‌I just wanted to clarify that I wasn't—" 

This was different, however. Not the same vulnerability, nor agitation. That teetering edge coating his sayings, not at all close to those instances. 

"... Law." 

"—ignoring you, I mean, I was, but I just couldn't face you, you know? I didn't know how to act—" 

That glow, those feelings. The twinkle in his eyes Bepo mentioned when you spoke of something that fascinated you, that rare grin on his lips, and that sweetness, the swelling in his chest, and the red, and the breath of fresh air, and the intoxicating romance books loved to talk about... 

Those tints blooming in his cheeks. The faint relaxation of his defined brows. How he covered his pretty, vulnerable self. 

He's no different from you. Oh, oho ho, no, he wasn’t. Only now did you realize. 

"Law." 

"—but I missed you so much, I missed your presence, being with you, I—" 

Your heartbeats matched. 

"Law!" 

You understand now. The definitive yell induced him to quit his blabbering, and eventually, he found your gaze. Those windows were not locked at all. Not marginally, not halfway. They were fully open. You could see him. 

"It's... the same." 

It was all you could utter. His jaw loosened, and you could recognize his wide, stormy irises. 

"Huh? Wh — what?" 

"I feel the same way, Law. I—I love you too." 

Yours were open, too. They always were- yet he never acknowledged what dwelled inside. Two fools you both were. 

"... Oh..." and a breathless whisper was all he could offer. 

The silence dissipated. A delightful warmth occupied your rib cage. The pressure was gone. 

All is back to normal. 

"If... If you weren't sick. I'd kiss you." He mumbled, and his lips looked more luscious than ever. He shouldn't have said that. Now it was even harder. 

"P—pfft... Of course, of course. Can you come closer, at least?" you pouted, giving him the best puppy eyes you could muster. “Pretty please?”

"... Fine. It's — not contagious, anyway," he huffed, his cheeks a light pink, and he sat on the margin of the infirmary's bed, hustling just a tad bit closer... 

Closer... 

"Closer?" 

"Alright." 

His ears grew pink at your giggles. Your fingers graced each other, "DEATH" entwined with you. His hands were lukewarm. Long, slim, calloused in some places, but also tender to the contact. His metacarpals were partially discernible, defining the shadows. He took care of his nails, ensuring they were cut short, although they appeared slightly, just somewhat lengthier than usual. Not considerably, however; they were still short. 

How you missed holding it. 

"Sorry, by the way. About everything." Squeezing his hand, you attempted to show him what it meant to you. He squeezed it back, brushing the top of your hand with his thumb, a pensive and solemn look on his face. 

"No- I should apologize for not saying anything sooner. I neglected and avoided you. I … I don’t know what to do. You know I’m not the type for relationships.” 

You hummed in acknowledgement, but weren't as worried as Law. You'll wait. Nothing would change. 

“Mmm. I can wait for you, Law.” Saying it seemed to take him off guard, as if he hadn't thought about it. Or, rather, didn't expect you to propose it. In his head, it seemed silly because it's him. If you were to ask in his place, he'd also wait. 

He felt lighter. 

“… Truly?” 

“Yeah. We can figure it out together. Like we always did. I’ve loved you for years." He inhaled deeply, your words buttery and sweet. "I’m fine with waiting longer.” 

Thinking you wouldn't accept, if he asked, was stupid of him too. Of course you would. Of course. With another squeeze, he nodded, and turned his head away from you a bit. 

His eyes glistened. 

“I’d like that. Thank you.” 

You smiled, too, saying nothing in return. 

He can take all the time he needs. 

After some days, everything went back to the typical routine. The first thing you did was knock Shachi and Penguin's heads, (supported by Ikkaku) and since Hakugan and Clione were on duty, you couldn't do the same for them. 

You puffed your cheeks and enjoyed chewing the well-earned treat you snagged from the kitchen, reorganizing boxes since this morning. 

"Tired?" 

Peeking at the door, a smile adorned your mouth at the sight of your captain leaning on it. 

"Mm, there were a lot of them." 

"You could've asked for help. You know I don't want any of you to strain yourselves with tasks." 

"I had it. Don't worry. Although..." another bite. "I miss it." 

"Hm?" he crooned, tipping his head forward. "Miss what?" 

You gazed into his eyes, "Miss getting pampered by you when I was sick." lovingly observing how they enlarged a bit before returning to the stoic stare he always wore, swaying his head to dismiss your remarks. The chambré tint on his cheeks was as clear as day, like his light smile. Not that you'd tell him, he'd immediately disregard it. 

"... Meet me at my office once you're done." 

As he turned his back to you, his boots making clicky rumors with each step, your smirk amplified... After all, who could wait to get coddled by none other than their favorite captain?

[cozage]

Zoro, Luffy, Sanji, Law, and Ace with a fem slave S/O with lots of scars, injuries, and more. She’s so sweet and quiet and great at cleaning and cooking and sewing and practically their future housewife on deck!

A/N: Thank you Anon :) You gave me something I didn’t know I needed. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Characters: F! reader x Zoro, Luffy, Sanji, Law, Ace

Cw: lots of PTSD, trauma response, angst, scars, injuries, etc. 

Total word count: 1.5k

A New Home

Zoro

He always announces his presence when he enters a room. There was one time he didn’t announce it when he came into a room and it scared you so bad you started crying. Never again.

He likes to just sit in the silence with you while you work. Sometimes he watches you, but most of the time he naps. He loves that you don’t mind the quiet space, that he can come to you for a moment of solitude. 

He never asks you to fix his torn shirts. He doesn’t feel right asking you to, but when he finds them sewn back together perfectly and folded neatly in his drawer, he gives you a soft kiss as a silent “thank you”.

He is FIERCELY protective over you both in social settings and in battle. He is always yelling at Luffy for being too loud or scaring you, he pulls out a sword against anyone who tries to make advances on you in public, and god forgive anyone who even thinks about hurting you in battle. 

He gives the best massages. He has perfect control on pressure and knows exactly where to press to comfort your aching muscles. He loves to massage your shoulders, your hands, your feet. Afterwards he’ll lazily trace his fingers across your skin, sometimes tracing over scars, but he never asks about them. He knows you’ll tell him when you’re ready. 

Luffy

He works so so hard to get you out of your shell. He just wants you to try new things and have new experiences!! He wants you to live life to the fullest!! 

New adventure? New food? New friend?? He’s introducing you to it all. It’s a bit overwhelming at times, but you know he means well, so you try your best to embrace it. 

He used to ask you about your injuries and scars whenever he saw a new one, but he’s learned to stop for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes the memories are so bad you cry, and he holds you and rocks you to sleep. Sometimes you tell him the truth, and he gets so angry he needs to go punch something and scream at the sky. Sometimes you’re not sure how you got it, and you get lost in thought for hours trying to remember what memory you’ve forgotten. 

You are always cleaning up Luffy’s messes, helping Franky repair the worn sails, stitching up torn clothing from everyone. You have a way with fabric, and can make an old shirt brand new again. Luffy deems you the “Clothing Captain”, since you can get rid of any stain, mend any cloth, and create the best outfits from scratch.  

He watches you really closely to make sure you aren’t working too hard. Sometimes you just get so caught up in getting as many tasks done as efficiently as possible that the whole day passes and you haven’t sat down once. Luffy keeps an eye on you and makes sure you are still having fun. The life on the Sunny isn’t supposed to be hard work, it’s supposed to be a fun family where everyone chips in with what they’re best at and what they enjoy. He knows you’re still working to understand that fully, and he works to support you the best way he can. 

Sanji

The first time you ate his food, you cried. You had never had anything better in your life, and you praised his cooking ability for days. It was the most you had spoken since joining the crew, and it was all for him. Sanji instantly fell for you, of course. 

He cooks constantly for you. He’ll spend hours over the stove trying to get the recipe just right. You never citicize his cooking (because it’s always the best thing you’ve ever had), so he learns your body language instead. He learns your favorite ingredients, and watches your reactions to his cooking closely to figure out how to perfect it just for you.

He talks your ear off, which you love. He knows you're not much of a talker, and he makes up for the empty space. Neither of you ever mind, you love hearing about his life, about their time on the sea. You asked him once where he first fell in love with cooking, and he got quiet for a long time. “My mother.” He finally said, and you knew that was all he would say on the matter. You realized that he had a past he didn’t like to talk about as well, and you didn’t push him to say anymore. 

He's extremely defensive of you, and keeps you away from prying eyes and questions. Luffy asks something insensitive? “Mind your own business, Luffy!” Zoro says something boneheaded? “I’ll kill you for that Mosshead!” Anytime you’re feeling awkward or uncomfortable, Sanji is there to step in and tell people to back off. 

He picks up on your PTSD warning signs super fast. He watches for the nervous flicks of your eyes, trembling fingers, twitching hands. As soon as he sees a sign, he’s there in an instant. He asks you what you need, refocuses you in the moment, makes sure you know you’re safe. He holds you and lets you cry and scream into his shirt. No matter what you do or what you need, he’s there for you. 

Law

The first time he sees all of your scars, he’s enraged. He clenches his fists and grits his teeth and does the best he can to help you with your current ailment without showing outward anger, but you can feel his rage. It scares you, and when he realizes his emotions are upsetting you, he works to keep them in check in the future. 

He studies up on all the medicinal herbs to heal aches and pains, and tries to find ways he might be able to help heal any injuries or long-lasting pain with his Ope-Ope fruit. 

He watches closely to see how you navigate being on a ship with new people. Some big milestones he notices:

The first time you speak without being asked a direct question

The first time you offer to mend Bepo’s outfit that’s been torn

The first time you fall asleep without crying

The first time someone touches you and you don’t flinch

The first time you laugh

The first time you initiate a kiss with him

There’s many more, but those are his favorites 

He gives you weekly checkups to make sure you’re not overworking yourself and ensure your health isn’t deteriorating 

He loves to kiss each one of your scars, starting at your fingers, moving up your arms and then down your back. He knows he can’t take away the pain, but he can try to mix in a few good memories with them as well. 

Ace

He knows that you question your worth a lot, so he gives you constant reassurance. “You’re doing amazing” and “I’m so proud of you” are some of his favorite things to say to you. They’re your favorite things to hear, too.  

At first, he wants to include you in everything. He wants to show you off. He wants the entire crew to get to know you and realize how great you are. But the big party scenes are overwhelming, and you get a panic attack at one. He quickly realizes that while his intentions were good, he misread the situation, and he apologizes profusely. After that instance, he prefers watching the stars with you in the crows nest as opposed to the party scene below. 

Occasionally he’ll still join the party and ask if you want to join, but he never pressures you to go. Every now and then you’ll go with him, and he keeps you close to him the whole night. When you’re ready to go, he always leaves with you, and makes sure you have time to process the event and decompress before you go to sleep so you don’t wake up anxious the next day. 

He gives you the equivalent of a hot stone massage with his devil fruit powers most nights, trying to coax your muscles into relaxing before bed. He tries his best to ignore your scars and your tattoo as he massages your back. He brings up the idea of you getting the sun pirate tattoo, but at the thought of the pain you begin to shake, and he doesn’t bring it up again. He talks to Marco secretly about the extent of the phoenix fruit abilities, but unfortunately the doctor can’t be of much help in healing the old wounds or the mental ones. 

You love Ace’s friends quietly. You make them snacks, and bring them drinks on hot days. You mend their clothes after battle, and help tend to their wounds when Marco is busy. You don’t always speak, but when you do, Ace’s friends brag about it for days. It’s an honor to be spoken to by you, and Ace loves that his friends love you too. 

[itchytitss]

Wine tasting with Shadowheart

Early on in your relationship, Shadowheart had expressed her interest in going to a wine tasting with you, though you quickly found out about the lack of wineries near Baldur’s Gate.

Sure, you would often find half empty bottles of drinkable wine along the road in your adventures, but the only good wine worthy of drinking is found in very few expensive bars and the occasional brothel. If you were lucky, you could snag a bottle from the docks after a recent import, though they’re often kept under wraps to be sent to the nobles or churches.

You and Shadowheart have been collecting a variety of good wines you have found (stolen) around Baldur’s Gate most prestigious bars and have been hiding them in your camp for ages now, separating them from the average wines kept in the group cache. You wait for the perfect night to host your own private wine tasting.

When the night comes around, you and Shadowheart slip off into the woods after dinner. You lead her to a rocky cliff that overlooks the nearby beach. A perfect picturesque view of the sun starting to set beyond the horizon.

You lay down the picnic blanket and pillows as you carefully place down the bottles of wine and water. Shadowheart makes herself comfortable on the blanket as she looks over the cliff, sighing in content as she watches the sunset. You place down some cheese and biscuits because you can’t have a wine tasting without some proper snacks. Though you mostly ignore them and go straight for the wine.

You spend the night drinking, laughing and talking about everything you can think of. Your favourite topic is the one that is your travelling companions. As you get more tipsy, you gossip and bitch about your friends who are only just a few hundred meters away. You groan about how loudly Karlach snores. You chuckle at how Scratch stole one of Gales books and made him chase him for it. You express your shared hatred for the blood left lying around camp by Astarion after his meals.

Hours later, you laugh together as you sip on an abundance of wine under the silver light of the moon. At this point you’re both laying on your sides. Facing each other.

“I think… I think I’m drunk.” Shadowheart giggles as she reaches towards you, accidentally knocking over an empty bottle of wine.

You grab her hand in yours, giggling at her flushed face and tired eyes. “I told you we were only supposed to taste the wine. Not… Not drink ourselves to death.” You hiccup.

“Where’ss the fun in that?” She slurs. “What, we just waste all this wine and… and spit it off the cliff?” She waves her hand around drunkenly.

“Shit, we’re going to be sooo hungover tomorrow.” You giggle. “Tomorrow? Today? I don’t even know what time it is.” You mumble, causing Shadowheart to giggle along with you.

“Oh gods, Lae’zel is going to be so pissed when she finds out we stole… stole her biscuits.” Shadowheart laughs loudly, causing her to snort through her nose. You both chortle at the sound, quickly shushing each other when you realise how much noise you’re making. You place a finger on Shadowheart’s lips, silencing her with a shushing gesture on your own as you both fight to hold back your laughs.

Your giggles die down as she takes your hand again, holding it in the space between the two of you on the blanket. You stare into her eyes. Her gorgeous, tired green eyes that slow blink at you with love and affection. Her smile tugs at your heartstrings and it’s as if you can feel your teeth rotting from the sweetness of it all. You scan her face as you slowly tuck a strand of hair behind her pointed ear.

“I can’t believe you’re mine.” She whispers, shuffling closer to you. You press your foreheads together as she hums softly in satisfaction.

“It’s surreal.” You mumble, rubbing over the scar on her cheek with your thumb. “You’re so beautiful…” You breathe, entranced by her soothing aura.

“I know.” She smirks.

Your thumb traces over her soft lips before you lean in to lock your lips with hers. Your hand moves to cradle the back of her head as she smiles into the kiss, squeezing your hand. You kiss slowly, softly, tasting the mixture of wines on her tongue.

After a few lazy kisses. She moves to place small pecks up your nose to your forehead. You giggle as she slides her free hand up to cup your face.

“Can we stay a bit longer? I don’t… I don’t want to go back to camp yet.” She whispers.

“Aren’t you cold?” You ask.

“Mm, a little. I’ve got you to warm me up though, don’t I?” She shuffles herself into your arms, tangling her legs with yours and burying her face into your neck.

“That you do.” You mumble, wrapping your arms around her as you pull the edge of the blanket over yourselves and close your eyes.

[lowkeyed1]

my friend's putting out her debut novel, and it's available for ebook pre-order (print edition forthcoming)... i was lucky enough to get to read an advance so i'm gonna put the summary below the jump an also my own ravings about it. short version, i really recommend it -- it's a space adventure, a moving meditation on grieving, and chock full of lesbian rep.

summary: After pirates kill her three crewmates, Sam decides it's time to sell her ship and get out of the space business altogether. She hasn’t got a clue what she’ll do instead, but anything’s got to be better than captaining a kraken-class cargo cruiser haunted by the memories of her friends. The problem is, just when Sam’s supposed to be meeting a buyer, she finds herself enacting a rescue instead. Of a woman who might be an entirely different kind of problem. Kate knows what it’s like to lose someone. But having lived her entire life on planet, she can’t understand why Sam would want to sell her escape to the stars. It feels like incredibly good luck when the slightly surly captain agrees to assemble a new crew take her up for one final job. But when they end up kidnapped by a space mobster and forced to track down the same pirates that killed Sam’s crew, it’s starting to look like retirement might be permanent for them both. my rant: okay. sam. i love sam so much. she's repressing and trying to stay distant, trying to stay self-contained, full of loss and fear of further pain. circumstances force her into all the situations she wants to most avoid and she slowly, despite herself, ends up engaging again. it's like watching a beautiful, very grumpy flower unfold and soak up the rain and it just moves me so freaking much. the adventure is compelling and exciting and twists and turns throughout some amazing futuristic locales. i don't want to give away too much plot but it's fun and suspenseful and the side characters are also really interesting. i loved this so much i read it in every spare minute over two days, because i had to know what happened next. i love when a book grabs me like that :) preorder link!

reblogs appreciated <3 <3 <3

[avenging-fandoms]

i know this will sound too weird, but can i request something for sin hours? where y/n is also a singer and she meets harry at the studio, they're both tired but end up having some... fun? LMAO i'm so weird (btw, i love your work and hope you're fine!)

*you know the faint moaning in 'cinema'? just.. you'll see*

**kinda long.. bear with me. i love this fic

*it's smut. if you don't like it, that's okay! i'm sure there's other great harry fics. if you aren't 18+ FUCK RIGHT OFF

-

You had just flown in from Japan that morning, but you couldn't turn down the opportunity to work with Harry Styles. Harry never did collaborations on albums but you two wanted to work together.

The building was nice, and outside stood Harry with a few other people. You hop out of the car with a smile, Harry's arms immediately opening and you couldn't help but squeeze him a bit. "I have loved you for so long, this is a dream."

Harry grabbed your shoulders and bent down a bit. "I have been obsessed with you for a long time, your lyrics are amazing." He compliments you and you can't help but blush. Harry flashes a smile before introducing you to the people outside. "Shall we begin?"

The session was supposed to start at 8, but you guys didn't officially start until 9:45. You all got caught up talking about deep things, adventures, advice. It was like you had known these people for years and you had just met them an hour ago.

When the session actually started, it was like magic as you two worked with one another. Correcting or changing something the other does politely, so many compliments and singing harmonies together.

"Yn, get in there with Harry and sing the harmony with him." You open your mouth to speak, but you just stutter. "You did it out here, go ahead."

You head into the room as you gulp and Harry holds out a pair of headphones. He counts you two down and the music starts, the both of you singing, enjoying how you sound together so much you can help but sing the whole song with him.

The audio ends and you let out the biggest yawn. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I just flew in from Japan this morning and did not get as much sleep as I needed when I got home." He holds the door open for you and you thank him quietly.

"I completely get it, I just came back from Greece." You sit on the couch and he sits next to you with a bit of space, listening to you both singing. "That sounds incredible," Harry looks at you and grabs your thigh. "You are incredible."

You inhale sharply, your lips becoming dry as you open your mouth. Your tongue pokes out slowly and he watches. "Thank you."

Harry winks and looks away from you, standing up. "Let me sing what we have for 'Cinema.' It's just the beginning?" He asks and you couldn't answer, you had no idea was 'Cinema' was.

The music started to go and he started to sing. You watched as he sang, closing his eyes softly, moving his mouth to the side sometimes. "If you're getting yourself wet for me, I guess you're all mine."

You move a leg over the other and lean forward, hand over your mouth. That was so fucking hot.

An hour later, a few people had to leave, then 20 minutes later everyone else left, you and Harry saying you're going to stay to record some more.

""Cinema' is quite the risqué song, Mr. Styles. I love it." You smile as you sit on the stool. Harry smirks as he closes the door, standing in front of your microphone.

"It's missing something though, don't you think? Especially in the beginning." He moves next to you, moving his stool behind you and you lick your lips quickly with an excited shiver.

"Yes.. but.. what were you thinking?" You ask quietly, looking up as he towered over you. His hand holds your cheek softly, inhaling slowly with a smile.

"I want something faint in the background. A noise. And with the lyrics in the song.." His lips kissing your neck softly, your hands immediately grabbing the back of his biceps and whimper.

"Harry.."

"Something like that, yeah." He chuckles and pulls away, laying you back against the stool. "Is it okay if I touch you?"

"Yes, oh god yes please." You beg and he moves his microphone next to him by your head. His fingers pull up your shirt a bit, pushing into your sweatpants and into your underwear. Your hips move in the air as you tried to get his hand closer, but he didn't move.

"So responsive. Do you like being touched?" He leans over you, hips in front of your face with his hard on pressing through his sweatpants. You drop your jaw and pull the waist band down and moan when his dick is exposed.

"Do you?" You ask, spitting in your hand and stroking him slowly, moaning as he slides two fingers into you. You moan and shake your hips, moving them against his hand. His palm rubs your clit as you do, your hand moving faster as your orgasm approached quickly. "Fuck me, Harry."

"Are you sure? I don't have.. I'm clean."

"Me too. And I'm on birth control. Just please fuck me." Harry picks you up over his shoulder, putting you on the couch and pulling off his hoodie, to which you took off your shirt. Harry kissed you and held your breasts in his hands, twisting and pulling and flicking your nipples as he pushes you back against the couch.

"I need a taste." Harry hums, disappearing between your legs and immediately moving his tongue all over your pussy. You gasp and grip his hair, rolling your hips and shaking. "So fucking delicious." You pulled him in for a kiss, Harry locking his arm under your knee and bend the other one. "Put it in."

You smile and grab his dick, sliding his tip up and down your pussy. "Fuck.." You throw your head back and Harry moves his dick against your clit, and you could cum just then. Harry got impatient and did it himself, the both of you moaning.

"How far is too far with you, Yn? Kink wise." He asked, moving in and out of you slowly. You bite your lip, holding his chin and pushing your thumb in his mouth, pulling him towards you.

"Show me what you got, Styles."

Harry picks your hips up off the couch and fucks you into him, your hands holding desperately onto his arms. He slowed down and flipped you over, pulling your hips up and holding your wrists behind your back as he fucks you roughly.

"Fuck.. fuck.. Harry.." Your fingers tried to grab anything, but he had a tight grip with just one hand. The other hand laid hard smacks on your ass, then gripping your hair tightly and forcing your head back.

Harry let go of your hands and held your hip, twisting your hair around his fist. You sit up and Harry pulls out of you, the both of you on your knees as you kiss him roughly. You sit him down on the couch and push his legs out, sitting on his lap and moaning as you slide onto him.

"Your moans are just as pretty as you sing." He whimpers, kissing your neck as you bounce on him. You lay back and hold his knees as you continue to bounce your hips. Harry's thumb rubs your clit and your moans harmonize together, your orgasm quickly approaching.

You sit up and grip the hair on the back of his head, biting his jaw and collarbone. "Can I leave marks?"

"I wish you could, but all my outfits expose my neck and chest." He throws his head back and closes his eyes. "Where can I cum, sweetheart?"

"In me." Your arms wrap around his neck and he laughs.

"Are you sure? That's very risqué." His nails scratch down your back and thrusts his hips up. Harry's mouth kisses down your chest, moaning against your tits as his nails dig in your skin.

"Come on, Harry. Come on.." You smile, brushing your hair out of your face. Your fingers trace his features and watching as he cums, smiling slowly as you hear him whimper your name.

"Did you..?" You shake your head and his eyes widen, now pushing you back against the couch and wrapping his left hand around your throat, ring and middle fingers on his right hand quickly fucking you.

You gasp and hold onto his arm for dear life, moving your whole body and screaming his name. "Good girl, good job." He breathes, pulling out of your slowly and kissed you gently. "Wait here."

You laid on the couch with a bright smile on your face, Harry coming back a few minutes later with towels. "Towels? At a studio?"

"Sometimes I get sweaty when recording, I just get really into it." He shrugs, spreading your legs open delicately as he cleaned you up while humming.

You sigh contently and close your eyes, Harry continuing to hum as he kissed your thigh, your hip, your stomach. You smile and move your head, licking your lips. He kissed your chest, your collarbone, your neck, your jaw, your lips.

"I'm going to need more studio sessions with you."

[femsolid]

Video games recommendation for women part 2

The same criteria as before: has to have a female lead and little to no misogyny

---

1. Shadow of the Tomb Raider

The seemingly invincible and endlessly talented Lara Croft goes on yet another adventure, this time exploring the Amazon jungle and South American ruins looking for a magical artifact hoping to prevent her enemies, an evil organisation called Trinity, from using it.

Tomb Raider is a franchise that has changed quite a bit over the years. Ever since the reboot, Lara has become a fully fledge character and she doesn't do rock climbing in a skimpy outfit anymore (which made the boys mad, boohoo).

But sadly she still suffers from her reputation of sexy girly indiana jones which I suspect is why women don't seem that interested in her. Shame!

It's not usually the type of games I like (very over the top "blockbustery") but I got hooked the minute I set foot (or rather crashed) in the Peruvian jungle. The game is visually stunning, I loved exploring all the ancient temples, the crypts, the jungle and seeing all the animals. The puzzles were challenging, the fights were fun, it was entertaining, well made, with lots of female characters and it takes place in Peru which is just the cherry on top for me.

The only thing I didn't like was Jonah but then I never liked him. He's Lara's best friend and is pretty much there to be kidnapped and rescued in every game, which is kind of a nice reversed damsel in distress trope I suppose, but still, you're useless Jonah I kept telling my screen.

2. Alien Isolation

In this game you play as Ellen Ripley's daughter who ends up trapped in a gigantic spaceship with a lethal enemy, of course, the infamous alien: the xenomorph.

This game is perfect if you are currently suffering from constipation. It doesn't rely on cheap jumpscares and gore to scare you no, it's all about the ~ambiance~. If you are found, you are dead, simple as. And you will die... A LOT. I got an achievement for dying 50 times. I was laughing hysterically whenever the alien caught me by that point and I think the alien was too.

They say "in space no one can hear you scream" but this alien can hear your footsteps so this makes for some tense gameplay, especially as the alien's AI is very good and you are extremely vulnerable. To survive you will have to be very mindful of the noises you make and the noises the alien makes. Oh yeah, you both crawl through the same ventilation system by the way. This could make for some awkward encounter... On top of having to deal with the alien you will meet androids and humans who aren't exactly friendly either. The goal is, of course, to escape from the ship alive.

I have to give the developpers props for really making us feel like we are in an Alien movie. The music, the ship's design, the alien itself, are all very faithfull to the movies and this game is rightly considered a classic.

3. Spiritfarer

In Spiritfarer you play as Stella (and her cat) who has become the captain of a boat on which she welcomes the spirits of different people who have died. She will accompany them for a while until it's time to cross the bridge and say farewell.

It's worth mentionning, given how rare it is, that the main character is a black girl. Your job is to manage the boat (make improvements to it) and become self-sustainable: you will grow your own food, build houses for each spirit and decorate it, grow trees, collect wood, fish, feed your guests. You can make a mill, a weaving workshop, a sawmill, a kitchen, a garden, etc and arrange it as you please.

Most importantly, you will travel the sea to meet new spirits, learn about their lives and fullfill their last wishes before they are ready to leave us. And then you will cry and cry and cry as the music rises and you give them one last hug.

It's a cosy game, slow paced, lots of dialogues, cute mini-games within it, and at times really funny interactions because it all looks so cute yet the characters act and talk like normal people (they told me to fuck off quite a lot) and they will often get into unprompted anti-capitalist rants. It reminded me of Spirited Away a lot, very strange and comfy at the same time.

It's a story about death, about how each person handles it, what they look back on, and yet it's a very pleasant game.

---

As usual I will add more to the list as I reblog it and, of course, if you want to recommend a game too, you're more than welcome. I've been focusing on games with female leads lately so I'll have a lot more to add.

[sweet-star-sketches]

Sketches + Colour from December 9th-11th, 2024 oops! new blorbos unlocked ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

listen December is Dread Month™ for me so I take whatever my brain can get to survive it emotionally, so in this instance it's joining my buddy @eleanorose123 in her current hyperfixation like I have for the past while :D So while she is still my "target audience" so to speak because she loves Yu-Gi-Oh and I like making art for friends, these are for me too :] (like all of my art is, really. I would not spend this much time on it if it wasn't at least partially for me!) I'm more or less a "fandom tourist" at this point; I don't officially go here but a friend does so I'm here visiting to have a good time, and whatever "souvenirs" I get are all the funny scenes and funky little guys that live in my head rent free now! Yippee :D I have more doodles that are actually older than this set, but I want to do a little more with them so I'll post those later :]

I have a lot to say so I'll put the rest under the cut! (apologies in advance for my verbosity but also this is my blog lol)

I have no reasoning behind why my brain arrived at the idea of Kirby crossover art that parodies an iCarly meme but do I really need it??? Naaaaaaaah :] Two of my funny space creatures together <3 I enjoy the idea of Saiou just carrying him around like "yep you're mine now :)" Ponder the orb (and buy him a smoothie) Unironically this is some of the best art I've made all year, like it turned out so absurdly well that I took it to clean lines and colour/shading, and that too came out well! They both have their respective anime colours, but with some additional highlights and coloured line art because my boys deserve it <3333

This is honestly the most fun I've had with art in a while too, though I know fan art tends to do that for an artist! Don't get me wrong, I've loved everything I've put out for my own projects and commissions this year, as I am not predominantly a fan artist despite how many things I love in that regard.

But considering I've been largely unable to actually let myself do this kind of art as frequently as I used to (the ever-looming anxiety of not getting enough commission work to live or personal project work done to tell my stories is a strong one) I really needed this, even if it was born out of necessity to survive Dread Month than anything else. That's as good a reason as any, I suppose! Might be an odd thing to reflect on for such silly/lighthearted art such as this, but I think that's the point.

I'm a firm believer in the idea that no artistic endeavour is ever truly wasted, even if you don't know how or when it'll come back to you! I actually got some really good analysis of my own art journey and style during my adventures in exploring the Yu-Gi-Oh art style here, which was as unexpected as the rest of this, honestly!

I'm already an introspective person to begin with, but the end of the year makes me reflect on things even more than usual, so thanks for reading this far! If nothing else, I hope you enjoyed the sillies :]

[thescarletnargacuga]

TOY BOX

A BUTTONBLOSSOM/RAGAPOM/JESTERDOLL ONESHOT

A/N: I don't know which ship name is the most common, so I'm using all of them lol I may or may not have been drinking while writing this...

WARNING: none

~~~

"Today's adventure is THE TERRIFIC TREASURE TAKEAWAY!" Caine introduced his adventure of the day with the usual display of flare, completely oblivious to the reactions of the unimpressed six in front of him. "You're going on a scavenger hunt! It'll be three teams of two searching the grand Museum for TREASURES! Avoid security! Or they lock you up and your teammate has to get you out! If both of you are caught, you're out of the game! The last team standing, or the team with the most treasures at the end of the time limit, wins!"

Pomni spoke to Ragatha out of the side of her mouth. "Do the adventure titles always have to be illiterate?"

"No." Ragatha covered her mouth and whispered back. "I think that's just a Caine thing."

"Three teams? We ALL have to participate?" Zooble groaned.

"The game is more fun than way! Come on, Zooble! Don't you want to play a game with your friends?" Caine was practically begging. He could not force them to play if they absolutely did not want to, but he REALLY needed an even number of people for the game to work properly.

Zooble rolled their eyes and turned to leave, but then overheard Jax.

"Looks like Zooble is going to be as boring as always. Come on Gangle, you're my partner."

Zooble stopped and turned on their heels. They marched to Jax and shoved him away from Gangle. They crossed their arms and didn't move when Jax got back up and glared.

"Fine. I didn't really want to be stuck dealing with her whining anyway." Jax huffed and stretched his arm out to grab Kinger by the scruff of his robe. "Kinger and I got this."

"Hey, Pomni. Would you like to be my partner? ...for the game! The game." Ragatha awkwardly felt like she needed to clarify.

"Oh! Uhhh, yeah, sure." Pomni was glad Ragatha asked first.

"EXCELLENT!! I do love full party participation!" Caine snapped and a colorful portal opened. "Good luck everyone!"

The group walked through and found themselves in the grand main hall of an enormous museum. Around them the main hall separated into three wings and had three floors. Above them hung a banner that read WELCOME TO ESCHER'S MUSEUM OF ODDITIES. A full T-Rex fossil was having tea with a wax figure of Abraham Lincoln on a display in the center of the room. Various random items were in display cases, many of them only vaguely resembling artifacts and art pieces.

Pomni nervously looks around. "Uh, any ideas as to what these TREASURES look like?"

"No clue. I'm more worried about this SECURITY Caine was talking about. His ideas of enforcement came be a bit...scary. BUT we won't know until we try taking something." Ragatha tapped the glass around a weird mask looking object.

"...it just occurred to me that Caine has literally sent us to rob a museum." Pomni thought out loud as she backed up against a wall, feeling exposed in the large liminal space.

"This is supposed to be a competition right? Outta my way!" Jax pushed Ragatha aside, into Pomni.

Ragatha braced herself against the wall, arm on either side of Pomni.

Pomni flushed, seeing Ragatha up close and personal always made her heart flutter but they've never been this close. She stared up into Ragatha's smiling, apologetic face. Her one eye soft on her.

"Hey..." Ragatha giggled.

"...hey." Pomni delayed in answering, but managed a smile.

Neither of them moved. They just stood their. Awkwardly. Neither wanting to tell the other to move, because what if that was rude?

Jax yeeted the glass case Ragatha had tapped and grabbed the mask. It turned into a cloud of sparkles and a +1 popped up before disappearing. "Ha! I knew it! The WHOLE museum is up for grabs!" He jumped on the platform with the dino and president tea display and tried removing Abe's head.

The whole room went red. INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!

"Oh noooo..." Gangle whimpered.

Massive drones came out of the walls and flew towards Jax. "Oop, time to go." He bugs bunny-ed his ass out the room as fast as he could, three drones on his heels. One drone shot a laser at Kinger and he disappeared. The girls screamed.

"Come on!" Pomni took Ragatha by the hand and ran. The maze like layout of the museum discombobulated those who could get away. Lefts was right, down was up. Every door hit a stairwell and every stairwell looped in on itself. At one point, they were on the ceiling. "What kind of place IS this!?"

Ragatha tried to keep up but Pomni was practically dragging her. "Pomni! The stai-" She tripped, fell over apomni and they both rolled and bounced down a countless flight of stairs. Ragatha wrapped her body around Pomni in an attempt to protect her from the fall, even though it felt like rolling down a bouncy castle.

They eventually stopped when they slammed through a closed door.

Ragatha still had a hold of Pomni, they laid side by side. "Are you alright?"

"Uhhhhh....I think so." Pomni had dizzy swirls in her eyes.

Ragatha couldn't help but snicker. It was a funny look on Pomni. "Good. Because that was actually kind of fun."

Pomni shook the swirls away. "Seriously? Falling down the stairs is your idea of fun?"

"Oh, well, no, not real stairs but it was...uh...never mind. I'm just glad you're okay." Ragatha let go and they both got up.

They saw no way out other than the door they knocked off its hinges. Colorful tiles covered the floor, small tables sat in neat little rows, and there was a large play area.

"Where are we?" Pomni asked, looking around.

"I don't know. A classroom?"

"This place doesn't make any sense."

"It wouldn't be one of Caine's creations if it did." Ragatha said with an irey lilt in her voice. "In fact, this actually isn't the weirdest place I've ever seen. I wouldn't even put it in the top five."

Pomni gaped. "Say what?"

"Yeah, you weren't here for the time he tried to make us all fly like him and Jax ended up on the underside of the sun."

Pomni smiled. "He did?"

"Oh yeah, he had to tap dance the heat off his feet until Caine figured out how to turn gravity back on. Took like an hour."

Pomni started to laugh. "It took him THAT long?"

Ragatha laughed with her. "Yeah! If you ask me, I think he did it on purpose." She loved hearing Pomni laugh, it was so rare.

"Wait, so is that the weirdest?"

"Oh, no. The absolute weirdest had to be Derby Day." Ragatha leaned against an oversized toy box. "Derby Day was when Gangle had to-"

The toy box opened, swallowed Ragatha whole, then slammed shut.

"Ah! Ragatha!" Pomni went to open the box and she too was magically pulled inside. She fell and fell and fell into an endless pit of vibrate color. Ragatha was just below her. "Ragatha!!"

"Pomni!!" She cried out as she tumbled through the air.

Pomni streamlined herself to fall faster and caught up with Ragatha. She tried to get Ragatha's hand but the ragdoll was living up to her namesake and accidentally kicked Pomni in the face. They both spun and free fell into a pile of pillows. They laid there for moment to collect themselves.

"What. The actual. [%$!#]." Pomni mumbled into a plush pillow.

"I take it back. This IS really weird." Ragatha moaned.

"...top five?"

"Top three."

Pomni sat up and didn't bother checking her new surroundings. It didn't matter where they were, they'd probably end up somewhere else in a minute anyway. Ragatha rolled over and stared at the new sky. She couldn't see the top, it was an abyss of kaleidoscopic color. "You know...for all the weirdness...I am grateful for one thing."

"What's that?"

"You."

Pomni jerked her head up. "What?"

"Yeah... I'm probably saying this because it doesn't matter if I do... But I enjoy your company."

"Oh...I...I didn't think anyone would. I'm not exactly...fun. And don't say you don't matter. If there's one thing in this digital scape, that actually does matter, it's our feelings. It's what makes us human." Pomni rolled over to join Ragatha looking at the weird sky. "A-and you've been wonderful to be around, too. I'm sorry I don't really say it. I tend to get lost in my own head."

"I understand. This place will do that to you." Ragatha paused, considering if she should say what she wanted to say next. "I'm... Grateful for one other thing today."

"What's that?"

"I got to hug you."

Pomni turned her head to Ragatha. They smiled at each other.

Ragatha continued. "I- I know you're not the biggest fan of touch so...the fact that you didn't freak out after we fell down the stairs-"

"Ragatha, I wouldn't freak out on you. Not for that. Sure, touch isn't really my thing but...I make a small exception for you."

"Would it be okay...if we hugged again?" Ragatha asked with a deep blush across her cheeks.

Pomni scooted closer. "Yeah."

They locked into a warm embrace. It was the most human thing either one of them had felt in a long time. Pomni felt anchored, her mind focused on only the here and now. No what ifs and maybes. It was bliss.

Ragatha felt a sense of comfort and connection that she thought she'd never get to feel again. In this place...it was getting hard to feel anything but melancholy.

As they hugged the pillows shifted. They tried to get up but they both slipped in the surface vertically against one another. It was like falling into quicksand.

"Great....were are we going now?" Pomni held on around Ragatha's neck.

"I don't know, but we're going together. That's all that matters to me." Ragatha held tight as they sunk further and further into the unknown.

[sepublic]

I really admire the writers for how they tend to handle limitations in this show and really make them work in favor of TOH, because I think about how Hexside originally wasn’t supposed to be that prevalent in S1, but then executives mandated it be. And instead of being begrudging about Hexside and dropping it the first moment they had as soon as S2 –with its greater creative freedom– rolled around, the writers actually made it work and continued to see Hexside through all the way to the end, instead of punishing fans who DID end up liking it. And that was quite a few of us, indicating it was done well enough to appeal.

The writers had the school setting play into Luz’s neurodivergency by showing how she learned differently, it played into Eda’s arc by having her get over her own biases and personal issues to let Luz grow, eventually leading to her starting a university. We got to see learning reframed in a positive light for a lot of these kids who are considered weirdoes for wanting that, and the beginnings of rebellion against the coven system. With Luz, this emphasized how she didn’t fit into any binaries and categories, which is a major motif she learns to be proud of. The theme of education and people being allowed to learn magic for its sake goes hand in hand. And Hexside provided the backdrop for a lot of important episodes. It’d end up being relevant to Hunter’s arc later on, and he was introduced properly in S2!

Plus, the shortening; With how that worked, the crew had to rush a lot of stuff, squeeze in a lot of major events within S2B. But they made the crowded feeling work, because it really helped you feel as helpless as the protagonists because they were being overwhelmed with so many revelations and issues. It helps the viewer relate to Eda’s sense of hopelessness, her lack of a plan. It made Edge of the World more tragic, because Luz tries to distract herself from the trauma of Hollow Mind with what seems to be a low-stakes adventure and this is explicitly brought up as a way to keep the kids safe… But it just ends up tying back into Hollow Mind and the Day of Unity anyway, showing that there is no escape. 

It’s like Pandora’s Box, the point of no return, the story event that’s activated the ending. It’s surrounding everyone on all sides, and with the Day of Unity impending, it feels as if there just isn’t enough time, both on a meta and in-universe scale. There’s no space to breathe, and that uncertainty of things ending too fast is recaptured; In a way, it’s as if the end of the show being brought about too soon for viewers is like the end of the world coming for the protagonists.

And again that makes me think of how Dana Terrace explicitly said that she wanted to focus on the good, the benefits, of the altered story and how the writers had to make things work and tie together in response to all that; “Limitation breeds creativity,” she said as her justification. And she said she was proud of the storyline they otherwise wouldn’t have done, and I agree now that I’ve seen it!!! It’s different yet meaningful in its own apples way, just as the original un-shortened plan would’ve been in an oranges way. Idk it’s just really cool, and I can see why that inspired Dana to attempt a ‘Choose your own adventure’ format for a Patreon project, to again have fun with that on-your-toes experience, before she had to focus on her new job.

[fierymiasma]

۵ The Spare ۵ // Sebastian x f!MC x Ominis - Silver Trio

Summary: Ominis tries to be happy for Sebastian and their new friend. Really he's happy that his two favorite people have starting seeing each other.

...It's too bad that he wasn't included.

Sebastian and f!MC try repeatedly to court Ominis, too bad he's oblivious.

Tags: Love triangles, Slight Angst with eventual happy ending, Confessions, Mutual Pining, Fluff, OT3, Silver Trio, Making Out

Word Count: 5k 🍃

A/Ns: Got a lot of requests from readers to do a spin-off of my other Silver Trio Fic "Between". It's a bit longer but hope you enjoy it!

|| My Other Work || AO3 || Other Silver Trio Fic

"Your willingness to use powerful spells is admirable.  You're much more powerful than you ever let on."

"Sebastian, please, you can stop with all the flattery."  She laughed, trying to fight the rising blush on her cheeks.  She casted another spell at the practice dummy.  "I've already promised you that I'll take you on my next outing to fight the poachers instead of Natty.  You have already gotten what you want!"

The boy in question mocked offense.  "What?  I can't give the most powerful witch our age a simple compliment?"  She rolled her eyes playfully, pretending to be annoyed.  Sebastian was unrelenting.  "I bet you could even give Professor Hecat a run for her money."

Ominis's hand trembled on his wand, unable to cast the new spell they've been practicing.  His stomach couldn't help but churn in disgust as his friends continue to tease each other.  Even in the vast space of the Undercroft, it felt too stifling whenever Sebastian charmed their mutual friend.

His wand showed him the hazy rough outlines of the other two.  Sebastian's arm practically draped around her.  Ever since the start of their 6th year,  the trio had been spending more and more time together in the Undercroft.  Sebastian and the Hufflepuff frequently snuck out of the castle at all hours of the day, finding adventure elsewhere.

Ominis tried not to let it bother him, how close they were getting.  They had invited him along, of course, time and time again on all of their adventures.  Ominis had no idea why they thought that he would like to trail along after them.  Be a bystander to the newfound romance that the other two were so clearly keeping a secret from him?   Hard pass, thank you very much.

"Your spellwork is exception."  Sebastian continued, watching her land a particularly nasty hit on the dummy.  "You'll have to teach me some of the tricks you've picked up."

Ominis could feel the palpable embarrassment emitting from her.  She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ears.  "Well, I did take a leaf out of your book, Sebastian.  I picked up this jinx from one of the books I 'borrowed' from the restricted section."

Sebastian laughed.  "Getting into places you're not supposed to be?  A woman after my own heart."

Ominis swallowed thickly.  It felt like it was only yesterday that Sebastian returned after his first night sneaking into the restricted section with the new student.

Sebastian groaned, flopping face first into his bed, exhausted from a night of crouching around the library away from the searching eyes of Madam Scribner. 

"Did you have fun, Sebastian?" Ominis drawled from his on bed, having been rudely woken back up by Sebastian's return.

To Ominis's shock, Sebastian sighed dreamingly.

"Merlin's beard, Ominis.  She's exceptional."

Something ugly festered inside Ominis.  He wanted to be done with this conversation, to go back to bed and wake up to a reality where he could still pretend he had a chance of being with Sebastian.  "I'm afraid I don't know what you're referring to."

Sebastian rolled onto his back, looking up at the top of his canopy bed, as if he was trying to picture her face.  "The new girl.  On her very first duel, she knocks me flat on my bum."  He scoffed.  "Said it was good practice.  What I won't give to duel her again.  Makes getting detention for her entirely worth it."

Unable to stomach any more of Sebastian's words, Ominis fluffed his pillow before turning away from the other boy.

 "Ominis, she's beautiful.  Her lips, her eyes, her hair.  Merlin's beard, Ominis, she could be part Veela for all I know.  The second she walks into any room, it's like everything else fades away."  Sebastian squeezed his pillow close to his chest as he faced the other boy.  "Ominis the things she can do with a wand.  The way she took down that troll…"  Sebastian sighed, lost in his own thoughts. 

Ominis was glad that his back was facing Sebastian.  He was afraid that his expressions would betray his inner anguish.  "Fighting a troll for you on her first day of Hogwarts?"  Ominis's nose wrinkled.  He was painfully reminded of all the other giggling girls who threw themselves at Sebastian's feet. "There is a such a thing as trying too hard."

Sebastian's smile dipped downward.  "No, Ominis, the fight was almost easy.  That's how brilliant she is."

Ominis had always known that the crush he harbored on the other Slytherin boy was doomed from the very start.  Sebastian's silver tongue had the entire female population of Hogwarts (and some of the wizards as well) completely under his spell.  Why, with enough effort, Sebastian could certainly find a witch he liked enough to settle down with.

It seemed like, Sebastian already had.

Tears burning his eyes, Ominis pulled the covers over his head, trying to drown out Sebastian's stream of consciousness as he continued to heap praises on the new student. 

"Ominis?"  She shook his arm gently.  "Ominis, are you with us?"

Ominis returned to the present.  Honeysuckle, rosewater, and ivy.  Her perfume was a familiar comforting presence.  His tight knuckles relaxed on his wand.  His eyes felt too hot, and he hoped he hadn't teared up in front of them.  He could feel the other two exchange concerned looks.  She reached over.  Her thumb rubbed soothing circles on Ominis's biceps.  Even under all his layers of fabric, he could feel goosebumps starting to form. 

He withdrew from her hot touch. 

His parents had always told Ominis that love at first sight (or lack of sight) was a fairy tale fantasy left for those of lesser blood or muggles.  So, Ominis was entirely unprepared for it when he confronted the Hufflepuff sneaking out of the Undercroft for the first time. 

He heard the telltale mechanical whirls of the clocktower that hid the Undercroft.  He heard distinct footsteps, light, with a high heel to them. 

It was just as he had feared.  It wasn't Sebastian.  The magical aura that surrounded this next person didn't feel quite like Sebastian's.  It was foreign, ancient and old.  It was the newest addition to the Hogwarts student body.  The insufferable show off who somehow seduced her way into winning  a duel against Sebastian.

Ominis couldn't tell what he was more angry at: her existence or Sebastian who had betrayed his trust by telling a practical stranger the secrets behind the undercroft.  It was Ominis's hiding place, his secret to give.  It was special, a place where Sebastian and Ominis could be together, alone.  Where Ominis could pretend that he had escaped from the cruel reality of their lives.

He turned that infamous Gaunt anger onto the new girl.  She was a Hufflepuff, like all of her brethren, Ominis was sure she would wilt under his venomous tongue.  It wasn't the first time Ominis sent a girl crying back to her dorm.

"Did you just come from the Undercroft?"  He snarled.  "How did you get in here?"

Calmly, the new student answered.  "Actually, Sebastian brought me there.  But he made it perfectly clear to keep quiet about it." She had a soft, soothing melodic voice. 

Ominis scoffed, ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat at the sound of her voice.  Typical Hufflepuff, soft-spoken, meek, quick to squeal and rat out their friends the second their arm got twisted. 

"You breathe a word about this place to anyone and not even your precious Professor Fig will be able to help you."

He could tell that mentioning Professor Fig had struck a nerve.  The quiescent unnamable magic swirling around her grew sharp, its aura almost suffocating Ominis.  She took a firm step forward towards him, her heels echoing loudly against the marble tiles.  Her voice grew louder, firmer.  "You needn't threaten me, Gaunt.  But mention Professor Fig again, and even your family name won't be able to shield you from me." 

She took another step forward.  Ominis took a hesitant step back.  He didn't expect the badger to have claws.  "I was trying to defend Sebastian.  He was clear that this was a secret place, and I was to tell no one."  Ominis was startled by her closeness.  He could smell her perfume, flowery.  Honeysuckle, rosewater, and ivy.  She took another step forward.  "Sebastian's a good friend.  He cares very deeply for you." 

Ominis's lips curled.  As if she knew anything about Sebastian.  About what Sebastian's wants and needs were.  He held his ground.  "I don't need you to tell me about my oldest friend, thank you very much.  Sebastian gets himself in enough trouble.  He doesn't need your help." 

To Ominis's surprise, her shoulders relaxed a bit.  Her arms uncrossed in understanding.  "You care for Sebastian.  You worry over him."  Ominis's throat felt dry.  Was she trying to insinuate something?  "You needn't be concerned, Ominis.  I can see you're scared."  Ominis was about to deny her accusations but found that he couldn't breathe.  "I am not trying to come in between you or Sebastian.  Your…bond is sacred."  Was he that obvious?  "I'm not trying to steal anyone's…friend away from them."  

For once in Ominis's life, he was speechless.  It was rare for him to find someone who could match his venomous tongue and cruel words. 

"I'm not sure what you're implying."  Ominis lied.  "You forget yourself, new girl."

"Ominis!  Ominis!" Sebastian practically shouted in his ear.

Ominis jumped.  Too lost in thought, he hadn't realized that he had been daydreaming again.  They were still in the Undercroft, practice dummies now completely forgotten.  Her soft hands were still on his arm, trying to comfort him.  Sebastian, on his right, hovering a tad closer than a concerned friend normally should.

His throat felt dry.  He wasn't comfortable being the center of their undivided attention.  He needed air.

"You two keep practicing your hexes."  Ominis muttered, pulling his arm away from her and turning away from Sebastian.  "I need to lie down for a bit."

Ominis wasn't able to see the way Sebastian's eyes met the Hufflepuff's, a silent conversation held with just eyes alone.  "Is everything alright?"  Sebastian asked.  "Ominis, you can confide in us, if you need."

Ominis snorted as he threw his satchel over his shoulder.  Like he could ever reveal his true feelings to the happy couple. 

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

He avoided the Hufflepuff and her Slytherin for a better part of two weeks.  A difficult task given how persistent the other two were.

"Ominis!  There you are."  Sebastian purred, his voice dipping down an octave.  "You've been rather difficult to pin down lately." 

Ominis didn't even pause.  If anything, he walked faster down the hallway to his next class.  "I'm sorry, Sebastian.  Far too busy with this extra essay Professor Sharp assigned me.  I'll see you at dinner."

His partner in crime appeared around the corner, as if she apparated to Sebastian's side.  "A-Ah, hello, Ominis!"  She nervously greeted.  "Your hair looks rather nice today!  Looks kind of like the portrait of the bloke we're learning in History of Magic."

Ominis did finally pause in his stride.  "Uric…the…Oddball?  I look like a lunatic who wears a jellyfish on his head?"

Her shoulders fell.  Maybe she should have paid more attention in class.  She hadn't actually thought that one through too much. 

Without another word, Ominis swept away around the corner, onto his next class.

Now properly alone, Sebastian groaned.  "Merlin's beard, sweetheart, what was that?  Were you trying to woo him or get him to commit you to a loony bin?  We want to charm him not send him running away screaming!"

She glared at him in offense.  "I'm not good at flirting!"

Sebastian sighed, running his fingers through his hair in fake exasperation.  He couldn't help but smile, as he looked at her teasingly.  "It is truly one of Hogwarts biggest mysteries how you managed to bag someone as charming as me."

She tried to kick him in the shin for good measure.  He calmly took a small step back avoiding her rather short legs.

"Don't worry, sweetheart.  Sebastian's here for you.  Time to show you how to properly sweep a man off his feet."

She rolled her eyes, "Like you can do better."

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

[Cont reading here]

[dgttwisted]

prankSTAR!!✨✨✨

Hayeli from @mellosdrawings and Akanda & Akedya form @rakiah

Hayeli, Akanda an Akedya sit at the lunch table disgussing something very very important.

"Listen up we've decided to add to our ranks!"

"currently there is three of us that's an odd number aka bad luck"

"i have enough of that as is we don't need to add to it, you brought this up which means you two already have someone in mind don't you?" Hayeli says already mimicking there movements

"hehe~" they both laughed

"indeed we do~ take a look behind us"

on the table behind the twins Lilith was eating mac & cheese with Grim.

"Grim would be funny but isn't he prone to lighting most things on fire?"

"no no not Grim Lilith!"

"the child? Vil mentioned her once hmm what was it he said? well if i can't remember it's probably not important, anyway isn't she rather young to be a prankster?"

"no way thats the perfect age to start! we started as pranksters at a young age, just think by the time she is our age Lilith could be a master prankster"

"kids are very impressionable we butter her up an the skies the limit!"

"i see what you mean but what about Grim? I've heard he's very protective of his 'henchmen' as he calls her"

"don't worry we already have a plan for him!"

"a prank to start off this prank adventure!"

---

Akanda & Akedya preemptively bought cans of tuna an put them in a spaced out line that lead right back to ramshackle. surely no one would actually fall for this-

Grim started tracking the cans down immediately ditching Lilith.

"looky what we have here~" Akanda, Akedya and Hayeli circle Lilith in a teasing manner though not a malicious one.

"i believe it is our new up coming prankstar!!"

"it's the Aka's"

"oh does though already know of our reparation!?" this could put a wrench in there plan.

"no we've never spoken but Vil mentioned you before....sorry i can't pronounce your name right"

"fear not little star drop!" Hayeli says with all the enthusiasm one could have talking to a 7 year old. "names shames thats not important right now whats important is that like my friends have just said we've come to help you become the best prankster ever!"

"prankstarrrr prankst....." Lilith furrowed her brow she was trying to say it right "Prank-ster!" the three of them clapped when she said it right

"i don't know what that is"

"that is why we're here! to show you the way!"

"we promise you will have a blast!"

"that's right a bunch of fun, you like having fun don't you?"

"yes of course! who doesn't!?"

hook line an sinker they got there prize Lilith now the pranking has started. or at least that was there plan just some innocent pranks.

---

"this first prank is an easy one!" they hand Lilith a sliced lemon "ok squeeze this lemon into that students drink when he's not looking!"

"why?"

"...it will be funny trust us"

"I'll try!" Lilith walked over the student couldn't really not notice her

"can i help you?"

Lilith froze for a second "um your not supposed to look!"

Akanda, Akedya and Hayeli all collectively face palmed

the student chuckled a bit an playfully covered his eyes an Lilith squeezed the lemon into the drink. "ok im done thank you!" as she walked off the students friend told him what happened he still drank it anyway after all he wanted to make Lilith happy for trying.

"i did it!"

"....."

"...."

"...."

"did i do something wrong?"

"nya? no you did fine...uh lets try something else!"

they moved to the next location

"ok this will be another easy one are you ready?"

"yes!" she still pumped even though she doesn't quite understand how pranks are supposed to work.

"this corner is famous so many blind spots even rook avoids it! when you hear someone coming jump out an make the loudest noise you can think of!" this time they weren't expecting anything crazy but there was no way to fail such an easy prank.

Lilith waited by the corner patiently hearing footsteps draw closer she jumped out "BOO!" the man in question shrieked so loud it scared Lilith she lost her balance an fell over.

the man in question was idia, the Twins an Hayeli were giving Lilith thumbs up. Lilith got back up an went over to idia "are you hurt? it was supposed to be an easy prank!" she wasn't supposed to say that part out loud

"o-oh u-h good job? i-" before Idia could finish his sentence Akanda grabbed Lilith an ran though it was so fast Idia couldn't processes who it was.

---

"this prank is a bit hardcore an you'll need one of us to help you but if we pull it off it'll be the best nya~"

"no ones gonna get hurt this time?"

"nope! promise!"

Lilith hold out her pinkie the twins were staring blankly for a moment not sure why she was doing that. Then Hayeli lifted out his pinkie an shook Lilith's.

"promise~"

Lilith beamed "ok!! what are we doing!?"

---

Lilith an Hayeli snuck into Leona's room as the Twins were in a vantage point to be look outs. the plan was easy tie a bucket of water to the door an water would rain on Leona when he came in.

"looks pretty high up"

"don't worry ive been practicing!" before Hayeli could ask what she meant Lilith started thinking happy thoughts start to glow an float up.

"looks like you didn't need me after all-"

"um....i don't know how to tie knots"

"oh uh give me a sec Kaleidoscope Divine~" Hayeli started glowing an floating just like Lilith though just before he could even start to do the tie the door swung open but instead of a splash of water the bucket full of water slammed into Leona's head.

you would think Hayeli was in track in field with the speed he grabbed Lilith an ran leaving trails of dust behind him. the twins met up with him an they met over behind Sams shop.

"why did we go here?"

"we need to bribe her with sweets so she doesn't snitch"

Lilith is in shock she couldn't fully processes everything that had occurred though while the twins an Hayeli were trying to hatch a plan a shadow covers Lilith.

"OI!" the voice made Lilith look up it was her worst fear at that moment it was Leona holding an ice pack to his head "what do you have to say for yourself herbivore!"

"...waaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!" Lilith started uncontrollably crying "I-I-I'M SORRRRRYYYYY WAAAAAAAAAA"

"OI I'm the one whose injured here don't start crying!"

Akanda, Akedya and Hayeli were slowly stepping back trying not to make noise. though backed right into the chest of the last person they needed to see that day.

"just where do you think you three are going?" it was Vil undenounced to them it wasn't just Leona who had spilled the beans on there shenagins but Grim an Idia to. "if i recall i asked you three to never involve Lilith in your trouble she is far to sweet for the pranks you pull"

Hayeli smacks his fist into his flat palm "OOOOH thats what you said!" he knew he'd remember eventually.

Hayeli, Akanda an Akedya got detention an Lilith had a 5 minute time out an had to write an apology letter to Leona.